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Alexis Atkinson Prof. Sirpa Nelson World Religions Final Paper Basics of Buddhism When I think of Buddhism, I think of peace, happiness, and living in the present moment. I was raised as a Christian, and I never really questioned the Christian faith when I was younger. I was involved in the church bible study group; I participated in mission trips, I was baptized at a young age, and I went to church every Sunday with my family. When you’re younger you believe almost everything that you’re told by your parents. God seemed too real and magical to me to even question his existence. Eventually when I got older and more curious, I started questioning my faith. When I was about fifteen, I stopped following the Christian faith so closely, and became more spiritual than religious. I became interested in the Buddhist faith and was curious about what it had to offer. A real interest struck me when two summers ago, a Buddhist monk approached me at a music festival. The monk offered me two books for a small donation. One book was about yoga, and the other one was called The Journey of Self Discovery. I was so anxious to start reading and learning more about the Buddhist life style. After reading the books, my eyes were opened to another world. Yoga, reincarnation, enlightenment and meditation were what really stood out and interested me the most. I started meditating on my own, and signed up for yoga classes. I always felt so refreshed after and ready to take on the day. I felt aligned, whole, and at peace. During the course of this World Religions class, I learned more about the Buddhist religion and it really intrigued me. It made me want to learn more, and I decided to do some more of my own research. It all started in 580 BC with the birth of Siddhartha Gautama. He was born a prince in Nepal to the Royal family. Siddhartha was sheltered from all negative things in life such as poverty, death, and all the other forms of suffering that was occurring everyday in normal societies around the world. Gautama, sick of the royal life, left home at 29 in search of enlightenment. His eyes were opened and he was exposed to things he has never witnessed before. He felt that he needed to help other people over come their suffering, but first he had to find the right way to do it. Siddhartha tried many different forms of mental and spiritual discipline, which resulted in him finally reaching enlightenment under a Bodhi tree in Northern India. His path to enlightenment led to modern day Buddhism teachings and practices. He dedicated his life to spreading the Buddhist dharma. Buddhism is one of the oldest religions that survived to modern day. It is mostly practiced through out Asia and followed by about 8% of the world’s population. The Buddhist teachings start with the four noble truths. The first noble truth is suffering or dukkha. Life as we know it is unsatisfactory. It consists of pain, death, sickness and old age. “Nothing is permanent or is able to provide real satisfaction;” as stated in Isms Understanding Religion (94). The second noble truth focuses on the cause of suffering. Suffering is caused by desire, as said from the Buddhist point of view. As man, we always are yearning for more. We are never truly satisfied because material things and the material life we are accustomed to always leave us wanting more. Charlie Chaplin gave The Great Dictator speech in 1940. This quote from his speech has always stuck with me; “Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want.” I think that his speech and that quote in particular does a really well job at pointing out the root of mans suffering. The third noble truth is that suffering can be overcome. Suffering can be overcome by self-discipline. This is perhaps the most important of the noble truths because the Buddha assures that happiness can be achieved. When we don’t give in to useless cravings and temptations, when we learn how to live each day at a time, we can achieve the most desired feelings in all living beings, happiness and freedom. When we patiently endure our problems without feelings of anger or hatred, we can feel peace. I think that is the hardest thing for humans. It is so easy to be vulnerable towards negative feelings such as jealousy, anger, resentment or regret. The hardest part of being a chemical being is learning how to control your chemicals to achieve the peace and joy we all long for. The fourth is that suffering can be eliminated, and enlightenment or nirvana can be achieved. This fourth noble truth consists of the eightfold path. The eightfold path consists of the right view, right intention, right speech, right discipline, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Once every path is achieved, Buddhist ethics and spiritual practices are developed, such as meditation and yoga. The Buddhist goal is finally achieved, which is Nirvana. There are three types of Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism claims to be the original form of Buddhism based on the teachings of Siddhartha, stated in Isms Understanding Religion (98). Theravada Buddhists believe that the historical Buddhist, Siddhartha Gautama, was an ordinary human being. They believe that he earned his special status of the Buddha from his own ability to achieve enlightenment. They do not believe that worship or prayer to super natural avatars will help them achieve their path to enlightenment. They believe that it comes from within yourself, and your own discipline. Faith is a huge part of the Theravada teachings. It is believed that without your own faith, the road to the eightfold path will be blocked, and you will never be able to achieve enlightenment. The book that is used to help guide Theravada Buddhists in their own spiritual journey is the Pali Canon. This book is edited by three monastic councils from 483 BCE to 225 BCE as mentioned in the book Isms Understanding Religion (98). The book is split into three collections. The Vinaya Pitaka contains rules for monastic discipline. The Sutta Pitaka incorporates the sermons of the Buddha and his monks. The last book from the collection is called the Abhidharma Pitaka; which encompasses the philosophical and intellectual codification of the teachings. The monastic councils who edited the collection felt that Siddhartha’s teachings were complete and no further revising or additions were needed to complete the collection. Theravada Buddhists also believe that only male monks are able to achieve the goal of nirvana. Mahayana Buddhism is the largest form of Buddhism out of the three. Mahayana is mostly based off of Japanese, Chinese, and Tibetan traditions. Mahayana means the greater vehicle in Sanskrit. According to Isms Understanding Religion (100), about 400 years after the Buddha’s death, innovators started to question the old traditions of the original Buddha. The innovators are also known as Mahasanghikas; who were the creators of Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana is different because they have different Buddhist views on certain things. They believe that suffering belongs to the realm of illusion, but it is only recognized by the enlightened. Eternal absolute or absolute reality is a chain of eternal beings. Some of these beings appear on Earth, and others are apart of the Buddha realms. Mahayana believes that enlightenment can be achieved with the help of these beings through prayer and worship, unlike the Theravada Buddhists. Mahayana Buddhists also hold the concept of bodhisattvas, which are Buddha’s who do not enter the final stage of nirvana until all beings are liberated. Dominant areas that practice Mahayana Buddhism include Tibet, China, and Japan. Zen Buddhism is my favorite out of the three. Zen is based off of Mahayana, but is different. Its origins are traced back to the Buddhism School called Chan, located in China. Zen is the form of Buddhism that is mostly focused on achieving enlightenment through meditation on your own. Even though it is based off of Mahayana, it is not so much focused on the super natural beings that Mahayana Buddhists rely on for their enlightenment. Zen Buddhism is mostly practiced throughout China, where it originated, and Japan. “Through extensive meditation, practitioners aim to achieve satori, an insights into the essential nature of all existence, the Buddha heart or essence.” (Isms 105). There are different schools of Zen, which are based off of how quickly satori was achieved. The school of Rinzai is for people who achieved satori fairly quickly. “The Rinzai school also makes use of koans, paradoxical anecdotes or riddles without solutions, to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and provoke enlightenment.” (isms 105). If satori was achieved gradually over time, Soto was the school for that individual. Zen’s popularity throughout Western Asia has grown, and continues to grow. There are four types of yoga practiced in Buddhism; Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, and Raja yoga. “As the result of devotion to God, one achieves Samadhi.” This is an aphorism out of the book How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali (163). This aphorism is used to describe the practice of Bhakti yoga. Yoga means union, and Bhakti is the path of loving devotion to God. This particular practice is between the worshiper and the worshiped. A personal relationship between the worshiper and their God is developed through these physical rituals. My personal favorite and most relatable is Karma yoga. “Karma yoga is the path of selfless, God-dedicated action.” (HTKG 164.) The purpose of this type of yoga is to achieve wisdom and non-attachment. This is a perfect practice for those who feel a strong urge to pay it forward and to help other people. Buddhists believe in the concept of karma, what goes around comes around. I have seen many instances of karma happen throughout my life, and I too am a strong believer in this concept. If I were to practice any form of Buddhist yoga, it would be karma yoga. Jnana yoga is my next personal favorite out of the bunch. “Jnana yoga is the path of intellectual discrimination, the way of finding Brahman through analysis of the real nature of phenomena.” (HTKG 164.) The Jnana yogi reaches Brahman through the process of elimination. From my research, I have found that reaching Brahman through Jnana yoga is very difficult and not for the average person. Jnana yoga is more about using your thoughts, opinions, your morals, and your ego to decide what is real for you and what is not. The last yoga practiced in Buddhism is Raja yoga. Raja yoga is the meditation yoga. “It’s not so easy to define as the other yoga’s, since, in a sense, it combines all of them.” (HTKG 164.) Raja yoga teaches the technique of prayer and focuses on the body of how it channels spiritual energy. This is a practice that should be considered by spiritually minded people since it incorporates all of the practices into one. The world Raja means King. This type of yoga is organized into eight separate parts to achieve Brahman. Yama or self control, Niyama or discipline, Asana or physical exercises, Pranayama or breathing exercises, Pratyahara or withdrawal of the senses from all external object, Dharana or concentration, Dhyana or meditation, and last but not least, Samadhi which means complete realization. Yoga is more than just a physical practice or ritual. Yoga is a huge part of Buddhism; without it, enlightenment could not be achieved. Buddhism is a beautiful religion with practices that help you better yourself and your soul. Between the yoga, meditation, and other spiritual practices or rituals, Buddhist followers are very peaceful people overall. We could all learn a little something about personal well being by taking a look at the Buddhist lifestyle and beliefs. I think this is probably my favorite religion that I have studied, and I would love to continue researching and learning more about the Buddhist lifestyle. Buddhism really cannot be defined because there are so many aspects of it that make it the religion that it is today. I only covered a few of my favorite Buddhist topics, but I learned so much from my research that was conducted throughout the duration of the World religions course. Works Cited Gabriel, Theodore P. C. and Ron Geaves. --Isms: Understanding Religion. New York, NY: Universe, 2007. Print. "History of Buddhism." Buddhism History, Buddhism Religion History, Religion. Buddhist Temples. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. Patañjali, Prabhavananda, and Christopher Isherwood. How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali. Hollywood, CA: Vedanta, 1953. Print. "Basics of Buddhism." PBS. PBS. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.