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Emergence of Dharma
Buddha (also known as the shakyamuni) always believed that it was more important for anyone to place the dharma (doctrine) higher than the Buddha, because the dharma would remain and was what they needed to practice to attain enlightenment and even afterwards. He rejected significant aspects of Hindu philosophy, challenged the authority of the priesthood, denied the validity of the Vedic scriptures, and rejected the sacrificial cult based on them. He opened his movement to members of all castes, denying that a person's spiritual worth is a matter of birth. Apart from the four noble truths Buddhas teaching also analyzes Anatman, Karma and Nirvana .
Anatman
Human existence is made up of five aggregates or “bundles” ( skandhas ): the material body, feelings, perceptions, predispositions or karmic tendencies, and consciousness. A person is only a temporary combination of these aggregates, which are subject to continual change. Thus he taught the doctrine of anatman, or the denial of a permanent soul.
Karma
Closely related to this belief is the doctrine of karma, Karma consists of a person's acts and their ethical consequences. Human actions lead to rebirth, wherein good deeds are inevitably rewarded and evil deeds punished. Thus, neither undeserved pleasure nor unwarranted suffering exists in the world, but rather a universal justice. The karmic process operates through a kind of natural moral law rather than through a system of divine judgment.
Nirvana
The ultimate goal of the Buddhist path is release from the round of phenomenal existence with its inherent suffering. To achieve this goal is to attain NIRVANA, an enlightened state in which the fires of greed, hatred, and ignorance have been quenched. Not to be confused with total annihilation, nirvana is a state of consciousness beyond definition. After attaining nirvana, the enlightened individual may continue to live, burning off any remaining karma until a state of final nirvana ( parinirvana ) is attained at the moment of death.
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