You South Africa – 22 August 2019

livingbutdidn’treturntohispamperedlife.He

triedtofollowtheMiddleWay– livingneitherin

extremeself-denialandpovertynorinluxury.

Oneday,whilesittingundera figtreeinBodh

Gaya,India,hemeditateddeeply.Hevowedto

stayintheareauntilheunderstoodthetruthof

theuniverse.Aftermeditatingfor 49 dayshe

reachedenlightenmentandbecameknownas

theBuddha(whichmeans“theEnlightenedOne”).

Hedecidedtoteachothershowtoreachen-

lightenmentandspentthelast 45 yearsofhis

lifetravellingandteachingwhathe’dlearntto

others.Hediedaged 80 inaround 483 BC.

THEBUDDHA’STEACHINGS

ThebasicteachingsofBuddhistsare

theFourNobleTruths,whichexplain

whyhumanssufferandhowtoovercomethis.

Fromthis,theBuddhadevelopedtheEightfold

Pathwhich,hetaught,leadstoanendtosuffering.

TheFourNobleTruths

SLifeisfullofsuffering(dukkha).

SSufferingiscausedbythreepoisonsorevils:

greedanddesires(wants);ignoranceanddelu-

sion;andhatredanddestructiveurges.

SSufferingcanbeendedifapersonstops

desiringthings,suchasmorepower.

STostopsuffering,youmustfollowtheEight-

foldPath.

TheEightfoldPath(theMiddleWay)

SRightunderstanding:knowthetruth(which

isbasedontheFourNobleTruths).

T

HEREareonly 25000 Bud-

dhistsinSouthAfrica,butit’s

theworld’sfourth-largestreli-

gion,witha followingofabout

520 millionpeopleworldwide.

WHATISBUDDHISM?
Buddhistsdon’tworshipagod. In-
steadtheyfocusonpersonalspiritual
developmentandgaininginsightintothetrue
natureoflife.TheBuddhaisn’ta godbuta man

whobecameenlightened.
BuddhismdevelopedinIndiainreactionto
Hinduism. ThefounderofBuddhismwasborna
Hinduandthetworeligionshavemanyofthe

samebeliefssuchasreincarnation– theideathat
alllivingthingsgothrougha continuouscycleof
deathandrebirth.Awaytoescapethiscycleisto
buildupgoodkarma, whichmeansifyoudogood

things,goodthingswillhappentoyousowhenyou
dieyou’llbereincarnatedina betterlife.
Hindusocietyisdividedintofivecastesor
socialclasses,fromthelowest(streetsweep-

ers)tothehighest(priests).There’snowayto
escapeyourcaste–allyoucandoisbehave
properlytobuildupgoodkarmainthehope

thatinyournextlifeyou’llberebornin
caste.Finally,ifyouhaveenoughgoo
youreachnirvana(enlightenment),bre
fromreincarnationandbecomeonew

universe,accordingtoHindubelief.
ButBuddhistsbelievenirvanacan
reachedbyanyonewhofollowstheright
path,nomattertheircaste.

THEBUDDHA

TheBuddhawasbornabout

2500 yearsagoinLumbini,

Inthisarticleinour

seriesonreligions,

weturnour

attentionto

theworld’s

fourth-largestfaith

eligions

art 4

f 5

Re

Pa

Buddhism

Nepal.HewasaprincecalledSiddha-rtha

Gautamaandhadeverythinghisheartdesired.

Aseerhadpredictedhe’dbecomea greatking

ifhestayedinthepalaceoragreatreligious

leaderifheleft.Hisfatherwantedhimtobe-

comeakingsohekepthiminthepalace.The

princegrewupinluxury, marriedandhada

son.Buttheprincefeltunhappy.

Whenhewas 29 yearsold,hecameintocon-

tactwithrealpainandsufferingforthefirst

time. Heleftthepalaceandsawfoursightsthat

hada deepimpactonhim:a sickman,anelder-

lyman,a deadmananda monk.Thefirstthree

madehimrealiseevenarichprincecouldn’t

escapeillness,sufferinganddeath.

ThemonkinspiredGautamatoleavebehind

hisgoodlife, hisfamilyandwealth.Hewentin

searchofpeaceandcalmandtofinda wayto

escapethesufferingandgriefoftheworld.

Duringhistravelshesearchedforanswersto

questionssuchas,“Whymustpeoplesuffer?”

and“Whatcausessuffering?”

THEMIDDLEWAY

ForsixyearsGautamafocusedon

prayerandmeditation. Healso

fromeating

Yetthisalso

him.Hestill

apedsuffer-

abandoned

rictwayof

hisisthenicknameofBudai,a legendaryChineseBuddhist

masterdepictedasa jollyfellowwitha bigbelly.IntheWest

he’softenconfusedwiththeBuddha.ChineseBuddhistsof-

tenhavestatuesofhimastheybelievehebringshappiness.

One of the ways to reach nirvana – the

highest spiritual state – is to meditate,

Buddhistsbelieve.Thisisdonebydis-

tancingyourselffromyourthoughtsand

emotions– notjudgingorthinkingbut

andsimplybeingatpeaceandfocused.

THELAUGHINGBUDDHA

hehope

a higher

dkarma

eakfree

iththe

nbe

t

prayerandmeditat

fasted, refraining

forlongperiods.Y

didn’tsatisfyh

hadn’tesca

ing.Hea

thisstr

Th

m

Buddha

statues have

meaning from

head to toe:

closed eyes

show medita-

tion, a dot on

the forehead

symbolises

enlightenment

and the serene

smile points to

a calm nature.

74 | 22 AUGUST 2019 you.co.za^