Buddhism
Uploaded by MichaelA31 on Mar 19, 2006
Buddhism
In reading this account on Buddhism, the goal is, for you (the reader) to understand a fascinating belief system, that has been around since before Christ ever set foot on this earth. This will provide a connection to the minds and hearts of the people who live and die in this sacred world, so that an understanding may be arroused and ultimatly give an acceptance as well as a clear path to minister to these people. The most important aspect of reaching out to people of other cults or religions could possibly be an understanding and common ground with your neighbor. Therefore, knowing Buddhism and learning about it will help give you a stepping stone in you mission on spreading the gospel of Christianity, plus expose you to some of the profoundly interesting culture of Asia. (Yamamoto 1)
History
We have all seen and heard about Buddha and the yin and yang, do to the exploitation of an ancient religion, however aside from this popular fad is a complex and ancient religion deriving from a place called Kapilavastu located in southern Nepal. It began with a man named Siddhartha Gautama, who in fact was the son of a chieftain of the Sakya Clan. Basically he was a prince, enjoying all the luxuries accompanying it. He was born in at about 560 BC, it is debatable as to the exact history of his life, because of the many different forms of Buddhism, however there are substantial bits and peace’s that are agreed on among the different Buddhists. (Mead 23)
He grew up in a sheltered type of life, in that his father refused to let him see any human misery, so he was secluded from the outside world he was never meant know. However, one day at the age of twenty-nine he came to the conclusion of how empty his life had become. As an effect of this, he decided to renounce all his worldly possessions and break all attachments he had in order to set out on a journey. A journey in search of peace and enlightenment. He then, on one fateful day set out on his voyage, eluding the royal attendants his father had contained him with. When reaching the outside, he experienced the effects of human suffering, by veiwing an old man, a leper, a corpse, and an ascetic....