Chapter 9 - Religion

Buddhism

Buddhism is the most widespread religion in the East and developed out of early Hinduism in India.  Although the West has its own forms of practicing Buddhism, original Buddhism is the path to free oneself from the reincarnation cycle of Hinduism through enlightement. Over time, Buddhism spread from India to China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and numerous other Asian countries. Most of them still practice Buddhism and it has become an integral part of Asian culture. Below you will find links about the history of Buddhism in Asia as well as the Western world. I chose Buddhism as a topic for this blog entry because I have been a practicing Buddhism myself for three years and I have been fascinated by it ever since.  

Link 1

This article by the Buddhist Society of Western Australia gives a great overview of what Buddhism is. It talks about the story of Siddhatta Gotama and how he became Buddha, his teachings, and the different kinds of Buddhism. It also explains the meaning of Buddhism in different parts of the world today.

http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebdha030.htm

Photo

Buddha statue in Kamakura, Japan

Link 2

Many people think Buddhism is just about doing yoga and drinking chai tea but most don't even know where it came from and how it spread throughout Asia. See the link below for an overview of how Buddhism spread through China, Korea, and Japan. Note the reference to Kamakura, Japan, which is where I took the picture of the Buddha above.

 http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/east-asia.htm

 

Link 3

This interesting web article explores how Buddhism came to the West and settled in Europe and America. First Buddhist texts were brought to Europe from Asia as early as the 18th century, when they caught the eye of European scholars. As people had more opportunities to travel, the word of Buddhism spread in the West and today, there are numerous Buddhist Societies and places of worship for practicing Buddhist all over the Western world.

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/to-west.htm

Link 4 

This link will take you to an article in National Geographic magazine. It talks a bit more about what Buddhism means in the Western world. There's an interesting photo gallery, a slide show, and a video for anyone who is interested.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0512/feature4/index.html

Video 1

I was surprised to learn about this international Buddhist temple in Richmond, British Columbia. It is open to anybody who is a practicing Buddhist or wants to learn more about Buddhism. I chose this video because it shows the beauty of Buddhist temples and the beauty of Buddhism itself. It also gives some more facts about the practices of Buddhism, such as prayer, chanting, and charity. For those of you who never get the opportunity to travel to Asia but want to have an authentic Buddhist temple experience, this is the place to go to.  

Video 2

For those of you you want to dive more into the topic of Buddhism, below you will find a summary of  lectures given by the Dalai Lama as part of a 5 day conference. After all, the Dalai Lama is probably the most important teacher of Buddhism of our times. In this introduction to a documentary of the 5 days, the Dalai Lama talks about how to overcome depression, stress, and fear by finding happiness through Buddhism.

Quote

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."
Buddha
Kalama Sutta.

As you can see by my numerous links about this fascinating chapter, there is so much to be said and explored about Buddhism, its past, present, and future. The quote by Buddha sums up this chapter about religion for me. Although my religion of choice is Buddhism, there are no limits to what we may believe in. Any religion of believe works for an individual as long as it provides the spirituality to do good for people. I hope my links have sparked your interest to learn more about Buddhism. I think that it is important to find some kind of tranquility in our fast paced lifestyle today. Whether you find peace of mind in meditation, sports, or charity, I hope that this blog inspired you to learn more about Buddhism.