Buddhism
Two thousand five hundred years ago, the Shankyan people lived in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. When the queen became pregnant, she gave birth to a boy named Siddharartha Gautama. The people around the world call him Buddha. He was the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, who went out from a life of luxury into homelessness to become the Buddha. The history of Buddhism spread out first from India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, China, Korea, Japan and then to some other countries. Zen Buddhism is a still very popular religion in China Today. During, the New Year season, the people who worship the Buddha believe he will bring good fortune to their live. Some of the believers don’t eat meat for one week before the New Year, others worship the Buddha in the temple for several hours each day. During the holiday seasons, people donate money and other valuable items to the temple. By doing this, they believe all evil people will go away and will not haunt them. There are two basic teachings of Buddhism. First, the fundamental idea of human rights for individuals, including human dignity, equality, justice, freedom, and the protection of women’s rights. The second one is about ecology, animals, and the environment. These two combine to teach people about responsibilities, an obligation toward nature, and protection to animal’s rights. Buddhist monks don’t eat any meat or fish. They only eat vegetables and some food made out of flour. They must be single. They must pray 4-5 hours a day. They also must shave their heads and shave their beards all the time. The Dali Lama is a world famous Tibetan monk. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his charity work. His theory and practice is taught around the world. Some people even consider him greater than Buddha. |