1. Buddhism

2. Origins Buddhism is both a religion and a philosophy
About 2,500 years ago, Prince Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism in response to witnessing the suffering of the world.
Today, Buddhism is the 4th largest religion on earth, with 360 million followers

3. The Buddha: “The Awakened One” or the “One who knows”
Gautama left his palace one day and witnessed a poor man, a sick man, a dead body, and an old man, and was disturbed
He resolved to meditate his way to the truth about human suffering
He sat down under a tree and Buddhists believe that he came to understand the causes of human suffering, how to find the way around suffering, and the nature of supreme inner peace.
He began teaching his ideas, which would become the fundamental believes of Buddhism

4. The Four Noble Truths
Similar to the principle of dharma, the 4 Noble Truths present a way of action for people to follow
All life is full of suffering
The cause of suffering is desire and attachment
The cure for suffering is detachment, or ending desire.
The way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.

5. The Eightfold Path Understanding the nature of the world
Try to follow the path and avoid hatred
Speak without malice and tell the truth
Avoid evil actions i.e. stealing, killing
Avoid careers that harm others
Act unselfishly and stay on the path toward enlightenment
Be aware of your body and feelings
Stay focused on achieving enlightenment

6. On Enlightenment and gods
The Buddha accepted the ideas of karma and reincarnation
Ultimate goal of following the 4 noble truths and 8 fold path was to achieve nirvana: a state of heavenly peace and freedom from suffering and desire
The Buddha rejected the belief of personal gods and dieties

7. Divisions within Buddhism
Today, there are three main branches of Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism
Tantric Buddhism