Buddhism like Hinduism came from India, but unlike Hinduism, Buddhism began with one man. His name was Gautama and they believe that he was just simply a man, not a God or any other kind of supernatural being. Gautama came to the full awareness of the nature of the human condition where after he acquired the name Buddha, which means “to awaken”. Gautama was born in about 563 B.C, and his full name was Siddhartha Gautama, and he belonged to the warrior class. Gautama’s first look into the real world was when he saw the Four Passing Sights which were an old man, a diseased man, a corpse, and a religious ascetic. Six years after leaving the palace Gautama accepted a simple meal of rice and milk, thus he discovered the important Buddhist doctrine of the Middle Way. Now Gautama was ready to obtain enlightenment. On his first watch Gautama perceived his own previous lifetimes. On his second watch Gautama acquired the “Divine Eye”. On his third watch Gautama discovered the Four Noble Truths. When he discovered the Four Noble Truths Gautama achieved enlightenment and had now become the Buddha, or the awakened one. He then remained for many days under the fig tree, or “wisdom tree”, in a state of perfect tranquility. He was tempted to leave his body and pass into nirvana, the state of eternal bliss, but instead he decided to remain and help other humans achieve nirvana. Gautama then sought out 5 people to share his teachings with, and gradually the 5 mendicants understood his teachings and obtained enlightenment, thereby becoming arhats. The first Sangha, Buddhist Monastic community, was formed consisting of men and women. The Dharma are hard to understand, so to fully understand Buddhist teachings requires an equal degree of insight gained directly through med ...