Budhism Case

I was fascinated by what I read with Buddhism. In the past when I had heard anything about it I always associated it with Monks, meditation and reincarnation. All of those things are associated with it but it was so much more. To begin with, I was unaware that Buddhism was based on Hinduism. I thought it was the other way around. I was also surprised to find out Buddha himself was born the son of a king. When he was a baby, prophets told his father that either he would be a great conqueror or a world redeemer. Due to this, his father sheltered from everything outside that could push him towards the latter prophecy. In the end destiny won out. I just saw many parallels to him and Jesus Christ and yet they were between 475-525 years apart. Who knows.. Maybe Jesus was Buddha reincarnated. It would be fitting.

Being a Christian there are certain beliefs I have such as upon death our soul goes to heaven for eternity. In Buddhism, there is no eternal soul or heaven instead, there is rebirth based on karma from their present/previous life. The goal in Buddhism is to reach a state of Nirvana. I found that piece to be interesting because it is less harsh then Christian beliefs of heaven and hell. Both religions have doctrines that preach a high moral code but, Buddhism doesn't have the absolutes of Christianity such as... "You do this and you are going to hell!"

Over all, I don't see Buddhism as a religion as I do a form of philosophical thought. Buddhism stresses keeping an open mind and listening to ourselves in order to avoid behaviors such as selfishness, lying, etc. Overall, it stresses being a good human being to all people and creatures. The better karma you have, the better off you will be in your next life.

My final thought is how many conflicts have you ever heard being instigated by Buddhists? Simple Answer... none. Of all the primary religions, Buddhism seems the most peaceful and tolerant. We could all take a page from their doctrine and apply it to our daily lives and become better human beings.