A Worn Path

Siddhartha Guatama, or as he is better known, Buddha was born in Nepal in the sixth century B.C. and lived into the fourth century B.C. He was born into a large clan by the name of the Shakyas. His given name, Siddhartha means “he who achieves his aim”. His father is said to have been king of the tribe and his mother to have died only a few days after giving birth to him. It was foretold by a holy man that Siddhartha would go on to do great things in his life, whether it be military, political,…

Siddhartha’s life mimics the Buddha’s: departure from father’s home, years spent battling/struggling with worldly desires and utmost asceticism, and the realization of the Middle Path as the only road to Enlightenment. The major difference: the Buddha left a body of sermons and teachings, unlike Siddhartha. Being (Gotama) is represented in the existence of a man who has found unity. Becoming (Siddhartha) is represented in the presence of a man who has identified himself with perfection although…

What do you believe Buddhism should identify as the fundamental problem of sentient existence: ignorance or craving? In answering this question, one must delve deeply into the ideals of Buddhism and assess the ways in which the ideology acknowledges our existence as a whole. To clarify, I will define the terms ignorance and craving. Ignorance can be defined as “the state or fact of being ignorant : lack of knowledge, education, or awareness;” whereas craving can be defined as “an intense, urgent…

According to the Buddha, karma of varying types can lead to rebirth as a human, an animal, a hungry ghost, a denizen of hell, or even one of the Hindu gods (Philosophy of Religion). According to Philip A. Pecorino; “The ultimate goal of the Buddhist path is release from the round of phenomenal existence with its inherent suffering. To achieve this goal is to attain nirvana, an enlightened state in which the fires of greed, hatred, and ignorance have been quenched. After attaining nirvana, the…

Buddhism is a widespread Asian religion or philosophy, founded by Siddartha Gautama in North East India in the 5th century BC. The main Buddhist teachings I will be discussing in this assessment are Four Noble truths and Eightfold path. The definition of suffering in Buddhism is the belief that all things are suffering, due to the desire to seek permanence or recognize the self when neither exist. Suffering comes in many forms. Three obvious kinds of suffering correspond to the first three…

There are many different meanings for religion over-all. Religion is a set of rules and beliefs that an individual or a group follows. Everyone comes together to worship their god(s) in hopes that they would be enlightened on a moral path leading to an ultimate journey's end. Buddhism, which originated in India, is…

In the broad sense, dependent arising is something I would consider a simple idea. In my interpretation, dependent arising refers to the concept that everything arises due to something else. It is basically a cause-effect theory in Buddhism. However, when you begin to dissect what Buddha really means when he brings up the core idea of dependent arising, it can seem perplexing. For the most part it seems that Buddhists use the principle to illustrate life, specifically birth and death, and how…

Bioethics within the Buddhism parameter are largely stipulated by its ethical codes, which are derived from the concept of karma, eightfold path, four noble truths and the five precepts. These heavily influence the life of adherents and present Buddhism as a dynamic living religion that is incorporated into daily lives. Buddhist ethics are ultimately founded in the natural law of the universe as they centred on the goal of liberating adherents from the constraints of karmic causality to become…

Tipitaka, or as Buddhists refer to it, The Three Baskets, are a number of scriptures from which Theravada Buddhism develops. These ThreeBaskets refer to the three receptacles that contained the scrolls form which the Buddha’s sermons and teachings were originally written andconserved. The Three Baskets consist of Sutra (Discourse Basket) ,Abhidarma (Higher Knowledge and Special Teachings Basket), andVinaya (Rules and Regulations). Within the Three Baskets, there is the Sutra whichcontains the…

“Life is very mysterious and there are many things we don’t know. And there are elements of magic realism in every culture, everywhere. It’s just accepting that we don’t know everything and everything is possible” by Isabel Allende. Relevantly, magic realism was practiced in Latin America, it goes beyond reality to express impossible ideas. During the mid-1900s, an Argentinian author, Jorge Luis Borges, wrote the short story “The Circular Ruins”, this story illustrates the dreams of light and…