Topic Research: Siddhartha Gautama

 After brainstorming different topics, I have decided on centering my topic on Siddhartha Gautama. I am most interested in retelling his story how how he came to be known as the Buddha. 

Buddha

• The first story possibility that I came up with emphasizes Siddhartha Gautama's home life before renunciation. I would focus on how he came to the decision to leave his lavish life behind and retell the story with my own words. When re-telling the story, I would also go more into depth about the philosophy behind letting go of live attachments and why Gautama did. The source for this comes from part A and B of The Life of Buddha.

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob10.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob11.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob13.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob14.htm

• The second story is about how Buddha reached Enlightenment. I would retell the story with a focus on the events leading up to when he reached nirvana under the Bodhi tree. I would include details about the significance of things within the story. An example would be why he was facing East under the tree and what it represents. As well as possibly include information on his disciples.

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob22.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob23.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob24.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob26.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob56.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob57.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lob/lob60.htm

• Finally, for the third story, I was thinking on condensing both of the stories above and re-telling the story in my own words from what I have learned personally. However, the source for this is not online. I have notes written down from the summers I would spend at the temples learning from the monks. I would use my own personally knowledge as the foundation of retelling the story but also use all other sources and incorporate different perspectives.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Tree

https://www.ancient.eu/Siddhartha_Gautama/

https://humanjourney.us/ideas-that-shaped-our-modern-world-section/axial-age-religions-buddhism/?gclid=CjwKCAiA65iBBhB-EiwAW253W_qQ3HTCHzp1oj-inDpiWtdOGbVkLadB-3pdMoMXGhDe6Iw-nti7VRoC818QAvD_BwE