Religious Report: Buddhism

By

Se-Young Kim

Ms. Chong Sep 11^th, 2006

Q1. What do you think is the most fundamental aspects of your religion (Buddhism)?

Ans1: The most fundamental aspect of Buddhism is that you are controlling yourself. Everyone has potential to be a Buddha. Buddha is often misunderstood as the God of Buddhism. However, Buddha means someone who has fully awakened. This means that everyone can become a Buddha by following a path that Siddhartha Gautama has suggested. Another very important idea is that nothing can stay the same. Everything changes and that’s how everything stays fresh and clean. If you leave a cup of water and not drink it, eventually, the water will decay. You have to let it go. You have to let everything go. If something stays in one place for too long, it will decay and it will be no good. Everything revolves. Nothing stays the same. Let everything go.

Q2. What do you want others to know about your religion?

Ans2. Buddhists are always trying to get rid of three emotions that are unnecessary. Those three emotions are anger, greed, and selfishness or foolishness. Buddhism is about getting rid of these things and controlling your mind and body to a path that previous Buddhas walked before. By doing this, many people’s lives will become a lot easier and more comfortable. This not only applies to Buddhists, but it also applies to other religions and people all around the world. If everyone lets go of their anger, greed and selfishness, the world will be a peaceful place.

Q3. What do you think is the most unique aspect of your religion?

Ans3. The most unique aspect of Buddhism is that you have to look after yourself. Many religions depend on their gods. For example, in Christianity, when people do a wrong, they confess to the minister of the church, wishing for the God’s forgiveness. In Buddhism, there is no God that looks after you. You are responsible for what you do and when you make a mistake, you are the one in charge of doing something that will recover your mistake. God doesn’t recover for you. You recover for your self and know what mistake you made so that you learn from it.

Q4. What makes you a strong believer in faith?

Ans4. That’s a very simple question. The reason I believe in Buddhism is that it lest be get rid of all the unnecessary greed, anger, desires and selfishness.

Q5. What are some of your religious traditions, rituals? Which do you favor the most?

Ans5. The most important and the most unique ritual of Buddhism is the sending of the dead. This is a ritual to guides souls that have come out of their body to the proper place. Many people who passed away will have regrets and lingering attachments in this world. That’s why some people can’t leave this world and stay to show his or her feeling or opinions. These are ghosts. In order to stop this from happening, there must be a proper sending. This is the most important ceremony/ ritual on Buddhism and this one is my favorite one in the sense that it sends people to the right place, where they belong.

Q6. How does observing or performing these rituals affect your daily life?

Ans6. Those kinds of questions are very foolish questions. Rituals are a matter of believing it or not. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it can’t have influence on anything. If you believe it, it wouldn’t matter if it influences you or not. People tend to believe only what they see. People breathe in oxygen, but they can’t see it. People also tend to believe what is scientifically proven. Science was made and studied by human. It can never be perfect.

Q7. What are some of the symbols of your religion and what do they symbolize?

Ans7. One of the most common Buddhism symbol is the swastika. This symbol is often misunderstood and the sign of Nazis. This symbol means that the world revolves around. People are born from soil and when they die, they go back to the soil. When it rains, the rain evaporates and becomes a piece of cloud. Then it rains again. Like this, in Buddhism, everything revolves.

Q8. Does your religion provide a guide for your future path?

Ans8. Buddhism helps me make every decision. It’s not the God that helps me. It is the path of the previous Buddha that we are following. Buddhism doesn’t call itself a religion. It is just a way to live one life. Buddhists take care of themselves by doing what is right. In Buddhism, nobody forces anything. There is no rules, such as, ‘You have to pray at least three times a day’ or ‘you must attend church at least a week and confess your mistakes to the father’. Buddhists do what they do because they think it is necessary to become one more step close to becoming a Buddha. Buddhism is a life style that guides every one of my decisions.

Q9. Does your community of faith always stand behind you in a time of need? How?

Ans9. Buddhists are always helping each other out. The goal of Buddhism is not only to be successful myself, but also to help other people get to their goal. Therefore, of someone is in a mental or physical difficulty, we help each other out so we can all progress to the next step.

Q10. How does your faith handle societal issues such as premarital sex, intermarriage, teen pregnancy and divorce?

Ans10. We think that those kinds of problems are from greed and desires. Those issues are because of desire for different sex and desire for a better life. If you let go of all the desires, these things would never happen. Intermarriage is fine. Buddhists understand and respect other religions and races. There shouldn’t be any restrictions against intermarriage.

Q11. What do you believe about deities?

Ans11. We don’t have one God that rules everything. However, there are souls and gods in every object.

Q12. Describe your feelings about your relationship with deities.

Ans12. Gods in every object are nothing special. They can’t do anything to us, and we can’t do anything to them. They have no influence on us. Some foolish parents come to the Buddhist Temples and pray for their children’s success in almost anything. They are not Buddhists. They are people who aren’t strong enough to solve everything by themselves and depend on someone else. There are gods, but they don’t have any impact on us.

Q13. Do you have any type of scripture of literature that you read and follow? When were they written?

Ans13. They are tens of thousands of books that are written to guide Buddhists. For people who are more advanced in the religion, there are books with more complex sayings, and for people who are just beginning to understand Buddhism, there are books meant for them too. These books suggest us the way of life. How we are supposed to act to be fully awakened. These books were written during the life of Siddhartha. These are the Buddha’s words and many Buddhists have translated these words.

Q14. Do you pray? If so how do you pray?

Ans14. There are no particular prayers, for me anyways. There are some beginning Buddhists who misinterpret Buddhism and pray to Buddha. This is a very small part. Over 99% of Buddhists don’t pray. However, they study the wisdom and the lessons of the Buddha. This is like a prayer, studying the Buddha’s will and way.

Q15. How does your religion react or provide understanding for violence in society?

Ans15. All the violence that one person did to another will be returned to him even worse. The karma of the previous life will be paid back. Big issues, such as George W. Bush attacking Iraq, will be something a lot serious. I personally think that Hurricane Katrina is just a small part of what the whole country has to be paid back. There will be a lot of worse things that is going to happen in the United States. The States can’t stay as the world’s superpower for ever. When it isn’t anymore, it will pay back.

Q16. Is Buddha ‘The God’ in Buddhism as Jesus and Allah is in Christianity and Islam?

Ans16. No it is not. Buddha is not a god. He is just another human being who was fully awakened. Buddha suggests and leads our behaviors. He is a role model for all Buddhists. We don’t pray to Buddha because he is not a mighty god such as Jesus or Allah is in Christianity and Islam. Buddha is our mentor and tutor.

Q17. Have you ever felt restricted because of the religion?

Ans17. No I haven’t. Buddhism doesn’t force anything. It lets you do whatever you want. When I was young, I didn’t have to pray. I was never forced to go to the Buddhist Temple. That’s why I didn’t feel restricted although I was in my adolescence. When I understood Buddhism a few years later, I still never felt restricted because everything that I did was from my heart. I knew it was the right thing to do and I never wanted to do anything that was against the teaching of Buddhism because I knew it wasn’t right.

Q18. What does Buddhism think about other religions?

Ans18. Buddhists respect all other religions. I just hope that they don’t depend on other individuals and try to solve everything by themselves. Look at their selves and find out what is wrong with them and try to fix those problems by themselves. I think all Buddhists will agree with me on that.

Q19. Do Buddhists think that if people don’t believe in Buddha, they will go to hell?

Ans19. No there is no such thing. I think that is nonsense.

Q20. Have you ever regretted being a Buddhist and wanted to quit being one?

Ans20. As I said earlier, Buddhism didn’t force anything to me when I was young. So I never felt that way about Buddhism. After I got older, in my 30’s, I under stood about Buddhism. After that, I was eager to be one step closer to becoming a Buddha.

Interviewee: Soo-Hwan Oh (Buddhist Monk in Korea)

Analysis:

1. According to the religion, what is the problem for humans (dilemma, flaw etc.) and the cause of this problem?

- According to Buddhism, the problem with mankind is that everyone has three feelings that make the world corrupt: Anger, greed (desire), and selfishness. If mankind lets go of these three unnecessary emotions, the world will be a paradise. There will be no wars, fights, divorce, and much more.

2. According to the religion, what is the ideal state, goal or “ultimacy” for individuals?

- According to Buddhism, the ultimate goal is to awaken. This means becoming a Buddha. Buddhists have many strict rules. These rules are not for anyone else but themselves. Most Buddhists practice these rules because they want to be awakened. Once they gain the understandings of every matter in the universe and let go of every anger, selfishness and desire, they become awakened, or Buddha.

3. According to the religion, what are the methods or means by which this ideal is achieved?

-According to the religion you have to understand everything inside yourself and everything inside the universe. Only then, you can be free of all the anger, desire and pain. Some of the ways of doing this includes reading the Holy Scriptures, Sutras, being selfless, and studying and understanding every little thing that goes on in life. It doesn’t have to be anything big. For example, lotus flower is the most religious flower for Buddhism. Understanding the blossom of this flower and knowing what it symbolizes could be a small thing for non-Buddhists, but this is a huge step for Buddhists. Some people also say that if you donate money to Buddhist Temples, you can become one step closer to becoming a Buddha. However, unless you are donating money from your heart in order to let go of everything you have, this is not true. You can’t be too selfless in Buddhism. The more selfless you are the better.

4. Make a personal assessment of the religious experience of the person you interviewed. (ie. What did you like or dislike? Was it believable? Is their religious experience successful?)

-I got to know a lot about Buddhism through this experience. And after the interview, I really liked Buddhism. I though all the religions were about believing in a God and doing what he or she want you to do. Buddhism was different. Everything you do is what you want to do. There is no God in Buddhism. Buddha is just a mentor and a guide line for all Buddhists. Buddhists live a disciplined life following this guide line. Nobody in the Buddhist Temples force anything. All the Buddhists are following Buddhism with their own will. Buddhists don’t call Buddhism a religion. They think of it more as a guide that will lead you to a disciplined life style. There is no God that controls everything. However, it’s you that really matter. You are always responsible for your doings and you are responsible for finding out about your mistakes and fixing it. Buddhism was a hundred percent believable and I think Buddhism is a really good way to live a life. Mr. Oh(the interviewee) has a really successful religious life. He is being respected in and out of his community. He’s life is really disciplined. I think he could always be a roll model in and out of his community.

5. Compare and contrast the beliefs of the religion to your own religious beliefs or view on life.

-I never believed in a religion myself. I always thought there was no God. If there was a God, why would he let all these bad things to happen? However, Buddhism claims that all the evil is from man kind. The religion says that if we can all let go of our anger, desire and selfishness, the world will be a peaceful place. In other religions, they think God willed everything and they pray to a God in order to solve these problems, instead of working on them themselves.

Through this interview, I got to know a lot about Buddhism and I think it is really reasonable and right.