The history of Buddhism started with the birth of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama in India sometime in the middle of the 6th century B.C. Buddhism is not just a religion but also a philosophy that promotes a way of life. Unlike other forms of religion, Buddhism does not worship any creator or God but rely mostly on the teachings of it found, Buddha. The goal of Buddhism is for a person to achieve enlightenment, where the mind reaches a a certain plane where it achieves total freedom.
According to Buddha, there is an eightfold path towards achieving enlightenment. The eightfold part is subdivided into three groups, the “Panna”, the “Sila” and the “Samadhi”. “Panna” is characterized by discernment and wisdom. There are two paths under the “Panna” – the “Samma ditthi” which is the understanding of the Four Noble Truths and the “Samma sankappa” which means right thinking and following the right path in life. The second group is the “Sila” which means virtue and morality. There are three paths under the “Sila”. These are the “Samma vaca”, “samma kammanta” and “sama ajiva” . “Samma vaca” means the right speech. Although the “samma vaca” promotes the right to speech, this also mean that the freedom to speak should not be construed as a license for a person to lie, to criticize, to condemn, to gossip or to use harsh language. Freedom of speech could not be used to hurt other people. The “samma kammanta” on the other hand is the path of right conduct by following the 5 precepts of Buddhism. The “Samma ajiva is the right to livelihood and to support yourself without inflicting any harm on others. The third group is the “Samahi” which means concetration and meditation. Under this group are the three paths of “samma vayama”, “samma sati” and “samma samadhi”.
