Download Cody Bottoms Mr. James Bailey ERH-211X

Cody Bottoms
Mr. James Bailey
ERH-211X-03
2 May 2015
Help received: Spell Check
Theory of religion of Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion that was founded by Buddha on the Indian subcontinent around
500BC. The religion is comprised of aspects of Hinduism and bits of other teachings as well.
The most important concepts were learned and passed by the Buddha. The Buddha founded his
beliefs on what he called the four Noble Truths which were categorized as such: All life is
marked by suffering as this suffering is what teaches and makes people wise, Desire is present
and should not be ignored (this is fundamentally different from normal Hinduism as the Hindus
believed that letting desire in was sinful and evil; however, Buddha, being as wise as ever,
decided that it was important to fill these desires so that they would not consume you after being
pent up and you would be able to focus. He believed that the desires present in everyone should
still be secured otherwise they had the potential to be harmful still), there is a solution to the
suffering of the world and a way out, and the last Noble Truth is that the Eight-Fold Path is the
way out of suffering from the world and into what is known as Nirvana. The Eight-Fold Path
that allows this release from earthly tethers is comprised of three categories that are wisdom,
ethics, and concentration. By attaining the correct course on the path, one can achieve nirvana.
The Wisdom category contains having the right view on the world around oneself, and
conducting oneself in the correct and portly manner with the right attitude that should be
expected of a good person. The Ethics portion of the Eight-Fold Path contains having the right
speech, right action, and right livelihood. The concept of right speech entails listening to others
and being truthful and non-harmful in your speech to others. The concept of right action entails
not exploiting people and having honesty, and compassion towards them. Next is the concept of
right livelihood, which consists of much the same values as right action but within one’s
occupation: one must not choose an occupation that exploits people or is ethically wrong. The
third category under the Eight-Fold Path is that of Concentration. The concepts under
concentration are having right effort, right mindfulness, and of course right concentration. The
concept of right effort entails directing ones diligence and effort into positive and beneficial
directions. Right mindfulness entails developing one’s awareness with regards to thought,
feelings, people, etc. Lastly, the concept of right concentration entails focusing on meditations,
breathing, physical being, and ideas to help filter one’s life. All of these ideas make the EightFold path. As far as a system of living goes, I think that this theory is an excellent one on how
one should live their life as it is beneficial for everyone and would most likely prevent a lot of
conflicts. Another beneficial aspect to this moral religious theory is that it constantly causes one
to question themselves and this leads to constant self-improvement. In addition to that, this
living style is one of purity and learning. This Eight-Fold Path is all based on a system of
Karma.
Karma is what is known as “the law of moral causation” and is the fundamental theory of
Buddhism (buddhanet.net). The idea of Karma is that it is a system of judgement and merit
based on the actions of an individual that determine where he/she will go in the universe with
their next reincarnation. Say for instance if someone was a dog and kept living their lives as they
were supposed to, they could make it to being a human which is the highest on the totem pole;
however, if they were to lead a bad life, they could ultimately not achieve their goals and be
pushed back down the line as a lesser being making their cycle in suffering longer. According to
doctrine, there are also delineations on status as a human. The stature one has in their life is
directly according to the way one conducted their life in the past life, and if they conduct this one
poorly they could move back down… or if they do well they could improve their stature and
move closer to achieving freedom from suffering or Nirvana. I cannot testify to the truth of
Karma because of its supernatural nature, but within the bounds of the supernatural, the system
makes a great deal of sense as it is a rank structure of sorts and a process to get to one’s final
objective. It is similar in concept to Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven in Christianity. The concept
that one must achieve their position in being by their actions and deeds is one of fairly clear
logic. If there is a system similar to this in place, I would definitely hope for this kind of system
and not one of predestination. The ultimate goal through all of these lives is to achieve Nirvana,
which is essentially freedom from suffering.
In conclusion, I believe that the theory of the Buddhist religion is one that has great merit
and many truths in the way that a person should live their lives. Once again, I cannot honestly
make assumptions about the supernatural, but I believe within the realm of the supernatural that
the Buddhist theory of Karma is a logical one based on moral judgement and how people
conduct themselves. More than anything, I feel that the Buddhist way of life in general is an
excellent way to conduct oneself as it is a clean and pure way to carry out one’s life. Not only, is
it healthy for one, but it is once again a system that constantly pushes one to improve themselves
through constant awareness and self-assessment. This system of living and religious thought
could greatly improve the quality of life for many people and possibly reduce a great many
conflicts around the world. For these reasons I believe that the Buddhist theory of religion from
the Eight-Fold Path to Karma and the Four Noble Truths hold a decent grain of truth to their
doctrine. For the supernatural side, the doctrine stands firm within the supernatural with a solid
amount of logic.
Works Cited
www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/8foldpath.htm
www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/karma.htm
Class Notes
Referenced
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism