Monday, September 7, 2009

Buddhism

Buddhism first arose around the sixth century B.C.E. and its popularity grew because it was seen as a safe haven or escape of the harsh reality of the times. Buddhism which grew out of Hinduism was an attractive faith or way of life for those who wished to leave the life of warfare and ritualism that a growing Hindu empire was giving to them. Although Buddhism does share similar concepts with Hinduism such as karma and dharma, the main difference between the two is that Buddhism rejects the worship of a panoply of gods, but does reaffirm monotheism.
Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born around 563 B.C.E in the foothills of the Himalayan in Nepal and was the son of a minor king. He married at the age of 19 and had a son. After years of teaching and acquiring disciples, he died at the age of 80 somewhere between 485 and 480 B.C.E. This is all that is known for certain about Gautama Buddha. The legend has it that after seeing how miserable life can be for some individuals, Buddha left his family and riches behind in order to find the truth of why things were the way they were. In order to do this he owned nothing but a wooden bowl and a rag for clothing, he fasted and meditated often under a great tree. After 49 days of intense meditation he attained the truth of enlightenment.
Buddha spoke of the four noble truths (1) life is filled with pain and sorrow, (2) it is all caused by desire and wanting, (3) to end suffering one must become desireless and (4) desirelessness can be gained by the eightfold path of right conduct. These accounts of Buddha’s teachings were recorded in a collection of texts called the Tripitaka. Buddhism for its first centuries of existence remained a minority religion, much like Christianity, but soon began to expand from India to the rest of Asia.