Buddhism Reflection Paper
Reflection Paper 1: Beliefs of Buddhism
In this paper, I have decided to reflect on the beliefs of Buddhism, specifically on one of the oldest surviving branch of Buddhism, which is Theravada. In this reflection paper, I will be discussing how I became a Buddhist, my basic knowledge of Buddhism, the etiquette of being in a temple, what my parents have taught me from a young age. Additionally, I will express my own opinions, views and personal experience specifically on Karma and the 5 Precepts.
Originally, I was born in Thailand and growing up in Cambodia for the first five years of my life their, therefore it is clear that I would naturally follow the beliefs of Theravada Buddhism. Furthermore, I also come from a family of Buddhist, which is why I chose to talk about Beliefs of Buddhism. Out of respect for the religion, I follow the teachings and what my parents have taught me however, I don’t really take it as seriously in comparison to my parents. Living abroad, I’ve had western influences, which is why I’m not really a dedicated Buddhist. I have spent most of my life travelling around the world, starting from Thailand, to Cambodia, then to Australia and finally London. I didn’t really grow up in Cambodia so my understanding of Theravada Buddhism is very limited.
As a child, my parents taught me the basics of being a Buddhist for example what was expected of me as a Buddhist, what is wrong and right, what I shouldn’t do. For example, as Buddhists at temples we had to bow down to the statues and the monks 3 times with hands placed together palm to palm, it would be wrong of women/girls to touch the monks as only men would be allowed to, there’s a certain dress code (a piece of white clothing, legs should be covered up) to temples also a certain way of sitting. Also, we had to know the correct type of words when carrying out a conversation with a Monk.
Being a Buddhist for my whole life, I didn’t really know how Buddhism came about, the
In this paper, I have decided to reflect on the beliefs of Buddhism, specifically on one of the oldest surviving branch of Buddhism, which is Theravada. In this reflection paper, I will be discussing how I became a Buddhist, my basic knowledge of Buddhism, the etiquette of being in a temple, what my parents have taught me from a young age. Additionally, I will express my own opinions, views and personal experience specifically on Karma and the 5 Precepts.
Originally, I was born in Thailand and growing up in Cambodia for the first five years of my life their, therefore it is clear that I would naturally follow the beliefs of Theravada Buddhism. Furthermore, I also come from a family of Buddhist, which is why I chose to talk about Beliefs of Buddhism. Out of respect for the religion, I follow the teachings and what my parents have taught me however, I don’t really take it as seriously in comparison to my parents. Living abroad, I’ve had western influences, which is why I’m not really a dedicated Buddhist. I have spent most of my life travelling around the world, starting from Thailand, to Cambodia, then to Australia and finally London. I didn’t really grow up in Cambodia so my understanding of Theravada Buddhism is very limited.
As a child, my parents taught me the basics of being a Buddhist for example what was expected of me as a Buddhist, what is wrong and right, what I shouldn’t do. For example, as Buddhists at temples we had to bow down to the statues and the monks 3 times with hands placed together palm to palm, it would be wrong of women/girls to touch the monks as only men would be allowed to, there’s a certain dress code (a piece of white clothing, legs should be covered up) to temples also a certain way of sitting. Also, we had to know the correct type of words when carrying out a conversation with a Monk.
Being a Buddhist for my whole life, I didn’t really know how Buddhism came about, the