Today there are approximately 500 million people in the world who identify as Buddhists. This is 7% of the world's population, making Buddhism the fourth largest religion, behind Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Buddhists are predominantly found in the Asia-Pacific region; approximately 99% of the members are located in that area. Despite being geographically centrally located, most Buddhists live as a religious minority. There are only 7 countries in the world where Buddhists enjoy majority status: Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. There are three main branches of Buddhism that have survived into the modern world: Mahayana (The Great Vehicle), Theravada (The Way of the Elders), and Vajrayana (The Diamond Vehicle). Mahayana Buddhism is prevalent in many countries with large Buddhist populations such as China, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea and is therefore believed to be the largest branch. Theravada Buddhism is the second largest and is found primarily in Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Laos, and Cambodia. The smallest, Vajrayana Buddhism, is found in Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and Bhutan. Each of these three has smaller subdivisions but the main differences in teachings and practice are found in the divisions of the primary branches. (pew) The history of Buddhism begins in the 6th century BC, a period during the period known as the Axial Age. New ideas and movements such as Platonism in Greece and Confucianism in China were sprouting around the world. During this period India was divided into kingdoms and in the palace of the Shakya clan a prince was born who he named Siddhartha. Shortly thereafter a fortune teller approached the king and declared that the child would have great success as… middle of the card… the way we approach life. The source of suffering is desire, a desire for selfish fulfillment even at the expense of others. This comes from the impermanence of all things and our reaction to it. We want to always be healthy, we want to live forever, we want to buy a car or a house and receive satisfaction from that item for as long as we own it. This desire is the root of suffering because everything is in a constant state of change and we will not be healthy or live forever and our cars and home will need maintenance and upkeep. The third truth is a logical extension of the second; if suffering has a source there must be an end or a cure. There is a way to end the constant attachment to happiness and subsequent disappointment when our expectations are not met and that end is the Noble Eightfold Path mentioned in the fourth truth.