In about 565 BC, Siddhartha Gautama was born heir to King Suddhodana of the Sakya tribe of Kapilavatthu (Encyclopedia Britannica 273). This was a country at the foot of the Himalayas, near the present Indian-Nepal border (Hopfe). Gautama's father was said to have been told by a prophet that if Gautama saw the sick, aged, dead, or poor he would become a religious leader (Snelling, J. 47). If he didn't see these four things he would become an emperor leader (Snelling, J. 47). Because of this prophecy Gautama's father decided to isolate his son from the outside world, where he might "see how the other half lived", for the good of his empire and his citizens (Snelling, J. 48). Trying to shelter Gautama from all the four sights was impossible, and Gautama ventured out and that is when he eventually saw

The Four Noble Truths, the central teaching of the Buddha, can be summarized by saying, life is suffering, the cause of suffering is desire, the way to end suffering is to overcome desire, and to overcome desire one must follow the "Eightfold Path" (Hopfe).

The "Eight Fold Path" begins with, "Right to Knowledge", which means basically the four noble truths. "Right Aims" is next, and means one must resolve in order to make progress towards salvation. "Right Speech", means our speech reflects our character, and we must avoid speaking falsely, obscene, slanderous, and belittling words. "Right Conduct", is that you must follow the five constitutes at the core of Buddhism's moral code. These five constitutes are, no killing, no stealing, no lying, not committing indecent sexual acts or not consuming of intoxicants. "Right Livelihood", means that some jobs are condemned by Buddha, and such jobs are slave dealer, butcher, prostitute, and traders of lethal weapons and substances. "Right Effort", is that one must have the will power to overcome barriers. "Right Mindfulness", says that what a person is, comes from what he thinks. This means that by improving our thoughts we can become more noble. And the last is "Right Meditation", by this meaning the practice of the Raja Yoga. Raja yoga is the meditation, which holds the key to enlightenment and therefore is the way to Nirvana. Nirvana is the self-annihilation or the extinguishing of all traces of desire, which represents final enlightenment and which releases a person from the cycle of rebirth. These eight are usually divided into three categories that form the basis of Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadh

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