World Religion (Buddhism) - Essay Example

World Religion Buddhism July 13 2009 World Religion- Buddhism Buddhism with a following of 365 million believers is the fourth largest religion in the world. Based on a series of beliefs and practices, it is considered as a religion by most. Created by the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha or Awakened One, the religion was born in Nepal (Bhisku). The basis on Buddhism is constructed on recognizing the need to help living beings and truly understand their suffering. If this is achieved, the individual is capable of reaching the highest status available for all followers, nirvana: freedom from suffering and the cycle of rebirth. There are various ways of practicing Buddhism: meditation, physical exercises, devotional practices, ethical conduct and the cultivation of wisdom. Thus, Buddhism is based on teaching its followers a life that would be useful in this world and the next. Religion is an something that is practiced by its followers everyday, thus making it deeply engraved in their lives and actions. Buddhism is similar in this effect because it works to ensure that every belief or practice is beneficial not only to the follower but society as a whole. The word Budh comes from awakening and knowing (Smith 1995). Buddhism is divided into a number of branches. These are practiced and spread over different areas. Theravada is practiced in Southeast Asia and the doctrine states that a follower can lose their ignorance by understanding reality and thus reaching the end of the rebirth cycle. Mahayana is practiced in East Asia and the followers feel Buddha to be omnipotent and thus beyond the reach of the material world. Vajrayana is considered to be a part of the Mahayana sect while others see it to be the third Buddhist path. Though Buddhism is considered to be the strongest in Asia, it now exists all around the world. There are various scriptures in the Buddhist religions. They are divided into two broad categories: canonical texts are the direct sayings of Buddha himself and non-canonical texts are observations of Buddha's words, compilations of quotes and this history of Buddhism. An instance of a non-canonical text is the Tripitaka which has text written on long leaves and stored in baskets. It has been in existent since Buddha's life and with new additions, now comprises of three volumes. Buddhism resides in various concepts, most of which are given in the afore mentioned scriptures; amongst these, one is karma. The idea of karma is to be reborn into the cycle of suffering for every individual. Karma refers to the any idea that is affected by a mental or physical action and brings an equal result (Harvey). In this way, every action an individual conducts is done with a specific intent and it is that intent which makes the difference rather than the action itself. In Theravada, there is no forgiveness for a follower's karma. In this way, any action carried out by an individual has to be considered pure at both levels: physical and spiritual for it to help in the attainment of nirvana. Rebirth is another concept present in the Buddhist religion, it represents the different cycles an individual undergoes. This cycle represents the actions of the follower in the world which is determined by karma, rather than an unexplained jump from one life to another. This ensures that every individual in this society is bound to behave in an acceptable and amicable way in the hopes of reaching one of the six births: Naraka beings (those from hell) being the lowest and Devas (deities or angels) is the highest. Buddhism also pays great attention to practice of the faith. First and foremost is the show of devotion: bowing, pilgrimage, offering and chanting. This form is perfect in showing the due respect and reverence to the faith. To show this devotion, Buddhist temples, monasteries and stupas have been created all over the world for the followers to gather and practice. Creating a structure for representation allows the religion to pose as an integral part of society Then comes the practice itself, tradition expects every individual to believe in the three jewels as a foundation for this religion (Bhikku 2001). The three jewels are: Buddha (those who have achieved nirvana), Dharma (teachings of Buddha) and Sangha (the congregation of practitioners). This religious practice can also be done for young or unborn children, making it similar to the idea of Baptism in Christianity and allowing the young to be part of the Buddhist society from a very young age (Bodhi 2002). Thus, Buddha is the model, Dharma is the guidelines and Sangha is the mode used to preserve these teachings. Ethics play a huge role in the Buddhist religion. This includes a mental or physical action which must be pure in thought and deed. These include refraining from non-violence, theft, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxicants. The importance of following this is such that if a follower makes these ethics an imperative, they have a far greater probability to being born again in a lower heaven even if they do no more Buddhist practice. Thus, by infusing ethics as part of the religion, not only does Buddhism make the follower a more conscientious person but it also helps improve society as a whole. Another aspect of Buddhism is mediation. The purpose to this meditation is two-fold: changing the mind for it to understand itself and other phenomena. This practice is not conducted by monks or nuns alone, but also ordinary followers. Another form of meditation is the Zen form which in China and Japan and lays great emphasis on meditation (Novak 1995). By practicing meditation, an individual frees themselves of the tensions and stress of the outside world and opens themselves to new possibilities. This is relaxing for the mental and physical senses of the individual and poses to be a great helped to deal with the stress of the fast-moving world. Religion is an essential part of any society. It helps to bind different people together and bring them together as one force. It assists in reducing ideas like class and race as every individual unites together under one supreme force, in this case: Buddha. Thus, Buddhism plays a huge role in society, not only as a belief for every individual but for creating a peaceful and ethical society. Works Cited Bhikku T 2001, Going for Refuge, Refuge: An introduction to the Buddha, Dhaama and Sangha, Available from [Accessed 13 July 2009] Bhisku K, Do Buddhists Believe in God, Available from Urbandharma.org [Accessed 13 July 2009] Bodhi B 2002, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, Wisdom Publications, pp 708. Harvey P, An introduction to Buddhism: teachings, history and practices, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp 40 Novak P 1995, The World's Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World's religions, HaperCollins, pp 95 Smith H (1995), The Illustrated World Religions: A guide to our wisdom's traditions, San Francisco, HarperCollins, pp 60 Read More