Budhism Religion Paper (Essay Sample)

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Buddhism Idea of Ahimsa
Ahimsa originated from the movement of opposing animal sacrifice which was started by the Buddha and Mahavira the founders of Jainism. They are also referred to as Nigganta Natha Putta. Phelps, (29) defines Ahimsa as the non violence and kindness towards all living things including animals. During Buddha’s time Brahmins practiced many kinds of sacrifices; they were the priests of Vedic religion which was professed by the upper castes of the Indian society. These sacrifices were of no value to the Buddha, simply because they were entirely external rites. If someone spoke of a right sacrifice it often meant something that was either internal or spiritual.
However, this was not very harmful in the eyes of Buddha useless activity. The priests of Vedic also performed and advocated various types of cruel animal sacrifices like the man, drink of victory, Horse, and Bolt withdrawn sacrifices. These sacrifices were rejected by the Buddha under no uncertain terms. For example, there is a time when the king of Kosala wanted to give a great sacrifice to the budhaa but he declined. In another situation the Budha reported that any person who kills and declared innocent, Brahmins should kill him (Phelps, 100).
From Buddhas’ point of view there are exist four types of persons. They include people who torture themselves, those who torture others, those who torture themselves and others and those who do not either themselves or others. In this concept the third group is of importance since it includes priests and kings who on various occasions hold a great ritual by sacrificing many animals like goats and cattle. It also involves hustling and bullying of slaves and servants who work in fear of chastisement. Buddha is against these conducts and only supports those who do not torture themselves or others. This is because they follow an ethic that is compassionate like the one he advocate.
According to Buddha there are traditional sacrifices which where no living animal was injured, labour is usually voluntary and the sacrifice is offered on behalf of both the king and all the good. The highest sacrifice is the wisdom and insight which implies the abandonment of the sense of self. This is seen as the reason as to why Buddhism and Jainism, another great religion of Ahimsa, and Hinduism rejected animal sacrifice. However, other religions accepted it to some extent (Phelps, 89)
In the modern world there exists a great movement which aims at reducing and eliminating the crimes perpetrated on animals. They also seek to introduce the social ethic, which is a j...