A Short History Of Buddhism

Buddhism was begun by the followers of Siddhartha Gautama (circa 563-483 BC). He
was born into a Hindu family of the kshatriya caste in what is now known as Nep
al. At the age of 29, he abandoned his wife and infant son and went in search of
enlightenment.
He achieved enlightenment some time later when sitting under a bodhi tree near P
atna. After 49 days of rapture and resisting temptations (Mara), He, now known a
s Buddha, created an order of monks and went forth to preach the word. After 45
years of preaching their philosophy of enlightenment Buddha died and reached Ni
rvana, the state in which 'ideas and consciousness cease to be'.
One of the most important concepts to Buddhists is the Tipitaka (the 'Three Bask
ets'), which is a record of the Buddha's doctrines as set down by His early foll
owers after his death. The texts in these 'three baskets' tell the story of Budd
ha's life (Buddha); record his laws (Dharma); and his guidelines for setting up
and running a monastic order (Sangha).
Buddhists believe in reincarnation and the wheel of life in a similar manner to
Hindus. They also believe that this cycle of life, death and rebirth can be brok
en by attaining enlightenment. Enlightenment can be gained by devotion to the Fo
ur Noble Truths.
Life is impermanent despite the cycle of life, death and rebirth and can only pr
oduce suffering (dukka) because of the pursuit of mortal desires. Suffering and
desire can just be conquered by attaining Nirvana, which can be gained by follow
ing the Eightfold Path, otherwise called the 'Middle Way'.
The Middle Way consists of: right belief, thought, speech, action, livelihood, w
ork, mindfulness and concentration. These form the nucleus of Buddhist ethics.
A hallmark of Buddhism is the monastic order. Men can become monks for a few yea
rs or for life. There is also a female monastic order. In some sects, boys go in
to a monastery for a period of between a couple of weeks and a couple of months
as part of their passage into adulthood. Boys in Thailand are expected to become
monks for several weeks before they eventually get married.
Monks live an ascetic life in monasteries or temples. Each village has a temple
in much the same manner as western villages have a church, but each temple tries
to maintain a population of at least nine monks, which is thought to be the ide
al number for some of their duties like blessing a house or performing a wedding
ceremony.
Buddhist monks live on charity given by the local villagers. In Thailand the you
ng monks walk the streets in the early morning collecting donations of food, wh
ich has to be eaten before noon, after which they might not eat. Monks are not a
llowed any contact with women at all. They may not even sit next to them on a bu
s or pass the fare to a female bus conductress.
Buddhist temples are mainly for individual contemplation and meditation. They ar
e open to anyone twenty-four hours a day and individuals use them to gain respit
e from the hustle and bustle of every day life. Group prayer meetings are far le
ss common a characteristic of Buddhism than they are in Judaism, Christianity, I
slam or even Hinduism.
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