BUDDHISM
David Destefano – david.destefano@mymail.barry.edu
THE 352 ML THEOLOGY REACTION REPORT
BUDDHISM
Buddhist Service at Wat Punyawanaram Temple
My choice for the reaction portion to my visit to a Thai Buddhist service. I chose a local Thai Buddhist temple to attend for a service - Wat Punyawanaram in Melbourne. The temple was putting on a service called Loi Krathong. According to ThaiWorldView.com, “Loy Kratong is as old as Thai heritage and represents a close bond between Thai culture and water. The festival takes place on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month when the water level is high and the climate is cooler. Participants ask water spirits to sail away their troubles in their krathongs, which …show more content…
He became bored with the royal life and decided to leave his wife and new-born son to wander the land to try to get understanding of his own life. He realized that wealth and luxury did not guarantee happiness. After six years of studying different religious teachings, different philosophies, and meditation he found the “middle-way” to enlightenment. According to buddhapadipa.org, “He realized that self-indulgence was utter materialism and self-mortification was utter spiritualism, so then he balanced these two extremes into the middle way, giving importance to both mind and matter, because when they work together, interdependently it is very powerful.” (http://www.buddhapadipa.org) Everything he had learned in his search came together while meditating under a tree, where he finally understood how to be free from suffering, and to achieve salvation. After that, he was Buddha, meaning “the enlightened one”, and spent the rest of his life teaching throughout India.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
The Four Noble Truths form the core of Buddha’s teaching. They are The Truth of Suffering (dukkha), the Truth of the Cause of Suffering (samudaya), the Truth of the End of Suffering (nirhodha), the Truth of the Path that Frees Us from Suffering (magga).
1. Truth of Suffering – In one form or another, suffering exists for everyone. There is everyone’s’ truth. When we don’t like the truth of the suffering, we try to change it into something different. This fantasy then exists in our lives and will continue for the rest of our lives. It basically says, the longer that you do not accept the truth of suffering, the longer you will delude yourself and prolong the