Dinner with Buddha by Shundiin

Dinner with Buddha by Shundiin - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

It would be a great honor to have dinner with almost any historical figure, and it would be hard to choose just one. While thinking about who I would choose to have dinner with, many religious figures popped into my head. The first three people I thought of included the historical figures Buddha, Pope Francis, or the Dalai Lama. If I had to choose one person to have dinner with, then I would choose Gautama Buddha. Buddha would be my choice because his various teachings interest me greatly.

Two of Buddha’s main teachings were the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path. He believed that following these main teachings could help one to attain Nirvana. Nirvana is a state where suffering is eliminated by abandoning your desires. I would want to ask Buddha how he came up with his teachings. Did he come up with them during the time of his Enlightenment? Buddha is also believed to have achieved Nirvana, so I would ask him to describe how it felt.

Buddha is my choice for someone to have dinner with because I feel that no one would think of him as their first choice. Buddha interests me because of the basis of his religion revolving around abandoning your desires. Most religions tell you to resist certain desires and the consequences you would have to deal with if you gave into them. Buddhism seems different because it does not tell you to not give into your desire, but to abandon them. It would be great to know as to why one must abandon their desires.

Buddha’s teachings later led to the creation of the Buddhist religion, which means that many people follow Buddha’s teachings. I would tell him about the creation of the Buddhist religion that stemmed from his teachings, and ask how it felt to know that he created a religion. The majority of historical figures have made notable contributions to society, and they can be good or bad. The creation of your own religion seems like a very big accomplishment to me. Additionally, I feel like Buddha did not set out to create a religion. He may have just been trying to work out his own personal issues, and someone decided to give his methods a try.