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Religion in Gaming—Types of “Priest”
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<blockquote data-quote="RareBreed" data-source="post: 8655190" data-attributes="member: 6945590"><p>Warning, this might be a little sensitive for followers of Buddhism. No disrespect is intended, and I only wish to educate others that Buddhism is a large system of beliefs with many various branches and sects with their own thoughts about what one does to become enlightened and what to after enlightenment. Furthermore, I am not a scholar or expert, just very interested in other religions, and thus I may have made some mistakes. I encourage readers to question all that is written below and do their own exploration. I also hope that the following information will not be taken as "preaching", but will be considered useful from a roleplaying perspective. Buddhism (and Taoism) are so different from either Abrahamic or polytheistic religions current or past that I think it would have an interesting flavor for playing. As Max Muller, the father of modern Religious Studies said; "He who knows one religion, knows none".</p><p></p><p>In Buddhism, there are 3 major branches; Theravada, Mahayana[1] and Vajrayana (better known as Tibetan Buddhism). I will focus mostly on Theraveda and Mahayana as that is what I know better. I do however want to note that the idea of gradually attaining enlightenment through rebirths[2] is mainly focused on by Vajrayana adherents[3].</p><p></p><p>The Theraveda (meaning Elder) Buddhists were the "original" followers of the Buddha, and believe that the only way to become awakened is personally or individually. This is why it is sometimes referred to as Hinayana[4] by the Mahayana adherents, who believe that while personal enlightenment is valid, it lacks full compassion and is thus not "fully" enlightened.</p><p></p><p>As an aside, Buddhism comes from the root Sanskrit word <strong>budh</strong> which means "to awaken", thus the Buddha is an "awakened one"[5]. An enlightened one is therefore one who no longer lives in a dream and sees things as they truly are. Buddhism is therefore less a <em>religion</em>[6] in the common meaning of the word and more of a mysticism. What is the difference you ask? If philosophy relies on the mind and rationality in order to make sense of the world, and religion in belief and dogma, then mysticism is about experience. For example, the only way to know what the color blue is, is to experience it. You do not "feel" blue, and you can not capture it in words to reason about.</p><p></p><p>Amongst the Buddhist schools, there are various kinds of enlightened beings, including Arhats, Mahasattvas, Boddhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas and Buddhas, with some schools not even having all these categories. For all Buddhists, upon reaching enlightenment, a choice is made. An enlightened one may essentially pass on becoming a full Buddha by staying behind to help others and are thus termed Boddhisattvas (enlightened beings). Arhats on the other hand believe that the only way to find enlightenment is through one's own efforts and paying off of karmic debt. At best, an Arhat can live by example to teach others. The major difference between a Buddha and a Pratyekabuddha is that the former finds enlightenment for the most part on his or her own while a Prateyekabuddha has followed the dharma (law or way) as passed down by other prior Buddhas.</p><p></p><p>In the Ayacana Sutta, after the Buddha had sat under the Boddhi tree for a few weeks and became enlightened, he stayed silent. Instead of teaching what he learned, the Buddha remained sitting under the tree, silent, thinking how difficult the path to enlightenment was. The Brahma Sahampati (a God borrowed from Hindu roots) heard this and declared all was lost. Sahampati tried to convince the Buddha that while yes, the path to enlightenment was difficult and hard to attain, there were some with just "a little dust" covering their eyes and convinced the Buddha that some would understand his teachings and way.</p><p></p><p>So with all this exposition out of the way, not all Buddhist monks seek enlightenment solely for themselves. Compassion and reaching out to others is deeply ingrained in some of the various schools of Buddhism. They are not all mountain (ie sohei) or forest (ie shaolin) monks living in relative seclusion. Indeed, the Buddha himself used to travel from village to village in what would be the present region of Bihar India. In exchange for alms of food, his followers would teach the dharma to those who gave. Indeed, one could argue that the Buddha might frown on some Buddhists who solely seclude themselves only to find their own enlightenment (this is indeed, the main argument of the Mahayana against the Theraveda), since while the Buddha did do this himself (he became essentially a hermit to achieve enlightenment), but after enlightenment he did teach others.</p><p></p><p>[1]: Mahyana = large vehicle. It seeks to save many</p><p>[2]: In Buddhism, there is no soul (anatta) and therefore no reincarnation (which is a Hindu concept), there is however rebirth (worthy of a post in itself)</p><p>[3]: there is a "gradual" vs. "sudden" enlightenment school of thought amongst the Mahayana, but even for them, the idea isn't to keep going through rebirths until you are enlightened</p><p>[4]: Hinayana = small vehicle, it can only save the self. To some Buddhists, this is derogatory so the original term Theraveda is preferred</p><p>[5]: Note, I did not use the definitive "<strong>the". </strong>In both the original Pali texts and later Mahayana texts, the Buddha said there were those before him, and those who would come after (eg Maitreya Buddha)<strong>. </strong>The Buddha himself preferred to be called Tathagata which is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tath%C4%81gata" target="_blank">hard to explain</a></p><p>[6]: Religion comes from latin religiare which means "to bind together", which I would argue in that sense it is a religion)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RareBreed, post: 8655190, member: 6945590"] Warning, this might be a little sensitive for followers of Buddhism. No disrespect is intended, and I only wish to educate others that Buddhism is a large system of beliefs with many various branches and sects with their own thoughts about what one does to become enlightened and what to after enlightenment. Furthermore, I am not a scholar or expert, just very interested in other religions, and thus I may have made some mistakes. I encourage readers to question all that is written below and do their own exploration. I also hope that the following information will not be taken as "preaching", but will be considered useful from a roleplaying perspective. Buddhism (and Taoism) are so different from either Abrahamic or polytheistic religions current or past that I think it would have an interesting flavor for playing. As Max Muller, the father of modern Religious Studies said; "He who knows one religion, knows none". In Buddhism, there are 3 major branches; Theravada, Mahayana[1] and Vajrayana (better known as Tibetan Buddhism). I will focus mostly on Theraveda and Mahayana as that is what I know better. I do however want to note that the idea of gradually attaining enlightenment through rebirths[2] is mainly focused on by Vajrayana adherents[3]. The Theraveda (meaning Elder) Buddhists were the "original" followers of the Buddha, and believe that the only way to become awakened is personally or individually. This is why it is sometimes referred to as Hinayana[4] by the Mahayana adherents, who believe that while personal enlightenment is valid, it lacks full compassion and is thus not "fully" enlightened. As an aside, Buddhism comes from the root Sanskrit word [B]budh[/B] which means "to awaken", thus the Buddha is an "awakened one"[5]. An enlightened one is therefore one who no longer lives in a dream and sees things as they truly are. Buddhism is therefore less a [I]religion[/I][6] in the common meaning of the word and more of a mysticism. What is the difference you ask? If philosophy relies on the mind and rationality in order to make sense of the world, and religion in belief and dogma, then mysticism is about experience. For example, the only way to know what the color blue is, is to experience it. You do not "feel" blue, and you can not capture it in words to reason about. Amongst the Buddhist schools, there are various kinds of enlightened beings, including Arhats, Mahasattvas, Boddhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas and Buddhas, with some schools not even having all these categories. For all Buddhists, upon reaching enlightenment, a choice is made. An enlightened one may essentially pass on becoming a full Buddha by staying behind to help others and are thus termed Boddhisattvas (enlightened beings). Arhats on the other hand believe that the only way to find enlightenment is through one's own efforts and paying off of karmic debt. At best, an Arhat can live by example to teach others. The major difference between a Buddha and a Pratyekabuddha is that the former finds enlightenment for the most part on his or her own while a Prateyekabuddha has followed the dharma (law or way) as passed down by other prior Buddhas. In the Ayacana Sutta, after the Buddha had sat under the Boddhi tree for a few weeks and became enlightened, he stayed silent. Instead of teaching what he learned, the Buddha remained sitting under the tree, silent, thinking how difficult the path to enlightenment was. The Brahma Sahampati (a God borrowed from Hindu roots) heard this and declared all was lost. Sahampati tried to convince the Buddha that while yes, the path to enlightenment was difficult and hard to attain, there were some with just "a little dust" covering their eyes and convinced the Buddha that some would understand his teachings and way. So with all this exposition out of the way, not all Buddhist monks seek enlightenment solely for themselves. Compassion and reaching out to others is deeply ingrained in some of the various schools of Buddhism. They are not all mountain (ie sohei) or forest (ie shaolin) monks living in relative seclusion. Indeed, the Buddha himself used to travel from village to village in what would be the present region of Bihar India. In exchange for alms of food, his followers would teach the dharma to those who gave. Indeed, one could argue that the Buddha might frown on some Buddhists who solely seclude themselves only to find their own enlightenment (this is indeed, the main argument of the Mahayana against the Theraveda), since while the Buddha did do this himself (he became essentially a hermit to achieve enlightenment), but after enlightenment he did teach others. [1]: Mahyana = large vehicle. It seeks to save many [2]: In Buddhism, there is no soul (anatta) and therefore no reincarnation (which is a Hindu concept), there is however rebirth (worthy of a post in itself) [3]: there is a "gradual" vs. "sudden" enlightenment school of thought amongst the Mahayana, but even for them, the idea isn't to keep going through rebirths until you are enlightened [4]: Hinayana = small vehicle, it can only save the self. To some Buddhists, this is derogatory so the original term Theraveda is preferred [5]: Note, I did not use the definitive "[B]the". [/B]In both the original Pali texts and later Mahayana texts, the Buddha said there were those before him, and those who would come after (eg Maitreya Buddha)[B]. [/B]The Buddha himself preferred to be called Tathagata which is [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tath%C4%81gata']hard to explain[/URL] [6]: Religion comes from latin religiare which means "to bind together", which I would argue in that sense it is a religion) [/QUOTE]
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