Buddhism: Region Based Upon The Eightfold Path

In other words, Nirvana stands as the state in which suffering, desire, or sense of self does not exist, and leaves the subject released from karma. In the religion, the four noble truths recapitulates the philosophies of Buddhism in a formula: 1) the truth of suffering, 2) the truth of the cause of suffering, 3) the truth of the end of suffering, and 4) the truth of the path to the end of suffering. The four noble truths simplifies further to, “Do what is beneficial, avoid doing harm, and keep the mind pure.” (Hayes). Buddhism’s background and beliefs diverse from Judaism's in several ways.

“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).

As a college student that has lived and grown up in western New York, I do not have too much experience with the other religions of the world. I have grown up a Christian Protestant my whole life, and I am a firm believer in my religion. Soon after reading the chapter on Buddhism in Huston Smith’s book The World’s Religions, I came to understand and respect the Buddhist religion. I came to learn who the Buddha as a man really was, and the steps he took in becoming a religious icon. I know understand that Buddhism is not all meditation and relaxing. There is a strict code of the four noble truths and the prescription of getting through them called the eightfold path. Much like Christianity Buddhism also has many different views

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

According to ancient tales the Siddhartha Gautama also known as the Buddha, was born in southern Nepal one of the world’s holiest places (Gene). The Buddha, born son of the warrior caste parents was predicted by wise men that “the child would be a successful as either a universal monarch or a great ascetic” (RoAT 172). As son of wealthy parents he was not aware about the world around him, he spent most of his life inside the palace walls. He was married at sixteen, to Yosodhara, she conceived a child named Rahula (Prebish 52). Siddhartha’s mother died when he was an infant and his father pleased him with royal pleasures. Including royalties such as power to rule, and arrange marriage. One day Siddhartha traveled outside his palace with his chariot driver. He saw a different perspective of life, after witnessing a sick man and old man, a dead man, and a shramana. Legends account that within days left the palace, leaving his wife and new

It took him six years, but one morning Siddhartha awoke from a night of fighting an inner battle and had an “Awakening”. He began sharing his message of awakening which includes a middle path between extremes and self-denial and self-indulgence and finding truth and reality through self-introspection. His followers called him “the Buddha” which means “the Enlightened One” (Bickel and Jantz). His teachings included Four Noble Truths: Life is all about suffering, the cause of suffering is our desire and greed, there is a way to overcome our desire and greed, and lastly the path to happiness and relief of suffering is an eight step process. There are three qualities to maintain this enlightened status: wisdom, mental discipline and ethical conduct. Unlike most Western religions, there are not a lot of rules and regulations in the Buddhist religion, however there are three fundamental principles upon which the religion is based. Buddha which is the finding the path of enlightenment and teaching it to others, dharma described as the true ways of things and sangha which is a community of monks, nuns and laypeople who practice and promote the dharma. The central religious practice for Buddhists is the intense dedication to meditation. Meditation is the process of understanding the nature of reality, obtaining dharma and awakening

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.

The Buddha went in between to extremes to find the middle way. The middle way consists of the four noble truths and the eightfold path. The four noble truths are the most commonly shared belief between Buddhists. They are ways to eliminate desire, which will eliminate suffering. Number one says, “ life consists of suffering.” Number two says, “everything is impermanent and ever-changing, we suffer because we desire those things that are impermanent.” Number three says, “ the way to liberate oneself from suffering is to eliminate desire.” And number four says, “ desire can be eliminated by following the eightfold path.” The eightfold path is a group of statements, they are not sequential things, they are just attitudes and actions. The eightfold path consists of right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right live hood, right effort, right awareness and right meditation. By following these attitudes and actions, you can achieve a life without suffering#.

Siddhartha Gautama was born between 563 and 480 BCE as the prince of Lumbini (in what is now Nepal). His mother died in either in childbirth or shortly thereafter and and his father was left to raise him. During his birth celebrations, it was predicted that Siddhartha would either become a great king or a great spiritual leader. His father wanted him to take over the throne, so he avoided religious teachings and sheltered him from suffering. Siddhartha, unsatisfied with with the life he was leading and yearning to learn about the world, he left his home at twenty-nine to seek the true meaning of life. On his travels he saw an old man, a diseased man,

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.

According to dictionary.com, Buddhism is defined as a religion, originated in India by Buddha (Gautama) and later spreading to China, Burma, Japan, Tibet, and parts of southeast Asia, holding that life is full of suffering caused by desire and that the way to end this suffering is through enlightenment that enables one to halt the endless sequence of births and deaths to which one is otherwise subject. While do research on the religion of Buddhism i found out alot of information that i didn’t know before. We may all know the Buddha named Siddhartha Gautama, but what we may not know is that he came from a wealthy family. Siddhartha Gautama grew up in a wealthy family, he decided to follow a path of self-denial. He attempted many different rituals

In the United States there are over four million buddhists, one thousand temples, study groups, or Buddhists associations (Monroe 108). This number has come from just one man searching to find happiness and eventually enlightenment. Buddha’s story is how buddhism became a religion all over the world. It teaches a peaceful manner, reveals the key to happiness for the mind, and eliminates the desire in life. Not just the history of buddhism is important, but how it has spread through the world and what it looks like today.

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

From the lavish beginnings in a wealthy kingdom nestled within the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, Siddhartha Gautama’s transformation into the Buddha and the start of Buddhism was based off of and due to confronting constant human suffering in everyday life. Abandoning his regal life in pursuit of spiritual insight, Siddhartha sought to understand the problem of human suffering and propose remedies, if any, to such a condition. Verses, lectures, and sutras transcribed in scriptures by Buddha’s followers offer an other worldly perspective to endure the hardships and how to conduct oneself harmoniously in society especially with the concept of Inner Peace. The truth goal of Buddhism is to attain peace within oneself, detaching oneself from worldly suffering, attaining enlightenment, and eventually reaching a state of escaping the cycle of suffering, the state of Nirvana. Even though there are many sects of the Buddhist faith, this essay focuses on the shared peace practices and beliefs Buddhism promotes, especially the concept of inner peace through reflection. Buddhism is known widely as a religion of peace and non-violence, though there are outlying examples contrary to the point such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, and etc., the concept of achieving inner peace and living harmoniously no matter what views one has can promote a positive society.