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Age of Antiquity » 500 BC/BCE » 500 BC/BCE

Siddhartha Gautama
Founder of Buddhism

When: 500 BC/BCE
Where: China, Asia

Siddhartha Gautama, a Hindu Prince, founded Buddhism around 500 BC/BCE. Buddhism was begun as a reform movement within Hinduism; Gautama rejected the many different gods, rituals, magic, and superstition in Hinduism. He also rejected the caste system, especially the domination of the priestly castes.

Buddhism is athiestic ; it starts without God, ends without God. Gautama built four Noble Truths as the basis for his movement:

Life is full of pain and suffering
Suffering is caused by Tanha (the desire for pleasure)
Suffering can be overcome by eliminating these cravings
This is done by following the 8 Fold Path

The 8 Fold Path:

See what is wrong
Decide to be cured
You must act
Speak so as to aim to be cured
Your job must not interfere with your therapy
That therapy must go forward at critical speed
You must think about self ego-destruction constantly
Learn to contemplate within the deep mind

The goal of the Buddhist is to achieve Nirvana, release from rebirth, into an expressionless state, a state of non-being. Free from Karma and dharma (laws and forces of nature), the goal is total awareness and total being.

Other aspects of Bhuddism include the belief the men have no souls, and women are neither respected nor honored.

Gautama (Buddha) died at the age of 80, from food poisoning.

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History Fact of the Month
Did you know ...

The Origin of Valentine's Day?

Valentines day dates back to Roman times, when a holiday called The Feast of Lubercus was celebrated to protect shepherds and their flocks from wolves. During this time of year, goddess Juno Februata was honored by pairing boys and girls and denoting them 'partners' for a year.

Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 497 AD, in an effort to replace pagan holidays with Christian tradition. Although the pairing ritual was banished, romance remains the distinctive attribute of this holiday.

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