| You are about to learn the basics of Buddhism and | | | | desire and hatred can stop and people can achieve |
| discover the answers to the top 4 most common | | | | absolute enlightenment. |
| Buddhism related questions. | | | | If Buddhism is a religion, is Buddha a God? |
| Who is Buddha? | | | | When Buddha was questioned if he was a God, he |
| A prince was born around 563 B.C. to King | | | | answered "No". When he was questioned who he |
| Suddhodana of the kingdom of Kapilavastu and | | | | was, he answered "I AM AWAKE". Buddha was just |
| Queen Maya, and it was known that the prince was | | | | a man, who married and had a child. It has been an |
| predicted by a holy man to become a mighty | | | | inspiration for his followers that enlightenment can be |
| conqueror or a holy spiritual leader. He was Prince | | | | attained by a man, through thinking and not by beliefs |
| Siddhartha Gautama, who then became the founder | | | | of divine powers. Gautama's renunciation of the |
| of Buddhism, and is known as the Buddha. | | | | worldly life lead to his enlightenment and he was |
| Not long after Gautama's birth his mother passed | | | | named "The Awakened One" the Shakyamuni |
| away. When the prince was but a few days old, it | | | | Buddha. |
| was said that he was unbelievably declaring that; He | | | | The Buddha's spiritual teaching is very wide in scope |
| was supreme in the world, he was greatest in the | | | | but mostly patterned to follow the Four Noble Truths |
| world, he was the most noble in the world, and he was | | | | and the Noble Eightfold Path. Buddhism is learning and |
| never to be re-born. | | | | observing our own self, understanding our own life and |
| Since the founder of Buddhism was born, the King | | | | how to handle our daily issues. Because Buddha knew |
| was alarmed by the prediction. He wanted his son to | | | | the hearts of people, he wanted man to live happily |
| be a king and not a spiritual leader so he didn't allow | | | | and peacefully without suffering. |
| the prince to see the life outside the palace, by building | | | | What were Buddha's early teachings? |
| three palaces for him to live in all luxuries all his life. But | | | | Buddha's first followers were a group of five holy men |
| at the age of 29, he explored and discovered that life | | | | who took a grasp of his teachings when he went to |
| outside the palace were full of suffering. | | | | the holy city of Benares; which gave birth to the |
| It made him sad to realize that he was living his life | | | | Buddhist religion. From then on until 45 years after they |
| with all the splendor of the rich palaces. Outside the | | | | travel from one place to another in India teaching the |
| majestic walls that protected him, he saw four kinds of | | | | Dharma. They had insurmountable compassion to help |
| people which lead him to denounce the worldly life he | | | | people they meet on the roads; poor, king or slaves |
| grew up with. He saw a very sick man, a very old | | | | alike. They took the night off wherever when the night |
| man, a dead body, and a wandering monk who | | | | falls and live from asking food when they needed to |
| abstained from worldly life as a spiritual discipline | | | | eat. |
| (ascetic). Later teachings called Gautama's experience | | | | The teachings of Buddha made him champion of the |
| as "The Four Sights" and the teachings from the prince | | | | masses; making people feel they were encouraged |
| was handed down from his followers to generations | | | | for their own wellness. He advised people to do their |
| as Buddhism. | | | | own work while he could only teach them the way |
| What is Buddhism? | | | | how to do it. He always taught them about helping |
| Buddhism is the religious teaching spread by Siddhartha | | | | each other. He never showed any sign of anger, |
| Gautama (Buddha) and his followers which reveals | | | | never said hurting words and had always been patient, |
| that the causes of suffering in life such as greed, | | | | even with his opponents. |