History of Buddhism - Case Study Example

Running head: BUDDHISM of essay’s assignment is due Buddhism is a religion that transcends a personal God, avoiding theology and dogmas. It is a religion that bases its religious sense from the experiences of nature and spiritual things. Buddhism is currently professed by billions of people globally, but most of the devout followers are from the Far East (Prebish, 1995, pp. 29 – 57). Discussed in this paper are the history of Buddhism, common practices, rituals and core beliefs in Buddhism, common misconceptions about Buddhism and how Buddhists overcome these obstacles. A visit to Buddhist site in Thailand and an interview with a worshipper at this site has been recorded. History of Buddhism Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly known as Buddha Shakyamuni, is the founder of Buddhism. Siddhartha was the name given by his parents when he was born into his royal family in 624 BC in Lumbini (Keown, 2009, pp. 12 – 19). Siddhartha reached a level of enlightenment in 535 BC, which was when Siddhartha became a Buddha (Keown, 2009, pp. 21 – 32). Buddha’s teachings on the Wheels of Dharma were the source of the religion of Buddhism. Buddha gave 84000 teachings that were aimed at alleviating human suffering by leading all living things to permanent liberation (Prebish, 1995, pp. 13-34). This is because Buddha realized that temporary liberation from suffering was not good enough. Buddha was motivated by compassion and love in his endeavor to lead living beings towards nirvana (lasting peace). Common practices and rituals Buddhists usually worship during full moon days or festivals, but they can worship whenever they want as well. Meditation is an important practice in Buddhism because they believe enlightenment is achieved when one trains their minds to rise above ordinary thoughts. A shrine in a room in a Buddhist’s home can be used for worship. When they go to worship at a temple, Buddhists show their love and respect for Buddha by making offerings, reciting the Three Jewels and bowing in front of the image of Buddha. The image of Buddha is also surrounded by flowers, incense and candles. At the temple, Buddhists receive talks from monks. Core beliefs Dharma is the term given to Buddhist’s beliefs. The monks, nuns and the Buddhist community are referred to as sangha. Buddhists do not believe in an all powerful God, Goddess, Gods or Goddesses. Buddha is worshiped as man who gained enlightenment, but not as a God. The Mahayana Buddhists worship bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are enlightened people who died but choose to be reborn because they want to help other living things gain enlightenment and achieve nirvana. At the Buddhist temples, people are reminded by the images of Buddha and bodhisattvas that they too can gain enlightenment. Buddhism attempts to show man the way to salvation. The goal of Buddhism is to achieve nirvana, a state of perfect peace that is reached by those who have achieved enlightenment. Enlightenment is similar to when a person wakes up from a dream and starts seeing things for what they really are. Buddhists live by a set of Five Precepts which state that they should not to kill any living thing, should not steal, should control sexual desire, should not lie and should not drink or take drugs. Misconceptions about Buddhism One common misconception is that Buddha is a God. This is incorrect because Buddhists do not concern themselves with God or Gods but in Dharma, which is truth and reality. Another common misconception is that all Buddhists are vegetarian. This is incorrect because some Buddhists chose to be vegetarian so as to follow the first precept better. Another misconception is that all Buddhists meditate. Zen, one of the Buddhists sects, does not emphasize meditation (Suzuki & Barrett, 1996, pp 112 - 126). Throughout history, many Buddhists have not being meditating. Until recently, meditation was considered a practiced reserved just for monks. Another misconception is that Buddhists enjoy suffering. Buddhists do not look forward to suffering, but they take suffering as an opportunity for them to learn from and grow. How Buddhists have overcome obstacles and misconception The teachings of Buddha are affirming to the lives of Buddhists. By following these teachings, Buddhists find happiness by opening to the richness in their everyday lives. Despite obstacles and misconceptions, Buddhists take the suffering as a chance for their hearts to aspire to a happiness that is completely pure. Buddhism cultivates a culture of samvega, an acceptance of the fact that the cycle of birth, aging and death is meaningless. Samvega leads to pasada, which is a confidence associated with death. Visit to worship site Thailand is home to over 31000 Buddhist temples that are referred to as wat (Prebish, 1995, pp. 97 – 119). To commemorate the 2500th year since Buddha, the government and people of Thailand built a religious site called The Buddhamonthon (Keown, 2009, pp. 117 – 123). The Buddhamonthon occupies a large beautiful area that has many interesting structures. The centre of the area is marked by a huge image of Buddha that is cast in bronze and gold. This image of Buddha is 15.8 meters high (Prebish, 1995, pp. 86 – 93). Surrounding the Buddhamonthon there are four other sites that commemorate Buddha’s birth, his enlightenment, his first sermon and nirvana. The image of Buddha at Buddhamonthon Interview with a Buddhist The following interview was answered by Miss Baroness Mei Pitsiree, a Pharmacy student at Silpakorn University in Thailand. Q: Is your religion an actual way of life for you? How integral is it to your daily life? A: Sure! We believe in action. Just like Newton taught that action is equal to reaction. Q: What are some of the main practices, or daily components of your religion? A: We do meditation. We pray through meditation. We give the monk food. We also keep the five morals, but as usual I do not follow them all. (Laughs) Q: What are some restrictions in your religion, if any, such as dietary, dress code, etc? A: There are no dietary restrictions, for instance we can eat pork. Women do not have to cover their faces in public. The five morals restrict us. For instance, one cannot flirt with other girls if one has his own wife. It is also wrong for one to lie for any reason. Females are not allowed to touch the monk. In my country (Thailand), the monk can only be male. Q: What is the favorite aspect of your religion? Why? A: The fact that we do not believe in God is my favorite aspect. I believe in action, a good example being God cannot help one to pass exams if one does not review the lessons. Q: Do you feel that you are supported in your town, or in this country, practicing your religion, or do you feel any discrimination? A: It is all okay. I am from Thailand an here we have a lot of religions. So we do not support only the Buddhists. There is no main religion in my country. Q: What is the most misunderstood element of your religion? A: Some Buddhists believe in magic, but in your country you call it Voodoo. Q: Is it important to you that your family/children continue your religious practices/tradition? A: In theory, we should continue with Buddhism. On the other hand it depends on someone’s mind, trust and faithfulness to the religion. Q: Do you have any holy places or countries that are important to your religion and that you have been to? Why are they considered holy? A: Sure! My place! My city is a holy place. I know you do not know it but it is called Pagoda. A long history has made Pagoda a Buddhist symbol. Q. What do you think is most unique about your religion in relation to other religious traditions? Or do you feel there are more similarities? A. I think all religions teach people to do good things. The basic concept is there should be no killing, no selfishness and no lying. The religions differ by tradition and the process to relieve mournful. Q: If there were only one thing about your religion that you could share with the world, what would it be? A: Sure! Why would I want to keep only to myself? One day I hope I could help people from sadness, hopelessness and negative feelings. (B. M. Pitsiree, personal communication, July 28, 2010) References Keown, D. (2009). Buddhism. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. Prebish, C. (1995). Buddhism: A modern perspective. Sri Satguru Publications. Suzuki, D. & Barrett, W. (1996). Zen Buddhism: Selected writings of D.T. Suzuki. Doubleday. Read More