Does anyone know anything about Buddism?

Question

I'm interested in buddism and would like some unbiased information! Thanks!

Answer 1

You've asked for an answer to a very big question. It is very difficult to reduce a philosophy and an ideology to a few lines or even paragraphs, but if you bear with me I'll do the best I can to satisfy your avid curiosity. I'll try to keep it to less than War and Peace..../Buddhists are allowed to have a sense of humour/...

Buddhism then....in a nutshell....whew this is going to be tough even for me as a Buddhist........I'm a Buddhist of the Theravadan tradition often known as Southern Buddhism..

We believe in the Dharma or Teaching. The basis of which is the 4 Noble Truths which are
1. In Life there is suffering
2.The cause of suffering is self serving human desire
3.To cease suffering one must cease self serving desire
4.The way to do this is by following the Noble Eightfold Path

It follows then that to follow the Noble Eightfold Path one must develop the following

Morality including
1.Right Speech
2.Right Actions
3.Right Livelihood (killing is forbidden even as employment)

Mind including
4.Right Effort
5.Right mindfulness
6.Right concentration

Wisdom including
7.Right thoughts
8.Right understanding

As well as these, there are a set of moral code guidelines which are called the Precepts. In general there are 5 but some prefer the more strict code and follow 8. The 5 are
1.Refrain from taking Life
2.Refrain from theft
3.Refrain from sexual miscunduct
4.Refrain from lying
5.Refrain from drugs and alcohol

So, by practising the development of these 8 characteristics of the Noble Eightfold Path and adhering to the 5 Precepts as well as striving for a full understanding of the Four Noble Truths, we strive for the achiement of an enlightened state of consciousness which is free of suffering.

We do this not for a selfish reason, rather we strive so that all beings are free of suffering both through a direct result or consequence of our Actions or through the positive consequence or Karma for which we strive.

Buddhists believe several things
1.That Beings include all sentient Life Forms, these Life Forms
include animals and humans.
2.There are several levels of existence....several Lower Realms,
this Realm and several higher Realms each containing Life
Forms of their own.
3.There is no Deity or all powerful God
4.Some higher Realms do have Beings such as Gods and
superhumans who have evolved to get to that Realm
5.Life is a cyclic phenomenon which continues endlessly from
Birth through Life then Death then Rebirth
6.Rebirth is a result of another phenomena known as Karma.
Karma is a phenomena which is a consequence of our
Actions in both this Life and our previous Lives. These
consequences can be positive, negative or neutral depending
on our intentions.
7.To escape from and therefore move out of the cycle of Karma,
Death and Rebirth, one must evolve and to do this one must
attain enlightenment it is understood that we do not have to be Monks to achieve this state but it attainable by all who dilligently follow the Path, it is further understood that it is a Path with no end, that following it will expand our awareness to include others and thereby release ourselves from our self serving feelings, selfishness if you will. We are in effect to become truly selfless in our dealings with others.
8.Buddhists do not preach to attract converts as the Dharma
states that we each should not believe the Dharma but should
reach understanding by our own experience of it.
9.Buddhists do not worship the Lord Buddha or His image, rather we pay homage, respect and honour to a man for his great compassion in giving the beautiful Dharma to human beings. We do this generally by repeating our promises to him to...seek refuge in the Buddha...seek refuge in the Dharma...and seek refuge in the Sangha or Community.

This is a very, very basic introduction to the Dharma and Buddhist ideology. Do not take this answer as the truth of Buddhism. I am not a Teacher nor an Adept and only serves as a very incomplete guide.

I hope I've helped you...

Peace from a Buddhist..in the season of joy

Answer 2

That's really way too broad a question. There are dozen and dozens of sites out there that will answer many of your questions about Buddhism.

There are three fairly large schools of Buddhism practiced in the US today - Theravaden, Tibetan, and Zen (currently the largest school of Mahayana Buddhism in the US). Theravaden is fairly monastary oriented, Tibetan and Zen tend to have both monastic and lay paths for practice. HTH

Buddhism is a religion that has no diety or beliefs required. It has very little dogma. It is based on the premise that life has suffering, and that via a practice (involving a lot of meditation) one can transcend this suffering. It doesn't consider itself the "True" religion, or better than other religions. Buddhism the best for me, but I would never say it's the best path for you. Buddhism sees all religions as different fingers pointing to the same moon.

Answer 3

Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, being exceeded in numbers only by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. It was founded in Northern India by the first known Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. In 535 BCE, he attained enlightenment and assumed the title Lord Buddha (one who has awakened)

Theravada Buddhism (sometimes called Southern Buddhism; occasionally spelled Therevada) "has been the dominant school of Buddhism in most of Southeast Asia since the thirteenth century, with the establishment of the monarchies in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos."

Mahayana Buddhism (sometimes called Northern Buddhism) is largely found in China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia.

Tibetan Buddhism, which developed in isolation from Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism because of the remoteness of Tibet.

Since the late 19th century:
Modern Buddhism has emerged as a truly international movement. It started as an attempt to produce a single form of Buddhism, without local accretions, that all Buddhists could embrace.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm

What it will teach you is:

"The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances." Atisha.

Love & Blessings
Milly

Answer 4

Tibetan Buddhist here. You'd be better served, since there are TONS of information about Buddhism, by checking out books and websites about it on your own. Far too much info to put in here. I'm serious, not being mean. Just explaining ONE topic within Buddhism can take up serious space in here, and to give an overview... that takes a book.

Check out www.buddhanet.net or the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Buddhism" for a healthy overview... then if you like, you can figure out which version of Buddhism you like best (Theravadan/Hinayana, Mahayana) and which lineage, if you pick Mahayana, you want to follow, kagyu, gelugpa, Zen/Chan, etc.

I wish you much happiness and if you come up with questions, I'm usually in and out of here, if I find something you ask I'll try to answer.

_()_

Answer 5

When getting started, I learned much from

CLICK BELOW

http://www.buddhanet.net/insight.htm

AND from CLICK BELOW

http://www.thubtenchodron.org/

Thubten Chodron {the second site above) has two excellent books out which I would greatly advise you to read:

1) "Open Heart, Clear Mind." {a beginner's
Guide to Buddhism, its excellent).
By: Thubten Chodron.

2) "Working With Anger" {Cultivating Patience).
By: Thubten Chodron.


Buddhism has provided my wife, our two children and I much Peace of Mind, and Happiness. There is so much to learn, and it is humbling to know that we do not honestly know all that much yet, as Buddhists, but are always growing and learning with much purpose for our lives.

May you find what you are searching for, to help you find Peace and Happiness. The Eightfold Path of Buddhism, especially meditaton has given the precious gift of life back to me.

Answer 6

Buddha talks about how to end suffering, and I didn't really believe it until I experienced it. It's pretty incredible, if you just sit back and let go of EVERYTHING in your life, and stop wanting anything (as the teachings say) you will experience absolute bliss. It's really hard to do, but it's pretty obvious that if you didn't have any problems you'd be insanely happy. And since you manufacture your own problems, you can also decide when you don't have them. Although I don't believe it as a spiritual path, I do see it as valuable for psychological well being. I wouldn't believe anything that didn't offer miracles to show that it's not just some other guy spouting off his opinions about God.

Answer 7

Buddhism is an eastern philosophy that was started by a man named Siddhartha Gautama, later known as Buddha, or "one who awoke." It describes life as suffering, primarily because we are creatures that long for things that do not satisfy us. Buddha taught that suffering could be overcome by conquering longing, and he described an 8-fold path to achieve the end of longing.

Buddhism has no discernible god, although many Buddhists do believe in God. However, the God of Buddhism is irrelevant to achieving Buddhahood, called enlightenment.

Instead, Buddhists believe that enlightenment is achieved through meditation and living a life of moderation.

Buddhism arose in a culture that believed in reincarnation and karma, and most Buddhists probably continue to believe in these factors. However, many western and Zen Buddhists do not accept reincarnation as a reality, but instead see it as a metaphor.

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Answer 8

there is a lot to know and say about buddhism. there are different types of buddhism... theravada, mahayana and vajrayana. they each vary slightly and are found in different regions throught asia and now in other countries as well. buddhism is based around philosophical and psychological thought. they believe in becoming fully awakened and aware. buddhist principles are the teachings of the buddha, or the awakened one. much of buddhism is based on the four noble truths about suffering. buddhist theories are pretty interesting and morally good. the believe in different types of meditation. buddhism was once dominant in saveral countries including tibet but now that the chinese bastards have taken over i dont think its quite dominant. buddhism is one of the oldest religions and is practiced in tibet, bhutan, india, china. etc. there are so many books and videos on buddhism and i strongly suggest that you check them out. buddhist culture in rich and unique. and its one of a kind.

Answer 9

You might want to try Religionfacts.com:

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/index.htm

I'm not Buddhist myself, but I found their articles pretty informative.

And if you want to know if Buddhism suits you, you might try the Belief-O-Matic quiz at Beliefnet.com:

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

Answer 10

buddism-noun-any religion of bud, or weed, or something called marijuana. I don't know. Buddism is a religionist of christianity.