Buddism

Running Head : Buddhism

Buddhism

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Buddhism

The Buddha

The Buddha sought to show us how to overcome suffering by attaining Nibb ?na . Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world today . Its history that now span some two and a half centuries began from the birth of its founder , Prince Siddhartha Gautama . Most scholars agree that Siddharta who became known as Buddha was an actual historical persona He began the religion and philosophy of Buddhism

when he reached Enlightenment in 535 BCE while meditating under a Bodhi tree following his abandonment of the life of luxury (The Buddha

Beliefs and Ethics

Central to Buddhism is the understanding of the nature of humans and the causes of human suffering or dukkha . The Buddhists hold the viewpoint that human suffering lays in ignorance , concluding that it is a condition brought about by conflict and stress inherent in human existence and the interaction with the world (Buddhist Ethics 2005

There are various schools of Buddhism such that it has no one bible or sacred texts but instead , a vast collection of authoritative texts from different traditions . Theravada Buddhism has the Tipitaka or Pali canon Mahayana Buddhism has the Chinese Buddhist Tripitaka , and the Tibetan branch has the Kangyur and Tengyur , among others (Strong , 2008

In sum , the following constitute part of the basic beliefs in Buddhism

A . The Four Noble Truths

Life is suffering or dukkha

The origin of suffering is attachment or craving

Attachments can be overcome , and this cessation of suffering is called nirvana

The way to accomplish the cessation of suffering is the Eightfold Path (Boerre

B . The Eightfold Path - consists of eight elements that can be grouped into the three categories , as follows

Wisdom or prajna - right view and right aspiration or intention

Morals - rights speech right action and right livelihood

Meditation or samadhi - right effort right mindfulness , and right concentration (Strong , 2008

C . Karma - all of human actions bear consequences within a cycle of human craving and suffering , such that our lives are always conditioned by our past actions (Buddhist Teachings

D . Buddhist ethics or precepts termed as sila - made up of the four conditions of chastity , calmness , quiet and extinguishment . According to the Karmic Law , keeping sila is meritorious and serves as good cause to bring about happy or peaceful effects (Buddhism 2008

E . Rebirth - consciousness continues beyond death , finding expression in another life or reincarnation in the future (Buddhist Teachings

F . Enlightenment - through the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path one is liberated from karma towards Enlightenment , the state of being that transcends suffering (Buddhist Teachings

Customs and Festivals

Because there are many schools of Buddhism that have emerged throughout the centuries , the rituals and practices of Buddhists vary according to tradition in different parts of the globe

Significant Buddhist customs include the following

Veneration of the Buddha - refers to the honoring of , and meditation , on the qualities of the Buddha...