8 Nov 2022

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Buddhism: An Introduction

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Academic level: College

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The founding father of Buddhism is Buddha Shakyamuni. Buddha was born as a prince of the royal family in 624 BC; his home place was northern India in Lumbini. At the age of 29, he resigned to spending his life in the forest. His entire life constituted spiritual veneration and meditations. After a period of six years he was eventually enlightened under the Bodhi Tree. The next thing that followed was the request to become a teacher. The aftermath of the request was definitely an upsurge from meditation to the provision of the teachings of the first wheel of Dharma. The teachings in the first wheel of Dharma which constitute the Sutra of the nobles of veracity and truth and quite a number of other teachings, are the chief foundation of the lesser vehicle of Buddhism or the famously known Hinayana (Adams, 2015). 

After teaching and administering the first wheel of Dharma, Buddha later continued to impart knowledge on the second and third wheels. The second included the flawlessness of wisdom Surtra and the third was Surtra discerning the deliberation of perfection. All these doctrines are the foundation of the Greater Vehicle or the so called Mahayana of Buddhism. The lesser vehicle of Buddhism has Buddha providing explanations and advising on the ways of achieving emancipation and freedom from anguish and sorrow for the sake of the self. While the Greater vehicle of Buddhism, teaches on the ways of achieving total enlightenment for the benefit of other people. Buddhahood first got its root in Asia and especially in the Indian region and later spread to other nations. In his spiritual endeavors and undertakings, Buddha provided 84 thousand teachings related to different issues. Right from the word go, Buddha deliberated on liberating people from sorrow, anguish and suffering. He had come into the sense that, temporary deliverance from anguish and sorrow was not enough and motivated by love and compassion his objective was to help and enable human beings to gunner everlasting peace. 

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In Buddhism, the three marks of reality are significant due to the fact that, they help one to see how things really are in the actual context. The marks of reality include Impermanence, Not self, and suffering. Impermanence provides that nothing is permanent in this world, people tend to cling on things as if they are going to have them by their side eternally; however, they forget that nothing in this world is everlasting. The idea of impermanence helps in enduring suffering that may result from loss of an item or a person on any other beloved thing. 

The second mark “Not self” or egolessness brings the idea of deep exploration of realism of ourselves and what is around us. It suggests that nothing exists on itself, anything that exists must depend on something else. 

The last mark is suffering. The mark simply states that we suffer because we exists, otherwise nothing like suffering would be present. Many people try to evade suffering not realizing that it is part of living. The more we try to push suffering away the more we create it. However, in learning about suffering and accepting it we actually know how to control it. 

According to Adams (2015), Buddhism provides four noble truths and realities that human beings must understand, admit, and submit to. The first truth is that suffering exists and it is a common thing to all notwithstanding, social class, ethnicity or any other aspect of a person. Secondly, human beings must understand and admit that they are the cause of suffering. Thirdly, to end suffering, human beings must learn to put an end to the actions that cause suffering and finally, everyone has the capability of being enlightened in the course of ending suffering. 

During the Deek Park sermon, Buddha gave out eight teachings which kept on moving like a wheel, the eight teachings represented the Noble Eightfold path. The entire teachings provided eight “rights” which included; Right view, thought, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. 

According to Jeong (2011), Buddha offered his teachings with reference to three traditions which included; Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. The doctrines of Theravada centered on cause and effect and appeasing thoughts to craft distance from challenging contemplations and feelings. Jeong (2011), further adds that the doctrines of Theravada provide that feelings and contemplations are not individual. The second tradition, Mahayana, appeals to people who are motivated in being of benefit to others. the dogmas as provided by Mahayana are tailored towards building and growing in wisdom and compassion. 

Finally Vajrayana traditions are more about the intellect and mind itself. the teachings of Vajrayana are tailored to people who clasp significant confidence in their undertakings. The doctrines of Vajrayana center on the exceptional qualities of the mind. 

References 

Adams, D. (2015). The Enlightenment of Fu Manchu: Buddhism and Western Detective Fiction.  Contemporary Buddhism 16 (2), 245-266. doi: 10.1080/14639947.2015.1020734 

Jeong, Y. (2011). The views of Buddha in modern korean buddhism-focused on the life of Buddha.  Journal Of Korean Seon Studies 29 , 293. doi: 10.22253/jkss.2011.08.29.293 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 15). Buddhism: An Introduction.
https://studybounty.com/87-buddhism-an-introduction-coursework

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