It is meaningless to inquire for a First Cause. A First Cause is inconceivable; rather, cause and effect are cyclical, and this universe when it dies and falls apart will give rise to another universe, just as this one was formed from the dispersed matter of a previous universe.
The origin of the universe, like that of every individual person or thing in it, is dependent on the chain of previous causes, which goes on and on in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
This is the principle of dependent origination. What of the soul? The Buddha taught that there is no soul or self, and he used the metaphor of the cart. If you take away the wheels and axles, the floorboards and sides, the shafts, and all the other parts of the cart, what remains? Nothing but the conception of a cart, which will be the same when a new cart is built. So the uninterrupted process of psychophysical phenomena moves from life to life. Each life passes instantaneously in death to a new life, and the new life is the effect of the causes in the old life.
A candle flame at this instant is different from the flame that burned an instant ago, yet the flame is continuous. Thus in the chain of interdependent causation all phenomenal existence is constantly changing. The elements combine and recombine with no underlying substance, or soul, to give them permanence. This is the Wheel of Life. The main cause of the restlessness, the suffering, which is the lot of beings turning on the Wheel of Life, is craving or selfish desire for existence, and it is this desire which sets the life force in motion.
Desire is manifested in action. This action is in reality volition or will power, which is responsible for the creation of being. It is called karma in Sanskrit, but in the Pali language, which the Buddha spoke and in which all the Buddhist scriptures were written, it is softened to kamma. In this universe in which nothing is permanent all change is governed by kamma or the kammic force.
Kamma means action. In its general sense, kamma means all good and bad actions. Kamma refers to all kinds of intentional actions whether mental, verbal, or physical, that is, all thoughts, words, and deeds. In its ultimate sense kamma means all moral and immoral volition. Kamma, though it activates the chain of cause and effect, is not determinism, nor is it an excuse for fatalism. The past influences the present, but does not dominate it. The past is the background against which life goes on from moment to moment; the past and the present influence the future.
Only the present moment exists, and the responsibility for using the present moment for good or ill lies with each individual. Every action produces an effect; it is cause first and effect afterward. The effects of our actions come back to us, and as long as our actions are done with evil intent, the waves of effect will come back to us as evil.
But if we are kind and keep ourselves peaceful, the returning waves of trouble will grow weaker until they die down and our good kamma will come back to us in blessing. In the world around us there are many inequalities in the lot of man—some are rich, others are poor, some live full lives, others die young, etc. According to Buddhism, the inequalities which exist are due, to some extent, to environment—which is itself shaped by cause and effect—and to a greater extent to causes, that is kamma, which are in the present, the immediate past, and the remote past.
Man himself is responsible for his own happiness and misery. Thus kamma is not fate nor destiny nor blind determinism. Man has a certain amount of free will; he can modify his actions and affect his future. Each act, whether mental or physical, tends to produce its like.
If a man does a good deed or thinks a good thought, the effect upon him is to increase the tendencies to goodness in him. E , and Ming C. Each had its own contribution to the region. During the Zhou Dynasty, for example, writing was standardized, iron working refined, and famous thinkers like Confucius and Sun-Tzu lived and shared their philosophies. Learn more about the history and rich culture of Ancient China with this curated resource collection.
People with ancestral roots in Asia and the islands of the Pacific have been integral to the story of America. The month of May was selected in recognition of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in the United States on May 7, , and the significant contributions of Chinese laborers to the completion of North America's transcontinental railroad on May 10, Currently, those from Asia and the Pacific Islands account for more than 4.
And those numbers do not account for the Asian diaspora scattered throughout the rest of the world. Celebrate and learn more about their heritage through this collection. Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism were the three main philosophies and religions of ancient China, which have individually and collectively influenced ancient and modern Chinese society.
Jainism is one of the three ancient religions of India, with a value system that puts nonviolence above all else. Due to the limited nature of the information we have about ancient Egypt, the historical figures that we call key is a more limited group than it would be in contemporary times.
The article explores three groups of key figures: those involved in developing the form of the pyramid, famous Egyptian rulers, and important non-Egyptian rulers.
Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Photograph by Joe Scherschel. The prince renounced his worldly life and began a spiritual quest. He sought teachers and punished his body with ascetic practices such as extreme, prolonged fasts.
It was believed that punishing the body was the way to elevate the mind and that the door to wisdom was found at the edge of death. However, after six years of this, the prince felt only frustration. Eventually, he realized that the path to peace was through mental discipline. From that time on, he would be known as the Buddha. Stoneware sculpture of the Buddha attaining final transcendence, known as parinirvana , as he died. Photo courtesy The Met.
He spent the rest of his life teaching people how to realize enlightenment for themselves. He gave his first sermon in modern-day Sarnath, near Benares, and then walked from village to village, attracting disciples along the way. He founded the original order of Buddhist nuns and monks, many of whom became great teachers also.
Historians today generally agree there was a historical Buddha, and that he lived sometime in the 4th through 6th centuries BCE, give or take. Wood with pigment. The buddha of the current age is the historical Siddhartha Gautama.
Another person who realizes enlightenment within this age is not called buddha. Early scriptures name others who lived in the unimaginably long-ago earlier ages. There are other major traditions of Buddhism, called Mahayana and Vajrayana, and these traditions put no limits on the number of buddhas there can be. However, for practitioners of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism the ideal is to be a bodhisattva , one who vows to remain in the world until all beings are enlightened.
The Origins of Buddhism. Author: Lise F. Got a spare 5 minutes to help us improve our website? More Background Reading on Asia. Student Jerry Tian gives us his perspective. North Korea: Looking Beyond the Stereotypes. We've compiled resources to help you cut through the stereotypes surrounding North Korea and more deeply examine the country, its people, and the complexities of its politics and nuclear program.
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