Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) was a great Indian philosopher estimated to be born around the year 4-5 BC. He founded the religion and philosophy that we now called Buddhism. Many people today still see him as spiritual guide. Buddha lived a sheltered life with luxuries provided for him by his father. Rumors circulated that his father was attempting to protect Buddha from all of life’s miseries such as death, sickness, and injustice. Eventually (at age 29) Buddha left this place that his father has provided to him and ventured into the city. This is where Buddha first saw people in pain and suffering, and he was distraught. Buddha then began a quest to find out why people needed to suffer in their lifetimes. He also realized that have having material goods may not make someone happy. To answer these questions, he began to study many religions over the course of 6 years but did not find one that provided a satisfactory answer to him. Then, during one night …show more content…
The first principle is to live a moral life. The second principle is to be aware of your actions and thoughts (and how they affect others). The last principle is to develop wisdom and reach enlightenment. On top of these 3 principles, there are also 4 “noble truths”. The first noble truth is a rather realistic viewpoint, and the viewpoint is that suffering is a normal part of life. It is impossible to avoid suffering altogether and it is important to acknowledge that all good things come to an end. The second noble truth is that suffering is caused by wanting. When an individual wants or craves something, there is a chance that he will not get it and then be disappointed. The important message here is to lower your expectations so that you will not be disappointed if the outcome in an event is not something you wanted. The third noble truth is that happiness can be attained by living life one day at a time and detaching yourself from your