Buddhism Essay, Research Paper

1. Introduction – I recently started to wonder about other world religions and things like that. And so I?ve started reading up about different religions and I came across one that really caught my attention. The religion is Buddhism. Today I?m going to tell you a little bit about it?s history, some basic beliefs, and some of the different kinds of Buddhism.

2. Thesis1. Subject – Buddhism2. Initial Summary1. The Origin of Buddhism2. Basic Beliefs of Buddhism3. The Two Kinds of Buddhism

3. Body1. The Origin of Buddhism1. More than 25,00 years ago Buddhism was started by Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian Prince, commonly known was the Buddha.2. Fortune tellers told his father that Siddhartha would leave home when he found out about sorrow, sickness, and death.3. Siddhartha was kept in a palace where all his desires were fulfilled until he wandered into the groves and met four men who changed his way of thinking.2. Basic Beliefs of Buddhism1. For a Buddhist to achieve enlightenment and be able to reach Nirvana, the Buddhist version of heaven, they must believe in the four noble truths.2. To help stop desire and craving for worldly things a Buddhist must follow the Eightfold Path.3. Buddha did not believe in a soul but he did believe in something eternal in humans. He called this thing Karma which is the sum of one?s good and bad deeds. If you have good Karma in your present life you will come back as something good in your next life.3. The Two Kinds of Buddhism1. Theravada Buddhism is a personal religion in which salvation is something that each person must accomplish themselves.2. Mahayana Buddhism believes that there are many Buddhas who can aid humanity in finding salvation.3. Mahayana emphasizes the part of the Buddha?s life after his enlightenment when he stayed on earth to help others. Theravada emphasizes the Buddha?s way to enlightenment.

IV Conclusion1. Closing Summary1. The Origin of Buddhism2. Basic Beliefs of Buddhism3. The Two Kinds of Buddhism2. Final Statement – That?s basic Buddhism. I hope you all learned a little something about the religion.

Buddhism

I recently started to wonder about other world religions and things like that. And so I?ve started reading up about different religions and I came across one that really caught my attention. The religion is Buddhism. Today I?m going to tell you a little bit about it?s history, some basic beliefs, and some of the different kinds of Buddhism.Buddhism began more than 25,000 years ago. It was started by an Indian Prince named Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha became dissatisfied with the beliefs of the Hindu religion and sought to find the peace of mind he wanted. When Siddhartha was born, fortune tellers told his father that when Siddhartha learned about sickness, sorrow, and death he would leave his home. His father did everything he could to prevent this from happening, including building a special palace for Siddhartha to grow up in and provided all he desired. Siddhartha lived in the house for a long time but on a visit to the groves behind the palace he met four men, a sick man, an old man, and a corpse. The fourth man explained why all these things were happening, thus teaching Siddhartha about sickness, sorrow, and death. So Siddhartha left his home and went in search of inner peace. Through much meditation he found his own ideas about heaven and reaching the ultimate state of bliss. He found enlightenment under a fig tree and this became Buddha, or ?the enlightened one?, he could then enter nirvana, the Buddhist place of eternal bliss or stay on earth and help others find salvation.Buddha didn?t believe in exactly believe in a soul but he did believe that there was something eternal inside people or they could not be born again. He called this eternal part of humans Karma. Karma is the sum of one?s good and bad deeds. It determines what a person will come back as in their next life. In his first sermon Buddha revealed the Four Noble Truths which form the basis of the Buddhist beliefs.The Four Noble Truths:1. All lives, from birth to death, are filled with suffering.2. This suffering is causes by the craving for worldly things.3. Suffering will stop when one learns to suppress desire.4. We can learn to suppress desire by following the Eightfold Path.He also revealed the Eightfold Path, which is a Buddhist?s way to overcoming desire and destroying Karma.The Eightfold Path:1. The Right View. Understanding of the Buddha?s Four Noble Truths.2. The Right Thought. Having friendly thoughts about people and all other forms of life.3. The Right Speech. Speaking kindly and truthfully while avoiding bitter words against anyone or anything.4. The Right Action. Acting skillfully and with sympathy while avoiding vain or violent effort.5. The Right Work. Earning a living in a way that will not harm another.6. The Right Effort. Using one?s time for self-improvement.7. The Right Mindfulness. Keeping the right state of mind – self awareness and compassion.8. The Right Concentration. Removing other concern?s from one?s mind in order to concentrate properly on religious meditation.

There are two main kinds of Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism is a personal religion. It tells that salvation is something that each person must accomplish themselves and that teachers can only point the way and help us to understand laws and concepts. They believe that Buddha was a man – a superman, perhaps, but still a man. Theravada emphasizes Buddha?s path to enlightenment. Mahayana Buddhism believes that there are many Buddhas, although there is only one who can be called the Buddha. These other Buddhas are saints who can aid humanity in finding salvation. The have raised the Buddha to the rank of god. Mahayana emphasizes the part of Buddha?s life after his enlightenment when he delayed Nirvana to help others reach salvation.That?s basic Buddhism. I hope you all learned a little something about the religion.

Bibliography

Edmonds, I.G. (1978) Buddhism New York, Franklin Watts, Inc. Pgs. 1 – 38

Corlett, William and John Moore (1979) The Buddha Way

Gard, Richard A. (1961) Buddhism New York

Tze-Chiang, Chao (1959) A Chinese Garden of Serenity New York, The Peter Pauper Press Pgs. 9 -33

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