Dharma

Cultivation was one of the activities that I really much loved. Dharma services are held on Sundays, and meditation sessions are conducted. Chanting of Amitabha Sutra, Universal Gate Sutra, Eight-eight Buddha’s’ Great Repentance, and more sessions were included. The 2nd activity that I most like was Education. Classes…

around duty, or Dharma: we have to perform our duties correctly to reach “moksha,” or the release from the cycle of rebirth. The difference, however, between Kantian duties and Dharma is that, while Kant says we all have duties toward mankind, Hinduism has established different sets of duties for each of the caste in the caste system; while the goal of Dharma is to emancipate yourself from reincarnation, Kantian duties are geared only toward living a morally satisfying life; while Dharma is a…

Emperor Asoka’s challenged the adherents in his domain and beyond to follow Buddhist teachings more closely through the example of his own life, his edicts and the message of Dharma. The effects of his contributions involving the spread of Buddhism continue to impact the Sanga or worldwide community of faith. Asoka (304–232 BCE) was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty. Eight years after his coronation, he invaded Orissa, overcame the opposition and became responsible for killing thousands…

on their last thought. A last thought is what one thinks of just moments before their death. Whether the thought be good or evil, it will have an effect on their next life. Buddha’s teachings encourage people to think of the Triple Gem, or Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, during their last moments to calm them. Another thing that Buddha teaches is that crying at death should be avoided. Crying at the time of death can cause suffering in one’s next…

theory of knowledge. The mind has control over everything, and it is ultimately conformed by all dharmas (phenomena or element of existence). The objective world only exists as an object of cognition; hence, knowledge is nothing but a reflection of the mind. According to the author, “dharma is an object of observation” revealed in the mind, and the world is reflected in the mind; therefore, the mind is dharma (Cho, 2017, p. 3). So, if the mind has control over everything, and knowledge is an…

As a critique of the Abhidharma theory of dharmas, Nagarjuna argues that all things are empty of svabhava—that is, an essential nature. Emptiness, he considers as the founder of Mahayana’s first school the Madhyamaka, is an essential quality of all things. This is to say that all dharmas are empty, and there is no ontological rock bottom to our existence. While it may seem nihilistic, the purpose of his argument is to guide individuals to liberation from conceptual constructions. As…

the ideas of a particular faith. Both Buddhists and Hindus share the practice of building home shrines in order to perform religious rituals. Symbols are important aspects of all faiths. The Star of David represents Judaism just as the Wheel of Dharma represents Buddhism. One of Hinduism's creation myths describes how Brahma populated the world, similar to the way in which Genesis tells the creation story of Christianity. Rituals, or "formal ceremonies...that are always performed in the…

The Birth of Siddhartha Siddhartha Gautama was born into a family in the Kshatriya caste in the kingdom called Shakya, found on the hills of the Himalayas (present-day Nepal). Siddhartha’s father was king Suddhodana and his mother was Queen Maya. Siddhartha’s birth was a miracle; his mother conceived when he descended from Heaven and entered his mother’s womb in the form of a baby white elephant (a symbol of purity). She carried him for ten months and could see the baby within her womb. She…

Now that my father, the royal King Dasaratha is getting older. He knows that he doesn’t have much time left on this Earth. He thinks he has lived long enough. He plans to give his throne to my oldest brother Rama, because he is the most suitable out of us four brothers. My father has told everyone about his decision. He has even started preparing for Rama’s ascension to the throne. All my father’s wives are pleased, including my mother, Kaikeyi. However, everything is changing after that evil…

(1A) Age Location < Hinduism had its start in India, and even today over 80% of people living in India say that they follow Hinduism. Although a significant amount of people who believe in Hindu reside in India, there are still at least 30 million of the estimated 1 billion people who believe in Hinduism living in other countries. > Founder Holy People/Days God(s) Holy Book(s)/Writings …