5 Page Report On Buddhism Essays - Gautama Buddha, Buddhas, Ascetics

5 page report on buddhism To begin this report, I will relate the story of the Buddha. Once a king had a son, his wife dying during labor. The child's name was Siddartha (meaning all wishes fulfilled) Gautama. As the boy grew up, there was a hermit who lived near the castle who saw a shimmering about the castle grounds. Taking this as an omen, the hermit went to the castle. When he saw Siddartha, he foretold that if Siddartha stayed in the palace until he was an adult, he would be a great ruler. But if Siddartha were to leave the palace and go into the world before he was mature, he would become the Buddha and save us all. At first the king was delighted to hear this news. But gradually, he began to worry that his son might become a homeless recluse instead of a mighty ruler. When Siddartha was about twelve, he was let out of the castle, and saw a bird eat a worm. This image stayed with him when he went back to the castle, and he asked himself ?Is everything naturally this savage. The king saw his son sad and in deep contemplation, and the thought he needed a distraction. Siddartha was married. After the wedding, there were many parties and other such events to help to cheer him up. Throughout this, Siddartha contemplated his question, and eventually left the castle to pursue enlightenment. As soon as he had left the palace, he shaved his head and got a beggar's bowl, realizing that material goods would not help him on his quest for enlightenment. To help in his quest, for 15 years, Siddartha lived in a hut on only half a grain of rice a day. Afterwards, he realized that this didn't help his state of mind at all, because he was always hungry and in pain. He realized that suffering is necessary, but can be avoided in the long run. One common misconception of the Buddha is that he is a god according to the general belief that many of the Buddhist schools share. The Buddha is three things : First a teacher, second a great man, and third a universal ruler. There was a small Buddha cult right after Siddartha became Buddha, and that is where the last interpretation came from. In reality, there are three main things you must learn about and advance in these are: Buddha, his teachings called the Dharma, and the group of other people who study Buddhism with you. Buddha means ?Enlightened One? the first of the three gems, as they are called is act as the Buddha would, this includes following the eightfold path, with an emphasis on three virtues. The first virtue is wisdom this includes from the eightfold path right understanding and right thought . The second of these virtues is morality this includes right speech, right action, and right livelihood. The third of these virtues is concentration right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. The second of the three gems is the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha. This includes the majority of Buddhism, because this is where you find all the main ideas. I'll start with Siddartha's first discourse as the Buddha, the four truths. The first truth is that there is suffering in the world, and that suffering fits into three categories : the first type of suffering is the suffering that no one can avoid: birth, sickness, old age, and death. The second type is the suffering produced by change, an example is losing a job, and the insecurity that comes with it. This second type cannot be escaped from either, for nothing can last forever. The third is the only one you can prevent to some extent, it is attachments to material things or experiences, specifically these five aggregates: matter, sensations, perceptions mental formations, and consciousness. The second truth is that suffering has a cause, there are two causes of suffering: not having the realization that everything is temporal, and not knowing that there is no ego. Both of these seem absurd at first, but that is because, according to most eastern thought, the world is much less than we make