Buddhism

Origin

Most historians agree that Buddhism was formed in the 5th century BCE when a prince by the name of Siddhartha Gautama set out to find the reason for suffering after witnessing the poverty and pain of his people. By meditation and analyzing the world around him, after forty-nine days he became "enlightened" and created a conclusion that is called The Four Noble Truths: all living things endure suffering, suffering leads to incarnation, the goal of existsnce is to escape from suffering and the endless cycle of incarnation, and Nirvana (unifying spirit) is achieved by following the Eightfold Path.

Today, Buddhism has spread from its roots in India to all four corners of the earth, and each place has slightly different teachings on the religion. The three main categories of Buddhism are the Theravada, the Mahayana, and the Vajrayana. However, many more subcategories exist. There are even some people who call themselves "Buddhist Jews" or "Buddhist Christians."

The main symbol of Buddhism is an eight-spoked wheel that symbolizes how Buddha "turned the wheel of Dharma."

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