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Essay / The Ideology of Reincarnation in Buddhism
Buddhism is the most widely practiced religious philosophy in Asia and is based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gotama, dating from 536 to 476 BCE. His disdain for poverty outside the walls. from the opulence of his castle imposed his wandering lifestyle to teach people a better way of living. Buddhists view their life not as a beginning and an end, but as a samsara, wandering from one life to the next, each new life cycle dependent on moral behaviors and their karma, which determines the phase of their next life which is the basis of life. ideology of reincarnation or rebirth. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayReincarnation or rebirth is the process of an individual's existence passing through various forms which are all related to their karma and which can be used either as a reward for doing good, or as a punishment for being bad. The predominance of good karma, called kushala, will place the individual in a higher sphere of existence such as a human being, a divine being called asura, or relegate him to heaven as a temporary resting place. The essence of bad karma called akushala, which is achieved through unhealthy behaviors, can relegate the individual to a lower sphere that includes animals, hungry ghosts or even hell (Hui and Coleman, 2012, p.950) . This afterlife is not permanent and the individual can pass through many forms - all depending on the accumulated karma of the previous form, but it is the hope that one learns from one's mistakes and that rebirths based on akushala can eventually be eliminated. The cycle of rebirth ends when the individual renounces all desires, thereby achieving a state of enlightenment. The ideology of rebirth can almost seem like a second (third, fourth...etc) chance to prove one's worthiness to attain the state of enlightenment. . If an individual behaves in a morally acceptable manner, he or she will be reborn in one of the higher realms designated by Kushala. This seems to mean that through the belief of being reincarnated, there is an opportunity for the individual to become a better being as designated by their level of consciousness as they evolve. According to the Buddhist Sutta Pitka, especially Majihima Nikaya, which states in part: When my concentrated mind was thus purified, bright, unblemished, free from all imperfections, malleable, manageable, stable and attained imperturbability, I directed it towards the knowledge of memory. past lives. I remembered my multiple past lives, that is, one birth, two births, three births, four births, giving birth, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many eons of contraction and expansion of the world: "There I was so named, of such a clan, with such appearance, such was my food, such was my experience of pleasure and of pain, such was my lifespan; and leaving there, I reappeared elsewhere; and there also I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such was my experience of pleasure and pain, such was my length of life; and having passed away from there, I reappeared here. Thus, with their aspects and details, I remembered my multiple past lives. This was the first true knowledge I attained during the first watch of the night. Ignorance was banished and true knowledge appeared, darkness was banished and light appeared, as happens to one whoremain diligent, ardent and resolute. The entire passage is about the belief in rebirth and how, through experiences of pleasure and pain. , that the many rebirths have purified the mind, which apparently means that it has been cleared of all the desires that Buddhists consider to be the cause of all suffering in life. The term imperturbability is indicative of self-assurance and calm when looking back on past lives. if it means that the speaker had nothing to fear, that his behaviors were aligned with kushala, which finally brought him to the place of enlightenment, as evidenced by the sentence that begins, “Ignorance has been banished.” . one who remains diligent, ardent and resolute” (Nannamoli and Bodhi, 1995, p.105). Buddhists will traditionally display a symbolic representation of their Bhavachakra as an illustration of their belief in samsara on the exterior walls of their temples as a way for outsiders to gain a basic understanding of Budda's teachings. Although religion may seem a bit complex, it is actually quite simple in many ways. The belief in rebirth and reincarnation has been around for thousands of years, and many people who adhere to this belief are not followers of Buddhism or any religion for that matter. What is interesting to note is that the belief in rebirth in Buddhism shares some similar aspects with Hinduism, such as how karma is the determinant, which is somewhat of a contingency in how the Future rebirths will be affected. Traditional Buddhists do not believe in the transfer of identity, but simply the transfer of personality or perhaps aspects of personality depending on how they are presented. However, there are forms of Buddhism, such as Theravada, which believe that there is no soul and no self, meaning that there would be no enduring accomplished personality. It was said that the Budda compared the process of rebirth to how one flame can ignite another – a passage or exchange that shares nothing other than the ability to continue, so in that sense it would be considered as a rebirth and not as a reincarnation. Buddhists follow the Eightfold Path as a journey to achieve enlightenment, which means they must enter a state of being in which they have no desires. It may take several rebirths to reach this state, and some Buddhists believe that this can never actually happen, even though this is what they have been led to believe through the practice of Buddhism. According to Hui and Coleman (2012) “Buddhists do not favor reincarnation because reincarnation renews the suffering incurred during past incarnations. Additionally, Buddhists believe that no being can remain permanently in a higher realm of existence and that when their healthy karma is exhausted, they must face rebirth in a lower realm of existence. Additionally, Buddhists believe that all phenomena (including the six realms of existence) are ephemeral, so it is impossible to preserve an eternal self. Which seems to beg the question: If that can't happen, what exactly are they trying to achieve? It would seem that if an individual had continually done the right thing through a series of rebirths, the level of merit or good karma would be enhanced, not diminished, and would basically banish a reborn being to a lower sphere. How can goodness be exhausted? The Buddhist concept of rebirth is metaphysically based, meaning it is based on forces outside the natural realms, which is perfectlylogic. Death is the cessation of life of the bodily form, but perhaps the spirit and consciousness pass to the next cycle of life. It's the belief. Individuals are the result of their thoughts, much like a mind over matter scenario where it can be established that thoughts control the person and, by default, their behavior and actions. A positive attitude can result in a positive life. Buddhists try to avoid negativity in their thoughts, actions, and actions because it can harm others, which is something they want to avoid. This is not to say that evil never happens, because Buddhists are human beings and all humans are imperfect, but even an ugly thought about another person is something that is frowned upon. Fowler (2017) states that "the essential teachings of the Buddha are 'Avoid all evil, cultivate good, and purify one's mind'". This is not to say that Buddhists are free from discord or that there have never been doubts about one's behavior or actions, otherwise there would of course be no akushala. Buddhism can be classified more as a philosophy than a formal religion, although it is often compared to Christianity in aspects such as compassion and understanding. There is no God per se as there is in religions such as Judaism and Christianity. There is a way of life that strives to hold its followers to the highest ethical and moral standards. According to Starkey (2018), there is “no universal scripture – there are a number of texts that were written after the Buddha’s death. Until then, the Buddha's teachings were shared orally. » Like many indigenous religions, their traditions and beliefs form the foundation to which millions of Buddhists adhere. The path to self-discovery is a lifelong journey. If the spotlight was on Budda as a God-like entity, followers of Buddhism adhere to the belief that their own self and work are their salvation, as opposed to Jesus. the Savior of Christianity. Another major attribute of Buddhism is the Buddha (teacher) trinity; dharma (truth); and sangaya (light) and this ignorance is the major flaw in which Christianity, the Holy Trinity is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and sin is the problem. Buddhism authorizes akushala as the determinant of the realm of rebirth; Christianity relegates sinners to various levels of the circles of hell – depending on their sin – the more serious the sin, the deeper the level, which does not necessarily speak to a just or forgiving God. The fundamental principles of Buddhism follow the Four Noble Truths that followers can and will lead moral lives. The four truths are: (1) dukkha which is the recognition of suffering; (2) samudaya, the truth about the cause of suffering; (3) nirhodha, truth of the end of suffering; and (4) magga, the truth of the path that liberates from suffering. These truths lead followers on the eightfold path of rights that dictate self-awareness and self-discipline and how all of this will affect the followers' likelihood of obtaining true enlightenment, which, as previously stated, can only be achieved through a lack of desires which may require multiple rebirths. One could consider that reincarnation is actually an ideology that gives an individual (or being) a certain amount of time to move forward at their own pace, to inhibit the necessary attributes in order to work closer to eradicating desires, this which is a necessary condition for becoming enlightened. The length of time will correlate to their karma, which is actually..