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Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy developed in Northeastern India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. It is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha. Two major branches of Buddhism have developed - Theravada and Mahayana - that have spread across much of Asia and, in recent years, across much of the world. According to estimates, there are between 350 - 500 million adherents to forms of Buddhism across the world.

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About Buddhism

There are several traditions regarding the life and origins of the Buddha - his name was Siddhartha Guatama, and he was the son of either an elected chieftain in northeastern India or the son of King Suddhodana. An astrologer visited the king and told him that Siddhartha would either become a great king or a holy man, depending on what he saw beyond the palace walls.

Determined to see his son become a great king, Suddhodana kept his son walled up inside the palace. At age 29, Siddhartha left the palace and experienced his four sights - seeing an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and an ascetic holy man. When Siddhartha saw the suffering of ordinary people, and that only the holy man was at peace, he abandoned his royal life and began a spiritual quest.

Siddhartha began studying with religious teachers and mastered the meditations they prescribed. He found that they didn't provide a permanent end to suffering as he sought, so he continued his quest. After attempting extreme asceticism (self denial) to the point that he nearly died of starvation, he discovered a path that Buddhists call the Middle Way, a path of moderation between asceticism and excess.

After this breakthrough, Siddhartha became determined to complete his quest. At the age of 35, he sat in meditation under a fig tree - the Bodhi tree - and wouldn't rise until he had achieved enlightenment. After many days, he broke through and freed himself from the cycle of suffering and rebirth, and arose as a fully enlightened being. He attracted disciples and developed a monastic order. As the Buddha, he spent the rest of his life teaching the path of awakening. He died at the age of 80.

Major principles of Buddhism include:

- Karma: the cycle of suffering and rebirth for each being. Good deeds and bad deeds plant seeds in the mind that come to fruition in this life or in subsequent lives. Avoiding bad deeds promises a better life, either in the present or the future.

- Rebirth: the process whereby beings go through a succession of lifetimes as some form of living being. Each being dies and is reborn as part of a process called ''dependent arising'', determined by karma.

- The Four Noble Truths
- The noble truth that is suffering
- The noble truth that is the arising of suffering
- The noble truth that is the end of suffering
- The noble truth that is the way leading to the end of suffering

- The Noble Eightfold Path (based on the Fourth Noble Truth)
- ditthi - viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be
- sankappa - intention of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness
- vaca - speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way
- kammanta - acting in a non-harmful way
- ajiva - a non-harmful livelihood
- vayama - making an effort to improve
- sati - awareness to see things for what they are with clear consciousness, being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion
- amadhi - correct meditation or concentration

- The Middle Way
The middle way is defined by the practice of non-extremism: a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, the middle ground between certain metaphysical views, and an explanation of Nirvana (perfect enlightenment).

- Three Marks of Existence
- Impermanence
- Suffering
- Not-self

Major principles of Buddhism include:

- Karma: the cycle of suffering and rebirth for each being. Good deeds and bad deeds plant seeds in the mind that come to fruition in this life or in subsequent lives. Avoiding bad deeds promises a better life, either in the present or the future.

- Rebirth: the process whereby beings go through a succession of lifetimes as some form of living being. Each being dies and is reborn as part of a process called ''dependent arising'', determined by karma.

- The Four Noble Truths
- The noble truth that is suffering
- The noble truth that is the arising of suffering
- The noble truth that is the end of suffering
- The noble truth that is the way leading to the end of suffering

- The Noble Eightfold Path (based on the Fourth Noble Truth)
- ditthi - viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be
- sankappa - intention of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness
- vaca - speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way
- kammanta - acting in a non-harmful way
- ajiva - a non-harmful livelihood
- vayama - making an effort to improve
- sati - awareness to see things for what they are with clear consciousness, being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion
- amadhi - correct meditation or concentration

- The Middle Way
The middle way is defined by the practice of non-extremism: a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, the middle ground between certain metaphysical views, and an explanation of Nirvana (perfect enlightenment).

- Three Marks of Existence
- Impermanence
- Suffering
- Not-self

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Buddhism