Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of the Buddha, who was born as Siddhartha Gautama about 2600 years ago, in Lumbini, Nepal and grew up nearby in Kapilavasthu. According to the Bud-dhist Teachings, Gautama was moved by the suffering of humanity from sickness aging and death and its endless repetitions due to rebirth and death, and set out on a quest to understand and over-come it. After searching out various solutions,he became fully enlightened after meditating for seven days under a Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya, India. Buddha means the “awakened or
“enlightened” one.
Buddha discovered what is known as the Four Noble Truths: 1) the prevalence of suffering; 2) the truth of suffering, which is sometimes translated as craving or selfishness, arising from greed, ha-tred, and delusion; 3) the truth that suffering can be overcome, and; 4) the Eightfold Path to end suf-fering. This path consists of right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right liveli-hood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
From the perspective of Buddhism, the Oneness of Reality is perceived as Nothingness, Non-Duality, Nirvana (Complete Liberation) or an absolute state of Consciousness of the Buddha. The Equality and Respect of All Human Beings is advocated in the Buddhist text Udana Varga as follows: – “Treat not others in ways that yourself would find hurtful”. And the Human Connectedness to the Natural and Cosmic Environment is denoted by the Buddhist doctrine of the sacredness of all life forms.
At the Humanics Sanctuary, Buddhism is also represented with sculptures of: a) Rebirth, b) Bodhi-sattva Quan Yin (A compassionate One, who could have achieved Nirvana but by conscious choice, decided to be born again to teach human beings the Dharma – the path to attainment of Nirvana; c) A Standing Buddha; d) Samadhi Buddha (in meditation); e) A sculpture of Pirinirvana Buddha (after death); f) A sculpture of a person meditating, and; g) a meditation Area.