Sophia Knapp World Religions

Buddhism Assignment
The Buddha once said, You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. One of the main teachings in Buddhism is that you are responsible for your own happiness. Siddharta Guatama founded the Buddhist religion after leading a life in search of spiritual truth. He became known as the Buddha which means enlightened one. This ancient religion now has over 350 million followers. Siddharta Guatama was born near India and Nepal in the 6th century. Scholars agree that he lived, but facts about his life are still debated. Much of the history of Siddharta was passed down through generations by word of mouth. He was born an Indian prince whose mother died shortly after his birth. His father kept him in seclusion in order to protect him from worldly troubles. When he left the palace walls he was confronted with the realities of the known world. This is when he went on a spiritual journey to find the truth behind spirituality. During this time of spiritual searching, he saw four sights that made him leave his wife and son in order to find liberation through suffering. He put himself through many ascetic practices for six years such as fasting in order to reach enlightenment, but found that it did nothing but cause him harm. This is when he started a new practice later called the middle way. He started a path of no self-denial and no self-indulgence. This path to liberation revolved around the idea of moderation. He meditated a lot and became enlightened. This is when he became The Buddha.

The Buddha had many teachings that Buddhists follow today. Three of them include the 4 Noble Truths, the wheel of birth and death, and Nirvana. The first of the four noble truths is that life is full of suffering, dissatisfaction, and distress. The second is that suffering is craving rooted in ignorance. The third is that suffering will cease once craving does and the fourth is that the noble eightfold path is the only way to realize your state. The wheel of birth and death teaching states that there is no eternal independently existing soul. This basically means that Karma from past lives affects your life today. This teaching also explains that you should refrain from attachment to things as well as delusions. Nirvana is the teaching that ones life goal should be to attain a desirable state of mind. The only way to end the suffering cycle of life and death is to end all cravings and attachments. Buddha detached himself from his family in order to receive enlightenment and journeyed all his life teaching what he had learned. He completely detached his feelings and earthly desires from himself and was able to achieve what he called Nirvana. The Noble Eightfold Path is a series of 8 things to follow in order to gain freedom from the cycle of birth and death so that you can achieve nirvana. The first is Samma-Ditthi, which is to fully understand reality and the path you need to take in order to transform. The second is Samma-Sankappa, having the right attitudes and emotions as well as acting out of love. In this way you can be free to let go. Samma-Vaca is next and explains that you should communicate with honesty and be uplifting in all your conversations. Samma-Kammanta is similar but says that you should act ethically and righteously. Samma-Ajiva is based on correct action in order to build an ideal society. Samma-Vayama is putting forth your full effort with all the creativity and positive energy you have. Samma-Sati is having the right mindfulness and being fully aware of yourself and others feelings. It is also being aware of reality how it is. The last one is SammaSamadhi which is being fully concentrated and traveling mentally to different levels of

consciousness and awareness. This last teaching of the Noble Eightfold Path is how to fully become enlightened and become as The Buddha. Buddhas teachings all revolve on the idea that we are in this life to become enlightened and achieve Nirvana. Everything we do can create Karma for the next life or help us on our Noble Path to fulfill our spiritual potential. Buddha dedicated his life to meditation and soul searching. Once he became enlightened he taught others what he had learned. Although there is no direct evidence or records of The Buddha, his life has been passed on through generations by word of mouth and now we accept it as common knowledge. He taught people to take responsibility for their own liberation instead of relying on the supernatural as was previously believed. Thanks to the suffering and missionary work of the awakened one, millions of lives have been and continue to be touched and changed even today.

Works Cited
Fisher, Mary. Living Religions. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Prentice Hall, 2011. Allan, John. "A Basic Buddhism Guide: The Eight-Fold Path." A Basic Buddhism Guide: The Eight-Fold Path. N.p., 1 Jan. 1996. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. <http://www.buddhanet.net/elearning/8foldpath.htm>. The buddha. Dir. David Grubin. PBS Distribution, 2010.