Today there are approximately 500 million people in the world who identify as Buddhists. This is 7% of the world’s population making Buddhism the 4th largest religion, behind Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Buddhists are predominantly located in the Asia-Pacific region; about 99% of adherents are located in that area. Despite being centrally located geography-wise, the majority of Buddhists live as religious minorities. There are only 7 countries in the world where Buddhists enjoy majority status: Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. There are three major branches of Buddhism that have survived into the modern world: Mahayana (The Great Vehicle), Theravada (The Way of the Elders), and Vajrayana (The Diamond Vehicle). Mahayana Buddhism is prevalent in many countries with large Buddhist populations such as China, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea and is therefore believed to be the largest branch. Theravada Buddhism is the second largest and is primarily located in Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Laos, and Cambodia. The smallest, Vajrayana Buddhism, is found in Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and Bhutan. Each of these three has smaller subdivisions but the main differences in teachings and practice are found in the divisions of the primary branches. (pew)
The story of Buddhism begins in the 6th century B.C.E., a time during the period known as the Axial Age. All over the world new ideas and movements were sprouting such as Platonism in Greece and Confucianism in China. During this time India was split into kingdoms and in the palace of the Shakya clan a prince was born and named Siddhartha. Soon after a soothsayer approached the king and declared that the baby boy would go on to have great success as eith...
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...th the way we approach life.
The source of suffering is desire, a desire for selfish fulfillment even at the expense of others. This stems from the impermanence of all things and our reaction to it. We desire to be healthy all of the time, we desire to live forever, we desire to purchase a car or a house and receive satisfaction from that object for as long as we own it. This desire is the root of suffering because everything is in a constant state of change and we will not be healthy or live forever and our cars and house will need maintenance and upkeep.
The third truth is a logical extension of the second; if suffering has a source there must be an end or cure. There is a way to end the constant grasping for happiness and the following disappointment when our expectations are not met and that end is the Noble Eightfold Path mentioned in the fourth truth.
Who is the Buddha? Siddhartha Gotama was born into a rich royal family, located in Nepal in 563 BC. Siddhartha’s birth was prophesied by his mother, whom had Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side (a sign of great importance in that culture). It was prophesied that he would be a great emperor or great religious leader. He was provided with all the luxuries of life and was shielded from all harm and those whom needed help.
In Cause of Suffering, everyone craves a lust for satisfaction, whether it is hunger, power, or entertainment. We never forget the thirst for attentiveness as it becomes repetitive until the thirst subsides for a while. For this reason,
History started with God’s creation, redemption, humanity rebellion against God, ultimate plan for divine intervention and restoration. God is the only source of meaning in history and in life. Most historians agree that Siddhartha Gautama started Buddhism in 5th century BCE who was born in Lumbini. He watched suffering in the world and decided for solution. Through meditation and analysis he achieved enlightenment. Buddhism has spread from India to every corner of the world. Many people embraced philosophical and practical aspects of Buddhism and integrated them into their religious and social
Buddhism is a religion that was created after Buddha, whose real name is Siddharta Gautama. According to an introductory article on Buddhism by Stanford University, it is estimated that Buddha was born “around 490 B.C.E in the foothills of the Himalayas” (Introduction to Buddhism, 2007). Although, nobody is able to accurately pinpoint the origins of Buddhism as a religion, many believe that it originated in the Northern parts of India.
Buddhism was founded by one man, Siddhartha Guatama. He was born into royalty around 563 B.C.E. in a Kingdom near the border of India and Nepal. He was raised in wealth and luxury, and at the age of 16, he married a wealth woman and they had a child together. Around the age of 29, he began to realize that all humans were in a cycle of suffering, dying, and then being reincarnated only to suffer and die over and over again. It was then that he decided to leave his wife and child to find a way out of this repeating cycle of life and death. First he studied with teachers, but found he was coming to no conclusions, so he turned to more extreme things such as self-mortification, but he was still left unsatisfied.
Desire is seen as one of the main sources of suffering in Buddhism because it can create an attachment to certain things in life, whether they be people or inanimate objects, and this sets one up for more suffering. The bodhisattva’s father epitomizes desire in the Buddhacarita. He wishes for his son to eventually be the ruler of the earth rather than simply a religious leader. This base desire sets him up for suffering since upon his son’s rejection of the regal way of life he is disappointed in a way that would not be possible if he did not have desire in the first place. The king’s desires, and selfish ones at that, end up not going as planned since the bodhisattva eventually sees suffering and is determined to fix suffering in the world leading to his father trying to sorrowfully persuade the bodhisattva to stay while “shedding copious amounts of tears” (B. 5.40). This event clearly depicts how desire is able to directly lead to suffering; however, the king was not learned in the ways of Buddhism so he would have easily been manipulated by desires of the world, but desire is even able to corrupt those that are more learned in the teachings of Buddhism, even though it was an early form. Even the gods were upset when the Buddha neared the end of his life because they did not want to see him die.
to state suffering as the entirety of the first noble truth, is not enough because the expression of
Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world, which began in India. The origin of Buddhism is traced back to the experience of single man, Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. Born around 563 B.C.E., legend follows that Siddhartha was the son of a prince in a kingdom near the border of what is now India and Nepal. As such, he was sheltered from the world and lived a life of luxury and comfort. (Molloy 124) However, at age 29 Siddhartha left the royal grounds and witnessed the suffering of ordinary life for the first time. What he saw deeply affected him and caused him to question everything in his materialistic life. Siddhartha made the decision to give up his possessions and embark on a search for enlightenment, an event known as the Great Going Forth. (Molloy 125)
The way to end all suffering is to end all desires. 4) The way to overcome such desires and attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path, which is called the Middle Way between desires and self-denial. “The Eightfold Path was like a staircase. those seeking enlightenment had to master one step at a time.”
Suffering is an individual's basic affective experience of pain or distress, often as a result of one’s physical, emotional or spiritual circumstance (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 2006). Suffering can be classified as physical; for example pain caused by a dislocated knee, emotional; for example one’s grief over the death of a loved one, or spiritual; which is described as the state of being separated from the blissful nature of your divine self (soul). To suffer physically or emotionally is often unavoidable; however it can be argued that spiritual liberation...
Buddhism prevailed as a religion indigenous to west India and comprises of varieties of traditions, beliefs and practices based on the teachings of Buddha. There are many reasons why Buddhism became so popular and entered into many civilizations. Buddhism began to be popular throughout Asia alongside India. Buddhism has blossomed in the contemporary world, especially in the West. It is an issue to wonder what Buddhism offers that other religions cannot and has become so significant worldwide. Buddhism has become an idea that is widespread and the teachings of Buddha have made a real difference in many civilizations like India, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea and surprisingly Buddhism has come to make a significant difference in American culture.
Buddhism, like most other religions, originated in a particular place at a particular time, and its roots are in forms and ideas that were part of the environment in which it developed. The most important of these areas at the time of the Buddha was the valley of the Ganges river which flows from west to east across most of northern India. It was here that the great religions of India first arose and flourished. Only later did they spread to the south. In the time of the Buddha, about 500 B.C.E., this area was undergoing a period of vigorous religious development.
Furthermore, even the happiest and carefree of people will eventually experience some kind of suffering. The Buddha taught people to recognize that suffering is part of life and that it cannot be avoided. However, this suffering does not only come from the body—it also comes from within. Those who experience loneliness, depression, anxiety, or cannot satisfy their needs and wants are suffering. Despite the negative aspects of suffering, Siddhartha also spoke of happiness through friendships, family life, or health. Though, the downfall to this is that happiness is impermanent—or annica—and will not end all suffering. Buddhists believe that the way to end suffering is to first accept the fact that suffering is a fact of life. The next aspect to recognize is what causes such suffering?
The name Buddhism comes from the word "budhi" which means "to wake up." This philosophy originated from the life of a man named Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha. “At his naming ceremony, priests foretold that his life could go in one of two directions”( Molloy 125). He would either follow his father's footsteps and become a world ruler or he would become a spiritual leader, if he got exposed to the sight of suffering. As Siddhartha grew, his father kept him away from all the suffering of the outside world. He got educated and trained inside a luxurious palace, preparing to eventually become the ruler his father wanted him to be. All was going as planned until Siddhartha decide to visit a town close to his palace without...
...to face reality. We gain true happiness in suffering because the greatest happiness is known that when we really suffered. And I'm pretty sure all the characters like Mandela, Ghandi could be happy to know that their fight eventually pay today. Even as a human, suffering has become a part of our existence. Any good marriage is based on periods of discord, relations between parents and children are often in tension. Every birth is preceded by the suffering of the mother. Therefore overcome suffering is not about something that happened, but how you respond to life after these tests.