Got Some Questions About Buddhism.

So I'm interested in Buddhism, and I would appreciate if someone could answer me some questions.

1.) What happened to the Buddhism after Buddha's death?

2.) What rituals do the Buddhists have and what holidays do they celebrate?

3.) What is the Buddhist though of reincarnation like?

4.) What is Nirvana?

5.) What does the wheel symbolize for the Buddhists?

6.) What can be achieved through meditation, according to the Buddhists?

7.) What is the view on the woman in Buddhism? (e.g. are they equal to men?)

8.) According to the Buddhist tradition, everything is suffering, but from where does the suffering come? And how did it start?

9.) The Buddhism has gotten quite popular in Europe and the USA. What is the reason for this?

10.) The story of Buddhas life has many similiarities with the Jesus' life. What are the similiarities?

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Originally Posted by King

1.) What happened to the Buddhism after Buddha's death?

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Buddha taught his ways to his people, and they followed. After he died, this further increased their understanding.

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Originally Posted by King

2.) What rituals do the Buddhists have and what holidays do they celebrate?
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I don't know about holidays, but rituals are usually done of own accord. Things such as Yoga and Meditation

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Originally Posted by King

3.) What is the Buddhist though of reincarnation like?
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You continue to walk this earth until you have achieved the ulimate understanding. The Buddha achieved this, but decided to stay on Earth and be reincarnated, to continue leading his people. The Dhali Lama's are believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha

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Originally Posted by King

4.) What is Nirvana?
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Nirvana is Enlightenment. Its the Buddhist heaven.

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Originally Posted by King

5.) What does the wheel symbolize for the Buddhists?
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One shows that nothing within the wheel can escape suffering. The wheel is held by the demon who causes suffering. The only thing outside the wheel, is Nirvana.

Mandala's, which are Buddhist art designs, are made with grains of sand. They are made for patience, and then swept away once finished to show that they have no attachment to their achievement. Atachment is a cause of suffering. So you are to remove all attachment to objects, friends, and family. You are to be compassionate, but not attached.

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Originally Posted by King

6.) What can be achieved through meditation, according to the Buddhists?
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Enlightenment, Ultimate Understanding. The answer to why we are here, and the ultimate truth of the world.

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Originally Posted by King

7.) What is the view on the woman in Buddhism? (e.g. are they equal to men?)
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Men and Women are equals.

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Originally Posted by King

8.) According to the Buddhist tradition, everything is suffering, but from where does the suffering come? And how did it start?
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There are many causes of suffering. It is the goal of a Buddhist to elimate those causes. One is attachment, or love. They cause suffering. If you are attached to something, and lose it, you will suffer.

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Originally Posted by King

9.) The Buddhism has gotten quite popular in Europe and the USA. What is the reason for this?
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Preferance? Better understanding of what the religion is? More people knowing about it? Any could be factors.

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Originally Posted by King

10.) The story of Buddhas life has many similiarities with the Jesus' life. What are the similiarities?
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The compassion the Buddha showed, the understandings he achieved. The self sacrafice. He gave up Nirvana, to continue leading his people, and assisting them to achieve Nirvana.[/b]

Thanks for the answers!

Hey, if you are interested in Buddhist meditation, I suggest A Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditaion by Paramananda. I bought it over the summer when I became interested in Buddhism and I thought it was really helpful as a beginner.

Another book, which I haven't read, but was recommended to me by a friend, is Buddha by Karen Armstrong.

-Good luck

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Originally Posted by ExoByte

There are many causes of suffering. It is the goal of a Buddhist to elimate those causes. One is attachment, or love. They cause suffering. If you are attached to something, and lose it, you will suffer. [/b]

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Ah! But a part of love, for me, is not being attached. Love your self like nothing else and see your self in others. Your perspective of love is changing all the time. It comes in waves like everything else in life. Just becuse you love something that dose not mean you have to like it. Thats freedom of choise... Happines is choise. Loss is just change. Fear is the mind killer.

Did ExoByte just do your school assignment for you? :P

And I still havn't gotten my cookie... False Advertising! Im suing you!

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Originally Posted by Meidi

Did ExoByte just do your school assignment for you? :P
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Yes! You called it! This reminds me of usenet mailing lists about computer languages. Every fall, there's a bunch of questions that go:

"I have a [programming language question]: 'Write a program that computes the first 400 prime numbers and stores them in an array.' Can somebody post a program that does this?"

Rather ironic to make someone else do your homework about Buddhism. There's a quick path to enlightenment!

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Originally Posted by King

2.) What rituals do the Buddhists have and what holidays do they celebrate?
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I'm pretty sure Buddhists participate in most holidays, of other religions. Just because they are respective of other religions. I'm not sure.

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Originally Posted by gonnabeathinker

I'm pretty sure Buddhists participate in most holidays, of other religions. Just because they are respective of other religions. I'm not sure.
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Nirvana is not a heaven somewhere... 'self', 'location-space','inner -outer' are illusions of perception.

useful link about spiritual realisations