Buddhism Holds that One is to Work Out your Salvation with Diligence

Reflection
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Buddhism holds that one is to work out your salvation with diligence.
Buddha advocated for a new paradigm in the way people perceived religion. Hindus at the time were used to a hierarchical structure of perceiving religion. The common person was below the Brahmins and the people were at their mercies even in making simple decisions. Brahmins kept everything as a secret from the other people and were the perceived custodian of what embodied religion. Buddha’s teachings gravitated away from this perception of religion which positioned some people before others. He pointed out that ‘do not accept what you hear by report, do not accept tradition, do not accept a statement because it is found our books, nor because it is in accord with your belief, not because it is the saying of your teacher…. Be ye lamps unto yourselves. This showed that Buddha called people to stop taking the information and teachings they were taught as the ‘gospel truth’ but they should seek their own paths.
Thus, his teachings steered his disciples to pursue their own truths and understanding of the world. They should seek their own enlightenment rather than allow other people’s perception of their world to be their own. Thus, salvation which comes from enlightenment was and has to be a product of an individual’s search for the same. He added that even he himself should not be taken as the source of truth and knowledge and he warned and discouraged his disciples from even taking is teachings as the only truth. He pointed out that ‘B...