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Bible 10-1
10 January 2025
Buddhism
The historical Buddha was a prince named Siddhartha who lived 2,600 years ago in what
is today northern India. According to legend, shortly after Siddhartha’s birth, a man prophesied
that the child would grow up to be either a powerful king or a great spiritual leader. His father,
the king, did everything in his power to ensure that his son would not want to pursue a religious
life, giving him every privilege and luxury and sheltering him from the harsh realities of the
world.
At the age of 29, dissatisfied with palace life, the prince went away from the palace on a
journey that would change his life. On the first trip, he saw a sick man; on the second, an old
man; and on the third, a corpse. These were his first encounters with life’s suffering, and he was
devastated. Then, on a fourth trip, he saw a mendicant spiritual seeker and had a revelation, there
might be a way out of suffering, and the possibility seemed to lie in the religious life.
Soon Siddhartha left the palace to seek the end of suffering. He studied with two spiritual
teachers and then went on a journey with five companions, meditating and taking up new
practices, such as prolonged fasting, that nearly killed him. After six years, he had another
realization: the way out of the cycle of birth, suffering, and death lay not in indulgence his palace
life, nor in extreme physical denial, but his spiritual life. There was a “middle way” to end
suffering through training the mind. He resolved to meditate under a ficus tree, until he had
discovered the answer to his quest. Siddhartha had a series of insights into the nature of reality
and became enlightened. For the next 45 years, until his death, he was known as the Buddha
(“the Awakened One”) and taught the path to liberation that he had realized.
Buddhism is one of the world’s major religions. It originated in South Asia.Buddhists
believe that human life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, but that if one achieves a state of
enlightenment also known as nirvana, it is possible to escape this cycle forever. Siddhartha was
the first person to reach this state of enlightenment and is still known today as the Buddha. They
do not believe in any kind of deity or god, although there are supernatural figures who can help
or hinder people on the path toward enlightenment. The Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar, India—the
site of Buddah’s enlightenment—is now a major Buddhist pilgrimage site. The Buddha taught
about the Four Noble Truths, suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the
path to the cessation of suffering. Buddhists believe in a wheel of rebirth into different bodies.
This is connected to “karma,” which refers to how a person’s good or bad actions in their present
or past lives can impact their future. Buddhists strive for serenity amid chaos and place a high
value on ethical conduct and compassion, which are reflected in the ideals of service and
community.
Like other religions, Buddhist ideals are spread through art and culture. Buddhist art is
known for embodying the Buddha’s teachings and reflecting the thriving Buddhist community.
National Geographic Explorer Monica López-Prat is a cultural heritage conservator studying
monumental terracruda (air-dried clay) sculptures, a type of Buddhist sculpture widespread
among the Silk Roads. López-Prat investigates how traditional knowledge can inform
conservation strategies for ancient sculptures, and her research has shown that the technique
underlying the construction of Bamiyan Buddhas is still practiced in the making of sacred images
of buddha.
In addition to the spiritual realm, Buddhism has impacted cultural norms, in particular
through its emphasis on service and community. Buddhist monasteries are often sites for
community action, giving back to the community and spearheading political action.
