Verified Document

Spirituality Vs. Religion In Western Term Paper

Spirituality vs. Religion

In Western culture, "religion" is used to describe the social structure outside of an individual, which attempts to make decisions for the individual, and force the individual into a certain mold. However, Buddhism is not a Western religion, and this cultural and language difference between the two sides of the world can cause some difficulties when studying world religions. "Spirituality," on the other hand, is a deeply personal experience that is defined by the individual. While Buddhism is referred to as a religion, in Western colloquial speak it may be more appropriate to refer to it as a spirituality path in order to help avoid confusion.

Buddhism did not form as a religion. It began with outcast-types leaving society and civilization to find enlightenment alone or in small groups; these individuals were known as bhikkus. Later, larger groups ("Householder Buddhists") of people were attracted to this lifestyle, which is when it started to take on more of a religion-like existence, but it was still more akin to spirituality. Buddhism requires intense study and meditation times, which is a very individual choice.

However, there were some aspects that parallel Christianity as a religion... The bhikkus, or very dedicated individual followers of this spiritual path, are analogous to Christianity's monks and nuns, studying spirituality on a very advanced level; the lay Buddhists are perhaps more like average religious followers, supporting and learning from the Bhikkus, living by a simple moral code (similar to the ten commandments) taught by the Bhikkus, but not taking the spirituality to the same level. In this sense, the Bhikkus are spiritualists, while the lay Buddhists are members of a Buddhist religion, if one were to try to apply Western terminology. Approaching Western concepts to Buddhism in this way may help to clarify some of the difficulty that students have in understanding the basic functionality of Buddhism and Buddhist practice.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now