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Buddhism
• Founded by Siddhartha Gautama, a man of noble
birth who lived in luxury
• Because he was a prince, to which caste did he
belong????
• He lived sheltered in his palace, not seeing
anything unpleasant or disturbing. When he first
encountered suffering and death, he became
distraught and sought to find the answers to life.
• He abandoned his wealth and power to seek how
to end human suffering
• For many years, he lived a life of denial
• According to legend, he ate only a single grain
of rice for 40 days
• This life of denial did not bring him any
happiness or wisdom
• Since his early life of indulgence did not
provide happiness or wisdom, Siddhartha
began to teach balance by seeking the
“middle way”
• His solution came through meditation and he
became the Buddha, the Enlightened One
• The Buddha preached the Four Noble Truths,
which form the foundation of Buddhist
philosophy
• The goal of the Buddhist is to achieve release
from pain and suffering, thus achieving
nirvana, a state of perfect understanding.
• Buddhists believe in reincarnation but believe
that one can achieve nirvana by setting aside
selfish desires
• Buddha never forced his teachings on other
religions
• His message appealed to the lower castes and the
Untouchables because he rejected the caste
system and preached equality
• However, Buddhism never was the most widely
practiced religion in India; instead it spread to
China, Korea, Japan, and southeast Asia
• Today, there are over 300 million Buddhists, many
of whom incorporate the teachings into their own
religious traditions.