Summarizing the Beliefs and Practices of Buddhism
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Summarizing the Beliefs and Practices of Buddhism
Buddhism has been in existence for many years now. It has several traditions, practices and beliefs that streamline the actions of their followers. Buddhist teachings point to Siddhartha Gautama, who is often called Buddha (Faelli & Australian Multicultural Foundation, 2006, p. 6). Buddha means the awakened one. To attain an elaborate understanding of Buddhism, this paper will summarize its beliefs and practices.
The beliefs among the Buddhists include universal salvation. They believe that there is freedom for every soul on Earth. Another belief is that Shakyamuni was a human expression of Amida Buddha, a manifestation of the non-theoretical eventual aspect called the dharmakaya. Buddhists are also of the opinion that everything in life is temporary and keeps changing and that life, based on possessing earthly belongings, does not generate happiness (Faelli & Australian Multicultural Foundation, 2006). They view life as a challenging path and hold that even though the Universe is essentially good; human enhanced ego leads to the painful acts that make life unworthy of living. The Buddhists doctrine teaches that human egocentricity can be amplified to generate wisdom and compassion as parts of the teachings of Buddha on the four Noble Truths. These truths include the following: the cause of suffering is greed; suffering ends at some point; ending suffering demands pursuing the middle path; and human life possesses massive suffering.
Buddhists also consider the three jewels, the Dharma, The Sangha, and the Buddha, as parts of their belief system. These jewels act as the best way to attain that which is real and true as well as to engage in the magnificence of life. They allow humans to acknowledge the temporary and go beyond suffering. Another belief is that karma is responsible for everything in life, both the causes and effect of human existence and suffering (Faelli & Australian Multicultural Foundation, 2006, p. 13). This accentuates the necessity of personal responsibility and the universal karmic force brought about by Amida Buddha as the original guarantee.
In Buddhism, faith is a transformative knowledge, the foundation of which is life. It is not established on sightless belief and dogma, but on trust, intuitive, and confidence. Buddhists suggest that every human is meant to fulfill a certain purpose in life (Maguire, 2001). A further belief is the interdependence of things; nothing can achieve its goal without the contribution of another aspect. In addition, Buddhists believe in death as a process of ascending to the pure land where individuals can come back in another form to assist the world by enlightening those living in it. Fundamentally, the Buddhists maintain that there is only one life, emphasizing the idea of oneness of reality (Eckel, 2010). They maintain that the one life is present in everything, everyone, and everywhere in vast forms that are in the power and exquisiteness of space.
Buddhism orientates its followers to certain practices like meditation. This is achieved by observing the eight-fold course that includes right aspirations, concentration, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, speech, and beliefs. It also demands that its followers adhere to the five rules (Maguire, 2001). They include not engaging in sexual transgression (prohibits crimes like rape), not to get drunk, not to lie, not to steal, and not to kill. Other rituals are the sacred sounds called Mantras, symbolic hand gestures called Mudras, and monasticism (Eckel, 2010). Buddhists practice pilgrimage by visiting sacred places and adoration of deities and Buddha. They also practice prayer wheel that means they recite mantras by turning a wheel. Moreover, in Theravada tradition, gift giving is encouraged. Buddhist amateurs offer gifts to the monks since they consider them to symbolize the outgrowths of Buddhist practices. Ordination to monastic Sangha is also a practice that involves two rituals. First is the abandonment of the secular life. Every individual is expected to enunciate adopting a sacred life. Second ritual is accommodating the monasticism as an apprentice.

References
Eckel, M. D. (2010). Buddhism. New York: Rosen Pub
Faelli, R. & Australian Multicultural Foundation. (2006). Buddhism: History, beliefs, worship and celebrations. Clayton South, Vic.
Maguire, J. (2001). Essential Buddhism: A complete guide to beliefs and practices. New York, NY: Pocket Books