Buddhism

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Buddhism

Buddhism, one of the major religions of the world, is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the BUDDHA, who lived in north east India from circa 563 to 483 BC.

The Life
Siddhartha was born in Lumbini near Kapilavastu , into the clan of Gautama, within the tribe of Sakyas , in the warrior (Kshatriya) caste . His father Suddhodana was a minor king, whose capital Kapilavastu, was situated in what is now Nepal. His mother, Queen Maya died soon after his birth.

He grew up in the palace, a handsome boy, with all the privileges of a young prince. However from an early age he had a serious, meditative mind and started noticing the pain and suffering ( samsara) that was around him, just outside the palace grounds. He married at an early age and had a son, but he was never able to shake off the fact that there is a lot of suffering in the world around him. He knew there has to be way to overcome that, but where?.

When he was 29 years old, he decided that he has had enough of the worldly pleasures and left his wife and family to go on a religious quest for the way to ending of pain and suffering. For six years, he traversed the country searching for a teacher who can guide him in the right direction, but failed in his quest.

Finally he arrived at BODH GAYA, in North India, tired and disappointed, and decided that it is up to him to find the path to ending of pain and suffering. Returning to a natural regimen, he finally gained his great ENLIGHTENMENT by sitting quietly under a Pipal tree (now better known as BO tree), in concentrated meditation. He finally discovered and understood that the cause of suffering is CRAVING due to IGNORANCE, and discovered a path to its removal through RIGHT LIVING and MENTAL DISCIPLINE (eight-fold path). With that understanding he became Buddha, the ENLIGHTENED ONE.

From Bodh Gaya LORD BUDDHA went to SARNATH. There he first disclosed his newly discovered doctrine of the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS and THE EIGHT-FOLD PATH.

Buddha traveled all over India spreading his message and, during a long career as a wandering teacher, he attracted many disciples and established the Buddhist community (the sangha). Finally, at the age of 80, he passed away into final NIRVANA at Kushinagara (now Kasia, India), forever free from the cycle of suffering and rebirth.

Today Buddhism can be divided into two main branches. The Heenayana ("narrow Path") or Theravada, ( "Way of the Elders,") is the more conservative, and is considered purer of the two; it is practiced in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. The Heenayana school saw him primarily as a historical figure, and a great teacher, but also placed him in a time line with several "Buddhas of the past" and one "Buddha of the future," Maitreya, who is yet to come.
The branch of Mahayana, or "Wide Path," is more liberal and is practiced mainly in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Tibet. In recent times both branches have gained followers in the West. The number of Buddhists worldwide is frequently estimated at more than 300 million.

THE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA

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• The basic teaching of the Buddha is centered on certain basic doctrines called "Noble Truths".
• The first of the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha held, is suffering (duhkha). By this, he meant not only that human existence is painful but that all beings--humans, animals, even the gods in the heavens--are caught up in samsara, a cycle of rebirth, a maze of suffering in which their actions (KARMA) keep them from escaping.
• The second Noble Truth is that suffering itself has a cause. At the simplest level, this is desire or craving.
• The third Noble Truth, however, is that this chain can be broken--that suffering can cease. The Buddhists called this end of suffering NIRVANA and conceived of it as a cessation of rebirth, an escape from samsara.
• Finally, the fourth Noble Truth is that a way exists through which this cessation can be brought about: the practice of the noble Eight-fold Path. This combines ethical and disciplinary practices, training in concentration and meditation, and the development of enlightened wisdom, all thought to be necessary.

  By practicing the Noble Eight-fold path, individuals, through the working of karma, can seek to assure themselves rebirth in one of the heavens or a better station in life, from which they may be able to attain the final goal of Nirvana. PRACTICES Throughout Asia, wherever Buddhism was introduced, its leaders tended to seek the support of kings and other rulers of the state. The pattern of this relationship between a Buddhist king and the monastic community was

• en its definitive formulation by Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century BC. This was a symbiotic relationship in which, in exchange for the allegiance and religious support of the sangha, (the Buddhist clergy) the emperor became the patron and backer of the Buddhist dharma.

  Everywhere, Buddhist monastic communities tended to depend on the laity for food and material support. Although in some places the sangha as a whole became well-to-do and controlled vast monastic estates, (somewhat akin to the practices of the Christian Church today ) traditionally monks owned nothing and, in Southeast Asian countries, they still go on daily alms rounds.

  As a habit Buddhist monks do not consume any solid foods after midday. This habit may have started due to the dangers of begging for food from door-to-door specially after dark, or perhaps evolved due to unwelcome effects of eating foods that were collected from different sources everyday, sanitary conditions being what they were.

  Buddhist monks have always been celibate. Thus they depend on the faithful not only for food and material support but for new recruits as well. Often children will enter a monastery and spend a number of years as novices, studying, learning, and doing chores. Following ordination, they become full members of the Sangha, vowing to uphold its discipline. from then on their days will be taken up in ritual, devotions, meditation, study, teaching, and preaching.

  One of the pivotal concepts behind the rites and rituals of Buddhist laity and monks is that of offering (dana). This includes, for the laity, not just the giving of food and (in special ceremonies at the end of the rainy seasons) of new robes to the monks, ( katina puja ) but also the offering of flowers, incense, and praise to the images and icons of the Buddha, stupas, and Bo trees.

  For the monks, in addition to the above, the practice of offering extends also to the spreading of the Buddha's teachings ( dharma ) in the form of sermons, to the chanting of scriptures in rituals (which may also be thought of as magically protective and salutary), and to the recitation of sutras for the dead.

  For some more information about Buddhism please follow these links:

  LankaNet
  LankaWeb
  The THRIPITAKA Project
  The Buddhist Cultural Center
  

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This page was last edited on 09/11/98 03:12:32 PM
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