Protestant Vs. Socially Engaged Buddhism :: essays research papers

Protestant vs. soci all in ally Engaged BuddhismSomewhere in the sixth century BCE Buddhism was born, born from a single man Siddhartha Guatama, the Buddha. After gaining his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, the Buddha didnt pretend that the rest of the world could handle all that he had learned. He did non want to teach others, nor did he want to spread his wisdom. Until at come through his great compassion came over him and he started to gain the respect of a few(prenominal) by going to his old peers first. By starting with other intellectuals he secured that they at least had the capacity to learn what he had to teach. From this point on he spread his philosophy on the middle path with everyone who would listen.He preached pacifism and that it was wrong to take any life be it a mans or any lesser beings. He taught that the noble eightfold path was the route to end all suffering, and that the single(a) was the most important factor in achieving enlightenment. The Buddha tau ght about the five aggregates, the ruling that the human being is made up of matter, sensation, consciousness, perception, and mental formations. In all of his teachings however the Buddha did not do so much as a lay a groundwork for which his followers could build a caller on. The Buddha was acting out of compassion in that he had found the behavior to end his suffering and wanted to help others do the same. He was not however trying to build himself up as a God, and score a religion under which he was the focal point. Since this was not his goal, he did not get into politics, social formations, or anything else of the like. However, sooner or later, with the fast growth of Buddhism in India, and the whole of Southeast Asia, these were the things that would determine the survival of its followers. That is, an full society of Buddhists had emerged, far greater numbers and organization than even the Buddha had imagined. With this issuing of community came more and more problem s with which the leaders had no frame of wing to combat. For instance, what to do when pacifism doesnt work in protecting your community. How to bear peacefulness when outside forces are conquering violently. In many areas, where this reek of a Buddhist community had been created, the members had a great deal of primp in what they had created and were a part of, but their pride was kept in check by their inability to justify the right course of action.