Buddhism,as religion born in India has spread to all the parts of asia.Every fourth person in the world is a Buddhist.The founder,Gautama,the Budhha,was born as prince Siddhartha pf skaya clanin the 6th century B.C.His mother Mahamaya had dreamt that a white elephant with a lotus in his trunk had entered her womb. Astrologers predicted that this dream meant that her son would either become a great ascetic and teacher or a great emperor.His father,Suddhodana,afraid that his son would give up the world,saw to it that only the joys of the palace were shown to him and kept all signs of senility,decay,death and renunciation away from him.But it was willed otherwise,and while he was driving through the city,it is said that the gods appeared in the form of a diseased man,an old man ad an ascetic.the sight of all four distressed prince Siddhartha greatly and without even taking leave of his young wife or son,he renounced the world and left the palace at the age of 29.
He first went to teachers and took to extreme ascetism.He found that the extremes of pleasure and pain were not the answer.He therefore chose the middle path and meditated under a Bodhi(peepal) tree.On full moon day in the month of Vaishakha,at the age of 35,he attained enlightenment.He gave his first sermon at Sarnath setting in motion of wheel of righteousness and preached for 45 years thereafter.He taught that every thing in life is impermanent and transient,that it is without substance and that life is full of grief and suffering.Sorrow can be only removed if desire and craving are renounced.He taught the four noble truths for the cessation of suffering which are given below:
Four Noble Truths Taught By Buddha
Buddhism Details
