| Top Level > Religion & Spirituality > Buddhism |
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Facts
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Buddhism was founded by an Indian prince named Siddharta Gautama around the year 500 BC. According to tradition, the young prince lived an affluent and sheltered life until a journey during which he saw an old man, a sick man, a poor man, and a corpse. Shocked and distressed at the suffering in the world, Gautama left his family to seek enlightenment through asceticism (The principles and practices of an ascetic are extreme self-denial.
The doctrine that the ascetic life releases the soul from bondage to the body and permits union with the divine..)
But even the most extreme asceticism failed to bring enlightenment.
Finally, Gautama sat beneath a tree and vowed not to move until he had attained enlightenment. Days later, he arose as the Buddha - the "enlightened one." He spent the remaining 45 years of his life teaching the path to liberation from suffering (the dharma) and establishing a community of monks (the sangha).
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