Prince Siddhartha Gautama was locked away in a palace, and if he left they'd lose him to religion beliefs. He snuck out anyway, he encountered a old man, a sick man and corpse and he asked a wise man and asked what kind of life this is.He thought about how for his whole life he's been locked away with everything he ever wanted, and there are people dieing of hunger and sickness. so he decided to stay and meditate, after a month of meditation under a tree it came to him nirvana he began teaching Buddhism The Four Noble Truths, all right to suffer, the source of suffering ,to stop suffering is to stop himself from desiring. There are 376 million followers worldwide.
Classification
The caste system is very much like Hinduisms, that's because they share common background. The biggest difference is that you can be enlightened in your life time you don't have to die multiple times to reach your goal. This is good for people who are the Untouchables or Shudra, because they don't have to come back in many other life times.
Key Figures
Religious authority
The Tipitaka is the most sacred scriptures, Tipitaka mean three baskets. There are two other versions of Tipitaka, Pali Canon means "a collection of writings", And theirs Sanskrit Canon it is also another Indian language.The Pali Canon is divided into three parts or baskets, they are Vinaya, Pitaka. The Vinaya is the oldest and smallest section of the Poli Canon, it contains 227 rules for monks and 311 for nuns.
Goals
There are many goals to Buddhism. One of them are to live a moral life, it means to be respectful and not to be jealous or greedy. Another goal is to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, to basically watch what you say and watch your actions. And another goal is to develop wisdom and an understanding. The major goal is to reach enlightenment, enlightenment is somewhat like nirvana but you can reach enlightenment during your life and you can do it in one life time instead of many.
Belief/after life
Buddhists believe that you can be enlightened who ever you are, that you don't have to die and be reborn again and again to reach nirvana. Siddhartha Gautama didn't think it was fair that he was living a great life and other people had to die over and over again to get where he was born into, so he decided to meditate under a tree and it came to him he had been enlightened. Siddhartha started teaching Buddhism, most people who joined where the people on the bottom of the caste system.
Rules guidelines
These are the 8 ways you can achieve to be enlightened.
Right view
Right intention
Right speech
Right action
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right concentration
Also they have something that is called the 4 Nobel truths
The truth of suffering (dukkha)
The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
Concept of higher power
Key Holidays
Wesak:celebrates the three most important events in buddahs life: his birth,enlightenment, and his death. Vesak: Buddhas birthday Magha Puja Day (Fourfold Assembly or "Sangha Day"), Magha Puja Day takes places on the full moon day of the third lunar month (March). This holy day is observed to commemorate an important event in the life of the Buddha. This event occurred early in the Buddha's teaching life. Buddhist New Year: The new year is celebrated in April, Kathina: occurs at the end of the rainy season, it is a robe offering ceremony which people give cloths to minks and they make new robes with the cloth that they have been given.
Sites and Symbols
Lotus flower- symbolizes purity and enlightenment
Endless Knot or Mandala-symbolize eternal harmony
Golden fish pair- represents happiness and freedom
Wheel of Dharma or Chamaru in Nepali Buddhism. No Buddhist site is more sacred then a Stupa, the Stupa is a burial mound of Buddha. Buddha gave explicit instructions to his followers, that his body is to be cremated and his ashes in a number of Stupas.
Sects and/ or branches
Theravada means "teaching of the elders", they point to Buddha himself in their belief that every person find the way to Nirvana or Enlightenment on their own. They only see Buddha as a man they do not worship or pray, when Theravada leave an offering at a statue of Buddha only in hope of earning merit in their next life.
Mahayana Means "great vehicle" this is said because Mahayana's think that people need help or guindes to Nirvana unlike Theravada's that believe that everyone has to find their own way to be Enlightenment or reach Nirvana. They have Bodhisattva who are already enlightened but are willing to stay to help guide people in the right direction and hopefully to become enlightened with the help of Bodhisattva