Siddhartha Gautama

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Dulce Godinez 11/26/2013

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Dulce Godinez November 26, 2013 Professor Izrailevsky Philosophy 1000-016 Siddhartha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama also known as Buddha was a Chinese sage. (650-480 B.C) He was the father of Buddhism which is a religion, but also a way of life or as some people refer to him as a philosopher. Siddhartha had many beliefs after his journeys in life and becoming enlightened. He had core beliefs also known as the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. But like any religion or way of life there are things people have to be restricted to doing his were the Five Precepts. Siddhartha believed that our actions have consequences, and this had an impact on Buddhism like Karma and reaching Nirvana. But before reaching nirvana a person must have gone through reincarnation which can have multiple levels. Being able to change fate is another part of his teachings. Buddhism is a religion or way of life that is followed by many around the world to this day. To some people Buddhism is more than a religion its a way of life in other words its philosophy, because philosophy means love and wisdom which is what Buddhism is. Its to live a moral life, to be aware of thoughts and actions, and to develop wisdom and understanding of things. (White) By following this practice or way of life it brings you true happiness which is what Buddhism is.

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Buddhism has Three Trainings or Practices (Robinson) the three consist of Silla: Virtue, good conduct, morality. This is based on two fundamental principles: one is the principle of equality and that all living things are equal. (Robinson) The second is the Golden Rule The second practice is Samadhi: Concentration, meditation, mental development. Developing one's mind is the path to wisdom which leads to a persons freedom. Mental development also strengthens and controls of their mind; this helps us maintain good conduct. Prajna: Discernment, insight, wisdom, enlightenment. This is the real heart of Buddhism. Wisdom will emerge if your mind is pure and calm. With these core practices the Eightfold path comes about. Buddha has core teachings best described as the Four Noble Truths. Dukkha which is what is the meaning of life. Life is suffering this is why we experience pain, disease, getting old, loneliness, and frustration. The second Noble Truth is Sammudya which is the cause to our suffering is our cravings. It is the desire to have and control things. It can take many forms: craving of sensual pleasures; the desire for fame; the desire to avoid unpleasant sensations, like fear, anger or jealousy. (Robinson) The Third Noble Truth is Nirodha Suffering ceases with the final liberation of Nirvana (Nibbana). The mind experiences complete freedom, liberation and non-attachment. It lets go of any desire or craving. (Robinson) The fourth Noble Truth is Magga which is in order to end suffering, you must follow the Eightfold Path. (Robinson) The Eightfold Path (Vipashyana) has eight points divided into three sections. The first is Panna; which is wisdom with two points on is Samma ditthi (Robinson) which is the understanding of the Four Noble Truths. The second is Samma sankappa which is right thinking and following the right path of life. Second section is Silla; which is virtue and morality. The third point is Samma vaca, the right speech; this is where one doesnt use offensive language or such to harm anyone. The fourth point is Samma Kammanta this is where one is following the

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Five Precepts. The fifth is Samma ajive this is where you support yourself without harming others. The third section is Samadhi which is concentration and meditation. The sixth point is Samma vayama this is where one has good thoughts and conquers all evil ones. Seventh is Samma sati which is the right mindfulness this is where a person becomes aware of their thoughts, body, and mind. The last point which is the eighth is Samma Samadhi this is the right concentration this is where a person meditates to reach a higher level of consciousness. Like any religion of belief there are a few moral codes (Five Precepts) that people who practice must follow and in Buddhism there are five. The first is, do not kill. This is sometimes translated as "not harming" or an absence of violence.(Robinson) The second is to not steal, the third is not to lie, dont misuse sex, and lastly do not consume alcohol or drugs. This may vary in some articles that are written they can be in different order as well as no gossiping. What if some people have difficulty following the teachings of Buddha? Buddha established the Three Refuges, a person who wants to become Buddhist take refuge in and rely on the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, also known as the Triple Jewel (The Basic Teaching of Buddha) The Sangha are the monks and nuns they live in monasteries and practice the Buddhas teachings and Dharma is the teachings of the Buddha. What make the triple jewel are The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha which all three of these lead to enlightenment. A refuge is a place of safety for people who want to practice Buddhism but in order for a person to find this place they must travel and have the guidance of only The Buddha which is the guide. The Dharma is the path. The Sangha are the teachers or companions along the way. () For a person seeking enlightenment this is always the first step, if they dont conquer what they achieve they can become enlightened in a future life.

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Reincarnation is a cycle of birth, life, death, and re-birth. In this belief of Buddhism it is where a person is born multiple times, but is either in a different form or theyve changed since their previous life. After many cycles, if a person releases their attachment to desire and the self, they can attain Nirvana. This is a state of liberation and freedom from suffering.(Robinson) Another important thing is, Karma, is a strong belief in Buddhism which is, If we bring happiness to people, we will be happy. If we create suffering, we will experience suffering either in this life or in a future one. () Both these impact Buddhism because in the end of life both these things can become what a person has done. Buddhist believe in reincarnation or The Wheel of Life (The Basic Teaching of Buddha). According to Buddhist there are six states of the wheel. The first is heaven but in Buddhism there are 37 different levels of heaven. Second is Human life, this is where we are reborn again and again, the situation doesnt matter of the person, whether its wealthy or poor. In this state what goes around comes around, karma is dragged with a person to this life. Asura which is the state of spiritual Demi-God, this isnt the state of a happy god, but a jealous envious god who envies any superior god to them due to their un-satisfaction. The other is a Hungry Ghost this is a spiritual state of evil one who is obsessed with only themselves. Animal is visible by humans this is where a human spirit is born into an animal due to their killing of animals in the previous life, or theyve either committed evils acts in the previous life. The last on is hell where humans who are born there experience nothing but pain and torture chambers. People whove accumulated bad karma can last in hell for eons of time. But a person has the opportunity to either rise or fall to each path.

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In The Wheel of Life people have the chance to escape what theyve become. By escaping this they must cut off three poisons those states have, the poisons are greed, hatred, and stupidity. With cutting off those poisons a person can escape the cycle and become enlightened. There are specifically four stages in the enlightenment process. One is Buddhas, where one is perfect in enlightenment. The second stage is bodhisattva where they enlightened themselves as well as other around them. Pratyekabuddhas is one who separates themselves from the world to gain enrichment themselves. Last one is arhat which is one who has enlightened themselves. There are many types of Buddhism, but they all teach the same thing it only changes due to the country its being practiced in. I will mention a few that Ive found. The first one is the early Buddhism which is just the basic structure of whats been explained in this paper. The Second is The Early Buddhist; they only want to gain freedom from suffering of pain and negative emotions. Where they follow all the Buddhist teachings and reach nirvana. The Mahayana was established a few hundred years after Buddhas death. The Great Way which is another name for Mahayana, Mahayana is an extremely complex tradition. In this tradition spirituality isnt the goal. The goal in Mahayana is to help you to help others who suffer, so they can become free from that. The Tantric Buddhism or the Vajrayana Buddhism is where one wants to reach enlightenment in their lifetime through rituals and meditations, and good energy. The final one is the Contemporary Buddhism this belief can be divided into three categories; the Cultral Buddhism, the Transplanted Buddhism, and the Integrative Buddhism. The Mahayana or the Bodhisattva also has a philosophy behind their teachings. (Ashley) The philosophy of the Mahayanas is how what experiences means and how to become

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enlightened. The first thing we will discuss the Perfection of Wisdom or known as Prajnaparamita which is how in this practice of Buddhism they experience the world around them, and deal with the change happening. The second is the Middle Way or Madhyamaka. This teaching was founded by another sage. The teaching is that everything is always changing so how can anything really exist when change is happening all the time. The third is the Mind Only or Yogacara this is where consciousness comes to life. In this state people need to meditate or do yoga to become and achieve enlightenment. The final one is Buddha Nature or Tathagatagarbha this is where there is enlightenment in everything already. In the Contemporary Buddhism we mentioned three categories it could be dived into the Cultural Buddhism, Transparent Buddhism, and the Integrative Buddhism. Each category has much more depth to it. The first is the Cultural Buddhism which is more to do with Asian countries and what is cultural to them and what Buddhism was at first. The second is the Transplanted Buddhism which is where groups or Buddhist from native countries that are traveling and teaching the Buddhist ways to the world. The third is the Integrative Buddhism which is a more modernized way of Buddhisms they adapt to the world but with their Buddhist traditions. Buddhist also view women equal to men. In Buddhism beliefs women and men are equal, expect in physical looks. Women are considered useful in society Buddha agrees that woman can play the role of a house wife, a mother and so on, but she can also have the same responsibilities as a man. Both man and woman can be considered to be best friends who support each other in everything. Theyre both equal to each other nothing is off limits to a woman.

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Buddhism is a way of discovering yourself and finding yourself. In order to find yourself you must follow a few steps the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path, as well as abiding by a few rules the Five Percepts, and even if you cant abide by them you can always make a change. With following all these rules a person can reach enlightenment or Nirvana. If one doesnt they become reincarnated into whatever karma theyve gained. Buddhism is love for everything living thats what it comes down too, and thats how its viewed in the Western World today as well as how one person views themselves. In my personal opinion I think Buddhism has impacted the way we think as a society and what people practice. For me karma, reincarnation, and being positive about things has always been a huge part of my life. I had read a bit of Buddhism but never understood the full concept until this paper and doing all this research. In the end I understood what Buddhas philosophy is as well as how I do live by some of his ideas. I think his basic teachings and rules are always going to relate to someone even if its a different religion or belief. I think his basic teachings will as well always be an influence to many people of the new age.

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Work Cited

Ashley, Alan. "Buddhist Coach." Buddhist Coach. Buddhist Coach, 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.

"Buddhist View on Death and Rebirth." Buddhist View on Death and Rebirth. The Wordsworth

Encyclopedia of World Religions, 1999. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Robinson, B.A. "Buddhism's Core Beliefs." Buddhism's Core Beliefs. Religioustolerance.org, 16 Aug. 2009.

Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Siderits, Mark, Siderits,. "Buddha." Stanford University. Stanford University, 17 Feb.

2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

White, Brain. "A Basic Buddhism Guide: 5 Minute Introduction." A Basic Buddhism Guide:

Minute Introduction. Buddhist Studies, 1993. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.