Who is Gautama Buddha - Inspirer of Buddhism

1. He loved truth and sought it all his life


2. He taught the truth he found for the rest of his life, out of love for humanity


3. His truth came in a form that did not require belief, but reason and meditation

Stripped of these metaphysical or magical aspects, a sketch of his life runs thusly:

Prins Siddharta was born in Lumbini (in modern day Nepal), to the kshatriya caste of warrior-aristocrats. (The Indian caste system was also probably somewhat more informal at this time than it later became). He was the heir to the position of "prince" ("village chieftain" may be more accurate) of the Shakya clan's village of Kapilavatthu or Kapilvastu in the foothills of the Himalayas in what is now Nepal.

Siddharta maried and had a son: Rahula, but at age 29, having become increasingly dissatisfied with the contrast between a life of aristocratic luxury and the suffering he observed endemic in all people, Siddharta abandoned his inheritance and palace and began living an ascetic life, training with ascetic philosophers, and practicing austere meditative practices.

After six years he found that the severe practices did not lead to greater understanding, abandoned them and concentrated on meditation and the "middle way" (a practise of non-extremism), and soon afterwards claimed he had realized complete awakening or enlightenment into the nature and cause of human suffering and the steps necessary to eliminate it. This enlightenment is called a state of "Bodhi," and hence the name "Buddha," or "enlightened one."

The Buddha emphasized that he was not a god nor the messenger of a god and that Enlightenment was not the result of a supernatural process or agency, but rather the result of a close attention to the nature of the human mind which could be rediscovered by anyone for themselves.

Buddha spent the time after that teaching and traveling.

Source

Dating the Buddha has become quite the sport amongst Buddhologists. A majority apparently agrees that his birth should be dated around 400B.C.

The Dhammapada (or Dharmapada) is an old Buddhist book of sayings. It is not clear whether they are actual sayings of the Buddha himself, as the text isn't part of the Pali Canon. On the other hand, the text has been found in both Theravada and Mahayana sources so it is common to all traditions of Buddhism.

Better than a thousand useless words
is one useful word,
hearing which one attains peace.

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

Do not speak harshly to any one; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful: blows for blows will touch thee.

Hatred does not cease in this world by hating, but by not hating; this is an eternal truth.

When a man dwells on the objects of sense, he creates an attraction for them; attraction develops into desire, and desire breeds anger.

"He who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot, him I call a real driver; other people are but holding the reins"

The Four Noble Truths

1. Suffering exists
2. Suffering arises from attachment to desires
3. Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases
4. Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the Eightfold Path


Noble Eightfold Path

Three Qualities (the eight aspects of the path can be grouped into three qualities as follows)

Wisdom (panna)
1. Right View


2. Right Thought

Morality (sila)

3. Right Speech


4. Right Action


5. Right Livelihood

Meditation (samadhi)

6. Right Effort


7. Right Mindfulness


8. Right Contemplation or concentration or meditation

More Buddhism teachings - that is: more lists

The Pali Canon is our oldest source on the teachings of Buddha. It has three parts (pitaka):

1. Vinaya Pitaka, dealing with rules for monks and nuns
2. Sutta Pitaka, discourses, mostly ascribed to the Buddha, but some to disciples
3. Abhidhamma Pitaka, variously described as philosophy, psychology, metaphysics etc.

Together these three are called the Tipitaka.

According to scholars the Pali Canon is a mixture of material going back to the Buddha and material by his disciples. The earliest versions we know historical facts about date to the fifth century C.E.

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