Initial Questions About Buddhism

We began studying Buddhism today, and the students had lots of great questions:

Amrit: Are Buddhism and Hinduism a little alike, since Siddhartha was a Hindu to start with?

Ethan: Do you think you could compare Siddhartha to Abraham, since they both grew up in a certain religion and then started a new religion?

Dawson, Leah and Lucas M.: If the major goal of Buddhism is for people to overcome their suffering, then why are so many of their beliefs focused on suffering?

Thomas: Do you think anyone has tried to be like Siddhartha and sit under a tree and meditate to learn the meaning of things? 

Jay: Why do Buddhists wear simple clothes while followers of other religions wear good clothes like the girl on the cover of the textbook?

Musical Mondays: We listened to the Buddhist chant Om Mani Padme Hum.