It didn't work obviously. He saw four instances of suffering, the old, the sick, the poor, and the dead. This by all means wasn't all types of suffering, just the four that he witnessed. He left the palace and renounced the life of a prince in order to find a means to save people from suffering. He went to many different sages, and when he learned from them all he could, even the wisest of the wise, he was not convinced nor did he have the answers that he sought. He met five ascetics, that had renounced all real amenities of the world and live in the forest, surviving on precious little water and what ever food they could gather to them. Gohtama joined them. He became the most devout ascetic they had ever seen, they aimed to be more like him. At his most extreme he is said to have survived on a grain of rice an thimble full of water a day.
One day he stopped. He realized that this wasn't for him, and the answers that he sought would not be found in this way. He went down to a little farm house, he ate there and drank some water. Then he settled himself down under a bhodi tree, determined that he would not move again until he had the answers he sought. Underneath that tree he found enlightenment.
He went back to teach what he knew to his five friends, who all felt as if he had abandoned them. On the way to the deer park, where they were camped, he met a man. The man could see that the Buddha was different and special in some way. So he asked him who he was. The Buddha replied " I am the enlighted one, the buddha." The man looked confused and went on his way.
The Buddha taught until he was in his early eighties, for over thirty years he taught. He travelled around India and gained many followers. His wisdom of enlightenment spread to Sri Lanka, Tibet, China, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Banglidesh, Burma and Japan. In each of these countries it was adopted and chaged by local customs, and local beliefs. There are hundreds of sects of Buddism today, but they all have one, or four, things in common. The Four Noble Truths: There is suffering, Cravings cause suffering, There is a way to escape from suffering,The way is following the wisdom of the Eight fold path. You all know this path, Christianity essentially teaches the same moral concepts that the eight fold path teaches.
That is all for now.
posted by F.G. Shaw @ 2:32 AM
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