Not all of these people practice a traditional East Asian religion, and reliable figures for the religious affiliations of East Asians are impossible to obtain because the United States Census does not ask questions about religion. In addition, the religious groups are very disparate and keep different kinds of records, and many East Asians observe traditional religious practices only in a family and not in an institutional context. Still, it is clear that the number is sizeable. In addition, many Americans of occidental background have also become involved in East Asian religions, sometimes through a spiritual quest, sometimes through marriage, and sometimes as a by-product of an interest in meditation or the martial arts. Commitment may range from entering a Zen monastery to taking class or doing practices on a lower level. Figures for this population are also elusive (Ellwood, 1994, pp. 223-224).
This religion also tends to be nonmoralistic, a fact which makes it more appealing in a world characterized by a great diversity of peoples, cultures, and lifestyles, and again, this is also in keeping with American values. Buddhism does not tell its adherents how to live: "People in the West tend to think of a religion as being a code. But Buddhism is defined by practice rather than a rigid set of beliefs" (Hochswender, 1993, p. 169).
Soka Gakkai International-USA (SGI-USA) is the American branch of the worldwide Nichiren Buddhist movement. The sect follows a unique path toward Americanization, deeply influenced by tensions between the highly traditional Nichiren priesthood and the innovative spirit of the laity. Priests and laypeople together form the organization called Nichiren Shoshu of America (NSA), though long-standing conflicts of interest between the two parties produced a formal schism in 1991, leaving two organizations in place, the smaller Nichiren Shoshu Temple (NST) led by the priesthood, and Soka Gakkai International-USA, a much larger, wholly lay movement:
The lay nature of SGI-USA, the energy its members displayed in the wake of the schism, and liberal elements it inherited from its prewar Japanese origins have helped to transform it into one of the most innovative forms of Buddhism on the current American landscape (Seager, 1999, p. 70).
Soka Gakkai traces its teachings to those of Siddhartha...
Buddhism Human beings, perhaps above all else, are storytellers. Humans value their stories highly and have extensive traditions of passing down the most captivating and popular stories through the generations. One such story that has lasted the test of time is the story of Buddha. His life and teaching grew into a philosophy and/or religion called Buddhism. There is a substantial quantity of writings on Buddha regarding his extended existential dialogues
In an English concept of second nature performance of an action, no thought only the action is performed. The similar concept of Wu in Daoism, which is being or the ultimate understanding of what being is, is also represented in Buddhism by Atman, the inner or greater self. Taoist thought in China had been exercised for a long time over the relation of non-being to being, (chen-ju) non-activity to activity.
Buddhism and Christianity: Complementary Worldviews According to the Gospel of Matthew, when a wealthy young man came to Jesus, and asked him how he might be made perfect, Jesus advised the eager young man to keep the commandments and essentially adhere to the Golden Rule to be good. But when the young man persisted and asked the Savior for more advice, Jesus said that the man should sell all he owned
Very few lay people were exclusively Buddhist- that is, felt a commitment to Buddhism over against China's other religions" (Welch 1976, p.164). Moreover, Buddhism in China was largely an individual affair. The monastaries were not held together any type of hierarchy. "In China the largest unit was the monastery and the highest office was the abbotship. This meant that there was no mechanism for maintaining standards" (Welch 1976, p.175). As
Thus to some, Chinese acceptance of Buddhism was surprising given that "China was already a very old civilization, with a written language, a well-organized government system and educational system, with two well-established philosophical and religious traditions -- the Confucian and Daoist Traditions -- sophisticated literature, poetry, art & #8230; so we had here a very highly developed highly literate civilization, and Buddhism came from outside via missionaries" (Garfield 2010).
Buddhism I have admittedly led a pretty sheltered life in terms of interactions with people from other cultures. I am not a Buddhist and so I do not have any first-hand experiences with the religious practices associated with Buddhism. Before this course, and before my experience, I knew some things about Buddhism, but only as much as most people know. For example, I knew that Buddhism is primarily associated with Asian
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