Buddhism Essay

Named Siddhartha at birth, Buddha is thought to have experience many cycles of birth and death. When Buddha dies, he is reborn in Tusita Heaven (pg.). I was fascinated, by the numerous stories of Buddha, miraculous birth. One narratives, states that while in heaven, he looks down and chooses his birth-place, time, and his parents; named Queen Maya and her husband King Suddhodana. King Suddhodana and Queen Maya were the

We don’t know details about the life of Siddhartha “Buddha” as nothing was written down by him or his disciples until hundreds of years after his death. However, the legends that were passed down paint a very humble and intriguing picture of the man known as Buddha. The story states that Buddha was born into a very lavish lifestyle; he was given anything and everything he could ever want and kept very sheltered in order to protect him from the realities of the world around him. Eventually becoming curious of the surrounding world he escaped the royal walls and seen what the world

It is thought by many that the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was born having this title and did not have to endure any hardships throughout his life. Despite these thoughts, Siddhartha Gautama was not born the Buddha, but had to find his own way to achieve enlightenment and become the Buddha. Before and after Siddhartha's birth, Siddhartha's mother and father knew that their son was special and had two paths in life that could lead Siddhartha into being a great king or a Buddha, a remover in the world of the veil of ignorance. In an attempt to steer Siddhartha's life to the path of the great king, his father, King Suddhodana Gautama, used health and beauty

In a long gone kingdom at the foothills of the Himalayas a prince was about to be born. His father, a Kshatriya and king, wished to know what his child’s fate would be. He summoned a sage to him who said that either his son would be the most successful conquer the world had ever seen, or he would become a spiritual leader and an enlightened being. The moment his son was born pampered, and spoiled him with every luxury possible. He kept his son form hunger, sickness, age, and death. He sheltered his son form all the suffering of the world. His son, Siddhartha, lived like this for 29 years, when one day he wished to see the town beyond the palace. On his journey through the town Siddhartha had four encounters. On his first ride form the palace

Siddharta Gautama was twenty-nine years old when he abandoned his family to search for a means to bring to an end his and other’s suffering after studying meditation for many years. At age thirty-five, Siddharta Gautama sat down under the shade of a fig tree to meditate and he determined to meditate until he reached enlightenment. After seven weeks he received the Great Enlightenment which he referred to as the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path. Henceforth he became known as the Buddha.

Maya, had been “visiting temples where she prayed and made offerings” that she would be able to give birth a son so they could have an heir to pass their kingdom down to when her and her husband grow old (1). Maya, while sleeping, dreamed that an elephant impregnated her with Siddhartha by placing a lotus through her right side. Siddhartha’s arrival was coming close and Maya requested to return home just like the other women of her family. When she was giving birth to Siddhartha in the Lumbini Garden, “the overhanging branches swooned over her, protectively, and in that instant she gave birth to her son” (4). After his birth, Asita, a holy man, told Suddhodana that Siddhartha had two different paths he could take; either to take the kingdom after Suddhodana hands it down or to take the path of nature and travel the countryside. Maya died not only seven days after the birth of her son. Maya’s sister, Mahapajapati, took over the role as mother for Siddhartha and eventually married Suddhodana and brought along Siddhartha’s two cousins, Ananda and Devadatta. All three of them were taught numerous skills that would benefit any person who were to take over the kingdom “such as archery, wrestling, and horsemanship, as well as chariot racing” (9). All of this competition was not something that Siddhartha would participate in. Many times he would go off into the woods just to be alone with himself and his thoughts. This was the first sign that Siddhartha would rather roam with nature instead of attaining the role of king in the

It is said that history is shaped by the lives of great men.  Great men are leaders.  They bring about change; they improve the lives of others; they introduce new ideas, models, and theories to society.  Most of the world's religions were founded, developed, or discovered by great men.  Two particular religions - Christianity and Buddhism - developed in different parts of the world, under different circumstances, and in different social atmospheres.  But each religion is based upon the teachings of a great man.  When one compares the life of Buddha with the life of Jesus, one finds that the two share many things in common.  This essay aims to compare and contrast the lives of Buddha1 and Jesus in two key areas:  conception and birth.

When he was a kid, his dad kept him in the house, hoping he would

Buddhism’s founder was a man named Siddhartha Gautama, meaning “one who realized his goal.” Buddhists believe that when Siddhartha’s mother, Maha, was conceived she had a dream involving a white elephant carrying a lotus flower. She interpreted the dream to mean that her son would grow up to become a great spiritual leader. Just a week after Siddhartha was born, his mother died. Upon her death, he lived with his wealthy aunt and his father on a large estate. As Siddhartha grew up, his father kept him away from all suffering and anguish of the world. Unlike many of his peers, he was well educated and free from the world’s sorrows.

Legend says the Buddha was originally born Siddhartha Gautama and his father was a prince of the Shakya tribe. The legend is that he was conceived after his mother’s “miraculous” encounter with a white elephant and his mother passed on a week after his birth. His father took great measures to prepare Siddhartha to succeed him. Raised in a life of luxury and affluence, things changed when he visited a nearby town and saw suffering first hand. According to the legend, Siddhartha at the age of 29 after a moment of realization decided to leave home (The Great Going Forth). He left the luxury of home taking nothing with him and set forth into the world to seek

Predictions were made about Buddha and Moses’ futures, and while there were obstacles in the way, they were both able to fulfill them. Shortly after Siddhartha’s birth, a soothsayer was invited to make forecasts about his future. He stated that the child would grow up to be either a chakravartin king, a ruler of the entire world, or a fully enlightened Buddha, the latter of which he was nearly certain of. Siddhartha’s father

Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini, Nepal during the 4th to 6th century B.C. He was born to the King Sakya Sudhodana, who ruled at Kapilavastu in Ancient India, and Queen Maya. After seven days of giving birth to Siddhartha his mother died however, a holy man was to have said that one of two great things would come of the newborn; he would grow up to become a great king or military leader or he would be a great spiritual leader. After the passing of his mother, Buddha grew up in a rich household and lived an extravagant life. According to their beliefs, he married at the age of sixteen to a girl named Yasodhara, which they had a child together. During this time, his father had ordered that he were to live a life of isolation in

India"(Who is Buddha pg.1). His birth took place "in the towm of Kapilavastu (located in

On a warm July night, a prince was born in Jambudvipa (India). He grew up in a lifestyle filled with the finest of things, confined in his palace, being sheltered from the realities of danger. His father raised him to be the next wheel-turning king. Siddhartha Gautama did not know that he had the “markings” that predetermined his life. His father chose him as king, but as history proves, his dharma was to be the Buddha. Siddhartha’s encounter with the outside world during his manhood, struck him to his core. He would refuse the heir to the throne, and with his “Great Departure” he would seek out the life of the ascetics to find meaning to the world’s sufferings. During his six year journey, he was still plagued with questions of suffering and remained in meditation until he found his answers. Here under the Bodhi tree, he found the answers in which he was earnestly seeking, and in the process transformed himself into the “Enlightened One.” Awoke from his prolonged unconsciousness, he understood that every living thing was a part of Samsara (The eternal cycle of life). He spoke of reincarnation and how a person would continue to be born, live, and die over many life times until he changed his karma and gradually made his way towards Brahmin. This goal can take many life times, hundreds, even thousands. Buddha spoke of his many embodiments and how he made his way to his last rebirth as the Buddha. The Jataka Tales is a large collection of stories the Buddha

Buddhism arose in northern India in the 6th century BCE. The historical founder of Buddhism, Siddharta Gautama (c.560-480 BCE) was born in a village called Lumbini into a warrior tribe called the Sakyas (from where he derived the title Sakyamuni, meaning 'Sage of the Sakyas'). According to tradition Gautama's father, Suddhodana was the king of a small principality based on the town of Kapilavastu. His mother, Queen Maya, died seven days after Gautama's birth. Following the death of Maya, Suddhodana married Maya's sister, Prajapati, by whom Gautama was brought up in great luxury and sheltered from the harshness of the outside world.