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    Siddhartha Gautama, the historical founder of Buddhism, was born in the mid-sixth century BC in a small city in northern India. He was sheltered in his father's palace where he did not experience suffering until venturing outside and witnessing an old man, sick man, dead man, and peaceful monk. This led Siddhartha to abandon his life and become a monk to find the meaning of life through meditation and enlightenment.

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    Siddhartha Gautama, the historical founder of Buddhism, was born in the mid-sixth century BC in a small city in northern India. He was sheltered in his father's palace where he did not experience suffering until venturing outside and witnessing an old man, sick man, dead man, and peaceful monk. This led Siddhartha to abandon his life and become a monk to find the meaning of life through meditation and enlightenment.

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    17 views2 pages

    Buddhism

    Uploaded by

    Ted Candella
    Siddhartha Gautama, the historical founder of Buddhism, was born in the mid-sixth century BC in a small city in northern India. He was sheltered in his father's palace where he did not experience suffering until venturing outside and witnessing an old man, sick man, dead man, and peaceful monk. This led Siddhartha to abandon his life and become a monk to find the meaning of life through meditation and enlightenment.

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    Siddhartha Gautama

    The historical founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, was a native of a small city in
    the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. He was born in the mid-sixth century B.C.
    Siddhartha was surrounded in affluent surroundings by his father, the king. In the palace,
    Siddhartha experienced the best of the ancient Indian world. Throughout his life, he never
    experienced the reality of suffering in the world. The king wanted Siddhartha to follow in his
    footsteps and eventually take over as king. He was afraid that his son may want to become a
    monk, a man who devotes himself to a religious group. If he could convince his son of the
    grandeur of life as a king, he would stay forever. Siddhartha experienced this lavish way of life
    until he was around thirty years old, already with a wife and son.
    Then, Siddhartha was allowed to venture out of the palace walls. There he spotted an
    elderly man hobbling painfully along with a cane. Siddhartha asked his servant what was wrong
    with the man. He learned that all people grow old someday and said, “Shame on birth, since to
    everyone that is born, old age must come.” Next he saw someone who was very ill. It troubled
    him to find out that sickness was part of life. On another occasion, the prince came upon a
    funeral procession. He learned that death was a part of life.
    Finally, Siddhartha spotted a man in the park who seemed to be at peace with the world.
    The man was calm even though he was asking people for help in getting his next meal.
    Siddhartha asked his servant who the man was and learned that the man was a monk. The
    prince was amazed that someone could be so at peace in a world filled with sorrow and
    suffering.
    The prince then decided that he would give up all he had and become a monk. His
    journey to find the meaning of life had begun.

    1. Where and when was Siddhartha born?

    2. Try to define the words affluent and grandeur without looking it up. Use context
    clues.

    3. How and why was Siddhartha sheltered by his father, the king?

    4. What were the four things that Siddhartha witnessed outside the palace walls?

    5. What decision did Siddhartha make after witnessing life outside the palace?
    To find the answers to the meaning of life, Siddhartha abandoned his home and family
    and traveled widely. He gave up all of his belongings. For the next six years, Siddhartha
    traveled throughout northern India as a monk. In his search for wisdom, he talked at length with
    Hindu priests, but felt their answers were not enough. To clear his mind and disconnect himself
    with the physical world, he stopped eating. He eventually began eating once he nearly starved
    himself to death.
    Siddhartha spent much of his time meditating. Meditation is to focus and quiet the mind
    in order to reach a higher level of awareness and inner calm. Finally, Siddhartha achieved
    enlightenment as to the meaning of life under a tree and spent the rest of his life preaching it.
    His teachings became the philosophy of Buddhism. The wisdom he received would later earn
    him the title of Buddha, which means the “Awakened One.”
    The Buddha adopted the beliefs of karma and reincarnation into Buddhism. Buddhist
    texts say that the Buddha concluded that life is ruled by Four Noble Truths. These include: life is
    full of suffering, suffering is caused by people’s wants like power or a longer life, suffering can
    be ended if people stop wanting things, and to stop wanting things people must follow eight
    basic laws.
    The eight basic laws are referred to as the Eightfold Path. This is a set of instructions on
    the proper way to live. By following this path, people could end suffering. These include right
    knowledge, right purpose, right speech, right conduct, right occupation, right effort, right
    awareness, and right meditation.
    By the time the Buddha died at age 80, there were thousands of Buddhists who followed
    Siddhartha’s teachings in northern India. They lived according to his Four Noble Truths. Like the
    Buddha, Buddhist monks gave up all they owned. They worked to live peacefully among all
    living things and to love others.

    1. How did Siddhartha try to find the meaning of life?

    2. Why did Siddhartha stop eating?

    3. What does Buddha mean?

    4. What is the basis of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths?

    5. According to Buddha, how does one end suffering?

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