1. Buddhism Founded by Siddhartha Gautama, a man of noble birth who lived in luxury Because he was a prince, to which caste did he belong???? He lived sheltered in his palace, not seeing anything unpleasant or disturbing. When he first encountered suffering and death, he became distraught and sought to find the answers to life. He abandoned his wealth and power to seek how to end human suffering

2. For many years, he lived a life of denial According to legend, he ate only a single grain of rice for 40 days This life of denial did not bring him any happiness or wisdom Since his early life of indulgence did not provide happiness or wisdom, Siddhartha began to teach balance by seeking the “middle way”

3. His solution came through meditation and he became the Buddha, the Enlightened One The Buddha preached the Four Noble Truths, which form the foundation of Buddhist philosophy The goal of the Buddhist is to achieve release from pain and suffering, thus achieving nirvana, a state of perfect understanding. Buddhists believe in reincarnation but believe that one can achieve nirvana by setting aside selfish desires

5. Buddha never forced his teachings on other religions His message appealed to the lower castes and the Untouchables because he rejected the caste system and preached equality However, Buddhism never was the most widely practiced religion in India; instead it spread to China, Korea, Japan, and southeast Asia Today, there are over 300 million Buddhists, many of whom incorporate the teachings into their own religious traditions.