The Significance of Sacrifice in Buddhist Practice :: Religion

The Significance of Sacrifice in Buddhist PracticeThe self-immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc at a busy production in Saigon on June 11, 1963 utterly shocked nigh Americans who could non f al mavin into place why a person would commit such a direful act. Without trying to explore any feasible explanations within this mans religion, many decided that he was probably just a rabid who wanted to make a political statement in the most app every(prenominal)ing manner possible. Was that the case? Was Quang Duc simply a political militant pushed to the limit, or was he acting with motivation derived from his religion? To answer this question, adept must evaluate the function of generate within the Buddhist tradition.As with many religions, Buddhism offers its practitioners the opportunity for different levels of date on the apparitional mode towards enlightenment. This spectrum of involvement ranges from one who practices with minimal sacrifice primarily to achieve personalized spiritual gain to one who sacrifices his or her life with the hope of benefiting all of humanity. Furthermore, as a person moves along this spectrum from little to great sacrifice, one also harbors a growing commitment to the spiritual welfare of all sentient beings. As the kinds of practice and sacrifice are explained for different levels of involvement in the religion, it will become clear that the relative commitment to succor others directly correlates to the stage of practice and sacrifice. Additionally, an intriguing comparison will be made between these concepts within Buddhism and very similar concepts with the Jewish tradition of mystical or contemplative death.Basics of Buddhism When exploring the specific function of sacrifice within Buddhism, it will be necessary to understand some of the aboriginal beliefs that lay the groundwork for the religion as a whole. The Buddha was an actual historical figure who lived around 350 BCE in northern India. After his own spiritual awakening, he taught four basic lessons about the nature of life. The Four dread Truths state 1) that life is qualified by suffering 2) that suffering has a courting 3) that at that place can be an end to suffering 4) that there is a path describing how to end suffering 1 In further explanation, the cause of suffering is attachment to objects or feelings which are ultimately impermanent. If one does not learn how to overcome such attachment, one will forever be limited to the cycle of rebirth, or reincarnation, called samsara.