HISTORY
HOW DID BUDDHISM COME INTO BEING?
By 560 BC, Hinduism was well established on South Asia. It was in this world that a prince named Siddhartha Gautama was born in that year. It was his dissatisfication with the world in which he lived that would end up creating a new religion. He was born into a Kshatriya family. At birth, it was prophesied he would be a great holy man but his father wanted him to be a great king and warrior instead, so his father shielded him from the outside world. At the age of 29, he couldn't take it anymore, he wanted to go out and explore but his father forbade him for doing so. One day, Gautama snuck out of the palace and saw things he never saw before,-an old man, a sick man, a corpse and an ascentic(holy man). After seeing these strange sights, he left the palace to become a holy man. After leaving the palace, he starved himself to the point of suffering. For days, he sat under a tree thinking about Hinduism. After surviving, he became enlighted, discovering the Middle Way ("a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self mortification "). At that point, he was considered the Buddha because he founded the religion. |
QUOTES BY THE BUDDHA "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions simply because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." |
FUN FACTS
1. Asoka the Great/Fierce transferred to a Buddhist after his victory at Kalinga. 2. Buddha is not a god, he was a human like all of us. 3. Buddhism shares its roots with Hinduism. 4.Nirvana is where you go when you reach enlightenment. 5. When Siddharta was sitting under the tree, trying to reach enlightenment, Mara attacked him. 6. Karma is what you get in one life for another. Your nex life depends on your life rght |
MANNERS
When you are exploring a Buddhist temple, be polite. Buddhists meditate and practice their rituals everyday, DO NOT STARE. It is very rude. Besides staring, there is a bunch of things you shouldn't do. They are listed below. 1. Don't wear your hats or shoes while praying. 2. Don't Point at anything/anyone. 3. Respect the statues, don't jump on or touch them. 4. Despite the warm weather, stay covered (ex. long pants) |
FAMOUS BUDDHIST TEMPLES (Slideshow)
MAP OF HOW BUDDHISM SPREAD
SOURCES
http://goseasia.about.com/od/travelplanning/a/visiting_buddhist_temples.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro.html
http://www.neatorama.com/2007/09/19/10-most-amazing-temples-in-the-world/
http://goseasia.about.com/od/travelplanning/a/visiting_buddhist_temples.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro.html
http://www.neatorama.com/2007/09/19/10-most-amazing-temples-in-the-world/