Religion is a way to respond to the sometimes unanswerable life questions.

Religion
looks for the ultimate meaning and purpose to these questions which, when answered,
gives a peace of mind to people. There are five main religions practiced in the world
today, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism. The eight characteristics
of a religion include beliefs, sacred stories, ritual, social structure, sacred texts,
religious ethics, sacred symbols and religious experiences. Out of the previous 5
religions, I have chosen Buddhism. Buddhism began in the 6th century B.C.E in India.
Its founder was Siddhartha Gautama who was the son of a Kshatriya raja called
Suddhodana and his wife, Maya.

Beliefs
A Buddhists answers for the meaning of life questions lie in the four Noble Truths.
The first Noble Truth is birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering,
dissociation from the loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering: in
short the five categories affected by clinging are suffering. This means that
everybody, no matter who they are, suffers.
The second Noble Truth is that there is the origin of suffering, which is attachment to
desire. Desire should be let go of. Desire has been let go of. This means that the
origin of suffering is associated with desire. The Buddah says that there are three
types of desire: desire for sense pleasure, desire to become and desire to get rid of.
The third Noble Truth is there is the ending of suffering and dukkha. The ending of
dukkha should be realised. The ending of dukkha has been realised. This refers to the
continuous cycle of birth and death, one of the main components of the Buddhist
religion.
The fourth Noble Truth is the eightfold path: Right View, Right Intention, Right
Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right
Concentration. This shows the Buddhist people the correct ways to live out their lives
in order to reach Nirvana.

Buddhists believe in death and reincarnation. They also believe that depending on
what kind of life you have in the current one will affect what kind of life you have in
your next life and so on, this is called karma.

Sacred Stories
Buddhas life was like the Jesus for Buddhists, his teaching are parables to the
Buddhist community and he has many sacred stories on his life. Perhaps one of
the most sacred stories for Buddhist people is the story of Siddhartha Gautamas
life. He was a royal prince who had lived a life of luxury. But his wealth and
seeing what was bad in the world at that stage didnt make him happy so he
made a decision to find the true meaning of life. After many years of looking for
the true meaning of life, he found the answers to lifes questions. He became
Buddha, and had reached Nirvana, a state of enlightenment. And yet Buddha
was a human so like all humans, Buddha had to die. He did so in a small town
in northern India called Kushinagara. He died from a form of food poisoning.
He then passed onto what Buddhists call parinirvana. This is an extension of
Nirvana, which Buddhists call a form of death also but parinirvana is death of
the physical being.
 Dukkha: Suffering or discomfort; a general sense of unsatisfactories.
Nirvana: Enlightenment in the same form as what Buddha found.
Ritual Parinirvana: A form of death of the physical being.
Many Buddhists
visit, pray and meditate at temples and shrines. Inside the temple, Buddhists rehearse
the Five Precepts of good behaviour, bow and make offerings of flowers, incense and
food to a statue of Buddha.

Meditation is very important for Buddhists. They believe that by training their minds
and spiritual selves by bringing their thoughts and feelings under control, they will
achieve awareness and enlightenment. Buddhists often meditate in groups and they
meditate by kneeling on cushions or sitting crossed-legged on the floor. They sit
quietly whilst breathing calmly and regularly, letting go of any thoughts flying around
in their minds and only focusing on one thing. Learning to meditate properly takes
years of practice. Buddhists have acquired many different ways of clearing their
minds to meditate properly. These include chanting a simple verse called the mantra
or they concentrate on their breathing or focus on a particular object like a candle or
picture to keeping their mind focused. Also, in the temple or monastery monks spin
prayer wheels and they believe by doing this, the prayers written inside each of them
will travel to all four corners of the world.

Social Structures
The religious leaders called monks live in the temple or monastery, as the same as the
brothers at school. They live simple, strict lives studying texts and learning to
meditate. The monks help with the day-to-day running of the temple, help organise
festivals and sometimes speak to the community about their religion. Monks are
allowed only eight items which are called the Eight Requisites: saffron, maroon or
black robes; a begging bowl; a belt; a razor; a needle; a water filter; a walking stick; a
toothpick. These items were the same ones that Buddha chose for himself.

Many Buddhists travel from all over the world to India or Nepal at least once in their
lives because it is where the Buddha lived and gained enlightenment, preached and
also died. These are some of the holiest sites for Buddhists.

Sacred Texts
The Buddhists people dont really have one specific sacred text to follow like
Christianity. Buddhists have many sacred texts, some based on the actual words said
by Buddha and others are based on other great Buddhist monks and teachers. Most of
the Buddhas teachings were passed down by oral transmission until about 400 years
after his death. At this time, his teachings were collected and made into a book called
the Tripitaka, or Three Baskets. They are called the three baskets because at first
they were written on palm leaves and were put into baskets. The first basket contains
rules for monks and nuns, the second basket contains the teachings of Buddha and the
third contains an explanation of these teachings.

Religious Ethics
Buddha is one of the Three Jewels. This is like the Holy Trinity the Christians have.
The other two jewels are dharma, or teaching of the Buddha, and the sangha, or
Buddhist community. All Buddhists make it their job to use these three ideals as their
guides through life. One of the first things a Buddhist learns is to be kinder and more
generous to others, and to live a simpler life.

Buddha taught his worshippers that a better way to enlightenment is to take

responsibility for your own actions. This is done through prayer and meditation.
However, living as a Buddhist involved very strict guidelines. One of these guidelines
is the Five Precepts. These are:
1. Not harming or killing living things
2. Not taking things unless they are freely given
3. Have a sensible, decent lifestyle.
4. Not speaking unkindly or deceitfully
5. Not taking alcohol or drugs.

Sacred Symbols
Buddha first drew the symbol of the dharma wheel in his first sermon
at the Deer Park in Sarnath, India, where the Buddha explained the
basic points of his teaching. With the help of the wheel, he explained
the endless cycle of birth and death and the suffering that came with
these things.

Religious Experiences
Dinesh who is aged 16 and lives in Kathmandu, Nepal talks about his religious
experience of Buddhism, In my city, there are shrines to the Buddha everywhere you
go. My mother prays everyday at the shrine near our house. There are many Hindu
temples too and many people follow a mixture of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs.

Marty Casey who is 49 and lives in Manchester, UK, talks about his conversion to
Buddhism, I became a Buddhist after I learnt to meditate. I found out that I could
change and develop even though I was nearly 40! I know that I can continue to
grow and change by practising the Five Precepts, and meditating especially if I am
helped by my Buddhist friends.

Losang Gyatso, who is 60 and lives in Colorado, USA, and talks about how she
moved from China to the West, I came to the West 20 years ago. I had to leave my
monastery in Tibet because I didnt agree with the Chinese government. Here, I am
able to teach people about the Buddha in calmness and peace.
Bibliography
Unknown author. 1992 2004. The Four Noble Truths. [Internet]
[March 2nd, 2004]
http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm
Littleton, C. Scott. Eastern Wisdom An Illustrated Guide to the Religions and
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Ganeri, Anita. Beliefs and Cultures Buddhist. Sydney: Franklin Watts, 1996
[book]
Snelling, John. Religions of the World Buddhism. East Sussex: Wayland
Limited, 1986 [book]
Hopfe, Lewis M.; Woodward, Mark R. Religions of the World. (8th edition) New
Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1983 2001 [book]
Studies of Religion notes and General Knowledge