Period 4
3/1/13
BUDDHISM SUMMARY Buddhism started c. 2,500 years ago by a prince name Siddhartha also
Known as the Buddha. When Siddhartha was born many miracles where happening such as when he was only 7 days old he started walking and every step he took flowers appeared under his feet as if they were protecting him from the ground. A saint came to see Siddhartha and he predicted he was going to be a great saint or a great ruler which in the end was correct. Siddhartha’s father wanted him to be a great ruler and not a saint. Prince Siddhartha wasn’t allowed to go outside the palace because his father didn’t want him to see the oldness in people and also the sickness and deaths. When Siddhartha grew up he asked he’s father if he could go outside the castle to the capital and his father let him but he had to be under supervision. When he left the palace Siddhartha experienced people suffering from sickness, oldness and death. This really shocked Siddhartha because he had never seen such things while being in the palace for all the thirty years that he was there. When Siddhartha got home he asked his father if he could have three things, never growing old, never being sick and never dying. Siddhartha’s father was shocked because he couldn’t give his son those tree things he had asked for. This made Siddhartha go into meditating mode to see if he could find a way to end suffering, he meditated for forty days and he basically starved himself all those days. Another thing Prince Siddhartha did when he left the palace he had lived in since the day he was born to find a way to end suffering was abandoning his wife and kids. Since the day he left the palace it is believed that Prince Siddhartha never saw his wife and kids ever again because he was on the quest for finding a way to end suffering. After those forty days had passed Siddhartha realized that starving himself was not the solution to end suffering. While meditating the answer that he needed came to him and he became better known as the Buddha. After that the Buddha traveled around the country teaching people about suffering. In his teachings he included the Four Nobles of Truth which explained how Suffering is a part of life, man’s suffering is mainly their desire to have or want something they can’t have, meaning man must overcome their desires in order to get rid of their suffering, and man should overcome their desire by following the Noble Eight.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty, Buddhism's popularity gradually began to grow in China. Based on these documents, there were two distinct responses China had do to control the spread of Buddhism. Firstly, they needed support from Chinese scholars and citizens and secondly disdain towards it from those in direct power of China. Part of the reason Buddhism spread was because it was a missionary religion. Many educated Chinese supported the religion as they created written records highlighting the appealing aspects of the religion.Those in direct control over China showed their opposition towards the religion by describing it as a threat to China and its people.…
- 876 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The novel, Siddhartha, displays the troubles faced throughout Siddhartha’s life on his journey to find spiritual understanding of himself and the world. As a boy, Siddhartha was born a respected Brahmin; however, he begins to doubt that the religious practices of the group will help him achieve peace. Therefore, he leaves to find a different path toward nirvana. He sees a wandering group of almost naked beggars, Samanas, looking for food and decides to experience…
- 1953 Words
- 8 Pages
Good Essays -
Ahimsa is the belief of nonviolence, which Buddhism justifies by reminding followers that all life experience suffering and additional pain is not needed in this world. Also, Buddhism teaches the belief in the cycle of rebirth, however, without a belief in a soul; Buddhists believe it is the parts of the individual’s personality that reform in the new life. Finally, Buddhism teaches followers about nirvana granting release from the cycle of rebirth. Nirvana is a state of bliss without pain, and liberation from the cycle of rebirth and Buddhists believe that it can be obtained within one’s lifetime, rather than at death (Molloy,…
- 644 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
While Chinese at first acknowledged Buddhism and shielded its arrangements, throughout the hundreds of years others progressively investigated Buddhism's nonattendance from past writings and utilized it as a substitute for political and social issues. At the point when there was no domain to uphold laws, Buddhism picked up ubiquity, yet after majestic power reemerged, Buddhism confronted mounting restriction. An extra record that demonstrates the genuine quantities of believers to Buddhism amid this time, ideally in a chart, would be valuable in figuring out if or not the creators' stresses in archives against Buddhism were grounded.…
- 579 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
1. Explain the basic Buddhist teachings including the three marks of reality, the Four Noble Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path.…
- 666 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
1. Explain the basic Buddhist teachings including the three marks of reality, the Four Noble Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path.…
- 389 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Written by Herman Hesse, Siddhartha provides a unique experience of how suffering can be overcome with an aspiration in mind, no matter how long it takes. Even at the beginning of the book, Siddhartha realizes he is discontent by the sheltered world of his fancy life of a Brahmin. He believes there is something more, to truly understand and find peace with his innermost self, the goal of achieving Nirvana. He begins with joining the Samanas, believing that one has to suffer to reach this enlightened state; living like the Samanas would create conditions of treacherous life, having to starve, feeling weak in order to feel better (13). Siddhartha even encounters Buddha, and decides it is not worth it to follow him, for he wants to experience life and suffering for himself, instead of being taught second-hand. Eventually he met a girl, Kamala, and it almost…
- 1300 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Siddhartha, a young man from the Brahmin caste, goes through many stages during his quest to pursue deeper understanding and it is what he learns at each stage that brings him closer to wisdom whilst shedding previous aspects of himself. Siddhartha takes place in ancient India where all life is shaped by the scenery and culture of that time and the hero being influenced by such leaves his home to find spiritual enlightenment. The sole purpose of his journey is to find the wisest way to live and to achieve the Atman within. It becomes clear that he is dissatisfied with his life and also the knowledge he began to suspect was not full. “He had started to suspect that his venerable father and his other teachers, that the wise Brahmans had already…
- 830 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
1. Explain the basic Buddhist teachings including the three marks of reality, the Four Noble Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path.…
- 798 Words
- 3 Pages
Better Essays -
When Buddhism first began to spread into china, reactions were mixed. While many people supported the idea, others were neutral, and a large number opposed Buddhism’s growing popularity. The opinions on the spread were not always cultural; many had underlying political origins. Those that supported this idea were typically those left without rights by the old Confucian ideals or people who were looking for an alternate for Confucianism. Some reacted neutrally so as to gain the favor of both sides. On the flip side as Buddhism began to change Confucian values, the people in power turned strictly against the new belief system in an effort to keep ancient tradition.…
- 773 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Buddhism originated in India in the sixth century B.C.E. and was brought to China by the first century C.E. Overtime, many Chinese people converted to Buddhism, especially after the fall of the Han dynasty. During the Era of Division between 220 C.E. and 570 C.E., many Confucian and Buddhist scholars viewed Buddhism as a positive, unifying force for China during that tough time of instability because it gave the people something to look to for hope. However, after 570 C.E., Confucian scholars started rejecting Buddhism, feeling that it was becoming a threat to the scholar-gentry class and the Confucian-based Chinese society as a whole. Despite this change of opinion about Buddhism after 570 C.E., some scholars continued to feel that Buddhism benefitted China due to its values and teachings. One additional document that could be useful would be one from the point of view of a peasant to see the way Buddhism effected the lower classes of China before and after 570 C.E. and to see if they saw Buddhism as a positive or negative factor in their lives.…
- 1187 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The Buddha was born in the 5th Century BCE as an Indian Prince named Siddhartha Gautama. He enjoyed a lavish royal lifestyle until one day he encountered a decrepit elderly man, a diseased man, a corpse, and a hermit outside of his palace. These experiences, known as The Four Sights, opened his eyes to the suffering in the world, and he embarked on a journey, forsaking his wealth and title, to uncover life’s truths and find the path out of suffering. Siddhartha sought out the best teachers in meditation, but after learning everything he could from them, he realized that he would have to rely on himself to discover the truth about life. He turned to extreme forms of self-deprivation and endured physical hardships, such as sleeping on a bed of thorns and starvation, in the hopes that these experiences of severe suffering would lead him to the truth. After several years of practicing this extreme form of meditation, Siddhartha, who had wasted away to skin and bones, heard a group of musicians pass by playing lutes. He thought about the dynamics of the instrument and realized that if the strings of the lute were too loose, the music would be too low and quiet, but if the stings were too taught, they would snap. He applied this imagery to himself and understood that he was straining himself too far. He abandoned this practice and began to eat regularly again,…
- 2257 Words
- 10 Pages
Best Essays -
Buddhism a religion some claim was founded by Barbarians’, some claimed was just as good Con- fusionism, and Laozism. The spread of this religion was for the most part responded to in a good way, because how it would help people prosper during China's rough times, but would become disliked by many cause of practices such as mutilating was self in offerings of Buddha.…
- 436 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Still, through the short time he spent with them, he acquires the impressive talents of fasting and patience. These skills then prove to be invaluable to him in his near future. Shortly after he learns what he needs to from the Samanas, he departs from them as he did the Brahmins in order to carry on his hunt for clarification. Then Siddhartha proceeds to encounter a new teacher, this time it is the great Buddha, Gotama, who he decided not of follow, unlike he did with the Samanas and Brahmins. The teachings of the Buddha lead Siddhartha to have a realization himself.…
- 2121 Words
- 9 Pages
Better Essays -
Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha, was born in the sixth century B.C. He lived an extravagant life in a kingdom as a young prince. Siddhartha was ordered by his father to stay in his house and never leave. He eventually disobeyed and ventured out in the world and saw many things he had never seen before nor could understand. According to World Religions Online the article entitled “Life of the Buddha” states, “As the prince rode through the city he saw three things that he had never seen before. One was an old man, one was a man suffering from illness, and the third was a corpse surrounded by mourners.” These sights made him realize that suffering was inevitable and he soon became determined to find a way to cease all suffering. He followed…
- 1081 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays