Introduction

Siddhartha Gautama was a young Indian prince. He was born in 563 BCE. He had every possession he could want in life. One day though, he popped his head out of the palace. He saw that the world was a pretty rough place for people who aren’t rich princes. So what did he do? Siddhartha gave up his titles and worldly possessions. He began wandering the countryside. He begged for food and lived a simple life of self-control. As he adopted this lifestyle, he began preaching a new belief system. People started calling him “the Buddha.” His teachings became Buddhism.

This isn’t just the story of one person though. The Buddha’s simple teachings quickly spread from India across Asia and beyond. It traveled along trade networks and touched the lives of millions of people. It became one of the world’s major belief systems.

Origins

In the sixth century BCE, India was changing. Hundreds of years of fighting were ending. The Aryan people¹ of northern India had built new kingdoms. Cities were growing again. Trade grew in India’s ports and along its roads. The Aryans began a new belief system called Brahmanism. Brahmanism was based on the Vedic texts of early Indian religion. It was ruled by a priestly class of Brahmins. Brahmanism brought the caste system to India. It divided all people into a social hierarchy. In a hierarchy, people are ranked above or below one another based on their role in society.

Both Hinduism and Buddhism came from Brahmanism. They were very different from each other though. Hinduism kept parts of Brahmanism, such as the caste system. Buddhism turned away from many parts of the old religion. Buddhist beliefs said that spiritual life is not just for priests. Instead, anyone could have salvation and wisdom. The key was to let go of desire. In this way, Buddhist teachings turned away from the caste system. Buddhism also welcomed women. It provided them new roles outside of the home. These differences made Buddhism popular in India’s lower castes.

Calculus of enlightenment

The road to enlightenment was not easy. It asked for a lot of dedication. The women and men who followed this path often left behind worldly things. They often became monks or nuns. They would give up their possessions, meditate, and live a life of peace.

Not every Buddhist was forced to adopt the Buddha’s lifestyle though. Buddhism offered believers a “middle path.” It was guided by the simple truths the Buddha learned when he was young. The story says Siddhartha had been meditating under a tree when he had a spiritual breakthrough. It showed him truths about the universe. He called these the “Four Noble Truths”:

1. life is suffering
2. suffering comes from desire
3. one must limit desire to limit suffering
4. to limit suffering, one must follow the “Eightfold Path.”

What did he mean by eight paths? Basically, Buddhism teaches people to control desire and limit suffering. The Eightfold Path has eight teachings. They include ideas such as right view, right action, and right effort. Buddhism says that following this path can lead a person to spiritual enlightenment.

Buddhism and social change

Most people could not give up their families and possessions. Buddhism was able to change to meet their needs. As it spread, new types of Buddhism grew. One example is Mahayana Buddhism. It allowed people to work toward enlightenment even if they couldn’t become monks. It grew into the most widely practiced form of Buddhism in the world.

1 The Aryans were warrior pastoralists from northern India who conquered much of India between 1500 and 500 BCE. They spoke Sanskrit, which is an Indo-European language related to Persian and even (distantly) to English.