Tell about the history of Buddhism.
by Sam Green
Buddhism began in 6th century BCE. Started by Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhism is now about 2500 years old and has around 376 million followers. Siddhartha was born and raised in a royal family in present day Nepal. He lived in luxury and leisure, but one day, curious of the outside world, he went outside on a search for new findings. On this expedition, he had his first encounter with an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. Disturbed by this, he became a monk, but that didn't work the way he wanted it to; therefore, he tried Indian asceticism, but that didn't fly either. He created something called the "Middle Way", a life without luxury OR poverty. One day, after much meditating, he became enlightened in regards to the meaning of life. These are the Four Noble Truths. After his deaths, his teachings spread on through the followers of his teachings, Buddhists. Following his death, the views on his level of being was debated. Some (the Theravada Buddhists) viewed Buddha as just a man while others (the Mahayanas) thought he was god.
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