Maelyn Eversole: Student’s Choice #4: Buddhism

 As someone who has never felt as though they truly belonged to a certain religion I have always enjoyed appreciating the religions of other cultures and looking at them with an open mind. Buddhism has always interested me greatly. I have always found it to be peaceful and a good pillar of thought. The idea of enlightenment has also always interested me, and I like how once true contentment was reached the Buddha went off to teach others what enlightenment had provided him. The four noble truths are the main teachings and ideas in which Buddhism is based on. The four noble truths include “Life is suffering, the cause of suffering is craving, the end of suffering comes with an end to craving, and there is a path which leads one away from craving and suffering.” The last of these four noble truths lead followers of the religion down the Eightfold Path. The eightfold path consists of eight ideas that serve as rules. These guiding rules show Buddhist followers the correct ways to live their lives and lead them away from “craving and suffering”. The eightfold ideas are: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

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