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THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA

Read the story of life of the Buddha below.There are some pictures for each paragraph to help you understand the text.

	In a small kingdom, in the north part of India a queen named Maya has a dream. In her dream, she sees a young elephant that means she is going to have a baby boy. The dream says if the boy stays at home with his family, he will become a mighty king. But if he leaves the home, he will become a wise teacher.
	After the dream, the queen had a boy and named him Siddhartha Gautama. He was born in a small kingdom of Kosala, at Lumbini Garden. When the king heard his wife’s dream, he decided he would make his son happy at home, so he would become a mighty king.
	Siddhartha lived in a beautiful palace with gardens full of flowers, and he had delicious food to eat every day. He learned to read, write, ride a horse and an elephant, and play many games. The king allowed nothing sad or ugly to enter his son’s life.
	Even with all this, Siddhartha asked many questions about the world outside the palace walls. One day, he decided to see the world outside of the palace. Then, he took a servant with him and went out in secret.
	During his trips he saw four important things. First, he saw an old man. He had never seen an old person before. Second, he saw a sick man. He had never seen anyone unwell before. Then, he saw a dead body and relatives weeping around it. He had never heard of anyone dying. Finally, he saw a monk. He had never seen a holy man before.
	Then, he decided to speak with the monks. He left the palace to find how he can end the sufferings in the world. He did not eat and drink anything, so he could think very carefully. He started to eat again when he nearly starved to death.
	He sat under a tree and thought a lot to understand the world. Then, found the answer: wanting things is the reason why people suffer so much. When people stop wanting things and live a simple life they can be truly happy. At that moment Siddhartha became The Buddha meaning “The Awakened One”.
	The Buddha lived until he was 80 years old and during the rest of his life he travelled to teach his beliefs. After he died his beliefs continued travelling .Today there are millions of people in the world who follow the teachings of the Buddha.

Vocabulary Assignment 1 Assignment 2

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