Initiated by Buddha, Buddhism is one of the oldest religions, dating back around six centuries BC, which still exists to this day. It remains popular in Western countries. With numerous quotes and ideologies accompanying everyone in the fulfillment of human life, Buddhism is not only a religion, but also a point of view and a philosophy. The principles of Buddhismcan be adopted by all human entities, without the need to convert or perform the rites. However, their ultimate goal is to attract thousands of men into the Buddhist community to add to the 300 million followers scattered around the world.
Who is Buddha?
The true Buddha is the founder of Buddhism. Several questions arise whether he was a God, an angel, a revelator or a normal person. Despite much debate, Buddha was a human being.
Story of Buddha
The term Buddha means “the enlightened one.” This personality is then a man endowed with particular strengths, deep wisdom and a noble character. Siddharta Gautama, known as Shakyamuni, turns out to be the Buddha himself. During his travels in Eastern India, he began sharing his words of wisdom. He left nearly 84,000 types of teachings.
During his teachings, he always announces that his words turn out to be practical theories that all followers can verify throughout their lives. Hence the quotes “Do not follow my teaching blindly, experience it for yourself” and “Doubt everything and especially what I am going to tell you.< /em> »
According to history, before Shakyamouni, there were already 3 Buddhas including Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni and Kashyapa. These characters appeared before the disappearance of Buddhist teaching which lasted around 5,000 years.
Perception of Buddha in society
As Christ is the head of Christianity, Buddha is the master of Buddhism. Buddha is in a way the God or idol of this religion. To correct all the false perceptions about this spiritual leader of Buddhism, a Tibetan master named Kyabdjé Kalou Rinpoche provided his point of view.
In 1986, he said in Taipei during his speech that: “Ordinary beings experience suffering and pain in very varied forms. A Buddha, on the other hand, has gone beyond suffering (…). A Buddha and an ordinary being are identical. They basically have the same nature. To recognize it is to be a Buddha, to not recognize it is to be an ordinary being. That’s the only difference.”
More precisely, a Buddha is a sacred person who stands out from all living beings by his high degree of enlightenment and his wisdom. In other words, Buddha appears to be a human being who has achieved perfect enlightenment.
The Five Patriarch Buddhas
We often hear about a love Buddha, a compassion Buddha or a wisdom Buddha. In fact, each Buddha is qualified according to his quality of mind. The five victorious Buddhas are:
- Vairocana,
- Amithabha,
- Askhobya,
- Ratnasambhava,
- and Amoghasiddi.
They have a perfect awakening of mind, and above all, the 5 primordial minds in Buddhism.
- Vairocana inspires pure knowledge of the spirit. This Buddha teaches methods to combat fear in the face of embarrassing situations.
- Amitabbha provides the spirit of motivation and joy of life, fighting against depression
- Askhobya is known for his quality as a liberator from anger.
- Rtnasambhava prioritizes equality among all human beings.
- Amoghasiddhi is the symbol of giving and generosity.
Living Buddhas
With the growing number of people using the name Buddha to defraud Buddhist followers, China recently published a list of authentic living Buddhas. Buddhists can now check if their spiritual leader appears in this nomination. China has a Religious Affairs agency which participated in the development of this list. DrukhangThubtenKhedrup is one of these authentic Buddhas.
This document was also developed for the State to facilitate official religious appointments. According to Tibetan Buddhist belief, TenzinGyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama, hence a spiritual and political leader of Tibet.
The teachings of Buddha
All the spiritual leaders of Buddhism, bearing the title of Buddha, base their teachings on the lifestyles adapted to lead a perfect existence. The principles of Buddhism advocate wisdom, understanding between humans and peace in the world.
Buddhism, the religion of peace
Buddha challenges war and violence. There is no reason to justify torturing others. Buddhism thus participates in the fight against injustice and inequality. He tolerates all religions that exist in the world. This is why Buddhists have never engaged in war. In a quote, Buddha expressed his opinion such as “Blessed are the peaceful ones who, avoiding malice, pride and hypocrisy, practice compassion, humility and love. » This statement encourages everyone to focus on love instead of war, to show humility instead of showing pride towards others.
Buddhism, a religion against wealth
Buddha left a life lesson for all people who are interested in his wisdom. In fact, in Buddhism, true wealth comes from within. Practitioners are somehow trained to live a simple life, and even in suffering. It is not surprising that many Buddhist countries are very poor. In his quote
“ Let us rise grateful, for if we have not learned much today, we have learned a little. And if we don't learn anything from the little we've learned, at least we're not sick. And if we're not sick, at least we're not dead. So, everyone be grateful»
Buddha encourages everyone to appreciate what they already have, without looking for other alternatives for an evolution in the standard of social life. In short, Buddhism keeps its followers concerned with spiritual matters while neglecting material matters.
1 comment
Gérard Bethmont
qu’elle est el nom du 10eme Bouddha ?