MWR-106 - Buddhism

MWR-106 — Buddhism continues the Remnant Bible Academy’s Major World Religions courses with a thorough, Scripture-grounded examination of the world’s fourth-largest religion. The lesson opens with the life and teaching of the Buddha, then turns to Buddhist sacred texts and the three major branches of Buddhism — Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana — along with their various subsets and schools. It surveys Buddhist deities, Buddhist cosmology, the Buddhist calendar and its holy days and festivals, and the structure of Buddhist religious leadership, including the many monks, nuns, teachers, disciples, and schools that shape Buddhist practice. A substantial section works through core Buddhist beliefs and doctrines — the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, karma, and nirvana — in real doctrinal depth, followed by Buddhism’s historic and continuing influence on the martial arts. The course then traces a concise history of Buddhism from its origins in ancient India through its spread across Asia and into the West, surveys Buddhism’s current global status and its modern internal movements, and closes with a sober examination of Buddhist persecution of Christians in nations such as Myanmar and Bhutan. Extensive photography and 123 cited sources support the material throughout. Required coursework for the Ministerial Ordination Program’s Major World Religions requirement, and valuable to any student who wants a thorough, honest, Scripturally grounded understanding of Buddhism — its beliefs, its practices, and its history.