What is buddism?

Answer 1

buddism is a religion that is practiced in china .Buddism is a religion in China practiced by buddist monks. Buddah is a real person, a prince! I'm not trying to be rasict but in America lots of people dont care for Buddism because its in China!

-Lon3wo1f

Actually, Buddah is the son of a prince. He believed he had found the meaning of life. Buddah is not his real name either. (Although I forgot his real name!) He knew that in life there was much suffering and wanting things created suffering. He believed you should not ask for much and be at peace with yourself and you won't suffer so much in life. And many Americans believe in Buddism.-Mary

A More correct answer to your question is this:

In the year 534 BCE, a young Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama (age 29) was deeply troubled about the fact that so many people suffer. So he left his wife and child and renounced his throne to find out the answer to why there was suffering. Now it should be noted when Buddhists speak of suffering this includes dissatisfaction (unhappiness) with the way things are. Siddhartha went to study with various gurus to try to find the answer to his question. Theses gurus had him do various types of yoga and meditation to try to help him with his quest. None of them seem to have an answer to his question though.

Siddhartha left these various gurus and joined in with a group of ascetics. Asceticism is a path in which you deprive the body in order to conquer and control the mind. He practiced asceticism fiercely, almost to the point of death. At that point he realized that giving in to pleasure, as he did when he was a prince, nor trying to punish the body, was the proper path to finding the answer. So he sat down and meditated under a pi-pal tree. During this meditation he discovered the root of all suffering and the path to how to overcome suffering and became enlightened.

After his enlightenment he meets up with his ascetic friends, who by now were critical of him for leaving the path of asceticism. But he explains to them what he had discovered and they were instantly converted. From there The Buddha taught for 45 years until his death at 85 converting many to his teachings and now Buddhism is the 4th largest religion in the world practiced in all continents.

Answer 2

The traditional starting beliefs are the Four Noble Truths, which are;

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

The Eightfold path connects with three qualities, Wisdom, Morality, and Meditation. Each of these three qualities then have paths connected with their effects. Wisdom has two paths. The first is Right View. Right view is the direct experience, rather than an indirect experience. It is your view and not something you have borrowed from others. The second path of Wisdom is the path of Right Thought. This is the non-dual experience where both sides can win and there will be no losers. The next noble eightfold path is connected with the quality of Morality and it has three more paths. Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood. These three paths integrate understanding into the interconnected web of all life. The last three paths are associated with the quality of Meditation, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right contemplation. These achieve deep harmony where nothing is left out.