Buddhism Buddhism is an eastern philosophical religion that was developed in the sixth century B.C. and is based on the natures of reality, the problems of impermanence, and the way to attain enlightenment. Popular religions nowadays have turned Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) into a God, but in the Buddha's teachings, he regarded himself as just a man. He taught the believers are in charge of their own destiny, and that idolized Gods are merely props and crutches that encourage the tolerations of other point of views.
The founder of Buddhism, Prince Siddhartha Gautama, was born to noble parents around 560 B.C. in Magahda, India. He led a very sheltered life, but at the age of 29 witnessed what is described as The Four Passing Sighs-an old man, a sick man, a dead man and a monk. It was from this that Siddhartha decided to find the true meaning of life. He then stripped himself of his fine clothes, shaved his head, and began his quest for salvation.
After seven years, "It is said that at the age of 36, Siddharta rested under a "bodhi"ÃÂÃÂ tree, and vowed to remain there until he experienced Enlightenment."ÃÂÃÂ Siddhartha finally found the knowledge that he had so long sought after, and returned home to his village to begin teaching and sharing his newly-found wisdom.
The heart of Buddhism is centered on The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths are based on Dharma (which translates from Sanskrit as "teaching doctrine truth"ÃÂÃÂ) and Dukkha (which in short means "suffering, sorrow, pain, misery, sickness, old age, etc."ÃÂÃÂ). These say that (1) all this is suffering, (2) there is an origin to suffering, (3) there is an end to suffering, and (4) there is a path, taught by the Buddha, to nirvana, that is, the...