Siddharta Gautama Research Paper

Siddharta Gautama was born to King Shuddhodana and Queen Maya in 566 B.C.E in southern Nepal. His tribe name was Gautama and his given name was Siddhartha. There were two possible outcomes for his life. He could inherit the throne and follow in his father’s footsteps to become a king or if he was ever exposed to the reality of suffering of the world he would become a great spiritual leader. His father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a king, so he protected Buddha from seeing the suffering of life and raised him in a secluded community. He would send out servants ahead of Buddha's path to remove any signs of suffering. For a very long time Buddha did not know that suffering existed. Suddenly, Siddhartha’s life changed at 29 years old. He started to disobey his father and visit neighboring towns. However, there was one trip that he went on that changed his outlook on life. On this particular trip he came across an old man who was stooped and toothless, a sick man suffering from disease, a corpse being prepared for cremation, and …show more content…
This is due to the idea of being capable to be a Buddhist without having to practice any rituals connected to a certain religion. Christians have to go to church every Sunday, attend Communion, or pray in order for them to be closer to God. Muslims have to participate in Ramadan, take a pilgrimage to Mecca, or pray five times a day in order for them to be closer to God. However, Buddhism eliminates all the obligations and pressures because it is more of a spiritual journey for an individual and it is not connected to a group. There are times when an individual backslides, and in order to get themselves back on track they have to tune into their inner self. Buddhism started off as a religion practiced by Chinese immigrants when they came to America during the Gold Rush, and the religion was put down due to hatred for the Chinese. Today Buddhism is practiced by millions of