Indian & Chinese Ethics
BUDDHISM. Buddhism can be traced to the experiences of Siddhartha
Gautama, born a prince around 560 B.C.E. at Lumbini near the capital of
the Kingdom of Shakya, India. Gautama is often called Shakyamuni or
Sakyamuni, after his birthplace. According to early accounts of his life,
Gautama grew up in the court and was shielded from contact with the real
mundane world of the people he would someday rule. He married at 17 and
fathered a child. However, his life changed dramatically in 529 B.C.E.
when he departed from the palace, abandoned his worldly existence, and
began a career as a wandering seeker for the meaning of life. Gautama
spent the next six years visiting various Indian religious groups, sitting with
several teachers of renown, and experimenting with many religious
practices, such as asceticism and meditation. His search ended in 523
B.C.E., while he was in meditation and contemplation at the foot of a tree, a
"Bodhi tree," located at Sarnath, a site still considered a hallowed
Buddhist shrine.