Buddhism: an Ordered way of Life
Timothy M. .Faulkner
Axia College at the University of Phoenix
With this paper, I plan to tell about the life of Buddha. I will also give an overview of the Buddhist religion. With the overview, I will be compare and contrast Buddhism with my religion, Paganism. Most of this paper is based on an interview with Bhante Henepola Gunaratana , “Bhante G” as he is called by his students.
Little is know about the life of the early Buddha’s. There was nothing written, biographically, during his life. Some of the history prior to his enlightenment could possible be mythological.
Buddha was born in India to Suddhodana, king of the clan, and Maya his wife. He was born Siddhartha Gautama somewhere between the years of 420 and 502 BCE. It seems to be that he was born to the second of the four Indian Casts, the aristocratic warrior caste called Ksatriyas. He was Raised Hindu. When he was sixteen Buddha, he married Yasodhara, whom was thirteen years his elder.
One night after his thirty-fifth birthday Buddha, seated under a large tree (now known as the Bodhi tree), experienced some major spiritual breakthroughs. The first breakthrough was that of the ability to recall past lives. The second one was to be able to see how the good and bad deeds that living things did in their lifetime effected their next reincarnation. His third was that he attained nirvana; Buddha realized that reincarnation would not happen again for him. Thus with these enlightenments he attained enlightenment. These referenced experiences are his battle with Mara Buddhists, which is the Christian equivalent to Satan.
After ...