FREE ESSAY ON BUDDHISM

BUDDHISM

BUDDHISM
Buddhism is probably the most tolerant religion in the 
world, as its teachings can coexist with any other religion's. 
However, this is not a characteristic of other religions. The 
Buddhist teaching of God is neither agnostic nor vague, but 
clear and logical. Buddhism was created by Siddhartha Gautama, 
who was born in the sixth century B.C. in what is now modern 
Nepal. Siddhartha grew up living the extravagant life of a 
young prince. His father was Suddhodana and was the ruler of 
the Sakya people. According to custom, he married a young girl 
named Yasodhara at the age of sixteen. His father had ordered 
that he live a life of total seclusion, but one day Siddhartha 
ventured out into the world and was confronted with the harsh 
reality of life and universal suffering. At age twenty-nine, he 
left his kingdom and new-born son to lead a plain, reclusive 
life and determine a way to relieve this universal suffering. 
Siddhartha meditated under a bodhi tree for six years, but he 
was never fully satisfied. One day, however, he was offered a 
bowl of rice from a young girl and he accepted it. At that 
moment, he realized that physical harshness was not a means of 
achieving liberation. From then on, he encouraged people to 
follow a path of balance rather than extremism. He called this 
path the Middle Way. 
Devotion to the pleasures of sense, a low 
practice of villagers, a practice unworthy, unprofitable, the way of the world [on one 
hand]; and [on the other] devotion to self- mortification, which is painful, unworthy and
unprofitable. By avoiding these two extremes 
the Tathagata [or Buddha] has gained knowledge 
of that middle path which giveth vision, which 
giveth knowledge, which causeth calm, special knowledge, enlightenment, Nibbana [or
Nirvana]. (Smart 236) 
That night, Siddhartha sat under the bodhi tree and medi- 
tated until dawn. He purified his mind of all evil thoughts 
and attained Enlightenment at the age of thirty-five, thus 
earning the title Buddha, or Enlightened One. For the re- 
mainder of his eighty years, the Buddha preached the dharma in 
an effort to help other people also reach Enlightenment. The 
Buddha objectively examined the phenomena of life. Studying 
effects and tracing their causes, he produced a science of 
living which ranks with any other science known to man. He de- 
scribed life to be one and indivisible. Man, he declared, can 
become Buddha, Enlightened, by the principle of Enlightenment 
within. This process is simply to become what you are, to de- 
velop to the full innate Buddha-Mind by destroying the igno- 
rance, sin, and evils of human nature. According to the Buddha, 
all forms of life can be shown to have three characteristics in 
common; impermanence, suffering, and an absence of a permanent 
soul which separates itself from other forms of life. The 
Buddha also pointed out that nothing is the same as it was only 
a moment ago. Everyone and everything are constantly changing. 
There is no rest within the universe, only a ceaseless becoming 
and never-ending change. Buddhism denies that man has an im- 
mortal soul. The Enlightenment which dwells in life does not 
belong to only one form. Man is always changing and entirely 
mortal. 
Buddhism is a natural religion. It does not violate either 
the mind or the body. The Buddha became aware that men are born 
and die according to their good or evil actions, according to 
their self-created Karma--the consequences of good or evil acts. 
Even though there are several different forms of Buddhism that 
have come into existence since Buddha's death, there is still a 
basic essence that all Buddhists agree with. All Buddhists rec- 
ognize four basic noble truths. The first noble truth of the 
world is dhukka, or suffering. The second truth is tanha, or 
desire, which is the cause of suffering. The third truth is 
that in order to free oneself from suffering, one must overcome 
desire. The fourth truth tells us how this can be accomplished 
through the eight-fold path. The eight-fold path is the means 
to achieve liberation from suffering. It helps one weed out 
cravings and ignorance, to overcome rebirth, old age, disease, 
death, sorrows, lamentation, grief, and despair. It helps to 
end mass misery and aids people in attaining Nirvana, or salva- 
tion. 
Specifically, this path includes: 
1. Right View 
2. Right Thought 
3. Right Speech 
4. Right Action 
5. Right Livelihood 
6. Right Effort 
7. Right Mindfulness 
8. Right Concentration 
The most simple teaching of the Buddha was to do good, to 
avoid evil, and to purify the heart. According to Buddha, the 
hearts of ordinary men are not pure. They are filled with 
greed, ill will, and delusion. Greed and hatred are impurities 
caused by desires, and ignorance is the cause of delusion, es- 
pecially delusion of self. Ignorance, in fact, is the cause of 
desire and thus the primary cause of all suffering and of re- 
birth. The Buddha said that one may purify his heart: 
1. By practicing self-control and self-restraint 
2. By meditating upon one's own self 
3. By following the Eight-Fold Path that leads to the end of all suffering 
All of these points are the basic essence of Buddhism. They 
help people understand the worlds of suffering, personal or 
otherwise, and how to overcome that suffering. Buddhism is a 
simple religion that focuses on changing the evil of man and 
society into a good entity. It brings a message of salvation 
and hope to whoever will follow its path.