Buddhism World Religion

I chose Buddhism as the world religion I am studying. I chose this religion because I am curious to why it hasn 't spread to the United States like Christianity, or even Islam has. It has a booming prevalence in India, and other regions of Asia but it still hasn 't made a large impact on The U.S. Buddhism started with the a birth of Siddhartha Gautama in c. 6th-4th century BCE in current day Nepal. Siddhartha lived as a prince in a grand castle with every whim catered to. His father sheltered him from all outside evils, including old age, sickness, and death. When the prince was 29 he asked to be taken on a ride through the city in his chariot, his father let him but commanded that all sick people be removed from the route. One old man stayed unnoticed. The prince had no idea what stood before himself, but was informed that not only was the man aging, but his father his wife-and him too would would all age. He later found a sick person and a corpse being carried to cremation grounds, an lastly a monk meditating, all in the same trip.

Siddhartha left the city and got rid of all possessions, he cut his hair, and exchanged his robes for the clothing of a simple beggar. He would only eat what was put in his begging bowl. Siddhartha would then study the next six years, trying to achieve blissful concentration through meditation. Siddhartha joined a group of 5 ascetics, or simply people who got rid of all material satisfaction. They worked with extreme forms of self- mortification, or mutilating yourself for spiritual reasons. They starved themselves, self harmed, and went through deliberate discomfort. Siddhartha joined and became accustomed to their rituals, and eventually sized his daily meals down to a single pea. Because of this period, statues and Buddhist art often depict the Buddha with an abnormally thin appearance, sunken eyes, and protruding ribs. Siddhartha concluded that self- mortification is not a valid path to liberation from suffering and