Papers > Religion > Describe the unique feature of Gotama Buddha s epistemology concerning reality as it is particularly as
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Describe the unique feature of Gotama Buddha s epistemology concerning reality as it is particularly as
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... Following Gotama Buddha’s enlightenment, he sought to teach others of his experiences and spirituality, as did both Jesus and Socrates. At first glance the life and teachings of Gotama Buddha seem akin to many others of the Axiel Age and in many respects they are. However, Buddhism maintains a few crucial differences between itself and other religions and systems of thought: it does not believe in a Creator(s) who is responsible for all our actions; in this sense Buddhism is not a religion, rather a system built on emotions and morality connected therewith and in summary, ‘Buddha proclaimed a salvation, which each man could gain for himself, and by himself in this world, during his life, without the least help from God or Gods’ .
As Karen Armstrong tells , a great deal of our knowledge of the Buddha’s life and teachings comes from a set of works known as the Pali Canon. ... According to the Pali texts when Gotama was finally pushed to leave his comfortable life it was the workings of the Gods that encouraged him: the four signs he witnessed were all Gods in disguise. ... The horse, Kanthaka, which he rode from the palace, was later turned into a God as a reward for helping the Buddha achieve enlightenment. As Armstrong unfolds the Buddha’s life story, there are numerous other examples of divine intervention including the moment when the Buddha achieves enlightenment where the gods judge him to be free of desire. ... Furthermore, while efforts were obviously made to preserve the original accounts of Gotama Buddha’s life and the ability of the followers to memorize these accounts was significantly enhanced by yoga, this original account would have obviously been distorted and changed over the many years. ...
While these stories may feature instances of the divine, the real essence of the Buddha’s teachings comes from his very actions: from [period before enlightenment] his achievement of enlightenment and his teaching.
The Buddha said "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it; not in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations; not in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many; not in anything because it is found written in your spiritual texts; not in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders, but only after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it".
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Title: Describe the unique feature of Gotama Buddha s epistemology concerning reality as it is particularly as
Words: 1804
Rating: None
Pages: 7.2
submitted by: chappas
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