The origins of Buddhism can be traced back nearly 2,500 years, and there are still 300 million practicing Buddhists worldwide. The word Buddhism comes from the word 'budhi,' meaning 'to awaken.' The founder of Buddhism was a man by the name of Siddhartha Guatama, later known as the Buddha, who was himself awakened (enlightened) at the age of thirty-five. Prince Siddhartha was born somewhere in current day Nepal around 563 B.C. At age twenty-nine, he realized that wealth and luxury did not guarantee happiness in life, so he set out on a spiritual journey, exploring different teachings, religions, and philosophies of his day. After six years of study and meditation, he finally awoke claiming to have found 'the middle path' (or the key to human happiness). He was then given the honorific title Buddha, meaning 'the enlightened one.' After enlightenment, the Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching the principles of Buddhism- called the Dhamma, or Truth- until his death at the age of eighty. The Buddha taught many things, but the basic emphasis of Buddhism can be summed up by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.
             The First Noble Truth known as dukkha, states that all life is suffering. Life includes physical pain and psychological suffering, as in aging, disease, loneliness, and fear. Buddhism explains how to avoid suffering and eventually reach a state of happiness, or nirvana. The Second Noble Truth, known as samudaya, states that suffering is caused by desire. In other words, our desire to fulfill what cannot be fulfilled is what brings us suffering. Instead of struggling to get what we want, we should change what we want. This leads up to the Third Noble Truth which states that if one can eliminate desire, they can eliminate suffering. Suffering can be overcome if people give up useless desires (no dwelling in the past, or the imagined future). Only then can happiness be achi...