Buddhism

= = Buddhism Buddhism dates back all the way to 624 B.C. which was the birth of Buddha Shakymuni who grew to be one of the biggest reasons for the birth of the new Buddhism faith. At the age of 29 Buddha set out on a journey to teach people path to enlightenment, which would liberate them from the cycle of life and death. Gradually Buddhism spread to numerous countries and territories of the world through its peaceful teachings and commerce during trade by merchants. Causing Buddhism to transform from a small belief to a major worldly religion. It taught the first wheel of Dharma, which included the sutra of the Four Noble Truths, and meditation which is the heart of Buddhism are all the principles of Buddhism. 1. Human existence is inseparable from suffering. 2. The cause of suffering is desire. 3. Suffering is extinguished by extinguishing desire. 4. Desire may be extinguished by following the eight fold path.(know truth resist evil; do nothing to hurt others; respect all forms of life; work for the well being of others; free your mind of evil; control your thoughts; Practice meditation; also included is the five moral rules, never kill a living being; never take what is not given to you; do not speak falsely; do not drink intoxicating drinks; do not be unchaste. {If one of these rules were to broken you would obtain karma and lessen your happiness in the afterlife.} Karma means "action" Under Buddha's teachings people learned how to obtain permanent liberation from suffrage and show them how to find ever lasting peace and harmony. Even in today's society due to stress people are becoming interested in Buddhism because of its peaceful philosophy. Practicing meditation and eliminating karma and evil thoughts, therefore ending suffrage. Even thought Buddha is dead he is still remembered around the world every year in the holiday of Vesak (Buddha Day) the celebration takes place on the first full moon in May

**__Buddhism for Dummies__**


 * Buddha who was born over 2000 years ago, and he devised a path that led people to pure everlasting harmony and happiness. Buddha explains that all our problems come from negative mental thoughts and that the way to get rid of suffrage was by eliminating all bad thoughts in your mind. By using a method called [ mediation] (the method for understanding and workings of our minds and eliminating all evil that lives within side it. ||

=__**Buddhism**__ Rules= Buddhism has a system of beliefs and rules and traditions some of these are nirvana the four noble truths and the eightfold path.

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism:

1. Life means suffering 2. The origin of suffering is attachment 3. Cessation from suffering is attainable 4. The path to the cessation of suffering (eightfold path)


 * 1) Buddhist believe that human nature is flawed and that we will all undergo physical and emotional pain. “Life is incomplete and subject to impermanence.” Simply put nothing is perfect.


 * 1) “The cause of suffering is attachment to the impermanent.” Not just physical things but ideas and beliefs. So because the things we desire will fade or end suffering will follow.


 * 1) According to Buddhist beliefs the end of pain and suffering can be achieved though nirvana. Nirvana is freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, and ideas. “Nirvana is not comprehensible for those who have not attained it.”


 * 1) The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, together  with the  four noble truths this is the gist of Buddhism.

The Eightfold Path:


 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'georgia','serif';">Right View
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'georgia','serif';">Right Intention
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'georgia','serif';">Right Speech
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'georgia','serif';">Right Action
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'georgia','serif';">Right Livelihood
 * 6) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'georgia','serif';">Right Effort
 * 7) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'georgia','serif';">Right Mindfulness
 * 8) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'georgia','serif';">Right Concentration

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Karma is a word that means “action”. It is the belief that all of your actions will affect you in the future, as basic cause and effect. Buddhist use karma as a guide to reincarnation. Your actions in this world effect what you will be reincarnated as. In Buddhism you are reincarnated until you reach nirvana. = = = =

= = = = = = =__** Buddhism Architecture **__=

Buddhism 's architecture's birthplace was in India. The emperor Ashoka influenced and helped spread the constructions. Buddhism architecture was mainly constructed of: Stupas, Pagodas, and "Cave" temples. Stupas are dome-shaped and are very important. They normally house Buddhist relics and other facts. One of the most renown Stupa sites is in Sanchi. Pagodas are normally shrines or memorials of Buddhist history. They symbolize each of the 5 elements that make up this universe; Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and Ether. Included with these is the most important factor of all - Consciences the reality of all. Pagodas are multistory. As time went on the Pagodas took over the role of the Stupas and more or less replaced the majority of them. Buddhist also had their "Cave" temples. They make buildings out of the living rock themselves. These "caves" are the oldest of all Buddhist architecture. Being made from the rock none exists today. Within these caves there were also carvings and paintinga of Buddha himself. This art though was brought over to China and there to these caves were made. The most important thing about Buddhist Architecture is that it all in some shape or form relate to ideals of Buddhism and how he lived. A lot of these structures are dated to have been practiced since 125 BC. PagodaStupa

=__**Buddhism Art**__=

Buddhism art followed the Dharma. It evolved as it spread into other countries. Originating in India it spread all across Asia. Buddhist art influenced Hindu art until it was almost extinct. Buddhist sculptures during the first and second century were very explicit. They depicted Buddha's life and his ideals and teachings. A lot of the art was done in tablets or as paintings inside the caves. Some of the art was made also to be hung or placed around the Stupas. Buddhist art could be seen as a bunch of rainbows also. Their art was very abstract. The "Rainbow Body" represented the penultimate transition to pure light. Said to be the highest form of meditation or state in Buddhism due to the fact that at this point Nirvana has been achieved. There are 5 main colors in Buddhist art. These colors are white, yellow, red, blue and green. These colors were very symbolic. Chandamaharosana Tantra quotes on them; Black symbolizes killing and anger, White denotes rest and thinking, Yellow stands for restraining and nourishing, Red for subjugation and summoning, and Green means exorcism. There is a buddha for each of these five colors and they are: Vairochana - White, Ratnasambhava - Yellow, Akshobhya- Blue, Amitabha - Red, Amoghasiddhi - Green. People believed that if they meditated for a long time on one of these colors it will make changes to them. Such as turning anger and jealously into wisdom. Each color again having its own effect on the person spiritually. Jösh Venegas, Aaron Cook, Kalkik Clark, Brian Lee

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">media type="youtube" key="dLMZNmxFUZU" height="315" width="420" <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Sources:

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Kumar, Nitin. "Color Symbolism In Buddhist Art." //Indian Artwork: Indian Paintings | Buddha Statues | Indian Jewelry//. Exoticindia, 02 Oct. 2008. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. <http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/colors/>.

<span style="color: #2d3835; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">"Pagoda of 10,000 Sutras." Image. Alfred J. Andrea. //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2012.

<span style="color: #2d3835; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Stearns,Peter N., Stuart B. Schwartz, Micahel Adas, and Marc J. Gilbert. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. Third ed. New York: Addison- Wesley Educational, 2003. Print.

<span style="color: #2d3835; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">"Great Stupa at Sanchi." Image. Nitya Jacob. //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2012.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">"Buddhism - The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, Karma and Meditation Practice." //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Buddhism-in Plain English //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">. 27 Apr. 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. <[]>.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">[|www.Buddihist_temples.com/history_of_Buddhism.html]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">[|www.ubatbuddhism.org/buddhism_today.php/]

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11px;">"Buddhism - The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, Karma and Meditation Practice."//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Buddhism-in Plain English //. 27 Apr. 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. < []

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