Download How did Buddhism start?

Nov 27th
Teaching Page
Eric
How did Buddhism start?
How did Buddhism start? It started by a man named Siddhartha Gautama. Gautama
was a prince in India. He was rich, powerful, and he had everything. When he was twenty-nine,
he rode outside of the palace grounds. While he was outside, he saw an old man and a sick
man. He also saw a funeral with people weeping around a body. “Why was there so much pain
and suffering?” he thought. He met a holy man who said he went place to place to solve
suffering in the world. Gautama began to try to answer his question. He became a monk and
wore simple holy man clothing and shaved his head. He thought extreme self-denial and selftorture could lead into enlightenment so he ate one grain of rice per day. He traveled around
India for six years looking for the answer. He realized that extreme self-denial and self-torture
could never lead into enlightenment. As a result, he abandoned doing it. Gautama went to a
village near Gaya and sat under the great tree. Under the great tree, he meditated. The great
tree means the tree of enlightenment or wisdom. When he was thirty-five, he achieved
enlightenment. Achieving enlightenment means one has learned the meaning of life. Gautama
was called Buddha after achieving enlightenment. He spent time teaching the right way to live
to other people. When Buddha had passed away, his followers carried on his teaching. Later
on, an emperor called Ashoka encouraged people to be Buddhist by ruling India according to
the Buddhist’s teaching. In the first century, Buddhism began in Nepal, Tibet, and China. In the
fourth century, it reached Korea. In the fifth century, it reached Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia,
and Laos. In the ninth century it reached the neighbouring countries of China.
Did you know?
Having long ear means you have
good luck
This is a picture of a Buddha
What is Wesak?
What is Wesak? Wesak is a festival that Buddhists celebrate. Wesak can also be called
Buddha Day. It is called Buddha Day because Buddhists believe that Buddha’s birth, achieving
enlightenment, and death happened on a full moon. Wesak is always held on a full moon. The
month of Wesak is very important for a Buddhist and it is celebrated in May or June. Buddhists
talk about Buddha’s enlightenment and they tell children stories about Buddha. Each story
teaches the children a moral lesson. Buddhists also go to a holy place to chant and meditate. It
is also important to be generous while celebrating Wesak, so they give robes and gifts to
monks and they exchange gifts with each other.
Most of the festivals vary from country to country.
Glossary
Enlightenment = Meaning of
life
Great tree = tree of wisdom or
enlightenment
Buddha = Enlightened One
Buddhists celebrating Weask
Siddhartha Gautama = An
Indian Prince who became
Buddha
Why are text features useful?
Text features are useful because it can help you understand and navigate through the
text. For example, the highlighted words and glossary helps you understand what the main
words of this text are and tells you the definition of the highlighted words. Subheadings can
navigate you because when you want to learn about Wesak and you see “How did Buddhism
start?”, then you know you can skip that page and look at subheadings about Wesak.
Works Cited
Erricker, Clive, and Jane Erricker. Buddhist Festivals. Crystal Lake, IL: Heinemann Library, 1997.
Print.
Gerner, Katy. Buddhism. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2008. Print.
Penney, Sue. Buddhism. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2001. Print.
The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, 2006. Print.
http://travellerguide.asia/wesak-day-in-asia.html
http://www.messagefrommasters.com