Philosophy: Insights on Gautam Buddha's Teachings and Beliefs

This assignment delves into the philosophical teachings of Gautam Buddha, focusing on how his ideas have influenced the author's personal beliefs and attitudes. The author highlights the importance of “Dana,” or the act of giving, as a key tenet of Buddhism that resonates with their own values of helping the less fortunate. Furthermore, the assignment explores the Buddhist philosophy of interconnectedness, emphasizing the author's view that comparing oneself to others is unproductive and counterproductive. The author attributes these changes in their thoughts and beliefs to the profound impact of Gautam Buddha's teachings, demonstrating a clear understanding and appreciation of Buddhist philosophy. The assignment also includes a reference to the book “Archetypes of Wisdom” by Soccio (2015) which was used to understand the philosophical concepts.

Running head: PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PHILOSOPHY
Question I
The book “Archetypes of Wisdom” tells the readers about the life of a number of
philosophers and the lessons which they had imparted to their followers through their
teachings. Among all of those philosophers, I feel that it is Gautam Buddha and the
philosophical teachings imparted by him to his disciples which seems to have made a
fundamental change in the beliefs which I have myself.
I like the philosophies of Buddha and the teachings of Buddhism because of the fact
that the concept of Buddhism has always asked the followers of Buddhism to participate in
the activity of the “Dana” or the art of giving to others (Soccio, 2015). I feel that this concept
of giving to others coincides with the belief which I keep i.e. to help the poor and the needy
by providing them the things instead of wasting them. Another part of the Buddhist
philosophy which I like is the concept of not comparing with one another. This is because of
the fact that just like the teachings of Buddha, I also feel that all human beings are connected
to one another, which I feel, the comparison among the human beings does not make any
sense (Soccio, 2015).
Hence, all these forms the main reasons why I feel that the philosophies of Gautam
Buddha has caused a fundamental change in the way of my thoughts, beliefs as well as
attitudes itself. Thus, I attribute the change of my thoughts and beliefs to Gautam Buddha and
his philosophies.

2PHILOSOPHY
Reference List
Soccio, D. J. (2015). Archetypes of wisdom: An introduction to philosophy. Nelson
Education.