Buddhism

The Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama - a former prince who once lived a sheltered life but converted to asceticism after realizing that the world is full of suffering)
 * Major Figure:**

Arose in India during the second half of the first millennium BC. Ascetics were challenging the teachings of Brahmanism and eventually broke away from the Brahmanic tradition to begin what is known as Buddhism today.
 * History:**

//Enlightenment:// when a person is able to break away from the circle of life and achieve Nirvana. //Karma// - It is the driving force of the cycle of suffering and rebirth for humans. //Dharma -// There is a set of rules set down that must be followed followed when one's life begins. //Samsara and Rebirth// - Souls are reborn again and again, creating a cycle of life and death. Souls are incarnated into different life forms, including nature, human beings, ghosts, demons and spirits. The goal is to break free from this cycle and achieve Nirvana by revoking all desires, and it is through human desires that the cycle is maintained. //The Four Noble Truths:// //The Eightfold Path:// //The Middle Way:// The world is nothing but an illusion, and to break away from this illusion, it is imperative to end desires and seek emptiness, which is enlightenment in life. Break away from the circle of life and achieve Nirvana by following the Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Middle Way, where enlightenment can be achieved.
 * Central Ideas:**
 * 1) Life is full of suffering
 * 2) Suffering is caused by desires
 * 3) To end suffering, end all desires, leading to a liberated state of Enlightenment, essentially Nirvana.
 * 4) To reach this state, one must follow the path set by Buddha.
 * 1) right concentration
 * 2) right awareness
 * 3) right thought
 * 4) right action
 * 5) right livelihood
 * 6) right speech
 * 7) right effort
 * 8) right understanding
 * Goal:**
 * Methods/Practices**
 * 1) Devotion to the faith, including going on pilgrimage, giving offerings, using the Sutras
 * 2) Meditation, through methods including yoga, where a person can be aware of him/herself and try to find the Self (atman).
 * 3) Seeking monastic/ascetic lives: a person gives up his/her past life to a life of "nothingness", where he/she can purify him/herself and attempt to achieve enlightenment, rejecting all worldly desires.

"Buddhism." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 30 Mar. 2011. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. .