1. Who was Buddha? 2. Why was Buddhism so appealing to people in contrast to Hinduism?
3. Was Buddha a God?
4. Why do Buddhists follow the 8 fold path?

During the Maurya empire, the Indian culture and way of life were deeply influenced by Buddhism.

Buddhism appealed to people of lower castes because it emphasized individuals’ path to enlightenment and salvation, which could be attained in this life.

Buddhism also received state support from Emperor Ashoka, who converted to Buddhism in 260 BCE.

The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, was born circa 563 BCE into a wealthy family. Gautama rejected his life of riches and embraced a lifestyle of asceticism, or extreme self-discipline. After 49 consecutive days of meditation, Gautama became the Buddha, or “enlightened one”. He made this announcement in public at about 528 BCE and gained a group of disciples who became Buddhist monks and traveled throughout northern India spreading his teachings.

Buddhism has a strong individualistic component: everyone has responsibility for their own happiness in life. Buddha presented the Four Noble Truths as guiding principles: there is suffering in life; the cause of suffering is desire; ending desire means ending suffering; and following a controlled and moderate lifestyle will end desire, and therefore end suffering.

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