Origin Of Buddhism

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The origin of Buddhism dates back to the late 6th century and early 5th century BCE when Siddhartha Gautama was born into royalty in Nepal. At the age of twenty-nine the prince abandoned his luxurious lifestyle and became a wandering ascetic after a realisation that wealth and luxury did not equate to happiness (Yang, 1995). After following this life for six years, Siddhartha focused on a ‘middle path’ between mortification and indulgence in the body in order to achieve enlightenment (History World, n.d). This state of eternal being was reached and he began teaching the principles of Buddhism, called the Dhamma or Truth.
2.2 Purpose of Life:
The purpose of life for all Buddhist adherents is to end suffering and to liberate all beings through
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Mediation is techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity and a clearer seeing of the true nature of things (The Buddhist Centre, 2013). Meditation trains the mind not to dwell on the past or the future, but to live in the now in order to experience peace more profoundly (The Pursuit of Happiness, 2016). Setting aside time to sit, be still and meditate is a challenging task in our ever-changing modern society, yet with this comes a reason to need to stop and mediate and regain responsibility of one’s thoughts and therefore, outlines the demands for Buddhists to follow this practice. Despite this, adherents understand the goal of enlightenment and therefore strive to reach this which is made easier by implementing this demanding practices. The Buddha says, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. If one speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows one, like a shadow that never leaves.” The Buddha here analyses the way of Meditating, or as referred to in the eightfold path, Right Mindfulness and Right …show more content…
The Buddha taught that the greatest cause of difficulties in the world is ignorance, or failing to understand the true nature of wisdom. Adherents only need to look as far as the Buddha’s teaching in order to be aware of the Buddha’s vision for all humans. However, it is not enough to just know and understand this philosophy rather the aim should be to be transformed by these realisations (The Buddhist Centre, 2016). The Buddha’s teachings are extensive and some are challenging to implement in an ever-changing society causing literal interpretations to be too complex to inforce. Fundamentalist Buddhists find ways to incorporate all teachings into their life in order to have a greater chance of reaching enlightenment yet it is found most Buddhist make exceptions for themselves and their circumstances. The Buddha taught that everything in life is interconnected and therefore there is a universal loving kindness, the counterpart of wisdom, or as referred to in the Eightfold path, Right View and Right Thoughts (The Sotesan Centre,

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