Dear Diary,
Today has been an interesting day. I have learned all about a man named Siddhartha Guatama, but he goes by a different name. He calls himself “The Buddha” which means the enlightened one. The way I heard about the Buddha was through traveling, as I am a trader. While I was on the silk road, I met many monks and Buddhist. They were coming to China to teach and some were even building different temples, statues, and things along the roads. The Siddhartha man has a very interesting story to tell, and willingly teaches his unusual ideas to anyone who will listen. He preaches of suffering on earth, desire, and how we must overcome all this to find a greater good. This is an idea called nirvana. Buddha said he cannot explain it, but it is a wonderful thing. He teaches the four noble truths and also the eightfold path. This means for people to do right actions, such as understanding, speech, mindfulness, and concentration. It seems to remind me of Hinduism, except that Siddhartha talks against the reincarnation cycle; your goal is even to break out of it. Anyways, the man was alive way back around 600 B.C. and it is presently 210 B.C. Under the rule of Ashoka, Buddhism was immensely encouraged and now it is the Han Dynasty.
Love,
Bang Cho
Today Buddhism is one of the three major religions in China.
"Buddhism." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras.
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