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Siddhartha Guatama
The Buddha
Samantha Valenza
sammyvalenzaeportfolio.weebly.com/philosophy.html

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Biography
The Buddhas name was Siddhartha Guatama. Siddhartha was born into a royal
family in Nepal. Before his birth, his mother had a dream that signified Siddhartha would
either be a powerful ruler or a religious leader. As he grew up, his father spoiled him with
every possible luxury (Grubin). His father wanted Siddhartha to become a powerful ruler
to follow in his own footsteps. He tried to protect Siddhartha from everything that was
wrong with the world as to keep comfortable in the life of a king. At the age of 16,
Siddhartha was married to his cousin and continued to live his life of luxury.
For 29 years of his life, Siddhartha was sheltered from the world outside of his
palace. He was never exposed to the suffering of the outside world, and only knew the
perfect world his father had made for him. One day as Siddhartha ventured outside, he
had three eye-opening encounters. Siddhartha encountered an old man, a sick man, and a
corpse. These encounters showed Siddhartha the reality of life that he had been deprived
of. At this moment, Siddhartha would start his journey to becoming the Buddha. He left
his wife, newborn son, and father to start his own journey in the world.
Siddhartha gave up everything he had to become a beggar and a spiritual seeker.
He began to study under gurus to gain more knowledge about life. He studied under
various gurus, but began to realize that the practices he was learning did not lead to the
answers he was searching for.
Siddhartha began to practice asceticism, where he would subject his body to
extreme hardships and pain (Grubin). For Siddhartha, the physical body was a
representation of the basic problems of life. The sickness, aging, and death that one

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suffers come from the body, and keep us from moving on to greater things. Asceticism
meant that if one could punish the body and push it far enough to the extremes, one could
escape its influence. Siddhartha would practice Asceticism for six years.
Having pushed his body to the very limits of life, Siddhartha realized that he still
had not found the answers to his questions. At the edge of death, a young woman noticed
him and offered him food. This complete kindness of a stranger made Siddhartha realized
that he could not do it alone. At that moment, he realized that every being on the earth is
experiencing life together, so we must all help each other. Coming to this realization,
Siddhartha began to meditate under a nearby Bodhi tree.
Siddhartha vowed to not move from his place under the Bodhi tree until he had
solved his questions. As he meditated through the night, he began to see all his past lives,
and his mind expanded. Siddhartha began to see the universe for what it was. As the sun
rose, Siddhartha declared that his mind had found peace. Siddhartha had become
enlightened, and had found Nirvana. Siddhartha had become the Buddha.
The Buddha had the choice to either continue his reclusive life, or go out and
spread his teachings. The Buddha decided that the knowledge that he had gained would
be wasted if he did not share it with others. At the age of 35, the Buddha devoted his life
to teaching the Dharma, or the laws of the world.

Philosophy
The Buddhas philosophy consisted firstly of the Four Noble Truths. These truths
were the Buddhas analysis of suffering (Grubin). The first truth that the Buddha
teaches is the truth of suffering. Dhukka, or suffering, is the common bond we all share

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(Sumedho). This suffering is the meaning of life. In order for the Buddha to find the end
of suffering, he would have to find the cause of suffering. This is where the second noble
truth comes in. The second noble truth is the origin of suffering which is craving, desire,
and ignorance. The third noble truth is the end of suffering. The Buddha taught that
anyone could find an end to suffering. One must remove all desires and they will find
happiness. The last noble truth is the path to non-suffering, or the journey to end
suffering. The Buddha had experienced both a privileged and a hard life on his journey to
find his happiness. The answer was not to practice extremes, but to live in the medium.
He realized that the in order to find the end to suffering, one must follow the Middle
Path.
The Middle Path consists of an eight-step formula that one must apply to their
lives to find the end of suffering. These eight steps are divided into three groups that
include both physical and mental treatment for ridding a person of suffering
(Sumedho). The first group is aimed towards wisdom, which consists of understanding
and purpose. The second group is focused on conduct. These steps are speech, behavior
and lifestyle. The final group is based on contemplation and consists of effort,
mindfulness, and deep meditation. The Buddha taught that one must have a complete
understanding of these eight steps in order to end suffering. One can chose to follow them
to their own extent, but in order to find the answers of life and to become enlightened, all
these steps must be practiced and mastered.
In the Buddhas philosophy, everything is connected. Our past actions affect our
present doings. Karma is a term that means action, or the intention that is behind
everything one does. In Buddhism, each action we take determines what happens to us in

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the future. Karma is directly related to rebirth or reincarnation. How we act in one life
effects how our next life will be. However, karma is not a result but an action. Our karma
is what propels us in the next life. The continual cycle of karma determines the lives we
inhabit in the future. Until one has been enlightened, karma continues to be the action
that determines our lives.
Nirvana is the final obstacle that one must overcome. Nirvana is the state in which
one escapes the cycle of reincarnation. While in nirvana, you stop accumulating bad
karma because youve transcended it (Harris). The soul is freed of all suffering, and
continues to exist without the body. All teachings from the Buddha are guidelines to
reach nirvana, and to become enlightened. To the Buddha, the true meaning of life is
reaching this final stage and living beyond a physical body.

Personal View
I have a very interesting relationship with Buddhism. I am an agnostic, so in that
sense I do not necessarily believe in Nirvana, or reincarnation. It could possibly exist, but
I cannot know for sure. I like to think that in a way, a person can reject all suffering and
find complete peace, but I am not sure if that translates into an afterlife.
In many ways, it is beneficial for people to rid themselves of material things.
Being able to differentiate happiness from material happiness is something I believe we
all need to practice. But in my opinion, it will not amount to anything past death.
What I do believe is that everything is connected. We are all on this earth
together, and no one can find answers to their own moral questions alone. I am also a
total believer of Karma. I have always thought that my actions account for what will

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happen to me in the future. I believe karma is an action that can come back at any time to
either reward or punish. It is up to us to choose how to use our karma, and to think about
how each action will affect us in the future. We must take into account our actions and be
responsible for everything we do.
Buddhism to me is a very peaceful philosophy. It is all about finding a path to
simple happiness, and helping others along the way. I think it is important to keep in
mind the teachings of the Buddha in order to not become too materialistic. The Buddhas
philosophy is the key to a peaceful life, and I think it is important for everyone to
understand his teachings.

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Works Cited
Grubin, David, Dir. The Buddha. PBS, 2010. Wen. 20 Nov. 2014
Harris, Tom. "How Nirvana Works." HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com, n.d. Web. 23 Nov.
2014.
Sumedho, Ajahn. "Buddhist Studies (Secondary) The Four Noble Truths." Buddhist Studies
(Secondary) The Four Noble Truths. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.