The Lives Of Confucius And Guatama Siddhartha — страница 3

anything he wanted, was now on his own. He wandered around the Himalayas, down to the plains, followed the Gandaki river south, crossed the Ganges, into Madadha. Everywhere that the lonely prince went, he was looking for answers about life but nothing truly satisfied him. He kept on traveling and eating just enough food to get by. Everyone he encountered was impressed with the prince’s lonely and newly deprived life. Soon there was a following of the prince and it grew daily. The prince, knowing this, still deprived himself of meals: Going from just one a day to one a month to just eating a grain of rice a day. ?He became hollow-eyed; he was barboned, and the belly and the back touched. The pains physical and mental reached the last point? (Takakusu, 27). Guatama Siddhartha

realized that by practically killing himself he was not going to receive enlightenment. ?He made up his mind that he must yet work out means to attain the end? (Takakusu, 27). The prince revived himself to the point where he was alive again and he began wandering again. He ended up in Gaya where ?there was a great pipal tree, and that the platform surrounded by the roots of the trees was fit as the seat for attaining Enlightenment for the Buddha’s and the three times of the past present and the future? (Takakusu, 30). The prince now sat there and said to himself that he was not going to move until he gained Enlightenment. With many distractions from others, the prince sat there looking for Enlightenment. And then it happened. The prince attained Enlightenment. The sun shined,

flowers blossomed and music was played. The prince was now ?The Buddha?–?one who is awake?. He received ideas he had not received before, he opened his mind in ways he had not done before, and he began preaching to anyone that would listen to any of his ?great ideas?. The Buddha taught years and years. He educated men on everything. From eating to sleeping, to talking and writing the Buddha was a mentor. But he was over eighty years of age now and growing weaker and weaker. He soon died and as fast as the sun shined and flowers blossomed the sky went black and ?the world again turned back to old darkness? (Takakusu, 53). Similarities and Differences There are many similarities between two of the greatest philosophers of all time. One of the most common and basic similarity is

that both religions emerged around the same time period. Each religion in this world was brought up in a time period. For example, Christianity emerged around 40 A.D., but Confucianism and Buddhism both emerged in the 6th century B.C. This similarity is basic but it is an important one only for the fact that since these two religions emerged around the same time period they both have a lot of the same views on life. One example of this is that in Buddhism there are eight basic paths to follow. This is called the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path included Right Views, Right Aspirations, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindedness, and Right Rapture. In Confucianism there were similar beliefs that each person followed but these beliefs

were not given the names that Buddhism gave them. For example, Confucius believed that ? if everyone knew his or her place and kept it, then, said Confucius, all would be well? (McNEILL, 153). This part of Confucianism could be translated in Buddhism to one of the Noble Eightfold Paths: Right Conduct. Another similarity of the two religions was that both Confucius and Buddha taught others about their views and the teachings that they had established. After Confucius worked for the government he went into his ? wandering? state. Here is where he came to many opinions and beliefs on life that still hold true in the religion today. He had these basic rules and values on life that he taught to anyone who would listen. He had students and followers that would listen to his views and

in turn practice them. As for Buddha, once he achieved Enlightenment he went around teaching what he believed was right for society. He taught everyone. From Kings of states in Asia to just an ordinary person he was more than willing to try and install new beliefs in them. Both of them used their power that they received to try and help other individuals. One last similarity between Confucianism and Buddhism is that both have a set of rules that are followed by the followers. In Confucianism, The Deliberate Tradition is part of how one can receive advice on their life when they need answers. There are five parts of The Deliberate Tradition: Jen (relationship between two people), Chun tzu (ideal relations), Li (propriety), Te (power), and Wen (arts of peace). All of these