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By the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify and understand the Buddhist Religion and be able to explain the key concepts and major beliefs and how they affect believers in India and the world. The Story of Buddhism In this chapter you will learn about Buddhism and its teachings. You will learn about Buddhism’s founder, Prince Siddhartha, his journey to enlightenment, and the foundations and teachings he established that Buddhists still follow today. Siddhartha’s Birth Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born about 560 B.C.E. in India near the Himalayan Mountains. Before he was born, his mother, Queen Mahamaya, had a dream. In the dream, the queen was carried over the Himalayas and placed on a silver couch. A white elephant with 6 tusks nudged the right side of her body. The king and queen asked Brahmins about the dream. They told the king and queen that they were to have a special child who would make an impact on the world. The prince would either be a great ruler to his people, or he would see the suffering of the world and be a Buddha. The queen gave birth to Siddhartha, and a warm rain of flowers showered upon them. The prince could walk, and Lotus flowers grew in his footsteps. The prince also spoke and told his mother that he was born to free mankind from its suffering. The Prince’s Royal Life Queen Mahamaya died seven days after Siddhartha's birth. His father, King Suddhodana, raised him, along with Maya’s sister. Remembering what the Brahmins said, the king tried to shelter his son. He wanted Siddhartha to become a powerful king. So, the king never let the prince leave the palace walls. The prince married in his late teens to his cousin, Yasodhara. The couple lived in happiness for twelve years, and enjoyed the luxuries of royal life. At age 29, Siddhartha had a son. The Prince Sees Suffering The Prince was given the freedom to travel outside the palace after the birth of his son. On his journeys, he saw three forms of human suffering. On his first journey, Siddhartha saw an elderly man. The prince didn’t understand and asked Channa about this. His driver told him that everyone’s body is constantly aging. On his second journey, the prince saw a man in pain crying for help. He asked why the man did that. The driver explained that sickness to him. On his final journey, the prince saw a funeral procession. He asked his driver about it. His driver explained that death comes to all people. Siddhartha Leaves After seeing the three forms of suffering, Prince Siddhartha decided to give up his throne and journeyed to seek the truth. At the age of 29, the prince left his family and escaped the palace walls. He left his wife and newborn son. The journey set his fate as Buddha. Deeply troubled, Siddhartha pondered what he had seen. He met a man who had inner peace. He was known as an ascetic, or a person who gives up worldly pleasures. The ascetic told the prince that being free from suffering meant that he must give up worldly pleasures and desires and help others attain peace. Siddhartha Becomes Ascetic Siddhartha joined the ascetics. He had his driver take him to the forest where he cut his hair and returned his royal goods and sent them back to the palace with his driver. He kept a bowl for alms, or gifts of food. Siddhartha met other ascetics and sought truth. They wanted to reach enlightenment, or awakening, through meditation and denying themselves the basic needs. He drank one drop of water and ate one grain per day. He deprived himself of sleep, sat in the hot sun and even held his breath. Siddhartha Leaves the Ascetics After 6 years, Siddhartha found himself very thin from lack of food. Stories say that he could see the ribs of his back and touch his stomach and feel his backbone. He was still very unhappy. Siddhartha, nearly dead from starvation, took rice from some village women. He knew that deprivation was not the right path to enlightenment. His followers left him, thinking that he abandoned the spiritual journey. He then decided to follow the middle way, the path between the two worldly extremes. Siddhartha is Tempted The middle way of thinking forced Siddhartha to travel the road to enlightenment alone. He was not enlightened, but he was on the right path. Siddhartha bathed in the Nairanjana River on his 35th birthday. He decided to find enlightenment or at least die trying. While he meditated, the evil god Mara tempted him with his three daughters, Discontent, Delight and Desire. When he avoided them, Mara came and tried to tempt Siddhartha. After refusing Mara, he fell into a deep state of consciousness. Siddhartha Reaches Enlightenment After meditating 49 days under the Bodhi tree and refusing Mara’s Temptation, Siddhartha became Buddha, or the Awakened or Enlightened One. He reached nirvana, an ideal state of peace and happiness. He reached the truths that he sought, and saw the past lives that he lived through Zen, or meditation. He understood what the cycle of rebirth meant and how to end the cycle of all suffering. Buddha now knew he had to teach others how to reach nirvana and how to attain happiness in the world. The Four Noble Truths After teaching other ascetics, Buddha then returned to his home to teach the royal family he had left six years previous. Buddha then taught others how to reach enlightenment. Buddha’s teachings became known as the Four Noble Truths. They are based on the idea of the middle way. These ideas became the basis for the Buddhist belief system. They are: 1. All life is suffering. 2. Suffering is caused by cravings. 3. The way to end suffering is to give up all cravings. 4. The way to give up all cravings is to live life according to the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path The Eightfold Path is finding the “middle way” in all things. Right understanding. (Understand the Four Noble Truths.) Right purpose. (Live a non-selfish and non-violent life.) Right speech. (Do not lie or gossip.) Right action. (Do not kill or steal.) Right way to earn a living. (Don’t do a job that harms others.) Right effort. (Promote good actions.) Right mindfulness. (Be aware, not attached, to your feelings.) Right concentration. (Focus your mind with meditation.) Buddhism Video Buddhism Siddhartha Eightfold Path 4 Noble Truths 3 Forms of Suffering Ascetics Buddhism Enlighten ment Nirvana Reincarnation Middle Way