Siddattha Gotama, the Buddha – Buddism Case
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Buddhist follow the teaching of a man called Siddattha Gotama, the Buddha. I always thought that Buddha was a name but it means someone who has gained enlightenment or put another way realised the truth. The truth is your and your alone, it cannot be taught, it is about you finding it from within. The teaching of the Buddha can help you find the truth. Siddattha was a prince who had a very sheltered upbringing and when he was exposed to illness, old age sorrow or death, he realised the existence that he had led. He then saw a holy man content and at peace, it was at this point that he decided to escape his current existence. For 6 years he travelled around India seeking enlightenment and spent time with holy men and monks. He found their impoverished lifestyle of starvation the wrong way to find that enlightenment. One day he sat under the bodhi tree (the tree of wisdom) to meditate and the meaning of life came to him, and this is when his teaching stated as he wanted everyone to find the right way to live.
Buddhist believe that everything in the world is imperfect, and to be enlightened is to have found the answers to why this is so and how it can be overcome. Buddhist do not believe is an all powerful god but believe the key to life is enlightenment, if this is not achieved in this lifetime, then the cycle of birth, old age, illness, death and rebirth (rebecoming) called Samsara will occur to break out of this cycle will take you to Nivana.
Meditation is something that we are all able to do and Buddhist believe that to gain enlightenment meditation needs to go beyond the mind.
There are three precious parts to be being a Buddhist and these are called the three jewels. These are:
I take refuge in Buddha
I take refuge in the Dhamma (teaching)
I take refuge in the Sangha (community)
The three Signs of being are:
Dukka
Everything that is unsatisfactory is Dukka this could be pain, boredom or just being uncomfortable. Buddha says that no one can escape dukka as the is nothing in life that is absolutely perfect.
Anicca
Nothing lasts therefore is impermanent. Even the mountains move so the only way to gain rest is to reach Nirvana.
Anatta
The Buddha taught that there is nothing that can be called a soul. Anatta means no soul. He said that people were made up of 5 parts, a body, feelings, thoughts, awareness and ideas. Whilst Buddhist believe in the continued cycle of samsara, they do not believe that the soul/spirit moves from one body to the next instead what continues is the life-force made up of the choices that a person has made in their lifetime. The life-force is a persons karma, meaning if you have lead a good life you will move to a higher level