Buddhism Basic Beliefs
Buddhists look within themselves for the truth and understanding of Buddha’s teachings.
How did Buddhism begin?
About 2500 years ago, a prince named Siddhartha Gautama began to question his sheltered, luxurious life in the palace. He left the palace and saw four sights: a sick man, an old man, a dead man and a monk. These sights are said to have shown him that even a prince cannot escape illness, suffering and death. The sight of the monk told Siddhartha to leave his life as a prince and become a wandering holy man, seeking the answers to questions like “Why must people suffer?” “What is the cause of suffering?” Siddartha spent many years doing many religious practices such as praying, meditating, and fasting until he finally understood the basic truths of life. This realization occurred after sitting under a Poplar-figtree in Bodh Gaya, India for many days, in deep meditation. He gained enlightenment, or nirvana, and was given the title of Buddha, which means Enlightened One.
What did Buddha teach?
Buddha discovered Three Universal Truths and Four Noble Truths, which he/she then taught to the people.
Three Universal Truths
1. Everything is impermanent and changing
2. Impermanence leads to suffering, making life imperfect
3. The self is not personal and unchanging.
Four Noble Truths
1. Human life has a lot of suffering.
2. The cause of suffering is greed ( desire and attachment) Origin of suffering is desire and attachment.
3. There is an end to suffering. Desire and attachment can be overcome by the truth of cessation ( end). Truth is the end only.
4. The way to end suffering is to follow the Middle Path i.e. Eightfold Path Buddha then taught people not to worship him as a god. He said they should take responsibility for their own lives and actions. He taught that the Middle Way was the way to nirvana. The Middle Way meant not leading a life of luxury and indulgence but also not one of too much fasting and hardship. There are eight guides for following the Middle path.
The Eightfold Path
1. Right understanding and viewpoint (based on the Four Noble Truths).
2. Right values and attitude (compassion rather than selfishness).
3. Right speech (don’t tell lies, avoid harsh, abusive speech, avoid gossip).
4. Right action (help others, live honestly, don’t harm living things, take care of the environment).
5. Right work (do something useful, avoid jobs which harm others).
6. Right effort (encourage good, helpful thoughts, discourage unwholesome destructive thoughts).
7. Right mindfulness (be aware of what you feel, think and do).
8. Right meditation (calm mind, practice meditation which leads to nirvana).