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BUDDHISM

What is Buddhism?

A common misconception of Buddhism is that non-Buddhists think that Buddhists worship the Buddha as a god. However, if we look closely to their teachings, a Buddhist looks up to the Buddha, originally named as Siddharta Gautama.

Siddharta Gautama also known as "The Buddha" or "The Enlightened One." 

Every Buddhist’s ultimate goal in life is to attain enlightenment just like the Buddha, and the Buddha believes that the individual is solely responsible for his/her own enlightenment. The teachings of the Buddha or “the Enlightened One,” are the guide to attaining enlightenment for Buddhists.

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A Buddhist can attain enlightenment by realizing The Four Noble Truths and following The Noble Eightfold Path.

The Four Noble Truths are as follows:

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  • Life is a suffering (dukkha)

  • There is suffering because there is desire

  • In order to get rid of suffering, one has to get rid of desire

  • There is a path that leads from suffering (the eightfold path).

The Noble Eightfold Path is as follows:

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  • Right View or Samma-ditthi,

  • Right Thought or Samma-sankappa,

  • Right Speech or Samma-vaca,

  • Right Action or Samma-kammanto,

  • Right livelihood or Samma-ajivo,

  • Right Effort or Samma-vayamo;

  • Right Mindfulness or Samma-sati; and

  • Right Concentration or Samma-samadhi.

A brief history of Buddhism

Buddhism originated from Lumbini and Bodh Gaya or in the Northeast India and Nepal. Before Siddharta Gautama gave birth to the religion, He was a prince and his father, King Shuddhodana, tried to hide suffering from him but failed.

Siddharta encountered “the four sights” that made him aware of the world’s sufferings; (1) an old man who was scantily dressed, wrinkled and nearly blind; (2) a sick man who was moaning in pain; (3) funeral procession with people grieving for the dead man; and (4) a wandering ascetic.

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