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¶ … Wisdom in Buddhism
Some twenty-five hundred years ago, Buddha Shakyamuni devoted the last forty-nine of seventy-nine-years of life teaching his practices to people in the area today of Northern India about enlightenment and how to achieve that state of being, as he had. The term Buddha as translated today from the Sanskrit word means wisdom or enlightenment, though the two terms are not interchangeable. It is the goal for all sentient beings to achieve enlightenment, or Buddhahood, where all pain and suffering in one's life are extinguished and removed from their very being. Nevertheless, wisdom is an essential concept within Buddhism; in fact, it is the third essential elemental practice within the Noble Eightfold Path. Wisdom is innate in all of us, as is enlightenment. Some two thousand years ago, some forty Mahayana sutras were composed on the perfection of wisdom, which is also known as prajnaparamita. There are three forms of wisdom in Buddhism. The first is General Wisdom, which...
But there are many ways an individual reaches Wisdom. Facts alone are not wisdom. Knowledge alone is not wisdom. But understanding the Truth will help an individual lead to Wisdom. There is an old legal saying, "Don't let the facts get in way of the truth." If an individual is given a series of facts, they may be lead to believe that the culmination of those facts is the Truth. But they many not be the Truth. Just a series of facts. When pursuing wisdom one must use the five skandhas (form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness) to help derive them toward wisdom. But to better understand wisdom in Buddhism, we can examine one common sutra mentioned: Heart Sutra.
The Heart Sutra is the most familiar of the original teachings.…
Buddha-Nature and Enlightenment Buddhism is a unique religion: it doesn't worship any deity nor does it require any individual to live their lives through divine will. Approximately 2,500 years ago, when Buddha achieved enlightenment he spent the next forty-five years teaching others that personal growth and awakening is possible through finding the truth within themselves. This concept is very alien in comparison to Western religions. There are many aspects of Buddhism,
Enlightenment: Karma, Bodhisattvas, and Nirvana For some twenty-four hundred years, Buddhism has been a pre-dominantly Eastern religion. But in the last one-hundred-and-fifty years - ever since the first Asian immigrants arrived on these American shores as workers - the unique teachings and practices of Buddha have incorporated itself into Western society. And throughout the migration of this religion through the centuries, one goal has never changed: to achieve enlightenment as
mental discipline in Buddhism, based on Jean Smith's Radiant Mind: Essential Buddhist Teaching and Texts. BUDDHISM Buddhism has been called a religion, a philosophy, an ideology and simply a way of life. Buddhism has withstood the test of time along with the other great spiritual traditions. It offers many different paths for people with different needs, capacities, and sensibilities. Many view this diversity as a refreshing alternative to doctrinal rigidity (Smith,1999).
Buddha the founder of the Buddhist faith lived in India, Bihar, from 563-483 BCE. As the Buddha or enlightened one he preached his doctrine of the four great truths. Sorrow is inherent in life, it arises from desire, and only by eliminating desire can man be released from sorrow. This may be achieved by following the noble eight-fold path of right conduct in vision, thought, speech, action, giving, striving, vigilance