The Strength Of Buddhism Essay

The strength of Buddhism comes from what is know as The Three Jewels, these being The Buddha, The Dharma, and the Sangha. Buddha is the central being whose story of how he became The Buddha, and what he did right after enlightenment, sets up the foundation for what it has come to be a very popular Religion. Even though there are several versions of his story, the main message remains the same and illustrates specific important Buddhist concepts and beliefs. It is my intention to demonstrate those core values which guide Buddhism, by using his story to link The Dharma (law or teachings) with specific passages. It is important to briefly note who was The Buddha before enlightenment. Prince Siddhartha was the sole heir to the kingdom of the Shakya …show more content…
Now these situations are detrimental in the life of Siddhartha, because that is when he decides to leave his live as he knew it and began his journey to enlightenment. There is a specific reason why these four situations are used in the story. I believe that sickness, aging, and death are unavoidable and back in those days (4th Century B.C.), they were situations people didn 't know how to deal with and Buddhism had a way to do so. The ascetic is brought up because it was necessary to introduce “the fact that there are those who seek a state beyond them [sickness, aging, and death]” (Lopez 2001 38). Asceticism being the first method Siddhartha utilizes, practicing meditation and surviving on one grain of rice a day. The practice of Asceticism puts such a toll on Siddhartha 's body that he realized the maltreatment of his body was not the way to reach higher levels of meditation, if you are hungry your mind will not be free from all thoughts. But, he did learned how to meditate, and meditation is one of the main practices of