Question

Describe the ways in which Buddha tried to spread his message to the people.

Answer 1

Hint: Gautam Buddha, whose original name was Sidharta Gautam was the founder of the religion Buddhism.
In his teaching, Buddha gave ‘four noble truths’ and the ‘eight-fold path’ to attain enlightenment.

Complete answer:
Gautam Buddha, whose original name was Sidharta Gautam was a spiritual teacher and a religious leader in Ancient India (5th to 4th Century BC) and is the founder of the religion Buddhism. He was born in Lumbini, Nepal and was married to Princess Yasodhara at the age of 16. He then went outside of his palace on four trips.
On the first three trips, he saw sickness, death and misery. On his fourth trip, he saw a monk who had given up everything to seek an end to his miseries. This sight gave Sidhartha Gautam the motivation to be a monk and attain enlightenment. After his enlightenment, he went to Sarnath, near the city of Benaras and shared his new knowledge and understanding with five holy men. They became his disciples immediately.
Buddha and his disciples went to different places in India to spread the Dharma. They were very compassionate to anyone who came across them, be it kings or slaves or beggars. Buddha used two basic ways to convey his teachings to the people.
1. He conveyed his message in the “Prakrit” since it was a language of the common people so he could spread his message to a large no. of people.
2. Instead of following him blindly, he encouraged his followers to think over his teachings. This helped his ideas spread further.
 In his teaching, Buddha gave ‘four noble truths’ and the ‘eight-fold path’ to attain enlightenment. The four noble truths are:
Dukkha – life is full of sorrow
Samudaya – there are causes of sorrow
Nirodha – this sorrow can be stopped
Marga – the path leading to the cessation of sorrow

In his last years, he realized that he was not the first and the last Buddha. For him, nature is in all living beings and they all can be Buddha.

Note: Buddha knew that it would be hard for people to follow his teachings on their own, hence he established the Three Jewels for them to rely on. These were:
The Buddha - is their guide or the teacher
The Dharma - are the teachings or the path
The Sangha - are the monastic orders or the companions on the path