How Did The Dalai Lama Impact The Spread Of Buddhism

Buddhism has become a far reaching religion that has expanded greatly over the years to western worlds. Buddhism has now become a very important religion that has a large number of adherents across the world. In Buddhism there are many things that can impact the people in buddhism. The Dalai Lama, Temple Puja and Buddhist teachings have impacted Buddhism. It is mainly the individuals and communities of Buddhism that are impacted. The Dalai Lama has increased the spread of Buddhism and acted as a role model. Temple Puja serves as a way for individuals and communities to deepen their expression and their path to enlightenment and Buddhist teachings such as bioethics have taught Buddhist adherents how to live their lives.

The Dalai Lama is

a significant person for Buddhism. This is since the Dalai Lama is seen as the face of Buddhism to many. He is the main religious leader of Tibet and as such is seen as the Bodhisattva. The Dalai Lama has greatly revolutionized Buddhism and as a result drastically impacted individuals and Buddhist communities.

It was told that the Dalai Lama himself is the 14th reincarnation and the last reincarnation. The Dalai Lama describes how he himself did not step on the path to Nirvana in order to help others gain enlightenment. As such it can be seen that the Dalai Lama is a pivotal role for Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is important to both individuals and communities as he is someone who is seen as a teacher and written many books in order for people to better understand buddhism. The quote “[Nirvana] can only be reached, not produced, by the Path . . . it transcends the intrinsic nature of matter . . . being attainable through special insight affected by strong effort” can be understood through how the Dalai Lama lives out his life. This is seen as the quote talks about how just learning about the path to enlightenment through the eightfold path is not enough to be on the path to Nirvana. People must also live the teachings of Buddhism in order to attain enlightenment. The Dalai Lama heavily impacts individuals and communities as the Dalai Lama himself is seen as a role model of the faith. This is seen as the Dalai Lama himself is seen as the living example of the Buddhist teachings. As such he

is seen as a role model and teacher for individuals. The Dalai Lama living out the faith is important as it has allowed the Dalai Lama to be seen as a role model of what Buddhist adherents try to be by following the Buddhist teachings of the five precepts. The Dalai Lama overall has played an important role in the impacts on individuals and communities. As the Dalai Lama made Buddhism appeal to the Western world and also made it accessible to more people. As a result of this The Dalai Lama has greatly influenced the communities of Buddhism and also the individuals within buddhism. He has done this by acting out the Buddhist teachings and acting as a role model in which individuals follow on their own path to enlightenment.

Temple Puja is seen as a significant practice that most Buddhist do. It is mainly done as a community and usually performed on important dates however it can also be done individually. The goal of all Buddhist adherents is to achieve enlightenment as such temple Puja is seen as an aid towards the path of enlightenment. The quote “[Proper meditation is] single-minded intense sitting without burning incense, worshipping, reciting . . . , practicing repentance, nor reading sutras.” relates directly to the teachings of Buddhism and temple Puja. This is since as the quote talks about how proper meditation is when you do not actually perform the necessary aids in order to meditate. This is since when meditating the aim is to be removed from all distractions. This is why incense are used. However once a buddhist truly understand the teachings of Buddhism and what the actions performed for temple Puja really is, then it is no longer necessary for the small aids as adherents are able to be removed from all distractions (sin) and continue on their path to Nirvana. This shows how temple Puja has greatly impacted communities and individuals. The meditation and various other activities that are done in temples is seen as a significant influence towards the lives of adherents. The continual reflection reached through the deep meditation help buddhist to reflect on their path towards enlightenment. Through the various practices done in Temple Puja adherents are able to express their faith/beliefs and gain a better understanding on their path to enlightenment. Temple Puja is seen as a place where individuals are able to work together as a community to help each other on their path to enlightenment through following of the eightfold path. The expression of their beliefs and faith is important as it allows Buddhist adherents to better follow the teachings of Buddhism.

The bioethics of buddhism is very important to Buddhist adherents.

This is as it provides the framework on which adherents live out their lives. Bioethics play a large part in the lives of adherents as individuals and as a community as it directs the ways that Buddhist adherents live their lives. This is seen in two major issues of abortion and Euthanasia. Buddhism has its own stance on both these points that Buddhist adherents follow. The teachings of Buddhism when it comes to abortion is not very clear. This is understood as Buddhist believe that it is subjective to the person. They believe that as long as they are following the Buddhist teachings such as the five precepts and the eightfold path then their actions are deemed acceptable. Buddhist believe that as long as they hold good intentions that it is deemed acceptable. It is important to understand that Buddhist model their lives on the Buddhist teachings and as such bioethics plays a large part in Buddhist adherents lives. The quote “[Nirvana] can only be reached, not produced, by the Path . . . it transcends the intrinsic nature of matter . . . being attainable through special insight affected by strong effort.” explains that the path to enlightenment requires people to ‘transcend’ the nature of humans. This is understood as Buddhist need to be devoid of greed which is seen as evil. As such when applied to bioethics it is seen in examples such as abortion where a family decides to abort a baby. The quote talks about

how in order to reach enlightenment Buddhist adherents will need to reflect on whether they have the right intentions when aborting the baby. This shows how it impacts individuals as Buddhist teachings help Buddhist adherents to understand what they should be doing at all times and to always have good intentions. Buddhist teachings also impact communities as it provides a stance that all Buddhist adherents follow.

Overall the Dalai Lama has greatly impacted Buddhism by helping it spread across the western world and living out the teachings. Temple Puja has helped individuals and communities on their path to enlightenment and Buddhist teachings have helped by talking about how to live their lives.