Select, describe and explain the events in the life of Siddhartha Gantama which illustrate his religious development

Authors Avatar
(1) a) Select, describe and explain the events in the life of Siddhartha Gantama which illustrate his religious development.

It was quite obvious that Siddhartha Gantama was destined to become a very special man before he was even born. In 563 BCE Siddhartha's mother dreamt that a great six-tusked white elephant entered her womb and soon after she found she was pregnant. When she was walking through the woods one day she felt something unusual. As she gasped the branch of a tree Siddhartha emerged painlessly from her side. The minute Siddhartha was born he took seven steps to the north, south, east and west and said 'In this universe, I have come to purify the confused mind of all living beings'. Some say that as he walked lotuses blossomed from behind him, fountains sprang from the ground and a rainbow appeared in the sky. These events all indicated the Buddha's holiness.

Asita, an astrologer read Siddhartha's stars and it became clear that he would either become a great king or a great holy man. As a child Siddhartha became exceptionally clever, being brilliant at everything he tried.

It was when Siddhartha saw the 'Four Sights', a sick man, an old man and a corpse, and finally a holy man that he questioned the cause of suffering and decided to become a holy man as was predicted by Asita. He joined a group of ascetics for six years, almost starving himself to death.

One day he went to a river and a local girl, seeing how skinny he was, offered him a bowl of milk rice. Here, he realised 'The Middle Way'. When he had lived in complete luxury, getting everything he wanted he was still unhappy. When he was an ascetic and deprived himself he could not reach enlightenment. 'The Middle Way' is now an important Buddhist teaching, telling us not to take things to the extreme.

Siddhartha decided that if the now empty bowl floated upstream then he would become enlightened that night and sure enough it did. So he sat under a Bodhi tree and began to meditate but just as he began to be enlightened by Maya the demon tried to prevent him from doing so. Maya made visions of falling arrows, beautiful women and other distractions but Siddhartha still maintained his state of mind. Finally Siddhartha reached enlightenment and became the Buddha.
Join now!


The Buddha decided to share his knowledge with others and first went to the ascetics. When they asked for teachings the Buddha told them about the Dharma. He died after 45 years later.

(1) b) Explain the purpose and significance of the rituals and tasks undertaken by Buddhists in daily life.

A large part of Buddhism is meditation. Meditation is a way of helping to clear the mind in order to think more clearly. It also helps Right Understanding. There are many different types of meditation, and whichever a Buddhist decides to practice, she/he should do ...

This is a preview of the whole essay