Buddhism
At present Buddhism is one of the major world religions. The philosophy of
Buddhism is based on the teachings of Lord Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (563 and
483 BC), a royal prince of Kapilvastu, India. After originating in India,
Buddhism spread throughout the Central Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Southeast Asia,
as well as the East Asian countries of China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan and
Vietnam. Buddhism owes its origin to the socio-economic conditions prevailing
in India at that point of time.
The founder of
Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama was a prince of the Sakya tribe. At the age of
twenty nine he left the comforts of his home to seek answer to the cause of
human sufferings. Gautama became the enlightened one, the Buddha, after
wandering and meditation for six years. On the full moon of May, with the
rising of the morning star, Siddhartha attained knowledge at Bodh Gaya. Gautama
Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath, near Varanasi. To preach his
religion, Buddha wandered in the North East India for about 40 odd years. His
hard work bore fruit and a community or Sangha of monks and nuns developed
around him. The Sangha pursued practice and propagation of Buddhism.
The fundamental
principle of Buddhism is to follow the middle path. Buddhism teaches its followers
to perform good and wholesome actions and to purify and train the mind. These
practices are aimed at ending the suffering of cyclic existence. Buddhist
emphasizes the principles of harmlessness and moderation. Buddhism does believe
in the existence of supernatural beings but it does not ascribe the power for
creation, salvation or judgment to them. Buddhism believes that the
supernatural beings have the power to affect only worldly events.
Four Noble
Truths Of Buddhism
· Life is suffering;
· Suffering is due to attachment;
· Attachment can be overcome
· There is a path for accomplishing this.
Eightfold Path
Of Buddhism
· Right view is the true understanding of the four noble truths.
· Right aspiration is the true desire to free oneself from attachment,
ignorance, and hatefulness.
· Right speech involves abstaining from lying, gossiping, or hurtful talk.
· Right action involves abstaining from hurtful behaviors, such as killing,
stealing, and careless sex.
· Right livelihood means making your living in such a way as to avoid
dishonesty and hurting others, including animals.
· Right effort is a matter of exerting oneself in regards to the content of
one's mind: Bad qualities should be abandoned and prevented from arising again;
Good qualities should be enacted and nurtured.
· Right mindfulness is the focusing of one's attention on one's body,
feelings, thoughts, and consciousness in such a way as to overcome craving,
hatred, and ignorance.
· Right concentration is meditating in such a way as to progressively realize
a true understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and non-separateness.
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