Page 51 - Yellow Feather Book 1

Extension to Social Studies
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion that began in India many years ago. One of the most important differences between Buddhism and Christianity is that Buddhism is not centered in a supreme deity (God). They believe in kindness and life after death. For some people Buddhism is not a religion, is a philosophy or a way of life.
How did it get started?
More than 2500 years ago in India, lived a Prince named Siddhartha Gautama (he was later know as Buddha or “awakened one”). Gautama was born in the village of Lumbini in Nepal; he was the son of a rich nobleman and lived a life of luxury. His life was perfect, but he soon realized, this was not reality.
He decided to take a trip, abandon his comfortable life, his
wife and child; he became a monk and sought knowledge
throughout the real world. He was amazed to see all of the
suffering, sickness and death that prevail in the world, and
soon realized nobody could do anything about it. His search
for the path of enlightenment took six years. One day while
he was sitting under a tree he discovered that the answers he
was looking for lay in what he later called the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.
50 The Yellow Feather Literature Third Course