BUDDHISM.
Buddhism has been translated on many occasions to mean the love of wisdom. This is perhaps many Buddhist faithful all over the world consider Buddhism not just as a mere religion but a way of life and a philosophy. Buddhism emphasizes the importance of leading a moral life. A moral life means that an i8individual is at peace with all the actions they commit. The conscience of a person lets them know when their moral compass is tilting away from the true moral north. This is a philosophy of self-assessment and leading a life that is acceptable by an individual and the greater society at large (Cohen, p.118). This means that deep down inside an individual must be at peace with all the actions they commit in line with their conscience and these actions must be acceptable by the greater community to levels that they can even be commended.
Buddhism insists that an individual must be fully are and mindful of their actions and thoughts. Purity through actions is not enough. The thoughts of an individual must be inclined towards morality. The individual must ensure that they undergo thorough cleansing with reference to their thoughts. Acting in a moral way but at the same time having not so moral thoughts is a form of double standards and hypocrisy that is highly discouraged in Buddhism. Only through having clarity of thought and being at peace with one’s thoughts can an individual act accordingly in line with morality without straining or pretense. Full understanding of one’s actions prior to the performance of these actions cannot be understated.it is only through full understanding of one’s actions can one weigh the moral implication of their actions and this provides valuable insight into the true nature of these actions and whether it is acceptable of the individual to perform these actions (Berry, p.87).
One of the main goals of Buddhist all over the world in line with the philosophical teachings of Buddhism, is the pursuit and development of understanding and wisdom. It is very important in Buddhism for faithful to seek full understanding of themselves and as well a full understanding of their environment and their fellow human beings. It is only through this comprehensive understanding that one can begin to contemplate the concept of wisdom and be able to act in a manner that can be indeed termed as wise. Knowledge is very important in Buddhism. Knowledge and understanding of one self is the first step in being fully at peace with one self. Once self-peace is achieved it is important to pursue peace with the environment as well as other human beings.in order for this great fete to be achieved one must have knowledge an understanding of one’s environment as well as other human beings. Wisdom results from a full understanding of oneself and one’s environment and with wisdom one can by all means achieve complete peace with themselves as well as their environment and other human beings (Weber, p.91).
Contrary to popular belief Buddha was not a god nor did he consider himself a god.at the age of twenty nine Buddha analyzed his life and realized that indeed wealth and luxury in life did not, by any means, guarantee happiness and the fullness of life. With this shocking revelation in mind Buddha sought various and diverse religions and philosophical ideologies of the day all in pursuit of what it really was that brought true happiness and ensured that human beings experienced the fullness of life. It took Buddha six years of research and extensive and exhaustive meditation but he finally unlocked the secret to living life to the fullest a satisfaction of the needs of the human spirit. Buddha spent the rest of his life enlightening as many people as would lend him a listening ear and ensuring that all his listeners fully understood his philosophical concepts so as to ensure that they too experienced the fullness of life. Many Buddhists today bow before statues of Buddha and this is considered by many as worship of Buddha but it could not be further from the truth. They do not bow before the statues of Buddha to seek favors of any kind or pledge their allegiance in terms of worship (Humphreys, p.149). They do so as a sigh of respect for the sacrifices that Buddha made throughout his life and a sign of gratitude for all the philosophical and moral teachings that Buddha passed on to generations that followed. Statues of Buddha with his hands resting on his lap and with a wide smile on his face are by no means representation of a deity of any kind whatsoever. The sitting structure of statues of Buddha and the smile on his face are very symbolic in reminding Buddhists to seek peace and develop a great sense of love within themselves. Inner peace and love is pivotal to experiencing the fullness of life and true human happiness.
Buddhism emphasizes on four noble truths with reference to human life. The first noble truth is that life is suffering. This should not be confused with pessimism. Pessimism is the nature of expecting bad things to happen.in contrary the first noble truth is more factual. Life is termed as suffering since it is prone to pain, ageing, diseases and death but the most unexpected time. Suffering is also experienced psychologically in form of loneliness, disappointment, frustration, anger and fear. This is a factual approach because these are issues that all people deal with on a near daily basis.
The second noble truth according to Buddhism is that human suffering is caused by human craving and wanting. People tend to suffer when they expect other to conform to all of their expectations or if they fail to get something they truly want.in order to overcome human suffering one should not constantly struggle to get what they want but rather they should modify their wanting. A life of wanting and craving clearly deprives people of happiness.modi8fication of one’s wanting can indeed lead to reduction in human suffering (Gard, p.83).
The third noble truth is that human suffering can by all means be overcome and full happiness and satisfaction is indeed attainable. This is however only possible if person fully understands their craving and ways to moderate this craving or let it go in its entirety. People must learn to live life each day at a time. This means being able to let go of the past and not stressing or overthinking about what the future holds. Only through control and reduction in human craving can a person accumulate enough energy that will enable the person to be truly happy in life and even help other people.
The fourth noble truth according to Buddhism talks about the noble 8-fols path and its inclination tow3ards an end to human suffering. The noble 8-fold path involves leading a moral life and developing understanding and wisdom.it also emphasizes on full awareness of all of ones actions and comprehensive understanding of all their thoughts as well.it also emphasizes on development of a deep sense of compassion for one’s environment and especially for other people.
Buddhism also emphasizes on teachings of karma .Karma is a principle and belief that all cause has a resultant effect. Karma emphasizes that individuals are fully responsible for all of their actions both performed in the past and performed in the present. These actions have a resultant effect on their performer either immediately or later in the future. Karma dictates that before performing any action irrespective of its magnitude an individual has to ask what exactly is the specific intention behind this particular action, what effect will this action have on the individual performing it and what resultant effect will the action have on other people either in the immediate vicinity of the individual or far away from the individual (Cohen, p.139).
Currently Buddhism is becoming increasingly popular especially in western countries. This is because Buddhism offers answers to a wide range of problems in today’s society which is chiefly materialistic. Buddhism also ensures a deep understanding and comprehensive look into the human mind, an aspect which many westerners find both interesting and very fascinating.
Works Cited
Berry, Thomas. Buddhism,. [1st ed. New York: Hawthorn Books, 2009. Print.
Cohen, Richard S.. Beyond enlightenment Buddhism, religion, modernity. London: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Gard, Richard A.. Buddhism. New York: G. Braziller, 2005. Print.
Humphreys, Christmas. Buddhism. [Rev. ed. London: Cassell, 2003. Print.
Weber, Max. The religion of India; the sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism.. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 2005. Print.
