Philosophy - Buddhism Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Philosophy - Buddhism Philosophy - Essay Example Siddhartha Gautama was born in Lumbini near Nepalese Indian border, Kapilavastu. He was the son of King of Sakya tribe. Siddhartha was trained like a warrior as well as he was also coached to possess spiritual knowledge. He was married at the age of sixteen and was happily living with his beautiful wife of thirteen years until one day he left for an excursion. On his way, he encountered four different sights that guided him to an ultimate truth of life. He met an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a monk. Siddhartha saw that people have little control over their lives and with this he left his life as a prince and indulged in self mortification to find the truth. While sitting under a tree, he experienced the Great Enlightenment, a way to escape from suffering. With his teachings, Buddha travelled a lot teaching his doctrine and attracting followers. (Harvey, 1990) Buddha’s initial teachings are about four noble truths. First noble truth is about life and its suffering. Human n ature is imperfect co-existing in an equally imperfect world. Life is full of sorrows and torments, but sprinkled with some happy moments as well. Nothing is permanent in this world not even pain and suffering. Second truth is the reason of first noble truth. It is our attachment to the transient things of the world i.e., our ideas and perceptions of surroundings, our craving and clinging for the best that becomes the basis of our suffering. Detachment from such ideas and dispassion is the only way to end this suffering, which is the third noble truth. Fourth is gradual path of self-improvement. It is detailed as the eighth fold path. The eighth fold is the basis of Buddhist teachings and includes morality, meditation and wisdom (Naht, 1999). Right Knowledge, thinking, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration lead a person to realization that selfishness and greed cause sufferings. Buddhism uncovers the material basis of our relationship to this world and our always unsatisfied expectations. Due to impermanence we are always at a miserable or dejected end of our lives just because we expect a lot from something that is constantly changing and shifting its priorities. In any case we cannot solidify our relationship to this world that is so unpredictable and so unfaithful at times. For example, if we are studying business and hope to build a specific carrier, but when we come into practical life we experience that our knowledge is just not enough to compete with other colleagues in the same field. The priorities have shifted from theoretical knowledge to practical internships and training programs that you lack. In this way, you strived for a goal, but still could not reach it due to its impermanence and you will continue struggling until the end of your life and still may lack something or the other. Samsara is another fundamental concept of Buddhism, which means journeying the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. According to Buddha pe ople don’t possess individual souls, individuality is just an illusion. Rebirth is the concept in Hinduism and Buddhism, an ongoing cycle of birth. A person’s feelings, doings, impressions, karma are passed on to his next life and not his physical self, making him similar to his previous life. Nirvana is also considered as an opposite of Samsara. It is not an actual heaven, but a condition of being in heaven, if only in the state of mind. It is achieved by eliminating