Buddhism has two parts. These parts are Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism. The first part is Mahayana. It can be defined as, "'Large Raft' Buddhism; one of the two branches of Buddhism, dominant in East Asia and Vietnam. So named because it's people carry a large raft to carry people to enlightenment." (Niwano, 87-88) And Ther

The main festivals of Theravada Buddhism are Buddha Day and observances linked to the rain retreat of the monsoon season. Buddha Day is often called "Visakha Puja" because it occurs on the full-moon day of the month of "Visakha" (April-May). It celebrates the Buddha's birth, his attainment of enlightenment, and his death, which Theravadans believe miraculously occured on the same day. The lay people gather at a monastery to hear the telling of the story of the Buddha's life, wash the sacred Buddha images, observe the Five Precepts, and the reliquary.(Carter, 91)

"Mahayana Buddhism, especially in China, celebrates the life of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin: her birthday is the in the second month, her enlightenment the sixth month, and her entry into nirvana of the ninth month." (Niwano, 210) All of these days are the nineteenth. This is a special number.

Zen uses strict meditation. You are proposed a question, and sit there and ponder. This is to try to eliminate analytical thinking. It is sometimes said that Zen does not use any philosophy or scripture, but this is just to the Buddha himself. It is an inner-self meditation. It confounds rational thought. The difference with Zen and many other religions is that once one is "enlightened" he would not withdraw from the world, but he would go on with the same daily routine.

Zen is the place that teaches skepticism about ordinary language and mocks attempts to explain truth rationally. This tradition has brought this insight and beliefs to China. One of the main ideas of Zen id that we all are and can be Buddha, but it is a matter of us convincing ourselves that we are not. We do this by becoming attached to the pleasures of this world and the diversity of objects we think that we see. But we also fool ourselves by thinking that we need to escape the world that we know. Zen says that we have to rely on ourselves to know what is true in this world. "The truth lies within, for only there can we awaken to reality that there is no distinction between ourselves and the rest of reality." (Burtt,12)

As in every religion there is a story of creation. In Buddhist beliefs this story is called the "Shinto." There are many things that the Buddhist culture holds sacred. The atheistic religion does not believe that there is a central role for a personal god or gods. They focus on personal deities who have a small role in the final transformation. Buddhism claims that gods have no role to play in human liberation, any more than any other person or spirit. Each person must find his or her own destiny and final path to spiritual redemption. "Buddhism, like Jainism, is atheistic in a functional rather than a theoretical sense. 'Theoretical atheism' denies that gods exist. 'Functional atheism' is not concerned about th

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Approximate Word count = 1867
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)