Ascetic Life in Buddhism - Assignment Example

?Topic Buddhism is a religion that puts more premiums in the relation of human mind with God, emphasizing, among many other things, the need to re-examine life to make it worth living. Buddhist tradition use meditation, a renunciation from the mundane pressures and influences, to reflect upon the meaning of life and of human relations to gain self-awareness and deep investigation of personal experiences (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). While Buddhism uphold meditation and an ascetic life, it also promote some philosophical principles that explicated the guidelines of human existence and it’s practical prescription of best behaviours (Instilling Goodness School, 2013) While Buddhism is a broad religion and its followers have “elaborate and different understanding of Buddha’s teaching as a practical religion (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). This religious teaching emanated from India when Siddharta Gautama, son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya in 566 BB of Kapilavastu, who reflected the four realities of life: sickness, old age, death, and a wandering monk. He followed the life of the monk, abandoned his wealth and wore ragged robes (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). He practiced ascetic lifestyle to gain enlightenment; do a lot of meditation and eat raw foods, fruits and leaves. Sometimes, he fasted. He realized in life that overdoing things cannot provide happiness in life, but moderation and objective balancing of needs is. Gautama became Buddha, the awakened one (Boundlesslight.webs.com, 2013). He emphasized that suffering is caused by peoples’ dissatisfaction and greed and such could only be eliminated if one would live a life of truth, moderation, meditation, and reflective reasoning of life. He believed that life’s moderation will spare one from unnecessary wants and from overreacting to life’s circumstances (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). He professed that life is impermanent and that the changes can always bring either success or failure or satisfaction or discomfort (Instilling Goodness School, 2013; Boundlesslight.webs.com, 2013). With human limitations and frailties, human doesn’t have the capacity to control fully those changes, especially those that are sourced from nature’s wrath and those that are overwhelming at the utmost (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). While it has been recognized that human failures are sourced from misguidance, misperceptions, distortion, stresses and suffering, but for them, this can be remedied by living a balance life and life of reason as the best remedy for all these things (Boundlesslight.webs.com, 2013). Buddha explicated that happiness is fundamentally based on quiet and simple life: to want what you have and not want those you do not have (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). This is to rule over one’s negativities in life to maintain that composure and peace derived from the inevitabilities of life’s roller coaster realities. Self-control is possible when we all have control of our very lives and when we are reasonably able to maintain that life of reflective reason (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). Buddhism has three major teachings: 1. Nothing is lost in the universe- this asserts that all matters are transformed into energies of the universe and vice versa. For instance, all human beings are finite and life will eventually die and be buried back into the earth. From dust we came and life returns into dust (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). Other life forms emerge from the soil which could either be plants that could provide oxygen which will support the existence of life too. Every person is born from parents and the children grow into adults to become parents too of the younger offspring. Human life perpetuated in this cycle and if people tends to be destructive to the environ where one is evolving would mean that we, too, are destroying our lives (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). 2. Everything Changes – this is the fundamental principle of impermanence. Life changes into its course, depending on the circumstances present in it life thrive in an ebb and flow. The people could only certainly go through with it an up-and-down while every person gently deals with it using reason and compassion as virtues. It is reckoned that the history of life emerged with wild dinosaurs and wild beasts ruling the earth but the evolution of civilization tamed it as well, thus, made these wild parts of nature extinct as well (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). The challenge is for human beings to adapt and be resilient to these changes without disregarding the fact that human beings sustainability remained dependent on nature and to it, all of us belongs (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). Even the perception of life evolves and the changes also transform the way we respond to life as we are all ruled by the karma of life (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). If we do well, we earn goodness and those who prefer to tale the course of the evil, will gain evil. 3. Law of Cause and Effect- this principle upholds the universal truth that the universe changes based on cause and effect. For Buddhist, this is karma. Every events and circumstances that have happened to us is because of karma and everyone deserves to get what everyone deserves (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). Many things happened because intentionally or unintentionally, we all deserved it and everyone deserved it. Every person know that if he profess to do bad, bad events could also happened to them and if they choose to do good, they will likewise earn goodness(Instilling Goodness School, 2013). Whatever a person says, does, and thinks reflect too of oneself. As Buddha one’s expressed, to wit: “The kind of seed sown will produce that kind of fruit (Instilling Goodness School, 2013).  Those who do good will reap good results. Those who do evil will reap evil results.  If you carefully plant a good seed, you will joyfully gather good fruit."  Buddhist believes that there are four truths that every human being must dwell. First, suffering is a reality that is universally experiential. Second, the peoples’ choices and preferences dictates the kind or level of suffering everyone must dwell. Third, suffering could only be terminated if a person chooses to terminate the causes of suffering and fourth, every person has the capacity to be enlightened. Suffering is rooted from imperfections, greed, shamelessness and ignorance (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). If a person wishes to attain Nirvana, a world of peace and joy, a person must sustain the right view, thought, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). This is considered as the eightfold path – the Dharma. They posit that a Buddhist could reach this state of Nirvana if the person is passionately following the guidance of Buddha, the path of Dharma and by following the teachings of the Sangha, the teachers (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). If there was a bias I had with Buddhism, it was basically on their extraordinary concern on eating raw foods and of their exaggerated renunciation from eating meat. Vegetarianism is okay but this is only possible for those who can easily adapt to this lifestyle. I still like eating cooked meat although this can be outrightly done in moderation to lessen potentials of acquiring illnesses from eating too much protein and fatty foods (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). My other prejudice is the concern about asceticism, a life of renunciation, seclusion and meditation (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). There remained significant part of life that needs us to maintain our zeal and rigorous passion to confront the issues of life without necessarily resorting to criminalities, sexual misconduct, intoxication, and in defying truth (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). I, however appreciate the capacity of the Buddhist to enjoy peace and peace of mind afar from the maddening or buzzing life of post-modern world; somewhat undisturbed or unattached to the web of life where confusion, hatred, envy, lust, and conflicts on resource use are menacingly evident. They have enjoyed much that relation with nature and many of them live a life of less acquisition of morbidity and mortality. They have discovered that preferences to take nutritious food enriched with nutrients which prolonged their lives and require them less to depend on synthetic medicines. I believed that religious prejudice is true to all and that this can be remedied by interreligious dialogues and interfaith practices. Being philosophical too in my approach in life, I didn’t have much conflict with how they practice their faith and beliefs. Many of the Buddhists too enjoyed helping others and have relinquished the virtue of selfishness. They all value too much spiritual freedom by living simple life in silence. They have these extraordinary insights on ordinary things and have grown in passionate discourse on the immensity relating to the paradox of life. From them, I relaize that there are two forms of Buddhism: Thevada and Mahayana. The former refers to the elders’ teachings that focused on love of nature and of meditation to free self from the suffering. The Mahayana refers to experiential drive to go around the world and to do good to others to gain such empirical enlightenment of life. The life of Buddhist in a temple has that deafening silence (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). There they live in mediation in silence, recitals of their prayers, and undergoing their own works to comfort themselves of their chosen lives in the forest. They conquer their own fear and have even professed “to have walked in the forest being followed by the tigers, who likewise understood, that their chosen lifestyle was a life of no harm, and thus, instinctively comfort the tigers too that they will likewise be not harmed (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). They all live in full respect to each other; truthfulness as relational inspiration; and the Abhidharma Pitaka, the fundamental philosophy of Buddha (Instilling Goodness School, 2013). References Instilling Goodness School (2013). Following the Buddha’s footsteps, California: Online.stfu.edu. p. 1. Retrieved: http://online.sfsu.edu/rone/Buddhism/footsteps.htm Boundlesslight.webs.com (2013). About our Sangha, Buddhist: Boundless Light Sangha, p. 1. . Retrieved: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/boundless-light-sangha Read More