Why Buddhism Appeal to Me

One of the reasons why I took the course of for religion this semester is to perhaps come closer with my God again. After growing up in an Episcopalian household, it seemed that Christianity was the only accepted religion. 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. Religion, in some way, became a tedious event for me, and I slowly lost interest in church and Christianity as a whole. As I got older and began making my own decisions, it seemed religion’s importance in my life waxed and waned, and I never completely gained my excitement back--in all honesty, I was bored and I needed something new to try. With the intentions of learning something new (not to convert,) it was then that I began to research Buddhism and its practices.

Although I had read about many other religions from Taoism to Mormonism, it was Buddhism and its core ideals and beliefs that appealed to me most intensely. Buddhism (which has many roots of Hinduism) began more than 2,500 years ago by an Indian Prince named Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha became dissatisfied 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 of inner peace. Through much meditation under a Bo tree, he 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 humans karma. Karma is the sum of one’s good and bad deeds, as in the Jainist religion. 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 comes around, goes around.”

From the beginning of human life, humans have been fighting with each other for what it was that they desired. Peace 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 that people place more importance on material things much in consideration rather than 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 revealed the 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.

Basically, to live means to suffer, because the 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,