BUDDHISM
Siddhartha Guatama was born into a wealthy family of the Sakya clan in what is now Nepal. In his youth, he was sheltered from the harsh realities of the world and did not know of human suffering, sickness, advanced age or death until he chanced upon a man suffering from old age. He began a personal search for a life where age and death would not matter. In his search for enlightenment, Siddartha studied with the greatest Hindu masters and joined a group of ascetics but did not find the answers he sought. He determined to try a path of strict thought and concentration. He sat down under a peepul tree (later known as the Bo tree) and with intense concentration and will power he
was able to reach total enlightenment and become the Buddha.
The Buddha's Four noble truths
1.Life is suffering,
2.Life's dislocation is desire,
3.The cure to desire is the overcoming of that desire,
4.Describes how to cure desire by the Eightfold Path.
The Eightfold path shows the way to enlightenment by
overcoming desire.
1.Right views-Define the problem.
2.Right intent- Are you sure you want enlightenment?
3.Right Speech-Take care in what you say.
4.Right Conduct-(5 precepts)
Do not kill,
Do not steal,
Do not lie,
Do not be unchaste,
Do not drink intoxicants
5.Right Livelihood-Engage in occupations that promote life and spiritual progress.
6.Right Effort- Will yourself to continue and you will reach you goal.
7.Right Mindfulness- Become aware of why and how you do everyday things.
8.Right concentration- Your mind should be fine tuned to not stray from what you are thinking.
The Eightfold path of the Buddha is taught by all of the sects existing today. Emphasis is placed on different aspects of the path but the ultimate goal is the same, enlightenment.
