A Few Facts about Buddhism

 Buddhism was founded in Northern India by the Buddha, a royal prince

named Siddhartha Gautama.

 He was born circa 563 B.C. in Lumbini which is in modern-day Nepal and
died in his early 80’s c. 483.

 At the age of 29, he left his wife, children and political involvements in
order to seek truth.

 It was an accepted practice at the time for some men to leave their family
and lead the life of an ascetic.

 c.535 BC he attained enlightenment and assumed the title Buddha (one who
has awakened).

 He concluded that life is nothing but an experience plagued by sorrow.

 He promoted The Middle Way, rejecting both extremes of the mortification

of the flesh and of hedonism as paths toward the state of Nirvana.

 Nirvana means litterally, “to cease blowing" (as when a candle flame ceases
to flicker) and/or extinguishing (that is, of the passions).

 He had many disciples and accumulated a large public following by the time
of his death in his early 80's in 483 BC

 Two and a half centuries later, a council of Buddhist monks collected his
teachings and the oral traditions of the faith into written form, called the
Tripitaka.

 This included a very large collection of commentaries and traditions; most

are called Sutras (discourses).

 All of the Buddha's teachings, collectively called the dharma, deal with one
basic goal - how to escape samsara.
 Samsara is the cycle of rebirths that is known more commonly as
reincarnation.

 Freedom from samsara leads to nirvana, which is commonly thought of as a

state of complete deliverance from pain and sorrow, a state of bliss - the
Eastern equivalent of heaven.

 The goal of each Buddhist is the attainment of the state of nirvana.

 This can be done by embracing the Four Noble Truths and Following the
Eight fold Noble Path.

The Four Noble Truths

 that suffering is an inherent part of existence;

 that the origin of suffering is ignorance

 and the main symptoms of that ignorance are attachment and craving;

 that attachment and craving can be ceased; and that following the Noble
Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of attachment and craving and
therefore suffering.

The Noble Eightfold Path

 right understanding
 right thought
 right speech
 right action
 right livelihood
 right effort
 right mindfulness
 and right concentration.