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Buddhism: Buddhism And The Life Of Buddhism

Decent Essays

The world’s fastest growing religion and the 4th largest religion in terms of the followers, followed by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, the “Buddhism”(1)(2). The word Buddhism is derived from the word “Buddha” which means ‘the awakened”. Siddhartha Gautama was born between the 5th and 6th century or according to some references 563 B.C.E( 3)(4). Buddha belonged to the royal family of Lumbini from the republic of Sakka in the foothills of Himalayas, now known as Nepal(5)(6). When Buddha born, astrologers predicted that he will be a spiritual leader but his father who was a king, wanted him to be king after him and conquer the world. Gautama married at the age of 16 and became a father at the age of 29. He named his son Rahula( …show more content…

The brief Eightfold Noble Path is, being moral (through what we say, do and our business), focusing the brain on being completely mindful of our considerations and activities, and creating shrewdness by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by creating empathy for others(9). There are various ceremonies, rituals and festivals celebrated throughout the year. Most Buddhists with the exception of Japanese, use the lunar calendar, therefore, the dates of Buddhists festival varies country to country. The most famous and common ritual or festival is “The Buddha day”, Vesak in Sanskrit. Buddha day is the most important festival as it celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha on the same day, the first full moon day in May, except in a leap year when the festival is held in June (10). The other being the Sangha day and the Dharma day. Sangha Day is the second most important Buddhist celebration. It is a festival to pay tribute to the Sangha, or the Buddhist group. For a few Buddhists, Sangha alludes just to monks and nuns. It is a chance for individuals to reaffirm their dedication to Buddhist practices and customs (11). There are many other rituals that are celebrated In

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