Siddhartha Gautama's Four Noble Truths: The Eightfold Path

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Buddhism is considered a dominant worldwide religion with a conglomerate history and system of beliefs. Historians believe that the founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama who lived from approximately 566 to 480 B.C. Gautama was the son of an Indian warrior-king that lived a lavish life up until his early adulthood, taking pleasure on the fortunate opportunities of his social status (PBS, n.d.). Siddhartha then determined, after witnessing sick and distress among townspeople he expressed a desire to help them. He ventured out one day and observed a meditator in deep thought and realized that was his calling; that the fulfillment that he longed, came from within (Diamond Way, 2018). The Four Noble Truths consisted of the teachings that the …show more content…

This path, as it is sometimes referred to, can be tried out and analyzed in everyday life because of the great prudence embraced in the path (Nourie, 2013). The eight aspects of the path consist of meditation and demeanor that is necessary to improve the knowledge towards nirvana. Each step of the path begins with right, which is means as full, skillful, or correct. The first step is right understanding which involves the expanding of the thoughtful consideration that allows an individual to enter through one’s deception of concentrating on reality. The next step is called right intention that refers to strengthening an honest responsibility to depart to the path to freedom with persistence and perseverance; basically before people can change, they must have the desire to change. The third step refers to the right speech; consists of telling the truth and avoiding falsification, which multiplies the misery of the world. The remainder of the path is comprised of right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation (Van Voorst,

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