Oh Buddha!
Updated: Jan 22, 2021
Founded in the Northeastern India, Buddhism was established by Prince Siddhartha in the 10th Century. The founder was extraordinary but is not viewed as a god within the lifestyle. Buddhism denies the existent of a Supreme god or deities. The Gautama Buddha was a Hindu Prince who renounced wealth after 29 years of having wealth to seek enlightenment as a spiritual ascension. Prophecy given at his birth said that he would become either a powerful king or a spiritual leader Considering this split path, his father had feared the prophecy.
In the earliest teachings of Buddhism, they were based on Shakyamuni teachings and moral code. In this way of life, enlightenment is seen as inner peace and wisdom. To contribute to finding inner peace, Buddhists avoid self-indulgence and self-denial. Foundational ideas are comfort and reincarnation.
The Ways to Practice:
Abiding and Living by the 4 Noble Truths
End Suffering of Others
Follow Noble 8 Fold Path
Understanding Karma and Dharma
The Noble Truths help establish the ideas of Suffering within Buddhism but also the ways in which Buddhists can end this Suffering. Just like the Ten Commandments and Beatitudes of Christianity, the 4 Noble Truths serve as pillars of Buddhism.
These Noble Truths are:
Dukkha : Suffering always exists as a feeling of an undercurrent of anxiety and uncertainty.
Samudaya : The Suffering we endure comes from cravings and fundamental ignorance.
Nirodha : Ending of this Suffering comes from purification of our obscurations and awakening our minds so they are always available to us.
Magga : The path is to practice meditation and developing wisdom. Essentially we are able to take the journey to enlightenment and freedom from suffering like the Buddhas.
Just as most religions and lifestyles have their own sources of where evil comes from, Buddhism breaks down these originating emotions with representation through animals. Just as most earth based religions correlate the human to the environment and living beings around them, Buddhism associates animals to human emotion. These are known as the Roots of Evil.
The 3 Roots of Evil:
The Rooster = Greed & Desire
The Pig = Ignorance and Delusion
The Snake = hatred and Destructive Urges
The Secret of Buddhism is to understand why our emotions cause us so much suffering. Once we come into this realization, our paths become clearer and digestible. One way in which they reach this awareness is through meditation. Meditation is a form to ‘awaken truth’ to get to the point of peace and serenity. While it is best to use meditation to get to that point of serenity and peace, it is also used to open themselves. Awareness in a higher sense helps establish a stronger sense of what is not serving them and how to apply the 4 Noble Truths into their own lives.
Practices to Enhance Your Spiritual Awakening in Buddhism:
Using Mantras which are chants that are repeatedly used in things such as meditation.
Chanting involves using scriptures in a rhythmic song
Mala beads are a string of beads, usually made out of sandalwood, in order to help[ focus during worship.
The Noble 8 Fold Path:
1. Right Understanding (Samma Ditthi) : the understanding that things are as they and the four noble truths explain things as they really are.
2. Right Touch (Samma Sankappa) : thoughts of selfless detachment, love, and nonviolence are embraced.
3. Right Speech (Samma Vaca) : means abstention from spreading lies, from slander and talk that may bring about hatred, enmity, disunity, and disharmony among individuals or groups of people, also from harsh, rude, impolite, malicious, and abusive language, and laslty from idle and useless gossip.
4. Right Action (Samma Kammanta) : promoting moral, honorable, and peaceful conduct.
5. Right Livelihood (Samma Ajiva) : means that one should abstain from making one’s living through a profession that brings harm to others & profession which is honorable, blameless, and innocent of harm to others.
6. Right Effort (Samma Vayama) : preventing evil from arising in the mind of man.
7 Right Mindfulness (Samma Sati) : is to be diligently aware, mindful, and attentive with regard to (1) the activities of the body (kaya), (2) sensations or feelings (vedana), (3) the activities of the mind (citta) and (4) ideas, thoughts, conceptions, and things (dhamma).
8. Right Concentration (Samma Samadhi) : four stages called Dhyana = 1. passionate desires and certain unwholesome thoughts are discarded and replaced with happy emotions. 2. Intellectual activities are suppressed. 3. The active sensation of joy disappears and the disposition remains. 4. only pure equanimity and awareness remains.
Work Cited
History.com Editors. “Buddhism.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 12 Oct. 2017, www.history.com/topics/religion/buddhism.
“Origins of Buddhism.” Origins of Buddhism - The Art of Asia - Buddhism, The Art of Asia, www.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/buddhism/buddhism-origins.cfm.
Rahula, Walpola Sri. “The Noble Eightfold Path: Meaning and Practice.” Tricycle, 28 May 2019, tricycle.org/magazine/noble-eightfold-path/.
“Religions - Buddhism: The Four Noble Truths.” BBC, BBC, 17 Nov. 2009, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/beliefs/fournobletruths_1.shtml.
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