Religions of the world Final Paper
Buddhism R&R
Buddhism is a religion to less than 1% of the United States and around 300 million people around the world. To many, it goes beyond religion and is rather a philosophy or a way of life. In Buddhism, there is no requirement of believing something that you don’t believe in yourself. Ideas and teachings are offered to you, but it is ultimately up to you if you want to believe in them or not. The eightfold path of Buddhism is the system used to achieve spiritual enlightenment and cease suffering. In Brian Noells presentation he spoke briefly on the idea of suffering. Suffering comes from your own mind and it is something that Buddhists train their minds to deal with. Some examples of suffering that he presented are the craving of becoming, the craving of things that we don’t want that are happening to us, and the things we cling to that we think will make us happy. Brian told us about how he clung to his studies and writing because he was attached to something he wanted to be. He suffered through his four years at grad school to receive his PhD and ended up unhappy as an outcome. Buddhism practices meditation, and focuses on bringing your consciousness to the thought pattern. It teaches you to not get stuck on something that bothers you but to rather bring your mind to the present moment. I find it very interesting how Buddhism concerns itself so much with the study of suffering in all its forms, what it is, how it is causes, and how it can be overpowered or transformed. Most people I feel don’t think about their suffering and just endure it no matter what. Personally, I never think about my own personal suffering because I feel like it makes me stronger when I get though it. If I went through years of suffering to achieve something great like a PhD, I would feel great about myself and like I did something I can really be proud of myself for. I believe that people who suffer get rewarded in the end In Houston Smith’s, The Illustrated World’s
Buddhism is a religion to less than 1% of the United States and around 300 million people around the world. To many, it goes beyond religion and is rather a philosophy or a way of life. In Buddhism, there is no requirement of believing something that you don’t believe in yourself. Ideas and teachings are offered to you, but it is ultimately up to you if you want to believe in them or not. The eightfold path of Buddhism is the system used to achieve spiritual enlightenment and cease suffering. In Brian Noells presentation he spoke briefly on the idea of suffering. Suffering comes from your own mind and it is something that Buddhists train their minds to deal with. Some examples of suffering that he presented are the craving of becoming, the craving of things that we don’t want that are happening to us, and the things we cling to that we think will make us happy. Brian told us about how he clung to his studies and writing because he was attached to something he wanted to be. He suffered through his four years at grad school to receive his PhD and ended up unhappy as an outcome. Buddhism practices meditation, and focuses on bringing your consciousness to the thought pattern. It teaches you to not get stuck on something that bothers you but to rather bring your mind to the present moment. I find it very interesting how Buddhism concerns itself so much with the study of suffering in all its forms, what it is, how it is causes, and how it can be overpowered or transformed. Most people I feel don’t think about their suffering and just endure it no matter what. Personally, I never think about my own personal suffering because I feel like it makes me stronger when I get though it. If I went through years of suffering to achieve something great like a PhD, I would feel great about myself and like I did something I can really be proud of myself for. I believe that people who suffer get rewarded in the end In Houston Smith’s, The Illustrated World’s