Essay on Comparative Religion Life of Buddha

Essay on Comparative Religion Life of Buddha
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Comparative Religion Life of Buddha
Buddha which means enlightened one or the awakened is the titled conferred to Siddhartha Gautama. It is believed that he lived in Nepal between the sixth and fourth centuries. During that time, he tried different teachings but could not find any that was acceptable to him. One night while in meditation, he found the answers he was seeking thereby achieving awareness. This is what made him become Buddha. His life serves as the foundation of the Buddhist religion. Enlightenment, personal knowledge, and experiences and communal learning are integral parts of a religion. They help to shape people’s personal experiences while practicing their religions. This essay will look at the life of Buddha and his contribution to Buddhism. The essay will examine enlightenment and the path to it, how reflective learning coupled with personal knowledge guides our spiritual lives.
Buddha was born in royalty. His father was a king. Opulence and seclusion characterized his life. This is because his father did not want him to know about human hardships or religion. By the time he was twenty, he was married and ignorant of realities of life. In his late twenties, he ventured outside the seclusion of the palace and was confronted with human suffering. He met an old man. Subsequent trips yielded a diseased person and a corpse. All these led him to abandon the opulence of the palace and take up life as an ascetic. He wished to learn more about human suffering and seek ways to overcome fear. He left his wife and son behind. When several years passed and the answers he was seeking did not come to him, Buddha increased his efforts. This saw him endure more pain and suffering. He nearly starved because of fasting. Later, he realized it was not working. So, he abandoned that lifestyle and sought another path to understanding. One night Buddha sat under a tree and vowed not to get up until the truths he was seeking came to him. He meditated and remained there for days. Soon he underwent enlightenment. Answers to questions of human suffering became clear. He became the Buddha. For the rest of his life, Buddha spent it preaching the Dharma, which are teachings of Buddha. This he did in order to lead others to that path of enlightenment. This became the foundations of Buddhism (The Biography.com webs...