The Religious Traditions of Buddhism and Confucianism Essay Example for Free

The Religious Traditions of Buddhism and Confucianism Essay No other force in our collective history is as influential in shaping our world as religion has been. It is a force that continues to define and redefine the world as we know it. Nations and countries have been established and destroyed all in the name of religion. Political lines are being redrawn even as we speak with religion as the main weapon of choice. No other force can affect people and compel them to action as much as religion does. It keeps followers together even while it keeps people of different faith out. It is source of cohesion and conflict at the same time (Cristi, 2001, p. 223) People who would not normally use force on another will gladly fight in the name of faith. A call to arms in the name of religion is the best way to assemble an army, fueled with righteous anger against the perceived enemy. Most, if not all civil wars have been fought in the name of religion. The enduring conflict in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestant, as well as the violence of Buddhists in Sri Lanka against the Hindu Tamil proves such a point. For all its awesome power, the exact nature of religion remains shrouded in history. Some scholars believe that religion arose from man’s necessity to make sense of living, and his compelling need to understand the mysteries of life. (Hume 24) Over the years, religion has come to be defined as an organized system of practices structured around some supernatural or divine belief. Religion is faith practiced in the context of reality. They are rules that guide certain kind of faith or belief. (Derrida Vattimo 6) Most cultures that exist in the world today are greatly influenced by the predominant religion of their respective places. The most common manifestations of religion can be seen through prayers, rites, and traditions that certain religious denominations practice. The most dominant religions of the world include Catholicism, Islam, Jew, and Hinduism. Other religions such as Protestantism are offshoots of Catholicism. Some, like Confucianism and Theravada Buddhism remain contentious. Some regard the two as religion, while others argue otherwise. The question is how did others came to be recognized as religions while others remain ambiguous? How do we make the distinction between religion and religious traditions? This paper argues that while Confucianism and Theravada Buddhism may not be religion, they are nevertheless religious traditions by virtue of their organized and specific rules of behavior. Theravada Buddhism is the dominant school of Buddhism. The two major schools of Buddhism that emerged from Buddha’s teachings are simply different representations of the same core principles. At first it may seem contradictory that a philosophy that espouses non-violence and universal tolerance will have a division. However, there exists neither conflict nor competition within these two main schools and the schools that followed after; the schools are more of a reflection of the place, time, and circumstance where Buddhism grew and became a way of life. Because cultures and histories differ, our perspectives on Buddha’s teachings can differ as well. (Gyatso 113) The emphasis of Theravada Buddhism is on individual attainment of nirvana, as opposed to enlightenment for all as advocated by Mahayana. Mahayana believes that Buddhists should not just be concerned about their own enlightenment, but aim to enlighten others even if it means sacrificing their own (Gyatso 168). The Mahayana form has more â€Å"religious† conventions, including worship or veneration Buddha and other divine beings. They also venerate sacred objects and icons and follow certain religious rituals. Theravada Buddhists, as an offshoot of their beliefs do not have the same features of the Mahayana. The â€Å"selfish† orientation and the unadorned nature of Theravada Buddhism perpetuate the perception of a non-religion. However, it should be said that apart from this fundamental difference, these two major schools adhere to basically the same principles. (Gyatso 170). For purposes of clarity, Buddhism, as discussed here refers to Theravada Buddhism because it is the school that is most often the target of â€Å"religious† debate. Buddhism has more close to 400 millions of followers worldwide. Buddhists ascribe to certain ways of living and behaviors that are unique to their faith. The main debate whether Buddhism is a religion or not stems from the fact that Buddhists do subscribe to the belief of an all-knowing and all-powerful deity. Buddhists do not worship any sentient, supreme being; and in the same vein, they do not have specific beliefs about the afterlife and the world that exists therein. The association of religion with the belief in gods and afterworlds to the exclusion of everything else is a mistaken notion that most people stubbornly adhere to. While belief in gods and some form of afterlife is a common characteristic of most religions, it is not a feature that distinguishes religion from those that are not. It may be argued that while Buddhism has no specific god who they believe can save them, they nevertheless have some sense of the divine or the ultimate truth; a truth that Buddhists believe any one individual can attain by their own determination. For Buddhists, one’s love for of one’s self is the chain that bonds us to a life of suffering and only by following Buddha’s path can a person be liberated from the cycle of causation and rebirth. Freedom from causality is the state of nirvana (William 142). Buddhists believe that our world is a world of suffering and causality, where one action causes another to take place. Followers of Buddhism denounce violence and espouse the principles of non-violence in all aspects of their lives. The virtue of nonviolence is one the key precepts of Buddhism, which is why followers are strict vegetarians and pacifists, Another major tenet of Buddhism is meditation. Buddhists believe that by going into your own thoughts, you cleanse and purify your soul. Meditation, while relaxing the body, sharply focuses the mind, thus enabling us to purge negative energy and achieve clarity of thought. Meditation is a keystone in Buddhism; without which one cannot achieve the awakening that they are looking for (William 167). Meditation as a cornerstone of Buddhism came from the fact that Buddha himself attained enlightenment after a long period of mediation. For Buddhists the meditation technique produces a sense of calm, but it does not entirely lead us away from all of our sufferings. Regardless of the proven benefits that meditation brings, it does not provide a complete pathway to enlightenment. Buddhists combine calm meditation with or insight meditation (William 198). Calming the body and then calming the mind. This type of meditation is intended for the development of a heightened sense of awareness about the world and our place in it. It asks us to be aware of what we are doing at the precise moment we are doing it. Some people call this process metacognition, or awareness of our awareness. Once this is achieved and sustained, then enlightenment will soon follow. The origin of Buddhism is traced to an Indian prince named Siddhartha, who, in spite of the wealth and power that surrounded him found no true happiness in them. Siddhartha had a lingering discontent; there was a compelling need for him to find the meaning and purpose of life; a need so urgent that he was willing to leave the comforts and safety of his home in search of answers. And so Siddhartha travelled the world in search for his personal truth. It took many years and experiences and deep reflections, until one day, under the Bo Tree, he found absolute clarity and illumination. (Penney 17) From thereon, he called himself Buddha which means the enlightened one. He continued on his travels but this time to teach the path of enlightenment to those who seek it. It is important to note that some Buddhist scholars fall into the trap of analyzing Buddha’s teachings that they neglect the actual spiritual experiences of Buddha, which is more important than the first. To grasp the spirit of Buddha, it is necessary to know the experiences of Buddha himself. Enlightenment, which is the final goal of all Buddhists, is an absolute state of acceptance and the absolute absence of discrimination, ignorance, and suffering. By ignorance, Buddha means spiritual unawareness, the inability to consciously seek the truth and recognize it once it has been found. In the end, the message of Buddhism is clear, that one must follow the Middle Path or take a detached view of reality for an individual to see his involvement and separation from everything in life. Once this state of detachment has been achieved, then will come the realization of how our live are empty in its absolute oneness with the universe. This realization of emptiness is achieved when one seeks constant awareness of experience and thought through meditation and by consciously taking the Middle Path in all of life’s extremes. While Buddhism if more focused on existential experiences, it does have the same goals as other forms of religion: transformation and growth. Religion, through the prescription of certain doctrines and rules of behavior, seeks the betterment of all its followers. Buddhism encompasses all aspects of the follower’s life. In fact it might be argued that Buddhism is more stringent in their rules as other denominations of faith. Because Buddhists are not subservient to any god, they do not claim monopoly of truth and salvation as well. Would-be-followers are not forced to forsake their original religion as long as they follow the Buddhist way of life, which is non-negotiable. The same â€Å"religious† issues beset Confucian philosophy. The absence of an omniscient potentiate excludes it from the list of what the world recognizes as religion as well. Confucianism was based on the teachings of Confucius, renowned ancient Chinese philosopher. While Buddhism focuses on suffering and enlightenment, Confucianism is more about human behavior in the context of civilized society. During the Qing Dynasty, Confucian teachings were organized and proclaimed as China’s state religion. (Yao 28) This political move stained the public’s perception of Confucianism, making it even more difficult to be classified as a religion. However, Confucianism is strictly about how to live a morally upright life based on good deeds and good citizenship. Despite this political underpinings, Confucianism remains the ideology of choice for most Chinese.