Ethnographic Paper On Buddhism

The Kannon Bosatsu, or Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, is a carved wood statue of a Bodhisattva figure standing about two and one half to three meters tall. This statue shows a high level of detail on the Bodhisattva 's body, and is carved so smoothly that it could be mistaken for a stone carving. The show of skilled craftsmanship can be seen around the shoulders with the interaction of the cloth with the jewelry the Bodhisattva. The statue is placed on an ornate pedestal to cause the figurine to appear taller, giving it a feeling of authority, which contrasts with its calm, expressionless face. While the figure appears to be standing in a meditative state like the Buddha, the jewelry present all over the body of this figure distinguishes this figure as a Bodhisattva instead of a Buddha. In his book, The Story of Buddhism a Concise guide to Its History and Teachings, Donald S. Lopez Jr. establishes the importance of imagery in Buddhism. One major point he makes concerning the worship of Buddhist figures, is that the disciples of Buddhism not only believe that the figures are a mere representation of Buddha, but that the figures actually become and are animated by Buddha, an argument which seems to hold merit as truth.

Whenever I thought of Buddhist I saw bald men or women with orange robes, white socks, and brown sandals. Obviously, not the older woman with gray hair that was now facing me and the other twenty congregants in the meditation room. She was obviously the leader.

For this experience, I decided to explore Buddhism in order to enhance my involvement with the religion and build a strong understanding. What intrigued me about Buddhism was the social aspect and diversity that it had to offer. In order to explore this religion from a critical and analytical viewpoint, I decided to attend a weekend service offered at San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin. The San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin main temple is located in the Japantown section of Central San Jose. What made this temple stand out amongst the others was its historical standing in the community. It is one of the oldest temples established in the United States. In order to learn more about the history, environment, and community as a whole, I decided to contact the temple’s staffs. After a brief phone call, I was able to schedule a tour. In preparation, I decided to do a brief research on Buddhism to familiarize myself with the religion beforehand. With all preparations and research necessary, I was ready to visit San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin.

It goes without saying that I learned so much in Religious Studies 101. I was introduced to multiple world religions that were foreign to me prior to taking the class. I never felt the need to explore any other religion besides Christianity because I was content with my faith. However, after learning about different religions and interacting with people that are not Christian, and grew up with different beliefs and values, I now find myself questioning reconsidering my beliefs. By being exposed to the rituals and ideas of cultures and religions across the globe, I find myself wondering what it would be like to follow some of these principles or to try some of these practices for myself. I find myself trying to follow the moral guidelines and principles of the traditions I learn about all the time. It has helped me ask even more questions and broadened my horizons. It 's helping me shape my beliefs and find out who I want to become. I was especially fascinated with Buddhism and have grown a huge admiration for it. In my learning portfolio I will examine what I learned about Buddhism and what about it is so appealing to me. I will also briefly summarize that I learned that Buddhism – just like any other religions, is not flawless and cannot provide a perfect view of life that would be influential enough for me to devote my faith to it. However, there are certain

4b) According to the Diamond Sutra teaching on the practice of mindfulness, explain the reasoning behind the necessary tie made between non- attachment and

“If the world is to be healed through human efforts, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear,” was once said by the Buddhist scholar, Joanna Macy. Not only is Joanna Macy a unique asset to Buddhism because she is a woman, but she is also American-born. Macy is not alone in possessing these two qualities, she is joined by another woman, Ayyā Gotami (Prem Suskawat) who goes by Dr. Gotami. Both of these women have different backgrounds, and different lifestyles, but they are both important to Buddhism.

Buddhism is a religion that focuses more on the individual and the actions of that individual, which was prevalent to me when I made my way into Portland and set foot in a Buddhist temple. The man I met within the walls of this temple was far from my stereotypical thoughts of Buddhist monks. The man I met looked like your plain old, average Joe, American man. Before I delve into the depths of my visit to this inspiring place, I need to sum up the Buddhist religion and why I chose to study this particular group of people.

The main focus of Buddhism is that the faith centers on correct understanding of human nature and ultimate reality, The Buddha was also called the Enlightened One, he taught that the way to eliminate suffering begins with understanding the true nature of the world. He rejected speculation about such matters as God, the nature of the universe, and the afyterlife, urging his folloers to focus instead on the Four Noble Truths by which they can free themselves from suffering. “We do not believe that this world is created and ruled by God.” The disbelief in God does not make Buddhism an atheistic religion. The Buddha rejected the concept of the atman, or soul. In

This is my first time that I come to New York, so I am curious about many things in this new place, such as the famous resorts, and the people here. As we know, the Times Square is very famous in New York. When I was in China, I hope I can visit Times Square, because I saw Times Square was very great in some of the opening of American series. Now, I am in New York, and I have enough chances to visit Times Square whenever I want. In there, it gives me a new horizon to understand the culture that is different from China.

The myth «Birht of the Buddha» is from the earliest stage of the life of Buddha. This essay will take a closer look on this myth and critically examine what parts might be linked to actual events considering the Buddha.

Over the years, Buddhism has become one of the most popular religions in America. In 2010, the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) estimated that there were approximately 2 millions Buddhist in the US, which is around 0.7% of the population. As Buddhism’s popularity continues to grow, it is not surprise to see a lot of Buddhist’s tradition integrated itself into the American culture. There is already a tremendous amount of Americans who converted themselves into the religion alone. Therefore, certain issues began to arise as this integration continues, one of them being the role of women in Buddhism. Widely known as the religion of peace and kindness, not many people realized that Buddhism is also a religion of gender equality. There

There are many different definitions and views of Buddhism and many of these views and definitions vary from each other. A quick internet search reveals all the different definitions of Buddhism and some of them may not even be correct or have a scholarly perspective. A five minute Google search reveals one definition which we will take a look at:

Religion is an important and prominent aspect of life. There are hundreds of religions established that influence thousands of followers. Personally, I am a follower of the Christian faith. My worship experience is in a church of like-followers praising an omnipotent God. In preparation for this research paper, I visited a worshiping venue for a religion outside the comfort zone of my own. In anticipation for the day of my visit, I did some prior research to a get a bit of background knowledge on my venue of choice. After some research and deliberation on a particular religion and venue to attend, I chose the Wat Buddharangsi of Miami: a Theravada Thai Buddhist Temple. Theravada Buddhism is a type of Buddhism that places emphasis on human pain in regards to God’s permit of evil on Earth. It is summarized by the Four Noble Truths that are based on the acknowledgment of suffering, its cause, and how we overcome this law of life (Livingston 246). Many of the practices of this religion include meditation. This alone peaked my interest because I see meditation being beneficial for not only religion, and not just specific to Buddhism, but useful for everyday life. Solidarity and peace gives you the opportunity to not only affirm your thoughts and beliefs, but also gives you a chance to focus on self-control. From the information I have gathered thus far, I could tell it would be an amazing learning experience that I wouldn’t regret.

In the United States there are over four million buddhists, one thousand temples, study groups, or Buddhists associations (Monroe 108). This number has come from just one man searching to find happiness and eventually enlightenment. Buddha’s story is how buddhism became a religion all over the world. It teaches a peaceful manner, reveals the key to happiness for the mind, and eliminates the desire in life. Not just the history of buddhism is important, but how it has spread through the world and what it looks like today.

D. Thesis Statement: Buddhism has many important factors, and it is considered an innovative religion due to its beliefs, customs, history, and important figures.