The Eightfold Path

Buddhists have an interesting aspect of their religion called the eightfold path. It's made up by a number of disciplines (eight... big surprise) that collectively can lead to enlightenment. they include Right understanding, Right thought, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort (eliminate unwholesome thoughts, cultivate wholesome), Right mindfulness, and Right concentration (meditation, focus, still the mind). They are made up of three main groups: wisdom, ethics, and mental disciplines. It's interesting to see how each religion connects to other religions through their code of ethics, and living a life of righteousness. I would be interested to see how Buddhists would think of Christian ethics.

There are also four universal, "noble truths" that make up Buddhism. The first is that life is suffering and suffering is unavoidable. The second is that suffering is brought on by craving and want. Next, the suffering can be ended by letting go of these desires, ending in following the eightfold path. I personally found it odd to focus a religion so much around suffering, but it makes sense that the end balances it out.

Buddha's life

The paradox introduced at Siddhartha's birth was the most intriguing of the whole ordeal to me. Siddhartha's father was told that his son would either be a religious leader, or a world leader. In trying to guide his son to the path of the world leader, it's very possible that Siddhartha's father drove him to the path of religion. There are also some consistencies in the story, such as how Siddhartha was fully enlightened at birth, yet is completely ignorant 20 years later, but the most interesting question posed by the story is whether death changes life. MY answer is absolutely - but it's just unknown in what way. For me, the very existence of death is what makes life worth something. for Siddhartha, death makes life meaningless.