Describe in detail what is meant by the ‘Middle Way’.
RS1 Describe in detail what is meant by the 'Middle Way'. Siddharta Gautama was born about 563 BCE, in a garden called Lumbini, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Siddharta was said to have been born out of the side of his mother, Queen Maya, who died seven days later. It is said that once he was born he immediately took seven steps towards each quarter of heaven, and at each step up sprung a lotus flower. He then declared that he would have no more births, and that this was his last body and that he would 'pluck out by the roots the sorrow caused by birth and death'. Siddharta was brought up into the Shakya Clan and lived a very rich lifestyle. But this did not satisfy him, so he decided to go in search of enlightenment and at the age of 19 he started to think seriously about his life. His father tried to protect him from the real world, but Siddharta still saw four things that changed his life: . An old man. This showed Siddharta that everyone will get old someday. 2. A sick man. This showed Siddharta that you cannot be protected from disease. 3. A corpse. This showed Siddharta that everyone dies. 4. A Holy man. This showed Siddharta that one has devoted himself to the spiritual life. When he saw the Holy man, he decided to leave and live a life of poverty. For six years, Siddharta followed a Sadha's way of life, he nearly starved himself
The sacred book of Buddhism is called the Tipitaka.
The sacred book of Buddhism is called the Tipitaka. It is written in an ancient Indian language called Pali, the religious language Theravada which is very close to the language that the Buddha spoke himself, having a simpler structure than the Sanskrit of the Hindu texts. The Tipitaka is a very large book. The English translation of it takes up nearly forty volumes. The word Tipitaka is made up of two words, ti means 'three' and pitaka means 'baskets'. The first part of the name refers to the fact that the Buddhist scriptures consist of three baskets. The first basket, called the Sutta Pitaka, contains all the Buddha's discourses as well as some by his enlightened disciples. The type of material in the Sutta Pitaka is very diverse which allows it to communicate the truths that the Buddha taught to all different types of people. Many of the Buddha's discourses are in the style of sermons while others are in the style of dialogues. Other parts like the Dhammapada present the Buddha's teachings through poetry. The Dhammapada is one of the smallest works in the first sections of the Tipitaka. The name could be translated as 'The Way of Truth' or 'Verses of Truth'. It has of 423 verses, some pithy, some profound, some containing appealing similes, all spoken by the Buddha. Dhammapada is the most popular piece of Buddhist literature. It has been translated into most major
Review of Adorno and Horkheimer's The dialectic of enlightenment
Book Review: Adorno and Horkheimer's 'Dialectic of Enlightenment' Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer from the 'Frankfurt School' of thought, with their 'collective of understanding reality', were both educated German Jews. Who took an examining look at the 'Enlightenment'. Written in 1947 at the In their book, they synthesis both Freud and Marx, accepting both theories as being feasable. They accept the Marxist approach whereby economics is the sole aspect of society, the class struggle, commodity and the exchange of goods. However they recognise that this is merely one side and that there is the spiritual being which in itself needs catering for. The needs and desires of the individuals that are repressed by the society and constraints in which we live in. The Psychic development of the individual from birth, as it grows and learns how to conform to society. Freud and Marx both agreed however that conflict was the 'motor' of history, although differing on the conflict levels. For Freud it is the 'individual's conflict with society' and for Marx it is as we know the neverending 'class conflict'. The importance of these two philosophical thinkers is that they have pathed the way for Adorno and Horkheimer to understand the both the 'individual' and 'society', by incorporating the two. The three main aspects to their approach are: The economic life of society (Marx), the
Select and explain the religious rituals which might be performed when a Buddhist visits a temple.
Select and explain the religious rituals which might be performed when a Buddhist visits a temple In all schools of Buddhism, worship, whether on your own or inside a temple is considered a vital part of every day life. Inside a Buddhist temple, different kinds of worship and ceremonies take place. Mahayana worship tends not to be congregational, although there are opportunities to get together in shared activities. Offerings are made at the shrine as a mark of respect to the Buddha. Usually, seven different types of offerings are made at the shrine - two bowls of water, essential for drinking and washing, symbolise hospitality. Other offerings are white flowers, incense, lamps, perfume and food. These represent the five senses. Occasionally, all seven bowls will contain water and be symbolic of the seven offerings. In Theravada Buddhism worship may take place either at home or in the temple. No lay believer is obliged to visit a temple, although most of them do. Most lay believers will have their won shrines at home. The bhikkus worship in the shrine and meditation rooms of the vihara, usually once in the morning and once in the evening. Lay believers attend whenever they can, preferably once a day in Theravadin countries. There is no special time for attendance as such. The Theravadin philosophy is that each individual has to work out his or her salvation on their own,
Select and explain the religious teachings and beliefs that might influence Buddhists in their daily lives
Collette Lewis GCSE RE Coursework: Buddhist 2002 Question 1: Select and explain the religious teachings and beliefs that might influence Buddhists in their daily lives Through doing my research in order to answer this question I found out that there are many different teachings and beliefs that might influence Buddhists in their daily lives. Firstly there is the life of Siddhartha Gotama. He had a 'perfect' life with everything you could want, money, a wife, a child power etc. However as we know nothing is ever perfect and he felt something was missing. When he visited the city to search for the meaning of life he saw four sites. An old man, a sick man, a dead man and a holy man. The only man who looked happy was the holy man and all he had were the rags he was wearing and his bowl. Sid then became and ascetic and gave up all his luxuries in life. He learnt great control of himself and his mind but through being an ascetic he became weak and unwell and so he followed the eight fold path, the middle way. While sitting under a Bodhi tree he accepted his first meal and meditated. He gradually gained insight to human nature and perfect peace. He had reached enlightenment and became known as the Buddha. The Buddha then taught others how to live a good life by teaching them three main things. The Three Marks Of Existence, The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. The
Consider the factors which have contributed to the establishment of various forms of Buddhism in the west.
a) Consider the factors which have contributed to the establishment of various forms of Buddhism in the west. Buddhism has many different traditions that have been adopted by and adapted for life in the west. Buddhism became popular in the west for several different reasons, for example, aspects of contemporary scientific thinking are more easily appropriated into a religion that has no God. Philosophers questioned the validity of Christianity and the Bible's historical authenticity. Furthermore the role of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution meant that Biblical criticism flourished. Additionally travel around the world was popular especially as the British Empire spanned almost one third of the eastern world was very appealing. Buddhism is undogmatic and imposes no ritual or other requirements; this means that it can be easily adapted in a multi-cultural society. Moreover Buddhist meditation techniques and the emphasis on personal development reinforce the ethic of individual attainment and self-help found in many modern west countries, also Buddhism has a modern approach to ethical dilemmas. Buddhism attracts westerners by offering something that will accommodate the needs of everyone; new Buddhist groups emerged especially suited for western society. The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order was founded in Britain in 1967 by an Englishman called Venerable
Discuss in as much the doctrine of Anicca is essential to the religion of Buddhism in understanding the human condition.
Discuss in as much the doctrine of Anicca is essential to the religion of Buddhism in understanding the human condition. The word Anicca is a household word in every Buddhist country. It means impermanence. Impermanence or change is a fundamental concept in Buddhism. According to Buddhists belief everything is impermanent. Without a realisation of impermnanence Buddhists believe there can never be any true insight through which we can see things as they really are. It is therefore necessary to discuss in as much the doctrine of Anicca is essential to the religion of Buddhism in understanding the human condition. Firstly, it is necessary to explain the link between our human condition and Anicca. The concept if Anicca is one of the "Three Marks of Existence" along with Anatta (no-self)and Dukkha (suffering.) The Buddha teaches that we can only understand Dukkha and Anatta through an understanding of Anicca. It is the knowledge of Anicca, impermanence, that heals Dukkha, suffering, and consequently leads to Nirvana (enlightenment). Buddhists believe that by understanding Anicca, we come to understand that there is no permanent entity underlying our life (Anatta). The concept of Anicca is related to Anatta when related to human beings. Buddhism centres round the belief that as nothing is permanent there can be no soul. Thus, by seeing no difference between
Hinduism VS. Buddhism
Megan Webster 01/10/11 Updike Global Studies Hinduism vs. Buddhism Religion is one of the most controversial subjects. Throughout the ages people have fought and died for it. But what are they fighting about? Their differences? Well of course they have those, but the one thing that is sometimes over looked is that their similarities outweigh their differences. An example of these different yet so similar religions is Buddhism and Hinduism. The concepts and morals of the religions parallel each other, but the details are unbalanced. To better understand their beliefs, we must know their histories. Hinduism is the world's oldest religion, and one of its more mysterious ones. For many hundreds of years there has been a search for who founded Hinduism and when it even came into place. Even the authors of its sacred texts are widely unknown. We know of many Gurus, Rishis, saints, and leaders who have reformed and revived the culture, but that is really it. We also know that Hinduism developed out of Brahmanism. There is no single founder of Hinduism and it existed from time unexplored, as a religion. Hinduism is open to interpretation, and is a collection of a path to wisdom. Though its history we know little of, its future is bright. Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam. It has about 950 million followers, or 14% of the world's
Comparison of Buddhism and Taoism
Comparison of Buddhism and Taoism Taoism and Buddhism were born in the same century. Siddhartha reached enlightenment in approximately 535 B.C. and Lao Tzu's teachings were recorded around 500 B.C. There are many similarities in the basics of these two religions. Some of the similarities can be seen clearly when examining the three meaning of Tao. The first definition of Tao is "the way of ultimate reality." This means that Tao cannot be percieved, defined, talked about, or thought of. It is too big a concept for humans to comprehend. As in the first line of the Tao Te Ching (the Taoist text meaning The Way and Its Power): "The Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao." This is very similar to the Buddhist idea of Nirvana or Enlightenment. Nirvana cannot be understood by one who has not attained it. Even when one has reached Nirvana, he cannot describe it to others, but only help others to reach it as well. In its second sense, Tao means "the way of the universe." Tao is something that goes through all beings, all of the earth. It is everywhere, all the time. It is something that flows through everything. This flowing idea links with the idea in Buddhism that Nirvana can be reached by anyone, as long as one is devoted enough and has lost all attachments. Thirdly, one life must be a certain way to work with the Tao: Tao also refers to "the way of human life" as it
Explain how the Sermon at Sarnath contains the key teaching of Buddhism.
Explain how the Sermon at Sarnath contains the key teaching of Buddhism. The Buddha's first sermon is imperative as it outlines the major teachings of Buddhism; he explains what he has discovered in terms of the four truths. His sermon began by explaining to the ascetics that he has found through his personal experiences that both a life of pleasure seeking and of denial of pleasure was harmful and furthermore was enlightened to see a new way of life, which was that of moderation, the middle path. This discovery enabled him to see clearly the four truths. The middle path is the concept which all Buddhist must both learn bust also become intuitive, it is the concept of avoiding extremes, this is outlined in the sermon " To indulgence of pleasure in the objects of sensual desire... and there is devotion of self torment to discover nibbana... one avoids both extremes." This belief is fundamental to Buddhism as it provides a basis of all moral and ethical decisions. The first Nobel truth is a statement that there is something fundamentally wrong with how humans see life and existence. The word used to explain the Buddhist teaching of dukka is 'suffering' yet the understanding of this is far beyond the limitations of the English word. Buddha describes it in his first sermon in Benares as "Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering,