Buddhism in America - Assignment Example

Buddhism in America Buddhism is a religion originally from India region of the Asian continent that revolvesaround certain traditions, practices and religious practices according to Buddha’s teachings. Ideally, Buddha existed between the fourth and the sixth century where the followers of this religion believe that Buddha’s teachings help alleviate human suffering. Objectively, this religion focuses on the attainment of happiness through avoiding ignorance, understanding creation, and eliminating cravings that create wants in the human body. Further, this religion has two core branches that are Theravada and Mahayana (Coogan 173). Essentially, the former refers to the school of elders within the religion while the latter refers to the great vehicle. The following of the two classes of Buddhism spreads across Asia with different areas practicing one branch of religion. Like most religions, Buddhism consists of three practices that form the basis for its religious practices. The first jewel is Dharma that is fundamentally the teachings within the religion where the second jewel is the Sangha, which is the community. The last jewel is Buddha that is the most basic. Over the years, Buddhism has become widespread across America with many opting to embrace it rather than other religions. In this regard, this essay will reflect on the religious practices practiced by the Buddhists in the execution of their religion. In the American continent, Buddhist shares popularity with other principal religions like Christianity and Judaism whose followers are almost equivalent to those of Islam and Hinduism. Moreover, Buddhist in the US started as a result of influence from Americans of Asian descent that brought about the popularity of this religion. These immigrants facilitated the adoption of Buddhism that trickled down to their lineages hence making the religion an integral part of their lives. Ideally, there are three categories of Buddhists in America that include immigrant, import, and export Buddhists. In essence, the ethnic or immigrants adopted the religion as a result of interacting with Buddhists who were moving to US to settle down. Secondly, the import Buddhists came about through the invitation of Americans who had developed a liking for the religion by supporting its teachers who facilitated conversion. Lastly, the export Buddhists are those recruited from the US by Buddhist believing groups from other countries where they forsake their old lives and adopt the Buddhist way of living in the foreign country. Divination as a religious practice According to religious scholars, divination refers to the intention to access insights into a situation through occult means or set rituals. The exercising of this practice is common practice among many worldly religions, which is no different from the Buddhist religion. In essence, diviners claim to have a spiritual connection with unseen supernatural beings that make revelations to them then pass the message given to the rest of the pilgrims. Further, the acquisition of the divine message is through written signs, religious omens, or through the occurrence of unprecedented events. Additionally, divination may also be a way of fortune telling in some religions through ritualistic practices. In Tibet, the Buddhist capital, divination channels evoke the performance of spiritual visualization so as to attract blessings or higher energies. The devotees offer themselves as oracles who allow higher deity to posses their bodies as part of the divination process. According to Buddhists, the invocation of higher deities is essential in communicating wisdom- related information in order to secure satisfied living. For instance, the oracles perceive to acquire the message through the patterns in various events that may occur within their vicinity. Therefore, they perceive this to be communication from above hence making various interpretations of the signs. However, the achievement of this is through intense meditation as a way of tapping into the spiritual realm. In addition, the divination process is one that involves close monitoring and training from accredited masters and the recitation of the Buddhist Mantra (Coleman 40). This practice is widespread in all regions across irrespective of the geographical location. Further, the trainees retreat to isolated places in order for them to achieve the intended divination abilities. However, inheriting of these abilities is a possibility within this religion in that certain lineages of the family may hold divination abilities. The motive behind successful divination within Buddhism is purity and selflessness as part of helping reduce human suffering. On the other hand, most Buddhists recite their divination through the use of distinctive rosaries accepted among the Buddhist fraternity. Dice divination is the other form of divination that is complex as it involves the analysis of numbers so as to capture the divine message. Other forms of divination include the mirror divination, dream interpretation, the use of butter lamps for divinations, among many others. Religious pluralism Religious pluralism refers to the exception in religious attitude to accommodate the diversities in belief systems existing in a society (Griffin 179). It means that the society accepts the truths embedded within a religion without questioning the credibility provided by the religion without passing judgment. It also refers to tolerance portrayed by society regarding all forms of religious concepts making all religions valid in a societal setting. Therefore, tolerance and acceptance of diversity in religion enhances cohesive living through complementing the religious uniqueness of the members of society. Buddhists practice high standards of religious pluralism by being the most tolerant religious organization. In the American population, Buddhism has sunk in well among its citizens due to its regard of enhancing harmonious living by accepting religious diversity. Ideally, the United States is a country that experiences intense migrations by people from different cultural and religious affiliations. Therefore, Buddhists practice peace and do not engage in any religious violence making it the leader in religious tolerance. According to their beliefs, exercising tolerance helps them visualize a world with lesser conflicts among nations and individuals. Therefore, they practice peace as they do not believe in violence as a way of settling conflicts. In addition, Buddhism states that it is every human beings right to reside anywhere in the globe without discrimination because of their religion or their beliefs. Moreover, this religion emphasizes on the need for individuals to listen to teachings from other religions and respecting them without necessarily having to practice them. Further, it encourages people to uphold their beliefs without having to lose themselves to other religions by changing. However, Buddhists in the US have conformed to fashion by having to discard the ideologies behind the Buddhist way of dressing rather than maintain the Buddhist dress code. Their beliefs drown due to continued civilization that promotes the blend of many religions rather than being faithful the religions that are in existence. Therefore, the truth is ones religion hence creating no room for criticizing other people’s religions. Buddhist worship and religious practices Worship forms an integral part of any religion as it encourages devotion to one’s religious affiliation and belief. In the Buddhist culture, shrines and temples provide worshipping grounds either individually or communally. Some of these shrines may be in public places, but those who are able create shrines of worship in their homes. In contrast, Buddhists prefer meditation to praying as according to Buddha there did not exist anyone to whom people may offer their desired cries and prayers. However, seeking refuge in the three jewels of this religion also serves as an integral part of worship for the pilgrims. As common practice, followers of this religion take off their shoes before entering a shrine or temple intended for worship as a sign of purity. Additionally, pilgrims sit on mats as a sign of humility facing the image of Buddha and silence forms the central part of their worship. The silence helps in the meditation of Buddha’s teachings. Pilgrims place the palms of their hands on their foreheads then raise them towards the image of Buddha as a sign of respect. Essentially, pilgrims offer flowers and lit candles to the image of Buddha as part of their worship practice. During meditation, the pilgrims make chants regularly confessing that their refuge lies in Buddha in times of distress, which makes it a sacred aspect of worship. Professing of these chants also applies to Dharma and Sangha where a Buddhist has to bow three times for the three (Wilson 43). Essentially, mediation as a Buddhist religious practice helps an individual to give meaning to living and also provides insights into life’s truths and realities. On the other hand, the three chants of refuge also serve as a rite of entry into the Buddhist religion along other five absolute precepts of initiation. On the contrary, Buddhists acknowledge the existence of a number of Buddha’s depending on the sect of Buddhism that they come from and their country of origin. Additionally, celibacy is another practice firmly embedded in the Buddhist culture to which many buy into. Objectively, the devotees of this religion opt to stay in monasteries and nunneries where sexual purity is the focal point. According to the Buddhist religious teachings, monks and nuns swear to upholding celibacy especially for those residing in Tibet (Seager 130). In contrast, monks and nuns in other parts of the globe like the US have a relaxed approach to this devotion as others tend to have sexual relations while others commit to celibacy for a certain period of their lives. In order for one to qualify as a monk or nun, adherence to the five precepts of Buddhism and the three basic jewels is of the essence. Essentially, the five precepts bar them from causing harm to other human beings, stealing, drinking alcohol, lying, and the misuse of human senses. Further, monks and nuns lead poor lives as they need not amerce wealth, but instead lead fulfilling lives without earthly riches. Further, they keep their heads bald by shaving at all times and their only possessions are the robes that they wear. In addition, the monks living in a monastery assemble after every two weeks where they recite the rules of Buddhism. Remarkably, they pause after reciting each rule to give room for any monk who has strayed from the rule to confess where punishment follows. Like any other religion, Buddhists also exercise pilgrimage to particular places where Buddha spent his life. For instance, pilgrims visit Bodh-Gaya where they believe that the Bo Tree enlightened Buddha. Essentially, all these practices help compliment Buddhism, which has led to its growing popularity. Buddhist healing practices Ideally, Buddha’s teachings focused on the alleviation of suffering for the human race that includes all forms of diseases and illnesses (Williams 86). Many believers of this religion keenly kept Buddha’s teachings on how to remove these sicknesses and have gone to the extent of refining them. According to this religion, spiritual and mental commotions are the chief causes of ailments among the human race. Therefore, Buddhists believe that the first step towards physical well being is relaxation. The achievement of this is through the use of burning incense and the uptake of herbal medicine. These two recipes serve as the opportunity to maintaining desired health and healing diseases. On the other hand, mental distress, which is a common complication among the western people especially from the US, uses the meditation practice to connect to the healing potential. Other healing practices include the mindful or the sitting practice and the use of Buddha visualization aspects. Moreover, Buddhists believe in the ability of the Tibetan power wheel to bring healing among believers (Seager 145). Ideally, the prayer wheel is an appliance used to spread blessings and good will to those who spin it. The wheel contains a number of copies of the mantra printed on ancient Tibetan script. Buddhists believe that either saying the prayer out loud or silently invokes blessings that tend to multiply when spud in multiple times. Further, Buddhist teachings also reiterate that spinning the prayer wheel attracts purification that translates to incredible health and other blessings. Additionally, Lamas have healing capabilities within this religion where they perform exceptional healing and spiritual practices for those in need of healing. This cleansing ritual also applies to Buddhist followers who have lost their loved ones in recent times to keep away of ill health. However, the conduction of this exercise is not free as a donation is mandatory for covering the materials used for the process. In addition, collection of funds for the lamas after the ritual helps support their work and translates to additional blessings to the giver. Another aspect of healing practices among Buddhists is the hanging of colored cotton clothes that tend to have prayers printed on them. Believers then join the flag-shaped cotton pieces together then hung them in an open space where wind blows the written prayers to the universe. The open spaces include mountaintops, roofs of homes and temples. In essence, the ultimate prayer of every Buddhist is to see all human kind live free of suffering hence living a fulfilled life. According to teachings, having of the flags brings peace, joy and good health for individuals, their families, neighbors, strangers and even their enemies. On the contrary, karma forms another cause of illnesses in human beings because people’s actions form a basis for their future including their health. According to Buddhist teachings, sowing of karmic seeds yields positive, neutral or negative fruits in the future. Sequentially, not having negative karma would mean that there would be no sickness meaning that the focus should be on sowing positively in order to heal present sickness. Therefore, Buddhism illustrates the need to be mindful of present actions careful not to harm self and others making it a religion that embraces complete personal responsibility. Additionally, Buddhism emphasizes the ability for individuals to control the outcome of their own destinies and also the well being of one’s body and soul. Subsequently, an individual’s healing process starts from the mind then spreads to the ailing body parts. Conclusion Buddhism is a religion that requires intense discipline if one intends to accomplish the teaching surrounding this religion. It is exercises religious pluralism by enhancing tolerance for other religions by its followers so as to promote harmonious living for the human race. In contrast, Buddhism is different from other religions because of the modes of receiving messages that tend to influence their lives that include happening events to be signs or answers. Moreover, Buddhists have a unique healing involves the involvement of mental health to facilitate healing rather than focus on physical health during the healing process. Additionally, the religion also enshrines worship at temples and shrines in order for pilgrims to stay in touch with their religion. Despite the belief in the existence of numerous Buddha, pilgrims have common beliefs and religious practices irrespective of the geographical positioning of individuals. Finally, Buddhism in America is relatively similar to Buddhism in the world except for celibacy and the way of dressing because of the embrace of civilization. Works Cited Coleman, James W. The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition. Oxford [u.a.: Oxford Univ. Press, 2002. Print. Coogan, Michael D. The Illustrated Guide to World Religions. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print. Griffin, David R. Deep Religious Pluralism. Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005. Print. Seager, Richard H. Buddhism in America. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012. Print. Williams, Duncan R. The Other Side of Zen: A Social History of Sōtō Zen Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan. Princeton (N.J.: Princeton university press, 2005. Print. Wilson, Jeff. Mourning the Unborn Dead: A Buddhist Ritual Comes to America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. Read More