Buddhism: A Personal Experience

Buddhism is one of the world's great religions. The religion is based on the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as The Buddha, who lived approximately 557 B.C. to 477 B.C.

The word "Buddha" means a Supremely Enlightened One or Fully Awakened One (also a Tathagata) who has won the realization of the True Permanent Absolute Reality, The Ultimate Truth (unknown, 2, 1997).

Records of Buddha's teachings were compiled almost immediately after the Buddha's death by the thousands of monks the Buddha established during his 45-year ministry. They were committed to writing in 29 B.C. They contain the heart of Buddhist teachings and are recognized by all Buddhist scholars as the oldest in existence.

Siddhartha Gautama was born a prince in a kingdom around what is now the border area between India and Nepal. At the age of 29, desiring to know the path that lead to the ending of all impermanence and anguish, to ensuring his permanent well-being, he renounced everything of the world, becoming a homeless ascetic, vowi

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ad dished out a portion of food, my friend's mother would lift the plate over her head as an acknowledgment of Buddha, and then place it in front of a monk. When all had been served, we began to eat. During the meal, the monks made chit-chat with those of us that were seated at the table. I'll admit that I mostly listened. I was instantly fascinated by this ritual, both because I never associate an outdoor meal with a place of worship, and because suddenly I was sitting at a table with monks -- a group of adorable little men who looked as though they might very easily be sitting on a mountaintop in Tibet. When the meal was finished, we made our way into the temple. The doors were open, and inside it was very minimalistic. What I perceived to be an altar was positioned opposite the doors, above which sat an elegant statue of Buddha. At the base of the statue were laid out many offerings: fruit, flowers, and ornaments. There were no chairs, or pews, or stained glass windows as you would expect to see in a church. I found the simple decor(or lack of decor) to be surprisingly peaceful, almost alarmingly so. The stillness of the garden was positively breathtaking inside. I was thunderstruck, and nearly missed my cue to t
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2693
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)