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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, but what is essential is that personal awakening is possible personal experience and that suffering can be ceased through changing behavior, meditation, and transcendent wisdom. We are grateful to Siddartha Gautama for institutionalizing the practices we call Buddhism today so that we may better understand what Buddha experienced, and what he taught to the people along the Ganges River. Two essential understandings in the teachings of Buddhism are Buddha-nature and Enlightenment.
To understand Buddha-nature we must first to come to understand that...
This mind is indestructible, eternal, boundless, and has the capability to achieve enlightenment; is it also devoid of objectivity, pure, silent and upon awakening one will come to be aware that it has been a part of them all their life. It can be considered that Buddha-nature is really human nature, and that everything in life is connected: how we express ourselves, what we see, how our very actions relate toward the Buddha-nature and toward achieving that time of personal awakening. But to gain an understanding of the Buddha-nature and toward enlightenment, one must first aspire toward that goal. We are told that without aspiration, nothing happens life: it passes by and we do not interact; yet interaction and action are necessary to proceed toward awakening. But Buddha-nature is not enlightenment, but the first step toward enlightenment. It is not the soul but it shares its existence within all sentient beings. Once it reveals itself, then one's own mind is revealed: it is…
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
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
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).
Early Judaic religion also has a long extensive history. The ancient beginnings of Judaism come from the sands of the Syro-Arabian desert. Ancient ancestors of the later Hebrew people moved from the Mesopotamian desert towards the coast, moving into what is now known as Jerusalem and Palestine. Abraham was born into a family which still practiced early forms of animism. Through a religious epiphany, he began to worship only one
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
Tibet is a 1997 film that recounts Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer's experiences at the onset of World War II and through to the Chinese occupation of Tibet. In the film, religion and politics are intrinsically intertwined, which are two causes for discontent among Tibetans and their Chinese neighbors. In Seven Years in Tibet, religion plays a major political role and also serves to enlighten Harrer about the things that