Buddhism: Prince Siddhartha's Life

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Buddhism was founded in the sixth century B.C. by Prince Siddhartha of Northeastern India. Prince Siddhartha seen the suffering in the world and became determined to find an antidote.
While there are different variations of the story of how Prince Siddhartha became the Buddha, most historians agree that Buddhism did have a founder and didn’t just happen naturally. Prince Siddhartha’s life wasn’t documented until more than three centuries after his death, but the story below is what is generally accepted as the story of how Buddhism got its start.
The Buddha’s Beginning
It is said that when Prince Siddhartha was a few days old, it was prophesied by a holy man that the Prince would either be a great military conqueror or a great spiritual …show more content…

He decided instead of starvation he needed to nourish his body and build his strength. When he accepted a bowl of rice milk from a young girl, his companions assumed he was giving up on the quest and abandoned him to continue on their way.
The Enlightenment Of The Buddha
Siddhartha sat beneath a sacred fig, which became known after as the Bodhi Tree and settled into meditation. (Bodhi means ‘awakened’)
The Work of Siddhartha’s mind while he meditated has come to be mythologized as a great battle with Mara, a demon whose name means ‘destruction’. Mara represents all of the passions that snare and delude us. In this mythology, Mara brought vast armies of monsters to attack Siddhartha, who was unaffected. Mara sent his most beautiful daughter to attempt to seduce Siddhartha, but she was unsuccessful. Finally, Mara claimed that the seat of enlightenment belonged to him. The demon said that his spiritual accomplishments were greater than Siddhartha’s. Mara’s monsters cried out “I am his witness!” Mara turned to Siddhartha and challenged “Who will speak for you?” It was then that Siddhartha reached his right hand to touch the earth. The earth itself roared “I bear you witness!” Mara then disappeared. As the sun rose, Siddhartha realized enlightenment and became a

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