The Life of Buddha

951 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Karma and reincarnation buddhism

Siddhārtha Gautama, most commonly known as Buddha, was born around 563 BC. (Chopra 3) He was born to a wealthy family and was never in need of anything. However, Buddha felt his life was incomplete and lacked happiness despite having a wife and son. I am going to report on Buddha’s life and his journey to enlightenment. I chose to report on this subject because I find the life and teachings of Buddha to be very interesting. Although he was much older before receiving the title, Buddha, I will refer to him as such throughout my report. As a child, Buddha knew only luxury and knew nothing of how the world really was. He felt something was missing in his life and decided to set out to find what it was. He reached enlightenment 6 years after setting out as a truth-seeker and he planned to share his new found peace to the world until he died. Here is his story.
Buddha was born to King Suddhodana and Queen Maya, into wealth, luxury, and happiness around 563 BC. His father and mother wanted their son to, “…know only luxury and never see suffering.” (Marchant 6) Some Scholars disagree on the place of birth, some say present-day Nepal while others say present day India. (wikipedia.org) Buddha was given three palaces and anything he could want or need; he knew only happiness. He was sheltered as a child because his father wanted him to know nothing of the evils of the outside world. All through his young life, he knew nothing of the real world, of the suffering and agony some endure. Buddha lived in these ideal situations well into adulthood, although he had come to feel that there was something missing in his life. He married Princess Gopa and they had a son together. Buddha named his son Rahula, meaning “chain” or “fetter.” He felt the b...

... middle of paper ...

...m. He needed to make sure that there were no questions or doubts before he left them for good. After everyone said there no doubts, Buddha blessed them all and lay down on the couch. He passed away peacefully with his head facing north. Buddha’s day of death is celebrated as Parinirvana Day. Buddhism had very many followers, and it still does today. Likewise, Buddha was very loved and cherished, just as he is today. The teachings of the Dharma are still relevant and people search for enlightenment every day. Buddha set out to find enlightenment and then to share it with the world. I don’t know if he thought it would become as widespread as it has, but he was very successful and convincing others that his path was the one to follow. Anyone looking for a simple peaceful life, Buddhism is a great choice for them.

Works Cited

The Buddha and Buddhism by Karen Marchant

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Living Buddha, Living Christ By Thích Nh At Hanh

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thích Nh’at Hanh is a world renowned Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, religious figure and accomplished writer. Living Buddha, Living Christ is only one of his many famous publications. Thích Nh’at Hanh, is famous for his insights into spiritual heritage and mindfulness in the present moment. Many Americans are seeking religious understanding and personal spirituality, even if they do not practice in the traditional manner. Throughout this book Nh’at Hang encourages readers to find meaning, understanding, mindfulness, and peace in the teachings of Buddha and Christ. His main focus is to open meaningful dialogue between different traditions, cultures, and religious groups around the world, for the betterment

    Read More

  • World Religions Dbq

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    His father was warned by the “Brahman soothsayer” the young boy would leave his home to live among the seekers in the forest, therefore his father kept him distracted in the palace. Once he realized that luxury, commodity, and wealth did not guarantee happiness, he sought the key to human happiness. After six years of meditation he found the “middle path” though enlightenment. He continued to teach Buddhism enlightenment. These teaching principles can be found in book Dhamma (Document

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast the Lives of Buddha and Jesus

    3762 Words  | 8 Pages

    It is said that history is shaped by the lives of great men.  Great men are leaders.  They bring about change; they improve the lives of others; they introduce new ideas, models, and theories to society.  Most of the world's religions were founded, developed, or discovered by great men.  Two particular religions - Christianity and Buddhism - developed in different parts of the world, under different circumstances, and in different social atmospheres.  But each religion is based upon the teachings of a great man.  When one compares the life of Buddha with the life of Jesus, one finds that the two share many things in common.  This essay aims to compare and contrast the lives of Buddha1 and Jesus in two key areas:  conception and birth.  In these two areas, one finds that the Buddha and Jesus share many similarities.

    Read More

  • The Spread of Buddhism and Christianity

    1557 Words  | 4 Pages

    Buddhism was founded by one man, Siddhartha Guatama. He was born into royalty around 563 B.C.E. in a Kingdom near the border of India and Nepal. He was raised in wealth and luxury, and at the age of 16, he married a wealth woman and they had a child together. Around the age of 29, he began to realize that all humans were in a cycle of suffering, dying, and then being reincarnated only to suffer and die over and over again. It was then that he decided to leave his wife and child to find a way out of this repeating cycle of life and death. First he studied with teachers, but found he was coming to no conclusions, so he turned to more extreme things such as self-mortification, but he was still left unsatisfied.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Ashvaghosha's Buddhacarit The Life Of The Buddha

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ashvaghosha’s Buddhacarita: The Life of the Buddha serves as one of the most relevant and profound texts regarding the Buddhist religion and it’s foundations. However, unlike other popular religious texts, this one does not serve as a historical document but rather a vessel for explaining the teachings of the Buddha, serving as a guide for the followers of the Enlightened One. Ashvaghosha’s descriptions of the Buddha, his life, and his actions provide an example of the Buddha’s disciplines and truths, giving his followers a detailed and structured idea of his way of life. The Buddhacarita’s descriptions in particular focus on the teaching of pervasive suffering, it’s causes, and the paths (both right and wrong) to breaking free from it.

    Read More

  • Siddhartha's Journey To Enlightenment

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Buddha had lived a sheltered childhood. Before the Buddha was born, “his mother dreamed that a white elephant entered her womb” (“Buddha” Compton’s) and soon after she became pregnant (“Buddha” Compton’s). In the sixth century BCE in Lumbini (present day Nepal), the Buddha was born. His birth name was Siddhartha Gautama, and his father was the king of the Shakya people. His mother, Queen Mayadevi, died a week after giving birth

    Read More

  • Comparison of Socrates and Siddhartha Guatama Buddha

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    Buddha Siddhartha Gautama is the historical founder of Buddhism, and naturally his name expresses numerous myths. The records from ancient times suggest that Socrates was born to a family of a sculptor during the Peloponnesian war. He was married to a shrew, and had trivial financial independence. In opposition, the historical Buddha was a splendid prince, who floundered in luxury with his wife in the genial palaces which kept ignorant of the wretchedness of the world. . Once he discovered the austere reality, he took the path of a loner and by trial-and-error method, from practicing extreme austerities to meditation; he reached enlightenment. (Socrates Biography)

    Read More

  • Asoka and the Buddhist Faith

    1774 Words  | 4 Pages

    Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world, which began in India. The origin of Buddhism is traced back to the experience of single man, Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. Born around 563 B.C.E., legend follows that Siddhartha was the son of a prince in a kingdom near the border of what is now India and Nepal. As such, he was sheltered from the world and lived a life of luxury and comfort. (Molloy 124) However, at age 29 Siddhartha left the royal grounds and witnessed the suffering of ordinary life for the first time. What he saw deeply affected him and caused him to question everything in his materialistic life. Siddhartha made the decision to give up his possessions and embark on a search for enlightenment, an event known as the Great Going Forth. (Molloy 125)

    Read More

  • Buddhism : Buddhism And Buddhism

    1715 Words  | 4 Pages

    Siddhartha Gautama is famously known as Gautama Buddha and was the founder of the idea of Buddhism. The Buddha was known to possess supernatural powers and abilities. He was born in the holy land of Nepal and his journey began in India when he decided to travel and teach himself about life. In the midst of his journey, he discovered Buddhism after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. Buddhism became a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and since then Buddhism has been popular throughout many civilizations. Buddhism is now one of the most ancient religions in the world, where people follow Buddha, which stand for “awakened one,” and Buddhism which has gained popularity because of the teachings of the Buddha.

    Read More

  • Buddhism and Islam

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    Buddhism originated from India, and was founded by Prince Siddharta Gautama, who later came to be known as Buddha, or the enlightened one. Born of a princely caste, he later renounced his comfortable life in search for nirvana. In order to do that, he joined a band of ascetic, who was a group of Hindu priests. In his teaching, the Buddha taught his followers to follow "the middle way", that is, not the way of extreme asceticism. He attained full understanding of the nature of being by meditation and after his success, decided to impart his knowledge to those who follow him .

    Read More

  • Buddha and Confucius

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Did The River Influence Siddhartha

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of Siddhartha’s first teachers on his quest to enlightenment was the one and only Gotama Buddha. Having reached enlightenment himself, Gotama travels around to share knowledge of Buddhist doctrines such as, “the four main points...

    Read More

  • Prince Siddhartha Gautama - Buddha

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who would later be known as Buddha, was born in Lumbini, Nepal around the year 563 BC. He was the son of two important great people. Siddhartha's father's name was Shuddhodana, the King of the Sakyas. His mother, Queen Maya, was a lady "of perfect form and bee-black tresses, fearless in heart and full of grace and virtue." Siddhartha got his name from one of his mother's dreams. Her dream was that an elephant with 6 tusks, carrying a lotus flower in its trunk, touched the right side of Queen Maya's body. That was when Siddhartha was miraculously conceived. When she told her husband about her dream, he called Brahmins, or learned men to interpret it. They predicted that the child one-day would be the greatest king in the world or the greatest ascetic in the world. So that's why they called him Siddhartha, meaning "he whose aim is accomplished." When Siddhartha was about 20 years old he married Yasodhara, who was the daughter of one of the King's ministers. Siddhartha and his new wife had a child a year after they got married. They called their son Rahula, which means "impediment."

    Read More

  • The Life of Buddhist Monks

    2048 Words  | 5 Pages

    The life of a Buddhist monk involves a considerable amount of patience. One must go through an immense amount of training which requires a great amount of time to accomplish to become a Buddhist monk. One must also become familiar with the background behind Buddhism to fully understand the life of Buddhist monks. The restrictions on their daily life also allow us to visualize the life of Buddhist monks. A person seeking insight on Buddhist monks’ lives should learn about meditation in Buddhism to increase background knowledge. One can learn about the life of a Buddhist monk by learning about these aspects of Buddhist life.

    Read More

  • Buddhism Essay

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    Buddhism as a religion began in India between the 5th and 6th centuries (Dehejia, 2007). A young prince by the name of Siddhartha Gotama, born in Lumbini, which is the modern day Nepal, came to the conclusion that worldly positions and monetary riches would not ultimately bring him true happiness. Siddhartha spent the next six years meditating and studying different philosophies in search of enlightenment. In his studies, Siddhartha came to what he called “the middle path”( Lowenstein and Bently,2006). According to, Lowenstein and Bently, after his enlightenment Siddhartha was then known as the Buddha, which is derived from the word budhi that means to awaken. The Buddha then spent the rest of his life, until his death at age 80, teaching his principles. He called these principles the Dhamma, or Truth. Even though today it is known as Buddhism, it’s founder referred to it as Dhamma-Vinaya, which means “the doctrine and discipline”.

    Read More

More about The Life of Buddha

Open Document