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A Study on Buddhism Religion
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Added on 2019-11-26
A Study on Buddhism Religion
Added on 2019-11-26
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A significant question has been asked many times, is Buddhism a religion? There are severalcriteria that can be used to answer this question. For example, the following aspects are presentin case of many religions, beginning, ritual, believers, morality, goals and purpose. In the presentresearch network, an attempt has been made to compare Buddhism with other accepted religionsof the world and use these criteria from the standpoint and the belief that Buddhism is indeed areligion.First of all, the issue needs to be considered from the point of view all the beginning of thereligion. In case of every religion, there is a beginning. However, the major difference that ispresent regarding the beginning of Buddhism and the beginning of other religions is related withthe amount of time (Anderson, 1999). It needs to be noted that Buddhism had appearedovernight. That is true, Buddhism appeared overnight while other religions like Hinduism aretaken endless years to evolve. But still, it has a beginning and a history. Although in terms ofbeginning, it is somewhat minor but still it has a beginning and a historical sense to it. This isone competitive where Buddhism is hugely similar to the other globally accepted religions(Anderson, 2003). The next issue is related with ritual. In case of Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, which otherthree major religions of the world, ritual is present. In the same way, as is the case with thesereligions, data is also one of the two forms present in Buddhism. Therefore, while the MahayanaBuddhism has included ritual, it is eschewed by the Theravada Buddhism. Therefore even if itmay be argued that only one part of Buddhism has ritual, but still, ritual is a part of Buddhism(Armstrong, 2004). At the same time, it also needs to be mentioned that not all Christians,
Hindus or Jews go by all the rituals that have been described by their religion. Therefore it canact as an explanation behind the reason why the Theravada part of Buddhism does not have anyritual (Gombrich, 1984). After ritual, the next elevator is related with the followers or thebelievers. As is the case with other religions mentioned above, there is a widespread acceptanceof Buddhism also. Therefore it cannot be described as a small cult that comprises only a fewthousand people (Bhikkhu, 2000). Buddhism is much larger as compared to any cult. Therefore itfulfills another criteria that has been mentioned about in order to make it a religion. Morality is something that can be found in almost every major religion. Some form of morality isalso present in case of Buddhism. If it was not the case, what this would be doing simplywhatever they wanted to (Bond, 1992). For example, they could have simply kill each other ordone wrong to each other. Therefore, at a simple, minimal level and also at an extreme level,morality intervenes in Buddhism. It is a fact that every Buddhist has to deal with on a daily basisas is the case with any other member of another religion (Brazier, 2001).Under these circumstances, there are a large number of people who have asked the question, ifBuddhism which is a popular belief system initiative also be treated as a religion. However,arguments have been given by academics from East and the West in favor of and against thisproposition. While some have for Buddhism as a cult not be the reason that they are againstBuddhism, but because in a heated debate how Buddhism can be placed in this well-organizededucational structure (Bronkhorst, 1993). The Encyclopedia Britannica has mentioned Zoroaster,the Buddha, Aristotle and Plato as the first persons in history who have blogged regarding mindand behaviors. The logic of Buddhism is among the early records present regarding with a set ofprinciples that are outlined for the study of the mind. There are a number of Western scholarslike Albert Einstein and said Arthur C. Clarke, who were rejected towards Buddhism due to the
similarities that exist between scientific philosophy and the logical thinking of Buddhism(Bronkhorst, 2007). For hundreds of years, there have been academics who have identifiedBuddhism as a religion that is not deceased by dogmas and theologies both Einstein and Clarkewere of the opinion that in order to have a future for religion in the increasingly scientific world,a religion should be like Buddhism (Bronkhorst, 2013). The reason was that Buddha hasencouraged logical reasoning as compared to beliefs, constructive thinking as compared to blindfaith and testing of Buddhist concepts in the real-world as compared to theoretical Buddhism.But this is the point where Buddhism no longer remains a religion, but instead, it becomes aneducation system that is open to any person who wants to learn and use these tools for good use(Carrithers, 1983). The logic of Buddhism, the Eight Fold Path, Five Precepts and Buddhist Karma define the coreelements of Buddhism. Although it is not possible to describe all of them in detail in the presentpaper, but they will be used for the purpose of establishing that is and is much more than merephilosophy or an education system than a religion. The logic of Buddhism is famous due to thereason that it was one of the first structured logical thinking system role by the humancivilization (Bucknell, 1984). The idea that a seed needs to be planted for a treat to grow and forthe purpose of the existence of a tree, a seed needs to be a part of the cycle, has been used for thepurpose of explaining the workings of the mind. According to the philosophy of Buddhism,controlling the seed needs to be given priority. As is the case with Western philosophers andscientists after the age of Enlightenment, free independent thinking was also promoted byBuddha (Carter, 1987). Instead of depending on the religious rules or regulations, Buddhismpromotes logical reasoning for the purpose of establishing connections between the teachings ofBuddhism, dharma and the real world applications. As against a religion, the followers were told
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