Buddhism Siddhartha Gautama, Known as the Shakyamuni

Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Shakyamuni Buddha, grew up a prince in India. As the Brahmin teachings of his family and homeland failed to provide Siddhartha with spiritual nourishment, he pursued a path to enlightenment on his own. Thus around 650 BCE Buddhism was born.

With no deity or creation story, Buddhism appears to be more of a philosophy of living than a fundamental religion, although different sects of Buddhism espouse various beliefs in supernatural beings and dogma. Buddhists generally accept scientific explanations of the creation of life.

The central tenets of Buddhism are summarized in the Four Noble Truths: Suffering is inevitable; suffering is caused by desire and attachment to desire; to eliminate suffering, eliminate desire; in order to do so, follow the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path includes Right Views, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Contemplation. Buddhism is a path of personal effort and growth and does not depend on blind faith or belief. Rather, the religion espouses spiritual practice and understanding.

Existence is characterized by impermanence, sorrow, and selflessness. Selflessness in this sense entails the absence of a personal soul. Rebirth does not imply reincarnation in the Hindu sense; instead, some spark of life continues after death but not necessarily personal memories or experiences.

The five hindrances to enlightenment include sensuous lust, aversion or ill will, sloth or torpor, restlessness or worry, and skeptical doubt. Although intellectual inquiry is encouraged, an open minded attitude takes precedence. Enlightenment is won through meditation, hard work, and the elimination of attachment to all things (material or spiritual in nature).

Morality is central to Buddhist doctrine. The five moral precepts of Buddhism, or Pancha Shila, are no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying or harmful speech, and no intoxicants. The senses must be kept clear in order to attain enlightenment. Enlightenment is a state of supreme awareness but not necessarily detachment from the physical world. Especially in some schools of Buddhism like Zen, the physical world is viewed as no less or more important than a spiritual world. In fact, the goal of enlightenment is to eliminate all illusions.

Death is accepted as part of the natural course of life. Tibetan Buddhism contains numerous texts to assist the practitioner pass away with conscious awareness. Attachment to life is a major hindrance to enlightenment; therefore, death must be met with equanimity.