Erika Montes Contreras

Suzanne Jacobs
Religion Pluralism Project Part 2
November 15, 2015
Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama was born around 563 BCE, he was born a Hindu but had a
difficult time believing the teachings because of all the suffering in the world and because
of this, he rejected the caste system. Siddhartha was born a wealthy prince but gave up
everything to find a true understanding of the world. After going through pain and
suffering, Siddhartha found the path to enlightenment and became known as the Buddha
or "awakened one". Then set on a journey of teaching the path of enlightenment that
would liberate individuals from the cycle of life and death, thus creating Buddhism.
Buddhists began worshiping and meditating at home with a statue of Buddha,
candles and an incense burner, they often set aside a room in their home as a shrine. As
the years progressed, communities began building Buddhist temples. The ancient Indian
temple was originally shaped like a simple bell with a small peak on top and soon after
was made with a stupa. These structures were providing shelter and study space for
monks. Some were made of stone or woods while others were made out of mountains of
rock. Monks designed the interior with an assembly hall and living spaces; images of
Buddha and various bodhisattvas are decorated on the rock walls.
Building the temples was not an easy task as the Buddhists traveled to the United
States. Anger was created toward East Asians because of their race, and also because of
their "alien" customs and religious practices. Then in 1870, the city of San Francisco

passed laws prohibiting the use of firecrackers and Chinese gongs, which played
important roles in Buddhist and Daoism ceremonies.
Major Buddhist populations are Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and from Myanmar.
While the population of Buddhism is still expanding here in the United States, Immigrant
Buddhists from Asia focus on the preservation of their own ethnic forms of Buddhism but
also struggle with issues of being accepted by the mainstream. Most American convert
Buddhists are more focused on personal and social transformation and often disregard the
relentlessly determined culture. As the number of Buddhist temples continues to expand
every year, it is clear that the number of Buddhist centers across the United States is still
far from reaching their peak.
Buddhist Monasteries are the living centers for those who have devoted
themselves fully to the Buddhist religion. In the monasteries Buddhist monks, Buddhist
nuns, Buddhist laypeople and Buddhist pilgrims are in charge of the center. The
monasteries are open to public and laypeople can reside in the temples for a limited
period of time. The monasteries are the center for learning about the philosophies in the
Buddhism scriptures.
In the Buddhist monastery there is a recognized leader, such as a head monk.
Monks who are older and have more experience are instructors to the children and teach
them how to read, write and give the children the education and knowledge pertaining to
Buddhism, along with other education. A typical Buddhist monastery consists of the main
prayer hall, dormitories, schoolrooms, a crematorium, a library and rooms for the statue
of Buddha. The monks meditate inside rooms and chant in low moaning voices. While
being in the temples, monks are required to follow a certain dress code daily.

Being in a Buddhist monastery requires a daily commitment with daily tasks. On

special occasions, like The Buddhist New Year, it is celebrated on different days
throughout the world depending what county youre in. Vesak or Buddha Day is the
birthday of the Buddha and is the most important festival in Buddhism, it is celebrated on
the first full moon day in May, and Buddhists all over the world celebrate the birth,
enlightenment and death of the Buddha in a single day. Sangha Day commemorates the
Buddha's visit to Veruvana Monastery in the city of Rajagaha, when 1,250 arhats returned
from their wanderings to pay their respects to the Buddha. Dharma Day commemorates
the "turning of the wheel of the Dharma," or Buddhas first sermon. Observance Day
refers to each of the four traditional monthly holy days that continue to be observed in
Theravada countries on the new moon, full moon, and quarter moon days. The Kathina
Ceremony is held on any convenient date; on this day the laity offers new robes and other
necessities to the monks and nuns.
During the festivals, in prayer, worship and conversations the most common
language was Sanskrit, also known as the most sacred for Hindu Scriptures. Early
Buddhist scriptures were all written in Pali, perhaps the dialect spoken by Buddha
himself. Thus, the language Pali acquired an important place in Buddhism. However,
depending on where you are in the world, worship and conversations are spoken in the
language where it is most dominant.
In the monasteries, Buddhists create programs for the youth to interact and learn
about the teachings, for example, there is Dharma School; the curriculum includes basic
teachings of Buddhism, Shin Buddhism and stress fellowship using themes such as
kindness, giving and compassion. The YBA, the Young Buddhist Association, is an

organization of young people that meets for a variety of activities to build character and
social skill development. The activities range from community service, conferences and
fundraising to youth fellowship. The Jr. YBA is made up of high school age youth, while
the Sr. YBA's membership is college and above. For adults, there is Service and social
activities make up an important part of the ABA. This group of adults is to maintain a
strong association with the church through participation in service and recreational
activities. The primary activity has been festivals which helps raise funds for church
programs, facility maintenance and a youth scholarship program. For women, WBA is
like the backbone of the church; this organization of adult women assists the church in
many of the fundraising events and has social activities for its members.
Outside of the temple, there are networks and organizations of Buddhism. For
example, the Association of Buddhists for the Environment, or ABE, is a network of
Buddhist monks and nuns in Cambodia promoting environmental protection. ABE
connects Buddhist clerics with ecology experts to use local pagodas as centers of
environmental education. Although it is unusual for Buddhist clerics to engage with
communities, forests and the environment have a unique sacredness in the tradition.
Particular joint projects of ABE include small-scale community projects such as compost
heaps, tree nurseries, and local water management systems. ABE also produces
educational media, including a documentary film, and manages a website to build a
network of conservation-minded Buddhists in the country. The organization has
partnerships with both the Alliance of Religions and Conservation and UNESCO.
With networks and organizations taking place inside as well as the outside of the
temple, Buddhists feel at times that they are understood. Many Americans misunderstand

Buddhism but Buddha literally means the awakened one. Some people do not
understand its meanings and may only know it lightly. After listening to a few phrases,
Americans may start to explain to the others in their own way, which is almost always,
misinterpreted. However, Buddhist temples welcome newcomers to learn understandings
of the Buddhism and its teachings. With Buddhist temples growing in America,
Buddhists feel accepted by their neighbors; many of the Buddhist temples serve as a
gathering spot for the local communities. Although, one of the major difficulties a
Buddhist may experience on American soil is a generation of American Buddhists will
emerge and a new, different, and uniqueness in Buddhism that will change in history, and
begin heading to a form of American Buddhism. For most Cambodians, preserving
their Buddhist tradition in the United States is critical importance. As one young man put
it, When you leave Buddhism, eventually you will lose your Cambodian identity
because Buddhism is the foundation of Cambodian culture.
Not to say that Buddhists dont enjoy American culture, of all the religions in
America, Buddhism seems to have been the one best desire for spirituality, to look at it as
spiritual resource not tied to a particular institution, community, or ritual. We can add
Buddhism whenever individuals need some spiritual need. Americans can even adopt
Buddhist values or practices without converting to the Buddhist religion. Although there
is diversity between other religions, Buddhists feel it is wonderful that so many different
religions exist in the world. Just as one food will not appeal to everybody, one religion or
one set of beliefs will not satisfy everyone's needs. Therefore, it is extremely beneficial
that a variety of different religions are available to choose from. He welcomes and
rejoices at this.

Buddhism rejoices in the possibility of true freedom as something important in

human nature. For Buddhism, the ultimate freedom is to attain full freedom from the root
causes of all suffering, greed, hatred and misunderstanding. Their worst forms are those,
which are harmful to others. To weaken, and finally remove them in oneself and as far as
possible, it is the basis of Buddhist ethics. There are many different ways in which
individual Buddhists and their organizations can give help and relieve suffering.
However, charity begins at home. If a Buddhist group or society fails to provide human
warmth and active caring for all of its members in their occasional difficulties and
troubles, where then is its Buddhism?
Buddhists believe it is important to always meditate and pass on the teachings.
There are many things in life that are beyond our control. However, it is possible to take
responsibility for our own states of mind and then to change them for the better.
According to Buddhism this is the most important thing we can do, and Buddhism
teaches that it is the only real solution to our own personal sorrows, and to the anxieties,
fears, hatreds, and general confusions that overwhelm the human condition. With regular
work and patience these nourishing, focused states of mind can deepen into very peaceful
and energized states of mind. Some experiences can have a transformative effect and can
lead to a new understanding of life.
My assumptions and thoughts about Buddhism made me realize, you have to
know more about a religion, philosophy or teachings before you can judge a book by its
cover. It is true that Buddhist do not have Gods and not all Buddhists worship idols.
Idolatry means creating images of unknown gods and goddesses in various shapes and
sizes and to pray directly to these images. The prayers are a request to the gods for

guidance and protection. The gods and goddesses are asked to give health, wealth, and
property to provide for various needs, they are asked to forgive wrongdoings. Secondly,
the Buddhism teachings are a lot like Hinduism, although differs in many ways as well.
For example, Buddhism does not believe in a Creator God where as in Hindu, they
believe in many gods but all come from Atman. Instead of worshiping, Buddhist pays
loyalty to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha where as in Hindu, Orthodox schools
set three prayer times a day at dawn, noon and dusk. Salvation is not related to Buddhism
at all. The Buddha also told to depend on his or her own to attain nirvana by practicing
the Threefold Training or the Eightfold Path. In Hinduism, Salvation is attained by doing
good deeds and righteousness and following the "dharma" and also avoiding sin. Lastly,
Buddhists do not believe in reincarnation nor is it a religion. Reincarnation is defined as a
simple not physical birth of a person for instance, John being reborn as a cat in the next
life. However this traveling of the soul definitely does not exist in Buddhism. Buddhism
cannot be called a religion because it is neither a system of faith and worship, its more of
a way of life, and so it is actually considered a philosophy.
The teachings of the Buddha are beyond massive and very philosophical. If one
succeeds in seriously encouraging and practicing a few of the teachings of the Buddha,
then one will have succeeded in making life more meaningful. If we seek to avoid
harming others, if we try our best to help others whenever possible, learn to be mindful,
learn to concentrate our mind, if we encourage wisdom through study, there is no doubt
that the Dharma will help us. It will first lead us to happiness and prosperity in this life
and in the next. Eventually, it will lead us to the ultimate goal of freedom, the bliss of
Nirvana.