This essay will define, describe, and analyze the ethics of the Buddhist religion. It will present the reader with the basic principles and truths of Buddhism. It will begin with information on the origin of Buddhism and some details on the life of its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Also it will explain the beliefs and moral behaviors of Buddhists.

Siddhartha Gautama, later known in his life as the Buddha, meaning the "Enlightened" or "Awakened One", was born around 563 B.C.E. He was born and raised in what is now known as Nepal, near the Himalayan Mountains. He belonged to Sakya tribe and his father ruled a small kingdom. He married his cousin, Yasodhara at nineteen, and she later gave birth to a son whom they called Rahula.

Being raised in the palace, Prince Siddhartha was sheltered from the cruelty of the outside world. His father ma

According to the Buddha, life is suffering because one becomes attached to things that are impermanent. To be happy one needs to accept the fact that everything changes and that change cannot be stopped. "Attachments originate from... the fiction of a stable, permanent, and real self" (Mitchell 126). The idea that there is no separate, individual self is called anatman.

At the core of Buddhism lies its four noble truths: life is suffering; desire causes suffering; ending desire ends suffering; following the Noble Eightfold Path ends desire. The Noble Eightfold Path is as follows: "Right Belief, Right Aspiration, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Means of Livelihood, Right Endeavor, Right Mindfulness, and Right Meditation" (Mitchell 41).

One night he sat down beneath a tree and decided not to move until he knew the answers to life. It was there that he became enlightened when he realized that life's suffering is caused by one's attempt to hold on to things that are impermanent. He saw that nothing is constant and the only way to relieve the suffering from loss is to eliminate one's desires.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Path Buddhism, Precepts Interbeing, Nirvana Bliss, According Buddha, Prince Siddhartha, Islam Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, Himalayan Mountains, Enlightened Awakened, , divine power, noble eightfold path, noble eightfold, eightfold path, siddhartha gautama, buddhist ethics, suffering desire, prince siddhartha, life suffering, major religions, moral behaviors, force othersto adopt, 3 force othersto, truth 3 force, absolute truth 3,
Approximate Word count = 2543
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)