Siddhartha Gautama The Buddha And His Journey, The Epoch...

The story of Siddhartha Gautama is one of renunciation from a life of privilege and wealth to that of monastic asceticism, driven by an innate desire to â€Å"reach enlightenment through the banishment of suffering and spiritual emptiness† (Wattananarong). Gautama left behind wealth and nobility in order to cease his own suffering and upon achieving his own enlightenment, provided a path for others to follow. Following his enlightenment, Gautama came to be known as the Buddha and his journey, the epoch of Buddhism. Unaccepting of some social and cultural practices of the time, the Buddha was openly critical of the Hindu Brahman’s possessiveness and almost secretive knowledge of the Veda texts; sharing this knowledge only with their son’s, assuring their family’s position socially and spiritually(Wattananarong). Accordingly, he proposed the solution to the cessation of one’s suffering should be available to and for everyone, â€Å"rather than to an exclusive few based on if one becomes a Brahma or Outcaste by birth, one becomes either by living well or living badly† (Wattananarong). For this reason, he rejected the caste system predicated on the belief that all people are equal and have a right to choose how to live their lives, thereby making decisions about their future and potentially reduce or eliminate their own suffering. Hence, based on Buddha’s rejection of predetermined privilege and entitlement of enlightenment for some, while denying others, it appears implausible