| If you were to ask people what they would wish for | | | | meditation to discover enlightenment on ways to end |
| most, most would likely say happiness. At least that is | | | | human suffering and torment. His meditation retreat |
| what the majority of people seek out subconsciously. | | | | showed him the path to enlightenment and from that |
| Sure, they may ask for riches or fame but the real | | | | moment on he became the Buddha. The Buddhist |
| desire internally is to be happy. | | | | practice began to spread as Buddha wanted more |
| If given a choice, many would also like to avoid any | | | | people to find happiness and joy in their lives, while also |
| suffering or pain of any kind. That is what the Buddhist | | | | improving the lives of those around them. |
| teachings tell people. But the more that people work at | | | | In today's Buddhist practice, those philosophies and |
| getting a better job or trying to improve their external | | | | steps are still going strong. Books on Buddhism abound |
| life, the more pain and suffering they bring down upon | | | | as more people want to begin finding peace and |
| themselves. The Buddhist religion owes all of its credos | | | | tranquility in themselves rather than their external |
| to Buddha and the history of Buddha is fascinating. | | | | surroundings. By improving on their own inner peace it |
| The history of Buddha all began thousands of years | | | | is said to lead to people helping others end their |
| ago with a prince named Siddhartha. Siddhartha was | | | | suffering. It is a very noble cause and the spirituality |
| protected from the outside world by his King father. | | | | Buddhism represents has many Western people |
| The father did not want his son exposed to the harsh | | | | turning to the religion Buddhism. |
| facts of life. But all of this changed when Siddhartha | | | | Learning the history of Buddha is just the beginning of |
| witnessed the "Four Sights." He came into contact with | | | | a journey along a wonderful path filled with peace and |
| an elderly man, a diseased man, a decaying corpse | | | | tranquility. Millions of people in the world today embrace |
| and a holy man. This influenced Siddhartha to seek out | | | | the Buddhist studies and have found that they are |
| a way to end human suffering and disease. | | | | much happier than they were before. You do not have |
| Buddhist studies teach that Siddhartha went on a | | | | to become a Buddhist, yet you can still gain fulfillment |
| spiritual journey. He spent forty-nine days in a state of | | | | by utilizing some of the practices, such as meditation. |