By Emily Patrick 8J
What is Buddhism? Buddhism is a religion that began in North Eastern India and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism is the main religion in Asian countries and it is a religion about suffering and the need to free people of suffering. Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism and is known as the Buddha.
Facts About Buddhism! Buddhism is 2,500 years old! At the moment there are approximately 376 million followers worldwide! Buddhism doesn't follow a God or believe that there is a relationship between Humanity and God. Buddhism arose because of Siddhartha Gautama s quest for enlightenment in about the 6 th century BCE! Buddha s believe that nothing is permanent or fixed and so things can change easily.
Siddhartha Gautama! Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism and was born around the year 580 BCE in a village called Lumbini in Nepal. He was born into a royal family and became the Indian prince. He soon got married to beautiful princess and had a gorgeous young baby. He lived in the big castle but his father never let him wander outside of the palace walls to protect him from seeing people suffer. One day Siddhartha decided to go against his fathers command and went for a walk outside the palace walls and during his walk he saw an old man suffering, a sick man, a dead body and relatives suffering around it and a holy man who is helping people through their period of suffering. He then decides I want to be like him and help people through suffering so he went to say goodbye to his family and friends and walked off into the distance ready to help people through suffering.
Comparisons and similarities! Buddhism is different to all the other religions because it doesn t have a God to pray to and it isn t centred on the relationship between Humanity and God. Buddhism believes in reincarnation where as Christianity doesn t. Buddhism and Christianity both teach about tolerance, compassion, humility, an understanding of suffering and the desire to do good to one another.
The Philosophy! Buddhists believe that there is no real god and so don t have one. Buddhists think that there is a cycle of, birth, life and death and then rebirth, in other words they believe in reincarnation. They believe that unless someone gains enlightenment, when they die they will be reborn. If a person can gain enlightenment, they can break out of this cycle. Buddhists believe that nothing in this world is perfect and that the Buddha found the answer to why nothing is perfect. Buddhists believe that the Buddha was special because he gained enlightenment and so he decided to teach other people how to reach it too.
The Tripitaka! The Tripitaka is the holy book for Buddhism and for Buddhists to read. The Tripitaka is a very large book and is written in an ancient Indian language called Pali. The word Tripitaka stands for 3 baskets as it was originally recorded on long narrow leaves which were sewn at the edges and then grouped together and stored in baskets. The Tripitaka is also sometimes referred to as the Pali Canon after the name of the language it was first written in. The Tripitaka is a vast collection of books and contains up to 50 volumes.
Where do Buddhists worship and how do they worship? Buddhists worship either at home or in a temple (the best known ones are Pagodas). All Buddhist temples contain a picture or a statue of the Buddha. When people pray at home they usually have a shrine and lay out many candles and a statue of Buddha as well as an incense candle. Buddhist s worship is called Puja. People when praying usually chant to show their love for the Buddha and normally make generous offerings of flowers, candles, pure water and incense candles at a Shrine. When people pray on their own they usually meditate or read the Tripitaka.
The Noble eight fold path The noble eight fold path was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama and describes the way to the end of suffering. Here is a picture of the Noble eight fold path:
Why is the Tripitakaimportant to Buddhists? I think that the Tripitakais important to Buddhists because it helps them through life and the through the ups and downs of life too. It is like a guide to their everyday lives and teaches them what is right and what is wrong and what to do in certain situations.