The Buddhist Worldview

When I think of Buddhism I generally refer to it as another religion, however Buddhists do not use the term "religion" to describe their practices. They prefer to speak in terms of what is called the Buddhist Way, or the Way of the Buddha. Buddhists dismiss calling the tradition a belief system because it is not something to be believed in. There is no such thing as worshipping a God. Buddhism consists of its teachings and practices, these practices are to be performed for the sole purpose of realizing the truth of oneself, seeing the reality of the world for what it is.

For this reason, is why Buddhists refer to Buddhism as a way of living, a way of mental and moral training. It is important to recognize that the practice of Buddhism includes possessing the traits of generosity; compassionate behavior, morality; behavior that does not cause suffering amongst others, and mental training; meditation and mindfulness. Together, these practices can help one live a life filled with pure happiness and have a deeper awareness of their surroundings.

Samsara is the endless cycle of rebirth, widely understood as a cycle of unsatisfactoriness. This state of samsara is dominated by the three poisons; hate, greed, and ignorance. We are trapped in this endless cycle until we achieve enlightenment.

To end the cycle of samsara, one must understand the purpose of karma. Karma originated in Hinduism, but Buddhists have a different perspective. Our words, our actions, and our thoughts are how we set karma into place. Karma is viewed as cause and effect. The Buddhist worldview focuses on karma as the action of an occurrence, not the result. For example, if someone were to say that Colton's wife left him and that was karma getting its revenge, that would be incorrect because karma is not viewed this way. Colton's karma is the reason his wife left him. It is considered that it may not even be karma that is causing us to be stuck necessarily, but more likely that since we are repeating the same patterns everyday with the same attitudes and perspectives of life, it is no one but ourselves keeping us in samsara.

The objective of Buddhism is to become awakened or enlightened, to finally escape samsara by reaching what is called moksha. Moksha refers to the freedom of the cycle of births and deaths. Similarly, in Buddhism, one hopes to achieve nirvana. Nirvana is a state of mind that is attained when a person reaches enlightenment. This occurs when human emotions become more maintained and feelings or emotions become unrecognized.

The Buddhist worldview is comprised of these concepts and they are concepts to be understood before diving into the Buddhist way.

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