Buddhism is a faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (“the Buddha”) more than 2,500 years ago in India
Buddhism, the mere mention of it brings tomind tranquil monks and ancient temples. It’s one of the world’s largest and oldest religions. But if you live outside of Asia you probably don’t know much about it. So what is the story of Buddhism and what do Buddhists believe. Let’ find out. The story of the Buddha takes many different forms and you’re supposed to believe whatever version helps you the most. I’ve read many different accounts of theBuddha’s life, some portray him as a normal man while in others he’s essentially CaptainPlanet.
I’ve condensed the different accounts togetherand left in all the import parts.
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Buddha enlightenment story
The Buddha was born, in modern day Nepal. To King Suddhodana and Queen Maya rulers of Kapilavastu. The King named him Siddhartha which means“He whose aim is accomplished”.
An old hermit named Asita came to visit thechild. The apparently very trusting King and Queenlet him hold the baby. Asita claimed that this child would becomea great emperor but if the boy ever left the confines of the palace he would instead becomethe spiritual leader to the whole world. King Suddhodana, who had gone to the Disneyvillain school of parenting, decided to imprison his son in the palace.
Never letting him see the outside world. No signs of decay were permitted. Flower petals were swept away as soon as theyfell. Sick and old staff were sent away. Siddhartha was unaware that pain, ageing,and death existed. In order make sure his son would never leavethe King had Siddhartha married at 16 years old to Yashodara.
It was love at first sight between them. They had loved each other in many previouslives and may have mated while they were tigers at some point... They had a son named Rahula, who was not atiger. They all lived happily ever after in the King'spleasure palaces. Until a musician, damn musicians ruining everything,came and sang of the wonders of the world.
Siddhartha wanted to see this world and convincedhis father that all future emperors need to see the world they will one day rule...right? The King, confident that he had tied his sondown, decided he could trust him to go outside and not start a global religion. So at 29 years old Siddhartha left the palace. But not before the King had all the bodiesand ugly people removed from sight. Siddhartha was having a great time visitinghis kingdom. Until he came across a man with a bad cough. He asked his charioteer, Chandaka, what waswrong with the man. Chandaka explained that the man was sick andthat everyone gets sick. Chandaka had obviously not gotten the King’smemo. This revelation blew Siddhartha’s mind.
On the next 2 trips Siddhartha saw an oldman and then a dead man. Siddhartha became depressed knowing that everyonehe loved would eventually grow old and die. On his fourth visit he met a homeless traveller. This man had renounced all material thingsand was looking for a spiritual escape to life’s suffering. Siddhartha inspired by this random homelessman decided he too needed to go on a spiritual quest. He made Chandaka take him far away.
He then sent Chandaka home to tell Siddhartha'swife and child that he was doing this because he loved them. He needed to discover an escape to life’ssuffering and if he didn’t death was going to part them eventually anyway. Which is, eh, that’s a bleak thought. Thanks Obuddha. Moving on....After some wandering and studyingmeditation Siddhartha went to go live with 5 ascetics in the woods.
The ascetics practiced extreme deprivationin order to achieve enlightenment. Siddhartha began a 6-year fast. Sitting exposed to the elements and eatingnothing but seeds that fell into his lap. This effort turned out to be pointless however. Siddhartha realised that his mind was slowand clouded... On account of the starvation. This relation taught him that the true pathlay between indulgence and deprivation. He would later develop this concept into theMiddle Path. He gave up his fast by eating a bowl of ricemilk.
His 5 ascetics friends left in disgust thinkingSiddhartha had given up. Siddhartha wandered until he came across afig tree. He was determined to sit under this tree,meditating until he reached enlightenment. After 49 days of intense meditating he didjust that. At 35 years of age he had become the AwakenedOne, the Buddha. The tree he sat under became known as theBodhi Tree. The direct descendant of this tree can stillbe seen at Bodh Gaya in India. After some consideration the Buddha decidedhe would share his knowledge with the world.
He found his 5 acetic friends at Deer Park,Sarnath. And there he delivered his first teachingor Dharma. Revealing for the first time his 4 Noble Truths. The 5 ascetics became the first members ofthe Sangha, the Buddhist Monk Community. The Buddha would wander the Gangetic Plainfor the next 45 years.. Gathering thousands of followers and acceptingpeople of all genders, class, and castes into the Sangha. He died at 80 near Kushinagar.
His followers had him cremated and his remainswere spread throughout the Indian subcontinent under monuments known as Stupas. Which continue to be important pilgrimagesights today. Buddhism would eventually spread out of theGanges region. First down south to Sri Lanka and South East-Asia.
Then north over the Silk Road route to Centraland East Asia. It would spread from Tibet to Mongolia whereunder the Mongol Empire it then made it’s way to Russia. Later on it would be exported further West.
So now that we know a little bit about thelife of the Buddha let’s explore the core beliefs of Buddhism.
Core Beliefs
At this point it’s important to note thatthe Buddha lived around 480-400BC and his teaching were recorded orally for centuries. Because of that oral tradition there are alot of numbered categories.
Which made it easier for people to memoriseand recite. Numbered categories like the 4 Noble Truthswhich are:
Noble Truth Number 1: Life is suffering. No matter what you do in life you will suffer. Ultimately everyone grows old, gets sick,and dies. I know depressing right, it’s gets betterlater on.
Noble Truth Number 2: We suffer because ofcraving. We are attached to impermanent things andbecause of this we are destined to suffer. We need to change what we want rather thanget what we want.
Noble Truth Number 3: We can escape for thiscycle of suffering. Yay!
Noble Truth Number 4: The Noble eightfoldpath will help us escape suffering and reach enlightenment.
The Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path is the Middle Waythat the Buddha discovered. It lies between the deprivation of the asceticand the indulgences of a young prince. You don’t follow each step one after theother. It’s more of a wheel that you spin all together.
Step 1 is Right View or Understanding: Itis understanding the 4 Noble Truths will help you stop suffering. You need to see that everything in the worldis impermanent.
Step 2 is Right Intent: Why are you doingthings? If they are done out of anger or greed theywill only cause suffering. If they are done out of love and compassionthey will remove suffering.
Step 3 is Right Speech: You should not hurtpeople with your words. You should not deceive people, obscure thetruth through muddy language or take part in gossip. You should be truthful and clear.
Step 4 is Right Action: To always strive todo good in your actions. To not act in a way that is negative.
Right Action covers the 5 Precepts. Which are like Buddhist commandments. They are; Do not harm living creaturesDo not steal Do not engage in sexual misconductDo not lie or harm people with words Do not take intoxicating substances
Step 5 is Right Livelihood: You should earnyour living in an ethical way. You shouldn’t be involved in arms or drugstrading or in careers that involve hurting animals or people. The Buddha spoke out against slavery in histime.
Step 6 is Right Effort: You should alwaysgo about your life with a positive attitude and enthusiasm. You should want to improve who you are.
Step 7 is Right Mindfulness: You need to payattention. When you walk in the park you need to livein that moment. You shouldn’t be thinking of something awkwardyou did in school or whether you’ll be promoted next year. You should be able to live entirely in thepresent by being mindful.
Step 8 is Right Concentration: The abilityto focus on a single object or concept. Be it a rock, Polar Bear, or Cats Gifs. Right Concentration helps you focus your mindand see things how they truly are. Right Concentration and Right Mindfulnessare important parts of meditation.
By following the 8 fold path you can reachNirvana. The state of enlightenment the Buddha reachedunder that tree. You reach Nirvana when you extinguish allwants and desires. Ok so let’s take a more bird eyes look atBuddhism.
Branches
Buddhism is split between two major branches,Theravada and Mahayana.
Theravada is the older of the two. It is considered to be more orthodox as well. They think of the Buddha as a more human figureand there is a focus on using meditation as a way to reach enlightenment. Within Theravada Buddhism there is the beliefin 3 things. Nothing is permanent, life is suffering, andthere is no self. There is a huge emphasis on monastic lifeand rebirth in Theravada Buddhism. Only monks can really reach enlightenment.
Mahayana Buddhism, which means Greater Vehicleis younger and considered to be more accessible to normal people. It is called Greater Vehicle because of itsinclusivity. Mahayana also contains a lot of differentschools such as Zen, Tantra, and Pure Land Buddhism. They believe that enlightenment can be achievedin a single lifetime and that you don’t need to be a monk to achieve it. Mahayana is the more religious of the twoand has things called Bodhisattvas, which are people that have achieved enlightenmentbut delay Nirvana to help others do the same. There is also more emphasis on idols and god-likebeings.
Today Buddhism is the religion of around 488million people or about 7% of the world population. Nearly all of them live in the Asia-Pacificregion at 98.7%. Every other region has fewer than 1% each. Buddhists though only make up about 12% ofthe Asia-Pacific population. Half of all Buddhists live in China but thereare large Buddhists populations across Asia especially in Thailand, Burma and Japan.
So there we have it. The life of the Buddha, the 4 noble truthsand the 8 fold path explained.