Siddhartha Gautama :: essays research papers

Siddhartha GautamaSiddhartha Gautama was born about 563 BC in what is now modern Nepal. Hisfather, Suddhodana, was the ruler of the Sakya people and Siddhartha grew upliving the extravagant life on a tender prince. According to custom, he marriedat the young age of sixteen to a miss named Yasodhara. His father had orderedthat he live a life of total seclusion, but one day Siddhartha ventured out intothe world and was confronted with the reality of the inevitable trauma oflife. The next day, at the age of twenty-nine, he left his kingdom and new-bornson to lead an modest life and determine a way to relieve cosmopolitan suffering.For six years, Siddhartha meditated under a bodhi tree. But he was never fullysatisfied. One day he was offered a bowl of rice from a young girl and heaccepted it. In that moment, he realized that physical hardships were not themeans to freedom. From then on, he encouraged people not to exercising extremes intheir life. He called this The Middle Way. That night Siddhartha sat underthe bodhi tree, and meditated till dawn. He cleared his mind of all worldlythings and claimed to get enlightenment at the age of thirty-five, thus earningthe title Buddha, or "Enlightened One." For the remainder of his eighty years,the Buddha preached the dharma in an effort to help other people reachenlightenment. When Siddhartha is a Brahmin, he believes in the existence ofmany gods, and performs sacrifices to them. After a while he realizes this ismeaningless and decides to leave his family and community and become a Samana.As a Samana, he tries to destroy himself in may ways. He feels if he killshimself, with its passions and emotions, he will find the great secret.Siddhartha doesnt spend much time as Buddha, although he has an crucialrevelation. He discovers he cant find peace by learning from a master. Hefinds the only way to have peace with the world is by determination it for himself.When Siddhartha leaves Buddha, he is enthralled with th e world. He startspaying more(prenominal) attention to the world because he knows he must get experience forhimself. As he walks he comes upon a town. He stays and becomes a merchant.At first he looks at his actions as a game. After a while he becomes moreserious. He starts drinking and gambling and becomes lazy. Siddhartha seesthis and decides to leave the town.He wanders through a forest and comes upon a