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Buddha. Who was
he?
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"Awakened
One" (Buddha): Prince Siddhartha
Gautama, who would one day be known as the Buddha, began his
life as a prince in a kingdom in ancient India. He was born
about 553 B.C. He had parents who loved him, many servants
to wait on him, the finest clothes, and a different palace
for each season of the year. Yet, he found his world full
of suffering. It upset him that painful old age, sickness,
and death were all part of life in this world. One day, he
met a monk. He was amazed that this monk could find calm and
peace in a world filled with such sufferings. That day, he
made a very difficult decision. He decided to leave his wealth,
his comfort, his wife, and his newborn son, to become a monk.
For the next six years, he traveled throughout India. But
the answers he found were not enough. One day, while sitting
under a fig tree, an understanding came to him. This understanding
was a way to end suffering. That was the day Prince Siddhartha
Gautama began to earn a new title, the Buddha, which means
"Awakened One".
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Four
Noble Truths: His journey to find the meaning of life
had concluded. The Buddha realized
that life is ruled by Four Noble Truths: Life is filled
with suffering Suffering is caused by people's wants. Suffering
can be ended if people stop wanting things, like more pleasure
or more power. To stop wanting things, people must follow
8 basic laws, called the Eightfold Path.
Eightfold Path: In brief, these are the laws of the
Eightfold Path: To know the truth To intend to resist evil
To not say anything to hurt others To respect life, property,
and morality To work at a job that does not injure others
To try to free one's mind from evil To be in control of
one's feelings and thoughts To practice appropriate forms
of concentration
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The
Middle Way: The Eightfold Path was designed to guide people
without making life too strict or too easy. The Middle Way
is the name Buddhists call lives guided by the laws of the
Eightfold Path. Buddha spent the rest of his life traveling
around India and sharing his message with everyone. He had
many followers, who lived according to his Four Noble Truths.
Some of his followers became Buddhist monks. They gave up
all they owned and depended on other followers and kind hearted
people to give them food. Their message was one of love. After
the Buddha's death in 483 B.C., Buddhism spread rapidly throughout
Southern and Eastern Asia. Proverbs: Buddhists everywhere
live by Buddha's teachings, which were written down as proverbs.
Here are two of Buddha's proverbs, from an ancient Buddha
text written about 100 B.C. As a solid rock is not shaken
by the wind, even so the wise are not ruffled by praise or
blame. Hatreds never cease by hatred in this world; by love
alone they cease. This is an ancient law.
The Growth of Buddhism: Buddhism values love, wisdom,
goodness, calm, and self-control. Buddhists believe that Buddha
and his teachings should be honored, that people should try
to end suffering, that they should follow the Eightfold Path.
In T'ang times, people thought of Buddhism as a chart of behavior
that they could follow to lead them to a life beyond the grave.
Today, Buddhism is a major world religion. There are over
330 million Buddhists in the world.
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