********** Buddhism ---------- Whats It All About ??????????

Answer 1

another way of teaching E=MC２
Buddha discovered this secret of the Universe 2000 years before Einstein.

Answer 2

a religion i guess? it's all about avoiding from desire. Buddhists don't worship Buddha, the founder, as a god but a higher human being. for him, suffering is caused by human greed and desire, which ends us humans suffer from the endless reincarnation. the ultimate purpose for buddhists is to get on to Nirvana, the place of eternal peace and serenity. in order to get there, a Buddhist must be enlightened by following the eight ways of Buddhism. i don't know what are those but they are the paths of Buddhism.

Buddhism is divided into two sects: Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism.

Theravada Buddhism - practiced in South and Southeast Asia.
It means "smaller wheel Buddhism" and it is largely atheistic.

Mahayana Buddhism - practiced in Vietnam and East Asia.
It means "greater wheel Buddhism" and it is largely polytheistic. Buddha is treated as the supreme god rather than a higher human being unlike in Theravada Buddhism.

Buddhism broke away from Hinduism and it also influenced many eastern religions like Taoism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Shintoism, Confucianism and Chondokyo. Buddhists can also practice other religions except Islam, Christianity and Judaism of course.

well, that's all i know.

Answer 3

Buddhism is based on the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths.

See this website: http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Buddhism

Answer 4

Ending suffering by knowing that we are all the same being. That way, you are not fighting the world.

By the way, desire is OK. We at least desire to be happy. Just don't fight the world. Love will emerge and it will be very pleasant.

The clinging idea is more like it. We have to know that to what we cling are illusions.

Suggestion: "God and Buddha." A DVD by Mystic Fire Video. If you'd like something not terribly involved or lengthy.

Answer 5

We don`t really know much about the historical figure called Buddha. The only documents claiming to present his teaching were writtens centuries after his death.

Answer 6

To end our desires for worldly things, because they cause suffering...

"Never have anything to do with likes and dislikes. The absence of what one likes is painful, as is the presence of what one dislikes. Therefore don't take a liking to anything. To lose what one likes is hard, but there are no bonds for those who have no likes and dislikes. From preference arises sorrow, from preference arises fear, but he who is freed from preference has no sorrow and certainly no fear"
- Buddha -

Answer 7

In short I would desribe Buddhism as practicing wisdom and compassion for all. Long answer below.

Buddhism is the spiritual process and practice of developing perfect wisdom and compassion based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, a former prince who lived about 600 yrs before Christ. He renounced his material wealth to seek higher truth in reaction to the endless misery he saw in the human condition. He strived through religious and ascetic means to find the truth about life. Ironically he did not find "enlightenment" until he gave up searching and striving, and decided to sit perfectly still until the truth came to him. The truth was to let go in order to receive. From the revelations he received, he freely offered advice to others who asked, but always emphasized not to believe anything or any authority, even his own, until it was proven. This way, the mind would remain detached and could receive the truth without getting attached to delusions, biases or other hindrances, since human understanding was limited and bound to change over time.

The spirit of Buddhism is based on the Two Great Promises -- to develop one's wisdom and to develop one's compassion. This is culturally equivalent to the Two Great Commandments in Christianity, to love God (which is perfect wisdom) and to love one's neighbor in Christ (which is perfect compassion).

All of Buddha's teachings are based on these two principles, as all the Christian teachings relate to the Two Commandments.
They are harmonious, but are not the same; and I find both teachings help to balance each other out in practice.

If you look online you can find:
* There are 8 Buddhist principles called the Eightfold Path (which are often compared and contrasted with the Christian 10 commandments)
* There are three Buddhist refuges or spiritual gems (which I compare to the Christian trinity)
* There are four noble truths in Buddhism which I compare and contrast to Bill Bright's four spiritual laws of Christianity.
* There are five precepts which I would compare and contrast with the four cardinal virtues
* There are two major denominations, the higher and lower vehicle, which I would compare with similar Protestant/Catholic traditions in the Christian faith. The difference in Buddhism is whether one believes someone can save others or only they can save themselves; whereas the Christian division concerns works vs. faith in the salvation process.

The same way Christianity warns against coveting and promotes selflessness and spiritual salvation, Buddhism also advises against clinging to material or false selfish desires that create all the suffering in the world and keep one from spiritual fulfillment.
So Buddhism teaches one to discipline one's heart and mind to detach from the material selfish desire and suffering, and to receive enlightenment and spiritual freedom.

Buddha also prophesied the coming and return of the Maitreya Buddha who is often equated with Christ and the Holy Spirit, I would not study either Buddhism or Christianity without studying the other because I find these to be spiritual complements.

The most common misperceptions I run across concerning Buddhism are that "Buddha claims to be God which negates Christ" which is not true, since Buddha actually witnessed to the coming of the future Messiah and is thus a true prophet like Moses; that Buddhism teaches human striving when it does the opposite, that Buddha only found the truth after he completely gave up striving and renounced material gain; that Buddhism teaches "no soul" or emptiness or nothingness as the goal of Nirvana, when emptying oneself is just one step in the process of receiving wisdom and understanding independent of human biases and conditions; and that Buddha/Buddhism is not in the Bible, when Jesus clearly stated he had sheep in another fold which he would one day govern as one flock, so the same way Christians recognize Jesus as fulfilling the divine laws given by Moses, so have many believers worldwide accepted Christ as fulfilling the teachings of Buddha as part of the natural laws.

Since Christ as Messiah rejoins God and man, it makes sense that his spirit would thus fulfill and join divine laws of the churched fold, and natural laws of the gentile fold. So Buddha's teachings are the equivalent of God's universal truths as given to the gentiles and secular tribes, similar to how Moses and other prophets in Biblical Scripture have given the law to the church.

Answer 8

The teachings of Buddha?

Answer 9

In a few simple words, desire brings unhappiness. To obtain enlightenment you must desire nothing.

Answer 10

clinging is pain