Essay - Buddha the Founder of the Buddhist Faith Lived in India...

Buddha the founder of ***** Buddhist faith lived in India, Bihar, from 563-483 BCE. As the Buddha or enlightened one he preached his doctrine ***** the four great truths. Sorrow is inherent in life, it arises ***** desire, and only by eliminating desire can man be released from sorrow. This may ***** achieved by following the noble eight-fold path of right conduct in vision, thought, speech, action, giving, striving, vigilance and meditation. He preached that this middle path would lead to nirvana. There are now 4 distinctive types of Buddhism.

Theravada - or "way of the elders" ***** is ***** sole remaining form of conservative *****, ***** which there were once at least 18 schools, or nikaya. It origin*****ed in ***** dur*****g the centuries after the final ***** of ***** Buddha and was probably the dominant form of Buddhism in India. Theravada is now the dom*****ant form ***** Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia (Burma [Myanmar], Thailand, Cambodia, Laos), where it replaced other types of Buddhism dur*****g the last five hundred years.

***** -- or "Great Vehicle" Buddhism -- *****iginated in India around 100 BCE to 100 CE. Accord*****g to followers of Mahayana, the Mahayana sutras ***** taught by the Buddha to only a select few, and were passed down "underground" (so to speak) until the time was ripe. Vajrayana Buddhism - Vajrayana -- or "Diamond *****" Buddhism -- originated in India, perhaps as early as the 4th or 5th century CE. As with Mahayana, ***** ********** hold that ***** taught ***** f*****m of Buddhism ***** also called Tantra, after the name of its scriptures -- to a few disciples who then ***** it on secretly. ***** is also called Secret Mantrayana or "***** Mantra Vehicle"

***** ideal ***** Conservative ***** is restraint ***** nonviolence, becoming detached ***** cyclic existence. The ideal in Mahayana is active involvement in helping beings in cyclic ex*****tence, but with detachment. ***** doctr*****al focus is on the emptiness / transp*****ncy ***** all things. The ideal in Vajrayana Buddhism is reversal of traditi*****al monastic practices -- seen as being of therapeutic value ***** a religion that had become over-institutionalized. ***** doctrinal ***** is on nonduality, as ***** in the union of male and female, compassion and w*****dom.

In Conservative Buddhism ***** role model is the monk: full of loving kindness for all beings, yet detached from his own pain or pleasure. The role model in Mahayana is the bodh*****attva, ceaselessly striving to help others. The ***** model in Vajrayana Buddhism is the siddha -- the meditative adept who uses h***** magical powers as an aid to bringing about awakening. ***** Buddhism is practiced with ***** short-term goal of being reborn as a human, and if possible becoming a monk, and the long-term ***** of becoming an arhat.

The Mahayana bodhisattva seeks to become a Buddha in order to help all other *****s as much ***** possible. The goal in Vajrayana ***** is to become a ***** ***** this very *****time, at death, or at the