REF: 'World Religions', editor Martin Palmer and Wikipedia: Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived between approximately 566 and 486 BCE. Originating in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Southeast Asia, as well as to East Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan. With approximately 350 million followers, Buddhism is considered a major world religion.
The aim of Buddhist practice is to end the suffering of cyclic existence, samsara (Pāli, Sanskrit), by awakening the practitioner to the realization of true reality, the achievement of liberation (nirvana). To achieve this, one should purify and train the mind and act according to the laws of karma: perform positive, wholesome actions and avoid negative, harmful actions.
Buddhist morality is underpinned by the principles of harmlessness and moderation. Mental training focuses on moral discipline (sila), meditative concentration (samadhi),and wisdom (prajñā). While Buddhism does not deny the existence of supernatural beings (indeed, many are discussed in Buddhist scripture), it does not ascribe power for creation, salvation or judgment to them. Like humans, they are regarded as having the power to affect worldly events, and so some Buddhist schools associate with them via ritual. Buddha is a word in ancient Indian languages including Pāli and Sanskrit which means "one who has awakened". It is derived from the verbal root "budh", meaning "to awaken" or "to be enlightened", and "to comprehend".
The word "Buddha" denotes not just the historical Buddha Shakyamuni or Siddhartha Gautama who lived some 2,500 years ago, but a type of person, of which there have been infinite ones throughout the course of cosmic time. (As an analogy, the term "President" refers not just to one person, but to everyone who has ever held the office of presidency.) The historical Buddha is simply one member in the spiritual lineage of Buddhas, which stretches back into the infinite past and forward into the distant horizons of the future. Shakyamuni Buddha did not claim any divine status for himself, nor did he assert that he was inspired by a god or gods.
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A Buddha is anyone who has fully awakened to the true nature of existence, liberated from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, has eradicated all negative qualities and developed all positive qualities, including omniscience. (Buddhas are not omnipotent, like the God of Christianity, Islam or Judaism.) All sentient beings (beings with a mind, like humans and animals) can free themselves from suffering as Gautama did, regardless of age, sex, or caste. The principles by which a person can achieve enlightenment are known as the Buddhadharma, or simply the Dharma, meaning (in this context) "law, doctrine, or truth". Meditation or dhyāna of some form is a common practice in most if not all schools of Buddhism, for the clergy if not the laity.
Central to Buddhist doctrine and practice is the law of karma and vipaka; action and its fruition, which happens within the dynamic of dependent origination (pratītya-samutpāda). Actions which result in positive retribution (happiness) are defined as skillful or good, while actions that produce negative results (suffering) are called unskillful or bad actions. Doctrine of anatta (Pāli; Sanskrit: anātman)) breaks this cycle of birth and death (samsara).
These actions are expressed by the way of mind, body or speech. Some actions bring instant retribution while the results of other actions may not appear until a future lifetime. Most teachers are, however, quick to point out that though it may be a result of someone's past-life karma that they suffer, this should not be used as an excuse to treat them poorly; indeed, all should help them and help to alleviate their suffering, leading to them working to alleviate their own suffering. Rebirth, which is closely related to the law of karma. An action in this life may not give fruit or reaction until the next life time. This being said, action in a past life takes effect in this one, making a chain of existence. The full realization of the absence of an eternal self or soul (the doctrine of anatta (Pāli; Sanskrit: anātman)) breaks this cycle of birth and death (samsara).
BUDDHISM IMAGE | Buddha image collage
The Buddha taught that life was dissatisfactory because of craving, but that this condition was curable by following the Eightfold Path. This teaching is called the Four Noble Truths:
Dukkha: All worldly life is unsatisfactory, disjointed, containing suffering.
Samudaya: There is a cause of suffering, which is attachment or desire (tanha) rooted in ignorance.
Nirodha: There is an end of suffering, which is Nirvana.
Magga: There is a path that leads out of suffering, known as the Noble Eightfold Path. In order to fully understand the noble truths and investigate whether they were in fact true, Buddha recommended that a certain lifestyle or path be followed which consists of:
Sometimes in the Pāli Canon, the Eightfold Path is spoken of as being a progressive series of stages which the practitioner moves through; the culmination of one leading to the beginning of another, but it is more usual to view the stages of the 'Path' as requiring simultaneous development. The Eightfold Path essentially consists of meditation, following the precepts, and cultivating the positive converse of the precepts (e.g. benefiting living beings is the converse of the first precept of harmlessness). The Path may also be thought of as a way of developing śīla, meaning mental and moral discipline.
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