Buddhism

Buddhism

Standing Buddha. One of the earliest known

representations of the Buddha, 1st2nd century
CE. Greco-Buddhist art, Gandhara. (Tokyo
National Museum)

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Buddhism

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Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion indigenous to the Indian subcontinent that

encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based
on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly
known as the Buddha (meaning "the awakened one" in Sanskrit and
Pli). The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of the Indian
subcontinent between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.[1] He is
recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who
shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (dukkha)
through eliminating ignorance (avidy) by way of understanding and
seeing dependent origination (prattyasamutpda) and eliminating
craving (tah), and thus attain the cessation of all suffering, the
sublime state of nirva.[2]
Two major branches of Buddhism are generally recognized: Theravada
("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle").
Theravada has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
Buddha by Otgonbayar Ershuu
(Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar etc.). Mahayana is found
throughout East Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore,
Taiwan etc.) and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, and
Tiantai (Tendai). In some classifications, Vajrayanapracticed mainly in Tibet and Mongolia, and adjacent parts of
China and Russiais recognized as a third branch, while others classify it as a part of Mahayana.
While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia, both branches are now found throughout the world. Estimates of
Buddhists worldwide vary significantly depending on the way Buddhist adherence is defined. Conservative estimates
are between 350 and 750 million.[3][4][5] Higher estimates are between 1.2 and 1.7 billion.[6][7][8] It is also
recognized as one of the fastest growing religions in the world.[9][10][11][12]
Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various
teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices.[13] The foundations of Buddhist tradition and
practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community). Taking
"refuge in the triple gem" has traditionally been a declaration and commitment to being on the Buddhist path, and in
general distinguishes a Buddhist from a non-Buddhist.[14] Other practices may include following ethical precepts;
support of the monastic community; renouncing conventional living and becoming a monastic; the development of
mindfulness and practice of meditation; cultivation of higher wisdom and discernment; study of scriptures;
devotional practices; ceremonies; and in the Mahayana tradition, invocation of buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Life of the Buddha

Buddhism

Relic depicting Gautama leaving home. The

Great Departure, c.12nd century. (Muse
Guimet)

This narrative draws on the Nidnakath biography of the Theravda

sect in Sri Lanka, which is ascribed to Buddhaghoa in the 5th century
CE.[15] Earlier biographies such as the Buddhacarita, the
Lokottaravdin Mahvastu, and the Mahyna / Sarvstivda
Lalitavistara Stra, give different accounts. Scholars are hesitant to
make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life.
Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order, but do
not consistently accept all of the details contained in his
biographies.[16][17]

According to author Michael Carrithers, while there are good reasons

to doubt the traditional account, "the outline of the life must be true:
birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation,
teaching, death."[18] In writing her biography of the Buddha, Karen
Armstrong noted, "It is obviously difficult, therefore, to write a
biography of the Buddha that meets modern criteria, because we have
very little information that can be considered historically sound... [but]
we can be reasonably confident Siddhatta Gotama did indeed exist and
that his disciples preserved the memory of his life and teachings as
well as they could."[19] Wikipedia:Disputed statement

Ascetic Gautama with his five companions, who

later comprised the first Sangha. (Painting in
Laotian temple)

The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhrtha Gautama was
born in a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the northeastern Indian
subcontinent in the 5th century BCE.[20] It was either a small republic, in which case his father was an elected
chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which case his father was an oligarch.[20]
According to the Theravada Tripitaka scripturesWikipedia:Avoid weasel words
(from Pali, meaning "three baskets"), Gautama was born in Lumbini in modern-day
Nepal, around the year 563 BCE, and raised in Kapilavastu.[21][22]
According to this narrative, shortly after the birth of young prince Gautama, an
astrologer visited the young prince's fatherKing uddhodanaand prophesied that
Siddhartha would either become a great king or renounce the material world to
become a holy man, depending on whether he saw what life was like outside the
palace walls.

The Vajrashila, where Gautama

sat under a tree and became
enlightened, Bodh Gaya, India,
2011

uddhodana was determined to see his son become a king, so he prevented him from
leaving the palace grounds. But at age 29, despite his father's efforts, Gautama
ventured beyond the palace several times. In a series of encountersknown in
Buddhist literature as the four sightshe learned of the suffering of ordinary people,
encountering an old man, a sick man, a corpse and, finally, an ascetic holy man,
apparently content and at peace with the world. These experiences prompted
Gautama to abandon royal life and take up a spiritual quest.

Buddhism

Gautama first went to study with famous religious teachers of the day,
and mastered the meditative attainments they taught. But he found that
they did not provide a permanent end to suffering, so he continued his
quest. He next attempted an extreme asceticism, which was a religious
pursuit common among the Shramanas, a religious culture distinct
from the Vedic one. Gautama underwent prolonged fasting,
breath-holding, and exposure to pain. He almost starved himself to
death in the process. He realized that he had taken this kind of practice
Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India,
to its limit, and had not put an end to suffering. So in a pivotal moment
built by King Ashoka, where the Buddha gave his
he accepted milk and rice from a village girl and changed his approach.
first sermon
He devoted himself to anapanasati meditation, through which he
discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way (Skt.
madhyam-pratipad[23]): a path of moderation between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.[24][25]
Gautama was now determined to complete his spiritual quest. At the
age of 35, he famously sat in meditation under a sacred fig tree
known as the Bodhi tree in the town of Bodh Gaya, India, and
vowed not to rise before achieving enlightenment. After many days, he
finally destroyed the fetters of his mind, thereby liberating himself
Buddha statue depicting Parinirvana.
from
the cycle of suffering and rebirth, and arose as a fully enlightened
(Mahaparinirvana Temple, Kushinagar, Uttar
Pradesh, India)
being (Skt. samyaksabuddha). Soon thereafter, he attracted a band of
followers and instituted a monastic order. Now, as the Buddha, he
spent the rest of his life teaching the path of awakening he had discovered, traveling throughout the northeastern part
of the Indian subcontinent,[26][27] and died at the age of 80 (483 BCE) in Kushinagar, India. The south branch of the
original fig tree available only in Anuradhapura Sri Lanka is known as Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi.

Buddhist concepts
Life and the world
Sasra
Samsara is "the cycle of birth and death".[28] Sentient beings crave pleasure and
are averse to pain from birth to death. In being controlled by these attitudes, they
perpetuate the cycle of conditioned existence and suffering (sasra), and
produce the causes and conditions of the next rebirth after death. Each rebirth
repeats this process in an involuntary cycle, which Buddhists strive to end by
eradicating these causes and conditions, applying the methods laid out by the
Buddha and subsequent Buddhists.
Karma
Karma (from Sanskrit: "action, work") in Buddhism is the force that drives
sasrathe cycle of suffering and rebirth for each being. Good, skillful deeds
(Pli: "kusala") and bad, unskillful (Pli: "akusala") actions produce "seeds" in
the mind that come to fruition either in this life or in a subsequent rebirth.[29] The
avoidance of unwholesome actions and the cultivation of positive actions is
called la (from Sanskrit: "ethical conduct").
Traditional Tibetan Buddhist
Thangka depicting the Wheel of Life
with its six realms

Buddhism

In Buddhism, karma specifically refers to those actions (of body, speech, and mind) that spring from mental intent
("cetana"),[30] and bring about a consequence or fruit, (phala) or result (vipka).
In Theravada Buddhism there can be no divine salvation or forgiveness for one's karma, since it is a purely
impersonal process that is a part of the makeup of the universe. In Mahayana Buddhism, the texts of certain
Mahayana sutras (such as the Lotus Sutra, the Angulimaliya Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra) claim that reciting or
merely hearing their texts can expunge great swathes of negative karma. Some forms of Buddhism (for example,
Vajrayana) regard the recitation of mantras as a means for cutting off previous negative karma.[31] The Japanese
Pure Land teacher Genshin taught that Amida Buddha has the power to destroy the karma that would otherwise bind
one in sasra.[4][5]
Rebirth
Rebirth refers to a process whereby beings go through a succession of
lifetimes as one of many possible forms of sentient life, each running
from conception[32] to death. Buddhism rejects the concepts of a
permanent self or an unchanging, eternal soul, as it is called in
Hinduism and Christianity. According to Buddhism there ultimately is
no such thing as a self independent from the rest of the universe (the
doctrine of anatta). Rebirth in subsequent existences must be
understood as the continuation of a dynamic, ever-changing process of
"dependent arising" ("prattyasamutpda") determined by the laws of
cause and effect (karma) rather than that of one being, transmigrating
or incarnating from one existence to the next.

Gautama's cremation site, Ramabhar Stupa in

Uttar Pradesh, India

Each rebirth takes place within one of five realms according to Theravadins, or six according to other schools.[33][34]
These are further subdivided into 31 planes of existence:[35]
1. Naraka beings: those who live in one of many Narakas (Hells);
2. Preta: sometimes sharing some space with humans, but invisible to most people; an important variety is the
hungry ghost;[36]
3. Animals: sharing space with humans, but considered another type of life;
4. Human beings: one of the realms of rebirth in which attaining Nirvana is possible;
5. Asuras: variously translated as lowly deities, demons, titans, antigods; not recognized by Theravda
(Mahavihara) tradition as a separate realm;[37]
6. Devas including Brahmas: variously translated as gods, deities, spirits, angels, or left untranslated.
Rebirths in some of the higher heavens, known as the uddhvsa Worlds (Pure Abodes), can be attained by only
skilled Buddhist practitioners known as angmis (non-returners). Rebirths in the arupa-dhatu (formless realms) can
be attained by only those who can meditate on the arpajhnas, the highest object of meditation.
According to East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism, there is an intermediate state (Tibetan "Bardo") between one life
and the next. The orthodox Theravada position rejects this; however there are passages in the Samyutta Nikaya of the
Pali Canon (the collection of texts on which the Theravada tradition is based), that seem to lend support to the idea
that the Buddha taught of an intermediate stage between one life and the next.[38][39]

Buddhism

Suffering's causes and solution

The Four Noble Truths
The teachings on the Four Noble Truths are regarded as central to the teachings of Buddhism, and are said to provide
a conceptual framework for Buddhist thought. These four truths explain the nature of dukkha (suffering, anxiety,
dissatisfaction), its causes, and how it can be overcome. The four truths are:[40]
1.
2.
3.
4.

The truth of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction)

The truth of the origin of dukkha
The truth of the cessation of dukkha
The truth of the path leading to the cessation of dukkha

The first truth explains the nature of dukkha. Dukkha is commonly translated as suffering, anxiety,
dissatisfaction, unease, etc., and it is said to have the following three aspects:
the obvious suffering of physical and mental illness, growing old, and dying;
the anxiety or stress of trying to hold onto things that are constantly changing; and
a subtle dissatisfaction pervading all forms of life, due to the fact that all forms of life are impermanent and
constantly changing.[41]
The second truth is that the origin of dukkha can be known. Within the context of the four noble truths, the origin of
dukkha is commonly explained as craving (Pali: tanha) conditioned by ignorance (Pali: avijja). On a deeper level,
the root cause of dukkha is identified as ignorance (Pali: avijja) of the true nature of things. The third noble truth is
that the complete cessation of dukkha is possible, and the fourth noble truth identifies a path to this cessation.[40]
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Paththe fourth of the Buddha's Noble
Truthsconsists of a set of eight interconnected factors or conditions,
that when developed together, lead to the cessation of dukkha.[42]
These eight factors are: Right View (or Right Understanding), Right
Intention (or Right Thought), Right Speech, Right Action, Right
Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Ajahn Sucitto describes the path as "a mandala of interconnected
factors that support and moderate each other."[42] The eight factors of
the path are not to be understood as stages, in which each stage is
completed before moving on to the next. Rather, they are understood as
eight significant dimensions of one's behaviourmental, spoken, and
bodilythat operate in dependence on one another; taken together,
they define a complete path, or way of living.[43]
The eight factors of the path are commonly presented within three
divisions (or higher trainings) as shown below:

The Dharmachakra represents the Noble

Eightfold Path.

Buddhism

Division

Eightfold factor

Sanskrit, Pali

Description

Wisdom
(Sanskrit: praj,
Pli: pa)

1. Right view

samyag di,
samm ditthi

2. Right intention

samyag
Intention of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness
sakalpa,
samm sankappa

Ethical conduct
(Sanskrit: la,
Pli: sla)

3. Right speech

samyag vc,
samm vca

Speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way

4. Right action

samyag karman,
samm
kammanta

Acting in a non-harmful way

5. Right livelihood

samyag jvana,
samm jva

A non-harmful livelihood

6. Right effort

samyag
vyyma,
samm vyma

Making an effort to improve

7. Right mindfulness

samyag smti,
samm 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

8. Right
concentration

samyag samdhi, Correct meditation or concentration, explained as the first four jhnas
samm samdhi

Concentration
(Sanskrit and Pli:
samdhi)

Viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be

The Four Immeasurables

While he searched for enlightenment, Gautama combined the yoga
practice of his teacher Kalama with what later became known as "the
immeasurables".[44] Wikipedia:Disputed statement Gautama thus
invented a new kind of human, one without egotism.[44]
Wikipedia:Disputed statement What Thich Nhat Hanh calls the "Four
Immeasurable Minds" of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity[45] are
also known as brahmaviharas, divine abodes, or simply as four
immeasurables.[] Pema Chdrn calls them the "four limitless
ones".[46] Of the four, mett or loving-kindness meditation is perhaps
the best known.[] The Four Immeasurables are taught as a form of
meditation that cultivates "wholesome attitudes towards all sentient
beings."[47] The practitioner prays:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Statue of Buddha in Puji Temple on Putuo Shan

island in China

May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes,

May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes,
May all sentient beings never be separated from bliss without suffering,
May all sentient beings be in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.[48]

Buddhism

Middle Way
An important guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way (or Middle Path), which is said to have been
discovered by Gautama Buddha prior to his enlightenment. The Middle Way has several definitions:
1. The practice of non-extremism: a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and
self-mortification;
2. The middle ground between certain metaphysical views (for example, that things ultimately either do or do not
exist);[49]
3. An explanation of Nirvana (perfect enlightenment), a state wherein it becomes clear that all dualities apparent in
the world are delusory (see Seongcheol);
4. Another term for emptiness, the ultimate nature of all phenomena (in the Mahayana branch), a lack of inherent
existence, which avoids the extremes of permanence and nihilism or inherent existence and nothingness.

Nature of existence
Buddhist scholars have produced a remarkable quantity of intellectual theories,
philosophies and world view concepts (see, for example, Abhidharma, Buddhist
philosophy and Reality in Buddhism). Some schools of Buddhism discourage
doctrinal study, and some regard it as essential practice.
The concept of liberation (nirva)the goal of the Buddhist pathis closely
related to overcoming ignorance (avidy), a fundamental misunderstanding or
mis-perception of the nature of reality. In awakening to the true nature of the self
and all phenomena one develops dispassion for the objects of clinging, and is
liberated from suffering (dukkha) and the cycle of incessant rebirths (sasra).
To this end, the Buddha recommended viewing things as characterized by the
three marks of existence.
Three Marks of Existence

Monks debating at Sera Monastery,

Tibet

The Three Marks of Existence are impermanence, suffering, and not-self.

Impermanence (Pli: anicca) expresses the Buddhist notion that all compounded or conditioned phenomena (all
things and experiences) are inconstant, unsteady, and impermanent. Everything we can experience through our
senses is made up of parts, and its existence is dependent on external conditions. Everything is in constant flux, and
so conditions and the thing itself are constantly changing. Things are constantly coming into being, and ceasing to
be. Since nothing lasts, there is no inherent or fixed nature to any object or experience. According to the doctrine of
impermanence, life embodies this flux in the aging process, the cycle of rebirth (sasra), and in any experience of
loss. The doctrine asserts that because things are impermanent, attachment to them is futile and leads to suffering
(dukkha).
Suffering (Pli: dukkha; Sanskrit dukha) is also a central concept in Buddhism. The word roughly
corresponds to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness, sorrow, affliction, anxiety,
dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress, misery, and frustration. Although the term is often translated as
"suffering", its philosophical meaning is more analogous to "disquietude" as in the condition of being disturbed. As
such, "suffering" is too narrow a translation with "negative emotional connotations"[50] that can give the impression
that the Buddhist view is pessimistic, but Buddhism seeks to be neither pessimistic nor optimistic, but realistic. In
English-language Buddhist literature translated from Pli, "dukkha" is often left untranslated, so as to encompass its
full range of meaning.[][][]
Not-self (Pli: anatta; Sanskrit: antman) is the third mark of existence. Upon careful examination, one finds that no
phenomenon is really "I" or "mine"; these concepts are in fact constructed by the mind. In the Nikayas anatta is not

Buddhism
meant as a metaphysical assertion, but as an approach for gaining release from suffering. In fact, the Buddha rejected
both of the metaphysical assertions "I have a Self" and "I have no Self" as ontological views that bind one to
suffering.[51] When asked if the self was identical with the body, the Buddha refused to answer. By analyzing the
constantly changing physical and mental constituents (skandhas) of a person or object, the practitioner comes to the
conclusion that neither the respective parts nor the person as a whole comprise a self.
Dependent arising
The doctrine of prattyasamutpda (Sanskrit; Pali: paticcasamuppda; Tibetan: rten.cing.'brel.bar.'byung.ba; Chinese:
) is an important part of Buddhist metaphysics. It states that phenomena arise together in a mutually
interdependent web of cause and effect. It is variously rendered into English as "dependent origination",
"conditioned genesis", "dependent co-arising", "interdependent arising", or "contingency".
The best-known application of the concept of prattyasamutpda is the scheme of Twelve Nidnas (from Pli
"nidna" meaning "cause, foundation, source or origin"), which explain the continuation of the cycle of suffering and
rebirth (sasra) in detail.[52]
The Twelve Nidnas describe a causal connection between the subsequent characteristics or conditions of cyclic
existence, each one giving rise to the next:
1. Avidy: ignorance, specifically spiritual ignorance of the nature of reality;[53]
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Saskras: literally formations, explained as referring to karma;

Vijna: consciousness, specifically discriminative;[54]
Nmarpa: literally name and form, referring to mind and body;[55]
ayatana: the six sense bases: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind-organ;
Spara: variously translated contact, impression, stimulation (by a sense object);
Vedan: usually translated feeling: this is the "hedonic tone", i.e. whether something is pleasant, unpleasant or
neutral;
8. T: literally thirst, but in Buddhism nearly always used to mean craving;
9. Updna: clinging or grasping; the word also means fuel, which feeds the continuing cycle of rebirth;
10. Bhava: literally being (existence) or becoming. (The Theravada explains this as having two meanings: karma,
which produces a new existence, and the existence itself.);[56]
11. Jti: literally birth, but life is understood as starting at conception;[57]
12. Jarmaraa: (old age and death) and also okaparidevadukhadaurmanasyopysa (sorrow, lamentation, pain,
sadness, and misery).
Sentient beings always suffer throughout sasra, until they free themselves from this suffering by attaining
Nirvana. Then the absence of the first Nidnaignoranceleads to the absence of the others.
Emptiness
Mahayana Buddhism received significant theoretical grounding from Nagarjuna (perhaps c. 150250 CE), arguably
the most influential scholar within the Mahayana tradition. Nagarjuna's primary contribution to Buddhist philosophy
was the systematic exposition of the concept of nyat, or "emptiness", widely attested in the Prajpramit sutras
that emerged in his era. The concept of emptiness brings together other key Buddhist doctrines, particularly anatta
and prattyasamutpda (dependent origination), to refute the metaphysics of Sarvastivada and Sautrantika (extinct
non-Mahayana schools). For Nagarjuna, it is not merely sentient beings that are empty of tman; all phenomena
(dharmas) are without any svabhava (literally "own-nature" or "self-nature"), and thus without any underlying
essence; they are "empty" of being independent; thus the heterodox theories of svabhava circulating at the time were
refuted on the basis of the doctrines of early Buddhism. Nagarjuna's school of thought is known as the Mdhyamaka.
Some of the writings attributed to Nagarjuna made explicit references to Mahayana texts, but his philosophy was
argued within the parameters set out by the agamas. He may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a

Buddhism

10

consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the Canon. In the eyes of Nagarjuna the Buddha was not
merely a forerunner, but the very founder of the Mdhyamaka system.[58]
Sarvastivada teachingswhich were criticized by Ngrjunawere reformulated by scholars such as Vasubandhu
and Asanga and were adapted into the Yogacara (Sanskrit: yoga practice) school. While the Mdhyamaka school
held that asserting the existence or non-existence of any ultimately real thing was inappropriate, some exponents of
Yogacara asserted that the mind and only the mind is ultimately real (a doctrine known as cittamatra). Not all
Yogacarins asserted that mind was truly existent; Vasubandhu and Asanga in particular did not.[59] These two
schools of thought, in opposition or synthesis, form the basis of subsequent Mahayana metaphysics in the
Indo-Tibetan tradition.
Besides emptiness, Mahayana schools often place emphasis on the notions of perfected spiritual insight
(prajpramit) and Buddha-nature (tathgatagarbha). There are conflicting interpretations of the tathgatagarbha
in Mahyna thought. The idea may be traced to Abhidharma, and ultimately to statements of the Buddha in the
Nikyas. In Tibetan Buddhism, according to the Sakya school, tathgatagarbha is the inseparability of the clarity and
emptiness of one's mind. In Nyingma, tathgatagarbha also generally refers to inseparability of the clarity and
emptiness of one's mind. According to the Gelug school, it is the potential for sentient beings to awaken since they
are empty (i.e. dependently originated). According to the Jonang school, it refers to the innate qualities of the mind
that expresses themselves as omniscience etc. when adventitious obscurations are removed. The "Tathgatagarbha
Sutras" are a collection of Mahayana sutras that present a unique model of Buddha-nature. Even though this
collection was generally ignored in India,[60] East Asian Buddhism provides some significance to these texts.

Liberation
Nirvana
Nirvana (Sanskrit; Pali: "Nibbana") means "cessation", "extinction" (of craving
and ignorance and therefore suffering and the cycle of involuntary rebirths
(sasra)), "extinguished", "quieted", "calmed"; it is also known as
"Awakening" or "Enlightenment" in the West. The term for anybody who has
achieved nirvana, including the Buddha, is arahant.

Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya,

India, where Gautama Buddha
attained Nirvana under the Bodhi
Tree (left)

Bodhi (Pli and Sanskrit, in devanagari: ) is a term applied to the experience

of Awakening of arahants. Bodhi literally means "awakening", but it is more
commonly translated into English as "enlightenment". In Early Buddhism, bodhi
carried a meaning synonymous to nirvana, using only some different metaphors
to describe the experience, which implies the extinction of raga (greed,
craving),[61] dosa (hate, aversion)[62] and moha (delusion).[63] In the later school
of Mahayana Buddhism, the status of nirvana was downgraded in some
scriptures, coming to refer only to the extinction of greed and hate, implying that
delusion was still present in one who attained nirvana, and that one needed to
attain bodhi to eradicate delusion:

An important development in the Mahayana [was] that it came to separate nirvana from bodhi ('awakening' to
the truth, Enlightenment), and to put a lower value on the former (Gombrich, 1992d). Originally nirvana and
bodhi refer to the same thing; they merely use different metaphors for the experience. But the Mahayana
tradition separated them and considered that nirvana referred only to the extinction of craving (passion and
hatred), with the resultant escape from the cycle of rebirth. This interpretation ignores the third fire, delusion:
the extinction of delusion is of course in the early texts identical with what can be positively expressed as
gnosis, Enlightenment.
Richard F. Gombrich,How Buddhism Began[64]

Buddhism
Therefore, according to Mahayana Buddhism, the arahant has attained only nirvana, thus still being subject to
delusion, while the bodhisattva not only achieves nirvana but full liberation from delusion as well. He thus attains
bodhi and becomes a buddha. In Theravada Buddhism, bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning as in the early
texts, that of being freed from greed, hate and delusion.
The term parinirvana is also encountered in Buddhism, and this generally refers to the complete nirvana attained by
the arahant at the moment of death, when the physical body expires.
Buddhas
According to Buddhist traditions a Buddha is a fully awakened being who has completely purified his mind of the
three poisons of desire, aversion and ignorance. A Buddha is no longer bound by Samsara, and has ended the
suffering which unawakened people experience in life.
Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama to have been the only Buddha. The Pali Canon refers to many
previous ones (see List of the 28 Buddhas), while the Mahayana tradition additionally has many Buddhas of
celestial, rather than historical, origin (see Amitabha or Vairocana as examples, for lists of many thousands Buddha
names see Taish Shinsh Daizky numbers 439448). A common Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist belief is that
the next Buddha will be one named Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya).
according to Theravada
In Theravada doctrine, a person may awaken from the "sleep of ignorance" by directly realizing the true nature of
reality; such people are called arahants and occasionally buddhas. After numerous lifetimes of spiritual striving,
they have reached the end of the cycle of rebirth, no longer reincarnating as human, animal, ghost, or other being.
The commentaries to the Pali Canon classify these awakened beings into three types:
Sammasambuddha, usually just called the Buddha, who discovers the truth by himself and teaches the path to
awakening to others
Paccekabuddha, who discovers the truth by himself but lacks the skill to teach others
Savakabuddha, who receive the truth directly or indirectly from a Sammasambuddha
Bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning, that of being freed from craving, hate, and delusion. In attaining bodhi,
the arahant has overcome these obstacles. As a further distinction, the extinction of only hatred and greed (in the
sensory context) with some residue of delusion, is called anagami.

11

Buddhism

12

according to Mahayana
In the Mahayana, the Buddha tends not to be viewed as merely human, but
as the earthly projection of a beginningless and endless, omnipresent being
(see Dharmakaya) beyond the range and reach of thought. Moreover, in
certain Mahayana sutras, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are viewed
essentially as One: all three are seen as the eternal Buddha himself.
The Buddha's death is seen as an illusion, he is living on in other planes of
existence, and monks are therefore permitted to offer "new truths" based on
his input. Mahayana also differs from Theravada in its concept of nyat
(that ultimately nothing has existence), and in its belief in bodhisattvas
(enlightened people who vow to continue being reborn until all beings can
be enlightened).[65]
Celestial Buddhas are individuals who no longer exist on the material plane
of existence, but who still aid in the enlightenment of all beings.
Nirvana came to refer only to the extinction of greed and
The Great Statue of Buddha Amitabha in
hate,Wikipedia:Disputed statement implying that delusion was still present
Kamakura, Japan
in one who attained Nirvana. Bodhi became a higher attainment that
eradicates delusion entirely.[64] Thus, the Arahant attains Nirvana but not
Bodhi, thus still being subject to delusion, while the Buddha attains Bodhi.Wikipedia:Disputed statement
The method of self-exertion or "self-power"without reliance on an external force or beingstands in contrast to
another major form of Buddhism, Pure Land, which is characterised by utmost trust in the salvific "other-power" of
Amitabha Buddha. Pure Land Buddhism is a very widespread and perhaps the most faith-orientated manifestation of
Buddhism and centres upon the conviction that faith in Amitabha Buddha and the chanting of homage to his name
liberates one at death into the Blissful ( ), Pure Land ( ) of Amitabha Buddha. This Buddhic realm is
variously construed as a foretaste of Nirvana, or as essentially Nirvana itself. The great vow of Amitabha Buddha to
rescue all beings from samsaric suffering is viewed within Pure Land Buddhism as universally efficacious, if only
one has faith in the power of that vow or chants his name.
Buddha eras
Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha was the first to achieve enlightenment in this Buddha era and is therefore
credited with the establishment of Buddhism. A Buddha era is the stretch of history during which people remember
and practice the teachings of the earliest known Buddha. This Buddha era will end when all the knowledge, evidence
and teachings of Gautama Buddha have vanished. This belief therefore maintains that many Buddha eras have
started and ended throughout the course of human existence.[66][67] The Gautama Buddha, then, is the Buddha of this
era, who taught directly or indirectly to all other Buddhas in it (see types of Buddhas).
In addition, Mahayana Buddhists believe there are innumerable other Buddhas in other universes.[68] A Theravada
commentary says that Buddhas arise one at a time in this world element, and not at all in others.[69] The
understandings of this matter reflect widely differing interpretations of basic terms, such as "world realm", between
the various schools of Buddhism.
The idea of the decline and gradual disappearance of the teaching has been influential in East Asian Buddhism. Pure
Land Buddhism holds that it has declined to the point where few are capable of following the path, so it may be best
to rely on the power of the Amitabha Buddha.

Buddhism

13

Bodhisattvas
Bodhisattva means "enlightenment being", and generally refers to one who is on the path to buddhahood.
Traditionally, a bodhisattva is anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a
spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.[70] Theravada Buddhism primarily uses
the term in relation to Gautama Buddha's previous existences, but has traditionally acknowledged and respected the
bodhisattva path as well.[71]
According to Jan Nattier, the term Mahyna ("Great Vehicle") was originally even an honorary synonym for
Bodhisattvayna, or the "Bodhisattva Vehicle."[72] The Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra, an early and important
Mahyna text, contains a simple and brief definition for the term bodhisattva, and this definition is the
following:[73][74][75]
Because he has enlightenment as his aim, a bodhisattva-mahsattva is so called.
Mahyna Buddhism encourages everyone to become bodhisattvas and to take the bodhisattva vows. With these
vows, one makes the promise to work for the complete enlightenment of all beings by practicing six perfections (Skt.
pramit).[76] According to the Mahyna teachings, these perfections are: giving, discipline, forbearance, effort,
meditation, and transcendent wisdom.
A famous saying by the 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar-saint Shantideva, which the Dalai Lama often cites as
his favourite verse, summarizes the Bodhisattva's intention (Bodhicitta) as follows:
For as long as space endures, and for as long as living beings remain, until then may I too abide to dispel the
misery of the world.

Practice
Devotion
Devotion is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists.[77] Devotional practices include bowing, offerings,
pilgrimage, and chanting. In Pure Land Buddhism, devotion to the Buddha Amitabha is the main practice. In
Nichiren Buddhism, devotion to the Lotus Sutra is the main practice.
Yoga
Buddhism traditionally incorporates states of meditative absorption (Pali: jhna;
Skt: dhyna).[78] The most ancient sustained expression of yogic ideas is found
in the early sermons of the Buddha.[79] One key innovative teaching of the
Buddha was that meditative absorption must be combined with liberating
cognition.[80] The difference between the Buddha's teaching and the yoga
presented in early Brahminic texts is striking. Meditative states alone are not an
end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not
liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of
mental activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on the practice of
mindful awareness.[81]
Meditation was an aspect of the practice of the yogis in the centuries preceding
the Buddha. The Buddha built upon the yogis' concern with introspection and
developed their meditative techniques, but rejected their theories of liberation.[82]
In Buddhism, mindfulness and clear awareness are to be developed at all times;
in pre-Buddhist yogic practices there is no such injunction. A yogi in the
Brahmanical tradition is not to practice while defecating, for example, while a Buddhist monastic should do so.[83]
Statue of the Buddha in meditation
position, Haw Phra Kaew, Vientiane,
Laos

Buddhism

14

Religious knowledge or "vision" was indicated as a result of practice both within and outside of the Buddhist fold.
According to the Samaaphala Sutta, this sort of vision arose for the Buddhist adept as a result of the perfection of
"meditation" coupled with the perfection of "discipline" (Pali sla; Skt. la). Some of the Buddha's meditative
techniques were shared with other traditions of his day, but the idea that ethics are causally related to the attainment
of "transcendent wisdom" (Pali pa; Skt. praj) was original.[84]
The Buddhist texts are probably the earliest describing meditation techniques.[85] They describe meditative practices
and states that existed before the Buddha as well as those first developed within Buddhism.[86] Two Upanishads
written after the rise of Buddhism do contain full-fledged descriptions of yoga as a means to liberation.[87]
While there is no convincing evidence for meditation in pre-Buddhist early Brahminic texts, Wynne argues that
formless meditation originated in the Brahminic or Shramanic tradition, based on strong parallels between
Upanishadic cosmological statements and the meditative goals of the two teachers of the Buddha as recorded in the
early Buddhist texts.[88] He mentions less likely possibilities as well.[89] Having argued that the cosmological
statements in the Upanishads also reflect a contemplative tradition, he argues that the Nasadiya Sukta contains
evidence for a contemplative tradition, even as early as the late Rig Vedic period.[88]
Refuge in the Three Jewels
Traditionally, the first step in most Buddhist schools requires taking refuge in the
Three Jewels (Sanskrit: tri-ratna, Pli: ti-ratana)[90] as the foundation of one's
religious practice. The practice of taking refuge on behalf of young or even
unborn children is mentioned[91] in the Majjhima Nikaya, recognized by most
scholars as an early text (cf. Infant baptism). Tibetan Buddhism sometimes adds
a fourth refuge, in the lama. In Mahayana, the person who chooses the
bodhisattva path makes a vow or pledge, considered the ultimate expression of
compassion. In Mahayana, too, the Three Jewels are perceived as possessed of an
eternal and unchanging essence and as having an irreversible effect: "The Three
Jewels have the quality of excellence. Just as real jewels never change their
faculty and goodness, whether praised or reviled, so are the Three Jewels
(Refuges), because they have an eternal and immutable essence. These Three
Jewels bring a fruition that is changeless, for once one has reached Buddhahood,
there is no possibility of falling back to suffering."[92]
The Three Jewels are:

Relic depicting footprint of the

Buddha with Dharmachakra and
triratna, 1st century CE, Gandhra.

The Buddha. This is a title for those who have attained Nirvana. See also the
Tathgata and Gautama Buddha. The Buddha could also be represented as a
concept instead of a specific person: the perfect wisdom that understands
Dharma and sees reality in its true form. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha can be viewed as the supreme
Refuge: "Buddha is the Unique Absolute Refuge. Buddha is the Imperishable, Eternal, Indestructible and
Absolute Refuge."[93]

The Dharma. The teachings or law of nature as expounded by the Gautama Buddha. It can also, especially in
Mahayana, connote the ultimate and sustaining Reality that is inseparable from the Buddha. Further, from some
Mahayana perspectives, the Dharma embodied in the form of a great sutra (Buddhic scripture) can replace the
need for a personal teacher and can be a direct and spontaneous gateway into Truth (Dharma). This is especially
said to be the case with the Lotus Sutra. Dr. Hiroshi Kanno writes of this view of the Lotus Sutra: "it is a
Dharma-gate of sudden enlightenment proper to the Great Vehicle; it is a Dharma-gate whereby one awakens
spontaneously, without resorting to a teacher".[94]

Buddhism

15

The Sangha. Those who have attained to any of the Four stages of enlightenment, or simply the congregation of
monastic practitioners.
According to the scriptures, Gautama Buddha presented himself as a model. The Dharma offers a refuge by
providing guidelines for the alleviation of suffering and the attainment of Nirvana. The Sangha is considered to
provide a refuge by preserving the authentic teachings of the Buddha and providing further examples that the truth of
the Buddha's teachings is attainable.

Buddhist ethics
la (Sanskrit) or sla (Pli) is usually translated into English as "virtuous
behavior", "morality", "ethics" or "precept". It is an action committed through the
body, speech, or mind, and involves an intentional effort. It is one of the three
practices (sila, samadhi, and panya) and the second pramit. It refers to moral
purity of thought, word, and deed. The four conditions of la are chastity,
calmness, quiet, and extinguishment.
la is the foundation of Samadhi/Bhvana (Meditative cultivation) or mind
cultivation. Keeping the precepts promotes not only the peace of mind of the
cultivator, which is internal, but also peace in the community, which is external.
According to the Law of Karma, keeping the precepts are meritorious and it acts
as causes that would bring about peaceful and happy effects. Keeping these
precepts keeps the cultivator from rebirth in the four woeful realms of existence.
la refers to overall principles of ethical behavior. There are several levels of
sila, which correspond to "basic morality" (five precepts), "basic morality with
asceticism" (eight precepts), "novice monkhood" (ten precepts) and "monkhood"
(Vinaya or Patimokkha). Lay people generally undertake to live by the five
precepts, which are common to all Buddhist schools. If they wish, they can
choose to undertake the eight precepts, which add basic asceticism.

Statue of Gautama Buddha, 1st

century CE, Gandhara. (Muse
Guimet)

The five precepts are training rules in order to live a better life in which one is happy, without worries, and can
meditate well:
1. To refrain from taking life (non-violence towards sentient life forms), or ahims;
2.
3.
4.
5.

To refrain from taking that which is not given (not committing theft);
To refrain from sensual (including sexual) misconduct;
To refrain from lying (speaking truth always);
To refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness (specifically, drugs and alcohol).

The precepts are not formulated as imperatives, but as training rules that laypeople undertake voluntarily to facilitate
practice.[95] In Buddhist thought, the cultivation of dana and ethical conduct themselves refine consciousness to such
a level that rebirth in one of the lower heavens is likely, even if there is no further Buddhist practice. There is
nothing improper or un-Buddhist about limiting one's aims to this level of attainment.[96]
In the eight precepts, the third precept on sexual misconduct is made more strict, and becomes a precept of celibacy.
The three additional precepts are:
6. To refrain from eating at the wrong time (eat only from sunrise to noon);
7. To refrain from dancing and playing music, wearing jewelry and cosmetics, attending shows and other
performances;
8. To refrain from using high or luxurious seats and bedding.

Buddhism

16

The complete list of ten precepts may be observed by laypeople for short periods. For the complete list, the seventh
precept is partitioned into two, and a tenth added:
6. To refrain from taking food at an unseasonable time, that is after the mid-day meal;
7. To refrain from dancing, music, singing and unseemly shows;
8. To refrain from the use of garlands, perfumes, ointments, and from things that tend to beautify and adorn
(the person);
9. To refrain from (using) high and luxurious seats (and beds);
10. To refrain from accepting gold and silver;[97]

Monastic life
Vinaya is the specific moral code for monks and nuns. It includes the
Patimokkha, a set of 227 rules for monks in the Theravadin recension.
The precise content of the vinayapitaka (scriptures on Vinaya) differs
slightly according to different schools, and different schools or
subschools set different standards for the degree of adherence to
Vinaya. Novice-monks use the ten precepts, which are the basic
precepts for monastics.
Regarding the monastic rules, the Buddha constantly reminds his
hearers that it is the spirit that counts. On the other hand, the rules
themselves are designed to assure a satisfying life, and provide a
perfect springboard for the higher attainments. Monastics are instructed by the Buddha to live as "islands unto
themselves". In this sense, living life as the vinaya prescribes it is, as one scholar puts it: "more than merely a means
to an end: it is very nearly the end in itself."[98]
Buddhist monks performing a ceremony in
Hangzhou, China

In Eastern Buddhism, there is also a distinctive Vinaya and ethics contained within the Mahayana Brahmajala Sutra
(not to be confused with the Pali text of that name) for Bodhisattvas, where, for example, the eating of meat is
frowned upon and vegetarianism is actively encouraged (see vegetarianism in Buddhism). In Japan, this has almost
completely displaced the monastic vinaya, and allows clergy to marry.

Meditation
Buddhist meditation is fundamentally concerned with two themes:
transforming the mind and using it to explore itself and other
phenomena.[99] According to Theravada Buddhism the Buddha taught
two types of meditation, samatha meditation (Sanskrit: amatha) and
vipassan meditation (Sanskrit: vipayan). In Chinese Buddhism,
these exist (translated chih kuan), but Chn (Zen) meditation is more
popular.[100] According to Peter Harvey, whenever Buddhism has been
healthy, not only monks, nuns, and married lamas, but also more
committed lay people have practiced meditation.[101] According to
Routledge's Encyclopedia of Buddhism, in contrast, throughout most
Buddhist monks praying in Thailand
of Buddhist history before modern times, serious meditation by lay
[102]
people has been unusual.
The evidence of the early texts suggests
that at the time of the Buddha, many male and female lay practitioners did practice meditation, some even to the
point of proficiency in all eight jhnas (see the next section regarding these).[103]

Buddhism
Samdhi (meditative cultivation): samatha meditation
In the language of the Noble Eightfold Path, samyaksamdhi is "right concentration". The primary means of
cultivating samdhi is meditation. Upon development of samdhi, one's mind becomes purified of defilement, calm,
tranquil, and luminous.
Once the meditator achieves a strong and powerful concentration (jhna, Sanskrit dhyna), his mind is ready to
penetrate and gain insight (vipassan) into the ultimate nature of reality, eventually obtaining release from all
suffering. The cultivation of mindfulness is essential to mental concentration, which is needed to achieve insight.
Samatha meditation starts from being mindful of an object or idea, which is expanded to one's body, mind and entire
surroundings, leading to a state of total concentration and tranquility (jhna) There are many variations in the style
of meditation, from sitting cross-legged or kneeling to chanting or walking. The most common method of meditation
is to concentrate on one's breath (anapanasati), because this practice can lead to both samatha and vipassana'.
In Buddhist practice, it is said that while samatha meditation can calm the mind, only vipassan meditation can
reveal how the mind was disturbed to start with, which is what leads to knowledge (jna; Pli a) and
understanding (praj Pli pa), and thus can lead to nirva (Pli nibbna). When one is in jhana, all defilements
are suppressed temporarily. Only understanding (praj or vipassana) eradicates the defilements completely. Jhanas
are also states that Arahants abide in order to rest.
In Theravda
In Theravda Buddhism, the cause of human existence and suffering is identified as craving, which carries with it the
various defilements. These various defilements are traditionally summed up as greed, hatred and delusion. These are
believed deeply rooted afflictions of the mind that create suffering and stress. To be free from suffering and stress,
these defilements must be permanently uprooted through internal investigation, analyzing, experiencing, and
understanding of the true nature of those defilements by using jhna, a technique of the Noble Eightfold Path. It then
leads the meditator to realize the Four Noble Truths, Enlightenment and Nibbana. Nibbana is the ultimate goal of
Theravadins.
Praj (Wisdom): vipassana meditation
Praj (Sanskrit) or pa (Pli) means wisdom that is based on a realization of dependent origination, The Four
Noble Truths and the three marks of existence. Praj is the wisdom that is able to extinguish afflictions and bring
about bodhi. It is spoken of as the principal means of attaining nirva, through its revelation of the true nature of all
things as dukkha (unsatisfactoriness), anicca (impermanence) and anatta (not-self). Praj is also listed as the sixth
of the six pramits of the Mahayana.
Initially, praj is attained at a conceptual level by means of listening to sermons (dharma talks), reading, studying,
and sometimes reciting Buddhist texts and engaging in discourse. Once the conceptual understanding is attained, it is
applied to daily life so that each Buddhist can verify the truth of the Buddha's teaching at a practical level. Notably,
one could in theory attain Nirvana at any point of practice, whether deep in meditation, listening to a sermon,
conducting the business of one's daily life, or any other activity.

17

Buddhism
Zen
Zen Buddhism (), pronounced Chn in Chinese, seon in Korean or zen in Japanese (derived from the Sanskrit term
dhyna, meaning "meditation") is a form of Buddhism that became popular in China, Korea and Japan and that lays
special emphasis on meditation.[104] Zen places less emphasis on scriptures than some other forms of Buddhism and
prefers to focus on direct spiritual breakthroughs to truth.
Zen Buddhism is divided into two main schools: Rinzai ( ) and St ( ), the former greatly
favouring the use in meditation on the koan ( , a meditative riddle or puzzle) as a device for spiritual
break-through, and the latter (while certainly employing koans) focusing more on shikantaza or "just sitting".[105]
Zen Buddhist teaching is often full of paradox, in order to loosen the grip of the ego and to facilitate the penetration
into the realm of the True Self or Formless Self, which is equated with the Buddha himself.[106] According to Zen
master Kosho Uchiyama, when thoughts and fixation on the little "I" are transcended, an Awakening to a universal,
non-dual Self occurs: "When we let go of thoughts and wake up to the reality of life that is working beyond them, we
discover the Self that is living universal non-dual life (before the separation into two) that pervades all living
creatures and all existence."[107] Thinking and thought must therefore not be allowed to confine and bind one.[108]
Vajrayana and Tantra
Though based upon Mahayana, Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism is one of the schools that practice Vajrayana or
"Diamond Vehicle" (also referred to as Mantrayna, Tantrayna, Tantric Buddhism, or esoteric Buddhism). It
accepts all the basic concepts of Mahyna, but also includes a vast array of spiritual and physical techniques
designed to enhance Buddhist practice. Tantric Buddhism is largely concerned with ritual and meditative
practices.[109] One component of the Vajrayna is harnessing psycho-physical energy through ritual, visualization,
physical exercises, and meditation as a means of developing the mind. Using these techniques, it is claimed that a
practitioner can achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime, or even as little as three years. In the Tibetan tradition, these
practices can include sexual yoga, though only for some very advanced practitioners.[110]

History
Philosophical roots
Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of
ancient India during the second half of the first millennium BCE.[111]
That was a period of social and religious turmoil, as there was
significant discontent with the sacrifices and rituals of Vedic
Brahmanism.[112] It was challenged by numerous new ascetic religious
and philosophical groups and teachings that broke with the Brahmanic
tradition and rejected the authority of the Vedas and the
Brahmans.[113][114] These groups, whose members were known as
shramanas, were a continuation of a non-Vedic strand of Indian
The Buddhist "Carpenter's Cave" at Ellora in
thought distinct from Indo-Aryan Brahmanism.[115][116] Scholars have
Maharashtra, India
reasons to believe that ideas such as samsara, karma (in the sense of
the influence of morality on rebirth), and moksha originated in the
shramanas, and were later adopted by Brahmin orthodoxy.[117][118][119][120][121][122]

18

Buddhism

A ruined Buddhist temple on Gurubhakthula

Konda (konda meaning "hill" in Telugu) in
Ramatheertham village in Vizianagaram, a
district of Andhra Pradesh, India

19
This view is supported by a study of the region where these notions
originated. Buddhism arose in Greater Magadha, which stretched from
Sravasti, the capital of Kosala in the north-west, to Rajagrha in the
south east. This land, to the east of aryavarta, the land of the Aryas,
was recognised as non-Vedic.[123] Other Vedic texts reveal a dislike of
the people of Magadha, in all probability because the Magadhas at this
time were not Brahmanised.[124] It was not until the 2nd or 3rd
centuries BCE that the eastward spread of Brahmanism into Greater
Magadha became significant. Ideas that developed in Greater Magadha
prior to this were not subject to Vedic influence. These include rebirth
and karmic retribution that appear in a number of movements in
Greater Magadha, including Buddhism. These movements inherited
notions of rebirth and karmic retribution from an earlier culture.[125]

At the same time, these movements were influenced by, and in some
respects continued, philosophical thought within the Vedic tradition as
reflected e.g. in the Upanishads.[126] These movements included,
besides Buddhism, various skeptics (such as Sanjaya Belatthiputta),
atomists (such as Pakudha Kaccayana), materialists (such as Ajita
Kesakambali), antinomians (such as Purana Kassapa); the most
important ones in the 5th century BCE were the Ajivikas, who
emphasized the rule of fate, the Lokayata (materialists), the Ajnanas
(agnostics) and the Jains, who stressed that the soul must be freed from
matter.[127]

Rock-cut Lord Buddha statue at Bojjanakonda

near Anakapalle in the Visakhapatnam district of
Andhra Pradesh, India

Many of these new movements shared the same conceptual vocabulary

- atman ("Self"), buddha ("awakened one"), dhamma ("rule" or "law"),
karma ("action"), nirvana ("extinguishing"), samsara ("eternal recurrence") and yoga ("spiritual practice").[112] The
shramanas rejected the Veda, and the authority of the brahmans, who claimed they possessed revealed truths not
knowable by any ordinary human means. Moreover, they declared that the entire Brahmanical system was
fraudulent: a conspiracy of the brahmans to enrich themselves by charging exorbitant fees to perform bogus rites and
give useless advice.[128]
A particular criticism of the Buddha was Vedic animal sacrifice.[84] The Buddha declared that priests reciting the
Vedas were like the blind leading the blind.[129] According to him, those priests who had memorized the Vedas
really knew nothing.[130] He also mocked the Vedic "hymn of the cosmic man".[131] However, the Buddha was not
anti-Vedic, and declared that the Veda in its true form was declared by "Kashyapa" to certain rishis, who by severe
penances had acquired the power to see by divine eyes.[132] He names the Vedic rishis, and declared that the original
Veda of the rishis[133][134] was altered by a few Brahmins who introduced animal sacrifices. The Buddha says that it
was on this alteration of the true Veda that he refused to pay respect to the Vedas of his time.[135] He declared that
the primary goal of Upanishadic thought, the Atman, was in fact non-existent,[136] and, having explained that
Brahminical attempts to achieve liberation at death were futile, proposed his new idea of liberation in life.[137][138]
However, he did not denounce the union with Brahman,[139] or the idea of the self uniting with the Self.[140] At the
same time, the traditional Brahminical religion itself gradually underwent profound changes, transforming it into
what is recognized as early Hinduism.[112][113][141] In particular, the brahmans thus developed "philosophical
systems of their own, meeting the new ideas with adaptations of their doctrines".[142]

Buddhism

20

Indian Buddhism
The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods:[143] Early Buddhism (occasionally called
Pre-sectarian Buddhism), Nikaya Buddhism or Sectarian Buddhism: The period of the Early Buddhist schools, Early
Mahayana Buddhism, Later Mahayana Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism (also called Vajrayana Buddhism).
Pre-sectarian Buddhism
Pre-sectarian Buddhism is the earliest phase of Buddhism, recognized by nearly all scholars. Its main scriptures are
the Vinaya Pitaka and the four principal Nikayas or Agamas. Certain basic teachings appear in many places
throughout the early texts, so most scholars conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to
the Three marks of existence, the Five Aggregates, Dependent origination, Karma and Rebirth, the Four Noble
Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and Nirvana.[144] Some scholars disagree, and have proposed many other
theories.[145][146]
Early Buddhist schools

Painting depicting Buddhaghosa offering his

Visuddhimagga to monks in Mahavihara, the
center of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka

According to the scriptures, soon after the parinirva (from Sanskrit:

"highest extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the first Buddhist
council was held. As with any ancient Indian tradition, transmission of
teaching was done orally. The primary purpose of the assembly was to
collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no errors occurred in
oral transmission. In the first council, nanda, a cousin of the Buddha
and his personal attendant, was called upon to recite the discourses
(stras, Pli suttas) of the Buddha, and, according to some sources, the
abhidhamma. Upli, another disciple, recited the monastic rules
(vinaya). Scholars regard the traditional accounts of the council as
greatly exaggerated if not entirely fictitious.[147]

According to most scholars, at some period after the Second Council

the Sangha began to break into separate factions.[148] The various accounts differ as to when the actual schisms
occurred. According to the Dipavamsa of the Pli tradition, they started immediately after the Second Council, the
Puggalavada tradition places it in 137 AN, the Sarvastivada tradition of Vasumitra says it was in the time of Asoka
and the Mahasanghika tradition places it much later, nearly 100 BCE.
The root schism was between the Sthaviras and the Mahsghikas. The fortunate survival of accounts from both
sides of the dispute reveals disparate traditions. The Sthavira group offers two quite distinct reasons for the schism.
The Dipavamsa of the Theravda says that the losing party in the Second Council dispute broke away in protest and
formed the Mahasanghika. This contradicts the Mahasanghikas' own vinaya, which shows them as on the same,
winning side. The Mahsghikas argued that the Sthaviras were trying to expand the vinaya and may also have
challenged what they perceived were excessive claims or inhumanly high criteria for arhatship. Both parties,
therefore, appealed to tradition.[149]
The Sthaviras gave rise to several schools, one of which was the Theravda school. Originally, these schisms were
caused by disputes over vinaya, and monks following different schools of thought seem to have lived happily
together in the same monasteries, but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being caused by
doctrinal disagreements too.[150]
Following (or leading up to) the schisms, each Sagha started to accumulate an Abhidharma, a detailed scholastic
reworking of doctrinal material appearing in the Suttas, according to schematic classifications. These Abhidharma
texts do not contain systematic philosophical treatises, but summaries or numerical lists. Scholars generally date
these texts to around the 3rd century BCE, 100 to 200 years after the death of the Buddha. Therefore the seven

Buddhism

21

Abhidharma works are generally claimed not to represent the words of the Buddha himself, but those of disciples
and great scholars.[151] Every school had its own version of the Adhidharma, with different theories and different
texts. The different Adhidharmas of the various schools did not agree with each other. Scholars disagree on whether
the Mahasanghika school had an Abhidhamma Pitaka or not.[151][152]
Early Mahayana Buddhism
The origins of Mahyna, which formed between 100 BCE and 100
AD,[] are still not completely understood.[153] The earliest views of
Mahyna Buddhism in the West assumed that it existed as a separate
school in competition with the so-called "Hnayna" schools. The split
was on the order of the European Protestant Reformation, which
divided Christians into Catholic and Protestant.[] Due to the veneration
of buddhas and bodhisattvas, Mahyna was often interpreted as a
more devotional, lay-inspired form of Buddhism, with supposed
origins in stpa veneration.[154] The old views of Mahyna as a
lay-inspired sect are now largely considered misguided and wrong.[155]

A Buddhist triad depicting, left to right, a

Kushan, the future buddha Maitreya, Gautama
Buddha, the bodhisattva Avalokitevara, and a
Buddhist monk. 2nd3rd century. Muse
Guimet

There is no evidence that Mahyna ever referred to a separate formal

school or sect of Buddhism, but rather that it existed as a certain set of
ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas.[156] Initially it was known as Bodhisattvayna (the "Vehicle of the
Bodhisattvas").[] Paul Williams has also noted that the Mahyna never had nor ever attempted to have a separate
Vinaya or ordination lineage from the early schools of Buddhism, and therefore each bhiku or bhiku adhering to
the Mahyna formally belonged to an early school. This continues today with the Dharmaguptaka ordination
lineage in East Asia, and the Mlasarvstivda ordination lineage in Tibetan Buddhism. Therefore Mahyna was
never a separate rival sect of the early schools.[157] From Chinese monks visiting India, we now know that both
Mahyna and non-Mahyna monks in India often lived in the same monasteries side by side.[158]
The Chinese monk Yijing who visited India in the 7th century CE,
distinguishes Mahyna from Hnayna as follows:[159]
Both adopt one and the same Vinaya, and they have in common
the prohibitions of the five offences, and also the practice of the
Four Noble Truths. Those who venerate the bodhisattvas and
read the Mahyna stras are called the Mahynists, while
those who do not perform these are called the Hnaynists.
Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahyna comes
from early Chinese translations of Mahyna texts. These Mahyna
Buddhas of Bamiyan: Vairocana before and after
teachings were first propagated into China by Lokakema, the first
destruction by the Taliban in 2001
translator of Mahyna stras into Chinese during the 2nd century
CE.[160] Some scholars have traditionally considered the earliest
Mahyna stras to include the very first versions of the Prajpramit series, along with texts concerning
Akobhya Buddha, which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India.[161][162][163]

Buddhism

22

Late Mahayana Buddhism

During the period of Late Mahayana Buddhism, four major types of thought developed: Madhyamaka, Yogacara,
Tathagatagarbha, and Buddhist Logic as the last and most recent.[164] In India, the two main philosophical schools of
the Mahayana were the Madhyamaka and the later Yogacara.[165] According to Dan Lusthaus, Madhyamaka and
Yogacara have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early Buddhism.[166] There were no great
Indian teachers associated with tathagatagarbha thought.[167]
Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism)
Scholarly research concerning Esoteric Buddhism is still in its early stages and has a number of problems that make
research difficult:[168]
1. Vajrayana Buddhism was influenced by Hinduism, and therefore research must include explore Hinduism as
well.
2. The scriptures of Vajrayana have not yet been put in any kind of order.
3. Ritual must be examined as well, not just doctrine.

Development of Buddhism

Buddhist proselytism at the time of emperor

Ashoka (260218 BCE).

Buddhism may have spread only slowly in India until the time of the
Mauryan emperor Ashoka, who was a public supporter of the religion.
The support of Aoka and his descendants led to the construction of
more stpas (Buddhist religious memorials) and to efforts to spread
Buddhism throughout the enlarged Maurya empire and even into
neighboring landsparticularly to the Iranian-speaking regions of
Afghanistan and Central Asia, beyond the Mauryas' northwest border,
and to the island of Sri Lanka south of India. These two missions, in
opposite directions, would ultimately lead, in the first case to the
spread of Buddhism into China, and in the second case, to the
emergence of Theravda Buddhism and its spread from Sri Lanka to
the coastal lands of Southeast Asia.
This period marks the first known spread of Buddhism beyond India.
According to the edicts of Aoka, emissaries were sent to various
countries west of India to spread Buddhism (Dharma), particularly in
eastern provinces of the neighboring Seleucid Empire, and even farther
to Hellenistic kingdoms of the Mediterranean. It is a matter of
disagreement among scholars whether or not these emissaries were
accompanied by Buddhist missionaries.[169]

The gradual spread of Buddhism into adjacent areas meant that it came
into contact with new ethnical groups. During this period Buddhism
Coin depicting Indo-Greek king Menander, who,
was
exposed to a variety of influences, from Persian and Greek
according to Buddhist tradition records in the
civilization, to changing trends in non-Buddhist Indian
Milinda Panha, converted to the Buddhist faith
and became an arhat in the 2nd century BCE .
religionsthemselves influenced by Buddhism. Striking examples of
(British Museum)
this syncretistic development can be seen in the emergence of
Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs in the Indo-Greek Kingdom, and
in the development of the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhra. A Greek king, Menander, has even been immortalized in
the Buddhist canon.

Buddhism

23

The Theravada school spread south from India in the 3rd century BCE, to Sri Lanka and Thailand and Burma and
later also Indonesia. The Dharmagupta school spread (also in 3rd century BCE) north to Kashmir, Gandhara and
Bactria (Afghanistan).
The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to China is most commonly thought to have started in the late 2nd or the
1st century CE, though the literary sources are all open to question.[170][171] The first documented translation efforts
by foreign Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the
Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory of the Tarim Basin.[172]
In the 2nd century CE, Mahayana Sutras spread to China, and then to Korea and Japan, and were translated into
Chinese. During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from
India to Tibet and Mongolia.

Buddhism today
By the late Middle Ages, Buddhism had become virtually extinct in India, and
although it continued to exist in surrounding countries, its influence was no
longer expanding. It is now again gaining strength worldwide.[173][174] Estimates
of the number of Buddhist followers by scholars range from 550 million to 1.691
billion. Most scholars classify similar numbers of people under a category they
call "Chinese folk" or "traditional" religion, an amalgam of various traditions that
includes Buddhism.

Polish Buddhists

Formal membership varies between communities, but basic lay adherence is

often defined in terms of a traditional formula in which the practitioner takes
refuge in The Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings of the
Buddha), and the Sangha (the Buddhist community).
Estimates are uncertain for several reasons:
difficulties in defining who counts as a Buddhist;
syncretism among the Eastern religions. Buddhism is practiced by adherents
alongside many other religious traditions- including Taoism, Confucianism,
Shinto, traditional religions, shamanism, and animism- throughout East and
Southeast Asia.[175][176][177][178][179][180][181]

Map showing regions where

Buddhism is a major religion

difficulties in estimating the number of Buddhists who do not have congregational memberships and often do not
participate in public ceremonies;[182]
official policies on religion in several historically Buddhist countries that make accurate assessments of religious
adherence more difficult; most notably China, Vietnam and North Korea.[183][184][185] In many current and
former Communist governments in Asia, government policies may discourage adherents from reporting their
religious identity, or may encourage official counts to underestimate religious adherence.
China and India are now starting to fund Buddhist shrines in various Asian countries as they compete for influence in
the region.[186]

Buddhism

Late 20th Century Buddhist Movements

A number of modern movements or tendencies in Buddhism emerged during the second half of the 20th Century,
including the Dalit Buddhist movement[][] (also sometimes called 'neo-Buddhism'), Engaged Buddhism, and the
further development of various Western Buddhist traditions.

Demographics
According to one analysis, Buddhism is the
fourth-largest religion in the world behind
Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.[194] The
monks' order (Sangha), which began during
the lifetime of the Buddha, is among the
oldest organizations on earth. Buddhism was
the first world religion[195][196][197] and was
the world's largest religion in the first half of
the 20th century in 1951 Buddhism was
the world's largest religion with 520 million
Percentage of cultural/nominal adherents of combined Buddhism with its related
religions (according to the highest
adherents. By comparison, the second
[187][188][189][190][191][192][193][]
estimates).
largest was Christianity with 500 million
adherents.[198][199][200][201][202][203][204][205][206][207][208][209]
Theravada Buddhism, using Sanskrit and Pli as its scriptural languages, is the dominant form of Buddhism in
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma. The Dalit Buddhist movement in India (inspired by B. R.
Ambedkar) also practices Theravada. Approximately 124 million adherents.[210]
East Asian forms of Mahayana Buddhism that use Chinese scriptures are dominant in most of China, Japan,
Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam as well as such communities within Indochina, Southeast Asia and the
West. Vietnam and Singapore are major concentrations of Mahayana Buddhism in Southeast Asia.
Approximately 500 million to one billion.[211]
Tibetan Buddhism is found in Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, areas of India (it's the majority religion in Ladakh;
significant population in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim), China (particularly in Tibet and
Inner Mongolia), and Russia (Kalmyk Autonomous Republic). Approximately 20 million adherents.[210]
Most Buddhist groups in the West are at least nominally affiliated with one of these three traditions.
At the present time, the teachings of all three branches of Buddhism have spread throughout the world, and Buddhist
texts are increasingly translated into local languages. While in the West Buddhism is often seen as exotic and
progressive, in the East it is regarded as familiar and traditional. Buddhists in Asia are frequently well organized and
well funded. In a number of countries, it is recognized as an official religion and receives state support. Modern
influences increasingly lead to new forms of Buddhism that significantly depart from traditional beliefs and
practices.
Overall there is an overwhelming diversity of recent forms of Buddhism.[212]

24

Buddhism

25

Schools and traditions

Buddhists generally classify themselves as either Theravada or
Mahayana.[213] This classification is also used by some
scholars[214]Wikipedia:Citing sources and is the one ordinarily used in
the English language.[215] An alternative scheme used by some
scholars[216] divides Buddhism into the following three traditions or
geographical or cultural areas: Theravada, East Asian Buddhism and
Tibetan Buddhism.
Some scholars[217] use other schemes. Buddhists themselves have a
variety of other schemes. Hinayana (literally "lesser vehicle") is used
A young monk
by Mahayana followers to name the family of early philosophical
schools and traditions from which contemporary Theravada emerged, but as this term is rooted in the Mahayana
viewpoint and can be considered derogatory, a variety of other terms are increasingly used instead, including
rvakayna, Nikaya Buddhism, early Buddhist schools, sectarian Buddhism, conservative Buddhism, mainstream
Buddhism and non-Mahayana Buddhism.
Not all traditions of Buddhism share the same philosophical outlook, or treat the same concepts as central. Each
tradition, however, does have its own core concepts, and some comparisons can be drawn between them. For
example, according to one Buddhist ecumenical organization,[218] several concepts common to both major Buddhist
branches:
Both accept the Buddha as their teacher.
Both accept the Middle way, Dependent origination, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and the
Three marks of existence.
Both accept that members of the laity and of the sangha can pursue the path toward enlightenment (bodhi).
Both consider buddhahood the highest attainment.

Timeline
This is a rough timeline of the development of the different schools/traditions:
Timeline: Development and propagation of Buddhist traditions (ca. 450 BCE ca. 1300 CE)
[219]

450 BCE

India

Early
Sangha

SriLanka&
SoutheastAsia

250 BCE

100 CE

Early Buddhist schools

500 CE

Mahayana

700 CE 800 CE

1200 CE

Vajrayana

Theravada Buddhism

CentralAsia

Greco-Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Silk Road Buddhism

EastAsia

Chn, Tiantai, Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren

450 BCE

250 BCE

100 CE

500 CE

700 CE 800 CE

Shingon

1200 CE

[220]

Buddhism

26

Legend: = Theravada tradition = Mahayana traditions = Vajrayana traditions

Theravada school
Theravada ("Doctrine of the Elders", or "Ancient Doctrine") is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It is relatively
conservative, and generally closest to early Buddhism.[221] This school is derived from the Vibhajjavda grouping
that emerged amongst the older Sthavira group at the time of the Third Buddhist Council (c. 250 BCE). This school
gradually declined on the Indian subcontinent, but its branch in Sri Lanka and South East Asia continues to survive.
The Theravada school bases its practice and doctrine exclusively on the Pli Canon and its commentaries. After
being orally transmitted for a few centuries, its scriptures, the Pali Canon, were finally committed to writing in the
1st century BCE, in Sri Lanka, at what the Theravada usually reckon as the fourth council. It is also one of the first
Buddhist schools to commit the complete set of its canon into writing.[citation needed] The Sutta collections and Vinaya
texts of the Pli Canon (and the corresponding texts in other versions of the Tripitaka), are generally considered by
modern scholars to be the earliest Buddhist literature, and they are accepted as authentic in every branch of
Buddhism.
Theravda is primarily practiced today in Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia as well as small portions of
China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bangladesh. It has a growing presence in Europe and America.
Theravadin Buddhists think that personal effort is required to realize rebirth. Meditation is done by forest monks for
the most part, while village monks teach and serve their lay communities. Laypersons can perform good actions,
producing merit that can be traded to the gods who may reward it with material benefits.[222]

Mahayana traditions
Mahayana Buddhism flourished in India from the 5th century CE onwards,
during the dynasty of the Guptas. Mahyna centres of learning were established,
the most important one being the Nland University in north-eastern India.
Mahayana schools recognize all or part of the Mahayana Sutras. Some of these
sutras became for Mahayanists a manifestation of the Buddha himself, and faith
in and veneration of those texts are stated in some sutras (e.g. the Lotus Sutra and
the Mahaparinirvana Sutra) to lay the foundations for the later attainment of
Buddhahood itself.

Chinese and Central Asian monks.

Bezeklik, Eastern Tarim Basin,
China, 9th10th century. (National
Institute of Informatics and the Ty
Bunko)

Buddhism

27
Native Mahayana Buddhism is practiced today in China, Japan, Korea,
Singapore, parts of Russia and most of Vietnam (also commonly referred to as
"Eastern Buddhism"). The Buddhism practiced in Tibet, the Himalayan regions,
and Mongolia is also Mahayana in origin, but is discussed below under the
heading of Vajrayana (also commonly referred to as "Northern Buddhism".
There are a variety of strands in Eastern Buddhism, of which "the Pure Land
school of Mahayana is the most widely practised today.".[223] In most of this area
however, they are fused into a single unified form of Buddhism. In Japan in
particular, they form separate denominations with the five major ones being:
Nichiren, peculiar to Japan; Pure Land; Shingon, a form of Vajrayana; Tendai,
and Zen. In Korea, nearly all Buddhists belong to the Chogye school, which is
officially Son (Zen), but with substantial elements from other traditions.[224]

Japanese Mahayana Buddhist monk

with alms bowl

Vajrayana traditions
The Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism spread to China, Mongolia, and
Tibet. In Tibet, Vajrayana has always been a main component of
Tibetan Buddhism, while in China it formed a separate sect. However,
Vajrayana Buddhism became extinct in China but survived in elements
of Japan's Shingon and Tendai sects.
There are differing views as to just when Vajrayna and its tantric
practice started. In the Tibetan tradition, it is claimed that the historical
kyamuni Buddha taught tantra, but as these are esoteric teachings,
they were passed on orally first and only written down long after the
Buddha's other teachings. Nland University became a center for the
development of Vajrayna theory and continued as the source of
leading-edge Vajrayna practices up through the 11th century. These
practices, scriptures and theories were transmitted to China, Tibet,
Indochina and Southeast Asia. China generally received Indian
transmission up to the 11th century including tantric practice, while a
vast amount of what is considered Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayna)
stems from the late (9th12th century) Nland tradition.

Bodhnath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal

In one of the first major contemporary academic treatises on the subject, Fairfield University professor Ronald M.
Davidson argues that the rise of Vajrayana was in part a reaction to the changing political climate in India at the
time. With the fall of the Gupta dynasty, in an increasingly fractious political environment, institutional Buddhism
had difficulty attracting patronage, and the folk movement led by siddhas became more prominent. After perhaps
two hundred years, it had begun to get integrated into the monastic establishment.[225]Wikipedia:Citing sources
Vajrayana combined and developed a variety of elements, a number of which had already existed for centuries.[226]
In addition to the Mahyna scriptures, Vajrayna Buddhists recognise a large body of Buddhist Tantras, some of
which are also included in Chinese and Japanese collections of Buddhist literature, and versions of a few even in the
Pali Canon.

Buddhism

28

Buddhist texts
Buddhist scriptures and other texts exist in great variety. Different
schools of Buddhism place varying levels of value on learning the
various texts. Some schools venerate certain texts as religious objects
in themselves, while others take a more scholastic approach. Buddhist
scriptures are mainly written in Pli, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese.
Some texts still exist in Sanskrit and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit.
Unlike many religions, Buddhism has no single central text that is
universally referred to by all traditions. However, some scholars have
referred to the Vinaya Pitaka and the first four Nikayas of the Sutta
Pitaka as the common core of all Buddhist traditions.[227] This could be
considered misleading, as Mahyna considers these merely a
preliminary, and not a core, teaching. The Tibetan Buddhists have not
even translated most of the gamas (though theoretically they
Buddhist monk Geshe Konchog Wangdu reads
recognize
them) and they play no part in the religious life of either
Mahayana sutras from an old woodblock copy of
the Tibetan Kanjur.
clergy or laity in China and Japan.[228] Other scholars say there is no
universally accepted common core.[229] The size and complexity of the
Buddhist canons have been seen by some (including Buddhist social reformer Babasaheb Ambedkar) as presenting
barriers to the wider understanding of Buddhist philosophy.
The followers of Theravda Buddhism take the scriptures known as the Pli Canon as definitive and authoritative,
while the followers of Mahyna Buddhism base their faith and philosophy primarily on the Mahyna stras and
their own vinaya. The Pli sutras, along with other, closely related scriptures, are known to the other schools as the
gamas.
Over the years, various attempts have been made to synthesize a single Buddhist text that can encompass all of the
major principles of Buddhism. In the Theravada tradition, condensed 'study texts' were created that combined
popular or influential scriptures into single volumes that could be studied by novice monks. Later in Sri Lanka, the
Dhammapada was championed as a unifying scripture.
Dwight Goddard collected a sample of Buddhist scriptures, with the emphasis on Zen, along with other classics of
Eastern philosophy, such as the Tao Te Ching, into his 'Buddhist Bible' in the 1920s. More recently, Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar attempted to create a single, combined document of Buddhist principles in "The Buddha and His
Dhamma" [230]. Other such efforts have persisted to present day, but currently there is no single text that represents
all Buddhist traditions.

Pli Tipitaka

Buddhism

29

Pli Canon
Vinaya Pitaka

Suttavibhanga
Khandhaka
Parivara

Sutta Pitaka

Digha Nikaya
Majjhima Nikaya
Samyutta Nikaya
Anguttara Nikaya
Khuddaka Nikaya

Abhidhamma Pitaka

Dhammasangani

Vibhanga

Dhatukatha and Puggalapannatti

Kathavatthu

Yamaka

Patthana

The Pli Tipitaka, which means "three baskets", refers to the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka, and the Abhidhamma
Pitaka. The Vinaya Pitaka contains disciplinary rules for the Buddhist monks and nuns, as well as explanations of
why and how these rules were instituted, supporting material, and doctrinal clarification. The Sutta Pitaka contains
discourses ascribed to Gautama Buddha. The Abhidhamma Pitaka contains material often described as systematic
expositions of the Gautama Buddha's teachings.
The Pli Tipitaka is the only early Tipitaka (Sanskrit: Tripiaka) to survive intact in its original language, but a
number of early schools had their own recensions of the Tipitaka featuring much of the same material. We have
portions of the Tipitakas of the Srvstivda, Dharmaguptaka, Sammitya, Mahsaghika, Kyapya, and
Mahsaka schools, most of which survive in Chinese translation only. According to some sources, some early
schools of Buddhism had five or seven pitakas.[231]
According to the scriptures, soon after the death of the Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held; a monk named
Mahkyapa (Pli: Mahkassapa) presided. The goal of the council was to record the Buddha's teachings. Upli
recited the vinaya. nanda, the Buddha's personal attendant, was called upon to recite the dhamma. These became
the basis of the Tripitaka. However, this record was initially transmitted orally in form of chanting, and was
committed to text in the last century BCE. Both the stras and the vinaya of every Buddhist school contain a wide
variety of elements including discourses on the Dharma, commentaries on other teachings, cosmological and
cosmogonical texts, stories of the Gautama Buddha's previous lives, and various other subjects.
Much of the material in the Canon is not specifically "Theravadin", but is instead the collection of teachings that this
school preserved from the early, non-sectarian body of teachings. According to Peter Harvey, it contains material at
odds with later Theravadin orthodoxy. He states: "The Theravadins, then, may have added texts to the Canon for
some time, but they do not appear to have tampered with what they already had from an earlier period."[232]

Buddhism

30

Mahayana sutras
The Mahayana sutras are a very broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that
the Mahayana Buddhist tradition holds are original teachings of the
Buddha. Some adherents of Mahayana accept both the early teachings
(including in this the Sarvastivada Abhidharma, which was criticized
by Nagarjuna and is in fact opposed to early Buddhist thought[233]) and
the Mahayana sutras as authentic teachings of Gautama Buddha, and
claim they were designed for different types of persons and different
levels of spiritual understanding.
The Mahayana sutras often claim to articulate the Buddha's deeper,
more advanced doctrines, reserved for those who follow the
bodhisattva path. That path is explained as being built upon the
motivation to liberate all living beings from unhappiness. Hence the
name Mahyna (lit., the Great Vehicle).

The Tripiaka Koreana in South Korea, an edition

of the Chinese Buddhist canon carved and
preserved in over 81,000 wood printing blocks.

According to Mahayana tradition, the Mahayana sutras were transmitted in secret, came from other Buddhas or
Bodhisattvas, or were preserved in non-human worlds because human beings at the time could not understand
them:[234]
Some of our sources maintain the authenticity of certain other texts not found in the canons of these schools
(the early schools). These texts are those held genuine by the later school, not one of the eighteen, which
arrogated to itself the title of Mahayana, 'Great Vehicle'. According to the Mahayana historians these texts
were admittedly unknown to the early schools of Buddhists. However, they had all been promulgated by the
Buddha. [The Buddha's] followers on earth, the sravakas ('pupils'), had not been sufficiently advanced to
understand them, and hence were not given them to remember, but they were taught to various supernatural
beings and then preserved in such places as the Dragon World.
Approximately six hundred Mahayana sutras have survived in Sanskrit or in Chinese or Tibetan translations. In
addition, East Asian Buddhism recognizes some sutras regarded by scholars as of Chinese rather than Indian origin.
Generally, scholars conclude that the Mahayana scriptures were composed from the 1st century CE onwards: "Large
numbers of Mahayana sutras were being composed in the period between the beginning of the common era and the
fifth century",[235] five centuries after the historical Gautama Buddha. Some of these had their roots in other
scriptures composed in the 1st century BCE. It was not until after the 5th century CE that the Mahayana sutras
started to influence the behavior of mainstream Buddhists in India: "But outside of texts, at least in India, at exactly
the same period, very differentin fact seemingly olderideas and aspirations appear to be motivating actual
behavior, and old and established Hinnayana groups appear to be the only ones that are patronized and
supported."[235] These texts were apparently not universally accepted among Indian Buddhists when they appeared;
the pejorative label hinayana was applied by Mahayana supporters to those who rejected the Mahayana sutras.
Only the Theravada school does not include the Mahayana scriptures in its canon. As the modern Theravada school
is descended from a branch of Buddhism that diverged and established itself in Sri Lanka prior to the emergence of
the Mahayana texts, debate exists as to whether the Theravada were historically included in the hinayana
designation; in the modern era, this label is seen as derogatory, and is generally avoided.
Scholar Isabelle Onians asserts that although "the Mahyna ... very occasionally referred contemptuously to earlier
Buddhism as the Hinayna, the Inferior Way," "the preponderance of this name in the secondary literature is far out
of proportion to occurrences in the Indian texts." She notes that the term rvakayna was "the more politically
correct and much more usual" term used by Mahynists.[236] Jonathan Silk has argued that the term "Hinayana" was
used to refer to whomever one wanted to criticize on any given occasion, and did not refer to any definite grouping
of Buddhists.[237]

Buddhism

Comparative studies
Buddhism provides many opportunities for comparative study with a diverse range of subjects. For example,
Buddhism's emphasis on the Middle way not only provides a unique guideline for ethics but has also allowed
Buddhism to peacefully coexist with various differing beliefs, customs and institutions in countries where it has
resided throughout its history. Also, its moral and spiritual parallels with other systems of thoughtfor example,
with various tenets of Christianityhave been subjects of close study. In addition, the Buddhist concept of
dependent origination has been compared to modern scientific thought, as well as Western metaphysics.

Is Buddhism a religion?
There are differences of opinion on the question of whether or not Buddhism should be considered a religion. Many
sources commonly refer to Buddhism as a religion. For example:
Peter Harvey states: "The English term 'Buddhism' correctly indicates that the religion is characterized by
devotion to 'the Buddha', 'Buddhas', or 'buddhahood'."[238]
Joseph Goldstein states: "Although there are many difference among the various religions of the world, and
among the various schools of Buddhism itself, there is also a great deal in common..."[239]
Other sources note that the answer to this question depends upon how religion is defined. For example:
Surya Das states: "For Buddhism is less a theology or religion than a promise that certain meditative practices and
mind trainings can effectively show us how to awaken our Buddha-nature and liberate us from suffering and
confusion."[240]
B. Alan Wallace states: "When we in the West first engage with Buddhism, it is almost inevitable that we bring
out one of our familiar stereotypes and apply it to Buddhism, calling it simply a 'religion.'... But Buddhism has
never been simply a religion as we define it in the West. From the very beginning it has also had philosophical
elements, as well as empirical and rational elements that may invite the term 'science.'"[241]
Rupert Gethin states: "I am not concerned here to pronounce on a question that is sometimes asked of Buddhism:
is it a religion? Obviously it depends on how one defines a religion. What is certain, however, is that Buddhism
does not involve belief in a creator God who has control over human destiny, nor does it seek to define itself by
reference to a creed; as Edward Conze has pointed out, it took over 2,000 years and a couple of Western converts
to Buddhism to provide it with a creed. On the other hand, Buddhism views activities that would be generally
understood as religioussuch as devotional practices and ritualsas a legitimate, useful, and even essential part
of the practice and training that leads to the cessation of suffering.[242] Gethin points out that some key
differences between Buddhism and conventionally considered Western religions are that Buddhism does not
assert a belief in a creator god, nor does it define itself by a particular creed. On the other hand, Gethin notes,
Buddhist practice often includes devotional practices and ritual, which are typically associated with religious
belief.[242]
Damien Keown states: "Problems [...] confront us as soon as we try to define what Buddhism is. Is it a religion? A
philosophy? A way of life? A code of ethics? It is not easy to classify Buddhism as any of these things, and it
challenges us to rethink some of these categories. What, for example, do we mean by religion? Most people
would say that religion has something to do with belief in God. [...] If belief in God in this sense is the essence of
religion, then Buddhism cannot be a religion. [...] Some have suggested that a new category that of the
non-theistic religion is needed to encompass Buddhism. Another possibility is that our original definition is
simply too narrow.[243]
The Dalai Lama states: "From one viewpoint, Buddhism is a religion, from another viewpoint Buddhism is a
science of mind and not a religion. Buddhism can be a bridge between these two sides. Therefore, with this
conviction I try to have closer ties with scientists, mainly in the fields of cosmology, psychology, neurobiology
and physics. In these fields there are insights to share, and to a certain extent we can work together."[244]

31

Buddhism
Ilkka_Pyysiinen states: "There are thus great difficulties involved in conceptualizing religion as belief in god(s),
superhuman agents, etc., although we intuitively think that some such beings, nevertheless, are essential in
religion. As is well-known, Buddhism is the favorite example of scholars who have argued that we should find
some other way of defining religion than the one based on the idea of belief in gods or superhuman beings." and
"Buddhism does not have to be the problematic touchstone for a global concept of religion."[245]
Martin Southwold states: "It is argued that Buddhism, though non-theistic, resembles other religions in depending
on mystical notions; it is shown how this contributes to understanding the social functions of religions."[246]
Walpola Rahula states: "The question has often been asked: Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy? It does not
matter what you call it. Buddhism remains what it is whatever label you may put on it. The label is immaterial.
Even the label 'Buddhism' which we give to the teaching of the Buddha is of little importance. The name one
gives it is inessential. What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet. In
the same way Truth needs no label: it is neither Buddhist, Christian, Hindu nor Moslem. It is not the monopoly of
anybody. Sectarian labels are a hindrance to the independent understanding of Truth, and they produce harmful
prejudices in men's minds."[247]

Notes
[1] "Buddhism". (2009). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved November 26, 2009, from Encyclopdia Britannica Online Library Edition.
[2] Gethin (1998), Foundations, pp. 2728, pp. 7374
[3] Major Religions Ranked by Size (http:/ / www. adherents. com/ Religions_By_Adherents. html#Buddhism); U.S. State Department's
International Religious Freedom Report 2004. http:/ / www. state. gov/ g/ drl/ rls/ irf/ 2004/ Accessed 20 September 2008; Garfinkel, Perry.
"Buddha Rising", National Geographic Dec. 2005: 88109; CIA - The World Factbook (https:/ / www. cia. gov/ library/ publications/
the-world-factbook/ geos/ xx. html#People)
[4] Lopez, Story of Buddhism. p. 239
[5] Lopez, Buddhism. p. 248
[6] http:/ / www. thedhamma. com/ buddhists_in_the_world. htm
[7] http:/ / www. dhammawiki. com/ index. php?title=Buddhists_in_the_world
[8] http:/ / www. pbs. org/ thebuddha/ blog/ 2010/ mar/ 17/ how-buddhism-came-west-maia-duerr/
[9] http:/ / www. proutglobe. org/ 2012/ 01/ buddhism-may-regain-its-status-as-the-worlds-largest-religion/
[10] http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ religion/ 5977093/ Buddhism-is-fastest-growing-religion-in-English-jails-over-past-decade. html
[11] http:/ / www. asiantribune. com/ ?q=node/ 10418
[12] http:/ / www. abc. net. au/ stateline/ wa/ content/ 2006/ s1947996. htm
[13] Robinson et al., Buddhist Religions, page xx; Philosophy East and West, vol 54, ps 269f; Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1st ed.,
1989, pp. 275f (2nd ed., 2008, p. 266)
[15] Swearer, Donald. Becoming the Buddha. 2004. p. 177
[16] Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism Vol. 1, p. 352
[18] Carrithers, Michael. "The Buddha", in the Oxford University paperback Founders of Faith, 1986, p. 10.
[20] Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988,
page 49.
[21] UNESCO, Lumbini is the birthplace of the Lord Buddha (http:/ / whc. unesco. org/ en/ list/ 666), Gethin Foundations, p. 19, which states
that in the mid-3rd century BCE the Emperor Ashoka determined that Lumbini was Gautama's birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with
the inscription: "... this is where the Buddha, sage of the kyas (kyamuni), was born."
[22] For instance, Gethin Foundations, p. 14, states: "The earliest Buddhist sources state that the future Buddha was born Siddhrtha Gautama
(Pali Siddhattha Gotama), the son of a local chieftaina rjanin Kapilavastu (Pali Kapilavatthu) what is now the IndianNepalese border."
However, Professor Gombrich (Theravda Buddhism, p. 1) and the old but specialized study by Edward Thomas, The Life of the Buddha,
ascribe the name Siattha/fitta to later sources.
[26] Keown, Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 267
[27] Skilton, Concise, p. 25
[28] Smith, Huston & Novak, Philip, Buddhism: A Concise Introduction,HarperCollins 2003, p.116
[29] Journal of Buddhist Ethics: "Zen as a Social Ethics of Responsiveness" (http:/ / www. buddhistethics. org/ 13/ zse1-kasulis. pdf) (PDF), T.
P. Kasulis, Ohio State University
[30] Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 40
[31]
[32]
[33]
[34]

Dr. Richard K. Payne (ed.), Tantric Buddhism in East Asia, Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2006, p. 74
Keown, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 107
Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 34
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume Two), p. 711

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Buddhism
[35] The 31 Planes of Existence (http:/ / www. buddhanet. net/ pdf_file/ allexistence. pdf) (PDF), Ven. Suvanno Mahathera
[36] Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 33
[37] Andr Bareau, Les Sectes bouddhiques du Petit Vhicule, cole Franaise d'Extrme-Orient, Saigon, 1955, pp. 212223: the top of p. 212
says: "Here are the theses of the Theravadins of the Mahavihara"; then begins a numbered list of doctrines over the following pages, including
on p. 223: "There are only five destinies ... the kalakanjika asuras have the same colour, same nourishment, same foods, same lifespan as the
petas, with whom ... they marry. As for the Vepacittiparisa, they have the same colour, same nourishment, same foods, same lifespan as the
gods, with whom they marry."(Translated from the French)
[38] Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Vol. 1, p. 377
[39] The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Translator. Wisdom Publications.
[40] See the article Four Noble Truths for further details and citations. In particular, the section "The four truths" within that article provides a
footnote showing variety of translations of these four statements.
[41] See the article Dukkha for further details and citations.
[42] Ajahn Sucitto 2010, p.87-88.
[43] Gethin 1998, p.82.
[44] Armstrong, p. 77.
[45] Nhat Hahn, Thich, p. 36.
[47] and
[49] Kohn, Shambhala, pp. 131, 143
[50] Jeffrey Po, "Is Buddhism a Pessimistic Way of Life?" (http:/ / www. 4ui. com/ eart/ 172eart1. htm)
[51] Thanissaro Bhikkhu, The Not-Self Strategy (http:/ / www. accesstoinsight. org/ lib/ authors/ thanissaro/ notself. html), See Point 3The Canon
quote Thanissaro Bhikkhu draws attention to is the Sabbasava Sutta (http:/ / www. accesstoinsight. org/ tipitaka/ mn/ mn. 002. than.
html#ayoniso).
[52] This twelve nidana scheme can be found, for instance, in multiple discourses in chapter 12 of the Samyutta NikayaNidana Vagga (e.g., see
SN 12.2, Thanissaro, 1997a) (http:/ / www. accesstoinsight. org/ tipitaka/ sn/ sn12/ sn12. 002. than. html). Other "applications" of what might
be termed "mundane dependent origination" include the nine-nidana scheme of Digha Nikaya 15 (e.g., Thanissaro, 1997b) (http:/ / www.
accesstoinsight. org/ tipitaka/ dn/ dn. 15. 0. than. html) and the ten-nidana scheme of Samyutta Nikaya 12.65 (e.g., Thanissaro, 1997c). (http:/ /
www. accesstoinsight. org/ tipitaka/ sn/ sn12/ sn12. 065. than. html) So-called "transcendental dependent origination" (also involving twelve
nidanas) is described in Samyutta Nikaya 12.23 (e.g., see Bodhi, 1995). (http:/ / www. accesstoinsight. org/ lib/ authors/ bodhi/ wheel277.
html) In addition, Digha Nikaya 15 describes an eleven-nidana scheme (starting with "feeling") that leads to interpersonal suffering ("the
taking up of sticks and knives; conflicts, quarrels, and disputes; accusations, divisive speech, and lies").
[53] Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 56
[54] Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 57
[55] Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 58
[56] Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 59
[57] Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 60
[58] Christian Lindtner, Master of Wisdom. Dharma Publishing 1997, p. 324.
[59] Dan Lusthaus, "What is and isn't Yogacara" (http:/ / www. acmuller. net/ yogacara/ articles/ intro-uni. htm)
[60] Williams, Paul. Buddhist Thought. Routledge 2000, page 161.
[61] raga, Pali-English Dictionary (http:/ / dsal. uchicago. edu/ cgi-bin/ philologic/ getobject. pl?c. 3:1:489. pali), The Pali Text Society
[62] dosa, Pali-English Dictionary (http:/ / dsal. uchicago. edu/ cgi-bin/ philologic/ getobject. pl?c. 1:1:2598. pali), The Pali Text Society
[63] moha, Pali-English Dictionary (http:/ / dsal. uchicago. edu/ cgi-bin/ philologic/ getobject. pl?c. 3:1:229. pali), The Pali Text Society
[64] Richard F. Gombrich, How Buddhism Began, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, p. 67
[65] Hawkins, pp. 40, 46.
[68] Kogen Mizuno, Essentials of Buddhism, Shunju-sha, 1972, English translation, Kosei, Tokyo, 1996, p. 57
[69] Dispeller of Delusion. Vol. II. Pali Text Society, p. 184
[70] The Bodhisattva Vow: A Practical Guide to Helping Others, page 1, Tharpa Publications (2nd. ed., 1995) ISBN 978-0-948006-50-0
[72] Nattier, Jan (2003), A few good men: the Bodhisattva path according to the Inquiry of Ugra: p. 174
[73] Mall, Linnart. Studies in the Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita and Other Essays. Motilal Banarsidass. 2005. pp. 53-54.
[74] Hirakawa, Akira. A History of Indian Buddhism: from kyamuni to Early Mahyna. Motilal Banarsidass. 2007. p. 297.
[75] Conze, Edward. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and its Verse Summary. Grey Fox Press. 2001. p. 89.
[76] The Bodhisattva Vow: A Practical Guide to Helping Others, pages 4-12, Tharpa Publications (2nd. ed., 1995) ISBN 978-0-948006-50-0
[77] Harvey, p. 170
[78] Zen Buddhism: A History (India and China) by Heinrich Dumoulin, James W. Heisig, Paul F. Knitter (page 22)
[79] Barbara Stoler Miller, Yoga: Discipline of Freedom: the Yoga Sutra Attributed to Patanjali; a Translation of the Text, with Commentary,
Introduction, and Glossary of Keywords. University of California Press, 1996, page 8.
[80] Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge, 2007, page 73.
[81] Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge, 2007, page 105.
[82] Michael Carrithers, The Buddha. Taken from Founders of Faith, published by Oxford University Press, 1986, page 30.
[83] Alexander Wynne, The origin of Buddhist meditation. Routledge, 2007, p. 72.

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Buddhism
[84] Dharmacarini Manishini, Western Buddhist Review. Accessed at http:/ / www. westernbuddhistreview. com/ vol4/ kamma_in_context. html
[85] Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988,
page 44.
[86] Johannes Bronkhorst, The Two Traditions of Mediation in Ancient India. Franz Steiner Verlag Weisbaden GmbH, pages 1-17.
[87] Randall Collins, The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change. Harvard University Press, 2000, page 199 (http:/ /
books. google. com/ books?id=2HS1DOZ35EgC& pg=PA177& source=gbs_toc_r& cad=0_0#PPA199,M1).
[88] Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 51.
[89] Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 56.
[91] Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha, tr. Nanamoli, rev. Bodhi, Wisdom Publications, 1995, pp. 708f
[92] Professor C.D. Sebastian, Metaphysics and Mysticism in Mahayana Buddhism, Sri Satguru Publications, Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica Series
No. 238, Delhi, 2005, p. 83
[93] Professor C.D. Sebastian, Metaphysics and Mysticism in Mahayana Buddhism, Delhi, 2005, p. 82
[94] Hiroshi Kanno, Huisi's Perspective on the Lotus Sutra as Seen Through the Meaning of the Course of Ease and Bliss in the Lotus Sutra, p.
147, http:/ / www. iop. or. jp/ 0414/ kanno2. pdf, consulted 5 February 2010
[95] Stewart McFarlane in Peter Harvey, ed., Buddhism. Continuum, 2001, page 187.
[96] Stewart McFarlane in Peter Harvey, ed., Buddhism. Continuum, 2001, pages 195-196.
[98] Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988,
page 89. He is quoting Carrithers.
[99] B. Alan Wallace, Contemplative Science. Columbia University Press, 2007, p. 81.
[100] Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967, p. 396
[101] Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism. Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 144.
[102] Damien Keown, Charles S Prebish, editors, Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Routledge, 2007. p. 502
[103] Sarah Shaw, Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pli Canon. Routledge, 2006, page 13. Shaw also notes that discourses
on meditation are addressed to "bhikkhave", but that in this context the terms is more generic than simply (male) "monks" and refers to all
practitioners, and that this is confirmed by Buddhaghosa.
[104] According to Charles S. Prebish (in his Historical Dictionary of Buddhism, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, 1993, p. 287): "Although a
variety of Zen 'schools' developed in Japan, they all emphasize Zen as a teaching that does not depend on sacred texts, that provides the
potential for direct realization, that the realization attained is none other than the Buddha nature possessed by each sentient being ...".
[105] Prebish comments (op. cit., p. 244): "It presumes that sitting in meditation itself (i.e. zazen) is an expression of Buddha nature." The
method is to detach the mind from conceptual modes of thinking and perceive Reality directly. Speaking of Zen in general, Buddhist scholar
Stephen Hodge writes (Zen Masterclass, Godsfield Press, 2002, pp. 1213): "... practitioners of Zen believe that Enlightenment, the
awakening of the Buddha-mind or Buddha-nature, is our natural state, but has been covered over by layers of negative emotions and distorted
thoughts. According to this view, Enlightenment is not something that we must acquire a bit at a time, but a state that can occur instantly when
we cut through the dense veil of mental and emotional obscurations."
[106] (Critical Sermons on the Zen Tradition, Hisamatsu Shin'ichi, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2002, passim) Commenting on Rinzai Zen
and its Chinese founder, Linji, Hisamatsu states: "Linji indicates our true way of being in such direct expressions as 'True Person' and 'True
Self'. It is independent of words or letters and transmitted apart from scriptural teaching. Buddhism doesn't really need scriptures. It is just our
direct awakening to Self ..." (Hisamatsu, op. cit., p. 46).
[107] Kosho Uchiyama, Opening the Hand of Thought: Approach to Zen, Penguin Books, New York, 1993, p. 98
[108] Harvey, Introduction, pp. 165f
[109] Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1st ed., 1989, p. 185
[110] Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, p. 781 .
[111] Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford University Press, 2008, p. xv
[112] Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Buddhism: The foundations of Buddhism: The cultural context. Retrieved 19-07-2009.
[113] Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Hinduism: History of Hinduism: The Vedic period (2nd millennium - 7th century BCE); Challenges to
Brahmanism (6th - 2nd century BCE); Early Hinduism (2nd century BCE - 4th century CE). Retrieved 19-07-2009.
[114] Warder, A.K. 2000. Indian Buddhism. P.32
[115] Y. Masih (2000) In : A Comparative Study of Religions, Motilal Banarsidass Publ : Delhi, ISBN 81-208-0815-0 Page 18. "There is no
evidence to show that Jainism and Buddhism ever subscribed to vedic sacrifices, vedic deities or caste. They are parallel or native religions of
India and have contributed to much to the growth of even classical Hinduism of the present times."
[116] S. Cromwell Crawford, review of L. M. Joshi, Brahmanism, Buddhism and Hinduism, Philosophy East and West (1972): "Alongside
Brahmanism was the non-Aryan Shramanic culture with its roots going back to prehistoric times."
[117] "This confirms that the doctrine of transmigration is non-aryan and was accepted by non-vedics like Ajivikism, Jainism and Buddhism. The
Indo-aryans have borrowed the theory of re-birth after coming in contact with the aboriginal inhabitants of India. Certainly Jainism and
non-vedics [..] accepted the doctrine of rebirth as supreme postulate or article of faith." Masih, page 37.
[118] Karel Werner, The Longhaired Sage in The Yogi and the Mystic. Karel Werner, ed., Curzon Press, 1989, page 34. "Rahurkar speaks of
them as belonging to two distinct 'cultural strands' ... Wayman also found evidence for two distinct approaches to the spiritual dimension in
ancient India and calls them the traditions of 'truth and silence.' He traces them particularly in the older Upanishads, in early Buddhism, and in
some later literature."

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Buddhism
[119] Gavin D. Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press : UK ISBN 0-521-43878-0 - "The origin and
doctrine of Karma and Samsara are obscure. These concepts were certainly circulating amongst sramanas, and Jainism and Buddhism
developed specific and sophisticated ideas about the process of transmigration. It is very possible that the karmas and reincarnation entered the
mainstream brahaminical thought from the sramana or the renouncer traditions." Page 86.
[120] Padmanabh S. Jaini 2001 "Collected Paper on Buddhist Studies" Motilal Banarsidass Publ 576 pages ISBN 81-208-1776-1: "Yajnavalkya's
reluctance and manner in expounding the doctrine of karma in the assembly of Janaka (a reluctance not shown on any other occasion) can
perhaps be explained by the assumption that it was, like that of the transmigration of soul, of non-brahmanical origin. In view of the fact that
this doctrine is emblazoned on almost every page of sramana scriptures, it is highly probable that it was derived from them." Page 51.
[121] Govind Chandra Pande, (1994) Life and Thought of Sankaracarya, Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 81-208-1104-6 : Early Upanishad thinkers
like Yajnavalkya were acquainted with the sramanic thinking and tried to incorporate these ideals of Karma, Samsara and Moksa into the
vedic thought implying a disparagement of the vedic ritualism and recognising the mendicancy as an ideal. Page 135.
[122] "The sudden appearance of this theory [of karma] in a full-fledged form is likely due, as already pointed out, to an impact of the wandering
muni-and-shramana-cult, coming down from the pre-Vedic non-Aryan time." Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgita.
Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1998, page 76.
[123] Satapatha Brahmana 13.8.1.5
[124] Oldenburg, Hermann, The Doctrine of the Upanishads and Early Buddhism, 1915, reprinted 1991 by Shridhar B. Shrotri, Delhi, Motilalal
Banardass
[125] Greater Magadha, Studies the Culture of Early India, Bronkhorst, Johannes, Brill Academic Publishers Inc, 2007, Series: Handbook of
Oriental Studies, Section 2 South Asia Series, ISBN 978-90-04-11519-4
[126] Warder, A.K. 2000. Indian Buddhism. P.30-32
[127] Warder, A.K. 2000. Indian Buddhism. P.39
[128] Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. P.33
[129] Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, pages 9-10.
[130] "The brahmin by caste alone, the teacher of the Veda, is (jokingly) etymologized as the 'non-meditator' (ajhyaka). Brahmins who have
memorized the three Vedas (tevijja) really know nothing: it is the process of achieving Enlightenment what the Buddha is said to have
achieved in the three watches of that nightwhich constitutes the true 'three knowledges.'" R.F. Gombrich in Paul Williams, ed., "Buddhism:
Critical Concepts in Religious Studies." Taylor and Francis 2006, page 120.
[131] Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988,
page 85.
[132] P. 177 The sacred books of the Buddhists compared with history and modern science By Robert Spence Hardy
[133] Vinaya Pitaka of the Mahavagga (I.245) in P. 494 The Pali-English dictionary By Thomas William Rhys Davids, William Stede
[134] "Atthako, Vmako, Vmadevo, Vessmitto, Yamataggi, Angiraso, Bhradvjo, Vsettho, Kassapo, and Bhagu" in P. 245 The Vinaya
piaka: one of the principle Buddhist holy scriptures ..., Volume 1 edited by Hermann Oldenberg
[135] The Vinaya Pitaka's section Anguttara Nikaya: Panchaka Nipata in P. 44 The legends and theories of the Buddhists, compared with history
and science By Robert Spence Hardy
[136] Richard Francis Gombrich, How Buddhism began: the conditioned genesis of the early teachings Continuum International Publishing
Group, 1996, pages 38-39
[137] Michael Carrithers, The Buddha, 1983, pages 41-42. Found in Founders of Faith, Oxford University Press, 1986.
[138] Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 21.
[139] "Even so have I, monks, seen an ancient way, an ancient road followed by the wholly awakened ones of olden time....Along that have I
done, and the matters that I have come to know fully as I was going along it, I have told to the monks, nuns, men and women lay-followers,
even monks, this Brahma-faring brahmacharya that is prosperous and flourishing, widespread and widely known become popular in short,
well made manifest for gods and men." (P. 57 Buddhist Art & Antiquities of Himachal Pradesh, Upto 8th Century A.D. By Omacanda H)
[140] . 59 What the Buddha taught by Walpola Rhula
[141] Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Vedic religion. Retrieved 19-07-2009.
[142] Warder, A.K. 2000. Indian Buddhism. P.35
[143] A History of Indian Buddhism Hirakawa Akira (translated and edited by Paul Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 1993, p.
7
[144] Mitchell, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2002, p. 34 & table of contents
[145] Skorupski, Buddhist Forum, vol I, Heritage, Delhi/SOAS, London, 1990, p. 5; Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies,
vol 21 (1998), part 1, pp. 4, 11
[146] see also the book Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks, University of Hawai'i Press, by Dr Gregory Schopen
[147] Encyclopedia of Religion, Macmillan, New York, sv Councils, Buddhist
[148] Journal of the Pli Text Society, volume XVI, p. 105)
[149] Janice J. Nattier and Charles S. Prebish, 1977. Mahsghika Origins: the beginnings of Buddhist sectarianism in History of Religions,
Vol. 16, pp. 237272
[150] Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 74
[151] "Abhidhamma Pitaka." Encyclopdia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2008.
[152] Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Routledge. p. 485.

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Buddhism
[153] Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993. A History of Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: p. 260
[154] Akira, Hirakawa (1993), A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana: p. 271
[155] "One of the most frequent assertions about the Mahayana ... is that it was a lay-influenced, or even lay-inspired and dominated, movement
that arose in response to the increasingly closed, cold, and scholastic character of monastic Buddhism. This, however, now appears to be
wrong on all counts." Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004): p. 494
[156] Nattier, Jan (2003), A few good men: the Bodhisattva path according to the Inquiry of Ugra: p. 193-194
[157] Williams, Paul (2008) Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations: p. 4-5
[158] Williams, Paul (2000) Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition: p. 97
[159] Williams, Paul (2008) Mahyna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations: p. 5
[160] "The most important evidence in fact the only evidence for situating the emergence of the Mahayana around the beginning of the
common era was not Indian evidence at all, but came from China. Already by the last quarter of the 2nd century CE, there was a small,
seemingly idiosyncratic collection of substantial Mahayana sutras translated into what Erik Zrcher calls 'broken Chinese' by an Indoscythian,
whose Indian name has been reconstructed as Lokaksema." Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004): p. 492
[161] Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993. A History of Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: p. 263, 268
[162] "The south (of India) was then vigorously creative in producing Mahayana Sutras" Warder, A.K. (3rd edn. 1999). Indian Buddhism: p.
335.
[163] Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993. A History of Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: p. 253
[164] A History of Indian Buddhism Hirakawa Akira (translated and edited by Paul Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 1993, p.
8,9
[165] Peter Harvey, "An Introduction to Buddhism." Cambridge University Press, 1993, page 95.
[166] Dan Lusthaus, Buddhist Phenomenology. Routledge, 2002, pages 236-237.
[167] Peter Harvey, "An Introduction to Buddhism." Cambridge University Press, 1993, page 113. "There were no great Indian teachers
associated with this strand of thought."
[168] A History of Indian Buddhism Hirakawa Akira (translated and edited by Paul Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 1993, p.
9
[169] Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism, Routledge, 2nd ed, 2006, page 135
[170] Zrcher (1972), pp. 22-27.
[171] Hill (2009), p. 30, for the Chinese text from the Hou Hanshu, and p. 31 for a translation of it.
[172] Zrcher (1972), p. 23.
[173] Carol E. Henderson, Culture and Customs of India. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002, page 42.
[174] Joseph B. Tamney in William H. Swatos, editor, Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Rowman Altamira, 1998, page 68.
[183] State Attitudes to Religion (http:/ / opendemocracy. net/ pix/ home/ stateattitudes. pdf) (PDF), The Atlas of Religion, Joanne O'Brien &
Martin Palmer, openDemocracy.net
[186] "China and India use Buddha for regional karma." (http:/ / www. aljazeera. com/ indepth/ features/ 2013/ 01/ 2013171148400871. html)
[188] http:/ / oproject. files. wordpress. com/ 2007/ 09/ mapofwar. jpg
[190] http:/ / library. thinkquest. org/ 05aug/ 02016/ images/ map_of_religions. png
[191] http:/ / www. wadsworth. com/ religion_d/ special_features/ popups/ maps/ matthews_world/ images/ w001. jpg
[193] Britannica (http:/ / media-2. web. britannica. com/ eb-media/ 31/ 3731-004. gif)
[195] The world's living religions page 335
[196] An introduction to Hinduism page 76
[197] Sources of Japanese Tradition: From earliest times through the sixteenth century page 101
[198] http:/ / www. ascd. org/ ASCD/ pdf/ journals/ ed_lead/ el_195401_bush. pdf
[199] Buddhism: religion in Korea paghe 13
[200] On the antiquity of intellectual man page 104
[201] Eclectic magazine: foreign literature, Volume 40
[202] The Eclectic magazine of foreign literature, science, and art, Volume 103
[203] Religions of Primitive Peoples - Page 28 4
[204] The Wisdom of Life, and Other Essays page 217
[205] Universal classics library: Volume 29
[206] Christianity and non-Christian religions compared - page 79
[207] Why India lives - page 228
[208] Prabuddha bharata: or awakened India: Volume 69
[209] The Vedanta kesari: Volume 51
[210] Major Branches of Buddhism (http:/ / www. adherents. com/ adh_branches. html#Buddhism), Adherents.com, retrieved on 2008-01-15
[211] The Everything Buddhism Book - page 121
[212] Philosophy East and West, volume 54, page 270
[213] Keown, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1996, page 12
[214] Smith, Buddhism; Juergensmeyer, Oxford Handbook.

36

Buddhism
[216] (Harvey, 1990); (Gombrich,1984); Gethin (1998), pp. 12, identifies "three broad traditions" as: (1) "The Theravda tradition of Sri Lanka
and South-East Asia, also sometimes referred to as 'southern' Buddhism"; (2) "The East Asian tradition of China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam,
also sometimes referred to as 'eastern' Buddhism"; and, (3) "The Tibetan tradition, also sometimes referred to as 'northern' Buddhism.";
Robinson & Johnson (1982) divide their book into two parts: Part One is entitled "The Buddhism of South Asia" (which pertains to Early
Buddhism in India); and, Part Two is entitled "The Development of Buddhism Outside of India" with chapters on "The Buddhism of Southeast
Asia", "Buddhism in the Tibetan Culture Area", "East Asian Buddhism" and "Buddhism Comes West; Penguin handbook of Living Religions,
1984, page 279; Prebish & Keown, Introducing Buddhism, ebook, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 2005, printed ed, Harper, 2006
[217] See e.g. the multi-dimensional classification in Encyclopedia of Religion, Macmillan, New York, 1987, volume 2, pages 440ff
[218] A Comparative Study of the Schools (http:/ / www. buddhanet. net/ e-learning/ history/ comparative. htm), Tan Swee Eng
[219] Cousins, L.S. (1996); Buswell (2003), Vol. I, p. 82; and, Keown & Prebish (2004), p. 107. See also, Gombrich (1988/2002), p. 32:
[T]he best we can say is that [the Buddha] was probably Enlightened between 550 and 450, more likely later rather than earlier."
[220] Williams (2000, pp. 6-7) writes: "As a matter of fact Buddhism in mainland India itself had all but ceased to exist by the thirteenth century
CE, although by that time it had spread to Tibet, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia." Embree et al. (1958/1988), "Chronology," p. xxix: "c.
1000-1200: Buddhism disappears as [an] organized religious force in India." See also, Robinson & Johnson (1970/1982), pp. 100-1, 108 Fig.
1; and, Harvey (1990/2007), pp. 139-40.
[221] Gethin, Foundations, page 1
[222] Hawkins, p. 88.
[223] Clarke & Beyer, The World's Religions, Routledge, 2009, page 86
[224] Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume One), pages 430, 435
[226] Prebish & Keown, Introducing Buddhism, page 89
[227] A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition (2000)
[228] Eliot, Japanese Buddhism, Edward Arnold, London, 1935, page 16
[229] Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford University Press, 2008, page xiv
[230] http:/ / www. columbia. edu/ itc/ mealac/ pritchett/ 00ambedkar/ ambedkar_buddha/
[231] Journal of the Pali Text Society, volume XVI, page 114
[232] Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press, 1995, page 9.
[233] David Kalupahana, "Sarvastivada and its theory of sarvam asti." University of Ceylon Review 24 1966, 94-105.
[234] Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, page 4
[235] MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 494
[236] Isabelle Onians, "Tantric Buddhist Apologetics, or Antinomianism as a Norm," D.Phil. dissertation, Oxford, Trinity Term 2001 pg 72
[237] Jonathan A Silk. What, if anything, is Mahayana Buddhism? Numen 49:4 (2002):335-405. Article reprinted in Williams, Buddhism, Vol
III, Routledge, 2005
[238] Harvey 1990, p.1.
[239] Goldstein 2011, p.27.
[240] Lama Surya Das 1997, p.16.
[241] Goleman 2008, Kindle Locations 1301-1305.
[242] Gethin 1998, p.65-66.
[243] Keown 2000, Kindle Locations 361-372.
[244] Pinburn 1990, p.101.
[247] Walpola Rahula 2007, Kindle Locations 316-323.

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ARYAN818, Abc2992, Abdullais4u, Abeg92, AbelBergaigne, Abid6814, Abolitionist, Abstruce, Academic Challenger, Acampbell70, Accepttruth, AchillesTruth, Acmuller, Acroterion, Adam
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Gandhara Buddha (tnm).jpeg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gandhara_Buddha_(tnm).jpeg License: Public domain Contributors: User:World Imaging
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user:Esteban.barahona, user:Shazz
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Shoulder-synth, Tintazul, Wst, 1 anonymous edits
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File:Chinese Buddhist Monks Ceremony Hangzhou.jpeg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Chinese_Buddhist_Monks_Ceremony_Hangzhou.jpeg License: Creative
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File:Buddhaghosa offering his commentaries.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Buddhaghosa_offering_his_commentaries.jpg License: Creative Commons
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Sailko, Vassil, World Imaging, 2 anonymous edits
File:Taller Buddha of Bamiyan before and after destruction.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Taller_Buddha_of_Bamiyan_before_and_after_destruction.jpg
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Buddha_Bamiyan_1963.jpg: UNESCO/A Lezine; Original uploader was Tsui at de.wikipedia. Later version(s) were
uploaded by Liberal Freemason at de.wikipedia. Buddhas_of_Bamiyan4.jpg: Carl Montgomery derivative work: Zaccarias (talk)

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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

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Ogre, Mdd, Podzemnik, Razorbliss, Roland zh, Varlaam, 1 anonymous edits
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File:Buddhist distribution.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Buddhist_distribution.png License: Public Domain Contributors: TheGreenEditor
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Colegota, DhJ, Gryffindor, HctorTabar, Infrogmation, Kanguole, Shakko, Takeaway, Tengu800, Tsui, 2 anonymous edits
File:Japanese buddhist monk by Arashiyama cut.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Japanese_buddhist_monk_by_Arashiyama_cut.jpg License: Public Domain
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File:20110725 Budha eyes closeup Bodhnath Stupa Kathmandu Nepal.jpg Source:
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