Buddhism-
Founder-Siddhartha Guatama(Gotama)
-563-483 B.C.

Born the son of a king in Kapilavatsu (N.India)
-At birth, his father received a prophecy that Siddhartha would become a travelling monk and witness four enlightening signs that would drive him to this path.

The Four Signs:
1)An old man
2)A diseased man
3)A deceased man
4)A wandering monk

Siddhartha's father shelters him with a life of decadence, but alas, Siddhartha eventually witnesses all the signs.

Siddhartha sets out to seek truth and decided he must speak to all the important ascetics of the time--

The first group were 1)Hindu Yogis-would go long periods w/ out food, H2O and bury themselves in yoga and meditation.
2)Radical Ascetics-extreme sensory deprivation and intense meditation.

Out of these, Siddhartha developed:

The Middle Path: A middle course between luxurious decadence and punishing asceticism.

Siddhartha them went under the Boddhi tree, and sat, not willing to move until he gained enlightenment. At his moment of enlightenment, the earth was showered with lotus blossoms and cosmic entities.

He revealed the 4 Noble Truths:
1)Life is suffering
2)Desire is the cause of suffering
3)Extinguishing desire extinguishes suffering
4)The way to extinguish desire is through the 8-fold path.

Nirvana-"blowing out" or "smothering"

Eight-Fold Path:
1)Understanding 2)Intention
3)Speech 4)Action
5)Vocation 6)Effort
7)Mindfulness 8)Meditation

Similarities w/ Hinduism:
1)Importance of meditation
2)Samsara
3)Twin human problems of desire and ignorance
4)Salvation through detachment and enlightenment

Difference from HInduism:
1)No Bhakti 2) Deemphasis on tradition/ritual
3)No Brahman 4)No caste system
4)Moksha as Nirvana