All throughout the history of India, there has been an ‘important’ emphasis on caste, or
varna, determining which occupation and class one belongs to. During the Vedic period, five
classes were created consisting of Brahmins, the priestly caste, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudras and
the Dalits . Not only did this caste system determine occupation, but also determined the
financial being of those belonging to that specific caste.
Roughly around 563 B.C.E, a prince was born into the Kshatriya class whose name was
Siddhartha Gautama. Born into a caste of wealth, power and status, and by the standards during
that era, Siddhartha had everything. He is described as handsome, born of pure descent and wore
garments of silk and was brought …show more content…
Until the age of 29, the
prince was so caught up in his princely life that he had no clue what the harsh realities of the
world outside his palace were like .
Siddhartha’s road to enlightenment commenced when he was taken on a chariot ride
outside his palace, where he saw the harsh realities of life. During this trip, he encountered the
four passing sights: old age, illness, death, and an old man who had devoted his life to become a
renunciant.
Upon seeing the ‘four sights,’ Siddhartha Gautama decided to leave behind his life of
riches and become a ‘truth seeker.’ After saying goodbye to his family in the late hours,
Siddhartha, with the help of the gatekeeper, went off to the forest, marking the beginning of his
“Great Going Forth .”
Hinduism also helped to shape Buddhism. During his first few years of discovering the
road to enlightenment, Siddhartha practiced intense meditation with five other holy …show more content…
He himself learned that despite what caste he was born into, he too would
encounter death, old age and sickness. He himself became a renunciant, which was the
last of the ‘four passing sights,’ he saw prior to his journey.
Hinduism was reabsorbed into Buddhism as the Vedic traditions heavily influenced the
teachings of the Buddha. Without the Vedic scriptures, the Buddhist idea of nirvana
would not have existed. The Vedic traditions also sought for a state of complete freedom, such as
nirvana, while the Buddha entered while meditating. The Upanishads were also linked to
Buddhism as they also sought to free men from rebirth. Buddha’s way of meditation was also a
continuation of certain sayings of the Upanishads, who emphasized the realization of the
‘truth. ’
Aesthetics was another factor that helped to mould Buddhism, it essentially had no proper
and clear solution. The devotional practice in Hinduism (bhakti), also reabsorbed into
varna, determining which occupation and class one belongs to. During the Vedic period, five
classes were created consisting of Brahmins, the priestly caste, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudras and
the Dalits . Not only did this caste system determine occupation, but also determined the
financial being of those belonging to that specific caste.
Roughly around 563 B.C.E, a prince was born into the Kshatriya class whose name was
Siddhartha Gautama. Born into a caste of wealth, power and status, and by the standards during
that era, Siddhartha had everything. He is described as handsome, born of pure descent and wore
garments of silk and was brought …show more content…
Until the age of 29, the
prince was so caught up in his princely life that he had no clue what the harsh realities of the
world outside his palace were like .
Siddhartha’s road to enlightenment commenced when he was taken on a chariot ride
outside his palace, where he saw the harsh realities of life. During this trip, he encountered the
four passing sights: old age, illness, death, and an old man who had devoted his life to become a
renunciant.
Upon seeing the ‘four sights,’ Siddhartha Gautama decided to leave behind his life of
riches and become a ‘truth seeker.’ After saying goodbye to his family in the late hours,
Siddhartha, with the help of the gatekeeper, went off to the forest, marking the beginning of his
“Great Going Forth .”
Hinduism also helped to shape Buddhism. During his first few years of discovering the
road to enlightenment, Siddhartha practiced intense meditation with five other holy …show more content…
He himself learned that despite what caste he was born into, he too would
encounter death, old age and sickness. He himself became a renunciant, which was the
last of the ‘four passing sights,’ he saw prior to his journey.
Hinduism was reabsorbed into Buddhism as the Vedic traditions heavily influenced the
teachings of the Buddha. Without the Vedic scriptures, the Buddhist idea of nirvana
would not have existed. The Vedic traditions also sought for a state of complete freedom, such as
nirvana, while the Buddha entered while meditating. The Upanishads were also linked to
Buddhism as they also sought to free men from rebirth. Buddha’s way of meditation was also a
continuation of certain sayings of the Upanishads, who emphasized the realization of the
‘truth. ’
Aesthetics was another factor that helped to mould Buddhism, it essentially had no proper
and clear solution. The devotional practice in Hinduism (bhakti), also reabsorbed into