Buddhism is a gentle and peaceable religion that has persevered through 25 centuries of nonviolence. The religion is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.

During the sixth century B.C.E., the son of a powerful ruler lived a secluded life in his father's palace in Northern India. At the age of 29, this man, Siddhartha Gautama, saw for the first time the sufferings of life. He began to think deeply about the nature of old age, sickness and death. In search of the cause of such suffering, Siddhartha left his life of luxury and adopted that of a wandering ascetic. After some time he realized his searching lay neither in the severeness of the ascetic way, nor in the luxury of his former life.

Finding no answers in either extreme, Siddhartha began a new search--that of the Middle Way. The Middle Way is the path between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-denial. He began to eat so that hunger no longer occupied his thoughts and sat beneath a Bodhi tree to meditate. Under the Bodhi, Siddhartha found what he was searching for--enlightenment. Siddhartha arose a Buddha and made his way to the city of Benanes, where he began speaking of his enlightenment and the four noble truths.

• Suffering Exists - all lives are filled with suffering.
• There is a reason for suffering - suffering comes from a desire for worldly things.
• There is a way to end suffering - suffering ceases when one transcends selfish craving.
• The way to end suffering is through the Eightfold Path - one can learn to end desire by following eight rules.

• Right Views - knowing and understanding the four noble truths.
• Right Thoughts - letting go of want and desire.
• Right Speech - telling the truth, speaking kindly and wisely.
• Right Action - acting with kindness to avoid hurting anything.
• Right Livelihood - earning a living that does not cause harm to others.
• Right Effort - encouraging and developing positive thought in order to keep to the path.
• Right Mindfulness - being aware of thoughts and actions that effect the world.
• Right Concentration - peaceful state of mind that arises through correct practice of the Eightfold Path.

For forty-five years Buddha taught the people of Northern India the path to enlightenment. At the age of eighty, he died. During his lifetime the Buddha showed no desire to preserve his teachings in writing. Thus, for centuries his teachings were preserved by the Sangha, who spread the stories through oral tradition. In the first century B.C.E. the lessons of the Buddha were finally recorded in the Pali Canon. In addition to the Pali Canon, there are other Buddhist scriptures, many of which are the writings of sages and scholars.

The ways of the Theravada Buddhists most closely resemble that of the original Buddhists. They hold that arhats, or monks, are the ideal models of Buddhism. The arhats live a life of simplicity and poverty, they do not worry about money but depend on others to feed them. Their time is free to devote to the search of personal enlightenment. Theravada Buddhists believe the path to enlightenment must be traveled alone.

As Buddha's teachings spread into central and eastern Asia they were reinterpreted and developed into a new form of Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism. These Buddhists cite that the greatest virtue of Buddha was his selfless devotion to others. For Buddha delayed entering Nirvana for forty-five years to help others to the path of enlightenment. A bodhisattva is one who delays the entering into Nirvana as Buddha did. To the Mahayana Buddhists, a bodhisattva is the ideal example of the faith. In contrast, the Theravada Buddhists view the arhats as the model of Buddhism.

Groups within Mahayana Buddhism:

• Pure Land Buddhism - worship the Amida Buddha, the Buddha of Boundless Light, and believe faith in Amida will lead them to rebirth in paradise called Pure Land.
• Tibetan Buddhism - revere bodhisattvas as most important of Buddhist teachers.
• Vajrayana Buddhism - uses discipline to transcend and redirect desire to better reach Nirvana.
• Zen Buddhism - centers on the importance of meditation.

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