Taoism

I took this course in Eastern religions to become more familiar wit religions of other countries. I was raised in a house full of Christians and Christianity was the only religion that I knew. I was very much encouraged by my parents, family, and society to say my prayers, attend Sunday school and church services, and be involved in the youth groups within my church. From being in church all the time I began to lose interest in it and as I got older I moved further and further away from the church setting, up to now I don't even go. I began making my own decisions, it seemed religion's importance in my life just faded, and I never completely gained my need to go to church back. I had done a tiny bit of research on Buddhism before I took this course.

Buddhism began more than 2,500 years ago by an Indian Prince named Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha was unhappy with the beliefs of the Hindu religion and sought to find the peace of mind he wanted; Siddhartha left his home and went to search for inner peace. He soon became Buddha, or "The Enlightened One," and could then enter nirvana, the Buddhist place for eternal bliss. Buddha didn't believe in the idea of a soul, but he did believe that there was something eternal in people, and that they cannot be born again, but rather be alive partially in all living things. He called this eternal part of human's karma. Karma is the sum of one's good and bad deeds. Karma determines what a person will come back as in the next life. The idea of karma was the most appealing to me, because it causes one to be cautious of their actions and instills the idea of "what goes around comes around."

Buddhism to me portrays an aura of peace and tranquility. The world is filled with so much violence and terror and pain, I always wondered what the world would be like if everyone practiced Buddhism. Peace in this world was destroyed because people were fighting for something they wanted, and most wars broke out because people were fighting for land, etc. This interested me very much because it is completely true because I feel that people place more importance on material things than they do on feelings. I believe that one is not happy with themselves if they place high importance on material objects, and will only find happiness in life if they find happiness within themselves.

In his first sermon, Buddha has Four Noble Truths which form the basis of the Buddhists beliefs. They are as follows:

1. Life means suffering

2. The origin of suffering is attachment.

3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.

4. The path to the cessation of suffering.

The major truth that I really believe in is when he says to live means to suffer, he is saying that human nature is not perfect and neither is the world we live in. During our lifetime, we inevitably have to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death; and we have to endure psychological suffering like sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression. One of these beliefs is that "all lives, from birth to death, are filled with sufferings" and this suffering is the cause of desire; this belief is as real as it gets.

Though I am Christian I have embraced many of the Buddhist teachings and used them in my daily life. I agree that in order to be a good person you need to keep your mind clear and pure, even though at times I