Buddha and Confucius - 2 Very Influential People
Buddha and Confucius are two very influential people.
Buddha is a religious person and Confucius is more of a philosopher.
Yet some people still believe that Confucius is a religious person.
In the book of the 100 most influential men in history Buddha and Confucius are 4 and 5.
This shows in this man's opinion that Buddha and Confucius made a difference on the world.
The Buddha's name is Siddhartha Gautama, and his early life is known mostly through religious writings and literature.
Gautama was born in 563 B.
C and he was born a prince.
He was born in Lumbini.
His father's ruled Kapilavastu, a city in northeast India, near the border of Nepal.
His father tried to prevent Gautama to be a wandering holy man; he wanted him to be a ruler.
So his father kept in the families palaces and Gautama was surrounded by comfort and luxury.
When Gautama was 16 he got married and enjoyed a happy life.
When Siddhartha was 29, his life changed.
He had his first child but abandon him and his wife.
One day he took a ride outside of the palace gardens, and he saw an old man.
Then on future rides he saw a sick person and a dead body, and at this point Siddhartha saw and became aware of human suffering.
Gautama observed that most human beings were poor and suffered from want.
Gautama realized that even those who are wealthy were frustrated and unhappy.
All men were subject to disease and ultimately succumbed to death, and he thought there must be more to life than transitory pleasures.
Gautama was very disturbed by this and he bade farewell to his family, left the palace and never was going to return again.
When he departed from his family he left his worldly possessions and Gautama had become a penniless wonderer.
Gautama wanted to discover "the realm of life where there is neither suffering nor death.
" Gautama attempted to become an ascetic, and for several years engaging in extreme fasts and self- mortification.
He eventually realized that tormenting his body only clouded his brain, and it didn't get him closer to true wisdom.
After that he started to eat normally again and abandoned asceticism.
Finally one evening Gautama sat beneath a giant fig tree, and everything seemed to just fall into the correct place.
He spent the whole night in deep reflection and when it was morning he was convinced that he had found the solution and that he was now a Buddha, "enlightened one.
" That is the historical life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.
Confucius was born in 551 B.
C and died in 479 B.
C.
He is known to be born into a poor but noble family, and that they had fallen die to difficult times.
He was born in the small state of Lu, and is the present province of Shantung.
His father died when he was pretty young, and his mother lived in poverty.
When he was a young man he served as a minor government official, but then he resigned from his position.
He married a young girl named Qi Quan at the age of 19, and when he was 20 he had his first child named Kong Li.
He spent the next 16 years teaching, and he attracted a number of disciples with his philosophy.
When he was almost 50 he was granted a high position in the government of Lu, and after about four years enemies in court and they brought him to his dismissal.
He left the state and spent the next 13 years as an itinerant teacher, but then returned to home state for the last five years of his life.
Confucius is sometimes referred to as a Deity and refused to discuss the afterlife and avoided all forms of metaphysical speculation.
Confucius was a philosopher unlike Buddha who is a religious character.
Confucius is reported to have worked as a shepherd, cowherd, clerk and book-keeper.
His mother died when Confucius was 23, and he entered three years of mourning.
According to tradition, after Confucius's resignation, he began a long journey (or set of journeys) around the small kingdoms of northeast and central China, including the states of Wei, Song, Chen and Cai.
At the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them implemented.
Teachings of Buddha and Confucius Buddhism was developed in India about 2,500 years ago by Siddhartha Gautama now the Buddha.
Now there are over 500 million Buddhists in the world and most of them live in countries to the east of India, but the religion has spread to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
Buddha's teaching consists of the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and how to get to Moksha.
The Universal Truths are...
Everything in life is impermanent and is consistently changing.
The Buddha's thinking about this is similar to that of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who said that it is impossible for a person to step in to the same river.
Impermanence leads to suffering.
The fact that nothing remains the same makes life unsatisfactory.
People desire and become attached to things which can't last.
Even if someone achieves a state of contentment, it won't last.
Indeed, knowing that the contentment must end itself a source of suffering.
To a Buddhist suffering means not only the great pain and tragedies which people experience.
It also means all those things which make life less than perfect.
There is no unchanging personal self.
What people call the self is simply a collection of changing characteristics.
The Buddha compared the self to a chariot, which is simply a collection of parts that are put together in a certain way but can be taken apart again.
The Eightfold Path is...
*Right Understanding- for example, understanding The Four Noble Truths.
*Right Thought- for example, trying to act considerably.
*Right Speech- for example, avoiding anger, lies, and gossip.
*Right Action- for example, living in honestly and not harming living things (many Buddhists are vegetarians).
*Right Work- avoiding jobs that harm anyone.
*Right Effort- for example, trying hard to overcome desire and attachment.
*Right Mindfulness- for example, thinking before speech or action.
*Right Concentration/Meditation- freeing the mind of distractions, leading to enlightenment and nirvana.
The Four Noble Truths are what all Buddhists should live by.
Suffering- old age, disease, death, and separation of those we love of craving what we can't obtain of hating what we can't avoid.
All suffering is caused by desire and the attempt to satisfy our desire.
Therefore suffering can only come by ceasing the desire.
The way to end desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.
One sacred writing in Buddhism is the "Tipitaka" which means "three baskets.
" This sacred writing contains the Buddha's sayings, comments on the sayings, and the rules for monks.
Buddhists believe in meditation and that it will help them get into nirvana.
In meditation Buddhists search for peacefulness in which the mind is empty of all thoughts.
A person can be helped to this calm state by concentrating on breathing or by focusing on an object.
When the mind is quiet, the person may focus on the idea of impermanence and change.
The name of this stage is vipassana.
A lot of Buddhists believe that almost anything can be at focus during meditation, and they try concentrating on only present moments.
You try not to be distracted by conflicting thoughts.
The sequence is to sit with your legs crossed or kneel on a mat.
They may offer flowers or incense to a statue of the Buddha.
A candle may be used as a focus for meditation.
The final thing is to cloths your eyes and counting breaths helps them to be calm.
Confucius taught two main virtues.
According to Confucius their jen and li and the superior man guides his conduct by them.
Jen is translated to love and li is translated to a combination of a manners, ritual, custom, etiquette, and propriety.
Confucius taught respect the respect and obedience were owed by wives to their husbands and by subjects to their rulers.
Chinese sage didn't approve of tyranny; and believed that state exists for the benefit of people.
Confucius basic outlook was very conservative, and he believed the Golden Age was in the past, and he encouraged both rulers and people to return to the good old moral standards.
Confucius lived during the Chou dynasty, and during this time there was a great intellectual ferment in China.
Contemporary did not accept his program, until his death and then his ideas spread throughout his country.
Confucianism stresses the obligation of individuals rather than their rights, and they may seem rather stodgy and unappealing by current Western Standard.
Buddha is a religious person and Confucius is more of a philosopher.
Yet some people still believe that Confucius is a religious person.
In the book of the 100 most influential men in history Buddha and Confucius are 4 and 5.
This shows in this man's opinion that Buddha and Confucius made a difference on the world.
The Buddha's name is Siddhartha Gautama, and his early life is known mostly through religious writings and literature.
Gautama was born in 563 B.
C and he was born a prince.
He was born in Lumbini.
His father's ruled Kapilavastu, a city in northeast India, near the border of Nepal.
His father tried to prevent Gautama to be a wandering holy man; he wanted him to be a ruler.
So his father kept in the families palaces and Gautama was surrounded by comfort and luxury.
When Gautama was 16 he got married and enjoyed a happy life.
When Siddhartha was 29, his life changed.
He had his first child but abandon him and his wife.
One day he took a ride outside of the palace gardens, and he saw an old man.
Then on future rides he saw a sick person and a dead body, and at this point Siddhartha saw and became aware of human suffering.
Gautama observed that most human beings were poor and suffered from want.
Gautama realized that even those who are wealthy were frustrated and unhappy.
All men were subject to disease and ultimately succumbed to death, and he thought there must be more to life than transitory pleasures.
Gautama was very disturbed by this and he bade farewell to his family, left the palace and never was going to return again.
When he departed from his family he left his worldly possessions and Gautama had become a penniless wonderer.
Gautama wanted to discover "the realm of life where there is neither suffering nor death.
" Gautama attempted to become an ascetic, and for several years engaging in extreme fasts and self- mortification.
He eventually realized that tormenting his body only clouded his brain, and it didn't get him closer to true wisdom.
After that he started to eat normally again and abandoned asceticism.
Finally one evening Gautama sat beneath a giant fig tree, and everything seemed to just fall into the correct place.
He spent the whole night in deep reflection and when it was morning he was convinced that he had found the solution and that he was now a Buddha, "enlightened one.
" That is the historical life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.
Confucius was born in 551 B.
C and died in 479 B.
C.
He is known to be born into a poor but noble family, and that they had fallen die to difficult times.
He was born in the small state of Lu, and is the present province of Shantung.
His father died when he was pretty young, and his mother lived in poverty.
When he was a young man he served as a minor government official, but then he resigned from his position.
He married a young girl named Qi Quan at the age of 19, and when he was 20 he had his first child named Kong Li.
He spent the next 16 years teaching, and he attracted a number of disciples with his philosophy.
When he was almost 50 he was granted a high position in the government of Lu, and after about four years enemies in court and they brought him to his dismissal.
He left the state and spent the next 13 years as an itinerant teacher, but then returned to home state for the last five years of his life.
Confucius is sometimes referred to as a Deity and refused to discuss the afterlife and avoided all forms of metaphysical speculation.
Confucius was a philosopher unlike Buddha who is a religious character.
Confucius is reported to have worked as a shepherd, cowherd, clerk and book-keeper.
His mother died when Confucius was 23, and he entered three years of mourning.
According to tradition, after Confucius's resignation, he began a long journey (or set of journeys) around the small kingdoms of northeast and central China, including the states of Wei, Song, Chen and Cai.
At the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them implemented.
Teachings of Buddha and Confucius Buddhism was developed in India about 2,500 years ago by Siddhartha Gautama now the Buddha.
Now there are over 500 million Buddhists in the world and most of them live in countries to the east of India, but the religion has spread to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
Buddha's teaching consists of the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and how to get to Moksha.
The Universal Truths are...
Everything in life is impermanent and is consistently changing.
The Buddha's thinking about this is similar to that of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who said that it is impossible for a person to step in to the same river.
Impermanence leads to suffering.
The fact that nothing remains the same makes life unsatisfactory.
People desire and become attached to things which can't last.
Even if someone achieves a state of contentment, it won't last.
Indeed, knowing that the contentment must end itself a source of suffering.
To a Buddhist suffering means not only the great pain and tragedies which people experience.
It also means all those things which make life less than perfect.
There is no unchanging personal self.
What people call the self is simply a collection of changing characteristics.
The Buddha compared the self to a chariot, which is simply a collection of parts that are put together in a certain way but can be taken apart again.
The Eightfold Path is...
*Right Understanding- for example, understanding The Four Noble Truths.
*Right Thought- for example, trying to act considerably.
*Right Speech- for example, avoiding anger, lies, and gossip.
*Right Action- for example, living in honestly and not harming living things (many Buddhists are vegetarians).
*Right Work- avoiding jobs that harm anyone.
*Right Effort- for example, trying hard to overcome desire and attachment.
*Right Mindfulness- for example, thinking before speech or action.
*Right Concentration/Meditation- freeing the mind of distractions, leading to enlightenment and nirvana.
The Four Noble Truths are what all Buddhists should live by.
Suffering- old age, disease, death, and separation of those we love of craving what we can't obtain of hating what we can't avoid.
All suffering is caused by desire and the attempt to satisfy our desire.
Therefore suffering can only come by ceasing the desire.
The way to end desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.
One sacred writing in Buddhism is the "Tipitaka" which means "three baskets.
" This sacred writing contains the Buddha's sayings, comments on the sayings, and the rules for monks.
Buddhists believe in meditation and that it will help them get into nirvana.
In meditation Buddhists search for peacefulness in which the mind is empty of all thoughts.
A person can be helped to this calm state by concentrating on breathing or by focusing on an object.
When the mind is quiet, the person may focus on the idea of impermanence and change.
The name of this stage is vipassana.
A lot of Buddhists believe that almost anything can be at focus during meditation, and they try concentrating on only present moments.
You try not to be distracted by conflicting thoughts.
The sequence is to sit with your legs crossed or kneel on a mat.
They may offer flowers or incense to a statue of the Buddha.
A candle may be used as a focus for meditation.
The final thing is to cloths your eyes and counting breaths helps them to be calm.
Confucius taught two main virtues.
According to Confucius their jen and li and the superior man guides his conduct by them.
Jen is translated to love and li is translated to a combination of a manners, ritual, custom, etiquette, and propriety.
Confucius taught respect the respect and obedience were owed by wives to their husbands and by subjects to their rulers.
Chinese sage didn't approve of tyranny; and believed that state exists for the benefit of people.
Confucius basic outlook was very conservative, and he believed the Golden Age was in the past, and he encouraged both rulers and people to return to the good old moral standards.
Confucius lived during the Chou dynasty, and during this time there was a great intellectual ferment in China.
Contemporary did not accept his program, until his death and then his ideas spread throughout his country.
Confucianism stresses the obligation of individuals rather than their rights, and they may seem rather stodgy and unappealing by current Western Standard.