BuddhismDPD6

Buddhism by: Kylee Freiermuth ** The Founder ** The founder of Buddhism was a prince named Siddhartha. He was kept away from the world growing up because his father did not want him to see all of the bad things that were out there. When Siddhartha finally went outside he realized how much suffering there was so he found a way to escape through meditation. This was about 25,000 years ago.

** Religious leaders ** The religious leaders include the Dalai Lama and the Buddha. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader. The Buddha is the same person who discovered the religion. He is still worshiped today.

The Buddhists have 3 places where they worship. The first of these places is in a temple. They can go to a temple anytime to meditate in front of a statue of the Buddha. The second of these places is a shrine in their own home. Every house has a shrine in it. The shrine consists of a small statue of the Buddha surrounded by candles and other symbols. The last place of worship is at a Dharma wheel.
 * Places of worship **

This religion began a long time ago in India. It spread into China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. It remains in all of these countries to this day.
 * At The Beginning **

The Buddhists believe in a cycle. It is the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. This cycle is believed to bring you to nirvana if you have been good through all of your lives. Buddhists also believe in Karma. Karma is the belief that everything we do and say affects our life and reincarnation. Another strong belief is the state of Nirvana. This is where you go when you end all of your suffering. To get there you must follow the 8-fold path and the 4 noble truths.
 * Beliefs **

The Buddhists believe that there are no gods. Instead they follow the teachings of the Buddha. They believe that what happens to you is affected by Karma, and not the power of a god or goddess.
 * Gods **

The sacred writings of Buddhism are in the Sutras.
 * Sacred Writings **

The Buddhists follow the 4 Noble Truths and the 8-fold Path. the 4 Noble Truths are, Suffering is a part of life, Suffering comes from desire, There is an end to suffering, There is a path to end suffering. This simply means that there is suffering, but if u follow a path then you can end that suffering. The 8-fold Path is made of eight rules. They are the following * right understanding * right thought * right speech * right action * right livelihood * right effort * right mindfulness * right concentration If you follow these rules you can reach Nirvana.
 * Religious Practices **

The two major holidays are O-bon and Vesak. O-bon falls on August 13th. People decorate alters, and light small fires to welcome back the dead. Think of O-bon as the Buddhist Halloween, but without candy and costumes! When Vesak approaches people spend the day getting ready. First they clean their houses and hang garland flowers. Men grab clean sand and spread it around the temple courtyard. Then everyone walks across the sand in their bare feet. Statues of Buddha are washed and polished. All of the books in the temple are dusted. At dark oil lamps are lighted and people throw scented water on the biggest statue of the Buddha.
 * Holidays **

One of the biggest symbols is of course the statue of Buddha. Another is the yin-yang sign. Which represents balance. Where there is good there is evil. Where there is right there is wrong. This idea supports Karma. Then there is the Darhma wheel. This wheel usually has writings on it. And some believe it represents the Noble 8-fold Path.
 * Symbols **