A few Details Of Buddhism

Many individuals have misconceptions about Buddhism. Here are a few facts many people manage to get wrong.

1) Siddhartha Gautama never traveled away from India but his teachings did. Siddhartha Gautama was obviously a spiritual teacher in Ancient India who founded Buddhism. It is very important understand that he was a Vedic Brahman (Hindu by today’s standards) lots of his ideas were originally area of the ancient traditional religions from the local historical period. He is thought to have lived from around 563 BCE to a number exceeding 483 BCE as they is considered to get died at 80 years old. He traveled and taught along the Ganges River Valley starting near his home, near precisely what is now Nepal.

2) He’s sometimes called Shakyamuni Buddha, or even the Prince in the Shakyas, as a result of Ssakya Mountain Range that has been his father’s (King Suddhodana) kingdom. He came to be a prince but made a decision to turn into a holy man. He grew up in wealth and shielded from the outside world but became interested in what people’s lives away from palace may be like. Many legends surround his birth, but all of that is definitely known is always that his mother was supposed to have left in childbirth or soon (days) afterwards. His father had been warned shortly after his birth that they would become a great military leader or perhaps a great spiritual leader. His father, the king, had his very own ideas products was proper for Siddhartha, but, at about 29 years of age, with the help his charioteer, he escaped the palace walls and ventured outside to discover what life was like for other people. He witnessed the consequences of final years, sickness, and saw a corpse, producing alert to death. Finally, he saw an ascetic. Siddharha’s charioteer explained that this ascetic was one that had renounced the planet and sought release from nervous about death and suffering.

3) Buddhism began by Siddhartha in order to end the suffering (dissatisfaction) of all individuals. He realized the fact that we’re all impermanent and went on the spiritual hunt for enlightenment. He studied because of the best teachers of religion and philosophy that he might find at that time and learned the best way to meditate but decided that somehow wasn’t enough for him.

4) The very center Way: He still had much to master and considered the ascetics of times to follow along with however in time found out that the extremes they endured weren’t being employed by him. He followed their ways of self inflicting pain and enduring it, fasting until he was weak, and holding his breath. This hadn’t satisfy him while he decided this was the next ego inflating way of self-gratification, proving one’s self through self-abuse. He made a decision to turn from their strict abeyance to rules about starving yourself and eating unclean things, while he realized he’d need strength to keep his quest, so he developed what is called “the middle way”. When his disciples saw that they wasn’t following a way they thought necessary, they thought we would leave him. He left and made a decision to sit within a sacred fig tree until he previously discovered the solution. The tree was that which was considered a sacred fig tree near Bodh Gaya, the tree being named later, the Bodhi Tree. From Wikipedia * “…The Bodhi Tree, also referred to as Bo (from your Sinhalese Bo), was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree (Ficus religiosa) in Bodh Gaya (about 100 km (62 mi) from Patna in the Indian condition of Bihar), to which SiddhÄÂrtha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, has been said to own achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi….”

5) His Awakening: In the deep condition of meditation (samadhi) for a few days he became enlightened then when he rose from his deep meditation, he asserted that he previously some techniques to the questions he had sought. He imparted the wisdom from the four noble truths and also the eightfold path that can for a reason. Minus the previous, the rest would be impossible to accomplish. 6)The 4 Noble Truths

1) Suffering (dukkha) exists. (All humans suffer during birth, pain, sickness, and death.

2) Explanation for suffering is desire. All of us have desires which are either selfish or unrealistic. This is considered “delusional”.

3) There exists a method to reach cessation of suffering.

4) The cessation of suffering comes through practicing the eightfold path. (Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the Eightfold Path.)

7) The Eightfold Path

1) Right View Wisdom

2) Right Intention Wisdom

3) Right Speech Ethical Conduct

4) Right Action Ethical Conduct

5) Right Livelihood Ethical Conduct

6) Right Effort Mental Development

7) Right Mindfulness Mental Development

8) Right Concentration/Meditation Mental Development

8) Buddhist Principles: By striving towards the right thing one lessens selfish desire, therefore reaching a state of happiness internally that is not dependent on conditional circumstances. Mindfulness in all things is a key ingredient. If one understands that any tangible thing that we desire is impermanent and ceases to be “attached” to these things that we cannot keep, then one becomes more at peace. We can not become attached to any views since we will become passionate about this and when circumstances change, our view will no longer be important or pertinent.

9) Buddhism is not a self help program: Beware of those who call themselves a master or try to sell you “enlightenment”. There are many books and centers out there which try to use words like enlightenment” that is something that actually has to be attained personally, it can’t be given or taught in a paint by the numbers program that promises some things. First, the word enlightenment is not used in any of the texts from Siddhartha Gautama was concerned that people might rush into this without understanding and this would lead to repeating traditional ceremonies without understanding, which will lead to disappointment because of the lack of benefit from practice. Do not come to an understanding of Buddhism lightly or quickly, take your time and be sure. This will take investigation. Investigate completely, any facets that you don’t understand until it makes sense. Also, practice with others and a good teacher are the best method of learning.

10) Buddhism IS A RELIGION: It disturbs some Buddhists that some people feel that Buddhism is just a philosophy. Some people feel there has to be a main book or one religious deity to worship in order for a religion to be real. Most modern practitioners of Buddhism see that all religions are filled with mythology and they understand that most deities and mythological objects in Buddhism are analogies for science and nature or our own mental make up that early man could not explain. Some practitioners, especially in Asia, still believe in the physical existence of some of these objects and deities. We have to remember that early Buddhist teachings came from Siddhartha Gautama in India, who was a Vedic Brahman. It then traveled across Asia to China where it adapted to Confucianism, which relied strongly on Filial Piety. It then traveled through to Japan, where it adapted to Shinto, which is still practiced side by side with Buddhism in Japan. Buddhism was created to adapt to all other learning. Siddhartha Gautama likened it to “a raft to get to the other side” in a parable he taught. “The Parable of The Raft ” When speaking to his followers Gautama Buddha said, “When you come to a river and the current is too fast to allow you to swim across and there is no bridge then you might decide to build a raft. If after crossing the river you would have some choices as to what to do with the raft. a) You could tie it to the bank to be used by someone else later. b) You could set it afloat for someone else to find. c) You could say to yourself, “What a wonderful raft”, and then pick it up and carry it around on top of your head from now on. Which would be proper use of the raft? Buddhism is practiced in most countries around the world, although Buddhists make up only about 7% of the world’s religious population. Only a few modern Buddhist sects use an evangelical approach, trying to convert everyone around them. Most Buddhists refrain from trying to propagate their religion to anyone who doesn’t seek it.

To get more information about Deva go to our new web site.

Leave a Reply