Buddhism Speech -- essays research papers

Today I am giving an informative speech on Buddhism. Now, "informative" is the key word here. I just want to reasure everyone that I am simply going to explain some of the philosophy of Buddhism. I am not, however, trying to sway your beliefs or views on life in ANY way. Instead, I'm going to share with you some of the basic things that I know, and however you choose to use the information, if at all, is totally up to you. In fact, one of the strongest beliefs of a Buddhist, is that their "way of life" is NEVER forced on anyone. To shove it down someones throught would contradict almost everything the Buddha had to say. To start, I wanna clear up some simple, misinterpretations that some of you may or may not have made, probobly due to the lack of information. First of all, Buddhists do not worship the Buddha, and the Buddha was not a God. He was just a teacher and an inspiration to his followers. He was someone who had obtained "enlightenment", or been awakened to the way that all things are. Kinda like a "meaning of life" sort of deal. Which is much more complex than many would expect. At first when Buddha discovered this, after meditating for several days, he believed it was pointless to try and teach someone what he has obtained, that his thoughts couldnt be explained through the means of words. but he was soon convinced when he came across a wondering holy man told him that "some people just have a little dust in their eyes,...