History Shorts: Buddha attains Enlightenment (528 B.C.)

Siddhartha Gautama created Buddhism. He was born into a high caste, perhaps even royalty. However, Gautama was not satisfied with life. He was restless and decided to explore all that he had been sheltered from. Eventually, he determined that neither extreme comfort nor extreme poverty provided that which he sought. He discovered and settled on a middle path between extremes. After meditating for some time, he achieved true enlightenment. From that point, his followers referred to him as the Buddha (Enlightened One). His transformation and subsequent teachings led to one of the world’s great religions.

Quotes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_6GBnIC_vk

Kundun:  Kundun is a film about the current Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is the leader of one Buddhist sect that resides in Tibet. The current Dalai Lama is himself quite a celebrity and tremendous ambassador to the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW2USm6wTSA

Kung Fu: The television show starring David Carradine represents one western view of Buddhism and eastern philosophy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iaamkUEF_A

This is how most westerners view Buddha:

http://www.artfiberglass.com/dushan1/images/DSCN1316b.jpg