Buddhism: Origin, Beliefs, and Diffusion
Buddhism originated in India around the the early 5th-century B.C.E. and has grown to the most popular religion in the East. There are approximately 360 million Buddhist followers across the globe, over a million of which reside in the United States. Despite the prominence of this religion both in the East and in America, many people still have a limited knowledge about the Buddhism religion. How did this grand religion come to be? What are the Buddhist concepts and practices? How did Buddhism become so widespread? Because of his empirical status, many myths have been created that obscure the true vision of the life of Buddha. However, historians have come to believe that Buddha lived from the …show more content…
The religion itself focuses on the Dharma, or teachings of Buddha, and reaching nirvana. The followers of Buddhism want to attain the Threefold Partition of higher virtue, higher mind, and higher wisdom by completing the Eightfold Path of right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right view, and right intention. They also follow the Four Noble Truths, which include dukkha, the truth of suffering; samudaya, the truth of the cause of suffering; nirhodha, the truth of the end of suffering; and magga, the truth of the path that frees us from suffering. Buddhism promoted that life is full of suffering, and the cause of this suffering came with the illusory and impermanent things of the world. People lust after fame and wealth, and these things, Buddha claims, are the root of all human suffering. Instead of focusing on worldly concerns, Buddha promotes the evasion of suffering by reaching nirvana, or an eternal state of tranquility. When an individual reaches nirvana, they are free from desire and earthly attachments. One can obtain nirvana through exercises such as yoga and meditation. Buddha claims that these activities give people a sense of understanding in the world. Buddhism also relies on the idea of karma. By living a morally good life and reaching nirvana, people were promised to be reborn into any of the 31 planes of existence over and over again, depending on their karma of the previous
Buddhism originated in India around the the early 5th-century B.C.E. and has grown to the most popular religion in the East. There are approximately 360 million Buddhist followers across the globe, over a million of which reside in the United States. Despite the prominence of this religion both in the East and in America, many people still have a limited knowledge about the Buddhism religion. How did this grand religion come to be? What are the Buddhist concepts and practices? How did Buddhism become so widespread? Because of his empirical status, many myths have been created that obscure the true vision of the life of Buddha. However, historians have come to believe that Buddha lived from the …show more content…
The religion itself focuses on the Dharma, or teachings of Buddha, and reaching nirvana. The followers of Buddhism want to attain the Threefold Partition of higher virtue, higher mind, and higher wisdom by completing the Eightfold Path of right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right view, and right intention. They also follow the Four Noble Truths, which include dukkha, the truth of suffering; samudaya, the truth of the cause of suffering; nirhodha, the truth of the end of suffering; and magga, the truth of the path that frees us from suffering. Buddhism promoted that life is full of suffering, and the cause of this suffering came with the illusory and impermanent things of the world. People lust after fame and wealth, and these things, Buddha claims, are the root of all human suffering. Instead of focusing on worldly concerns, Buddha promotes the evasion of suffering by reaching nirvana, or an eternal state of tranquility. When an individual reaches nirvana, they are free from desire and earthly attachments. One can obtain nirvana through exercises such as yoga and meditation. Buddha claims that these activities give people a sense of understanding in the world. Buddhism also relies on the idea of karma. By living a morally good life and reaching nirvana, people were promised to be reborn into any of the 31 planes of existence over and over again, depending on their karma of the previous