buddhism

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Theravada?
Mahanayana?
God or not?

[Anonymous]

Well, Thervada means the teachings of the elders. This form of Buddhism sees the Buddha as a teacher who had important messages to spread; someone who had reached enlightenment in his lifetime and therefore could teach how it could be done.

Mahayana Buddhists believe the Buddha was a god and he should be worshipped as such . Also, people do not have to follow the eightfold path until the go to heaven.

In my opinion, Thervada Buddhism seems so much closer to the original teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. I think he would have been disappointed to hear that people worship him...when what he taught was to find truth within yourself and your own reflections.

But that's just my opinion...Javascript:insertsmilie('%20%20')

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for your post! It gave me a great burst of curiosity and I took one of my new books off the shelf. World Religions: The great faiths explored and explained is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in an in-depth overview of faiths from around the world. It offers insight into the major religions as well as most of the lesser known belief systems.

Back to Buddhism; the book, penned by John Bowker, explains that these two forms are opposed to one another. He offers a translation of Mahayana as "Great Vehicle," and then continues to say that the Mahayana form refers to the Theravda form as Hinayana, which can be translated into "Small Vehicle." It is interesting to me that the Matayana form, which I agree strays from Gautama's pursuit, is hierarchical and derisive in its terminology. Apparently, it is also one of the most widely-spread forms of Buddhism.

[Anonymous]

Getting back to Buddhism....thank you for the interesting information.....Both forms are quite interesting, and both certainly have their strengths and reasons to follow them...

After some more reading, I think it is important to point out the idea that in Mahayana Buddhism (the more common form?) stresses the idea taht we are not alone in this world and must help each other through suffering to Nirvana. On the flip side, Theravada emphasizes the view that people are on their own in universe and can reach Nirvana through their own efforts and meditation.

I feel that both have their strong points in this respect...

Opinions?

[Anonymous]

Here is a great pdf document I read through on Buddhism and thought it might be of some help. The great aspect of this little online booklet is that it has easy to understand background and then four lesson plans that any one could modify to use in their classroom. It could also be a great resource for those of us interested in designing a unit about Asia.

Either way, this document is helpful to have in the classroom, as a teacher resource, on your school or class webpage/site or the coffee table. Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

8) It might be a great way to explore the subject in a concrete form. There is an exhibit going now at the Pacific Asian Museum entitled "Understanding the Art of Buddhism: Signs, Symbols, and Ritual Objects." I am going today and looking forward to what their offerings are in the giftshop as well as the actual exhibit itself. Hoping to find some good teaching supplies-for my own enrichment as well as the students.[Edit by="dkelly on Jun 1, 9:16:14 AM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="dkelly on Jun 1, 9:16:43 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

😀 Llogan's attached booklet i(from her Jan. 30th post) s a great resource-comprehensive and kid-friendly language. Thank you for posting it. I downloaded it right away but think I'll wait until I'm at work to hit the print button![Edit by="dkelly on Jun 1, 9:20:47 AM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="dkelly on Jun 1, 9:22:06 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

It is hard to relate to the idea of "God" without associating it with rules and standards of behavior.

rueben gordon

[Anonymous]

Just using the word "religion" in the school sends me into a frenzy, for lack of a better word. If I were to teach about Buddhism in my classroom, it would be small segment of the lesson and not a whole lesson. The Buddha teaches about life and suffering through our desires. Maybe not this definition in a nutshell, but it's a basic summation. I would really like to see a 3-day lesson plan on this.

[Anonymous]

The Buddhist temple that I visited on July 19 (mentioned in another post) Hsi Lai, is built on 15 acres and a floor area of 102, 432 sq. ft. T he temple's Ming (1386-1644 C.E.) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasty is faithful to the traditional style buildings, gardens, and statuary of traditional ancient Chinese. That's just a little information from the pamphlet.

I found the Temple as I walked through to be quiet, serene, tranquil, and a serious place for meditation.

[Anonymous]

Venerable Master Hsing Yun is a Chinese born Buddhist who founded the Fo Guang Shan Internation Buddhist Order, headquartered in Tiawan and supports temples worldwide. Wherever he goes, he encourages unity and complete equality, joyfulness, and perfect peace. Master Hsing Yun has written many books. The one that I have is THE BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE ON COMPASSION lists 22 other books he's written. Five of them are:

HOW I PRACTICE HUMANISTIC BUDDHISM
BEING GOOD: BUDDHIST ETHICS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE
WHERE IS YOUR BUDDHA NATURE?
ONLY A GOOD RAIN: A GUIDE TO CHINESE BUDDHIST MEDITATION
BUDDHISM: PURE AND SIMPLE

For a list of his other books, you could probably long on to the web site and they may list them there, or certainly if you visit the temple you can pick these items up. The temple even has a library where you could probably purchase some of these books.

[Anonymous]

IIlogan, I just wanted to thank you for posting the e-book on Buddism so we can download it. I was reading through it and it is interestingly written and informative. One important message that Buddha teaches us is the importance of being peaceful and positive when meeting challenges and opportunities. He also taught us that it is really important to control our minds if we wish to be free of problems. Those are messages that will never be out-dated. [Edit by="mdipaola on Jul 22, 6:04:12 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="mdipaola on Jul 22, 6:05:38 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="mdipaola on Jul 22, 6:09:05 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="mdipaola on Jul 22, 6:32:43 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="mdipaola on Jul 22, 6:33:15 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I recently visited the Wat Thai Buddhist Temple located here in Sun Valley to explore the religion of Buddhism. On Sunday's they serve lunch outside the temple. The food was delicious, economical, fresh and authentic Thai. After lunch, we removed our shoes and visited the temple. At first I was hesitant to enter but then a monk welcomed us in to join the worshippers. Inside the temple we saw brightly colored decorations and statues of golden Buddhas. The worshippers brought Buddha food for offerings; there was eggs and oranges placed at the altars. Ken, a worshipper at the temple explained to us why people bring food gifts to Buddha. He explained that the food is given to Buddha because during his life he was a monk and monks are supposed to beg for food. Ken was very nice and he tried to explain what he could to us about the Buddhist religion. I was touched by the way he shared a story about why he thinks his brother died for the wrong deeds he committed in a past life. He tried to make sense of his brother's death death through his religion. I think everyone can relate to that. He explained that Buddha means “Awakened One” someone who awakened from the sleep of ignorance. This gave me a personal view of the religion that helped me to appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad to see that they brought the Sunday activities back. i used to go every week, but the neighbors began to complain about all the cars parked in their neighborhood, so they stoped doing it for a while. A few of my students have invited me to dance shows they have performed in their. It is a wonderful place to visit. In fact I still have the food tockens in my purse, hoping that they would bring it back!

[Anonymous]

Another great source is the Usborne Book of World Religions. I keep it on the ledge of my white board for easy access. It is very organized and a great quick reference for questions the students may have that you don't know off the top of your head. It is sectioned off by each religion, then the different aspect of each religion. For example one of my students wanted to know why Indian people wear a turbin. I hade the answer in less then a minute. It also shows the students that they don't have to know everything, but if they are curious all they need to do is look in a book.

[Author]

Posts