Kaitlin Primeau

Religion in America
Dr. Turner
11/21/13
Buddhism
Buddhism is an eastern religion inspired by the teachings o !iddhartha "autama# the
Buddha. Buddhism $as ounded in %&& B'( in )epal.
"autama Buddha $as born in *umbini# )epal sometime bet$een +%3 and ,-3 B'(. .e
$as born into a royal amily/ his ather $as the 0ing o Kapila1astu# a region o ancient 2ndia.
.is ather3s name $as !uddhodana and his mother $as 4ueen 5aha 5aya. 2t is said that $hile
5aya $as pregnant $ith "autama# she dreamt o a beautiul $hite elephant $ith si6 tus0s. This
elephant descended rom the s0y and $ent into her $omb. This dream $as interpreted by the
Brahmins 7.indu priests8 as a sign that the 9ueen3s unborn child $ould be a great ruler.
"autama3s mother died not long ater his birth. .is upbringing $as ta0en o1er by his
aunt. As the child gre$# a holy man noticed that "autama presented the thirty t$o physical mar0s
o holiness 7such as golden s0in and blue eyes8 and predicted he $ould be a great man.
"autama Buddha gre$ up in his ather3s palaces. At the age o si6teen# his ather
arranged a marriage bet$een him and his cousin# :asodhara# also si6teen years o age. .is $ie
e1entually ga1e birth to a son# Rahula. "autama li1ed as a prince until he $as t$enty nine# $hen
he had his spiritual a$a0ening and noble lie.
;ne day# "autama let the palace grounds to meet the common people. ;n the road he
sa$ a corpse# sic0 man# and a asting holy man. This inspired him to lea1e his comortable lie
and li1e as a holy man $ith the purpose o inding reedom rom death and illness. .e li1ed as a
beggar and $as taught ho$ to meditate in the style o yoga by t$o ello$ ascetics. .e depri1ed
himsel o $orldly pleasures and ate 1ery little.
2t $as during this ormati1e period that Buddha disco1ered the the )oble (ightold Path#
the teachings at the heart o Buddhist philosophy. .e meditated under a tree or orty nine days
until he achie1ed (nlightenment. .e tra1elled and beriended t$o merchants# his irst disciples.
.e then began to gi1e sermons# this attracted more disciples. "autama and his ollo$ers ormed
the irst Buddhist community or mon0s# or a <sangha=. This sangha soon gre$ to o1er 1#&&&
members.
>or the rest o his lie# the Buddha tra1eled and preached to people rom all le1els o
society. .e ?ourneyed throughout northern 2ndia and southern )epal. @nli0e .induism# the
popular religion in the region at the time# Buddhism did not support the caste system. The caste
system is a social hierarchy created and enorced by .indus. There $ere our le1elsA Brahmins
7priests and teachers8# Kshatriyas 7$arriors8# Baishyas 7armers8# !hudras 7artisans8# and
Panchamas 7the lo$est members o society# <the untouchables=8. Buddha $elcomed all citiCens
as ollo$ers# e1en Panchamas.
"autama3s ather $as 1ery disappointed in the lie his son had chosen. Royal messengers
oten 1isited the Buddha# beseeching him to return to the castle and 1isit King !uddhodana. Ater
ten messengers tried to con1ince him# "autama came bac0 to Kapila1astu. .e ate a meal $ith his
ather and the rest o his amily. .e shared his teachings# $hich mo1ed some o his relati1es to
?oin his mo1ement. .e let ater this noonday meal# but later returned to the castle $hen he heard
!uddhodana $as dying.
"autama $ent to his ather3s deathbed and preached $ords o consolation. .is
ather con1erted and attained )ir1ana beore passing a$ay. >ollo$ing
!uddhodana3s death# "autama3s oster mother# 4ueen 5aha Pa?apati "otami
petitioned the Buddha to allo$ her to start a community o Buddhist nuns. .e
reused. !he 0ept as0ing and a e$ years later# he inally allo$ed it. .o$e1er#
he ga1e the nuns a special set o rules# the Binaya.
Ater a long ministry# Buddha died at the age o eighty in $hat is no$ present day
Kushinagar# 2ndia. Beore his death# he ate one last meal $ith his mon0s. .e as0ed them i they
had any 9uestions he needed to ans$er beore he perished# they had none. .e instructed them to
ollo$ no leader ater his death. The buddha3s body $as cremated. ;ne o his irst disciples#
5aha0asyapa $as elected to guide the mon0s as head o the >irst Buddhist council.
2n the ne6t i1e hundred years ollo$ing the Buddha3s death# three ma?or types o
Buddhism emerged. Thera1ada Buddhism $as the earliest orm. Thera1ada translates to <the
Doctrine o the (lders= and started around 2+& B'(. 2t deri1es rom the original teachings o the
Buddha. Thera1ada Buddhist doctrine diers rom other schools in a e$ $aysA they belie1e
once someone has achie1ed enlightenment# they are indestructible spiritually. They also belie1e
intuition comes rom analysis o the soul as opposed to blind aith.
5ahayana Buddhism $as ounded around +&& B'(. 5ahayana literally means <the
"reat Behicle=. They ha1e their o$n scriptures 0no$n as the 5ahayana !utras. These include a
collection o te6ts called <The Perection o Disdom=. These go in depth about 1ie$ing the
$orld as it truly is# the Buddhist deinition o Disdom.
Ba?rayana Buddhism is the ne$est o these three ma?or groups. 2t began sometime
bet$een ,&& '( and -&& '(. 2t is also 0no$n as Tantric Buddhism because o its ocus on
tantric techni9ues. Their undamental practices include deity yoga 7meditation one 1isualiCes sel
as a deity8# guru yoga 7?oining $ith the thoughts o a guru8# and death yoga 7meditating until the
mind is empty8.
There are t$o Buddhist philosophies that all Buddhists ollo$A The )oble (ightold Path
and the >our )oble Truths. The our noble truths areA
EAll lie 0no$s suering. )obody gets $hat they $ant out o lie.
The cause o suering is ignorance and clinging. Danting it is the problem.
There is a $ay to end suering. By learning not to $ant it.
This is the $ay to end sueringA The (ightold Path3.
The steps in The (ightold PathA
ERight @nderstanding *earning the nature o reality and the truth about lie.
Right Aspiration 5a0ing the commitment to li1ing in such a $ay that our
suering can end.
Right (ort Fust Do 2t. )o (6cuses.
Right !peech !pea0ing the truth in a helpul and compassionate $ay.
Right 'onduct *i1ing a lie consistent $ith our 1alues.
Right *i1elihood (arning a li1ing in a $ay that doesn3t hurt others.
Right 5indulness RecogniCing the 1alue o the momentG li1ing $here $e are.
Right 'oncentration (6panding our consciousness through meditation3.
Today# Buddhism is the ourth largest religion. There are 3%& million Buddhists total in
the $orld. 2t is most popular in 'hina# Thailand# and Fapan. Thera1ada Buddhism is most popular
in 'ambodia and Thailand. 5ahayana Buddhism is the most popular $orld$ide. Ba?rayana is
most common in Tibet.
Buddhism has been around or 2+&& years. *ie and society has changed drastically since
it $as originally ounded. Buddhists are oten as0ed to gi1e their stance on such contro1ersial
issues as abortion# $ar# and the en1ironment. ;pinions dier based on the indi1idual3s school o
thought# but a general consensus can be determined.
Buddhism belie1es that lie starts at conception# thus ending the lie o the child is
considered a gra1e misdeed. .o$e1er# there are times $hen it could be ?ustiied. >or e6ample# it
$ould be morally o0ay to abort a etus $hen the mother3s lie is in danger because o it. E.is
.oliness the Dalai *ama has stated in an inter1ie$ $ith the )e$ :or0 Times that H ... abortion
should be appro1ed or disappro1ed according to each circumstance.H3
Buddhists are supposed to a1oid purposeully harming or ending the lie o a li1ing thing.
Peace is a 1ital part o Buddhist lie. The Buddha himsel preached that <(1en i thie1es car1e
you limb rom limb $ith a double/handed sa$# i you ma0e your mind hostile you are not
ollo$ing my teaching=.
'ra1ing is seen as a source o suering in Buddhist philosophy. !e6ual desire or lust is
considered a type o cra1ing and thus should be a1oided# e1en though denying these $ishes is
painul. Pleasure is seen as a barrier to (nlightenment. 5on0s and nuns are re9uired to be
completely celibate.
Buddhists consider the lie o e1ery creature sacred. This leads them to a1oiding hurting
any li1ing creature# both humans and other animals. Thus they a1oid indirectly damaging lie on
earth as $ell# or e6ample through damaging the en1ironment or eating meat.
Buddhism is a 1ery old religion but is still 1ery relatable today. 2t continues to gro$ in
numbers and be a source o hope# a $ay o lie or many people. 2 personally am not a Buddhist#
but their peaceul liestyle and desire to help others ma0es me hope they stic0 around or a long
time.