Buddhism--what is the basic concept of it?

Question

I've recently become intrigued with Buddhism--what exactly is the basic concept of this religion.

Answer 1

There are 4 noble truths.

1. Life is suffering.
2. The cause of suffering is attachment.
3. Cessation of suffering is Nirvana (transcending beyond Samsara--the cycle of birth and re-birth/access to the eternal).
4. Nirvana is achieved by following the 8-fold path (8 ways of being and action that lead to Nirvana).
1. Right View (To see things as they really are)
2. Right Intention (Commitment)
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood (Career/Profession)
6. Right Effort (Choosing one's thoughts/Focus)
7. Right Mindfulness (Being Present)
8. Right Concentration (Usually achieved through meditation)

Answer 2

Mindfulness of all that is. Direct knowledge through direct insight.

According to the Four Noble Truths, we all suffer. Suffering = Duhkha
1. Duhkha exists (we have to acknowledge what exists so that we can change it)
2. Duhkha has an identifiable cause (the cause is trishna which means "thirst"...which are our obessions, desires, dissatisfaction with what is and long for something else)
3. That cause may be terminated (nirvana is the freedom from "thirst" and is an experience no words can properly describe)
4. The means by which the cause may be terminated (the Noble Eight-Fold Path)

The Noble Eight Fold Path
1. Right Understanding
2. Right Thought
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

These eight elements form Wisdom (#'s 1&2), Morality (#'s 3-6), and Meditation (#'s 7&8).

That's a good start...but you'll want to dig deeper so that you can gain a better understanding. One.

Answer 3

God in Buddhism is a few being greater advantageous than super and incomprehensible to us. Buddha, on the different hand, is a non secular instructor. The Buddhist god can mentioned to exist, even nevertheless it somewhat is something undefined in human experience.

Answer 4

I'm sure others here will explain or reference you to the traditional tenets of Buddhism, but if you want to get to know the current guy behind it all, check out the Dalai Lama's "Ethics for the New Millennium." I think you'll find him to be thoughtful, open-minded, informative, insightful, and most importantly, down to earth! Good luck in your quest =)

Answer 5

The Four Noble Truths:

1. Life is suffering;

2. Suffering is due to attachment;

3. Attachment can be overcome;

4. There is a path for accomplishing this.

The Eightfold Path:

1. Right view is the true understanding of the four noble truths.

2. Right aspiration is the true desire to free oneself from attachment, ignorance, and hatefulness.

3. Right speech involves abstaining from lying, gossiping, or hurtful talk.

4. Right action involves abstaining from hurtful behaviors, such as killing, stealing, and careless sex.

5. Right livelihood means making your living in such a way as to avoid dishonesty and hurting others, including animals.

6. Right effort is a matter of exerting oneself in regards to the content of one's mind: Bad qualities should be abandoned and prevented from arising again; Good qualities should be enacted and nurtured.

7. Right mindfulness is the focusing of one's attention on one's body, feelings, thoughts, and consciousness in such a way as to overcome craving, hatred, and ignorance.

8. Right concentration is meditating in such a way as to progressively realize a true understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and non-separateness.

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It totally beats me why so many fundamentalists, in any faith, are so threatened by Buddhism. While it's certainly not an easy path to walk, it's so elegant in it's simplicity. No one is trying to convert anyone else, no one is condemned for not believing, no one suffers the wrath of an angry god, no intermediary intercedes for anyone with the divine. The divine is within us.

Answer 6

http://sacred-texts.com/bud/buddha2.htm

This document contains most of the core principals. A few things to keep in mind:
You are responsible for your own happiness, and actions.
There is no god worship.
Most articles and writings are almost 2 millenia old & from an asian culture...you may have to put some effort into understanding the meaning.

Good Luck in your reading.

Answer 7

They do not worship a god, but instead strive to reach spiritual enlightenment through meditation and simple living. They teach about compassion and love. Read a book by the Dahli Lama (I'm not sure of the spelling).

Answer 8

I think it's a love for all creatures and letting go of all worldly desires (such as money, vanity, sexual temptations) and a lot of meditation and self discovery. The best thing about it is that you can break the rules and theres no confidence. I was Buddhist for about 15 minutes when I was 14. I believe in Oprah now.

Answer 9

Buddhism religion and philosophy founded in India in the 6th and 5th cent. B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. One of the great Asian religions, it teaches the practice of Meditation and the observance of moral precepts. The basic doctrines include the four noble truths taught by the Buddha: existence is suffering; the cause of suffering is desire; there is a cessation of suffering, called Nirvana, or total transcendence; and there is a path leading to the end of suffering, the eightfold noble path of right views, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Buddhism defines reality in terms of cause-and-effect relations, thus accepting the doctrine common to Indian religions of samsara, or bondage to the repeating cycle of births and deaths according to one's physical and mental actions (see Karma). The ideal of early Buddhism was the perfected saint, arahant or arhat, purified of all desires. Of the various Buddhist schools and sects that arose, the Theravada [doctrine of the elders] school of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) is generally accepted as representative of early Buddhist teaching.

Mahayana [great vehicle] Buddhism has as a central concept the potential Buddhahood innate in all beings. Its ideal for both layman and monk is the bodhisattva, the perfected one who postpones entry into nirvana (although meriting it) until all others may be similarly enlightened. Buddhism was greatly strengthened in the 3d cent. B.C. by the support of the Indian emperor Asoka, but it declined in India in succeeding centuries and was virtually extinct there by the 13th cent., while it spread and flourished in Ceylon (3d cent. A.D.) and Tibet (7th cent. A.D.; see Tibetan Buddhism). In the 1st cent. A.D. Buddhism entered China, where it encountered resistance from Confucianism and Taoism, and from there spread to Korea (4th cent. A.D.) and to Japan (6th cent. A.D.).

Two important sects that became established in the 5th cent. A.D. and have greatly increased in popularity are Zen Buddism, featuring the practice of meditation to achieve sudden enlightenment, and Pure Land Buddhism, or Amidism, a devotional Mahayana sect centered on the worship of the Buddha Amitabha, who vowed to save all sentient beings by bringing them to rebirth in his realm, the Western Paradise. Buddhism still flourishes in Asia and has an influence in the modern Western world.

Answer 10

To reach enlightenment, and to help the rest of humanity reach enlightenment. When this happens, you'll no longer have to be reincarnated. I guess the main goal is for all people to ascend to Nirvana.