Is Buddhism a Religion
Religion can be thought of as many things. Many people have different definitions for it. Some think of it as a way of life, or a belief in something or someone. A very popular definition for it comes to us from the Microsoft Encarta Dictionary, which defines religion as “people’s beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life.” If we use the Encarta definition, does Buddhism classify as a religion? Do Buddhist monks even think of Buddhism as a religion or just a way of life? To answer these questions, one would have to ask more questions. Is Buddhism related to another religion? Do its followers belive the same thing? Many aspects of Buddhism consist of at least a little bit of Hindu influence. Some of these influences are very obvious, others very subtle. One main Hindu element that can still be seen in Buddhism today is the idea of ahimsa, or no harm. We see this in the movie when the Tibetans do not want to harm the worms they find while digging the soil to build the movie house. This shows two aspects of Hindu culture. The first being their belief in reincarnation. Both Hindus and Buddhists believe that when a p
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Dalai Lama, Personal Reflection, Encarta Dictionary, India Asia, Mahayana Buddhism, Buddhism Theravada, Hinduism Buddhism, India Buddha, Hindus Buddhist, Swami Atmavidyananda, dalai lama, sects buddhism, buddhism religion, closely related, believe person, major sects buddhism, mahayana buddhism, major sects, living creatures, buddhism theravada, ultimate human, build movie house, ultimate human goal, sects buddhism theravada, objects previous lama,
Approximate Word count = 1956
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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