Essay on Functions of the Buddha in Buddhism

Different opinions got brought forward on the person the Buddha. For example, the Great Discourse on the Final Nirvana that gives the description of the last day of the Buddha, his funeral and even the distribution of his relics imaged him as a person to whom the Buddhist draw dependence. Another opinion gets drawn on the Buddhist literature especially that which concerns the rules of the monastic discipline. It equally accounts for various incidences from the life of the Buddha and gets described to form a continuous narrative rarely. Therefore, the paper gets founded on the functions of the Buddha in Buddhism. The mentioned will equally incorporate the concern on whether Buddhism can exist without the Buddha.

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Firstly, one of the underlying functions of the Buddhist was on offering teachings to the Buddhist. The justification for the depicted gets mirrored in the occasions in which the Buddha taught in the regions of Ganges basin which got located in north- east India. At the time, the religion which had taken control got known as the Brahmanism which got also administered by a priest who got noted as the Brahmin (Napoli, 4). Further evidence reveals that the Buddha was an oral teacher whose beliefs got codified by the followers who came later. The Buddha majorly taught about the four noble truths. The first truth was on life getting noted as suffering. The mentioned got confident about the painful existence of human beings from the point of birth to the time of death. According to his teachings, even death brought no relief. The second issue got noted on every suffering getting caused by the ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving attachment through the grasping which may exist as a result of the mentioned ignorance. The third noble truth taught by the Buddha was on suffering getting ended by mainly overcoming ignorance and anything which may get attached to it. Lastly, the Buddha enlightened the Buddhists that the fourth noble truth got depicted on the path to suppression of suffering which got based on the Noble Eightfold Path that consisted of right views, the right intentions, and other general good things.

The second role by the Buddha got based on the characterization of the materialist theory as an extreme perception of the annihilationist and viewed other opinions as those of opposite extreme. One of the views got based on eternalism that expounded on the survival of death getting based on self or even the life principle. Equally notable, the Buddha served the role of depicting truth from the teachings of the Karma. According to the Buddha, the life of the Buddhist got noted as long and pleasurable even though they existed in the same predicament as other like other creatures that get subjected to death. Their uniqueness came to light when they underwent further rebirth while in their lowest form of existence. The next role which the Buddha played got pointed out on the emphasis of the role of the Nirvana (Napoli, 4). The depicted existed as the major goal of every Buddhist since it offered a release of the round phenomenal existence coupled with the inherent sufferings. The achievement of the goal primarily depended on the attainment of the Nirvana that quenches the fires of hatred, greed and even ignorance.

The final role gets drawn from the story of Prince Vessantara giving away his children. The story gets claimed to be known more than other hundreds of the Jataka Stories (Collins, 109). The story majorly explains the Buddha's role of giving. Before his birth as Prince Siddhartha, he got reborn as a god in the Heavens of Tushita, a place in which he waited for the proper moment to descend to the world. Therefore, getting crowned as Prince Siddhartha was to be his last human rebirth. The underlying role of the Buddha which gets demonstrated in the story gets noted on the art of giving. The Buddha got claimed to give nearly everything to the Buddhists. He gave away his children, various body parts, and even his life to the people on numerous past occasions. The story goes further to highlight on the instance where Prince Siddhartha got imaged to give away the elephant which got argued as the central figure of Thailand.

The argument presented, therefore, out rule the existence of Buddhism without the Buddha. Buddhism depends on the Buddha on numerous grounds with the most dominant one getting based on drawing their teachings and how to escape the cycle of rebirth. The Buddha thus assumes the foundation of Buddhism as a whole.

Conclusion

In summary, Buddhism and the Buddha get noted to exist as one. The Buddha is claimed to exist as the foundation of Buddhism, and the latter's existence can only get meaningful with the presence of the former. The Buddha equally served various functions in Buddhism; some of the functions included teaching on different doctrines, for example, the four noble truths. The next issue got based on taking the role of giving and even emphasizing on the Nirvana among others as already mirrored in the paper.

Works Cited

Collins, Steven. Readings of the Vessantara Jataka. , 2016. Internet resource. file:///D:/Desktop/COLLOW/Downloads/3.%20Vessantara%20jataka%20exceprt%20 (1).pdf

Napoli, the Life of the Buddha. 2003. Print. Retrieved from file:///D:/Desktop/COLLOW/Downloads/Harvey.%20Background%20to%20the%20life%20of%20the%20Buddha%20 (1).pdf