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Bhutan's Religion

People's Beliefs

Bhutan's Religion Buddhist religion

Buddhist Beliefs:

Buddhism, like most of the great religions of the world, is divided into a number of different traditions. We will deal in this essay with Theravada Buddhism. Buddhism is a religion which shares few concepts with Christianity. For example, they do not believe in a transcendent or immanent or any other type of God or Gods, the need for a personal savior, the power of prayer, eternal life in a heaven or hell after death, etc. They do believe in reincarnation: the concept that one must go through many cycles of birth, living, and death. After many such cycles, if a person releases their attachment to desire and the self, they can attain Nirvana.

Religion:

Lamaist Tantrayana Buddhism (Mahayana Buddhism of the Drukpa sect) = state religion

The Buddha's Four Noble Truths may be described (somewhat simplistically) as:

to be fully understood: the universality of suffering

to be abandoned: the desire to have and control things which cause. suffering

to be made visible: the supreme truth and final liberation of nirvana which is achieved as the cause of suffering is eliminated. The mind experiences complete freedom and liberation

to be brought into being: the truth of the eightfold ariya path leading to the cessation of suffering

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His Eightfold Path consists of:

1. right understanding 2. right thinking 3. right speech 4. right conduct 5. right livelihood 6. right effort 7. right mindfulness 8. right concentration

In Bhutanese belief, after a person dies an astrological reading is done and besides the cremation, rituals for the dead are performed on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 49th day.

It is believed that any ritual performed for the dead has to be done by the 49th day, after which the soul of the person realises he/she is dead and moves on to the next birth stage of fate as decided by the karmic forces.