buddhism
The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was born in the 6th century B.C.E. in Northwestern India. The Buddha was the son of an aristocrat and grew up in a world of affluence and privilege. His father, Suddhodana took every precaution to make sure Siddhartha didn't experience anything that would hurt his happiness. However, one day, Siddhartha snuck out of the palace walls, to which he was limited, to witness a world of misery and pain. He then left his life of ease and royal extravagance, to search for a solution to human suffering. During a meditation, in which he was sitting under a tree, the Buddha attained enlightenment at the age of 35 and spent his life teaching. He taught for 45 years and only slept for about two hours a day. However, at around 500 B.C., there formed two great traditions within Buddhism, the Theravada or synonymously Hinayana tradition, and the Mahayana tradition. Theravada, or "Path of the elders" (Ellwood 135), is the school of Buddhism, which emphasizes the historical Buddha, and has adopted a conservative adherence to the Buddha's teachings. The Theravada school is predominant in the Buddhist countries of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.
This concept of Zen, or Satori, is also profound. Satori is the spiritual goal of Zen Buddhism. Satori, which means "individual enlightenment", or a "flash of sudden awareness", is also an intuitive experience. Brief experiences of enlightenment are called "Kenshos". The feeling of Satori is that of infinite space. It is taught that Satori is the result of "Zazen" meditation (Smith 142). This meditation would create an objective self-associated awareness with a feeling of joy that overrides any other feelings of joy or sorrow. Therefore, Satori is a key concept in Zen Buddhism. There can be no Zen without Satori, for, As long as there is Satori, and then Zen will continue to exist in the world. Eastman, Roger, ed. The Ways of Religion. New York: Oxford University Velasquez, John A. [Professor of Philosophy]. Handout: Goals and Paths of Attainment for 10 Non-Hindu Religions. Santa Ana, CA. 2001 to the release from the bonds of desire, ego, suffering, and rebirth. Although Buddha never defined "Nirvana", he did say, "There is an unborn, an unoriginated, an unmade, an uncompounded." Nirvana is said not to be a state of annihilation, but rather a sense of peace of reality (Vasquez). Mahayana, which means "The Great Vehicle" (Ellwood 469), is predominant in the northern tier of Buddhist countries such as China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam, and corners of India and Russia. Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes the Bodhisattva, or the Buddha nature in all things, and utilizes the uses of many methods and paths of enlightenment. Perhaps most profound, and the biggest difference is that Theravada Buddhism says that Buddha was a person who ceased to exist after his death. However Buddhists tended to worship him as a god of some sort, even when he was alive. The Mahayanists developed a theology of
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