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Apol 104, Critical Thinking Assignment

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PART I
1. The Question of Origin - Buddhism began based on a foundation of Hinduism context. However, the creator of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, decided to split from Hinduism and form his own religious system. After four visions, Gautama decided to leave his life of comfort and ultimately find the true meaning of life through endless meditation, wandering and fasting. This created a following before and after his death to follow his teaching of how to reach a state of nirvana.

2. The Question of Identity – “Unlike the Judeo-Christian tradition, Buddhism affirms the unity of all living beings, all equally possess the Buddha-nature, and all have the potential to become Buddhas, that is, to become fully and perfectly enlightened, (Epstein, 1990). In essence, this state reveals that Buddhist see animals and all other living beings has sentient having life of equal value just as human beings.

3. The Question of Meaning/Purpose –It is my opinion based on research that the teachings of the Buddha make known that our experiences are what makes us all individuals and is one of the main purposes of our existence. Once we realize this valid profundity it helps us to dig a little deeper and thus reach nirvana.

4. The Question of Morality –In the Buddhist religion there are standards of right and wrong, which is why the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Noble Path was created to give followers guidelines of maintaining morality and virtue.

5. The Question of Destiny—the ultimate destiny for Buddhist is to reach a state of Nirvana. Buddhist also feels life is a cycle of birth, dying and rebirth. Reincarnation is also a huge factor in the Buddhist belief. They feel the body dies but the spirit continues to live on.

PART II---Compare and Contrast

1. Origin- for Christians, these questions are answered by recognizing that God is

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