The culture I researched for my culture project was Buddhism. This culture is a subculture. The purpose of there life is to reach enlightenment, “nirvana.” A lot of people think it is a religion, yet it is actually a way of life. This culture lives in Asia, Europe, and the USA. It lives with the people who practice the Middle Way, “The Dharma.”
Buddhists feel that their sense of self and space is very important
In fact, it is the only way to reach nirvana. They have to be very mindful of there self and space. Their ultimate goal as a Buddhist is to reach nirvana so that they can see how things really are in the world.
The way that culture communicates is very important as well. For some Buddhists, their form of communication is very primitive. They use runners and horse riders. For other Buddhists, they have a very modern form of communication. This includes cell phones, e-mail, and television. There are also some Buddhists in-between the very modern and the very primitive. Buddhists also speak in many different languages. For a Buddhist, it doesn’t matter what language you speak.
People judge a culture by the way they dress
Some people can hide what type of culture they are by dressing differently. For Buddhists, they have two main forms of dress. Monks and nuns usually wear only simple robes. These robes aren’t spoofy and are only one color depending on what type of Buddhist they are. They only wear what they need. Normal people Buddhists usually wear the same type of clothes the people around them wear.
Each culture eats different food and has different feeding habits. Monks and nuns don’t prepare their own food, because they need that time to continue their journey to nirvana. When it is time for them to eat, they go out into the community and go door to door asking for food. They will usually get the food they need in the first house, so they go to different doors each day. These are called community meals. Normal people Buddhists make their own food. Some Buddhists are vegetarians because they will not eat something that has been killed. Other Buddhists will eat meat.
Relationships in each culture is another way to define the people of that culture. In some Buddhist areas, it is OK to have many wives, while in other areas it is not OK. Another thing about Buddhist culture is that everyone is a friend. This is not the law for a Buddhist, but it is a guideline that Buddhists try hard to follow.
Some norms for Buddhists are that they don’t have luxury or hardship
This is usually followed by monks, nuns, and other serious Buddhists. Buddhists value their minds. To them, the mind is not just the head, but it is also the heart. To me, this makes perfect sense because that is where I feel my emotions.
Each culture, they have different beliefs and attitudes. Buddhists believe that if one reaches nirvana, they will see the world as it is and no longer have any suffering. They also believe in not one god but many. Another belief they have is that everything has a spirit and there are spirits all around us.
Their mental process is definitely very different from ours. Buddhists meditate daily so as to help them relieve stress and calm the mind. To do this, they have to clear the mind of all there thoughts, and this will allow them to enter a state of meditation. Another part of their mental process is to have control of their minds. Without having control of their minds, they will never reach nirvana.
All cultures have their own way of working. Buddhists can not be in a line of work where they must kill something. They must be kind to all living things. Their work must also benefit the entire community.
Every culture has had someone who started that culture. In Buddhism’s case, the person was the Buddha. He lived from 563 BC – 483 BC. Many people always asked him what is the Dharma, the Middle Way. He would always answer with this:
A lamp for those who are in darkness,
A mother for children,
A ferry for those who need a boat,
A fire for those who are cold,
A garment for those who are naked.
My culture has some similarities with Buddhism. First, there are people in my culture that are Buddhists and some of my friends are Buddhists. My culture also has some differences in Buddhism. First, in my culture there are people who kill or harm others purposefully. Also in my culture not everyone is kind to all living things. If I had a conversation with someone from this culture, it could become very interesting. I wonder if they could stand talking to me for very long.
I initially chose this culture because I had heard things about it and I wanted to know the truth. I expected to find a bunch of peaceful monks working together. What I found was that they had great reasons for being peaceful. If I was part of this culture, I wouldn’t be in hockey, Boy Scouts, or play video games. One thing I did learn was to meditate to relieve stress. If the world acted like the Buddha, there would be everlasting peace on this good Earth, and all would be in unity.
