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Buddhism

One of the great world religions, which originated in India in the 5th century BC. It derives from the teaching of the Buddha, who is regarded as one of a series of such enlightened beings. The chief doctrine is that all phenomena share three characteristics: they are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and lack a permanent essence (such as a soul). All beings, including gods, are subject to these characteristics, but can achieve freedom through enlightenment. The main forms of Buddhism are Theravāda (or Hīnayāna) in Southeast Asia and Mahāyāna in North and East Asia; Lamaism in Tibet and Zen in Japan are among the many Mahāyāna forms of Buddhism. There are over 350 million Buddhists worldwide (2000).

Scriptures

The only surviving complete canon of the Buddhist scriptures is that of the Sinhalese (Sri Lanka) Buddhists, in Pāli, but other schools have essentially the same canon in Sanskrit. The scriptures are divided into three groups, known as the Tripitaka (‘three baskets’): Vinaya-pitaka (discipline), listing offences and rules of life; the Sūtra-pitaka (discourse), or dharma (doctrine), the exposition of Buddhism by the Buddha and his disciples; and the Abhidharma-pitaka (further doctrine), later discussions on doctrine.

Beliefs

The self is not regarded as permanent, as it is subject to change and decay. It is attachment to the things that are essentially impermanent that causes delusion, suffering, greed, and aversion, and reinforces the sense of self. Actions that incline towards selflessness are called ‘skilful’ and constitute the path leading to enlightenment. In the Four Noble Truths the Buddha acknowledged the existence and source of suffering and showed the way of deliverance from it through the Eightfold Path. The aim of following the Eightfold Path is to attain nirvana (‘blowing out’) - the eradication of all desires. Supreme reverence is accorded to the historical Buddha (Sakyamuni, or, when referred to by his clan name, Siddartha Gautama), who is seen as one in a long and ongoing line of Buddhas, the next one (Maitreya) being due around AD 3000.

Theravāda Buddhism, the School of the Elders, also known as Hīnayāna or Lesser Vehicle, prevails in Southeast Asia (Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar), and emphasizes the mendicant, meditative life as the way to break the cycle of samsāra, or death and rebirth. Its three possible goals are arahat: one who, under the guidance of a Buddha, has gained insight into the true nature of things; paccekabuddha: an enlightened one who lives alone and does not teach; and fully awakened Buddha. Its scriptures are written in Pāli, an Indo-Aryan language with its roots in northern India. In India itself, Buddhism had virtually died out by the 13th century, under pressure from Islam and Hinduism. However, it has 5 million devotees in the 20th century, and is growing.

Mahāyāna Buddhism, or Greater Vehicle, arose at the beginning of the Christian era. It exhorts the individual not merely to attain personal nirvana, but to become a trainee Buddha, or bodhisattva, and so save others. Cults of various Buddhas and bodhisattvas arose. Mahāyāna Buddhism also emphasizes śunyata, or the experiential understanding of the emptiness of all things, even Buddhist doctrine.

Mahāyāna Buddhism prevails in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet. In the 6th century AD Mahāyāna spread to China with the teachings of Bodhidharma and formed Ch'an, which became established in Japan from the 12th century as Zen Buddhism. Zen emphasizes silent meditation with sudden interruptions from a master to encourage awakening of the mind. Japan also has the lay organization Sōka Gakkai (Value Creation Society), founded in 1930, which equates absolute faith with immediate material benefit; by the 1980s it was followed by more than 7 million households.

Esoteric, Tantric, or Diamond Buddhism became popular in Tibet and Japan, and holds that enlightenment is already within the disciple, and with the proper guidance (that is, privately passed on by a master) can be realized.

Festivals The various schools of Buddhism celebrate different festivals in different ways. The most important Theravāda Buddhist festival is Wesak, commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, while in Japan, Mahāyāna Buddhists celebrate the birth of the Buddha with the festival of Hara Matsuri. Other annual festivals include those held to mark the New Year, such as Song Kran in Thailand and Losar in Tibet; celebrations marking the end of periods of retreat, such as Kathina, which marks the end of Vassa; and festivals surrounding the veneration of a relic, such as the Sacred Tooth. The Japanese Mahāyāna festival of O-Bon commemorates a family's ancestors. More frequent observances include holy days such as Uposatha, held twice a month by Theravāda Buddhists.

Spread of Buddhism The first major expansion of Buddhism from northeast India, where the Buddha lived and taught, was the result of its adoption by the emperor Ashoka (262-239 BC). Missionary monks were sent throughout India, and to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand. Theravāda Buddhism, the oldest of the two main forms of Buddhism, dominated this movement and is the only form of Buddhism to survive in the region. Another influence in Buddhism's spread was its adoption by traders and merchants, who travelled along trade routes between China and the eastern Mediterranean. Although westwards spread was blocked, particularly from the 7th century with the rapid expansion of Islam, all forms of Buddhism moved freely eastwards along this route. The most successful was the Mahāyāna, which became the second main form of Buddhism. This is now the major form of Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Tibet.

After the 12th century, Buddhism almost disappeared from India, following Muslim invasions from the northwest and the resurgence of Hinduism from the south. In the 20th century, Buddhism re-emerged as a result of missionary monks and the arrival of Tibetan Buddhist refugees.

Buddhism became of great interest to westerners at the beginning of the 20th century. The greatest growth in the practise of Buddhism by non-Asian westerners occurred after the 1960s. In 1967, the Friends of the Western Buddhists Order (FWBO) was founded to synthesize Buddhist ideas from various schools into an accessible form for westerners.

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