Enlightenment in Buddhism

and decomposes here on earth, and my soul would continue on to either an eternity of torture, or in paradise if I have proven my trust in our savior, God. This doctrine would be considered exclusivism or judegementalism. However, in the face of Buddhism, such ideas are feuded. Siddhartha Gautama, the supreme Buddha, taught that there is no established heaven or hell as viewed by Christians, but rather a rebirth into another body or the achievement of Nirvana. To…

Xiangyan Hits Bamboo. Xiangyan forgot that there were bamboo trees behind him as he hoed his field. In his field he found a tile. Upon throwing the tile behind his back and the tile hitting a bamboo tree, the unexpected hollow sound caused his Enlightenment and his connectedness with nature (Zen Masters, Chung 74). In order to unite the self with nature, of course it is pertinent to first unite the self with its’…

Conflict: an analysis of how the World Religions traditions have been known to handle conflict Conflict can arise in many different forms, within different people or groups. Based on people’s origins there are several places to look at conflict and its resolution such as religion. In Hinduism and Judaism, both religions are forced to resolve conflict in various areas, but most prominently with invading peoples and ideologies. Both religions have been known to handle this conflict in a similar…

religious figures are completely different. They are fundamentally more different than alike, historically and spiritually. Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, is the Son of God, the Father. The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, was a prince who achieved enlightenment through meditation outside his kingdom. Siddhartha, was then referred to as the Buddha or the Awakened. Siddhartha was born to a noble king and Queen, oppose to Jesus being born to a virgin named Mary and a…

Between Christianity and Buddhism, we have two savior figures, Jesus and Amitabha Buddha. Jesus is the glorified savior whose path of salvation is played out in the death and the resurrection of him in the realm of history. Amitabha Buddha on the other hand, has a completely different…

the religion of Buddhism without inner peace outer peace is impossible. So, Buddhists believe that in order to accomplish world peace people need to find peace in their own minds. Only by finding peace within our own mind and helping others to do the same we achieve peace in the whole world. Also, focusing on self-enlightenment and to be happy in life, we can clearly see how the Dalai Lama cares to serve humanity by showing qualities of peace, happiness, wisdom and enlightenment. His peaceful…

question has been pondered by key religious and ideological figures throughout history. One such figure was Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince whose teachings make up Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths can summarize Buddhist ideology; doctrines that were delivered during the first sermon Siddhartha gave following his enlightenment. The first truth acknowledges the existence of suffering in the form of such phenomena as death, aging, sickness, and not getting what one desires. The second…

himself to live for a long time. The bird is not a regular bird however, it is a representation of his soul signifying that “he had thrown away…all that was good and of value in himself” (82). This awakening revived his younger spirit of seeking enlightenment and relief from suffering instead of satisfaction of worldly pleasures. Furthermore, after having this epiphany, he realized that his higher purpose in life sending him into the next phase of his…

managed to span the tests of time and expand into other regions of Asia such as Thailand and Cambodia centuries later. Keep in mind that the original Indian Buddhist artists did not believe in representing the Buddha in an anthropomorphic form. When Buddhism was first developing, the Buddha would typically have been represented in an an-iconic form as a pair of footprints or an empty space on top of a chair, animal, or underneath an umbrella. However, these principles of representation changed…

make myself a better person. On top of the work I have done in regards to myself, the affect this ‘conversion’ has had on my family and friends is what drives me to continue to do what I am doing. My goal is to finally reach that feeling of enlightenment whether I am eighteen or eighty. Only then will I allow death to take me from my skin and bones as I know I will have lived…