Pd4+Buddhism+D

=What is Buddhism?=

====When some people think of Buddhism, they'll originally imagine a bunch of spiritual monks who pray all the time, are always silent, and wear strange clothes. The truth is that not all Buddhists are like that. Some are ordinary people who try their best to follow the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, in their daily lives. These teachings can be interpreted in different ways, but they all lead to the ways you should live a good life.====

How did Buddhism Begin?
====It was about 524 BC. The baby prince of a Sakya tribe was born in a small country, located where Nepal is today. His name was Prince Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha's father wanted to hide him from all the suffering and tragedy in the world, so he kept him happy in the palace, surrounded by all the luxuries he could ever want. Siddhartha Gautama wondered what the world outside the palace was like, so one day, he snuck out. That was when he saw the four sights. They were:====

4.) A man who gave up all of his possessions and devoted himself to being a Hindu monk and finding the cause of suffering.
====When he saw all this, he realized that not everyone lived as he did. There was suffering in the world and people die. It's a part of life. Siddhartha also decided that he wanted to be like the monk that he had seen, and to find the cause of suffering. He gave up all he owned for years and lived as a poor beggar. Siddhartha denied his body its needs and did not even eat. He devoted all of his time and energy to meditation. But he realized that wasn't the way you should live. He'd realized that instead of living like kings with much more than you need, or denying your body its needs and starving yourself, you should follow the __Middle Path__. That means having everything that you need, but no more than that. Siddhartha then spent much of his time meditating. He was meditating underneath a Bodhi tree in about 563 BC, when he discovered the cause of suffering and finally understood. He had become the Buddha, or the Enlightened One. Once he had been enlightened, the Buddha traveled around, teaching others of his discovery, in hope that they could be enlightened as well. What he taught is actually what is still one of the main beliefs of the Buddhist religion. It was:====

4.) Number three can be achieved by following the __Eightfold Path__
The Eightfold Path is a life of honesty, compassion, and goodness.

What else do Buddhists believe?
====Buddhists also believe in __reincarnation__, or being reborn after you die. They think of life as a circle or endless cycle. Your __Karma__, or how good you led your life decides what you are reborn as. If you have a good Karma, then you are reborn as a human, perhaps a human in a better position;like if you were poor, you might be reborn as someone with a little more money (but only if your Karma was good). But if your Karma was bad, you are reborn as an animal. Sometimes, even if your Karma was good you would be reborn as an animal. But it would be a good animal like a cow. Cows are considered to be holy animals by Buddhists. In India, they even have their own Bill of Rights!====

To improve your Karma, you should do good deeds, be honest, and, in general, be a good person. That is basically what Buddhism is all about.

Do Buddhists worship a god?
The truth of the matter is, Buddhism is considered by some to not even be a religion. They do not have a god to worship, as the Buddha was not a god, but a human being to begin with. You see, Buddhism is more of a philosophy. Siddhartha Gautama was a philosopher who discovered the cause of suffering, in doing so became enlightened, and came to be known as the Buddha.