THE BUDDHA, HIS DHARMA AND THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

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THE BUDDHA, HIS DHARMA AND THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
Introduction
Buddhism is a religion that focuses on various traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices that were
based on the teachings of Siddharta Gautama or the “Buddha”. The founder of Buddhism, Gautama
lived a life that was filled with turmoil and internal struggle. He escaped a life of privilege and
wealth so that he could find the solution to existential suffering. In essence, Gautama’s experiences
had a profound influence on the nature of Buddhist beliefs and practices. The common theme that
emerges from the life of Gautama that suffering exists in the world while suffering has an origin
and cessation.
Gautama encouraged to practice, mediation, and observation to counter negative thoughts and
emotions. He advocated achieving unity of mind and body in over to overcome wickedness and
temptation. Moreover, he believed in the concept of questioning beliefs and practising them before
accepting them. The aim of this paper is to critically explore the extent to which Gautama’s
experiences had an influence on the teachings, beliefs, and values of Buddhism. It will also identify
to the extent that a Buddhist identity can be constructed despite the presence of multiple schools
and sects. The paper will use a number of valid references in order to arrive at robust conclusions.
Experiences of Siddharta Gautama on Buddhist Beliefs and Practices
Gautama Buddha’s primary influence has been to promote good and abstain from evil while
striving to purify the heart. Love, kindness, humanity, patience, wisdom, and compassion are the
core traits of Buddhism. However, the primary concept has been that of harmlessness or ahimsa
which is strongly correlated with that of compassion. The compassionate desire to prevent harm
to anything in the world is the central tenet of Buddhism (Albahari, 2006).
Gautama was given the title “Buddha” which refers to being in a state of awakening. Buddhism
asserts that there were many individuals who were given this title. Specifically, it refers to the
individual who has identified the path towards nirvana and strives to end suffering. Moreover, the
Buddha is considered to be any individual who disseminates the knowledge about ending suffering
in the world (Gethin, 1998). Traditional accounts of Gautama assert that he was born in a privileged
position with affluence and power. He suffered from an internal crisis regarding the nature of
existential suffering. Subsequently, Gautama left his life and family to pursue the path of
enlightenment and became a student of many ascetics (Gethin, 1998).
However, there was an internal schism inside him as the teachings of the ascetics proved to be
unsatisfactory to satisfy his spiritual yearning. The use of insight and meditational practice assisted
him in achieving a state of enlightenment that combated all forms of suffering. The remaining part
of Buddha’s life was concerned with spreading these teachings to different parts of the world.
Gautama’s experiences were a reaction to the state of dissatisfaction that existed in North India
with respect to traditional religious practices (Ronkin, 2005).
The ritualism propagated by Brahmins of Hinduism was considered to be formalistic and devoid
of any spiritual meaning for Gautama. Research states that such dissatisfaction appears not only in
Gautama but also within Hindu traditions like Upanishads which assert that rebirth is influenced
by the causal laws of karma (Ronkin, 2005). In other words, good actions will lead to pleasure
while evil actions will cause negative implications for the individual. There was a struggle to
explain how the endless cycle of rebirth and suffering could be ended in the Hindu traditions.
Gautama’s assertion was that there was no concept of “I” or “mine” with non-self (anatman) being
important for his followers. The concept of anatman is powerful because it involves the presence
of a self that is transcendent in nature. 
Consequently, Gautama’s primary quest to find solution to that of existential suffering was that it
was through good actions and beliefs that people would be liberated from the endless cycle of
rebirth (Ronkin, 2005). Gautama’s earlier experiences revolved around the notion of despair and
disillusionment. His worries about temptation and wickedness meant that he was in a constant state
of striving to find the answer to the question of existential suffering (Gombrich, 1996). He seeks
to find a way to feel rejuvenated and regenerated. This means that it is only by following the right
path that the spiritual struggle can be won. Buddha in essence teaches that it is through hard work
and struggle that success can be attained within a short period of time. Buddha’s concept was that
suffering existed while it also had an origin and it could be ended. There was a path towards the
cessation of suffering according to Buddha. The causes of suffering are traditiona