National College Of Business Administration &

Economics

Assignment No. 1

Regional History

Submitted To:-
Sir. Tariq Jellani

Submitted by:-
Syed Haseeb Ahmed

Reg no. :-
2091035
THE EARLY LIFE & TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA

Siddhartha was the original name of Gautama Buddha.

“Buddha" means "One who knows” or “awakened one" or
"the enlightened one."

Buddha was born into an aristocratic, wealthy warrior family

in the state of Shakya, with its capital at Kapilavastu, on the
border between present-day India and Nepal. There is no
mention of his being born as a prince in the royal family. His
family name was Siddhartha. His father was Shuddhodana.
In later versions, the name of his mother, Maya-devi, also
appears, as a youth, Buddha lived a life of pleasure. He
married and had a son, Rahula. In later versions, the name
of his wife, Yashodhara, appeared.

• The turning point:

When he was twenty nine years of age, there occurred a

series of revelations that irreversibly changed the course
of life for Siddhartha. He saw an old man for the first time
in his life and came to know that old age was inevitable.
Similarly, on other occasions, he came across a sick man
and a dead body. When the truth about the certainty of
death, sickness and old age dawned on him, he was
shocked. On a fourth occasion he saw a wandering
mendicant and Siddhartha came away impressed with the
man's peaceful demeanor. He instantly decided to
become shraman (an ascetic). Such was Siddhartha’s
state of mind when returning to the palace after seeing
the mendicant that on being informed about the birth of
 his son, the royal prince named him Rahula, which meant
fetter or bond. That night, Siddhartha left the city of
Kapilavastu, accompanied by his charioteer and
companion, Channa. After crossing the Anoma River, he
sent back his charioteer to the palace.

• The gurus:

Initially, Alara Kalama, a renowned sage, introduced him to

the stage of “sphere of no-thing.” Later, Uddaka Ramaputta,
another great teacher, taught him to attain the “sphere of
neither-perception-nor-nonperception, a higher mystical
state than the previous one. However, Siddhartha was still
not satisfied.

He was in quest of ultimate truth, nirvana, and thus he left

Alara Kalama. In an area near the modern day Gaya,
(known as Uruvela), Siddhartha practiced severe austerities
and self-mortification. However, he soon realized that denial
of food took its toll on his body and distracted him from his
goal. He therefore began to partake simple but nutritious
food, which disillusioned some of his followers who left him
in disgust.

• The night of the Enlightenment :

Finally, he sat cross-legged at the base of a peepal tree,

determined to attain enlightenment. He sat in deep
meditation. He soon gained insight into his past births. Then
he attained the power to see the passing away and rebirth of
beings. Next he directed his mind to the knowledge of the
destruction of wounds and indignities. And Siddhartha got
his enlightenment that night, when he was thirty five. The
word Buddha was attached as a suffix to indicate that he
was the enlightened one. He came to be known as the
“Enlightened one from the Gautama clan” or the Gautama
Buddha on a full moon day in the Hindu calendar of
Visakha.

Buddha then preached his philosophy and trained his

followers to do the same. He propagated dharma and
advocated following the Middle path between worldly
attachments and extremes of self-denial.

While meditating under a Bodhi tree in Bodh-Gaya, south of

Gaya in the state of Bihar, India, the Bodhisattva
experiences the Great Enlightenment, which reveals to him
the way of salvation from suffering. He spends seven weeks
meditating in the vicinity of the site of the Bodhi tree and
attains the status of a fully realized Buddha at the age of 35.

• First Sermon:

Buddha finds his former five disciples in Benares. In his first

sermon he teaches them what will become the gist of
Buddhism. Upon hearing it, one of the disciples instantly
attains the status of an arhat. One with enlightened
wisdom). This event marks the beginning of the Buddhist
teaching and his disciples become the first five members of
the sangha.Buddhist order.

• 523 BC:

Four years later Siddhartha's father, King Shuddhodana,

dies. Buddha returns to the palace and Mahaprajapati,
where Buddha's aunt -upon meeting Buddha- becomes the
first woman to ordain, despite of the protest of some
contemporaries. From this moment on women were
admitted to the sangha. According to Indian tradition,
however, they were separated and under the authority of
male monks.
His "Four Noble Truths", which are the foundation of all
Buddhist beliefs, are:

1. All human life is suffering.

2. All suffering is caused by human desire
3.An end of human desire is the end of human sufferings.
4. An end to all the desire can be achieved by following the
"Eightfold Noble Path".

• He Eightfold Noble Path is:

1. Right Understanding
2.Right Thought
3.Right Speech
4.Right Action
5.Right Livelihood
6.Right Effort
7.Right Mindfulness
8.Right Concentration

For the next forty-five years after his enlightenment, he

taught as the Buddha or "Shakyamuni" (the sage of the
Shakaya). Buddha established an order of monks called the
Sangha.

The Buddha attained Parinibbana (freedom from the cycle of

birth and death) at the age of eighty.
 Buddhism & Hinduism Compared
Ways in which Buddhism differs from Hinduism:
1) No need for priests (Brahmins) or rituals.

2) Anyone can enter Nirvana, no matter how lowly, whereas in

Hinduism only the Brahmins could achieve moksha.

3) In Theravada Buddhism, there are no gods. The Buddha is not

a god.

4) Karma is not earned by following the dharma of your caste.

Instead you can move toward entry into Nirvana by following the
eightfold path.

5) As the "middle way" Buddhism rejects extreme asceticism as

well as great wealth. The ideal in Hinduism is extreme
asceticism.

Ways in which Buddhism and Hinduism are similar:

1) Both believe in reincarnation.

2) Both believe there are many different paths to enlightenment.

3) Both believe that our suffering is caused by excessive

attachment to things and people in the physical world.

4) Both believe in an ultimate spiritual reality beyond the

illusions of the physical world.

5) Both practice meditation and other forms of yoga.

6) Both believe that eventually all living spirits will achieve

enlightenment and liberation, even if it takes many incarnations.
Remember that in Mahayana Buddhism, the original teachings of
the Buddha are assimilated to Hindu practices, including prayers,
gods (even the Buddha as god in all his many incarnations).
Mahayana Buddhism also introduces the idea of (temporary)
heavens and hells.