Lord Buddha

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Recommended: History and practice of Buddhism

The founder of Buddhism was not a divine being, prophet, or messiah, like many people today believe. He was an ordinary man. Siddhartha Gautama helped revolutionize the world, by discovering Buddhism, and helping his followers find true peace in their lives through the path of enlightenment. The Hindu word, “Buddha”, means “One who is awake” (Pauling 5). Towards the end of his life Siddhartha became “awake”to the world around him. This enlightenment would be the building blocks for Buddhism, and would change the world forever.

Siddhartha Gautama was born into a wealthy family. His father, King Suddhodana, was ruler over the Sakya tribe near Nepal or Northern India (The Big View). Siddhartha was born sometime around 560 BCE, which is before the birth of another prominent revolutionary figure, Jesus Christ (Pauling 5). Siddhartha lived a very luxurious, and abundant lifestyle. He had access to all the amenities of life such as, food, expensive clothing, and several servants.

In his early years as a child he had his first spiritual experience while meditating. Soon after, despite all of the material possessions and luxuries, he decided to leave the palace for a small journey. What he saw on this journey would forever change the way he viewed life. On his journey he came across a sickly old mans body being burned. After seeing this he realized that old age, sickness and death exist , and that people have no control over their lives (The Big View). This sight led him to a dramatic decision to leave the palace, his family,and give up his title as Prince. He then shaved his hair, and gave up all of his expensive clothing. He traveled homeless, with no money in search of inner peace. After his six year journey, he finally disc...

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...utama." Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Ed. Karen

Christensen and David Levinson. Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 199-201. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Oct. 2011.

"Buddhist Studies: Geographical Spread of Buddhism in Asia." BuddhaNet - Worldwide Buddhist

Information and Education Network. Web. 02 Oct. 2011. .

"THE BASIC TEACHING OF BUDDHA." SFSU WWW. Web. 02 Oct. 2011.

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Cannella, Dolores, Steven P. Perlman, and H. Barry Waldman. "Buddhism: a religion created to

deal with disabilities." The Exceptional Parent Oct. 2010: 60+. General OneFile. Web.

2 Oct. 2011.

Pauling, Chris. "Chapter Two The Buddha." Introducing Buddhism. Birmingham: Windhorse

Publications, 1997. Print.

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