Religions of the World and How They Affect People's Lives
Throughout the history of the world people have always turned to something thought to be greater then themselves to seek protection and fullfillment of their every day needs and desires. Buddhism, Catholicism, and the Protestant belief have been major religions in which an object or being is worshipped with the expectations of renewal of mind, body and spirit.
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Siddhartha Gautama was deep in meditation under a fig tree known as the Bohdi tree (meaning, "tree of wisdom"), and experienced the highest degree of God-consciousness called Nirvana. Gautama then became known as Buddha, the "enlightened one." He believed he had found the answers to the questions of pain and suffering. His message now is known to the world as Buddhism. Gautama's doctrine was really not a religion, but a method of ethical culture. He recognized no supreme God. According to Buddhism, the devas, or the god's of the old religion, were 'real' beings. They were, "like men, caught in the meshes of the material universe."(Barton, 163) Buddhism also includes many emotional/spiritual things such as Karma, and reincarnation. Reincarnation is the belief that when a man dies, he would either go to Nirvana (Heaven) or be reincarnated until he was good enough to make his way into Nirvana.
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