Buddhism the Religion of Peace
Buddhism presented by Jacob Stone
Introduction.
PICTURE THIS;
You hear our teacher talking about this new religion, bringing a little bit of peace to the period of disunion. Buddhism you hear her say. Apparently some man long ago found a way around the pain and struggles of life. You wonder how he did it was it magic? Or was it something more mysterious?
Siddhartha Gautama. The Buddha.
Siddhartha Gautama was born around BC 600 to BC 400. He was born on the border of Nepal and India. Most stories told say he grew up in a life of luxury protected from the struggles of life. One day he discovered the troubles and pain of the world. Then becoming troubled after seeing a sick man, he started meditating under a tree. Finally after 49 days of meditating he became enlightened. From then on he became known as The Buddha.
Practices and Beliefs of Buddhism.
The Buddha believed that the ultimate goal for a Buddhist is to achieve nirvana. Nirvana is a state of perfect peace in mind. To achieve nirvana you must follow The Four Noble Truths. 1. All life is suffering and pain. 2. The cause of suffering is ones desire for things.
3. The cure to suffering is to fully remove desire from ones self. 4. To remove desire follow the eight fold path.
Also Buddhist meditate many times a day.
A statue of the Buddha meditating.
The spread of Buddhism.
After becoming enlightened. The Buddha then spent the rest of his life traveling around. During his travels he began telling people about his new religion. He sadly died at age 80. But his followers continued to tell the world about Buddhism hundreds of years after his death. Now Buddhism is one of the worlds largest religions today with over 500 million followers!
Conclusion
The Buddha may have died hundreds of years ago, but his spirit and the marks he made still live on with us today. He may not have known it at the time but he created one of the coolest and biggest religions ever.