Buddhism is one of the oldest world religions with followers all over the world. It is the most peaceful religion in whose name blood has never been shed. Buddhists try to bring harmony into their lives.
Who is Buddha
There is a beautiful story about Buddha. In the middle of the 1st millennium BC. in India there was a prince named Siddhartha Gautama. He spent his childhood and adolescence in a palace, where he did not know what grief, poverty and need were. One day he wanted to see how people live outside the palace. What Gautama learned turned his inner world upside down.
He saw a sick man, an old man and a dead man, although he used to think that all people are rich, healthy and immortal. This discovery prompted him to give up his palace life and seek the truth on his own. For seven years he led an ascetic lifestyle and meditated. Many years were not in vain: once he realized that the only way to find inner harmony and get rid of suffering is to get rid of all worldly desires. Gautama became enlightened - Buddha. He hastened to share the acquired knowledge with the whole world and spent almost half a century in wanderings. A new religion appeared - Buddhism, which in the future will become a world one.
Buddhists define the beginning of the existence of their religion from the date of the death of Prince Gautama. Different sources indicate different dates. The Theravada, the oldest Buddhist school, says that Buddha left this world in 544 BC.
India in the early days of Buddhism
In those days, there was a caste system in India. There were brahmanas (priests of the god Brahma), kshatriyas (warriors), vaisyas (merchants). The brahmanas were considered demigods. To become a priest, one had to take birth in a brahmana society. In ancient India, there was another caste - the sudras (untouchables). People from all other castes tried to avoid them, as they were considered unclean. If a person touches any of them, he himself will become untouchable. This is the only opportunity to transfer to another caste during life. This state of affairs in society did not suit many people, although they did not have the right to complain. The oppressed people formed sects in an effort to escape the fate imposed on them. There was an urgent need for a new teaching, which became Buddhism.
In those days, an ascetic lifestyle was quite common among people, despite the rigid caste system. It is thanks to such people that Buddhism appeared.
The new religion has made people equal. Buddha believed that a person should be appreciated only for his merits and personal qualities. Thus, even an untouchable person could become wise and enlightened, despite his unenviable origin. Buddhism has gained many followers throughout India.
