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Prince Siddhartha
Gautama
“The Buddha”
The Prince
Prince Siddhartha Gautama,
who would one day be known
as the Buddha, was born in
ancient India in 563 BCE.
He was born around the same
time that Confucius was born
in ancient China.
The Prince
The prince had parents
who loved him, servants to
wait on him, the finest
clothes, and a different
palace for each season.
Still he found his world full
of suffering. It upset him
that old age, sickness, and
death were all parts of life
in this world.
The Monk
One day, he met a monk. He
was amazed that this monk
could find calm and peace in
a world filled with such
suffering. 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.
The Buddha
For the next six years, he
traveled throughout India.
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 the prince began to earn
a new title, the Buddha, which
means the "Awakened One."
Four Noble Truths
The Buddha realized that life is ruled by
Four Noble Truths:
1. All life is suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by selfish desires.
3. This suffering can be ended.
4. There is an Eightfold Path to end the
suffering.
Eightfold Path
In brief, these are the eight laws of the Eightfold
Path:
1. Right viewpoint
2. Right intention
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right work
6. Right Effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right meditation
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 give to lives guided
by the laws of the Eightfold
Path.
Silk Road
The Buddha spent the rest of his life traveling
around India and sharing his message. He had
many followers, some of whom became Buddhist
monks. After his death in 483 BCE, the teachings
of Buddhism spread into China as ideas and
stories told by travelers along the Silk Road.
Proverbs
Buddhists everywhere live by the Buddha's
teachings, which were written down as proverbs.
Here is one of the Buddha's proverbs, written over
2000 years ago: “Hatreds never cease by hatred
in this world; by love alone they cease. This is an
ancient law.”
Laughing Buddha
Have you ever wondered why
many statues of Buddha have
a laughing face? The laughing
Buddha reminds us that to be
happy, we need to have a
loving heart. By not being
resentful, by not bearing
grudges, only then are we
able to smile like the Buddha,
and be truly happy.
Growth of Buddhism
Buddhism values love,
wisdom, goodness, calm,
and self-control.
Summary:Buddhists
believe that the Buddha
and his teachings should
be honored, that people
should try to end suffering,
and that they should follow
the Eightfold Path.
Growth of Buddhism
In T’ang times, people
thought of Buddhism as a
chart of behavior that they
could follow to lead them
toward a state of
enlightenment. Today,
Buddhism is a major
religion. There are over
330 million Buddhists in
the world.
Quick Quiz
1. Why did the Buddha leave his comfortable
home?
2. What is the Eightfold Path?
3. What is the Middle Way?
4. Why is the Buddha pictured as laughing?