Buddhism is the religion that developed from the teachings of the Buddha. The latter who is a teacher who lived in North India before common times. Ancient Buddhist scriptures and doctrine developed into several closely related literary languages of ancient India, particularly Pali and Sanskrit .
What is Buddhism?
Although many people already know what Buddhism is and have decided to follow its teachings, a large number of people wonder what it really is. There are even those who have false ideas about this religion. There are those who ask themselves a lot of questions.
About the founder of Buddhism
The founder of Buddhism was Buddha Shakyamuni who lived and taught in India about two and a half thousand years ago. Since then, millions of people around the world have decided to follow the pure spiritual path he revealed. The Buddhist way of life of peace, kindness and wisdom is just as relevant today as it was in ancient India. Buddha explained that all our problems and suffering come from confused and negative states of mind, and all our happiness and good fortune come from peaceful and positive states of mind.
Buddha and inner peace
In fact, Buddha taught methods to gradually overcome our negative minds like anger, jealousy and ignorance, which only make us unhappy. And it also aims to develop positive spirits in us like love, compassion and wisdom. These are the ones that can make us happy in life.
It is through the methods he teaches that we will experience lasting peace and happiness. Know that these techniques work for anyone, in any country, regardless of your age or situation. You can experience this true inner happiness and bear witness to it yourself. Once you have experienced it, you will not stop yourself from sharing it with your loved ones and everyone, so that they too can benefit from the same advantages.
Buddhism and meditation
Meditation is at the heart of the Buddhist way of life. When it comes to Buddhism, most people tend to meditate most of the time. Indeed, it is essentially a method for understanding and working on our own mind. We first learn to identify our various negative mental states known as “delusions,” and learn to develop peaceful, positive mental states or “righteous minds.”
During meditation therefore, we are invited to overcome our illusions by familiarizing ourselves with virtuous minds. This focus also helps us maintain the virtuous minds we have developed and use our wisdom to solve the problems of daily life. As our minds become more positive, our actions also become more constructive and our experience of life becomes more satisfying and beneficial to others.
It should be emphasized that this practice is only practiced by Buddhists. In fact, other philosophies and other arts practice it too. In short, anyone can learn basic meditation techniques and reap great benefits from them.
Buddhist beliefs
In order to understand Buddhism, there are certain basic knowledge, such as rebirth and karma, that you must know. To go further, it is important to clarify these points.
Karma
Contrary to what is accepted in contemporary society, the Buddhist interpretation of karma does not refer to a predestined destiny. Rather, karma refers to the good or bad actions a person undertakes during their life.
Good deeds, which involve either the absence of bad deeds or actual positive deeds, such as generosity, righteousness, and meditation, bring long-term happiness. While bad actions, such as lying, stealing or killing, etc. cause long-term unhappiness.
The weight of actions is determined by five conditions:
- frequent and repetitive action;
- determined and intentional action;
- action accomplished without regret;
- action against extraordinary people;
- and action towards those who helped someone in the past.
Finally, there is also neutral karma, which arises from actions such as breathing, eating or sleeping. Neutral karma has no benefits or costs.
The cycle of rebirth
Karma plays out in the Buddhist cycle of rebirth. There are six distinct planes into which any living being can be reborn:
- three lucky kingdoms
- and three unhappy kingdoms.
Those who have positive and favorable karma are reborn in one of the happy realms:
- the realm of the demigods,
- the kingdom of the gods
- and the kingdom of men.
While demigods and gods enjoy gratification unknown to men, they also suffer from incessant jealousy and envy. The realm of man is considered the highest realm of rebirth. Humanity lacks some of the extravagances of the demigods and gods, but it is also free from their incessant conflicts.
Likewise, there are the inhabitants of the three unhappy kingdoms, those
- animals,
- ghosts
- and hell
These people suffer unspeakable suffering, but the suffering of the kingdom of man is much less.
The realm of man also offers another aspect lacking in the other five planes, an opportunity to achieve enlightenment, or Nirvana. Given the number of living beings, being born human is for Buddhists a precious chance for spiritual happiness, a rarity that should not be renounced.
