Buddhism: One of India's Greatest Contribution

BUDDHISM
Buddhism is a religion that was founded by Siddharta Gautama, a rich prince who has been forbidden to see the real outside world by his father. When he had the chance to go out, he had seen three sufferings in life that changed his way of thinking. These are hunger, sickness, and death. Siddharta chose to leave his family for the sake of achieving enlightenment and find the true meaning of life. When he had already reached enlightenment, he decided to explain his teachings to the masses.
For me, Buddhism is one of the greatest contributions of the Indian civilization. Buddhism is a religion which revolves in attaining the true meaning of life, and peace. Buddhism is a religion where in one should let go of his anger/hatred to avoid his sufferings, and be a better person in the world he is living in. Buddhism has always been a religion about human development.
Religion is a great contribution since it allows people to be morally good. Just like Buddhism, it allows people to strive hard in finding happiness and peace in life. Buddhism has also contributed a lot in the world today. It has contributed to its followers the paths to enlightenment and Buddhism focused mainly on how a man can search for their true happiness, and by achieving this, the teachings of Buddhism circled around the different steps in achieving happiness. There are the 'Four Noble Truths': 1) Life is full of suffering, 2) Sufferings are caused by a man's selfish desires, 3) man can end his sufferings by ending his selfish desires; and 4) to attain Nirvana (perfect happiness). Buddhism also talked about how a man should follow the 'Eight-Fold Path' consisting of 1) Right Belief, 2) Right Aspiration, 3) Right Speech, 4) Right Conduct, 5) Right Livelihood 6) Right Effort, 7) Right Remembrance; and 8) Right Meditation. Also, almost 2 million people in the world are now Buddhist in faith. Buddhism believes in achieving complete happiness even if it takes how many lives with the belief of reincarnation. It only shows that everytime a soul is reincarnated, he/she is given the chance to correct his wrongdoings and make a brand new start. Happiness is one of the great things a person can have and most Buddhist value one's happiness. Some people may think that Buddhism is just a religion of those who wish to meditate for long hours, but they do not know the true meaning of the Buddist teachings.
Let me end this article by quoting a phrase by a Buddhist missionary named Soma Thera, "The Buddha's doctrine, as Manmatha Nath Shastri puts it, is 'the glory of India and Indians. Without it, Indian culture would be a maimed thing.' And the Land of the Purple Fruit, Jambudvipa, would for the world lose most of its sanctity and interest, if the Blessed One, the Buddha, had not walked in the Middle Country" (Thera, 2007, p. 2).
REFERENCE:
Thera, S. (2007). The Contribution of Buddhism to World Culture. Sri Lanka. Buddhist Publication Society Kandy.