Buddhism Polytheistic Religion

Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The founder of Buddhism is said to be Siddhartha Gautama, the son of an Indian warrior-king. Gautama led an extravagant life through early adulthood, reveling in the privileges of his social class. Gautama became bored with the indulgences of royal life so he wandered into the world searching for understanding. After encountering an old man, ill man, a corpse, and an ascetic, he was convinced that suffering lay at the end of all existence. He then became a monk, depriving himself of worldly possessions in the hope of comprehending the truth of the world around him. The culmination of his search came while meditating beneath a tree, where he finally understood how to be free from suffering, and ultimately, to achieve salvation. Gautama became known as the Buddha, meaning the “Enlightened One.” He spent the remainder of his life

In life, one will undertake a spiritual journey in which you will uncover the meaning of the self. Many religions, including Hinduism, Confucianism and monotheistic religions, have developed philosophies placing importance of the “self.” Emphasis on morality, virtues, honest contribute to the development of the inner self. In religions such as, Islam and Judaism the importance of conducts and worship will lead you to paradise in the after as promised by Allah or Yahweh. The teachings of proper behavior, edict, ethics and conduct are also part of the teachings of Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher. Redeveloping the self, according to the founders of Buddhism and Christianity, will lead to your spiritual enlightenment and Salvation.

“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are, it solely relies on what you think”, The Buddha. Buddhism is a message of deep enlightenment for the spiritual mind set of breaking the chain of reincarnation to achieve nirvana. Buddhism was founded by a man named Siddhartha Gautama who lived five hundred years ago. He spawned a spiritual enlightenment for the mind which we call Buddhism and eventually it came to the United States. Buddha, spreading his teachings of the four noble truths throughout Asia and many parts of the world that would someday enlighten the minds of the American culture and help lead people to a higher state of enlightenment. Over many hundreds of years Buddhism has transformed into many sects throughout history and is becoming one of the many fastest growing religion in America. (Pew, 31-33).

The founder of Buddhism is Buddha Siddhartha, born 624 in present-day Nepal. His name means “Awakened One.” A Buddha is somebody who has awoken from sleep and suddenly sees things truthfully. As Buddha grew up, he could speak sixty-four different languages and was a good mathematician. He often visited poor and old people, and realized that every person would one day experience sufferings, for example, sickness and death. Because Buddha believed in reincarnation, he became aware of the fact that everyone would experience these sufferings in a never-ending cycle. This caused him to feel sympathy for them and himself, and so he wished that they could all escape suffering. Thus, this created the religion of Buddhism.

Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama who, after leaving an affluent lifestyle, spent 40 days meditating under a tree. At the end of the 40 days, he came to understand suffering and from then on was know as the Buddha. During that time he developed the basic principles of his new belief system. Buddhism has four noble truths and the observance of these truths lead to the escape from the cycle of reincarnation. This escape is called nirvana. One of the most popular religious texts in the Buddhist world was and is the Dhammapada, which provides sayings and truths that shed light on this journey to nirvana. Out of the 423 Buddhist truths presented in the Dhammapada, numbers 20, 75, and 89 provide particular insight into the core

Buddhism is an extremely unique religion that has many different philosophies and practices that you can not find in any other world religions. Buddhism explains the purpose of life. It is also a way to find peace within oneself. It helps find the happiness and contentment that people in our world today desperately seek. These variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices are largely based on teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha, commonly known as the Buddha, “the enlightened one”. Followers of Buddhism generally tend to stay away from conflict and live peacefully, working towards the ultimate goal of pure and lasting happiness. The religion is growing around the world and most recently in the west. It is a religion that can easily attract people from their fast pace world by giving them solutions and practices to relieve their stress and worries. Buddhism has answers to many of the problems in modern materialistic society. It is an ancient religion that millions of people around the world still follow today. (“A Five Minute Introduction.”)

Buddhism is a world religion based on the teachings of Buddha, who was born Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal around 563 B.C.E. and lived in Nepal and India. Siddhartha was a privileged man who withdrew from the world, learned and meditated, and achieved the Enlightenment that made him Buddha. Buddhism has undergone schisms and evolutions but has some core beliefs such as Nirvana, Anatta and Dependent Arising. In addition, the Buddha's teaching centered on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to end the cycle of suffering and achieve Enlightenment and Nirvana.

A prince named Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) founded “Buddhism” in the sixth century before the birth of Christ. Buddhism is better understood as philosophy rather than a religion and follows the concept of the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Noble path.

Buddhism began in the fourth and fifth centuries before Christ by Siddhartha Gautama. The teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, are the major beliefs of Buddhism. Buddhism is a belief and religion based on an assortment of customs, principles, and practices. The name Buddha means the awakened one. Buddha’s teachings were of the termination of suffering, attaining nirvana, and absconding from the cycle of suffering and rebirth. Buddhism has spread all across Asia and throughout the world, now with between two hundred thirty million and five hundred million followers. Buddhism is largely based around the belief of Karma. Karma is the “action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation” (Dictionary.com) or “the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person’s deeds in the previous incarnation.” (Dictionary.com) In simpler words, how you live your life now determines how you will come back when your current soul expires. Buddhists live their lives in hopes of achieving to be placed in the highest state known as Heaven. The after-life stems from Karma and leads into Rebirth. Rebirth is a course of action where humans proceed within multiple lifetimes in one or more of the six states of after-life. Each lifetime begins with birth and ends with death. Buddhists believe that we should not fear death because

Buddhism is the most prevailing religion in Asia with about 379 million followers. Buddhism believes in following the “Enlightened” path, which is to live life serenely and without desires. This action was very challenging to accomplish, but it allowed you to associate with yourself internally. Buddhism impacted the world by expressing the belief of the 4 noble truths, offering the idea of reincarnation, and to follow certain traditions in physical appearance. The 4 noble truths were the main components in following the “Enlightened” path by explaining how the suffering is caused by people’s desires and that they need to release those to feel free. Reincarnation led other people to believe that when you die, your soul would be born into a new life, which gave the thought about other “realms” that may exist. Also, the physical appearance of Buddhists/monks was different because they would wear clothes that helped them see their natural beauty.

Although there are numerous comparisons between Buddhism and Hinduism, there are many differences between these two religions. Some of which includes the founders, their goal in life, their reaction to the caste system, their belief system and most importantly their principles and practices. Hinduism did not have one founder; it possessed a mixture of Aryans belief. Siddhartha Gautama “Buddha” was the one who founded Buddhism, without his teachings, Buddhism would not be as successful as it is now. The main goal of those belonging to the Hinduism religion was to achieve Moksha. Moksha is the release from reincarnation. Buddhism’s goal in life is to achieve Nirvana by accepting Buddha’s teachings. Nirvana is the state of peace that is achieved or is entered at death. The Caste System is a system of social structure that groups people on their inherited social status. The Hindu’s did the acceptation of the caste system; their belief was that their happiness determined their movement in the system in the other life. The social classes they were divided among were Brahmins (priests), Kshatriya (warriors), Vaishyas (free people) and Shudras (Indian servants) However, Buddhism rejected the caste system; a person’s place in life depended on that individual. Due to

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. It is the oldest and fourth largest religion in the world with around 500 million followers. Buddhism focuses on teaching people how to come to terms with and end the suffering of themselves and others by cutting out greed, hatred, and ignorance from their lives. Unlike most major world religions, Buddhism does not revolve around worshiping a god or divine creator, instead the focus of Buddhism is living one 's best life and transforming the lives of others. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to reach Enlightenment and upon death achieve Nirvana, the liberation of pain and suffering. For Buddhists, it is the individual’s responsibility to find his or her own path to enlightenment; the principles of Buddhism are seen more as guidelines than rules.

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.

Buddhism is religion that is based off of peace and spirituality taught by the teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gotama. Many who follow its teachings believe Buddhism to be more of a way of life or lifestyle choice rather a religion. Buddha is not a god, but one man that taught his followers a path of enlightenment from his experiences and values. Buddha’s main teachings were the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths were teachings about suffering, pain, disease, happiness, loneliness, and aging. It explained why we as humans can overcome certain obstacles in our lives by looking at the more spiritual side of things such as “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own

Buddhism first appeared in India between the 5th and 6th BCE and is considered to be one of the oldest practiced religion and philosophy. It is a way of life that is governed by a series of passages and countless rules. These passages and rules are meant to enable an individual to further their growth as an agent of transformations to reach the ultimate goal of enlightenment. Though Buddhism, as its original form, is a strict and non peruvious practice of life, it provides of practical outlook on life and how one should be with their environment. The first teaching or the first Dharma, dictated by Siddhartha Gautama, were the Four Noble Truths. Not only are the four noble truths the backbone of Buddhism and they help us understand the