Refection 2: BUDDHISM

The next task assigned to me by World Religious News took me to Nepal, Tibet, China, and
Burma for exploring Buddhism and the diversity it offers. I was told to explore three different
sects of Buddhism including Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana as these are known as three
important paths to enlightenment. Moreover, to find which country follows which sect as all
three sects have differences. However, I would like to start by explaining these three types
and will then explain which school of Buddhism is followed in all the assigned destinations
which I visited from my report.

The first type Therevada which is the orthodox type is the source of in-depth and the most
helpful information about the original teachings of the Buddha. I got to know for the starters
who want to learn more about the original ideas of the Buddha and the life of the ancient
Buddhist sangha, this type helps in that. This sect is I witnessed specifically in Burma and
believes that nothing on the earth is permanent and that human existence is full of suffering.
Theravada Buddhism focuses on the attainment of self-liberation with efforts of our own
from earthy desires and not to hold any things permanently. Moreover, it suggests in the path
of enlightenment which is the aim of Buddhism, meditation and concentration have great
significance and precision and logic run deep. It teaches us to save ourselves from sufferings
and the best way to do that is to devote ourselves to monastic life all day (Amihai &
Kozhevnikov, 2015).

The next type is Mahayana, which differs from Theravada and changed the original teachings
of the Buddha, so it is not considered the purest form. Famous in Tibbet and China from
those I have visited for my report, I found out that the meaning of Mahayana is Great Vessel
which conveys the Buddhist teachings as a vehicle which is helpful for crossing the river of
suffering to the "other bank". Mahayana Buddhists believe that enlightenment can be gained
by anyone if he will follow the teachings of the Buddha. Mahayana Buddhism provides
positive thoughts about life's ultimate problems. There is also a powerful push towards
wisdom and compassion and many tools to stray from the path of meditation. It also offers us
a devotional path of Pure Land practice that can fill our life and heart (Amihai &
Kozhevnikov, 2015).

Vajrayana is the last school of ancient types of Buddhism and I witness being followed in
Nepal and Tibet. This type includes complex practices and an uncommon system of
meditation that include chanting. Although the practices were similar to Theravada and
Mahayana, Vajrayana believes that their practices especially the form of meditation they use
can accelerate the process of enlightenment thereby reducing the need to go through multiple
lifetimes for attaining enlightenment. I found it being practised by all individuals and not just
monks. Vajrayana changed some basic Buddhist views as it made the addition of
reincarnation, about which the Buddha was agnostic. Moreover, a variety of psychological
practices are provided to accompany the basic practices of meditation and great compassion
that Buddhism taught (Amihai & Kozhevnikov, 2015).

As I have explained what I learnt about these three types. Now I will like to highlight how
these three types are practised in different places I visited for my report including Nepal,
Tibet, China, and Burma.

From India, I went to Nepal first went to Nepal, where Buddhism is the second-largest
religion and is there since the lifetime of Gautama Buddha. I noticed some temples in Nepal
are shared by the worshippers of Hinduism and Buddhism. I got to know that although
Tibetan Buddhism is common in Nepal and people of the new generation are following the
Vajrayana school of Buddhism which is also followed in Tibet (Deming, 2015). I visited
Kathmandu Valley to learn more about Vajraya Buddhism in Nepal. I witness they have a
unique element of socio-religion, including a non-monastic Buddhist society which has
developed a Newar caste system and patrilineality. The views in Nepal were surreal and
people happily greeted me to guide me about their views.

From there I went to Tibet as I got to know that Nepal and Tibet both follow Vajrayana and I
wanted to see the difference in their practice. I felt Buddhism in Tibet is a blend of
Vajrayana, Indian, and Chinese Buddhism. Tibet offers a wide range of specific practices,
rituals and meditations around to achieve the aim of compassion and the liberation of all
sentient beings (Ray, 2002). However, I found that Tibet has continuously fought for their
human rights and freedom to practicing religion. Tibetan Buddhists have been severely
punished for their beliefs. As I belong to the west, I instantly felt the strain of religious
persecution and harsh exile lifestyle. People were not discussing Buddhism with me. I even
got to know that for praying freely they had to make the journey across the mountain to
Nepal which was shocking for me.

I felt suffocated in Tibet as I was not able to talk to people about Vajrayana Buddhism and
therefore, directly left for China. I wandered in china and discovered that most Buddhists
practiced Mahayana and were brought from Nepal to China through missionaries. Their
 belief is in bodhisattvas which allows a person to be capable of attaining nirvana but delaying
it out of compassion and they experience it to eventually become Buddha. In Chinese people,
I witnessed the core belief that the "Buddha is everywhere and anyone can become a
Buddha". I could feel that, unlike Nepal and Tibet, Chinese Mahayana Buddhism has shaped
their culture in many areas like politics, art, literature, medicine, philosophy and material
culture (Yü, 2020) which was an interesting sight.

From there I went to Myanmar in Burma and found that approximately 90% of the people
there are Buddhists, and practice Theravada Buddhism. People there were practising
Theravada to quiet their minds and gain inner peace as there are military conflicts still
prevailing in Burma. There is a large, violent, drug-dealing state that denies its people
citizenship. I was shocked as I saw not once but many times that people are so devoted to
their beliefs that they were even ready to die (Deming, 2015).

After visiting all the destinations, I can say that Theravada, Mahayana or Vajrayana all have
similar basic beliefs and devotion to the life and teachings of the Buddha. Although there are
some cultural differences and variations in practices, overall it teaches that we can attain
liberation from suffering on our own, independent of divine help.

Work Cited:

Amihai, I., & Kozhevnikov, M. (2015). The influence of Buddhist meditation traditions on the
autonomic system and attention. BioMed research international, 2015.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/731579

Deming, W. (2015). Understanding the Religions of the World. Wiley Professional, Reference &
Trade (Wiley K&L). https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781118770559

Ray, R. A. (2002). Secret of the vajra world: The tantric Buddhism of Tibet. Shambhala
Publications. https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=1y8qAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=buddhism+in+tibet&ots=vNEafew
n8-&sig=MRixCuaccXxLxW7RZjT-Gi4dKPg#v=onepage&q=buddhism%20in
%20tibet&f=false
Yü, C. F. (2020). The Renewal of Buddhism in China. In The Renewal of Buddhism in China.
Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/yu--19852