Tatiana Davis, Aniah Ames, Kimberly Pham, and Gilberto Caceres

Buddhism

For Buddhism, our group visited the Buddhist Sangha of South Jersey. The place of
worship was a room on the lower level of a small recreational building where there were a
numerous amount of pillows placed on the floor for meditation purposes. There were also chairs
for the visitors to sit in. At the start of the liturgy, everyone simultaneously read three main
points; transient, suffering, and not-self. Post reading, the lights were turned off and everyone
meditated for about 25 minutes. Before and after meditating a bell was rung three times. After
this meditation there was a walking meditation on a path through the woods. Before re-entering
the place of worship, everyone had to bow before the entrance. Before being seated, the bell was
rung again and everyone had to bow toward the Buddha and then toward each other. Next,
everyone listened to an audio sermon entitled Becoming Your Own Teacher. Lastly, we read
The Noble Eightfold Path aloud and listened to the speaker of the night.
We feel that Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion. To us there has to be a
divine, and although Buddhist follow the Buddha, we see Buddhism as a way of life. The main
focus of this religion is to reach Nirvana by following the Four Noble Truths. In Buddhism
these truths translate as:
1.

Dukkha, meaning life causes suffering, pain, sorrow, or misery (Rahula p.17). We
see this suffering as a part of life. For instance, when someone dies or an unfortunate
event occurs, we should not to fret or overthink, but understand that this suffering is
unavoidable.

2. Next is Samundaya, the arising or origin of Dukkha (Rahula p.20). This is the
driving force behind suffering. Essentially, all suffering derives from the
overpowering desire, craving, or thirst for more. Ultimately, humans inflict the
pain/suffering on themselves because of their greed. People naturally set goals for
themselves, and this is not the problem. The problem is that once their goal is
obtained, the feeling of dissatisfaction still lingers and the urge for more is a
continuous process that never seems to end.
3. However, the third Noble Truth, Nirodha, is the cessation of Dukkha (Rahula p.35)
this translates to Nirvana, being the complete cessation of that very thirst, giving it
up, renouncing from it, emancipation from it, detachment from it (Rahula p.36). It is
said that Nirvana can be reached through years of meditation. However, we feel that
not many have discovered this detachment from suffering, especially here in
America. The American way of life is all about riches and striving for more and never
stopping because good isn't good enough.
4. The last Noble Truth, Magga, is the way leading to the cessation of Dukkha. This path
doesn't have to be followed in a specific order, just as long as all eight are touched.
We also see this path as idealistic, or not realistic. This truth includes right
understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort,
right mindfulness, and right concentration. These ideas are nearly impossible to
obtain.
Everyone faces obstacles while trying to keep their thoughts one-hundred percent pure. It is
natural to dislike someone or get upset, which may result in the wrong action or speech. These
ideas that the path requests are not feasible in human nature! Certain aspects of this path would
be broken, therefore Nirvana, the essential goal of Buddhism, could never truly be reached.