Many of the mainline religions have the ultimate goal of receiving enlightenment. Most of which, enlightenment comes in the form of eternal afterlife in a superior setting with the higher power. Buddhism however, reaches enlightenment or also known as Nirvana by escaping the cycle of rebirth. Buddhism has been around as a religion for quite some time now an in today’s society it may seem too be viewed a bit different but still the main principles it was founded on still stand. Buddhism gets more in detail and specific if it is being observed to that extent, into three branches also known as "vehicles". Theravada ("the small vehicle") even called Hinayana is one branch, Mahayana ("the large vehicle"), and Vayrayana ("the thunderbolt, or diamond, vehicle") is the last branch. All three of these branches are largely active in East Asia, but the primary focus will be on the Theravada branch and following the religion correctly to escape the "rebirth cycle".
Buddhism began in the country of India in the sixth century B.C.E. and eventually spread to a global religion. Buddhism came about under a single founder named Siddartha Gautama who was born in 563 B.C.E. All Buddhist honor Siddartha Gautama but some followers see different understandings within his teachings. Gautama restricted his diet and meditated for 5 years and found the enlightenment tree. This is a fig tree in Northeastern India he meditated under. His first five students ended up leaving him after a situation where he fainted. Soon after Gautama incident, the core teachings of the Buddhist religions began to form. Such as the "Middle Way" which is between self-denial and self-indulgence and also the "Four Noble Truths" came into this religion as basic teachings.
The Fou...
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...on. However, Buddhism managed to recover and spread a little bit. As of the year 2000, Buddhism was known as the world’s fourth largest religions with right six percent of the population. There even has been some controversy to where people where asking if Buddhism is more of a philosophy than religion. However, Buddhism has survived for quite some time, still on the same basic points that started and even has started gain support here in America. For Theravada Buddhism purpose to escape the cycle of rebirth and not have an “afterlife” reward this religion seems to have some value people feel the need to hold on to.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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 .
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Buddhism was founded around 520 BC by Siddharta Gautama, who was an Indian Prince. Buddhism emphasizes practice over belief. In reality, however, Buddhism centers on correct understanding of human nature and ultimate reality. The Buddha was, after all, called the "Enlightened One." He taught that the way to eliminate suffering began with understanding the true nature of the world. In Buddhism, the purpose of life is to end suffering. The Buddha taught that humans suffer because we continually strive after things that do not give lasting happiness.