- Introduction to a World of Peace
When you think of Buddhism you may think of a statue of a golden fat man laughing such as the picture on the right. However Buddhism is much deeper then most religions in the world. Following the words of the "Great Buddha", 376 million people worldwide have taken the promise to end suffering of the human soul. Have you ever wondered why people suffer in the world? Buddhists take the idea of human suffering into their everyday lives and follow the ideas that Buddha has given them to create a world of free, non-suffering human beings. Some believe Buddhism is the 4th largest religion in the world, but others believe it is just a philosophy. The reason for this is that people wonder if Buddhism is just a Theistic or Atheistic religion. Buddha main thought was that no God or ultimate power created the world we live in today but instead a world filled of suffering people who must free themselves from sadness and enter a pure state of mind called Nirvana.
Before Buddha died he left a "guide" to his followers on how to live life and attain true happiness within oneself. However Buddhists don't believe there is an eternal soul or "atman" but instead one physical body created of several different elements which include namely
physical form, feelings, ideations, mental developments and
awareness which all are included at birth. Many people are confused by this because Buddhists believe in Reincarnation or the belief that the human body is reborn after death in a wheel like fashion where as the main goal of Buddhists is to obtain Nirvana or the release into a state of non-suffering. This is somewhat similar to the idea of Samsara in the Hindu religion.
awareness which all are included at birth. Many people are confused by this because Buddhists believe in Reincarnation or the belief that the human body is reborn after death in a wheel like fashion where as the main goal of Buddhists is to obtain Nirvana or the release into a state of non-suffering. This is somewhat similar to the idea of Samsara in the Hindu religion.
