Buddhism Ethical Beliefs

Buddhism is one of the oldest and greatest religions of our world. It originated in the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian Prince. Although he taught primarily in southeastern India, it spread to Central Asia, Southeast Asia, China, Korea, Japan, and eventually the rest of the world. Its teachings stress achieving enlightenment and escaping the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, which generate suffering. After his Awakening, or epiphany, he discovered the Four Noble Truths that would eliminate suffering and achieve Nirvana. His teachings were very popular because he taught a middle way, as opposed to the severe asceticism, or abstinence from worldly pleasures, that Hinduism taught. It was also popular due to its position
With his new mode of meditation and the Middle Way, he planned to find the truth. He sat underneath a pipal tree in Bodh Gaya, India for 49 days until he finally attained enlightenment. He subsequently preached his first sermon to his several followers about his epiphany. He had realized the causes to suffering and the steps people should take to eliminate it. These steps were called the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths are that life is filled with suffering and sorrow, the cause of suffering is from selfish desire and temporary pleasures, the way to end suffering is to end desire, and the way to overcome desire and attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path, which is the Middle Way. The Eightfold Path includes right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. By following the Four Noble Truths, one could achieve Nirvana, or a state of supreme liberation from selfishness and pain, which was possible for anyone. His realizations are called the Awakening. After the Awakening, he was known as the Buddha, or enlightened
Estimates of how many Buddhist followers there are by scholars range from 550 million to 1.7 billion, and estimates are only uncertain due to what defines someone of the Buddhist faith and if Buddhists have to have congregational memberships in order to really be considered Buddhist. While Buddhism used to be a primarily Asian religion in the ancient times, it is now widespread with American and European regions. There have also been a number of Buddhist movements since the late twentieth century, including the Dalit Buddhist Movement and Engaged Buddhism.
In conclusion, Siddhartha Gautama was an important historical figure because he is the founder of the world’s fourth largest religion, Buddhism, after Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.
The Sangha created by Siddhartha Gautama is one of the world’s oldest organizations. Buddhism was the first world religion and the largest religion during the first half of the twentieth century. Without Siddhartha Gautama, we would not have Buddhism. Without Buddhism, what would have happened to the Hindu caste system or the approximately 1.6 billion people who currently believe in Buddhism? What would not have