Buddha and Confucius

1. The founder of Buddhism was a man called Siddhartha Gautama, born to a wealthy family and destined for greatness; Siddhartha, however, left his family and the palace in search for religious truth and an end to suffering. Siddhartha tried many ways of reaching an enlightened stage; wandering the forest, joining the beggars, fasting, debating with religious leaders, but when none of these methods brought him a greater understanding of the world, Siddhartha sat himself down under a fig tree, and meditated. After forty-nine days of meditation Siddhartha was said to have achieved an understanding of the cause of suffering, he then became known as the Buddha, enlightened one.

In the Buddha’s first sermon, he laid out the four main ideas that he had been enlightened with; he called them the Four Noble Truths:

1) Everything in life is suffering and sorrow.

2) The cause of all suffering is people’s selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world.

3) The way to end all suffering is to end all desires.

4) The way to overcome such desires and attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path, which is called the Middle Way between desires and self-denial.

“The Eightfold Path was like a staircase… those seeking enlightenment had to master one step at a time.” The steps of the Eightfold Path were:

1) Right Views

2) Right Resolve

3) Right Speech

4) Right Conduct

5) Right Livelihood

6) Right Effort

7) Right Mindfulness

8) Right Concentration

Buddha believed that by following the Eightfold Path, one could fulfill and find legitimacy in the Four Noble Truths, and reach Nirvana; the release from selfishness and pain. Like the Hindu, Buddha believed in reincarnation, a major factor in achieving Nirvana, as...

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...lieve that man can attain the ideal character through education, self -reflection, and self- effort, however, I do not know if society could remain intact if everything were based on the trust system. Even with laws and punishments, people commit felonies, and I can only begin to imagine what the world would be like if the only things stopping a murderer from killing were his morals. I do believe that in the past this system could have worked, but nowadays there are more temptations to do wrong, and we can only hope that one day people will respect each other, and be kind to one another, and conduct themselves properly, without any incentive other than their beliefs.

3. Unlike Confucius, Lao-tzu believed that the natural order was important to have a peaceful society. His book, Dao de Ching expressed his belief that a universal force, the Dao, guides all things.