Buddhism
For over 2000 years Buddhism has existed as an organized religion. By
religion we mean that it has a concept of the profane, the sacred, and
approaches to the sacred. It has been established in India, China, Japan and
other eastern cultures for almost 2000 years and has gained a strong foothold in
North America and Europe in the past few centuries. However, one might ask;
what fate would Buddhism face had Siddartha Guatama been born in modern times;
or more specifically in modern day North America? Would his new found
enlightenment be accepted now as it was thousands of years ago? Would it be
shunned by society as another "cult" movement? What conflicts or similarities
would it find with modern science; physics in particular? The answers to these
questions are the aim of this paper, as well as a deeper understanding of modern
Buddhism.
Although I will stick with traditional ideas raised by Buddhism, one
detail in the story of Siddartha Guatama must be addressed in order for it to be
relevant to the main question being asked: What obstacles would Siddartha
Guatama face had he been born in modern day North America. Primarily, it must
be recognized that rather than being born into the Hindu religion (which in
itself is mystical), Siddartha would have most likely been born into a Christian
family. This in itself presents the first obstacle, that being that
Christianity is a strictly monotheistic and non-mystical faith. Hence from the
outset, although in the traditional story Siddartha faced a conflict with his
father (Ludwig 137), in the North American scenario the conflict would have been
hei ...