According to the last Buddhism records, it is stated that Buddhism is the 4th largest religion in the world, and it is on the rise ever so steadily. There are about 520 million Buddhism followers currently; inclusive of both, those aligned to the teachings of Buddha and those who strictly identify as a Buddhist in terms of religion.
Looking back deeply into the history of Buddhism, it is associated with Siddharta Gautama. While growing up, Gautama was moved by this force of nature looking at the sufferings of humanity and the repetitive drudgery of this fate. So, he set out on a journey where he could look for a way to end this repetition of sufferings. While one day meditating under the Bodhi Tree, he attained enlightenment. He began looking into the works of his past life as a human prior to this enlightenment and decided to shed away his self-gratifying nature. Instead, he started believing in the power of ‘nothingness and emptiness’. He gave away his lavish lifestyle and endured poverty and down-to-earth-ness.
4 Noble Truths & His Teachings:
Among his many lessons, he also ardently advocated his belief in the four noble truths of life:
- The truth of suffering or dukkha
- The truth of the cause of all types of suffering
- The truth about the end of suffering
- The truth of the path that leads one out of suffering.
These concepts that he addresses majorly talks about one’s reason for suffering and how to overcome those feelings of hurt through meditation.
He even advocated that in order to discover the path out of suffering, one must follow eight principles, step by step, understanding each deeply along the process.
- Right Understanding: Practice understanding all people, all their perspectives and their collective understanding with an ounce of judgement.
- Right Thought: Not only is it essential to understand others unbiasedly, but it is also vital to have the right kind of thoughts going through your head. Clearing your own head from any negativity towards others and following the path of keeping your thought conscience clean as well.
- Right Speech: Apart from having the right thought, it is also important to watch the words that are going to be spoken. Thinking before talking about them is another aspect that Buddha focused on in his road to lead out of suffering.
- Right Action: Apart from speech and thought, a massive part of a person’s inner being is the actions that they perform. The reactions they have to every situation. Watching how one reacts to a situation is one of the critical aspects of leading oneself out of their sufferings.
- Right Livelihood: Not only is essential to watch what you think, speak and do; it is equally crucial to watch the way you make your livelihood. Are you doing it by harming one another or by pushing each to their limits? Is your nature of livelihood, peaceful or so driven that it drives away your peace.
- Right effort: Exhibiting right effort when it comes to all these aspects, paying close attention to those areas that you lack at and continuing to better yourself is part of the whole game of caring for others in the society.
- Right mindfulness: Being watchful and mindful about all areas of your walk of life is essential to set you apart from the crowd. Thinking before you act on your thoughts and speech are part of the mindfulness act.
- Right concentration: Exhibiting concentration or meditative reflexes show your willingness to learn throughout your lifetime.
If you practice Buddhism as a religion ardently and/or align yourself to Buddha’s teachings, owning a reminder of his teachings for your life day-in and day-out serves as a shield from doing something wrong. Get yourself buddha jewellery such as; buddha bracelet, or gold buddha necklace. They will always serve as a reminder of his teachings and how you are to watch all aspects of your life. Get some Buddha Jewellery Today!
