The Rise Of Buddha Guatama

“There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind.” (Daman, 2015) The author of this quote, Siddhartha Guatama, also known as the Buddha, “The Enlightened One”, is the creator of Buddhism, the 5th most common religion in the United States. Buddha created this meditation devoted, peace hungry religion in India during
5th Century B.C.E (patheos.com). The motives, beliefs, and rituals that make up Buddhism are both inspiring and underrated.
First, to understand the motive behind Buddhism, it’s important to explore the origin. As mentioned, Buddhism was created in India in the early 5th Century by Buddha as a way to discover, embrace and maintain peace within oneself. While Buddha
was observing and soaking in all of the world’s trials, troubles and tribulations, he set out to find a cure for the pain caused by these hardships. He centered his mediation on peace and total serenity. This is the foundation of Buddhism – finding one’s inner peace and recognizing the strength within.
Next, to understand Buddhist’s beliefs, the focus will be on three main branches
(divisions) of Buddhism. The most influential branch, Theravada Buddhism, originated in 1st
Century C.E.. This branch is devoted to the life of the Buddha and believes that Enlightenment is such a vigorous goal to achieve, it can only be done by true monks solely dedicated to the practice. The next branch, Mahayana Buddhism, has a goal of diverting all humans to achieve
Enlightenment and maintain a peaceful heart, mind and soul. The third branch,
Vajrayana/Tantric Buddhism, was created between 500 – 600 C.E. in India. This branch is
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referred to as the “shortcut” to Enlightenment for newcomers who are lead by a guru, or
“spiritual guide.” (Asian Education, 2012)
These branches extend into more specific beliefs of Buddhism, referred to as “Four Noble
Truths”: existence is suffering (Dukhka), there is a cause to suffering (Trishna), there is an end to suffering (Nirodha) and in order to end suffering, one must follow the Eightfold Path (Magga).
The goal of the Four Noble Truths is achieved in the Magga which is reaching a state of nirvana
– a state free from suffering. As Buddha first intended, he wanted people to be freed from the sufferings of the world (Robinson, 2009).
Furthermore, Buddhism has a range of sacred texts, items and places. The texts include
Tripitaka (Pali Canon), Mahayana Sutras and Tibetan Book of the Dead. Tripitaka, meaning
“three baskets,” was written on leaves sown together and stored in baskets. There are 50 volumes originally written in Pali language. Mahayana stems off the Tripitaka with the addition of the
Sutras. Tibetan Book of the Dead reflects the Tibetan opinion of death: “while dying, at the moment of death, during the 49- day interval between death and rebirth, and at rebirth.”
(Religion Facts, 2015)
In addition to sacred texts, Buddhism possesses sacred places, such as shrines and monasteries. Shrines demonstrate a temple-like place to worship and meditate. Shrines are built for all Buddhists to attend or can be created at individual homes for an opportunity to conveniently worship. Buddhism does not view worship as completely necessary as being
Buddhist is more of a “way of life” rather than practicing a traditional religion. For the Buddhists that are more dedicated and need a place to display more devotion, they attend monasteries to show more of a profound respect for the Buddha (URI: Kids, 2009).

And, in addition to sacred texts and places, Buddhists possess sacred items/symbols that are similar to those of Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. The 12 most common are as follows:
White Parasol representing protection from devilish desires; Two Fishes representing being rescued from the ocean; Conch shell symbolizing turning to the rightful path, Banner showing the “victory” of Buddhism; Endless Knot representing the “endless cycle of rebirth”; Vase showing the spiritual wealth; Wheel displaying the importance of transformation and teaching;
Lotus displaying the “progression of the soul”; Bell symbolizing wisdom; Om signifying development of the past, present and future; Phurpa displaying the conquering of destruction;
Vajra/Dorje destroying all forms of ignorance (Kashgar, 2011).
Now, on to discuss sacred rites and ceremonies of Buddhism. Most of these rites and ceremonies are practiced throughout Asia, both past and present day. The most popular is
Buddha’s birthday and day of his death. On both days, paper lanterns are hung and all gather together to celebrate and honor his life by pouring water or a “special tea” over statues of him.
Charitable events are conducted such as, providing vegetarian meals, making donations and rescuing animals about to be slaughtered and caring for them (Hardy).
Another popular event is New Years Eve when houses are thoroughly cleaned, debts paid and mountains of food are made. New Years festivities carry on for a week or two. Festivities and traditions on this holiday vary from country to county throughout Asia. At midnight, in
Japan, Buddhists shrines/monasteries ring the temple bell 108 times as a huge crowd gathers to watch and celebrate. In China, families travel to spend time with family (Hardy).
Furthermore, China is the leading country with Buddhism practices with 18.2% of the population. Along with China, Buddhism is popular in other foreign countries such as, Thailand,

Vietnam, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Taiwan, Cambodia and India. This list is from largest to smallest with 102 million Buddhists in China and 7 million in India (Buddhanet, 2016).
As mentioned, Buddhism is the 5th most common religion practiced in the United States following Christianity, Nonreligious, Judaism and Islam and is primarily populated by Asian
Americans (Chinese and Japanese immigrants with some Euro-Americans) (Bielefeldt). In the
U.S., approximately 8% of the population are Buddhists (535 million) as of 2010. Buddhism is most commonly found in Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho,
Montana, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma (Whitaker, 2015).
In the early days of Buddhism, when the Buddha was still setting the foundations, males were the only gender accepted. Buddha’s stepmother first brought up the idea of accepting women and Buddha was initially opposed to the idea. The women who wanted to join shaved their heads and wore the robes anyways and practiced the religion regardless of the Buddha’s opinion. Eventually, the Buddha did accept women but established extra rules and regulations for females. However, in the 5th and 6th Century B.C.E., females were fully accepted and granted the same social freedoms as men (Hardy).
Lastly, the final touch of Buddhism is the debate on whether or not this religion resembles a cult. In some news related articles, cult-like indictors popped up when considering
“dark media images” of mostly Hindu gurus (commonly compared to Buddhism) and the sexual desires and acts of the Korean Christian movement of Reverend Moon. Other than that, not much profound likelihood of Buddhism and cults going hand in hand (Bielefeldt, 2001).
In conclusion, Buddhism is a unique religion, often not even referring itself as a
religion, with one main focus of finding peace and happiness.
Meditating and worshipping help followers

find their desired peace and state of Enlightenment through monasteries and shrines where worshipping, idealizing the Buddha and meditating in order to embrace and maintain a healthy,
happy
lifestyle.