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What the Buddha Taught Summary
What the Buddha Taught Summary
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Eight Fold Paths Discovery
The Dhammapada is a unique book that addresses about Buddha speaking upon how to free one’s self from suffering based on the eight fold paths. The book talks about how we live life and how to learn from our suffering to prosper without any suffering in the afterlife. There are many proverbs of wisdom, similes, metaphors, and analogies where one can learn from Buddha’s teachings to live a better life without enduring any more pain. What I have learned the most coming from the eight fold paths are the following; right speech and right concentration.
The first discovery that I noticed was the path of right speech . I always knew that spiting poison of another person behind their back is distasteful and speaks about a lot or someone’s character to talk about someone like that. The following speaks about it more in depth. “Speak quietly to everyone, and they too will be gentle in their speech. Harsh words hurt, and come back to the speaker. If your mind is still, like a broken gong, you have entered nirvana, leaving all quarrels behind you (Page 143 verses 133-134.) What I gained from this was that in the end if we hear things from others, and you lower yourself to
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With the many words of wisdom that it speaks of you; one can relate to it by concentration, time and effort it can aid in the effort of seeing life in a different perspective. Learning from the paths of righteous speech taught me that to speak in harsh words to someone else can lead those words to speak about your own character. As well from the th path of right concentration we can learn that by keeping checking in ourselves; we can train ourselves to undergo the experiences of suffering that we will go through in life. With that the Dhammapada has taught me a lot and made me discover more wisdom that I thought that I already
The teachings of Buddhism consists of the eight fold path, the four noble truths and the five precepts. These teachings contain rules that can be followed
In Hesse's novel, Siddhartha the title character, Siddhartha leaves the Brahmins in search of Nirvana - spiritual peace. The journey he endures focuses on two main goals - to find peace and the right path (http://www.ic.ucsb.edu/~ggotts/hesse/life/jennifer/html). Joseph Mileck, the author of Hermann Hesse: Life and Art, asserts that Siddhartha focuses on a sense of unity developed through Siddhartha's mind, body, and soul (Baumer). Hesse's Siddhartha revolves around three central journeys - a physical, a mental, and a spiritual journey.
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,
Baraka Paper The movie showed a group of young boys struggling to live in a rough environment. Each individual has the desire to avoid following the lifestyle of the gangs that were in their neighborhood. The attitudes of most of the boys are clearly influenced by their social contexts. Two of the boys in the movie live with a mother who is a drug addict and has faced jail time due to her drug use.
Ashvaghosha’s Buddhacarita: The Life of the Buddha serves as one of the most relevant and profound texts regarding the Buddhist religion and it’s foundations. However, unlike other popular religious texts, this one does not serve as a historical document but rather a vessel for explaining the teachings of the Buddha, serving as a guide for the followers of the Enlightened One. Ashvaghosha’s descriptions of the Buddha, his life, and his actions provide an example of the Buddha’s disciplines and truths, giving his followers a detailed and structured idea of his way of life. The Buddhacarita’s descriptions in particular focus on the teaching of pervasive suffering, it’s causes, and the paths (both right and wrong) to breaking free from it.
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
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse tells of a man, Siddhartha, and his search for peace. Siddhartha leaves the Brahmins to become a holy Samamna. He finds no satisfaction in the deprivation, which the Samanas practice, so he leaves their way of life to find the Buddha. The Buddha's teachings fail to satisfy his desire to find a path to peace, also. He then travels to a town but finds no answers there either. Finally, beside the river, Siddhartha finds peace. There are two main themes in Siddhartha; the father/son theme and the theme of peace and totality.
Buddhism in India was born and would eventually rank as the world’s fourth major religion. The Buddha preached his first sermon in Deer Park, still a definitive text for all Buddhists. He proposed a path to enlightenment very different from the elaborate ceremonies and colorful myths attached to the Hindu deities of his youth. The Four Noble Truths: Recognizing and understanding suffering, letting go of self-centered cravings, realizing liberation, and cultivating the path. (Gach) Pain is inseparable part of mankind’s everyday life, our cravings of all kinds are the cause of this pain, and the way off this treadmill is to free oneself of these cravings. This can be achieved by following the Eightfold Path of: Right view, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration. The goal is to break the cycle of reincarnation based on your Karma and to reach Nirvana, the final goal of Buddhism. (Gach) The Buddha said that desire is the cause of suffering, and any kind of over indulgence may lead to addiction. Addicts and alcoholics are experts on desire; addiction is desire run rampant. (Griffin) In his book, Buddhism and the Twelve Steps, Kevin Griffin relates the steps with the practices of
Joseph Mileck asserts in Hermann Hesse: Life and Art that Siddhartha is a perfect exemplification of what he calls, "conscious craftsmanship". For Mileck, Hesse consciously synchronized form and substance in Siddhartha to best illustrate a feeling of unity and the journey through the mind, body, and soul. In Siddhartha, Hesse consciously crafted a piece that is unified in form, style, and content, and created an atmosphere in which each one of these elements is perfectly complementary with the others.
Over twenty-five hundred years ago, Buddha Guatama practiced meditation and came to what is known as “The Four Noble Truth,” an important principle in Buddhism (Elder, 2010). This principle informs the reader of what suffering is and how affect is. This is a great example of how valuable meditation is- on the very first session ever recorded, the awareness that came from it would later be the foundation of a new religion. This proves how powerful meditation can be. Furthermore, some form of meditation can be found in various religions. Although the styles, techniques, and ideology behind the meditation can vary per religion, personal transformation is the key goal (Modi, Singh, 2012). Today, in Western society, mindful meditation (a form of meditation) has grown in popularity, used for relaxation and to help treat those who suffer from mental illness’ and mood disorders. Viewed as alternative medicine for the mind and soul, it is beneficial for our emotional and mental
The Dhammapada is a Pali version of one of the most popular text of the Buddhist canon. The Dhammapada, or “sayings of the Buddha”, is a collection of 423 verses that tell about the ideals and teachings of the Buddha. When taken together, these verses provide a structured form of teaching within the Buddhist religion. These verses are a kind of guiding voice to the path of true enlightenment.
Buddha believed that by following the Eightfold Path, one could fulfill and find legitimacy in the Four Noble Truths, and reach Nirvana; the release from selfishness and pain. Like the Hindu, Buddha believed in reincarnation, a major factor in achieving Nirvana, as...
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.
The Eightfold Path can be considered a guide to end the suffering stated in the Four Noble Truths. Everyone experiences suffering in their life at one point or another, however, it can be very difficult for someone to know how to deal with suffering. I find it fascinating that the Buddha figured out a way to deal with all kinds of suffering based on eight ideas. In fact, I feel like I can relate to the Eightfold Path with my own life experiences.
The other source has been Puranas which are eighteen in number and contains information about the creation and dynasties of god, sages and kings and detailed description of yugas. All the sources are on the same footstep and no one has supremacy over the other.