Running head: HISTORY OF BUDDHISM 1

History of Buddhism

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Introduction

Buddhism ranks among the most followed religions in the world. This religion is said to

have started in India from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama in the 6th century. Over the years

the teachings gained popularity among the people and it spread to the rest of Asian countries

through China, Japan, Korea and it has got roots even in the western countries. According to

world statistics there are around 300 million people in the world who live by and believe in

Buddhism. They use the teachings of Buddha as their reference point and sources of revelation.

Buddhism emphasizes to its followers to make the efforts and arrive at the state of nirvana and

be consistent in following the ways and teachings of Buddha. Buddhism does not believe in the

existence of a supreme god but the teachings are that nothing is permanent. According to

Buddhism any person is capable of getting to the highest rank of enlightenment or through

practice, wisdom and mediation.

History of Buddhism

Buddhism refers to all persons who follow in the teachings of Buddha. Buddha means the

enlightened one or the awakened one. Since the olden days there have been suggestions by

Buddhists of the Buddha’s who once occupied the world in the past or those who will come to

the world in future. In many cases Buddhists refer to the all known Buddha called Gautama

among the Theravada Buddhists and Sakyamuni among the Mahayana Buddhists. Gautama was

born in the king’s family, the king ruled the Sakyans who occupied the land in Kapilvastu which

is current day Nepal. It is believed that Gautama was never raised the normal way of life (De

Silva, 2016). The old say that long ago in the 623 B.C during the full moon season the Queen

Mahamaya was headed to Devadaha to give birth having come from Kapilvastu. Devadaha was
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her parental home however, she did not get there and she gave birth along the way, she was

standing in the Lumbini trees. Over 300 years later after the queen had given birth at this place

the king Ashoka came and put up a statue and termed the area as holy place. Today the

Buddhists refer to that place as a sacred ground.

Five days after the birth of Gautama his father Suddhodana was the ruler of the land

called eight wise men that were to oversee the naming ceremony of the son and also prophesy on

the future of the child. The men named him Siddhartha, and they said the future was good for the

boy because he would either become the king of the land after his father or serve as a great

teacher if he was faced with any challenges. Unfortunately the queen died two days after the

naming ceremony and the boy Siddhartha was left under the care of his aunt (Egge, 2013). He

lived the life of a prince and his father always emphasize on the importance of education. At the

early age of sixteen years he got married to his cousin but he was still not contented with the life

at the king’s palace.

Thirteen years into marriage to go and see the world beyond the walls of the palace. He

was devasitated on the things he say in the external world, things he had not seen while in the

palace. As he was traversing through the world he was faced with four occasions that stuck into

his memory. In the palace he had not interacted with old men so he was surprised when he came

across an old man. The second thing that shocked him was when he met with a sick person in the

process of trying to investigate more about old men (Saisuta, 2012). To him illness was more

devastating because he had not heard or seen sick people before. The third encounter was with

mourners when he found a burial ceremony by the river banks. The last scenario and the one that

disturbed his mind most was when he came across a monk who had surrender all his property

and in he looked calm, composed and at peace.

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The world taught Siddhartha some truths that were blocked from his sight by the good

lifestyle at the king’s palace. He came to run that anybody can fall sick regardless of the social

status, all people grow old and they eventually die. He chose to follow a new way of life and left

his old good life and he embarked on a mission to find a way to bring to an end the suffering on

earth. His first formula to life was living a life similar to that of the monk he had met but that

was very hard for him and it nearly killed him. As he faced life he learnt another lesson after he

found someone talking about the analogy of the strings of a musical instrument (Faure, 2011). It

dictated that a very tight string would easily be broken and destroyed while a loose string would

not produce the desired sound and so he learnt of the partial way of life. The partial dictates that

give the body only what is sufficient and do not indulge in all the bodily desires. Through

meditation he rested on the idea of enlightenment and it is from there that he was referred to as

Buddha. He went out to the masses and he taught his philosophy and many people followed his

teaching. It is after facing self-denial, discipline and meditation that he chose to go and teach the

people on how they can get themselves off the hooks of earthy suffering.

Buddhism has grown from India and now it is massively practiced in China where it has

the largest following. The population in Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar is practicing

Buddhism more than any other religion. The western countries such as the USA, Australia and

the UK have followed into the religion (Kimura, 2016). There are two main schools of Buddhism

that vary in several areas of focus. Theravada Buddhism which as its aim at the personal

enlightenment and life experience as well as monastic life. The second is the Mahayana

Buddhism that is aimed at the general independence from pain and suffering and spreading the

paths of enlightenment. In the western countries there is also Zen and Tibetan Buddhism which

are the branches of Mahayana beliefs.

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The Teachings of Buddha

Buddhism is based on three broad fields that serve as the reference point for the religion.

The three include;

 The three universal truths

 The four noble truths

 The noble eightfold path

The three universal truths are;

 Nothing is lost in the world

 Everything changes

 The law of cause and effect

Buddhism has a huge belief in karma which states that for every action taken there will

be a second action that will be either good or bad based on the first action. Buddha shared his

knowledge on enlightenment with five holy men at the Deer Park and they agreed to follow him

and spread his teaching and they were out together for five years spreading the teachings all over

India without discrimination. The four noble truths include;

 Dukkha that means suffering exists and it can hit anybody regardless of

their status and it brings loss, sickness, failure and pain

 Samudaya that dictates there is always a cause of suffering. It is basically

caused by the desire to be in control

 Nirodha that says there will always be an end to suffering and that is only

achieved by individual desires to be free from the worldly desires.

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 Magga that says that for suffering to come to an end the one must observe

the eightfold path.

The eightfold path is put into three categories that are panna, sila and Samadhi.

Panna is made up of discernment and wisdom

1. The correct interpretation and understanding of the four noble truths and

have the correct view about them (Keown, 2016).

2. The correct thinking, moving in the desired path in life, leaving all other

unnecessary things

Sila that has virtue and morality

3. Right speech that means one is only focused with telling the truth and

condemning all other version apart from the truth.

4. Right conduct that is only doing the correct and appropriate things

5. Right livelihood that is living at peace with others and minding their

welfare. One should not be selfish and self-centered.

Samadhi that has concentration and meditation

6. Right effort that is always being in the forefront to appreciate the good

from others and fight what is evil and bad for the people.

7. Right mindfulness that is being true to oneself in that you understand the

anatomy of your body through feelings and thought.

8. Right concentration that is being focused on what is happening and

striving to understand things at up and distinct levels.

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References

De Silva, P. (2016). Environmental philosophy and ethics in Buddhism. Springer.

Egge, J. (2013). Religious giving and the invention of Karma in Theravada Buddhism.

Routledge.

Faure, B. (2011). Unmasking Buddhism. John Wiley & Sons.

Keown, D. (2016). The nature of Buddhist ethics. Springer.

Kimura, R. (2016). A historical study of the terms Hinayana and Mahayana and the origin of

Mahayana Buddhism. University of Calcutta (1927).

Saisuta, P. N. (2012). The Buddhist core values and perspectives for protection challenges: faith

and protection. High Commissioner’s Dialogue Distr: General on Protection Challenges

Theme: Faith and Protection.