Introduction On Buddhism
What Is Buddhism?
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Buddhism came from the word 'Budhi' which means 'to wake up' and Buddhism is the philosophy of awakening. |
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The philosophy has its origins in the experience of the man. |
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Started by Siddhartha Gautama known as Buddha which awakened himself at the age of 35 |
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Buddhism is now 2500 years old and has 300 million followers worldwide |
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Buddhism is mainly an Asian Philosophy. |
Why are there so many different types of Buddhism?
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Buddhism is the same |
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There are about 8 types of Buddhism. |
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They are Theravada Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism, Mahayana, Tibetan Buddhism, Yogacara Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism. |
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They have the same taste of freedom. |
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Buddhism has evolved into different forms so that it can be relevant to the different cultures in which it exists. |
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The types of Buddhism may be seem very different but at the centre of all of them is the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. |
Do Buddhist Pray?
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Buddhist don't pray to Creator God, but they do have devotional mediation practices which could be compared to praying. |
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Loving-kindness to all living beings is a practices which is believed to benefits those beings. |
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The sharing of merit is a practice which one dedicates the goodness of one's life to the benefit of all living beings as well as praying for a particular person. |
Why do Buddhist chant?
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It reminds one of the Dharma so that it is not forgotten. |
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When mediation is not possible and when bare mindfulness does not give consolation, it can be used as an extension of meditation into words to produce some calm and peace. |
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It express strong confidence in the Dharma |
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Reciting chant everyday , making the wholesome repetitive karma which of course bear good fruit |
Why Do Buddhists Bow?
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Traditional gesture of reverence to the triple gem is to place the palms of both hands together and raise them in front up to the level of forehead. |
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To express deep veneration, a Buddhist may bow or prostrate before the image of the Buddha , members of the Sangha and the masters of teaching |
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When a Buddhist prostate before the image , he acknowledge the fact that the Buddha has attained perfect and supreme enlightenment. |
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Such acts help the Buddhist to overcome egoistic feelings and he becomes more ready to listen to the Teaching of the Buddha. |
Are there any holy places ?
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There are four holy places. |
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First is Lumbini, where the Buddha was born . |
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Second is Bodh Gaya where the Buddha was enlightened. |
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Third is Sarnath where the Buddha gave his first teaching of the Dharma. |
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Fourth is Kusinagara where the Buddha passed away. |
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Introduction |