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The three world religions
The enlightenment philosophers essay
The enlightenment philosophers essay
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“Why the Bodhisattva Works Alone was a great introduction into world religions. The bodhisattva is a person that attains enlightenment. The will to act alone was one of the key ideas I took from the excerpt. The Bodhisattva took the things he learned and tried to save others from the corrupted world. Journeying out to help other obtain peace, to someday become enlightened. The tradition strongly emphasized was suffering. She stated all creatures are in pain, all suffer from bad hindering and karma. I felt that was his whole purpose of moving alone. “I work to establish the realm of transcendent wisdoms for all beings”. I detected tensions within the world from this excerpt. The bodhisattva was not backing down and did not fear
anything. Willing to take on everyone problems so they could to become enlightened. The bodhisattva stands alone and she puts on the armor of supreme wisdom. She is strong in the strength of her own strength. I do not turn back or run away, I do not tremble, I am not afraid, nor do I despair. Assuredly, I must bear the burdens of all beings for I have resolved to save them all. I must set them all free. I must save the whole world from the forest of birth, old age, disease, and rebirth, from misfortune and sin, from the round of birth and death, from the toils of delusion. For all beings are caught in the net of craving, encompassed by ignorance, held by the desire for existence; they are doomed to destruction, shut in a cage of pain. They are ignorant, untrustworthy, full of doubts, always at odds with one another, always prone to see evil; they cannot find a refuge in the ocean of existence; they are all on the edge of the gulf of destruction. The bodhisattva was a passionate leader and only trusted himself. He was definitely an inspiration and true hero in this passage.In Mahayana tradition, a bodhisattva needs to be able to give up everything for others. In this passage, he did just that. He was willing to give his life for other people suffering. He no longer wanted the world to deal with pain. I must say, this was confusing.
Thích Nh’at Hanh is a world renowned Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, religious figure and accomplished writer. Living Buddha, Living Christ is only one of his many famous publications. Thích Nh’at Hanh, is famous for his insights into spiritual heritage and mindfulness in the present moment. Many Americans are seeking religious understanding and personal spirituality, even if they do not practice in the traditional manner. Throughout this book Nh’at Hang encourages readers to find meaning, understanding, mindfulness, and peace in the teachings of Buddha and Christ. His main focus is to open meaningful dialogue between different traditions, cultures, and religious groups around the world, for the betterment
In the Hare’s Self Sacrifice, Bodhisattva was born again as the young hare. He had three friends: monkey, and otter. He taught them the importance of keeping moral laws, observing holy days, and giving alms. As a story goes, a hare offered up his own flesh to a beggar because he had nothing else to give.
Walking into the Hall of the Buddhas, there was a sense of peace and guidance lingering inside me. The seated Bodhisattva, of the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), CA.480, from the Yungang, Cave xv, Shani Province, made of sandstone, guarded the entrance. At first, I thought it was a time to be disciplined, but the transcending smile from the statue was a delicate fixed gesture that offered a feeling of welcome. It was not a place to confess your wrongdoings; neither was it a place for me to say, “Buddha I have sinned.” It was a room to purify the mind, the mind that we take for granted without giving it harmony. There was a large mural decorating the main wall called “The Paradise of Bhaishajyaguru”(916-1125). I sat down wandering if the artist of the portrait knew that his work would one day be shared on this side of the world, in my time. Much like Jesus Christ and his followers, the mural is a painting of healers and saviors. It was a large figure of the Buddha of medicine, (Bhaishajyaquru) surrounded by followers of Bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahosthamaprapta with twelve guardian generals who have pledged to disseminate the Buddha’s teaching (Tradition of Liao 916-1125, Metropolitan Museum wall plaque).
Buddhism is one of the prominent and influential religions and philosophies of the world. A basic tenet of Buddhism is that worldly desires and possessions cause all suffering. To absolve one’s self of necessities beyond basic human survival is one of the many plateaus that Buddhists strive to achieve. Furthermore, Buddhists free themselves from temptation via seclusion from society and attempt to allow nature to support them. They believe that Nirvana, the ascension to heaven, can be achieved by freeing oneself of earthly desires.
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
As human beings we often pursue truth to undercover deceit. To overcome death and nonexistence, we are born. To understand the future, we look to the past. To accept ourselves we begin to recognize others. As a result of these unavoidable actions our ego is born. Self awareness. The simple plural pronoun “We”, transforms into “Me”, or “I”, the self of our person. The self becomes thinking, feeling, and willing. Able to distinguish itself from the selves of others and from the objects of its thought. It is this self identity that many 6th century Buddhist, including the main protagonist within the novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, searched to abolish in the interest of reaching full enlightenment and understanding of the world in which they life. “A man asked Gautama Buddha, "I want happiness." Buddha said, "First remove "I," that's Ego, then remove "want," that's Desire. See now you are left with only "Happiness.” (Boulby 173)
"The Dhammapada: Socrates & Buddha Vs. Desire — The League of Ordinary Gentlemen." The League of Ordinary Gentlemen. Web. 05 July 2011. .
The founder of Buddhism was a man named Siddharta Gautama. He was born as a prince of a small kingdom located near today’s Nepal, around 500 B.C.E. (Gurinder 1). According to the legends, Siddharta was raised in the lap of luxury. He was given the finest clothes, riches, and a mansion for every season (Fisher 136). Despite having anything his imagination could conjure, he was unconvinced of their value (136). As the story continues, he was presented with the four sights that were being kept from him (136). These sights included death, sickness, old age, and a monk seeking lasting happiness rather than material possessions (136). After these sights, Sidhharta began his long path to enlightenment. After six years of searching, he had reached his goal of an ultimate consciousness called Nirvana, or enlightenment that is above ordinary human states of mind (Gurinder, Numrich, Williams 1-2). After his discovery of the ultimate consciousness, he was given the title of Buhhda, which means “Enlighten One” (2).
Nevertheless, he thoroughly agrees that Buddhism and Christianity should do theology together. Taking into account the impact of these debates, on both east and west, Christians and Buddhists alike, people are starting to feel the presence of a new movement. Or call it a spiritual revival or social transformation. Buddhist set out on a socially engaged mission, and won the hearts and minds of the people in the west. Knitter and Makransky are on the front lines of the proliferation of social service for humanity. It is a revolution for social transformation on a global level. Christianity and Buddhism have a unique and remarkable relationship and it will be nice to see the emergence of a new social paradigm. It’s a wake-call.
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
Lama, Dalai, XIV. Toward a True Kinship of Faiths: How the World's Religions Can Come
Rinpoche, Samdhong. Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World: Tibetan Buddhism in Today’s World; forward by 14th Dalai Lama. (Tibet: World Wisdom, 2006), 264.
Just as in Catholicism, Buddhists are encouraged to ask questions about what the Buddhist tradition holds, what the Buddha taught and did, and why things are the way that they are. These questions, it is hoped, will enlighten the path of the individual so that he or she can maneuver through his or her life in such a way as to eventually obtain a state of perfect equanimity. This is parallel to the Catholic teaching on questioning as it states that questioning, in its legitimate and reasonable form, has the potential to lead an individual into greater holiness, piety, and conformity with God’s will. Here again, the disparity in belief between the Buddhist and Catholic beliefs is vast while there is almost no disparity in
Eastern enlightenment religions have been gaining popularity throughout the western world for the past few decades, with many people attracted to a "different" way of experiencing religion. As with many other enlightenment religions, Buddhism requires disciples to understand concepts that are not readily explainable: one such concept is that of no-self. In this essay I shall discuss the no-self from a number of modern perspectives; however, as no-self is difficult to describe I shall focus on both the self and no-self. Beginning with psychological aspects, and neurophysiological research on transcendental meditation, I shall discuss the impact of modern brain science on our understanding of the self and transcendence. Next I will outline the relationship between quantum physics and non-locality, as this gives a western scientific explanation for no-self. Returning to the original source of Buddhism, I will briefly outline the discussion between Siddhartha and Vaccha regarding atman, then discuss the mind and no-self and their relationship to liberation. Finally I will summarize a few issues that the western mindset may face approaching this topic.
Today, the Bodhi tree receives worship and respect as a symbol of the Buddha. Whoever enters the courtyard of the Bodhi tree should respect the tree, behaving as if they were in the presence of the Buddha.