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Essay / Buddhism - Role of Gods
Most people pray to gods, angels or saints for various requests such as good health, fertility, wealth, protection from any type of evil, peace, happiness, courage, strength which has been and still is part of different cultures for more than two thousand years. It is human nature to want help, happiness, peace, children, etc. The use of protective mantras and the appeal to powerful beings for help and protection did not contradict the tenets of Buddhism. All of these requests are temporary and lead to insistence that the all-powerful being could bring ultimate salvation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay When Siddhartha Gautama, at the age of twenty-nine, left the royal household, he needed to find answers to his questions after seeing an old man, illness, death and an ascetic with an aura of peace and contentment. It took Siddhartha six years of meditation practice before he became awakened to the realities of the world where suffering and death reign. He realized that all things were not permanent and that they suffered. At some point in their lives, everyone will get sick, grow old, and die from natural causes or tragedy. But Siddhartha discovered the solution to his quests and it was then that he proposed the principle of the eightfold path that would lead to salvation. The Eightfold Path is about living a good and righteous life, supported by right intention, right conduct, and right mindfulness. In the Fruits of the Ascetic Life (Samannaphala-Sutta), King Ajatasattu visited six religious teachers, each making a claim to have direct knowledge before sending it to Gautama Buddha. There have been many other Buddhas such as Aksobhya Buddha, Bhavaviveka Guru Buddha and Amitabha Buddha (Boundless Light). Their salvation is only open to all through meditation and rebirth. All Buddhas were special human beings who displayed an aura of confidence and power. Even though Sakyamuni Buddha has passed away, his life continues to exist in one form or another through many other Buddhas. A conventional practice of Buddhist contemplation and reflection includes remembering the characteristics of divine beings as creatures who have arrived at a good place through their good karma. Tibetan Buddhists recognize the existence of various kinds of spirits and gods, invoking the presence of some as protectors of the Dharma. There is a trust in the power of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha which is its own protection. It is not against Buddhist Dharma to ask the gods for any help to better cope with the sufferings of life or for the happiness that others cannot give. Mainly in the context of the practice of current Hinduism, cooperation and problems related to the daily lives of these beings, rather than the search for an end to adversities. Buddhism began after Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment (nirvana). It was Brahma Sahampati who asked Siddhartha Gautama, now Buddha, to transmit his enlightenment to others out of compassion. Buddhism continues today. Siddhartha Gautama is considered an extraordinary man because his Dharma has endured for over two thousand years. He did not answer all the questions. In Cula-Malunkya-Sutta, the Buddha's refusal to answer Malunkya's questions has a more practical and deeper indirect subtlety: one of the reasons he did not explain these questions was because they were not not related to the goal..