Buddhism from a Monk Understanding

Buddhism from a Monk Understanding

By Jerry Gosh

October 3, 2008

AXIA College

Buddhism what is it, where did it come from and how has it become one of the largest religions? Theses questions along with many others are what people have asked repeatedly. My writing of this so-called religion is not to give you a theological view at all, however I will try to explain the historical background about Buddha and Buddhism and some of their beliefs. Hopefully answering some of the many questions about Buddhism I had the pleasure of personally interviewing a Buddhist monk who has so graciously allowed me to talk to him about his religion along with the core beliefs behind Buddhism.

Buddhism is ancient world religion that spread from its region of origin to be established as a major influence on spirituality throughout the world. Religious scholars claim that Buddhism arrived some 500 years before the onset of Christianity and soon after became the major religion of southern Asia. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who was commonly known as Buddha. Little is know about the Buddha’s’ early life before he attained enlightenment. What we do know comes from isolated events in his life. Siddhartha was born into a wealthy family who lived in the foothills of Himalayas. His father was most likely the king of the Sakyas clan which would have made Siddhartha a prince. Like many other religious leader his birth has many miraculous stories associated with it. In his early years, he was raised as a Hindu. He married at the young age of 16 and by 29 he and his wife gave birth to a son. Shortly after his sons birth, he had four visions. The first was about elderly, helpless, frail man, this vision deeply disturbed him. In his vision, he saw an undernourished and depressed man suffering from an advanced disease. In the third vision, he saw a grieving family carrying the body of a dead family member to a cremation site. In his forth vision he saw a sramaņa...