Buddhism

In what is modern Nepal in the sixth century, Siddhartha Guatama was born a wealthy prince of the Shakya clan. Rejecting his wealthy origins, Siddhartha embraced asceticism after encountering four signs: an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a monk. The first three signs equated to human suffering, and the last foretold Siddhartha’s destiny. After rejecting asceticism as the path to enlightenment, Siddhartha took roost under the bodhi tree and began meditating in order to solve the problem of human suffering. Forty-nine days later, Siddhartha (now Buddha) achieved his great Enlightenment, which is the goal of all Zen Buddhists (Do 2).

As a result of his meditations, Buddha established the Four Noble Truths:

The cause of suffering is “birth sin” or craving and desire,

Suffering can only be ended through Nirvana – the extinction of all desire; and,

Following the Eightfold path to righteousness leads to an end of suffering.

Buddha is not just the ultimate teacher, but he is also a model of what we might aspire to through the practice of Zen Buddhism. Dharma is the ultimate truth which was perceived directly by Buddha. Buddha is not a god, in contrast he is a hum

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60). The Sutra on the Merit of Bathing the Buddha is focused on two forms of the Buddha, both the living and the deceased Buddha. With respect to the living Buddha, the Sutra is concerned with the perfections and virtues that have enabled Buddha to purify his body. In this case we are talking about Buddha’s corporeal body. In a ritual-like fashion, if we offer a variety of items to the Buddha that fulfills his corporeal needs, we will produce merit that will lead us to enlightenment. It should be noted that while this particular Sutra does not focus on practicing or cultivating the qualities that will ultimately produce enlightenment, it is still a Sutra that helps us refine and hone our practice of Buddhism, meditation, and the like. If we examine the text of this practice-oriented Sutra, we see that by offering incense, flowers, or other items to the Buddha we fulfill his corporeal needs and help to purify our own earthly bodies. As the Pure Wisdom Bodhisattva explains to us in the Sutra: If the Buddhas, Tathagatas, are in this way given various offerings with a pure heart—incense, flowers, gems, garlands, banners, parasols, and cushions—displayed before the Buddha, multifariously adorning him, and the marvelously scente
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2463
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)