Buddhism And The Importance Of Renunciation

951 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Buddhism influence on the world

The Life of the Buddha: and the Importance of Renunciation
Could you imagine, trading in all of your worldly possessions, leaving your family, and going against everything you were raised to do? This is exactly what one of the most influential people in the history of the world had to do in order to reach what Buddhists call “enlightenment”. Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha renounced his life of riches to seek enlightenment and along the way created the guidelines to a very popular worldwide religion called Buddhism. What is Buddhism? To answer this question, and for someone to understand the principals of Buddhism, they must first understand the life of the Buddha and his journey to enlightenment.
The foundation of Buddhism is based on the life of not a God, but one person, …show more content…

The second is Tahna, which is understanding that suffering in life happens because of our desires. The third truth is, the cure, which is understanding that there is a way to end suffering. The fourth noble truth is the middle path. This is the main idea behind Buddhism; the middle path is the way to enlightenment. The middle path is basically the idea that it is “okay” to give into some of our desires, but not to be over consumed by them, and at the same time not depriving us of them. The other big part of Buddhism is the eight-fold path. The eightfold path includes having the right knowledge, aspirations, speech, behavior, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and absorption. If you can honestly follow all of these you can reach enlightenment. So why does someone have to renounce him or herself in order to reach enlightenment? (O’Brein). Compulsive desire is caused by attachment. If you truly renounce yourself from worldly possessions you will have no compulsive desires. The right effort also plays into renunciation. The effort of renouncing all of your excess possessions is a good effort and necessary to achieve

Show More
Related

  • Siddhartha

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    The third Noble Truth is the only cure for suffering is to overcome desire. Siddhartha explains this Noble Truth by going to the river. In the river, he sees his shadow, and meditates. By meditating he is losing all the sorrows. As well, he is losing self and might help him achieve enlightenment.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Temple Puja

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Buddhism’s approach to ethics and practices are centred upon the principal beliefs of; the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Five Precepts. By adhering to these guidelines, Buddhists are ensured that they are taking a step closer to escaping Samsara, and attaining the revered state of Nirvana,

    Read More

  • The Four Noble Truths in Siddhartha's Journey to Self-Enlightenment

    1782 Words  | 4 Pages

    Every step along Siddhartha’s journey incorporates a concept from each of the Four Noble Truths. In order to understand the concepts of the Four Noble Truths, one needs to understand the aim of Buddhist practice. “The aim of Buddhist practice is to cure craving, the desire conditioned by ignorance that leads to suffering” (Demoss 1).2 Buddhism advocates meditation, and a “…goal of Buddhist meditation is to produce right mindfulness, an alert awareness of what is happening in body, mind, and world at the present moment” (Demoss 318).3 “Traditionally, ‘right action’ is defined in Buddhist ethics by the five percepts: do not kill, do not steal, do not engage in illicit sex, do not lie, and do not become intoxicated” (Demoss 319).4 “According to Buddhism a person does not have an intrinsic permanent changeless identity. There is no core self.

    Read More

  • The Spread of Buddhism and Christianity

    1557 Words  | 4 Pages

    Buddhism was founded by one man, Siddhartha Guatama. He was born into royalty around 563 B.C.E. in a Kingdom near the border of India and Nepal. He was raised in wealth and luxury, and at the age of 16, he married a wealth woman and they had a child together. Around the age of 29, he began to realize that all humans were in a cycle of suffering, dying, and then being reincarnated only to suffer and die over and over again. It was then that he decided to leave his wife and child to find a way out of this repeating cycle of life and death. First he studied with teachers, but found he was coming to no conclusions, so he turned to more extreme things such as self-mortification, but he was still left unsatisfied.

    Read More

  • The Mongol Empire and the Persian Empire

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christianity and Islam are monotheistic religions, but Buddhism differs from those religions as it is considered more of a ‘lifestyle’ than a specific type of religion. Buddhism centers around ...

    Read More

  • Shacarita Analysis

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Siddhartha Gautama attempted to help people break out of the cycle of suffering in this world and as a result established the religion of Buddhism. Throughout his life, or at least the life described in Asvaghosa’s Buddhacarita, he was constantly struggling with the world in order to obtain enlightenment. After achieving enlightenment, he was able to spread his teachings which eventually became the religion we have today. However, Buddhist principles are not shown simply through the words of Gautama, or the Buddha, but they are defining characteristics of the Buddhacarita. The entire story the Buddha must combat the recurring suffering of human life due to desire and the eventual separation of desire that allows for one to break free of

    Read More

  • The Four Noble Truths Summary

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    A man of noble birth, living in the time before the Common Era, preached a way to extinguish the fire of self-centered delusion. This state of Nirvana can be achieved by understanding The Four Noble Truths, suffering in life, he explains can be avoided by following an Eightfold Path. Sounds simple? This must have been an awaking for people of his time seeking a more personal religion, away from the rigidities of a priest-dominated Hinduism of India. The man, the Buddha, spent the rest of his life teaching the religion he discovered and its doctrine based upon his Dharma (cosmic law and order). The first written evidence of the existence of Buddhism is found over 400 years ago after the life of the Buddha. (Kozak) Historians pose the

    Read More

  • Buddhism versus Bartleby the Scrivener

    1769 Words  | 4 Pages

    Buddhism is currently the fourth most popular religion in our society today, following Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Its major ideologies are based on the philosophies of Siddhartha Guatama, also known as “Buddha”, who began his teachings in 598 BCE at the age of 35, according to Buddhist texts. A Buddhist’s foremost aspiration is the obtainment of Bodhi, or enlightenment through meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of the breath). Buddhism shares many ideologies with India’s Hinduism and Yoga such as non-harming, non-violence, and self-awareness. In many instances, people regard Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion, for it has no clear belief in the idea of a God or Gods. Its structure is built upon a hierarchy much like Christianity where superior orders such as Lamas or the Dalai Lama are said to be chosen by nature through the process of reincarnation rather than by a council like Christianity’s Pope. Though these “higher level” Buddhists are rare (not everyone is a reincarnation of an ancient Buddhist “priest”), all are permitted to follow “The Middle Way” either as a Buddhist monk or the simple attendance of a weekly teaching session from time to time. Throughout the last few hundred years the Buddhist population has blossomed into a healthy 381,611,000 and over fifteen different sects including Zen, Mahayana, and Theravada.

    Read More

  • Buddhism Essay

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    Buddhism is one of the worlds major religions with 300 million followers around the world. Buddhism has many beliefs, tradition, and practices based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. It is a religion that doesn't involve in having a belief in a God or Gods. many people believe Buddhism is a way of life or a philosophy. Buddhists believe that Buddha is not God and he didn't say he was God, but he was a man that taught people the path to enlightenment that he learned from his own experience. Many believe that Buddhists worship statues of the Buddha, but by bowing to the Buddha statue they are paying their respect and expressing their gratitude for his teachings. There are also different types of Buddhism because it changes from country to country do to different cultures and customs. Buddhism is believed to originate in northern India in 563 BC. It is also believed that the traditions of Buddhism was taught by Siddhartha Gautama also called the Buddha meaning the enlightened one or awakened. Siddhartha Gautama was born to a rich family in Lumbini India. When Siddhartha Gautama reac...

    Read More

  • Buddhism and Islam

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    In addition, Buddhism places emphasis on the Four Noble Truths, which is the teaching of Buddha, a guide to enlightenment. These are a set of guidance that basically teaches the followers of Buddha the essence of...

    Read More

  • Key Differences Between Christianity and Buddhism

    1825 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although Buddhism and Christianity show several parallels, their three key differences are that Buddhists do not believe in one divine being, and have different views about both the purpose of life and the concept of afterlife. Buddhists do not believe in a Supreme Being, God or Creator, though many Buddhists today worship the Buddha - the central figure of Buddhism - and his teachings. They view him as someone with a universal spirit, an essence that can be attained by everyone rather than only a higher deity that rules over the world (Brown). Especially in Mahayana Buddhism, the concept of the Buddha nature is fundamental (“Pure Land”).... ...

    Read More

  • Buddha and Confucius

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Buddha’s first sermon, he laid out the four main ideas that he had been enlightened with; he called them the Four Noble Truths. 1) Everything in life is suffering and sorrow. 2) The cause of all suffering is people’s selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world. 3)

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Four Noble Truths Of Buddhism

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism capture the ethos of the spirituality and its teachings. By just these four lessons, Buddha preaches the principles of tranquility within meditation, not mere concentration. From these truths he developed a guidance referred to as the Eightfold Path, a series of principles that lead to awakening when practiced and understood. He preaches that inevitable suffering comes from desire, however he concludes with a solution to a life lived in nirvana. The first two of the Four Noble Truths are Dukha and Avidya, focusing on the primitive presence of suffering within day to day life.

    Read More

  • The Four Noble Truths

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...fter. Its emphasis on inner peace and understanding is what separates it from most other faiths. In Buddhism you don't need a god to answer your questions about life and faith. Once you have canceled out the suffering in life, that all becomes clear to the believer.

    Read More

  • Buddhism Philosophy Essay

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    Buddhism is the philosophy of being awake and conscious in life. Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, shared his wisdom with the world and believed that the path to enlightenment was a process of elimination. These eliminations can be conquered through a process called Zen. He believe it was the only way to get rid of the burdens human’s carry of, ignorance, desire and suffering. Buddhism is almost the complete opposite of our western world because our society requires us to act a certain way in order to thrive or even survive.

    Read More

More about Buddhism And The Importance Of Renunciation

Open Document