Buddhism 2
Buddhism 2Before Buddha had started teaching, many people were
ignorant of their feelings and could not understand a
lot of their senses. Before Buddha, people suffered
without understanding why. Buddha taught people how to
release themselves from this daily suffering. They
learned that the pathway to self-righteousness was
bordered with the release from suffering. Buddha’s way
of life has benefited the whole world because now
people can choose to understand why we are suffering,
and how we can be released from it.
In the depths of India in C.563 b.c., a child
was born. His parents named him Siddartha Guatama, and
it was prophesized that he would one day become a
universal emperor or teacher. Siddartha’s father was
a wealthy ruler of an important tribe called “shakya”1
Young Siddartha spent his early life enclosed within
the walls of the palace, where he was sheltered from
anything but luxury, and serenity. He was not
satisfied with only material possessions. Siddartha
felt like he needed something else in his life. So he
pleaded to his father that he could become a follower
of the polytheistic religion that was at that time the
only religion in India. When his father refused,
Siddartha stood in one place for days on end, until his
father agreed. So Siddartha left his enclosed palace
and set out on his own.
Not long after he started his venture out of
his home, Siddartha ran across four things he had never
seen before. These four things were to be called the
four signs. The four signs were; old age, sickness,
death, and true serenity. These four men were really
gods put there so Siddartha could learn what else lies
beyond the pure luxury that he knows so well.
Siddartha soon realized that the first three men stood
for the presence of suffering, and the fourth man stood
for the release of suffering. From that point on,
Siddartha knew that his mission would be to solve the
riddle of suffering and figure out a way to overcome
it. He found a Bo tree nearby and swore he would sit
beneath the tree and contemplate the reasoning behind
suffering until he could solve the riddle. There he
sat until after 49 days, when he rose and found the
holy men whom he had made friends with, he gave his
first sermon, and soon he had a whole group of
followers. By reciting his first sermon, Siddartha was
“setting in motion the wheel of the law”2 It was
apparent that Siddartha had taken a major step toward
enlightenment. His many trusted followers had noticed
this and they gave him the name “Buddha”. Buddha is a
western Indian Sanskrit name. “Budh” meaning “to wake
up, or to know”. Buddha’s goal was to escape the cycle
of rebirth, and to be released from suffering.
Some of Buddha’s more famous teachings were the
art of self realization. Self realization is finding
inner sanction within oneself. Buddha believed that
material possessions were not important in following
the long road to self realization. Buddha also taught
the path to self righteousness which was called the
eightfold path. The eightfold path was based on Right
Knowledge, or knowledge of what life is about. This
path would teach discipline to oneself through usage of
clarity, and speaking kindly, as well as a clear
devotion to being on the way to enlightenment. One
must always reflect on their behavior and the reasons
for it as well. No lying, cheating, stealing, killing,
drinking, and sexual offenses would be tolerated.
Buddha would reiterate that all life is suffering,
pain, and misery. He would also teach that suffering
has a cause, and can be overcome through the destroying
of selfish craving.
People who chose to be Buddhist Monks (men and
women) were run every day by meditation, prayer, and
sacred rituals. These customs were believed to keep
them on the eightfold path. Serious Buddhist monks
disregard any difference between humans and animals,
and they believe equal compassion should be given to
all. Buddhist philosophy is subtle, yet complex; their
beliefs grow from traditions not yet recognized by our
westernized ideas and customs. Buddhist monks dedicate
themselves to Buddhism, and are willing to do anything
to find inner peace. Buddhism was a major role in a
monk’s life. “It was a reaction against war in itself,
but it was also a movement against the ritual
sacrificing used in Hinduism”3. Poverty, celibacy, and
non-violence were the 3 essential parts in the life of
a monk. They believed in no form of private property,
except ones own cloak. Monks also believed that the
only way food can be obtained is by begging for it.
They needed to gather “alms”4 each day so they could
eat. The Buddhist Monk rejected things that might be
very tempting to a regular person. They believed that
they could only grow spiritually stronger by refusing
such things.
Buddha was a very wise man, and he knew that
there must be a way to overcome selfishness, and to
destroy pain and suffering. He also knew that to do
such things, we must give up the things we enjoy doing.
All life has a purpose, and in order to live life to
the fullest, we must overcome craving, and start
feeling compassion for one and all beings of the
universe. If the whole world was run like the Buddha
taught, there would be no wars. Everyone would live
equally, and we would all share the meaning of absolute
peacefulness.