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Essay on belief
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In the Buddha’s famous Kalama Sutta, he advises that people should not be believing anything that is going around as a rumor because people talk a great deal about it. Buddha was a very wise, but, independent person. He reaches enlightenment himself so he believes you should learn what you know yourself, Including Rumors.
He talks about how people shouldn't be spreading rumors because they spread fast. In the words of Buddha in the famous Kalama Sutta states “Do not believe anything on account of rumors or because people talk a great deal about it” Buddha was a very wise man and he thought that you shouldn't believe things that have been told around and the Buddha was a very independent man so he learned everything about meditation and his
The following passage describes how the protagonist and his friend practice meditation which is a major part of Buddhist custom. In the beginning of the novel, when Siddhartha was still living and practicing in his hometown, his day included learning from the holy books, meditation and ablutions. ¨[Godiva and Siddhartha] went to the banyan tree and sat down, twenty paces apart. As he sat down ready to pronounce the Om, Siddhartha softly recited the verse:
He also makes reference to the long history of religious intolerance and persecution within the Christian tradition, brought about by greed, mistrust, and ignorance. He emphasizes the need for continuous practice, prayer, meditation, mindfulness, and personal growth within individual religious traditions and cultures. We must make the spirit of the Buddha and the spirit of Christ part of our everyday lives. He explores the “Five Wonderful Percepts of Buddhism”: reverence for life, generosity, responsible sexual behavior, speaking and listening deeply, and ingesting only wholesome substances; comparing them to the teachings of Christ. These precepts are without a doubt, very similar to the principles thought by Christ and his apostles. Each precept or teaching works with the next, interconnecting and building upon each other toward the same goal to end suffering, bring about personal and worldly understanding, world peace, and spiritual
"You know, my friend, that even as a young man, when we lived with the ascetics in the forest, I came to distrust doctrines and teachers and to turn my back to them. I am still of the same turn of mind, although I have, since that time, had many teachers. A beautiful courtesan was my teacher for a long time, and a rich merchant and a dice player. On one occasion, one of the Buddha’s wandering monks was my teacher. He halted in his pilgrimage to sit beside me when I fell asleep in the forest. I also learned something from him and I am grateful to him, very grateful. But most of all, I have learned from this river and from my predecessor, Vasudeva. He was a simple man; he was not a thinker, but he realized the essential as well as Gotama, he was a holy man, a saint" (141).
His father was warned by the “Brahman soothsayer” the young boy would leave his home to live among the seekers in the forest, therefore his father kept him distracted in the palace. Once he realized that luxury, commodity, and wealth did not guarantee happiness, he sought the key to human happiness. After six years of meditation he found the “middle path” though enlightenment. He continued to teach Buddhism enlightenment. These teaching principles can be found in book Dhamma (Document
The Buddha started the movement for all different peoples and denied that a person's spiritual worth is a matter of birth. The Buddha left no written word. His ideas have been put into writings though...
“Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.” (“Quotes by Buddha”) The Buddha went through many trials and tribulations to reach enlightenment. But, he persevered and once he reached this state, he shared his spiritual knowledge with countless others (Editors of Biography.com).
In Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha and his friend, Govinda, leave their sheltered lives as Brahmins, Hindu priests, to be Samanas, ascetics who deny themselves all pleasure. Some years after, they meet the Buddha, whom Govinda stays with to be a monk while Siddhartha leaves to continue on his own adventures. Toward the end of their lives, they meet again at a river bank and discover if they have truly achieved inner peace. Hesse uses Govinda as a contrast to Siddhartha. As displayed in excursions with the Samanas, with the Buddha, and on other adventures, Siddhartha is a character who is more independent and must learn on his own while Govinda is more dependent and feels he must be taught.
Imagining a life of purity, thoughtfulness, and reflection may prove impossible for some individuals to accomplish; however, the way of the Buddha emphasizes the importance of an unmitigated mind, free from material desire and unnecessary passions. When one attempts to define Buddhism, he/she may cover the concepts of meditation and clearing the mind, yet actually practicing Buddhism yields a certain lifestyle, one that requires constant thought and effort. The Dhammapada, a sacred religious text, explains certain main themes of Buddhism such as Anitya, or the temporary nature of all beings, the necessary ability to master one’s mind, and the significance of overcoming outside desires and connects these overarching motifs to different cultural
The religious icon Buddha preached often to his followers. One of his messages was to “believe nothing. No matter where you read it, or who said it, even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense.” The Buddha’s intendment was to have people think for themselves, not to believe whatever they are taught. Raised a Roman Catholic, I have always believed in the principles and ethics of that faith, strictly because it was what my parents had taught me to believe. Growing up and learning to think for myself, and listening to the stories of others on the This I Believe program has forced me to consider this message given by Buddha. There were three speakers in particular that sparked an interest within me. Whitney Harris, Penn Jillette, and Joel Engardio all challenged the way I view not only my religion, but the world.
The founder of Buddhism was a man called Siddhartha Gautama, born to a wealthy family and destined for greatness; Siddhartha, however, left his family and the palace in search for religious truth and an end to suffering. Siddhartha tried many ways of reaching an enlightened stage; wandering the forest, joining the beggars, fasting, debating with religious leaders, but when none of these methods brought him a greater understanding of the world, Siddhartha sat himself down under a fig tree, and meditated. After forty-nine days of meditation Siddhartha was said to have achieved an understanding of the cause of suffering, he then became known as the Buddha, enlightened one.
The teachings of the Buddha did a great deal to wipe off numerous superstitious beliefs and
Story, Francis. "Buddhist Meditation." Access to Insight: Readings in Theravada Buddhism. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
This also could happened because as other scenarios illustrated earlier show that there are things the Buddha is unaware of.
Sayings of the Buddha: A selection of suttas from the Pali Nikayas. Gethin, Rupert. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
Reading his meditation make me think about how it is important to think about what is true and what is false. I think that he was making one see the importance of questioning one’s senses about whether it is false. It is also important that one does not become too skeptical about things. One should be moderate about what we should question.