Pilgrimage and Faith: Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam

isara solutions, 2019

Buddhism is one of the world's largest religions and originated 2,600 years ago in India. Buddhists believe that human life is one of suffering and that meditation, spiritual and physical labour and good behaviour are the ways to achieve enlightenment or nirvana. 1 Siddhartha Gautama, a prince who resigned his privileged upbringing for the lifestyle of an ascetic (e.g., Basham 1967; Davids 1910; Lamotte 1988; Lopez 2001), is said to be the founder of Indian Buddhism around the fifth or sixth century BCE (archaeological history of Buddhism). Siddhartha attained enlightenment after many hardships, discovering the way to terminate the cycle of reincarnation and misery. He taught this method to an expanding number of disciples for the rest of his life. Following his death, his students proceeded to spread the Buddha's teachings and founded the sangha, a community of monks and nuns. Members of the sangha2 were originally roaming ascetics who lived outside of society, begging for sustenance and practising meditation and other ascetic practises. In contrast to the sangha's austere practises, the Buddhist laity began making pilgrimages to important places in the Buddha's life, as well as to burial sites-stupas-that housed cremated remains. The goal of this research is to look at the cultural, economic, and social effects of Buddhism. Buddhism had a significant impact on Magadh's culture, political structure, and socioeconomic situations. The story of Buddhism might be said to have begun with a loss of innocence. Siddhartha Gautama, a young prince of the Shakhya clan in India, had been raised in a life of royal ease, shielded from the misery and cruelties of the world outside the palace gates, distracted by sensual pleasures and luxurious living. But one day the fateful encounter with the real world occurred, and Siddhartha was shaken to the core. 2 There in his kingdom, not far from his gardens and delights, he encountered people suffering from sickness, old age and death; he brooded over these things, deeply disturbed that such was the fate of all beings. Then he encountered an ascetic holy man, a renunciate dedicated to liberation. The prince then undertook the great renunciation, forsaking his family, fortune and kingdom in pursuit of the path of liberation. The central, profound question that burned in Gautama was this: "How may suffering be ended?" He became a wandering ascetic, practised yogic disciplines and meditation, studied with various teachers, and attained high states of consciousness; but still, he did not find the answer to his question. He practised severe forms of asceticism, almost to the point of death by starvation, all without gain. Finally he sat under a Bodhi tree, determined not to rise from meditation until he had gained the

Religion, 1986

INAC, 2023

The lotus flower represents one symbol of fortune in Buddhism. It grows in muddy water, and it is this environment gives forth the flower's first and most literal meaning: rising and blooming above the murk to achieve enlightenment. T second meaning, which is related to the first is purification Introduction: Buddhism is one of the world's major religions with about 300 million practitioners worldwide. It began in India in about 500 B.C.E. when Siddhartha Gotama, also called "the Buddha," is said to have reached enlightenment. Because Buddhism is not concerned with the worship of deities and does not closely resemble Western religions in belief or practice. Siddhartha Gotama was born into royalty in Lumbini, Nepal in April 563 BC, before abandoning his wealth when he saw suffering, poverty and death for the first time at age 29. Siddhartha experimented with different philosophies before he was "awakened" or "enlightened" at age 35. Buddha, or the "Enlightened One," did not become a god or prophet when he reached enlightenment. Rather, he spent the rest of his life teaching the path to enlightenment-also called the Dharma or "truth." Buddhists regard the Buddha as an important teacher. Explaining Enlightenment Comparing the Buddhist principle of enlightenment to the Christian ideal of salvation. Unlike Christianity, which says that people will be saved through a correct belief and faith in God, Buddhism teaches that you reach enlightenment through a process of meditation, learning and understanding.Buddhists do not believe in a heaven. Instead, Buddhists believe that when you reach enlightenment, also called Nirvana, you experience complete bliss. Instead of dying and going to an afterlife, Buddhists believe that you are subject to a constant cycle of rebirth until you reach enlightenment and Nirvana. Characterized as an extinguishing of desire, greed and dissatisfaction, Nirvana frees you from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. Buddhist Tenets Four Noble Truths: that life is suffering, that suffering is caused by desire, that suffering can be overcome and, finally, that following the Noble Eightfold Path leads to the end of suffering.

Buddhism Highlights, 2016

Buddha is presented to us as a son of Prince Shuddhodana, of the Gautama family and the Sakya clan, established in Kapilavastu, near Varanasi, in northeastern India, an area close to the Himalayas and the Ganges, where Magadhi was the language spoken. He was born around 560 BC. He was married to Yasodara and was the father of Rahula. He carried the name Siddhartha until the age of thirty, when he left his home to become a monk, and called himself Sakyamuni. He experienced the life of mendicant monks and ascetics, but saw that to stay locked in these states did not provide a path of hope to men; thus he continued his personal quest until he reached, ten years later, in Bodh Gaya, sitting under a tree, his own enlightenment, at which time he was called Buddha, "the awakened", "the clear seer", "the lucid", "the enlightened", "the wise". He died in Kusinagara around 480 BC.