Budidhsm

Buddhism is the fourth biggest religion in the world. This religion had its origin in the teaching of Buddha, and it is characterized by believing in reincarnation and the famous "Nirvana".

But, what is "Buddha" means? Buddha is an honorific name for someone who get a completely spiritual enlightenment. They get this status of mental peace after going through three periods: Desire (lobha), aversion (dosha) and confusion (moha).

Who was the creator of Buddhism? It was a man, his name was Siddharta Gautama. He lived in India in the V century before Christ.

Siddharta was a prince, and a legend said that a seer predicted that he will be a worldwide government. But if he saw an old man, a sufferer, a corpse and a monk he will be a Buddha. When his father, the king, listened about this, he hidden his son in the palace, Gautama was surrounded by richness and delights. He got married and he had a son. But one day he left the palace and for the first time he saw the life of the people who lived out of the palace. He saw the four people that the seer said that he was going to see, so at 29 years old he decided to leave his luxury life in the palace and started living in the streets. He wanted to find the answer about why people suffer, why the pain exist?

Gautama studied about Hinduism but he wasn't convinced. So he start a life of asceticism in the middle of the jungle. The legend said that he survived with one grain of rice per day, he looked like a skeleton. But he understood that asceticism don't give peace instead he felt mentally and physically weak. So he started meditating under a Bohdi tree (a tree of knowledge) and said: "Let my skin dry, my hands become numb, and my bones discompose. If I can't reach the comprehension, I will not get up from here".

At 35 years old, under the tree Gautama got the spiritual enlightenment, the Nirvana. He had a vision and he saw the right way that every human have to take to be happy, he found the answers about pain and suffer and he needed to share his experience and his message.

He started doing this until he turn 80 years old. He said that he wasn't a deity, he just was a guide.

What are the teachings of Siddharta Gautama?

First, there are four noble truths.

1. Pain and suffer exist in the world. If you exist, you are going to suffer.

2. The desire is the reason of suffer. People always want to get more, more money, more knowledge.

3. The suffer will stop when people be free of desire.

4. The desire will disappear if you take the noble eightfold way.

What are the eight parts of this way?

1. Right vision: You have to accept the 4 noble truths.

2. Right Intention: You need to renounce to the desires, lust, bitterness and cruelty.

3. Right speech. You have to talk the truth.

4. Right actions. You must abstain from sexual immorality, stealing and killing.

5. Right occupation. You must be occupied in things to benefit others.

6. Right effort. Eliminate the evil inside of us and avoid be evil again.

7. Right attention. You must be observant, contemplative and be free from desire and affliction.
8. Right meditation. You should concentrate in meditation to overcome any sensation of pain or delight. If you do this you can achieve the perfection.