Nathan Grakowsky Professor Dunagan Phil 1311 – 007 February 18, 2014 I am a Buddhist I am a Mahayana Buddhist and live in Japan. We call it “the Great Vehicle” in the sense that we are derived from the original Theravada Buddhists, but we are philosophical and compassionate. We are compassionate and available to each other for the reason of the Bodhisattva path, for our enlightenment to one day reach Nirvana. What is most important to me in my religion is being a Bodhisattva. Once we reach Nirvana, instead of ending the cycle of rebirth, we answer the prayers of those who need our help; we are compassionate even in death. The family of a deceased person must also pray for a long time to help the rebirth process. We accept the Pal Canon as our sacred scripture, but we have many additions such as Sanskrit and Sutras. We may not believe we need to be monastic like our Theravada elders, so we are considered “liberal” Buddhists. The Buddha selflessly delayed Nirvana to perfection to help those seeking enlightenment in their life and all of it. The way my religion influences my daily life is the constant help of those who will one day reach the Pure Land, a land where you see no suffering, but must forget all the suffering of the natural world. Our scriptures and the Buddha tell you what you must do and seek inspiration as you forget your daily despairs. Buddha is the icon of all Buddhists, which means that he is not a God or an incarnation of God. Buddha is just a man, a mortal being who could face suffering as we do. The Buddha is therefore not to be worshiped, but only followed as he shows his guidance and a teacher as he shows us the path of enlightenment. We have no God, but only bliss, illusion and absolute reality... middle of paper... n countries condemn acts of homosexuality, but western cultures like America, American Buddhists accept homosexuality. Divorce is not common in Buddhism, but it is not denied either. As conventional as religion itself, so are the roles of the spouse, as women are the caregivers and men work to support the family. Well, we live in a modern society, so I was asked what kind of occupations we do are not allowed to work. It's quite easy because we have to make reasonable and conscious decisions to avoid abandoning the eightfold path. Buddhists are not allowed to gamble or do pornography because it harms our karma when we influence and show the world what we should not be. We cannot deal with fishing, hunting or anything else as such is not allowed in our dietary supplement. We cannot be arms dealers because we do not believe in violence.