The Art of Buddhism - Essay Example

? Report on religious field research of Introduction Religion is a collection of beliefs that try to explain the origin of nature and the existence of a supernatural power that controls humanity and the universe’s contents. Religion is closely attributed to the cultural beliefs, which are linked with humankind in a spiritual manner based on moral values (Ganeri, 2002). The world has diverse patterns of religious beliefs. The religious mix is different from one community to another consequently from one nation to another. Religion forms the epicenter of human being’s social life. This paper intends to examine the Buddhism religion by attending a church service and interacting with the members of this faith. The church service attendance intends to serve as a channel to understand fully the sentimental attachments of the members to the faith through observation. More over, information will be sought through interviewing. The church of attendance is the Oregon Buddhist Temple in the Northwest District in Oregon (Ganeri, 2002). Further, this paper intends to incorporate any misconceptions that were realized after finding more information about the religion. Further, more this paper will test personal assumptions and perceptions of Buddhism through the intended interaction. Buddhism is one of the most common religions in the globe.   Its roots go back to 563 B.C.E. when Siddhartha Gautama was born.   Gautama is commonly referred to as the “Buddha”, which means the “Awakened One” (Ganeri, 2002).   Buddhism spread speedily all over Asia and other parts of the world. However, this religion remained practically unfamiliar in the West until the last half century.     “The Western scholars; writers and artists, philosophers and the arrival of Asian immigrants brought diverse forms of Buddhism to North America, Australia and Europe” formed the main channels through, which the teachings and beliefs attributed to Buddhism spread to other parts of the world (Wilkinson & Teague, 2003). My mother, and her close friend, Nhu Lan Nguyen (Lan) are representatives of immigrants from Vietnam who brought the principles of Buddhism to the US following the War of Vietnam. It is imperative to note that, Buddhism arose as a Spartan movement during the period of Brahman custom (Gethin, 1998).   Discuss any misconceptions you had about the religion you researched Having been raised in a Roman Catholic family, attending a Buddhist church seemed to be unbelievable, but because of clearing the misconception, I went on to attend Buddhist service. I attended the Oregon Buddhist Temple with one of my friend who is Buddhist. In the temple, I encountered numerous believers who turned out to be friendly, welcoming and courteous. In fact, this context made the research interview easier since, the members were ready to share their experience and beliefs on the Buddhism religion (Wilkinson & Teague, 2003). My misconceptions about the Buddhism religion were dual-pointed. The first misconception is about the Buddhism culture as being foreign and whimsical. The fact that, I did not understand beliefs and values attributed to the religion, I did not imagine that Buddhism religion existed in the real world. I assumed that, the whole picture about Buddhism, I acquired from books and other sources of the media, represented fantastical and fictional works for entertainment. However, from the outset of the service, a keen consideration and study of the set of beliefs set me to the basic level of understanding that Buddhism is a religion that people practice like any other religion (Wilkinson & Teague, 2003). The second misconception is that of believing that, all religions conduct the series and prayers the same way. I misconceived this belief because I thought if all religions belief in one creator, God, then, the God is served in the same way. This was not then case after attending the Buddhism service, settings were different, prayers and services were conducted differently. Analyze how your prior understanding about this religion was altered (if at all) through your encounter. Encounter with the Buddhist believers considerably altered my prior misconception. The deeper insight about the religion made me understand and accept that, Buddhism is a religion like any other. It is not fancy in anyway (Wilkinson & Teague, 2003). The interactive session with the believers thought me more about Buddhism. For instance, Buddhism autonomy, reference to other religions, core beliefs and sentimental attachment to the religion gave me a clearer image (Leidy, 2008). The following concepts and beliefs form a narrow outline of the wider image of the Buddhism religion, as discovered from the interaction with the believers at the Oregon Buddhist Temple. At the onset of the development of the principles, Buddhism rejected numerous essential Hindu views and values. In fact, this religion stands out as one of the religions with minor borrowing from other religious background. It is distinctive and outstanding.  For instance, it did not identify the legitimacy of the Vedic scriptures.   More over, it explicitly questioned the general influence of the priesthood (Leidy, 2008).   Furthermore, Buddhism rejected the practice caste system found in Hinduism, as it believed that discrimination of humanity on background and other factors was immoral and consequently all humankind should be treated equally. This move made it clear that no person’s worth could be judged based on blood background. There are numerous beliefs linked with Buddhism.   One of the primary values for Buddhism believers is the three marks of realism (Wilkinson & Teague, 2003).   Three beliefs include invariable change, a lack of enduring identity, and the existence of affliction or suffering. The three pillars remain fundamental for any Buddhist believer. They form the guiding principle in the lives of the believers.  It is vital to note that, the believers remain convicted that the Inner peace, which to them is significant in one’s life, is achievable through strict adherence of these noble beliefs.   From the three marks of realism comes the conviction in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path (Leidy, 2008). I interacted with believers on the two customs and I really learnt a couple of new fronts. For instance, the Four Noble Truths describes four fronts of suffering, which include life means suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable and the path to the cessation of suffering (Si?la?cha?ra, 2007). The Buddhists believe that, since human beings are not perfect as well as the world they live in, suffering is inevitable and endurance to physical suffering that include sickness, old age remains fundamental (Wilkinson & Teague, 2003). More over, attachment to ephemeral things and attributed ignorance forms the origin of suffering and this result to craving and clinging. The Buddhists believe that, suffering can be ended or attained. This is possible through Nirodha, which implies the reversing of sensual craving and intangible attachment. Finally, the Buddhists follow the pat of cessation of suffering (Ganeri, 2002). This is a gradual path characterized by self-improvement. This path represents the middle way between hedonism and asceticism. On the other hand, the Dharma Wheel diagram is a symbolic representation of the Eight Fold Path that was used to help me have a glimpse of the elements enshrined there in (Si?la?cha?ra, 2007). Consider the following the diagram Courtesy of Si?la?cha?ra, B. (2007). The path of Buddhism. Ceylon: Lanka Bauddha Mandalaya The Eight Fold Path has eight elements and each of the Dharma wheel spokes represents each element (Leidy, 2008). The elements begin with the word “Right”. They include right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration Discuss whether you believe misconceptions about other people’s religion are common and explain why or why not. I agree that Misconceptions about other people’s religion are common. There are numerous reasons attributed to the misconception, however lack of insight and knowledge on the religions forms the primary reason. In most cases, most people are inclined to their own religion and remain with the assumption that such religions are the right ones. This assumption develops an element of negative criticism of other religions (Wilkinson & Teague, 2003). Today, we have unimaginable descriptions of religions by believers of others and this has created a controversy on the true religion. The extension of this criticism has led to re-examination of the right day of worship which as seen the Sunday keepers and Saturday keepers disagree on numerous fronts (Gethin, 1998). Recommend at least one (1) step that could be taken to minimize misconceptions people have about religions not their own. Misconceptions can be minimized if only people take a step of studying in depth the beliefs and pillars of other religions before criticizing them. The interaction with the Buddhist believers has clearly indicated that the initial misconception about Buddhism faith was because of lack of knowledge about the religion (Leidy, 2008). It is imperative to gain knowledge of other religions, then compare, and contrast for in-depth understanding. References Wilkinson, P., & Teague, S. (2003). Buddhism. New York: DK Pub. Ganeri, A. (2002). Buddhism. Columbus, Ohio: Peter Bedrick Books. Leidy, D. P. (2008). The art of Buddhism: An introduction to its history & meaning. Boston: Shambhala. Si?la?cha?ra, B. (2007). The path of Buddhism. Ceylon: Lanka Bauddha Mandalaya. Gethin, R. (1998). The foundations of Buddhism. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More