Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Saira Kekic
University of Kentucky
October 2014
BUDDHISM CULTURE
Abstract
What is Buddhism? Is that even a real religion, or just a philosophy? Who is that fat bald
guy that looks like he is meditating? There are many different stereotypes and
misconceptions about the religion of Buddhism. I have taken a closer look at Buddhism
and I have learned a lot through my interviews and research that I have conducted in the
past couple of weeks. I now am able to see this perspective of religion in a different way
than what I had imagined. Being someone who knows such little about a religion, I have
learned a lot by being able to communicate and direct questions to people who are a part
of this religion. Stepping out of my comfort zone and talking to two people about their
religion has really been a great experience for me to see how these girls define their
culture, and how different they are from one another even if they worship the same
person. Every religion has its stereotypes that come along with it especially living in
America, where people judge you based on what you look like and your skin color. I did
not really know much about the culture and religion of Buddhism, but the reason I picked
it was because one of my childhood friends, Beverly and I have a close connection with
each other since we were both living in America, but from a different country. I thought it
would be interesting to learn more about her religion and see how her and her friend are
alike and different. They were both aware of the different stereotypes, and Beverly even
said people would even think she was Muslim because of her skin color. People seem to
perceive things the wrong way all the time. Most people would not think that I would be
Muslim nor do they think that I am a terrorist because I am white. If Beverly and I were
to be in the same room and ask people who they thought was Muslim between us two,
most people would think it is her just because she looks like what people would perceive
one to be. Society will always judge you no matter what and there will always be
discrimination. It is human instinct to want to judge a book by its cover since that is the
way that this world is setup today. Even TV shows and the Internet play a big role in the
issues we believe to be true. It is easier for us to remember the negative things, and some
people believe anything they hear even if there is no proof. If most people believe in it
then why shouldnt you too? They say that only God can judge you but that is obviously
false since anyone can judge you and they will. It is a common saying that people believe
in, but do not actually realize that it does not make sense with how the way the world is
setup. The main points I will be addressing in this essay is what the true meaning of
Buddhism really is, and go in depth to the stereotypes by society, and how it is perceived
from a different point of view from someone who is Buddhist.
BUDDHISM CULTURE
The culture that I chose to study is Buddhism. Buddhism, with about 365 million
followers makes up six percent of the worlds population and is the fourth largest religion in the
world. The first Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama when he attainted enlightenment, founded
Buddhism in northern India in the sixth century BCE (Kappes, 2008). Enlightenment is someone
who has awakened to see the truth. Based on my research and interviews I have conducted,
Buddhism is perceived and stereotyped by society differently than what it actually is.
There are four principle beliefs in Buddhism: The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path,
The Three Jewels, and The Three Marks of Existence. The Four Noble Truths: life means
suffering, the origin of suffering is attainable, and the path to the cessation of suffering. The
Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort,
right mindfulness, and right concentration. The Three Jewels: I take refuge in the Buddha, I take
refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha. The Three Marks of Existence: Suffering
(Dukkha), impermanence (Anicca), and egolessness (Anatta). (Robinson, 2009).
This culture is defined that life is full of suffering caused by desire and the way to end
this suffering is through enlightenment. One belief that ties to the religion is reincarnation.
Reincarnation is the belief of life after death. One interesting fact that I have learned about this
culture is that being a good person is the key to have a good life. The goal of this religion is to
reach enlightenment and that can be achieved through the four principle beliefs. In life you have
to go through a lot of situations and figure ones self out. Life will go on either way and you have
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to take risks in order to get to where you aspire to be at. In Buddhism, I found out that the
purpose of life is to end suffering. As humans, we continually care about things in our life so
much that will not be there forever. We hold onto things that are just temporary and we suffer in
the end. We will learn this while we go through obstacles in life and realize who is there for you.
I understand why in the religion of Buddhism it is really important to be good and listen to your
parents. Your parents make a lot of sacrifices for you and they will do anything they can to give
you the best life that they possibly can. They only want what is best for you and they should be
the number one people you respect in your life, along with the elderly. Once you experience the
world around you, you will find out the true meaning of life. Achieving happiness is a big entity
because you have to stay positive and optimistic.
While I had my two interviews, I tied into the thoughts I got from my research to what
the girls thought their religion was defined by. Zara thought that Buddhism is the religion of
wisdom and a belief of development over time. Beverly on the other hand thought Buddhism to
be more of a philosophy than a religion and focuses on wisdom and ones actions. I also asked
them if they believe in reincarnation since that was a common stereotype I found within the
religion. Beverly said that she knew that the religion believed in it but she does not because she
does not fully understand how that logically would work. The thought of spirits came to her
mind because if humans were reincarnated after death, then wouldnt the spirits move on?
I was really interested in seeing how religious the girls I have interviewed were because
we live ion a society that is so diverse, but many people in the U.S. are known to be Christian or
Catholic. From my perspective, I wish I knew more about my religion, but it is difficult to
experience it living in America where I was not taught much about it. I do not consider to be
religious myself since I am not too knowledgeable about Islam and I was taught just to believe in
it, mostly because of my dad. I wondered if my interviewers parents had taught them a lot, or if
BUDDHISM CULTURE
they were like me. Beverly claimed that she was not really religious at all, and that she was
instead about fifty percent. Beverlys parents are both Buddhist however only her mom practices
the religion. Her dad is not really the religious one so it is not continuously practiced throughout
the household. Zara claimed to be 100% religious and that would make sense since both of her
parents are religious and she was taught by her parents to follow the same path. As Buddhist, it
seems as if your parents have a big impact on your life because they are the ones who guide you
throughout your life and direct you in the correct pathway. Not only that but the place where you
live has a big impact on how religious you could be since there are not many temples in
Lexington. Beverly mentioned how there are some in Cincinnati but that could be a problem
since it is not very close to where we live. Living in a different country in comparison to where
your family originated from can be very difficult. There are not as many options of places to
practice it since the religion is probably not one of the most popular. That is often a struggle for
my family since the closest mosque we have is in Bowling Green. I think that if my family and I
had moved to a popular city like Chicago or St. Louis with many more Bosnians then I could be
more religious and practice it more often.
There were some interesting stereotypes that I found within Buddhism and I saw where it
applied to my interviewers, and where it did not. I asked the girls if they were vegetarians and
Beverly claimed that she did not however eat beef for personal
reasons. According to her, Buddhism says that it is not a must to
become a vegetarian. Zara said that she does eat every type of
meat. Most people would assume that Buddhists would be
vegetarians since most men are monks who are against killing
animals, but in reality most eat meat. In my religion of Islam, it
BUDDHISM CULTURE
which
proves
how
this
stereotype is misunderstood.
When I first saw a picture of
Buddha online, I saw him in this position
that looked like he was meditating. That is
another stereotype that I have found and I asked if either of the girls mediated or someone in
their family does. Beverly had said that she did not but her mom is the only one in her family
that does since she actually practices her religion. Since Zara is more religious, her, along with
her parents do. I would believe that meditating is very peaceful and can be good for everyone to
do because it brings peace, and may have people feeling more relaxed and happy.
It is crazy to me how the world has so many different cultures that are perceived and
stereotyped by society differently than what it actually may occur to be. You never know about
something until you can fully experience it and realize how things really are on your own. While
some stereotypes may be true in some way, most of them are false and just perceived by society
as how they see it. Not everyone is the same, and everyone is unique in their own way. Everyone
knows about the saying never judge a book by its cover, well I feel like this can apply to the
culture of Buddhism since these two girls were so different and alike from each other when it
came down to their religion. Zara seemed to be the more religious one from the two since both of
her parents were religious. Beverly considered herself to be only half, which makes sense since
only her mom practiced it. This is why I believe I am not that religious since my dad is the only
BUDDHISM CULTURE
one who has ever really talked to me about my religion. So now we can finally answer the
question on who is the bald fat guy? Well, at least you will know its Buddha meditating.
BUDDHISM CULTURE
References
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