LYCOS RETRIEVER
Buddhism: United States
built 216 days ago
Buddhism is the main religion in many Asian countries. It is a religion about suffering and the need to get rid of it. A key concept of Buddhism is Nirvana, the most enlightened, and blissful state that one can achieve. A state without suffering.
Source:
Buddhism was by no means entirely original. It had much in common with the pantheistic Vedanta teaching, from which it sprang belief in karma, whereby the character of the present life is the net product of the good and evil acts of a previous existence; belief in a constant series of rebirths for all who set their heart on preserving their individual existence; the pessimistic view that life at its best is misery and not worth living. And so the great end for which Buddha toiled was the very one which gave colour to the pantheistic scheme of salvation propounded by the Brahmin ascetics, namely, the liberation of men from misery by setting them free from attachment to conscious existence. It was in their conception of the final state of the saved, and of the method by which it was to be attained that they differed. The pantheistic Brahmin said:
Source:
Nonetheless, Buddhism has found a place in the West, often in Americanized versions. Mizelle mentions that while the practice of ordaining Buddhist nuns has practically died out in Asia outside of China, ''American women don't put up with not being ordained,'' so the practice has had a revival in the United States.
Source:
Buddhism has made a tremendous impact in the United States with a growing Asian population in the U.S, thousands of Americans have been attracted to Buddhism making it their religion. There are now over one thousand Buddhist temples, monasteries, and centers in the United States.
Source:
This sentiment is strong in the United States, where a modern, somewhat secularized Buddhism is often used as the basis for social and political action. Miller says she tries to ''engage in things that will be of benefit to others.''
Source:
Hasty critics are only making ex parte statements when they reproach Buddhism with being inimical to women. Although at first the Buddha refused to admit women into the Order on reasonable grounds, yet later He yielded to the entreaties of His foster-mother, Pajapati Gotami, and founded the Bhikkhuni Order. Just as the Arahats Sariputta and Moggallana were made the two chief disciples in the Order of monks, even so he appointed Arahats Khema and Uppalavanna as the two chief female disciples. Many other female disciples too were named by the Buddha Himself as His distinguished and pious followers.
Source: