Buddhism Paper

Buddhism Paper

Running Head: Historical and Contemporary Manifestations of Worldwide Buddhism









Historical and Contemporary Manifestations of Worldwide Buddhism
Team B
KaMaria, Lakisha, Regina, and Tara
University of Phoenix









Overview and History of Buddhism
Regina’s section here…
Beliefs and Rituals of the four types of Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism practice is an intense, dedicated, and time-consuming effort to attain enlightenment. Reaching Nirvana is the ultimate goal of the Theravada Buddhist. They strive for wisdom first. Thervada Buddhists enter on meditation and requires major personal dedication such as being a monk or nun. Thervada Buddhism emphasizes rules and education. Theravada Buddhism initially reserved the practice of meditation to monks. Monks focus on a personal goal to become an arhat, which is an enlightened person without worldly desires or suffering. They achieve this by meditation and insight, which involves the practice of tranquility and the quieting of the mind; and study, which involves the study of the Buddhist canon, the scriptures, and the path to knowledge and wisdom.
In Mahayana Buddhism, enlightenment is achieved through a normal life with varying degrees of spiritual involvement. Mahayana Buddhists vow to be reborn in order to help all other sentient beings reach Nirvana first. Compassion is considered the highest virtue. Mahayana Buddhism encourages practice in the world and among the general community and emphasizes intuition and practice.
Zen Buddhism emphasizes the practice of meditation as a way to gain self-knowledge. It places much less importance on theoretical knowledge, philosophical discussions, and the study of Buddhist writings when compared to other Buddhist traditions. One of the central points of Zen is intuitive understanding. As a result, words and sentences have no fixed meaning, and logic is often irrelevant. Words have meaning only in relation to who is using them,...

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