The Teachings Of The Buddha - 1174 Words

One of the central teachings of the Buddha himself is a fair and kind treatment of all beings on earth. Many Buddhists become vegetarians or vegans to honor the wisdoms of Siddhartha, not wanting to harm any animal for the benefit of food for themselves. Even though this effort is such a commonly addressed trend, discussion regarding Buddhist interaction with other humans occurs less regularly, especially in times conflict. There have been several cases in history that violence has been the only answer – or at least it seems to be that way. Numerous wars and conflicts have come about in the past with close ties to religion. Judaism serves as a strong example in the origins of World War II, similarly to Islam in the War of Terror in the†¦show more content†¦The proposals these two authors provide stand in the function of the beginning of the explanation of violence in Buddhist communities. When one searches through a law enforcements’ point of view, they first b egin by looking at the basic ideas that Buddhists believe. Daye states there are nine key beliefs that shape the Buddhist mind – Karma, Afterlife, Interdependence of all things, Nirvana, Bodhisattvas, Change, Four Basic Illusions, Fate, Evil and Death, and Buddhist contextual pragmatism and truth. Karma stands as the basic thought of â€Å"you get what you give†. This can be taken as simply or to the same degree in depth as one wants to interpret. This idea leads to the belief of an afterlife and the cycle of interdependent origination. Good karma in one’s life can lead to a positive afterlife, while if one commits wrong doings, they may end up in an unwanted rebirth. This shows that everything is an effect of something before and a cause of something to come after. Everything is interdependent of each other and would not be without other things. Daye discusses change as the following basic idea. This can be summarized as the karmic causations creating the illu sion of personal permanence. Instead of permanent beings, people and all beings are instead a process of change over time.3 In these first few