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What Is Buddhism?
What is Buddhism? What is Buddhism? Buddhism is a path of teaching and practice. Buddhist practices such as meditation are means of changing oneself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow the path of spiritual development. Ultimately, the Buddhist path culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood. Who was the Buddha? The word Buddha is a title not a name. It means ‘one who is awake' in the sense of having ‘woken up to reality'. The title was first given to a man called Siddharta Guatemala, who lived about 2,500 years ago in Northern India. When he was 35 he found Enlightenment whist in profound mediation, after searching for years. In the next 45 years of his life he spent it traveling through India teaching his way of life. His teaching is known as Buddha-dharma. Traveling from place to place, the Buddha gained many disciples. They also taught of the enlightment, and the chain has continued on to this present day. The Buddha was not a God, and he made no claim to divinity. There is no concept of a creator in Buddhism. He was a human being who, thought tremendous efforts, transformed himself. The state of Enlightenment which he reached has three main facets. It is a state of wisdom, of insight into the true nature of things. It is also a source or boundless compassion, manifesting itself in activity for the benefit of all beings. and it the total liberation of all the energies of the mind and the body so they are at the service of the fully conscious mind. What Happened After the Buddha's Death? Buddhism died out in India a thousand years ago, though it has recently revived. In the last century Buddhism has emphatically arrived in the West and up to one million westerners have become Buddhists. What Does Buddhism Teach? Buddhism sees life as being in process of constant change and its practices aim to take advantage of this fact. It means that one can change for the better. The decisive factor in changing ourselves is the mind and Buddhism has developed many methods for working on the mind. Most importantly, Buddhists practice meditation which is a way of developing more positive states of mind which are characterized by calm, concentration, awareness, and emotions such as friendliness. How do you become a Buddhist? To become a Buddhist in the full sense means committing oneself to the central ideas of Buddhism. The Buddhist path is open to all equally: men and women, young and old, people of all nationalities, races and backgrounds. Rebirth Rebirth in the Six Realms Buddhism teaches that birth, death and rebirth are part of the continuing process of change. The is similar to the continuous process of growth, decay, and replacement of cells in ones' body. According to medical experts, after every seven years, all the cells in one's body are replaced by new ones. At the moment of death... This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Academic Library. Please register below now!
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