Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world. It was founded by Siddhartha Guatama (Buddha) in Northeastern India. It arose as a monastic movement during a time of Brahman tradition. Buddhism rejected important views of Hinduism. It did not recognize the validity of the Vedic Scriptures, nor the sacrificial cult, which arose from it. It also questioned the authority of the priesthood.
Also, the Buddhist movement was open to people of all castes, denying that a person’s worth could be judged by their blood. Siddhartha Gautama was born in 563 B. C to the royal family of the Sakya tribe, Prince of Kapilavasthu, at the part of the Himalaya Mountains near the border of Nepal. [Siddhartha] He possessed certain markings that the tribe believed that he had the potential of either becoming a great king, or an influential spiritual leader.
After the birth of Siddhartha his mother and father passed away fearing that the Siddhartha would leave. He was married and had a son, he was surrounded by all the court’s glamour, luxuries, and by beautiful women, with so many pleasures around him, he dint feel any pain, he don’t know what is pain, death, or any disease, with such pleasures around him Siddhartha did not leave the palace for over twenty-five years.
One day, when Siddhartha rode his chariot beyond the castle walls into the surrounding city, he saw an three amazing things, that he never saw in his whole life, he saw an old age, [a man who is old, suffering from his old age] sickness [who he saw an old woman who is sick going through all suffering and pain ] and death [he saw that many people were crying at the dead body of some one ]. These three really amazing things went through his heart, having been so secluded in his own domain he was unaware of the existence of these true aspects of human nature, which he realized to be suffering which is away from his palace.
Siddhartha] He encountered wandering ascetics and learned of their quest for enlightenment. Upon returning to his palace, he decided to leave his luxuries in order to take on the lifestyle of an ascetic and seek an escape from suffering. Although Siddhartha was married and had recently become a father, but the three amazing truth about the nature left such a deep impression upon His Mind that, at the age of twenty-nine, he decided to leave his palace and enter “the homeless life” (Neill 59).
The homeless is where nobody is around you, where your living your life by yourself by undergoing the suffering) of a monk to seek the truth and find a way to salvation for all sentient beings. Siddhartha cut his long hair and joined some nearby ascetics in their practice of austerities. For six years Siddhartha followed this path; eating very little and meditating constantly. He realized that no one had ever transcended suffering by these means; therefore he followed what he called the Middle Path.
After taking bath and eating he was again back in his good health, Siddhartha made a journey to a village called Senayani, there sitting beneath the bodhi tree, he vowed not to stand until he had attained enlightenment. While attaining enlightenment Siddhartha was able to recall his past lives. He was able to view the karmic constituents of everyone moving from one life to another. Determined to attain the highest enlightenment, Siddhartha was the liberated form the cycle of death and rebirth.
The Buddha then realized the four Noble Truths. Those Truths are: First Noble Truth of Suffering: Rebirth, old age, disease, death, sorrow, lamention, pain, grief and despair. These are all separation form the objects that we love. There are also many happy hours and pleasure in man’s life-time, but according to the law of nature, they are impermanent and these last only for a short time and vanish into nothing. Only sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are left by them behind.
The Second Truth of the Arising of Suffering: The Threefold Craving leads every being from birth to birth and is accompanied by joy and lust, seeking its gratification here and there, namely; Sensual Craving, Craving for Existence and Craving for Wealth and Power. There are also a sixfold craving, namely the eye craves for forms, the ear craves for sounds, the nose craves for odours, the tongue craves for taste, the body craves for objects, and the mind craves for noun, dreams or illusions.
These Cravings and ignorance of the law of nature are the condition of origin of individual suffering. The Third Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering: The condition of cessation of suffering is the complete fading away and extinction of this three fold craving, forsaking it and giving it up, the liberation and detachment from it. The condition of mind of a person who has been giving up his threefold cravings or this sixfold craving together with ignorance can realize Nirvana (or the Extinction of the Cravings).
The Fourth Noble Truth of The Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering: It is the Noble Eightfold Path (or the Middle Path because it avoids the two extremes of sensual pleasure and self-mortification), that leads to the Cessation of Suffering. The Noble Eightfold Path is defined as: right views, right intention, right effort, right action, right livelihood, right speech, right mindfulness, right meditation. Upon attaining enlightenment, or freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth, Siddhartha was known as Buddha.
He then took up many disciples and began to teach the way of the Buddha, the dharma. As he neared his death, Buddha refused a successor. He told his followers to work hard to find their salvation. After his death, it was decided that a new way to keep the community’s unity and purity was needed, since the teachings of Buddha were spoken only. To maintain peace, the monastic order met to decide on matters of Buddhist doctrines and practice. Four of these meetings are considered to be the Four Major Councils.