Around 500 BC, Buddhism was established in India and later migrated to Central Asia (Borchert 592). Siddhattha Gotama became the Buddha almost 3,000 years ago and said some rules in the religion would be changed. As a result of this, different sections of Buddhism branched out: Mahayana, Hinayana, and Theravada (Borchert 608). The Buddha thus gained enlightenment by scrutinizing the hidden meanings of the mind, universe and life. Upon reaching enlightenment through a deep level of meditation, he was free from worldly possessions and excessive desires. He dedicated a good part of his life to teaching the Dhamma, which is the Path of “the nature of things (Borchert 598).” Buddha teachings include: the way of Inquiry, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, kamma, rebirth, no creator God, and the illusion of the soul. He strongly believed that one should be open to learning about new religions and see what religion they want to follow (Berkwitz 163).
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The way of Inquiry was taught to prevent people from entering a religion because of tradition. The Four Noble truths focuses on human suffering and how we can avoid it in order to attain happiness. The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to practice virtue in order to reach meditation and then attain enlightenment. Kamma or karma, states that our previous actions determine our current experiences. The consequences of kamma can be good or bad and in order to receive good kamma one should aim to perform good deeds to receive good karma in return. An individual should act within their morals to refrain from receiving bad kamma. The cycle of Rebirth focuses on our past lives and whether or not we lived a righteous life. It is a probable explanation as to why some individuals are granted a higher status in society than others. The Buddha never claimed to be a God and teaches that one is responsible for the outcome of their life (Berkwitz 249). The soul is an illusion to the Buddha and he claims it is the root of all suffering. Conclusion sentence for paragraph. In Buddha’s teachings, it regards the ‘soul’ to be non-existent because the living being is temporary and when one deceases there is nothing permanent left of that being (Borchert 615). In the cycle of Rebirth, there is correlation between one’s past life and their current life but a soul has not advanced. Transmigration of the soul from one life as an animal to them becoming human does not occur. The idea of the ‘soul’ exhibits the ego which causes an individual to seek control. Wanting control of life then leads to a lack of inner peace and harmony because the wants for worldly possession ultimately lead to suffering. Human attachments to materialistic possessions cause suffering because it becomes hard to detach ourselves and ultimately reach enlightenment. Hinduism was devised around 1500 BC in India. The Brahman, is the Supreme, Universal Soul: it is the Reality and Truth (Two Ways Hinduism Looks At Karma). Hinduism is a polytheistic religion that has gods and goddess that descend Brahman. (Two Ways Hinduism Looks At Karma). Brahma is “the creator” because he creates everything in the universe every so often. Vishnu, is the preserver because he keeps maintains the peace in the universe. Shiva, is the destroyer who prepares the universe for renewal by destroying it. Ganapati has an elephant head and is said to have the ability to remove our hardships. There are many more gods and goddess who were derived from Brahman. Hindus have all the intentions to live an honorable life and endorse tolerance. The caste system was developed in ancient India to create a society with different social statues: Brahmin, Kshatiyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras (Two Ways Hinduism Looks At Karma). The Brahmin was the highest class and each class was subordinate (Shah 356). The Shudras was the lowest class that would provide the manual agricultural labor (Two Ways Hinduism Looks at Karma). It was believed that separating the social classes would make a society more productive and efficient. The untouchables were those were highly unskilled and were …show more content…
Our soul defines our true character and is responsible for the way we behave. The repercussions of our actions in the next life are determined by karma. The soul stays the same eternally but attaches to a different body in the next life
The way of Inquiry was taught to prevent people from entering a religion because of tradition. The Four Noble truths focuses on human suffering and how we can avoid it in order to attain happiness. The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to practice virtue in order to reach meditation and then attain enlightenment. Kamma or karma, states that our previous actions determine our current experiences. The consequences of kamma can be good or bad and in order to receive good kamma one should aim to perform good deeds to receive good karma in return. An individual should act within their morals to refrain from receiving bad kamma. The cycle of Rebirth focuses on our past lives and whether or not we lived a righteous life. It is a probable explanation as to why some individuals are granted a higher status in society than others. The Buddha never claimed to be a God and teaches that one is responsible for the outcome of their life (Berkwitz 249). The soul is an illusion to the Buddha and he claims it is the root of all suffering. Conclusion sentence for paragraph. In Buddha’s teachings, it regards the ‘soul’ to be non-existent because the living being is temporary and when one deceases there is nothing permanent left of that being (Borchert 615). In the cycle of Rebirth, there is correlation between one’s past life and their current life but a soul has not advanced. Transmigration of the soul from one life as an animal to them becoming human does not occur. The idea of the ‘soul’ exhibits the ego which causes an individual to seek control. Wanting control of life then leads to a lack of inner peace and harmony because the wants for worldly possession ultimately lead to suffering. Human attachments to materialistic possessions cause suffering because it becomes hard to detach ourselves and ultimately reach enlightenment. Hinduism was devised around 1500 BC in India. The Brahman, is the Supreme, Universal Soul: it is the Reality and Truth (Two Ways Hinduism Looks At Karma). Hinduism is a polytheistic religion that has gods and goddess that descend Brahman. (Two Ways Hinduism Looks At Karma). Brahma is “the creator” because he creates everything in the universe every so often. Vishnu, is the preserver because he keeps maintains the peace in the universe. Shiva, is the destroyer who prepares the universe for renewal by destroying it. Ganapati has an elephant head and is said to have the ability to remove our hardships. There are many more gods and goddess who were derived from Brahman. Hindus have all the intentions to live an honorable life and endorse tolerance. The caste system was developed in ancient India to create a society with different social statues: Brahmin, Kshatiyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras (Two Ways Hinduism Looks At Karma). The Brahmin was the highest class and each class was subordinate (Shah 356). The Shudras was the lowest class that would provide the manual agricultural labor (Two Ways Hinduism Looks at Karma). It was believed that separating the social classes would make a society more productive and efficient. The untouchables were those were highly unskilled and were …show more content…
Our soul defines our true character and is responsible for the way we behave. The repercussions of our actions in the next life are determined by karma. The soul stays the same eternally but attaches to a different body in the next life