Theravada

In Herman Hesse’s “Siddhartha” we see a man on his journey to enlightenment through his experiences, wisdom, and knowledge gained from the teachings of others around him. In the novel, the author goes into great detail and explores Siddhartha’s evolution towards enlightenment throughout the book. Siddhartha is introduced as a man trying to find his purpose in the beginning and by the end he has finally found himself and is at peace. The path to Siddhartha’s eventual enlightenment was paved with…

The word Buddha means The Awakened One, coming from the Sanskrit root budh – 'to wake'. He is a man who has woken fully, as if from a deep sleep, to discover that suffering, like a dream, is over. The historical Buddha was however a man like any other, but an exceptional one; what he discovered was a way that anyone can walk, providing that they are so inclined. He was not the first Buddha. Others had walked the way before him. He wasn’t a god, a prophet or any kind of supernatural being. He was…

The Four Noble Truths and The Bodhi Tree According to historical text, the Buddha reached enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. This experience opened his eyes to the truths of existence, which came to be known as the Four Noble Truths. By comparing sections of the tale of the Bodhi tree to each of the Noble Truths, the ideas of life, death, and rebirth will be shown as interconnected around the individual. The connection explored is crucial to understanding the meaning of life and the path to…

The four noble truths is the key aspect of engaged Buddhism because it is the fundamental teaching of Buddha’s Spiritual teachings. Through this teaching we can know the way to liberation by the way of radical transformation of the manner of human being and the way in which humans “are.” the four noble truths is the practical teaching like the teachings of dependent origination for the achieving of spiritualism of humankind. The first noble truth is life is full of suffering that means we are…

In reviewing this week’s assignment, Nirvana is described as “Blowing out, extinction of desire, attachment, and suffering (Voorst, 2013). This belief is a part of the religion of Buddhism, which is the religion of enlightment (Voorst, 2013). Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Garrtama, which was the son of Hindus, but while Siddhartha experienced the Four Passing sights, he was somewhat disturbed by what he saw in the first three sights but was rather interested in what he saw in the four sight…

Buddhism originated in India ago between the 6th and 4th BC. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of the Buddha, also known as the Siddhartha Gautama. Buddha was a teacher, he taught and shared his insight to help people realize that suffering is part of life. Buddha was born 563 B.C and died 483 B.C ages 80 years old. In the time that he was alive he lived a simple and severe lifestyle. Confucianism isn’t considered a religion, instead it is defined as a system of social…

The Buddhist Lifestyle What is the lifestyle of someone who follows the Buddhist religion? Many Buddhist people have certain teachings and beliefs that tie into their daily lives and meditation style. The teachings that they have in their daily lives is what makes them have such a calm and accepting view on the world. One of the most common and important teachings of Buddhist people are the 3 Signs of Being. The first sign is change, what you are now is who you are and there is no going back to…

The Joyful Land Kadampa Buddhist center is a constructed place as it is within a building, possibly a former house. At first glance, the space did not seem at all religious. When I entered the center, I was greeted by a lady wrapped in red and yellow sheets, gave me a tour of the center. It was not until I entered the meditation room in which I got a grasp of a sacred space. The room had many chairs in which faced the front of the room. The front had a large chair facing the other’s, a stand of…

The Bodhicaryāvatāra is one of the most useful guides available on Buddhist ethics being that Śāntideva explains the teachings that a member of the Buddhist faith must know to become a bodhisattva. Among all the teachings included in the Bodhicaryāvatāra, Santideva’s teachings on the self are very noteworthy. When Santideva states, “I” he means the soul, he pairs the concept of the soul and mindfulness to deduce “consciousness” Being that the soul paired with mindfulness is what is “conscious”,…

When asked what a person desires most from their life, the answer may be success, love, or even money. For a Buddhist the one thing they strive for in life is to achieve a life without suffering, known to them as the Enlightenment. Buddhism is based on the present and through direct observation. Unlike many other religions there is no super natural being they believe in, instead they follow the teachings of Buddha who learned everything through real life experiences. Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)…