Buddhism Case
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Introduction
From the dawning of human history, people have always developed relationships to unexplainable phenomenon. Since, these events could not be controlled or completely understood, people all over the world surmised that the world did not belong to them. Rather than being at odds with the unfathomable, people instead humbled themselves to it and worshipped its majesty in what would soon be known as religion.
In many cultures and times, religion has been the basic foundation of life, permeating all aspects of human existence (Fisher, 2011). Religion has served to give people a better understanding of themselves, one another and has given humans a semblance of meaning over their lives. Peoples faiths, no matter how varied they may be, have allowed them to transcend time and space and connect to the infinite. In part, the purpose of religion is not to creation division but rather it is to unite people metaphysically, which would allow people to look past physical and cultural differences and get in touch with the spiritual essence of all humankind. The purpose of this paper is to explore what Buddhism is, how it is practiced, and what misconceptions exist about the religion. In addition, this paper will also engage how these misconceptions can be overcome through education about the faith.
What is Buddhism?
Standing as one of the most prolific religions of the world, Buddhism was founded in India in the sixth century B.C. and then spread throughout Asia. The founder of Buddhism was Siddhārtha Gautama, who achieved enlightenment while mediating. His enlightenment revealed four noble truths. The first of these truths is that life is suffering, and this suffering is ongoing through an endless chain of rebirths. The second truth is that suffering is caused by desire. Yet, the third truth is that this state of constant desire can be ended, and the fourth truth expresses that a life dedicated to the Eightfold Path is the way to end desire. According to Buddhism, with the ceasing of desire, human beings achieve nirvana, which is a state of release from existence (Armstrong, 2001).
This religion has had a lot of influence over time, and as its popularity grew it began to expand to other nations. Consequently, many Buddhists have developed each with their own doctrines, gods and legends. The countries that practiced Buddhism early on were Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and most of Southeast Asia. By the A.D. 600, it had spread to central Asia, China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet (C. George Boeree, 1999). Largely, as Buddhism was disseminated all over Asia many forms of it began to take shape, which are known as sects, schools or denominations that are centered around three major branches of Buddhism: Theravada (“Way of the Elders”), Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”) and Vajrayana (“Diamond Vehicle”).
The Major Schools of Buddhism
Theravada (“Way of the Elders”) is dominant in southern Asia and follows the original beliefs and practices of the early Buddhist Monastic elders. The basis of this religion is to become an arhat, which is a saint who, over the course of reincarnation has experienced nirvana and as result will not be reborn again. However, becoming an arhat is restricted to monks or nuns who devote their lives to the practice.
There are four stages to becoming an arhat:
Sotapanna (“stream-enterer”) – a convert, attained by overcoming false beliefs
Sakadagamin (“once-returner”) – one who will only be reborn once more, attained by diminishing lust, hatred and illusion
Anagamin (“never-returner”) – one who will be reborn in heaven, where he or she will become an arahant
Arhat (“worthy one”) – one who has attained perfect enlightenment and will never be reborn
Mahayana Buddhism is prominent in Northern Asia, and these parishioners strive to become not arhats but boddhisatvas, which are enlightened saints who postpone nirvana in order to help others achieve it, as the Buddha did. This sect of Buddhism holds the subdivisions of Zen, Nichiren, and Pure Land. Each of these subdivisions all hold the idea that enlightenment can be achieved in a single lifetime if a person devotes their minds and bodys to escaping the trappings of desire.
Lastly, Vajrayana “developed out of the Mahayana school of teachings sometime between the third and seventh centuries BCE” (Sach, 2006). Predominant in countries like Tibet and Nepal, this form of Buddhism is very esoteric, it acknowledges the importance of the Mahayana sutras and the concept of the bodhisattvas. However, this form of Buddhism involves a lot tantric techniques such as: repetition of mantras, yoga, visual aids, meditation on the Yidam, and a mystical relationship between “student (chela) and teacher (guru). However, what sets this Buddhist school apart from the others is that Vajrayanists believe that in order to purge oneself of desire and experience enlightenment is to experience desire “fully and thereby drain it of every mystery” (Trainor, 2001). An example of this would be seen in Tantric sex, wherein the goal of sex is to experience spiritual growth rather than carnal pleasure.
Misconceptions about Buddhism