Personal Enlightenment In Buddhism

Pyysiainen, I. (2003). Buddhism, religion, and the concept of "god." Numen, 50(2), 147-171. Retrieved from the JSTOR database.

Enlightenment is defined as the understanding and knowledge with the lack of hope and pain. The idea of enlightenment can be found I different situations that can be connected through the spiritual awakening of one’s self. Siddhartha and the little boy from The Ocean at the End of the Lane are worlds apart in age, creed, culture and historical era, they are similar in that they are both on a journey of spiritual awakening.

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

To introduce this subject consideration will first be given to the history of Buddhism and how this impacted on

Buddhism was brought to light about 500 BC by Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism has not been described as a religion as such but rather as philosophy. The story of Siddhartha Gautama and how he brought Buddhism to limelight is quite moving. In this essay the thoughts of Siddhartha Gautama are explained and how the society reacted to his arguments. Generally this essay will briefly describe the achievements of Siddhartha Gautama in his quest to attain enlightenment and how that impacted the society of his time and to some extent the current society.

Prebish, Charles S., and Damien Keown. Buddhism the Ebook : An Online Introduction. 4th ed. State College: Journal of Buddhist Ethics Online, 2010. PDF. , $27.75, ISBN 978-0-9801633-6-0

Buddhism is the most prevailing religion in Asia with about 379 million followers. Buddhism believes in following the “Enlightened” path, which is to live life serenely and without desires. This action was very challenging to accomplish, but it allowed you to associate with yourself internally. Buddhism impacted the world by expressing the belief of the 4 noble truths, offering the idea of reincarnation, and to follow certain traditions in physical appearance. The 4 noble truths were the main components in following the “Enlightened” path by explaining how the suffering is caused by people’s desires and that they need to release those to feel free. Reincarnation led other people to believe that when you die, your soul would be born into a new life, which gave the thought about other “realms” that may exist. Also, the physical appearance of Buddhists/monks was different because they would wear clothes that helped them see their natural beauty.

According to Immanuel Kant, “Enlightenment” is man's emergence from his self-imposed nonage, where he is finally able to apply his own knowledge and understanding without guidance from others. The word “nonage” suggests that there is a lack of courage to use one’s own mind and knowledge and thus to Kant, Enlightenment is about emerging from one’s nonage by cultivating your own mind.

For thousands of years the Buddhism religion has “lived” in Asia, this religious way of life has transformed countless amounts of peoples through their schools, customs, rituals and art. Throughout centuries the Buddhism religion has captivated the life of many from the Iranian plateau to Japan and from Tibet to Indonesia. Through time it has taken on fascinatingly different shapes as it has adapted to several different regions and cultures, a process with repeats itself as it travels west into the United States.

Enlightenment is a word to loop in the ideas of gaining insight into the mind and achieving peace with in ourselves, with releasing ourselves from the harshness of life (Wikipedia). In our current time, many people now are still trying to reach enlightenment as many religions that bring up the idea of becoming at peace with ourselves spreads to new people. In the novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, we experience the journey of a man who strives to reach enlightenment. He comes across many different characters, but here, we focus on four people, including Siddhartha, himself. Siddhartha, Govinda, Gotama, and Vasudeva don’t all reach true peace the same way. Instead, they find their own ways to be purely content with their different lives. Though

Enlightenment, or ‘Awakening’, is an essential belief of Theravada Buddhism, as well as being the major goal of all Buddhists, regardless of denominations. Alan Peto, a student of many Buddhist sects, suggests that there is a concept in Buddhism in which what you know as ‘you’ or your ‘ego’ is just a mental fabrication (2017). He goes on to state that when “one reaches enlightenment, you recognise that seeing ‘you’ as a ‘separate self’ is an illusion” (2017). What this means, is that when one becomes enlightened, they see the world as it truly is, in our natural state, known as nirvana in Sanskrit, or ‘nibanna’, in Pali. The construct of your ‘ego’ being a mental fabrication, with said illusion only being broken through enlightenment displays a great emphasis on the Buddhist’s faith and belief in becoming enlightened . The original ‘Enlightened One’, The Buddha, said in one of his many teachings, “If a man can control his mind he can find the way to enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.” As shown in what The Buddha has said, Enlightenment is a great achievement, and it yields great reward. This along with Alan Peto’s explanation show a great value towards enlightenment, seeing it as a key to true content.

Spiritual enlightenment won’t just come and tap you on the shoulder. You must want IT…seek IT…and embark upon your soul’s journey.

Buddhism is the teaching of enlightenment and to achieve enlightenment is the reason why people practice this religion. Enlightenment refers to a singular, intense experience of insight that one has achieved self-realization. One who attains a state of

Every day, you have the option to move closer to enlightenment, or you have the chance to stay rooted in where you are in life. Moving closer to enlightenment everyday will push you to grow, push you to achieve, it move you closer to Nirvana and enlightenment, and further away from suffering.