Siddhartha Gautama's Analysis

Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha, was born in the sixth century B.C. He lived an extravagant life in a kingdom as a young prince. Siddhartha was ordered by his father to stay in his house and never leave. He eventually disobeyed and ventured out in the world and saw many things he had never seen before nor could understand. According to World Religions Online the article entitled “Life of the Buddha” states, “As the prince rode through the city he saw three things that he had never seen before. One was an old man, one was a man suffering from illness, and the third was a corpse surrounded by mourners.” These sights made him realize that suffering was inevitable and he soon became determined to find a way to cease all suffering. He followed
The Eightfold Path, or the Middle Way, is Buddha’s prescription on how to end suffering. It is a set of eight principles that can be categorized into three groups: Wisdom (right understand and intention), Ethical Conduct (right speech, action and livelihood), and Meditation (right effort, mindfulness and concentration). According to The Four Noble Truths the article entitled “The Four Noble Truths” adds, “If we can control our body and mind in a way that we help others instead of doing them harm, and generating wisdom in our own mind, we can end our suffering and problems.” The first principle, right understanding, is simply accepting Buddhist teachings. Buddha never wanted his followers to forcefully believe his teachings, but to practice them at their own will and determine if they were truthful or not. The second element, right intention, basically means to free the mind of all evil and avoid the Three Roots of Evil. Right speech and right conduct are in accordance with one another as they both focus on attaining positive behavior and kindness. The fifth principle, right livelihood, intends to maintain a respectful way of living, such as never killing or harming an animal. Right effort consists of avoiding evil and obtaining a joyful perseverance. Right mindfulness is the seventh element toward ceasing suffering. It concentrates on having a clear mind state and being aware of one’s mental and physical well-being. The last principle, right concentration, involves the use of meditation to achieve the high level enlightenment. According to World Religions Online the article entitled “Life of the Buddha” states, “A person who practices right concentration will come to the enlightenment that Siddhartha attained.” The elements in the Eightfold Path are not meant to be followed in order, but to support and enforce one