Theravada

It is worth noticing that it is under a Bodhi tree that Shakyamuni Buddha achieved enlightenment. Since then, nature have been considered a “refuge”, especially in Theravada themes (Kaza, 2016: 7). Buddhism seems to have an innate inclination for nature. In terms of meditation, “the Buddha urged his followers to choose natural places for meditation, free from the influence of everyday human activity” (Kaza, 2016: 8)…

Buddhism Siddhartha Gautama was a prince of a small kingdom in northeastern India. Siddhartha lived a life of luxury and pleasure, guarded from ugliness and sadness and was always surrounded by beautiful people and objects. He had everything, but he wanted to see what he was being guarded from. When he was 29 years old, Siddhartha escaped his palace to see the world outside. He left his wife and baby son behind and began the Great Renunciation. He cut his hair off and changed his nice, royalty…

Introduction Buddhism is a religion which is considered to have been founded by the doctrine of discipline which is still followed by the people who practice this religion. The Dharma provides is the basis upon which Buddha seeks to provide a supportive social structure to enable its practice within the society. There are certain doctrines which are important in the religion and which govern the practice of the religion. Through their inclusion within the religion individuals are able to pursue…

The term ‘deep ecology’ originated with the contributions of Arne Naes, a Norwegian philosopher. There are some fundamental premises that followers of deep ecology adhere by inspite arguing among themselves about the philosophical and political implications of the same. Ramachandra Guha in his article basically focuses on those four features of what is termed as ‘deep ecology’. According to him, the four tenets are as follows – • There is a need to shift from anthropocentric to biocentric…

The Neurobiological Effects of Long-term Mindfulness Meditation In the recent decades, there has been a significant increase in the utilization of meditation and mindfulness as alternate treatments and management of stress and anxiety. Mindfulness has increasingly been incorporated in psychotherapy and great amount of research is being dedicated to finding its effects and treatment outcomes. Kabat-Zinn (2003, p.145) defines mindfulness as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on…

A woman’s ability to attain liberation or as Sona exclaimed, live in Nibbana (Davids, 2012, p. 165), directly challenges the argument that it is impossible for a female to become a Buddha. While none of the nuns in the Thi become Buddhas, the attainment of Arahantship shows that gender presented no barriers to achieve liberation. The misogynistic idea that women are unable to attain Buddhahood because of their nature of defilement and weak intelligence (Willis, 1985, p. 69) contradicts the…

“Little Buddha” is an unusual movie about a Tibetan Buddhist monk who travels the world in search of his teacher’s reincarnation. As one might expect, the movie is full of Buddhist symbolism. The movie artfully portrays Siddhartha Gautama’s transformation into the Buddha and draws comparisons between Buddhist concepts and everyday items or concepts to make it easy for viewers to understand these Buddhist concepts. The movie made me think about a lot of concepts that I had previously never given…

later migrated to Central Asia (Borchert 592). Siddhattha Gotama became the Buddha almost 3,000 years ago and said some rules in the religion would be changed. As a result of this, different sections of Buddhism branched out: Mahayana, Hinayana, and Theravada (Borchert 608). The Buddha thus gained enlightenment by scrutinizing the hidden meanings of the mind, universe and life. Upon reaching enlightenment through a deep level of meditation, he was free from worldly possessions and excessive…

This is particularly important to Theravada Buddhism, mainly because it is dependent upon the teachings of the monastical community. When the teachings of the Buddha and monks can reach a much larger audience and be adopted by individuals with no previous experience of Buddhism, the actual…

Hinduism vs. Buddhism The religions of Hinduism and Buddhism are similar in that they both are believed to have originated in India, and were first spread through that area, and were also similar in the way that their common beliefs affected social hierarchy. They differed in their general beliefs and the location where each religion ended up becoming established. Hinduism and Buddhism are similar in that both of their origins are in India. It is believed that the religion of Hinduism…