Buddhism3

Buddhism



Founder Siddhartha Gautama is the founder of Buddhism and known to the followers as Buddha. He is also known as the “Enlightened One”. Siddhartha was born the son of a prince about 563 B.C. or 624 B.C. There are the two dates given on the same amount of resources. Both dates are the best educated dates of when he could possibly been born.

Siddhartha lived in the palace until the age of twenty nine, when he decided to become closer to his spiritual life. After six years of studying meditation and spiritual life, he finally received enlightenment. When he received this enlightenment he was in Budh Gaya, India under a Bodhi Tree.

After receiving enlightenment he was asked to teach the wheels of Dharma, which included the noble truths. Siddhartha gave 84,000 teachings before retiring from teaching. His intention of creating this belief was to lead living beings to permanent liberation from suffering.

Types

Texts

In the Buddhist religion there are three main texts. As the story goes there used to be three baskets that contained the rules and law of the religion. The three baskets were called Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, and Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Abhidhamma is only read by determined scholars, while anyone is able to read the first two. Some buddhists happen to believe that the Sutta Pitaka state the acutal teachings of Buddha. The second text contains the law for a Monastic community.

example of Sutta Pitaka text

Beliefs

One of the main beliefs is the understanding of the law of Karma, which is the basis of Buddhist morality. Buddhists also believe that if you are good in life than you will have good Karma. One can also have bad Karma by treating people and or situations bad.

Buddhists also belief that anyone can achieve enlightenment, as long as they meditate and understand their spiritual self, and understand the state of inner calm.

This religion first became known in India than begain to expanded. After a short amount of time Buddhism became known and practiced world wide. The practice of Buddhism has lessened in India. There is now more Hindusim studied in India. Buddhism lessened around 300 A.D. Buddhism became a monastic religion, priets and nuns living in monasteries and dependent on the support of rulers and wealthy contributors.

Impact

When Buddhism entered China, it shaped Chinese philosophy, beliefs, and ritual. Buddhism effected on the material world of the Chinese. Buddhism brought products to China such as prayer beads and monastic clothing. When though Buddhism has been on a deline in India, Buddhism is effecting China and the countries around it. Not only products that are increasing their economy, but also beliefs on how people should react to the world and how to treat others.

Works Cited

"Buddhism." About.com. 2008. 1 Feb. 2009 .

"An Introduction to Buddhism." An Introduction to Buddhism. 2008. 2 Feb. 2009 .

"The religion of Buddhism." Religious tolerance. 1996. 1 Feb. 2009 .