The Need Creed
Just yesterday I went to a Buddhist wedding, and I was reminded again of one of my favorite Buddhist sayings: “Earthly desires lead to enlightenment.” Christians say, “Grace builds on nature,” which is much the same thing. The longings we all feel for earthly things can be a step toward understanding our real longing for the greater things. Our problem—an almost universal problem in our age—is that after we have everything we think we want, we still want more. Why are there billionaires in the world? A hundred million dollars would buy me everything I could imagine wanting. But I wouldn’t stop there. I’d want more. I’d need more. For us, earthly desires are enlightenment. Except, of course, as some are blessed to find, that they’re not. —Christopher Bailey
Just yesterday I went to a Buddhist wedding, and I was reminded again of one of my favorite Buddhist sayings: “Earthly desires lead to enlightenment.” Christians say, “Grace builds on nature,” which is much the same thing. The longings we all feel for earthly things can be a step toward understanding our real longing for the greater things. Our problem—an almost universal problem in our age—is that after we have everything we think we want, we still want more. Why are there billionaires in the world? A hundred million dollars would buy me everything I could imagine wanting. But I wouldn’t stop there. I’d want more. I’d need more. For us, earthly desires are enlightenment. Except, of course, as some are blessed to find, that they’re not. —Christopher Bailey
Buddhism, enlightenment, happiness; These are terms we hear being used all the time and all over the place but what do we really know about any of these things? More particularly, what do we really know about the significant connection between these three things and what makes them connected? Well to briefly describe the connection the Buddha teaches that you only achieve happiness once you’ve become enlightened. In order to become enlightened there are many practices and things you must live by. The Buddha believes that there are Four Noble Truths. As stated in “More than Mindfulness,” here the word 'truth’ means ‘reality’, just as the word 'noble' means ‘we need not be ashamed.’ The Buddhist religion teaches that by following these truths and living your life according to them you will come to achieve enlightenment or Nirvana, as it has been called. For example, a young woman named Venerable B Seelawimala, was called upon to become a Chaplain for the Buddhist community. During her time she served the sick and suffering by practicing what is known as Karunâ which means “concern for all living beings who are suffering, in trouble and afflicted” (Seelawimala). The practice of Karuna is a ritual used by Buddhists to combat what is the First Noble truth or Dukka which is known as suffering. This practice is one of the many rituals that followers of Buddha participate in. They believe that suffering is an essential part of life and without suffering and pain there would be no need for people to turn to their religion and follow sacred rituals and ceremonies that are of significant importance in order to achieve a better way of life. This quote sums it up perfectly, “The thing about Buddhist teaching, which is applicable to the present way of life, is the basis of it. Because we are at a time when we have so much information, we have freedom; we can choose religions, we can choose not to be religious; we can call ourselves Atheist, Agnostic or anything. Nobody really cares anymore in a country like this. It is incredibly tolerant towards other religions, and yet the problem in the modem affluent society is that with all its supposed securities and privileges, people are still suffering” (Sumedho). With that being said, Buddhism is still practiced all over the world. There are people out there willing to live by their faith and partake in the many rituals associated with the Four Noble Truths.
Buddhism has been known to have a few different core foundations such as Theravada and the Mahayana traditions. The diverse traditions of Buddhism all have different variations of the certain rituals they partake in. For example, the two traditions mentioned above disagree when it comes the Buddhist death and consecration rituals. In the Mahayana tradition there are five mandatory rites during consecration which are: “Sadhana involving visualization of the Commitment Being and invocation of the Wisdom Being; mergence of the visualized image and the invoked image; Visualization of the receptacle as Commitment Being; mergence of visualized image and the invoked image/Entry of a visualized being into the receptacle; and sealing the mergence and/or escorting the visualized being back to its original place in heaven” (Ngulphu). However, the five mandatory rites are completely different than the ritual of consecration according to Theravada Buddhists, which is mainly composed of four individual significant features: “Recollection of the life and deeds of the Buddha, Reenactment of the events surrounding Buddha’s enlightenment, teachings and demise; Transmitting of blessings through a chain of statues beginning with the one consecrated by Buddha himself, and Opening the eyes of the statues” (Ngulphu). These are some of the more complex rituals in the Buddhist religion. There are also several others such as daily meditation and prayer which play a major role in the lives of the Buddhist monks in achieving mental concentration and mindfulness. The Buddhists look at mindfulness not just as a survival technique in which we may achieve tangible and physical possessions, but to encourage others to follow this practice and live a life guided by the Buddhist path to be moral and generous beings. In Theravada Buddhism meditation is the only way to become Zen and reach eternal liberation. In addition to meditation the Mahayana Buddhist have several other practices and rituals which actually came about through the influence of other religious cultures in India, Southeast Asia, Tibet and others. These rituals consist of mantras also considered as sacred prayers in which the use of prayers wheels and Mudras which are symbolic hand gestures are just a few to be mentioned. Buddhist also hold great importance in the symbolism of certain colors, especially the five colors of white, yellow, red, blue and green. It is believed that by meditating on the individual colors, which contain their own individual and specific principles which are associated with Buddha, divine transformations can be achieved. Last but not least, the symbol of the Buddha himself is a major part of the rituals his followers are involved in. Every religion of the world has sacred rituals of their own, which all hold different levels of importance. Hopefully after visiting this site you can now say that you have a better understanding of the rituals of Buddhism and what Buddhism is really all about.
For more information click on the links below:
http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/rituals-in-buddhism/
http://buddhists.org/buddhist-symbols/buddhist-rituals-from-mantras-to-mudras/
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Buddhism/Ritual-Worship-Devotion-Symbolism/Rites-and-Ceremonies.html
Works Cited:
Duguid, Acharya Modgala. "More Than Mindfulness." Middle Way 86.4 (2012): 315-318. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 9 Dec. 2014
Lopez Jr, Donald S. "BUDDHIISM IN PRACTICE." (1995).
Ngulphu, Sonam Tsering. "Rab Gnas: Shift In Religious And Soteriological Significance In Tibetan Tradition." Tibet Journal 34/35.3-4/1-2 (2009): 37-57. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Dec. 2014
Seelawimala, Venerable B. "Chaplaincy Is Service: A Real Opportunity To See The Dhamma." Middle Way 86.4 (2012): 307-310. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
Sumedho, Ajahn. "Cultivating The Buddha's Dhamma." Middle Way 89.2 (2014): 141-150. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 9 Dec. 2014
Page Created by Christina Kalesse
Buddhism has been known to have a few different core foundations such as Theravada and the Mahayana traditions. The diverse traditions of Buddhism all have different variations of the certain rituals they partake in. For example, the two traditions mentioned above disagree when it comes the Buddhist death and consecration rituals. In the Mahayana tradition there are five mandatory rites during consecration which are: “Sadhana involving visualization of the Commitment Being and invocation of the Wisdom Being; mergence of the visualized image and the invoked image; Visualization of the receptacle as Commitment Being; mergence of visualized image and the invoked image/Entry of a visualized being into the receptacle; and sealing the mergence and/or escorting the visualized being back to its original place in heaven” (Ngulphu). However, the five mandatory rites are completely different than the ritual of consecration according to Theravada Buddhists, which is mainly composed of four individual significant features: “Recollection of the life and deeds of the Buddha, Reenactment of the events surrounding Buddha’s enlightenment, teachings and demise; Transmitting of blessings through a chain of statues beginning with the one consecrated by Buddha himself, and Opening the eyes of the statues” (Ngulphu). These are some of the more complex rituals in the Buddhist religion. There are also several others such as daily meditation and prayer which play a major role in the lives of the Buddhist monks in achieving mental concentration and mindfulness. The Buddhists look at mindfulness not just as a survival technique in which we may achieve tangible and physical possessions, but to encourage others to follow this practice and live a life guided by the Buddhist path to be moral and generous beings. In Theravada Buddhism meditation is the only way to become Zen and reach eternal liberation. In addition to meditation the Mahayana Buddhist have several other practices and rituals which actually came about through the influence of other religious cultures in India, Southeast Asia, Tibet and others. These rituals consist of mantras also considered as sacred prayers in which the use of prayers wheels and Mudras which are symbolic hand gestures are just a few to be mentioned. Buddhist also hold great importance in the symbolism of certain colors, especially the five colors of white, yellow, red, blue and green. It is believed that by meditating on the individual colors, which contain their own individual and specific principles which are associated with Buddha, divine transformations can be achieved. Last but not least, the symbol of the Buddha himself is a major part of the rituals his followers are involved in. Every religion of the world has sacred rituals of their own, which all hold different levels of importance. Hopefully after visiting this site you can now say that you have a better understanding of the rituals of Buddhism and what Buddhism is really all about.
For more information click on the links below:
http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/rituals-in-buddhism/
http://buddhists.org/buddhist-symbols/buddhist-rituals-from-mantras-to-mudras/
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Buddhism/Ritual-Worship-Devotion-Symbolism/Rites-and-Ceremonies.html
Works Cited:
Duguid, Acharya Modgala. "More Than Mindfulness." Middle Way 86.4 (2012): 315-318. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 9 Dec. 2014
Lopez Jr, Donald S. "BUDDHIISM IN PRACTICE." (1995).
Ngulphu, Sonam Tsering. "Rab Gnas: Shift In Religious And Soteriological Significance In Tibetan Tradition." Tibet Journal 34/35.3-4/1-2 (2009): 37-57. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Dec. 2014
Seelawimala, Venerable B. "Chaplaincy Is Service: A Real Opportunity To See The Dhamma." Middle Way 86.4 (2012): 307-310. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
Sumedho, Ajahn. "Cultivating The Buddha's Dhamma." Middle Way 89.2 (2014): 141-150. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 9 Dec. 2014
Page Created by Christina Kalesse