불교에 관한 10 가지 큰 질문, 답변

전 세계 약 5 억 명의 불교도 중 약 99 %가 아시아 태평양 지역에 살고 있습니다 [출처 : Pew ]. 그러나 그렇다고 서구 사람들이 불교 에 대해 전혀 모른다는 의미는 아닙니다 . 아마도 그들은 지지자 인 특정 유명인을 통해 또는 네팔에서 3 주를 보냈고 "마음 챙김"에 대해 계속 이야기 하는 요가 교사 로부터 그것을 들어 보았을 것입니다. 아마도 그들은 TV 에서 달라이 라마 를 보았을 것 입니다. 그들은 현지 중국 식당의 통통한 미소가 부처님을 상징한다고 생각할 수도 있습니다 (힌트 : 그렇지 않습니다 ).

퓨 리서치 센터의 2015 년 보고서에 따르면 전 세계 불교도 수는 2030 년까지 5 억 1100 만 명으로 증가 할 것으로 예상했지만 전 세계적으로 인구가 증가함에 따라 불교도 인 비율은 실제로 7.1 %에서 6.1 %로 감소 할 것입니다. 북미에서는 불교도 인 비율이 2010 년 0.8 %에서 2050 년 1.2 %로 증가 할 것으로 예상됩니다. 불교도는 미국 종교 지형의 극히 일부를 차지하며 다음을 제외한 모든 주에서 인구의 1 % 이하로 등록됩니다. 2015 년 캘리포니아 (2 %)와 하와이 (8 %) [출처 : Pew ].

따라서 서양 사람들은 불교가 무엇인지 알고 있다고 생각할 수 있지만 그렇지 않을 가능성이 있습니다. 우리는 세계에서 가장 오래되고 가장 영향력있는 종교 전통 중 하나에 대한 혼란을 해소하기 위해 10 개의 질문과 답변을 모았습니다. 부처님에 대한 간략한 소개부터 시작하겠습니다.

내용

1. 부처는 누구였습니까?
2. 불교는 무엇을 가르 칩니까?
3. 불교는 철학인가 종교인가?
4. 불교도들은 신 (또는 신)을 믿습니까?
5. Karma는 실제로 어떻게 작동합니까?
6. 열반에 대해 우리는 무엇이 잘못됩니까?
7. 달라이 라마의 중요한 점은 무엇입니까?
8. 불교도들은 왜 명상을합니까?
9. 누구나 스님이 될 수 있습니까?
10. 모든 불교도는 평화 주의자이며 채식주의 자입니까?

인도의 고대 언어 인 산스크리트어에서 부처 는 "깨어 난 자"를 의미합니다. 불교 예술과 글이라고 적어도 다스의 존재에 대해 설명하면서 "불상을"로 알려진 단 하나의 역사적인 인물이 부처 , 누구의 경로 깨달음 형태의 불교의 핵심 생각과 실천 영적 교사.

부처님 현대의 히말라야 산기슭에서 부유 한 지배 가족에게 567 BCE에서 고타마 싯다르타가 태어난 네팔 . 그의 생애 후 수세기에 걸쳐 수집 된 전설적인 전기에 따르면 싯다르타는 호화롭게 자랐으며 궁전 문 너머 세계로부터 고립되었습니다. 전차를 타고 마을을 돌아 다니는 청년으로서, 그는 자신의 특권적인 분리에서 그를 놀라게 한 세 가지, 즉 병든 남자, 노인, 시체를 만났습니다.

고통과 죽음의 존재를 새롭게 인식 한 그는 삶의 의미를 이해하고자했습니다. 그래서 싯다르타는 부를 버리고 머리를 밀고 방황하는 성자의 목숨을 앗아갔습니다. 다른 교사들 아래에서 그는 깊은 명상 상태에 들어가는 방법과 가장 기본적인 생계를 제외한 모든 것을 거부하는 방법을 배웠습니다. 한때 그는 하루에 한 알의 쌀로 살았고 위험 할 정도로 얇고 약해 졌다고합니다 [출처 : Fields ].

명상과 아세트산의 극기 만이 해방의 열쇠라는 사실에 만족하지 못한 싯다르타는 힘을 되찾기 위해 음식을 조금 받아 들였고 보리수 아래에 앉아 그가 배우고 경험 한 모든 것을 묵상했습니다. 연속 40 일 동안 명상을 한 후 그는 열반 또는 고통과 욕망으로부터의 자유 로 알려진 궁극적 인 깨달음 상태를 달성 하고 부처가되었습니다.     

남은 45 년 동안 부처님은 인도 북부 전역을 여행하면서 법 , 존재의 본질, 고통의 원인 및 욕망을 극복하는 방법에 대한 필수 진리를 가르쳤습니다 [출처 : 불교 센터 ]. 그의 설교는 그의 생애 동안 기록되지 않았지만, 그의 추종자들은 인도, 중국, 일본, 그리고 궁극적으로 전 세계에 부처님을 전파 할 것입니다.

깨달음을 얻은 후 첫 번째 설교에서 부처님은 "나는 단 한 가지만 가르친다 : 고통과 고통의 끝"[출처 : 스리 라훌라 ] 이라고 말했다 .

불교의 집단적 가르침은 법 이라고 불리며 도덕적, 윤리적 행동에서 정신적 훈련, 자비로운 봉사에 이르기까지 인간 존재의 모든 측면을 다룹니다. 법의 궁극적 인 목표는 개인이 현실의 진정한 본질을 깨우도록 돕고 고통에서 벗어나기 위해 행동과 사고 패턴에 변화를 가져 오는 것입니다.

한 불교 문헌이 설명 하듯이 불교의 본질은 "선을 행하는 법을 배우고, 악을 행하지 않고, 마음을 정화하는 것"[출처 : 불교 센터 ]의 세 가지로 요약 될 수 있습니다.

그의 초기 가르침에서 부처는 네 고귀한 진리로 알려진 현실의 진정한 본질에 대한 자신의 비전을 제시했습니다.

고귀한 팔정도는 어기면 신의 형벌로 이어지는 일련의 규칙이 아닙니다. 대신 윤리적이고 규율 적이며 현명한 삶의 방식을 설명하며 고통에서 벗어나 깨달음으로가는 가장 직접적인 경로를 제공합니다.

고귀한 팔중의 길에는 질서가 없습니다. 모두가 서로 의존하기 때문입니다 [출처 : Sri Rahula ] :

This brief summary barely scratches the surface of the dharma. The Buddha spent his life teaching the Noble Eightfold Path in different ways to different people, and those teachings are recorded in Buddhist scriptures like the Pali Canon and countless writings attributed to the Buddha's first followers and spiritual giants throughout the ages. Understanding the core teachings of Buddhism takes a lifetime, or several lifetimes.

Viewed with Western eyes, Buddhism looks much more like a philosophy than a religion. There is no faith in a higher power, no liturgical prayer and no weekly worship services. Reading its teachings, Buddhism sounds like a spiritually focused, self-help philosophy. But in practice, Buddhism shares many of the same mystical and transcendent traits as all of the world's great religions.

Buddhism is undoubtedly a rich source of philosophical truth. One could read and contemplate the extensive writings from various school of Buddhism and walk away with deep insights on the meaning of life, ethics, psychology , human behavior, the nature of consciousness, politics and similarly "secular" disciplines. And there's a tendency, especially in the West, to limit the Buddha to his most basic teachings and limit Buddhism to a practical philosophy or lifestyle choice.

But in practice, especially the way it's been practiced in Asia for millennia, Buddhism is deeply religious. For starters, one of the goals of Buddhist thought and practice, like other mainstream religions, is "transcendence" or achieving a state of being beyond the self. Even if a Buddhist doesn't achieve nirvana in this lifetime, he or she hopes to experience greater detachment from selfish impulses and therefore less suffering [source: O'Brien].

Buddhism, like other religions, is also "mystical" in the sense that practitioners, through studying and meditation, can experience a direct communion with the divine or absolute. This is what Siddhartha Gautama experienced under the Bodhi Tree. The Buddha didn't "see God" in the Judeo-Christian sense, but he experienced a vision of the absolute truth of existence. And it's the promise of that same mystical revelation that Buddha extends to all who follow the dharma path.

Like other religions, Buddhism has its share of supernatural beliefs. Buddhist religious texts and folklore tell tales of the Buddha overpowering rivals by flying through the air and shooting fire from his head. Other monks and enlightened followers could travel instantly anywhere in the universe and pass freely into the heavenly realms [source: Buswell and Lopez].

But perhaps the most conventionally "religious" aspect of Buddhism in Western eyes is its preoccupation with the afterlife. While Buddhists don't believe in the traditional heaven and hell of Christianity, one of the central concerns of Buddhist practice has always been to ensure a better rebirth in the next life and to avoid the lowest realms [source: Buswell and Lopez]. And despite its reputation for promoting peace and tolerance, Buddhism doesn't balk from the common religious claim that its belief system is the only path to ultimate truth [source: Buswell and Lopez].

Buddhism does not support the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent, singular God like the one worshipped in Judaism , Christianity and Islam . But over the centuries, Buddhism developed an extensive cosmology of gods and demigods that populate its religious texts. And today, Buddhists across Asia appeal to various gods for protection, good crops, wealth and more [source: Jaffe].

In Buddhism, gods are called deva and live in a separate realm of existence consisting of 27 heavens or svarga [source: Buswell and Lopez]. The gods of the 27 heavens have nothing to do with the human realm. Stories about the gods appear in early Buddhist texts, but mostly serve as allegorical tales for teaching Buddhist principles [source: O'Brien].

Tantric Buddhism is the path most often equated with polytheism, because tantric practices often involve the invocation of a god or goddess associated with a certain spiritual power. Yet Tantric Buddhists don't perform these rituals to receive direct blessings from the gods like the ancient Romans, but rather to assist the practitioner in embodying the power and wisdom that the god represents.

Was the Buddha himself one of these gods? Some ancient Buddhist texts teach that the Buddha was a god before choosing to be being reborn as Siddhartha Gautama [source: Buswell and Lopez]. Gods in Buddhism aren't eternal or freed from the cycle of death and rebirth. That's what makes the Buddha so remarkable. He was the first among the gods or man to achieve nirvana and teach the path of enlightenment to both humans and deity.

The Western concept of karma usually means instant retribution for bad behavior. If you steal money from your elderly grandma to buy a new car and immediately get in a wreck, that's karma catching up with you.

In Buddhism, karma is the universal law of "morally valenced" cause and effect [source: Jaffe]. Karma, in Sanskrit, means "action." Each of our actions, whether good or bad, carries a consequence. Some of the consequences of our actions are felt in this lifetime, although perhaps not as dramatically as the car example above. And other actions trigger consequences that, thanks to the continual cycle of death and rebirth, will ripple across lifetimes.

The Buddha understood karma not only as action, but the intention behind the action. Good or "skillful" actions are motivated by compassion, generosity, sympathy, kindness and wisdom, while bad or "unskillful" actions are driven by hatred, greed and delusion [source: BBC]. That's why there's such a strong emphasis in Buddhist teaching on mindfulness. Only by being fully aware of our motivations can we condition ourselves to act only on our best intentions and let negative thoughts simply pass by.

The karmic effects of our actions fall into two categories: psychological and universal [source: Jones]. Since reincarnation or transmigration is often a difficult concept for modern man to grasp, Buddhists tend to focus on the psychological consequences of karma. Treating people with kindness and generosity has the effect of lifting our spirits, while acting out of greed and envy darkens our minds and mood. In that way, the law of karma can certainly impact us in the here and now.

Traditionally, though, Buddhists understand karma as the universal law that determines the form that transmigration will take. It's our actions and decisions, not the divine judgment of a cosmic being, that determine where will be born among the six realms or planes of existence. While Buddhists don't believe in an eternal "soul" or "I" that continues from one like to the next, they do believe that our "patterns of mind" persist beyond death [source: Goldstein]. According to the rules of karma, you will be reborn in the plane that best matches your pattern of mind.

Truly despicable intentions could land you in one of the lowest realms of suffering, while perfect mindfulness and compassion could qualify you for the heavenly planes, or at least being born into a wealthy family. The rest of us will be reborn as animals or imperfect humans trying our best to move up, or at least not down, the karmic ladder.

In English, the word nirvana describes an exalted state of blissed-out happiness. Taken that way, you might think that the Buddhist concept of nirvana is a lot like heaven, an eternal state of peace and contentment.

In Sanskrit, the word nirvana is translated as "extinguishing," "quenching" or "blowing out." But exactly what's being blown out? If the goal of Buddhism is to escape the cycle of life and death, then is it the soul that's being extinguished, never to be reborn again? Not really, because Buddhists don't believe in such a thing as the soul.

Instead, what's being extinguished by nirvana are the root causes of suffering (dukkha), namely greed, hatred and delusion [source: Keown]. If an individual can rid himself or herself of those wrongful desires, they enter a state of unmatched compassion, peace and joy known as nirvana. That's what the Buddha achieved under the Bodhi Tree.

Or did he?

What's interesting is that the Buddha and some of his followers who achieved enlightenment weren't immediately extinguished from existence. The Buddha stuck around for 45 years teaching the path to liberation from suffering. If nirvana is the ultimate liberation from life and death, then how can a person who has achieved nirvana go on living?

That depends on who you ask. The two main branches of Buddhism are Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. In Theravada Buddhism, mainly practiced in Southeast Asia, they separate the terms enlightenment and nirvana. By following the dharma path, Theravada Buddhism teaches you can achieve an enlightened state on Earth, but true nirvana, called parinirvana, cannot be obtained until death. In the Theravada view, the Buddha achieved enlightenment after meditating for 40 days, but nirvana came later.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the school of Buddhism practiced in China, Tibet, Japan and Korea, there's an emphasis on the ideal of the advanced bodhisattva, a person who has achieved Buddha-like levels of enlightenment, but enters a "non-abiding" state of nirvana that allows them to return to the world to continue to help sentient beings [source: O'Brien].

Ultimately, all this talk of what is or isn't nirvana is kind of fruitless. The Buddha taught that nirvana is wholly unknowable, since it is a state beyond existence and non-existence. It is neither a place nor a state of mind, yet it is the ultimate spiritual destination that all Buddhists seek.

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, which is a blend of Mahayana Buddhism and pre-Buddhist Tibetan religions. Among the unique beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism is that the Dalai Lama is an enlightened being or bodhisattva that has chosen to be reincarnated more than a dozen times over hundreds of years in order to teach the dharma to the world [source: The Dalai Lama].

In addition to being a spiritual giant, the Dalai Lama is also recognized as the political leader of Tibet. This role took on new meaning after communist China invaded Tibet in 1950 and brutally suppressed a Tibetan uprising in 1959, causing the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, to flee into exile in India, where he remains [source: The Dalai Lama].

"Lama" is a Tibetan word for teacher, equivalent to the Sanskrit "guru." The word "dalai" is Mongol for "ocean," so the Dalai Lama is understood to be a teacher whose wisdom is as deep as the ocean [source: BBC]. Tibetans believe each Dalai Lama is a direct incarnation of Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Successive incarnations of Chenrezig have been identified for 600 years, but the first individual to receive the title of Dalai Lama lived in the 17th century [source: The Dalai Lama].

Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama and is beloved for his wisdom and compassion far beyond the exiled community of Tibetan Buddhists. Chosen by religious officials as the reincarnated leader at age 2, after he showed certain signs, the Dalai Lama was educated in Tibetan monasteries starting at age 6. Although briefly recognized by China as Tibet's rightful leader in the 1950s, he has served most of his seven decades as Dalai Lama in exile. His nonviolent quest for Tibet's freedom from Chinese occupation earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 [source: Nobel].

The Dalai Lama has written best-selling books translating Buddhist teachings of compassion and happiness for lay audiences, and travels the world speaking to people of all religious backgrounds about the blessings that come with cultivating a spirit of tolerance, forgiveness and self-discipline. In 2011, the Dalai Lama officially retired from political service and said that he wants the Tibetan people to decide if the next Dalai Lama should continue as political leader [source: The Dalai Lama].

Many Buddhists, particularly in the West, take time every day to meditate . If the goal of Buddhism is to change our way of perceiving reality and rid ourselves of negative thoughts and desires, then the focus of Buddhist practice should be transforming the mind. Meditation, the Buddha taught, is one of the best tools for transforming the mind [source: The Buddhist Centre].

Meditation wasn't always central to Buddhist daily life. For millennia after the Buddha's death, meditation was considered an advanced practice exclusive to Buddhist monks. But starting in the 20th century, it was taught to laypeople as a means of cultivating mindfulness, clarity and compassion [source: Buswell and Lopez]. In much of Asia, meditation is still not widely practiced by Buddhists outside of monasteries.

Different schools of Buddhism take different approaches to meditation. In Tibetan Buddhism, practitioners try to re-create an image of the Buddha in their mind or silently repeat a mantra. In Theravada Buddhism, one common meditative practice (among many) is focusing on the breath and learning to observe passing thoughts and feelings with detachment [source: BBC].

While meditation is clearly beneficial for reducing stress and calming the body and mind, that's not the end goal for Buddhists. Achieving a calm mindfulness through meditation is just the first step. The real "work" of meditation is to then use that state of calm mindfulness to tackle the "hard questions" — why we cling to negative desires, why we believe in the permanence of reality, why we fight change, etc. [source: Gross].

Buddhists believe that the fruits of mindfulness meditation extend to the rest of daily life. The goal is to become more mindful of the body and mind throughout the school or work day, to be less rushed and more patient with yourself and others, to be more generous and to seek to do no harm. Buddhists may keep a small shrine in their home — perhaps a statue of the Buddha or a bodhisattva — as a reminder to think and live intentionally even while not meditating [source: Shasta Abbey].

The short answer is yes. With the proper preparation and sense of commitment, anyone can take the vows of a Buddhist monk or nun and enter the walls of monastic life. But that doesn't mean that everybody should.

Although some monasteries offer part-time ordination, in most schools of Buddhism, the choice to become a Buddhist monk or nun is a lifetime commitment. Many Buddhists monks and nuns are celibate. They don't work or earn money outside of the monastery. They meditate and study all day long. On the plus side, no more agonizing over what to wear or how to style your hair. Monks and nuns shave their heads and wear simple robes every day.

Because it's a serious decision, Buddhist monasteries ensure that all prospective monks and nuns are fully prepared for the realities of monastic life. First, there's spiritual preparation. You can't show up the doors of a Buddhist monastery as an absolute newbie and expect to be handed a robe. It requires years of serious study and practice under a qualified teacher before one can even consider becoming ordained. Some monasteries require a year or more under some form of lay vows before seeking full ordination [source: IMI].

Then there are more practical preparations. Aspiring monks and nuns should be free of any "encumbering relationships" and have the permission and support of family members. They should also be free of debt and other financial obligations, because worldly jobs are forbidden once you're ordained [source: Nalanda Monastery].

Most monastic communities recommend that prospective monks and nuns spend progressively longer stretches of time at the monastery as volunteers and helpers before taking the vows. Many monasteries offer meditation retreats for a taste of monastic life. Aspiring monks and nuns are encouraged to help out at the monastery by cleaning or preparing meals while getting to know the monastic community and its daily rhythms.

Not all monasteries accept foreigners, but there are several well-known monastic communities in Asia, Europe and the United States that are welcoming to monks and nuns from all backgrounds.

In the West, some people tend to lump all Buddhists together into a homogenous group that's not entirely based in reality. Given the Buddha's teachings against harming any sentient creature, some people assume that all Buddhists are pacifists and vegetarians who would never hurt a fly, let alone a cow or an enemy soldier. But that's not the case.

The Buddha himself rejected the notion that his monks should be vegetarians, even though it seemed to go against the core Buddhist teaching of "do no harm" (ahimsa). Traditionally, monks ate only what was given to them by lay members of the community, a practice that continues in many Theravada Buddhist monasteries. The Buddha taught that giving generously to monks was a great way to earn karmic merit. And if a monk refused to take a donation of meat, he was essentially blocking the giver from receiving blessings and potentially messing with his next life [source: Buswell and Lopez].

For that reason, both Theravada monks and lay Theravada followers are still allowed to eat meat if they choose. The monks are instructed to eat everything they are given, because it's a karmic help to the lay people. And the lay people are taught that it's OK to eat meat that's already been killed, because letting it go to waste would mean the animal's death was in vain. Personally hunting and killing an animal is still prohibited [source: Liusuwan].

In Mahayana Buddhism, however, the call to "do no harm" is extended to all sentient beings and neither monks nor lay people eat meat [source: Jaffe]. So if you thought that all Buddhists were vegetarians, you were half right!.

Buddhism and warfare is a trickier topic. The Buddha absolutely taught that violence and killing had no place in Buddhism, even in times of war, and great spiritual figures like the Dalai Lama have embraced non-violent resistance as the most effective way to fight violent oppression [source: BBC]. But that doesn't mean that a war has never been waged in the name of Buddhism.

In the past century alone, Tibetan monks took up arms against Chinese invaders in the 1950s. Zen Buddhist monks in Japan supported the brutal Japanese invasion of China during World War II. And tragically, in 2013 Buddhists in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Sri Lanka have committed atrocities against Muslim minorities in those countries, with one Burmese Buddhist monk comparing himself favorably to Osama bin Laden [source: Caryl].

Being human is complicated for people of all religious faiths. But just as no individual or religious group is perfect, all are deserving of forgiveness.

Learn more about Buddhism in "No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners: Clear Answers to Burning Questions About Core Buddhist Teachings" by Noah Rasheta. picks related titles based on books we think you'll like. Should you choose to buy one, we'll receive a portion of the sale.

Author's Note: 10 Questions About Buddhism

As a religion major in college, you'd think I would know more about Buddhism, but apparently the info I learned in that Intro to Buddhism class I took 20-(cough) years ago wore off a while ago. Like many Americans, I find Buddhist teachings at once comforting and scary. I have no problem agreeing that life would be much easier if we could free ourselves from greed, hate and other wrong-headed desires. But I also don't think that I'm ready to be reborn a couple of thousand times. Whether or not this life was a reward for past skillful actions, I feel like I've been dealt a pretty good hand. One lifetime is plenty for me, thanks.

Special thanks to Richard Jaffe, associate professor of Religious Studies at Duke University and author of the forthcoming book, "Seeking Sakyamuni: South Asia in the Formation of Modern Japanese Buddhism."

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