Paths of Budda and Gandhi
Budda and Gandhi
Siddhartha Gautama was a devoted spiritual teacher and is considered as the founder of the Buddhism faith. Within the Buddhist faith, Siddhartha Gautama is the Supreme “Buddha” meaning “awakened one" or "the enlightened one" and is often considered within the religion of Hinduism as a deity. Historians are not sure of the exact years of his birth and death. For the most part, it is believed that he lived around 563 BCE to 483 BCE, while other historians think his passing on occurred between 486 and 483 BCE. Siddhartha Gautama is said to have been born in Lumbini and was raised in the small state of Kapilavastu, which is now modern day Nepal, and subsequently traveled and taught mainly across the regions of eastern India. Many of his teachings were passed down from one generation to another orally at first, but were later written down about 400 years after Buddha.
Many centuries later, another great teacher would share in some of Siddhartha Gautama’s fantastic ideologies. For many, this great teacher would become the standard of achieving enlightenment and the way to peace. This great spiritual teacher was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. His life spanned from 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948 and he was a political and ideological leader of India during the years of the independence movement for India, to gain freedom from Great Britain. He introduced the notion of Satyagraha which is resisting oppression by making use of of mass civil disobedience, while remaining ahimsa or nonviolent. His guidance in the course of his teachings and examples helped India achieve independence from Great Britain and inspired many other people of various cultures to seek out their civil rights and freedom from those who oppress them. Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma, meaning “great soul.” Gandhi like Buddha believed in the simplicity in one’s life. Gandhi truly believed that a person working in a public service position should follow
Siddhartha Gautama was a devoted spiritual teacher and is considered as the founder of the Buddhism faith. Within the Buddhist faith, Siddhartha Gautama is the Supreme “Buddha” meaning “awakened one" or "the enlightened one" and is often considered within the religion of Hinduism as a deity. Historians are not sure of the exact years of his birth and death. For the most part, it is believed that he lived around 563 BCE to 483 BCE, while other historians think his passing on occurred between 486 and 483 BCE. Siddhartha Gautama is said to have been born in Lumbini and was raised in the small state of Kapilavastu, which is now modern day Nepal, and subsequently traveled and taught mainly across the regions of eastern India. Many of his teachings were passed down from one generation to another orally at first, but were later written down about 400 years after Buddha.
Many centuries later, another great teacher would share in some of Siddhartha Gautama’s fantastic ideologies. For many, this great teacher would become the standard of achieving enlightenment and the way to peace. This great spiritual teacher was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. His life spanned from 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948 and he was a political and ideological leader of India during the years of the independence movement for India, to gain freedom from Great Britain. He introduced the notion of Satyagraha which is resisting oppression by making use of of mass civil disobedience, while remaining ahimsa or nonviolent. His guidance in the course of his teachings and examples helped India achieve independence from Great Britain and inspired many other people of various cultures to seek out their civil rights and freedom from those who oppress them. Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma, meaning “great soul.” Gandhi like Buddha believed in the simplicity in one’s life. Gandhi truly believed that a person working in a public service position should follow
Citations: 1. www.bbc.co.uk/.../gandhi_mohandas.shtml 2. www.buddhanet. www.ancientindia.co.uk/buddha/home_set.html net/e- 3. www.enchantedlearning.com/history/asia/india/gandhi/ 4. learning/buddhistworld/buddha.htm 5. viewonbuddhism.org/buddha.html 6. zenhabits.net/mahatma-gandhis-5-teachings-to-bring-about-world-peace/