The Religious Traditions of Buddhism and Confucianism Essay Example for Free

The Religious Traditions of Buddhism and Confucianism EssayNo other force in our collective history is as influential in shaping our terra firma as religious belief has been. It is a force that continues to define and redefine the human being as we know it. Nations and countries make up been established and destroyed all in the name of morality. Political lines argon being redrawn until now as we speak with religion as the main weapon of choice. No other force can go people and compel them to serve as much as religion does. It keeps followers together flat while it keeps people of different faith out. It is source of cohesion and conflict at the like measure (Cristi, 2001, p.223) People who would not normally use force on another will gladly dispute in the name of faith. A call to arms in the name of religion is the best elan to assemble an army, fueled with righteous anger against the perceived enemy. Most, if not all civil wars stimulate been fought in the name o f religion. The enduring conflict in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestant, as well as the military force of Buddhists in Sri Lanka against the Hindu Tamil proves such a point. For all its awe nearly power, the exact nature of religion remains shrouded in history.Some scholars cin one caseptualise that religion arose from mans necessity to make ace of living, and his compelling fatality to understand the mysteries of life. (Hume 24) Over the years, religion has come to be defined as an create system of practices structured around some supernatural or presage belief. Religion is faith nice in the context of reality. They are rules that guide certain kind of faith or belief. (Derrida Vattimo 6) Most cultures that cost in the world today are greatly influenced by the predominant religion of their respective places.The around common manifestations of religion can be seen through prayers, rites, and traditions that certain religious denominations practice. The most dominant religions of the world include Catholicism, Islam, Jew, and Hinduism. Other religions such as Protestantism are offshoots of Catholicism. Some, like Confucianism and Theravada Buddhism remain contentious. Some regard the 2 as religion, while others argue otherwise. The question is how did others came to be recognized as religions while others remain enigmatical?How do we make the distinction between religion and religious traditions? This paper argues that while Confucianism and Theravada Buddhism may not be religion, they are nevertheless religious traditions by virtue of their organized and specific rules of behavior. Theravada Buddhism is the dominant train of Buddhism. The two major schools of Buddhism that emerged from Buddhas teachings are simply different representations of the same core principles. At world-class it may seem contradictory that a philosophy that espouses non-violence and universal tolerance will have a division.However, t present exists neither conflict nor competition within these two main schools and the schools that followed after the schools are much of a reflection of the place, time, and circumstance where Buddhism grew and became a way of life. Because cultures and histories differ, our perspectives on Buddhas teachings can differ as well. (Gyatso 113) The emphasis of Theravada Buddhism is on individual attainment of nirvana, as opposed to enlightenment for all as advocated by Mahayana.Mahayana believes that Buddhists should not just be concerned most their own enlightenment, but aim to enlighten others even if it means sacrificing their own (Gyatso 168). The Mahayana form has much religious conventions, including theology or veneration Buddha and other divine beings. They also venerate sacred objects and icons and follow certain religious rituals. Theravada Buddhists, as an offshoot of their beliefs do not have the same features of the Mahayana. The selfish orientation and the unadorned nature of Theravada Budd hism perpetuate the perception of a non-religion.However, it should be said that apart from this fundamental difference, these two major schools adhere to basically the same principles. (Gyatso 170). For purposes of clarity, Buddhism, as discussed here refers to Theravada Buddhism because it is the school that is most often the target of religious debate. Buddhism has more close to 400 millions of followers worldwide. Buddhists ascribe to certain ways of living and behaviors that are unique to their faith. The main debate whether Buddhism is a religion or not stems from the accompaniment that Buddhists do subscribe to the belief of an all-knowing and all-powerful deity.Buddhists do not worship whatever sentient, supreme being and in the same vein, they do not have specific beliefs about the time to come and the world that exists therein. The association of religion with the belief in gods and afterworlds to the exclusion of everything else is a mistaken picture that most people stubbornly adhere to. epoch belief in gods and some form of afterlife is a common characteristic of most religions, it is not a feature that distinguishes religion from those that are not.It may be argued that while Buddhism has no specific god who they believe can save them, they nevertheless have some instinct of the divine or the ultimate truth a truth that Buddhists believe any sensation individual can attain by their own determination. For Buddhists, aces love for of ones self is the chain that bonds us to a life of suffering and only by spare-time activity Buddhas path can a person be liberated from the cycle of causation and rebirth. license from causality is the adduce of nirvana (William 142). Buddhists believe that our world is a world of suffering and causality, where one action causes another to take place.Followers of Buddhism denounce violence and espouse the principles of non-violence in all aspects of their constitutes. The virtue of nonviolent resistance i s one the key precepts of Buddhism, which is why followers are strict vegetarians and pacifists, Another major tenet of Buddhism is venture. Buddhists believe that by going into your own thoughts, you cleanse and purify your soul. Meditation, while relaxing the body, sharply focuses the mind, thus enable us to purge negative energy and achieve clarity of thought.Meditation is a keystone in Buddhism without which one cannot achieve the awakening that they are looking for (William 167). Meditation as a cornerstone of Buddhism came from the accompaniment that Buddha himself attained enlightenment after a long period of mediation. For Buddhists the conjecture technique produces a sense of calm, but it does not entirely lead us away from all of our sufferings. Regardless of the proven benefits that meditation brings, it does not provide a complete pathway to enlightenment. Buddhists combine calm meditation with or insight meditation (William 198).Calming the body and then calming the mind. This type of meditation is intended for the development of a heightened sense of sentience about the world and our place in it. It asks us to be aware of what we are doing at the precise moment we are doing it. Some people call this process metacognition, or awareness of our awareness. Once this is achieved and sustained, then enlightenment will soon follow. The origin of Buddhism is traced to an Indian prince named Siddhartha, who, in spite of the riches and power that surrounded him found no true happiness in them.Siddhartha had a lingering discontentment there was a compelling need for him to find the meaning and purpose of life a need so urgent that he was willing to leave the comforts and safety of his home in front of answers. And so Siddhartha travelled the world in search for his personal truth. It took many years and experiences and deep reflections, until one day, under the Bo Tree, he found infinite clarity and illumination. (Penney 17) From thereon, he called himself Buddha which means the enlightened one.He proceed on his travels but this time to teach the path of enlightenment to those who seek it. It is important to note that some Buddhist scholars fall into the trap of analyzing Buddhas teachings that they neglect the actual spiritual experiences of Buddha, which is more important than the first. To reaching the spirit of Buddha, it is necessary to know the experiences of Buddha himself. Enlightenment, which is the final goal of all Buddhists, is an irresponsible state of acceptance and the absolute absence of discrimination, ignorance, and suffering.By ignorance, Buddha means spiritual unawareness, the inability to consciously seek the truth and recognize it once it has been found. In the end, the message of Buddhism is clear, that one must follow the Middle Path or take a detached view of reality for an individual to see his involvement and separation from everything in life. Once this state of detachment has been achieved, the n will come the realization of how our live are empty in its absolute oneness with the universe.This realization of emptiness is achieved when one seeks constant awareness of experience and thought through meditation and by consciously taking the Middle Path in all of lifes extremes. While Buddhism if more focused on existential experiences, it does have the same goals as other forms of religion vicissitude and growth. Religion, through the prescription of certain doctrines and rules of behavior, seeks the betterment of all its followers. Buddhism encompasses all aspects of the followers life. In fact it might be argued that Buddhism is more stringent in their rules as other denominations of faith.Because Buddhists are not instrumental to any god, they do not claim monopoly of truth and salvation as well. Would-be-followers are not coerce to forsake their original religion as long as they follow the Buddhist way of life, which is non-negotiable. The same religious issues beset Co nfucian philosophy. The absence of an omniscient potentiate excludes it from the list of what the world recognizes as religion as well. Confucianism was based on the teachings of Confucius, renowned ancient Chinese philosopher.While Buddhism focuses on suffering and enlightenment, Confucianism is more about human behavior in the context of civilized society. During the Qing Dynasty, Confucian teachings were organized and proclaimed as Chinas state religion. (Yao 28) This political move stained the publics perception of Confucianism, making it even more difficult to be classified as a religion. However, Confucianism is strictly about how to live a morally upright life based on good deeds and good citizenship. disrespect this political underpinings, Confucianism remains the ideology of choice for most Chinese.