Religion
Origin of All Things
Nature of God
View of Human Nature
View of Good and Evil
View of “Salvation”
View of After Life
Practices and Rituals
Celebrations and Festivals
Week 3
Buddhism

Buddhism beliefs teach that is no reason to support the world had a beginning at all. The idea that things must have a beginning is really due to the poverty of our thoughts. (Bertrand Russell)http://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbelie
In the eyes of the Buddha, the world is nothing but Samsara -- the cycle of repeated births and deaths. To Him, the beginning of the world and the end of the world is within this Samsara.
The Buddhist system of religion does not believe in the concept of a personal God. The theory of Buddhism rejects the notion of an abstract principle of God operating in the universe. The Buddhists believe in the existence of an Enlightened being, who vows to save all sentient beings from their sufferings. The concept of enlightenment is principally concerned with developing a method to escape from the illusions of the materialistic world.
The Buddha taught that everything is impermanent (anicca), and this includes everything that we associate with being human: sensations, feelings, thoughts and consciousness. This is the doctrine of anatta, "no-soul," a central concept of Buddhism.
In the Buddhist religion there is a belief that good and evil are innate, inseparable aspects of life. This view makes it impossible to label a particular individual or group as "good" or "evil”. Good and evil in Buddhism are seen not as absolute but relative or "relational." Evil actions are those which are based on a narrow selfishness, the delusion that our lives are fundamentally disconnected from those of others and that we can benefit at their expense. Evil views life as a means to be expended, not an end in itself. Good is that which generates connection between ourselves and others, healing and restoring the bonds among human societies. http://www.sgi.org/buddhism/buddhist-concepts/good-and-evil.html.
In the Buddhist religion salvation is reaching Nirvana which is a transcendental, blissful, that one must follow must follow the Noble Eightfold Path. Right Understanding: accepting the Four Noble truths like the existence and cause of suffering; the end of suffering pain. Right Resolve: renounce the pleasures of the body, Right Speech: do not gossip, lie or slander anyone; Right Action: do not kill, steal or engage in an unlawful sexual act; Right Occupation: avoid working at any job that could harm someone; Right Effort: heroically work to eliminate evil from your life, Right Contemplation: make yourself aware of your deeds, words and thoughts so that you can be free of desire and sorrow and the last one is Right Meditation: train your mind to focus on a single object without wavering so as to develop a calm mind capable of concentration. http://www.evangelical.us/buddhism.html.
According to Buddhism, after death one is either reborn into another body (reincarnated) or enters nirvana. Nirvana is a deathless, peaceful unchanging state that cannot be described; individuality disappears and one enters the realm of eternal and ultimate truth.
Buddhism incorporates a variety of rituals and practices, which