Buddhism

Hey bloggers, this is your friendly neighborhood N.A.B.B tuning in! In my ancient civilizations class, my mind was exposed to a completely different culture than my own, that of Buddhism. Since I was born and raised a catholic, I find it fascinating how different our two cultures seem to be. In addition, it is incredible how deep and spiritually Buddhism is, yet they defy almost every rule of Christianity.

Buddhism originated from the teachings of an individual called Buddha. It is a common misconception to think he is the Buddhist deity, since the religion is named after him. However, this is completely false, since the Buddha himself said that no Gods exist. Moving on, Buddhist belief is that life is a cycle, and that every time you die you are reincarnated. This cycle is called Samsara. The ultimate goal in any Buddhist life is to reach the Nirvana state of mind. The individuals who accomplish this break free from Samsara and are no longer reincarnated; instead their soul is reunited with the universal soul.

 The people who follow this believe in the 4 Noble Truths:

1.       Life is suffering.

2.       This suffering is caused by ignorant desire.

3.       This suffering can be eliminated from one’s life.

4.       The way to end this suffering is to go through life with high morals and values (The Eightfold Path).

As seen, this life style differs greatly from our more familiar Western culture. Buddhist believes that the cycle of life is circular, that one reincarnates every time you die. However (since for them to live is to suffer) their ultimate goal is to break free from this cycle and reunite themselves with the universal soul. Finally, the only way to achieve this is to follow the “Eightfold Path,” and life full of respect and high morals.

It is clear that there are many differences and similarities between these two religions, and my ancient civilizations class has opened me towards this religion.

Thank you for tuning in on N.A.B.B, I’ll keep in touch!