buddhism
Buddhism is a philosophy that stemmed largely from the teachings of Gautama Buddha. Gautama Buddha, in order to become the deeply spiritual man that he was, embraced an ascetic lifestyle, simplifying his life to live only with necessities in order to experience his existence with deep meaning. Various branches of Buddhism have been based upon the aspect of simplicity that Buddha lived by. Theravada Buddhism is one of these branches. In this branch, followers were to have enough basic needs so as to not have to worry about starvation, thirst, or shelter, but to rid life of the excess, so as to not have concern for materialism. Other branches of Buddhism are similar to that of Theravada, such as the Mahayana branch. This branch differs from that of Theravada because of minor differences such as followers being vegetarian and more strongly embracing asceticism. The entire philosophy, though, despite what branch one follows, supports a lifestyle of simplicity and finding one’s true meaning instead of being absorbed in the complications of materialism.
Buddhism’s connection to the modern American Dream is pretty straight forward. Despite the fact that Buddhism is not one of the most popular religions in the United States, it is very popular in the rest of the world, and still manages to share the same philosophies of the modern American Dream. Buddhists advocate for living life simply and getting rid of excess so to be able to experience life on a more spiritual and meaningful level, and this mindset is the one that defines the desired modern lifestyle which advocates for simplifying in order to live life as it was meant to be lived. Theravada Buddhism is a perfect example of the life that people want to live because those who follow it do not need to worry about the basic necessities of life but are still able to experience life simply and with meaning. To be able to live life simply and with meaning is what Americans nowadays strive to achieve. This is why Buddhism shares its philosophies with the modern American Dream.
Though separate religions, Buddhism relates largely and has many of the same core concepts as Jainism.
Buddhism’s connection to the modern American Dream is pretty straight forward. Despite the fact that Buddhism is not one of the most popular religions in the United States, it is very popular in the rest of the world, and still manages to share the same philosophies of the modern American Dream. Buddhists advocate for living life simply and getting rid of excess so to be able to experience life on a more spiritual and meaningful level, and this mindset is the one that defines the desired modern lifestyle which advocates for simplifying in order to live life as it was meant to be lived. Theravada Buddhism is a perfect example of the life that people want to live because those who follow it do not need to worry about the basic necessities of life but are still able to experience life simply and with meaning. To be able to live life simply and with meaning is what Americans nowadays strive to achieve. This is why Buddhism shares its philosophies with the modern American Dream.
Though separate religions, Buddhism relates largely and has many of the same core concepts as Jainism.