FAQs
Who is the founder of buddhism?
The Buddhist tradition is inspired by the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. He was called the Buddha and lived in the 4th or 5th century B.C. in India.
Who was Siddharta Gautama?
Siddharta Gautama is known as the Buddha.
He was born around the year 580 BCE in the village of Lumbini in Nepal. He was born into a royal family and for many years lived with in the palace walls away from the sufferings of life; sufferings such as sickness, age, and death. He did not know what they were.
One day, after growing-up, marrying and having a child, Siddhartha went outside the royal palace and saw, each for the first time, an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. He was worried by what he saw. He learned that sickness, age, and death were the inevitable fate of human beings — a fate no-one could avoid.
Why is Siddharta Gautama so important to Buddhists?
Siddhartha Gautama found the path to Enlightenment. By doing so he was led from the pain of suffering and rebirth towards the path of Enlightenment and became known as the Buddha or the "enlightened one".
Why did Siddharta Gautama stop being a prince and become a holy man?
Siddharta had also seen a monk, and he decided this was a sign that he should leave his protected royal life and live as a homeless holy man. His travels showed him much more if the suffering world. One day he was meditating under a Bodhi tree when he begun to have his enlightenments.
He spent the next 45 years of his life sharing and teaching other about his enlightenments.
What is Enlightenment and Nirvana?
Buddhist believe that there is a cycle of birth, life and death and rebirth which goes on and on. They believe that unless someone gains Enlightenment, then when they die, they will be reborn. If a person can gain Enlightenment, they can break out of this cycle.
Breaking out of the cycle is called Nirvana. It is the end of everything that is not perfect. It is perfect peace, free of suffering.
What is Nirvana? (Part 2)
Nirvana is the most common term used to describe the goal of the ideal path for buddhists. Nirvana is a place of perfect peace and happiness, like heaven. In Buddhism, Nirvana is the highest state that someone can attain. it's a state of enlightenment, meaning a person's individual desires and suffering go away.
What are the 5 Precepts (morals)?
The 5 precepts constitue the basic code of ethics undertaken by buddhists to live a calm and respectful life.
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Do not take the life of anything living. (Do not kill)
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Do not take anything not freely given. (Do not steal)
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Abstain from sexual misconduct and sensual overindulgence.
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Refrain from untrue speech. (Do not lie)
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Do not consume alcohol or other drugs. The main concern here is that intoxicants cloud the mind.
What is Karma?
Karma is the concept that every cause has an effect, i.e., our actions have consequences. Buddhists believe that our past actions have an effect on who or what we are in our next life.