BUDDHISM
Buddhism was founded by Buddha Gautama (Siddhartha Gautama).
Siddhartha was a rich child. There was a prophecy upon him: that he would become a wandering monk, but his father wanted him to take care of the family fortune after his death, and took care of it that Siddhartha would not become a holy man, by almost isolating him from the world outside the palace. Soon Siddhartha became suspicious with the palace life and wanted to see the outside world. He made four trips outside the palace and there he saw four things that changed his life. On the first three trips, he saw a sick man, old man, and a dead man. He asked himself, “How can I enjoy a life of pleasure when there is so much suffering in the world?”
On his fourth trip, he saw a wandering monk who had given up everything he owned to seek an end to suffering. “I shall be like him.” Siddhartha thought. After seeing these things, Siddhartha chose to leave his family: wife and children, so that he could become a guru/monk… A holy man.
He became an apprentice of a monk and meditated with out almost any food for months, until one day when he left as he felt hungry and that he had gained almost nothing. He started living in the so called “middle way”. One day he sat under a bodhi tree and he sat there until he gained enlightenment “I will not leave this spot until I find an end to suffering.” He said. As he sat under the tree meditating he (according to a legend) was protected from evil spirits and desires, by something that could be described as a strong “aura” or “cakra” working as a shield from the spirits.
In Buddhist literature the Sanskrit term cakra is used in a different sense of "circle", referring to a Buddhist conception of the 4 circles or states of existence in which gods or men may find themselves.
As he meditated he also wrote teachings of his enlightenment. These teachings were written on leaves.
The tittle Buddha came from his friends that started naming him Buddha “the awekened one” this is because once a hindu asked him that: “Are you a god?” (revering to a avatar: a god in human form) Siddharta answerred “no.” so the hindu said “What are you then”, Siddhartha replied “I am awake” .
Teachings: the Dharma
Buddhism has four noble truths, that are:
1) All life involves suffering:
Suffering: Everyone suffers from these thing
Birth- When we are born, we cry.
Sickness- When we are sick, we are miserable.
Old age- When old, we will have ache and pains and find it hard to get around.
Death- None of us wants to die. We feel deep sorrow when someone dies. Every thing we enjoy gives us also suffering.
2) The suffering originates from our desires.
3) There is a sate in wich there is no suffering. Buddhists call the state in which all suffering is ended Nirvana
4) there is a way to get to this state. The way is to follow the middle way.
Buddhism three Great truths:
1) Nothing is lost in the universe.
Everything originates from something. We are born from our parents. Plants grow from other plants. When we die we become soil that makes these plants that feed us and the animals that we eat. Therefore we are everything and everything is us.
2) Everything changes.
3) The law of cause and effect
is known as karma. Nothing ever happens to us unless we deserve it. We receive exactly what we earn, whether it is good or bad. We are the way we are now due to the things we have done in the past. Our thoughts and actions determine the kind of life we can have. If we do good things, in the future good things will happen to us. If we do bad things, in the future bad things will happen to us. Every moment we create new karma by what we say, do, and think. If we understand this, we do not need to fear karma. It becomes our friend. It teaches us to create a bright future.
The eightfold path = the middle way:
1. Right View. The right way to think about life is to see the world through the eyes of the Buddha.
2. Right Thought. We are what we think. Clear and kind thoughts build good, strong people.
3. Right Speech. By speaking politely and helpfully, we are respected and trusted by everyone.
4. Right Conduct. No matter what we say, others know us from the way we behave. Before we criticize others, we should first see what we do ourselves.
5. Right Livelihood. This means choosing a job that does not hurt others. The Buddha said, "Do not earn your living by harming others. Do not seek happiness by making others unhappy."
6. Right Effort. A worthwhile life means doing our best at all times and having good will toward others. This also means not wasting effort on things that harm us and others around us.
7. Right Mindfulness. This means being aware of our thoughts, words, and deeds.
8. Right Concentration. Focus on one thought or object at a time. By doing this, we can be quiet and attain true peace of mind.
Rituals
Burial:
- Don't move the body for 72 hours
- Perform special chanting, beginning at the moment of death and continuing for 72 hours
- Cremate the body after 72 hours
- Perform a memorial ceremony after 72 hours
- Continue with special chanting for 49 days after death
- Perform a 49-day ceremony
- Perform a 1-year memorial ceremony
- Perform a 3-year memorial ceremony
Everything is to honor the dead.
There are numeral rituals in Buddhism and they are mostly prayers and meditation of some kind.
Buddhism is mostly found in Asia in countries for example Japan, China, Nepal, and India, and Buddhist monasteries are found all around the world. There are about 340 million Buddhists in the world today and the belief is about 2500 years old.
From all of this we can say that the religion of Buddhism differs quite from Christianity: In Christianity we also say that there is suffering but unlike in Buddhism we also say that where there is suffering there is also joy, and therefore we should not actually try and avoid all suffering, unlike in Buddhism where the idea is to get to a state of no suffering.
In Buddhism they do not kill animals because they think they are one with them and the world unlike we who think that God made the animals for us so that we could use them as pets food or producers of something, we Christians also think that everything is in some way everything but not in the same way: we say that God created everything, that God is everything that God rules everything.
Christians also have the Ten Commandments and the other rules unlike the Buddhists who have the 3 Great truths, 4 noble truths and the eightfold path to follow that greatly differ from these of Christianity.
BIBLIOCRAPHY
http://www.tealchemy.org/where/buddha/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/20773
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/footsteps.htm
http://www.buddha-dharma.info/julkilausuma.htm
