Buddhism
...er and given the best that the kingdom had to offer. Although he received all that he wanted and needed, his father kept him from seeing what life was like outside of the kingdom walls. “When Siddhartha was about 20, he married Yasodhara, daughter of one of the King's ministers, and one year later they had a child named Rahula.”# At age 29, Siddhartha had asked his chariot to let him go outside the walls of the kingdom. He did this without the consent of his father. Upon leaving the walls of the kingdom, he saw what are called the four sites. The four sites were sickness, old age, death, and a holy man with no possessions and who is ascetic. Upon seeing these sights, he was filled with many different feelings and emotions. At night, he kissed his wife and son goodbye. He then wandered around India for six years. “Siddhartha was joined by a group of five ascetics, among whom was Kondanna, the Brahman who had predicted Siddhartha's future as a buddha. For nearly six years, Siddhartha lived a life of extreme self-mortifications and severe austerities.”# One day on his journeys, he meditated under a fig tree. While meditating, he tempted by a god who sent her three daughters to him. In order to resist these temptations, he began to meditate even harder. In this meditation, he achieved Nirvana, or enlightenment. He found that the best way to live life is the middle way. One should not live in poverty like many of the holy men of the time, and one should not be distracted by the many things that cause us to become greedy. After he found enlightenment, he decided it would be best to share what he had learned with the people of India. He began to travel to different places in India, preaching and teaching to people. He gained many followers at this time. After several teachings and preaching, Siddhartha returned home to his fathers kingdom where his family was. “His father was mortified to see his son begging for food. Buddha kissed his father's foot and said, "You belong to a noble line of kings. But I belong to the lineage of buddhas, and thousands of those have lived on alms." King Shuddhadana then remembered the Brahmin's prophesy and reconciled with his son. Buddha's wife, son, and cousin (Ananda) later”# converted his family to Buddhism. After many years of preaching about Buddhism, The Buddha, as he became to be known, died in his eighties after eating a poorly cooked meal. The Buddha, on his death bed, asked his followers if they had any questions for him. After getting no response, he asked them to spread his teachings about the world as he had done. The Buddha had developed principles for all good Buddhists to live by. His followers taught spread the word after his death. The main teachings were called the Four Noble truths. The first was that “all life is suffering.” In this, The Buddha was talking about “Birth trauma, illness, old age, fear of approaching death, separation from what one loves, and being stuck with what one hates.”# The second Noble Truth was “the cause of suffering is desire.” The third was “to rid oneself of suffering, one must cease to desire.” The final Noble truth stated “to remove desire, one must follow the Eightfold Path.” The Eightfold Path is the second of The Buddha’s teachings. The eight fold paths are as follows : “Right View : "the acceptance of Buddhist teachings and their later experiential confirmation." Right Resolve : "making a serious commitment to developing right attitudes." Right Speech : "telling the truth and speaking in a thoughtful and sensitive way." Right Action : "abstaining from wrongful bodily behavior such as killing, stealing, or behaving wrongfully with respect to sensual pleasures." Right Livelihood : "not engaging in an occupation which causes harm to others." Right Effort : "gaining control of one's thoughts and cultivating positive states of mind." Right Mindfulness : "cultivating constant awareness." Right Meditation : “developing deep levels of mental calm through various techniques which concentrate the mind and integrate the personality.’”# Also in his teachings are the Five Precepts. These are like five commandments that Buddhists should follow. The are do not kill, do not steal, do not lie, do not be unchaste, and do not consume any drugs, alcohol, or any other intoxicants. In meditation or prayer, the Buddhists use the Three Jewels of Buddhism. The First Jewel is to take refuge in The Buddha. This means the see him as an example and truth of path. The second is to take refuge in the Dharma. They believe in the teachings of Buddhism. The last jewel is that they take refuge in the Sangha, or religious community. People believe that Buddhism is not a true religion or that it is pagan. This is false. Although they do not believe in a god but seek out truth and reality to find happiness. “’Paganism’ is usually used to refer to belief in a god or gods other than the normally accepted Christian God.# They are confused by the many...