Daenism

Overview

The name Buddhism comes from the word 'budhi' which means 'to wake up' and thus Buddhism is the philosophy of awakening. Buddhism may be called a philosophy or a religion, depending on your viewpoint and which sect of Bhuddism you are considering.

All major religions, Buddhism included, have split into schools and sects. But the different sects of Buddhism have never gone to war with each other, they have never been towards each other and to this day, they go to each other's temples and worship together.

The followers of Buddhism believe in reincarnation. They believe that we are bound on the wheel of fate or Karma until we can achieve Nirvana or freedom from desire. They believe in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path as a means to escape the cycle of rebirth.

Key concepts are Karma, Wisdom and Compassion. [edit] Karma

Karma is the law that every cause has an effect, i.e., our actions have results. This simple law explains a number of things: inequality in the world, why some are born handicapped and some gifted, why some live only a short life. Karma underlines the importance of all individuals being responsible for their past and present actions. How can we test the karmic effect of our actions? The answer is summed up by looking at (1) the intention behind the action, (2) effects of the action on oneself, and (3) the effects on others. [edit] Wisdom

Buddhism teaches that wisdom should be developed with compassion. At one extreme, you could be a goodhearted fool and at the other extreme, you could attain knowledge without any emotion. Buddhism uses the middle path to develop both. The highest wisdom is seeing that in reality, all phenomena are incomplete, impermanent and do no constitute a fixed entity. True wisdom is not simply believing what we are told but instead experiencing and understanding truth and reality. Wisdom requires an open, objective, unbigoted mind. The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility and intelligence. [edit] Compassion

Compassion includes qualities of sharing, readiness to give comfort, sympathy, concern, caring. In Buddhism, we can really understand others, when we can really understand ourselves, through wisdom. [edit] The four noble truths [edit] Life is Suffering

Life includes physical suffering such as pain, disease, old age and death. There is also mental suffering such as frustration, fear, loneliness and anger. Rather than expecting things to be bad, Buddhism explains how suffering can be avoided and how we can be truly happy. [edit] Suffering is caused by desire

We suffer when we expect others to meet our desires, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want, and so on. Even getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Instead of struggling to get what you want, try to modify your desires. Desire robs us of true stisfaction. A lifetime of desire, and in particular the desire for continued existance, creates a powerful energy which causes the individual to be born. So unchecked desire leads to physical suffering because it causes us to be reborn. [edit] Suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained

True contentment and fulfillment are possible. Neither dwell on the past, nor desire a fancied future but live each day at a time. By giving up foolish desires then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others. This is Nirvana. [edit] To overcome sufferng, follow the 8-fold path

The Noble 8-fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering. [edit] The Noble 8-Fold Path

In summary, the Noble 8-fold Path is being moral (through what we say, do and our livelihood), focussing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others. [edit] The 5 Precepts

The moral code within Buddhism is the precepts, of which the main five are:

* not to take the life of anything living, * not to take anything not freely given, * to abstain from sexual misconduct and sensual overindulgence, * to refrain from untrue speech, and * to avoid intoxication, that is, losing mindfulness.

[edit] Varieties of Buddhism

In Buddhism there are two basic schools:

Theravada, which is basically the original Buddhism that the Buddha taught. It is often considered much more austere and is nowhere near as widespread as the other school.

Mahayana is the other school. It is a combination of Buddhist principles and other belief systems already in places. In many places, the combination of Mahayana Buddhism created whole new ideas and forms of thought (Mahayana + Taoism = Chan/Zen Buddhism, for example). It must be pointed out that in Buddhism, combining it with other beliefs isn't frowned upon. Buddhism is usually viewed as compatible with other religions.

The main differences can be found in the trail to enlightenment. In Theravada one seeks monasticism and austere practises of monasticism in order to climb the rebirth ladder and eventually find Nirvana/Nibbana. In Mahayana, there are several different views on enlightenment but the road is much less rough.

[edit] Buddhism in Terra [edit] Countries with a significant Buddhist population

* Luthori - 17 Million * Indrala - 13 Million * Kanjor - 6.8 Million

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Categories: Religion