Though some of the religions of the ancient world have disappeared, their heritage continues to influence the religions of today. In the followingessay I will discuss Buddhism. I will focus on key concepts, beliefs, practices, developments and how they are manifested in everyday life. Buddhism is a religion founded by an ex-Prince Siddhartha Gaumata. Gaumata was a prince who was brought up in a perfect surrounding. Whenthe prince left the palace he saw all the poverty in the land. At the age of twenty nine, the prince left his wife and his infant son to meditate andpractice Yoga to find peace and enlightenment. Gaumata was meditating fora long time when finally, while sitting under a Bo tree, he attained the enlightenment he was looking for. It is for this reason he got the name Buddha, meaning the enlightened one. Buddha became a traveling teacher and taught everyone his discovery.Buddha did not write any of his lessons down. They believe he taught about the Four Noble Truths, (1) life is suffering, (2) all suffering is caused by ignorance, (3) Ending ignorance will end suffering, and (4) The path to thedestruction of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path consists of (1) Knowledge of the truth, (2) theintention to resist evil, (3) not saying anything that will hurt someone else, (4) respecting life, (5) having a job that doesn't injure anyone, (6) striving free one's mind of evil, (7) controlling one's feelings, and (8) concentrating properly. Buddha preached that the life was a continuing cycle of death and rebirth. The well being of oneself was determined on your behavior in your previouslife. Buddha said that by ridding oneself of worldly things he would be in nirvana, peace and happiness. After Buddha's death, his followers collected his teachings that became the dharma. A...
