BUDDHISM
History
Buddhism was founded in Northern India by the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama ,
circa 563-483 BCE). At the age of 29, he left his wife, children and
political involvement's in order to seek truth. He studied Brahminism, but
ultimately rejected it. In 535 BCE, he reached enlightenment and assumed the
title Buddha (one who has awakened). He had many disciples and
accumulated a large public following by the time of his death in his
early 80's.
Two and a half centuries later, a council of Buddhist monks collected his
teachings and the oral traditions of the faith into written form, called
the Tripitaka. A very large collection of commentaries
and traditions were subsequently complied; most are called Sutras
(discourses).
Buddhist Beliefs
Buddhism is a religion that has few of the concepts of Christianity (e.g.
the belief in a transcendent and immanent God, the need for a personal
saviour, power of prayer, eternal life in heaven or hell, etc). They
believe in reincarnation: the concept that one must go through many cycles
of birth, living, and death. After many such cycles, if a person releases
their attachment to desire and the self, they can attain Nirvana.
The Buddha's Four Noble Truths may be described (somewhat
simplicity) as:
- to be fully understood: the universality of suffering
- to be abandoned: the desire to have and control things which
causes suffering
- to be made visible: the supreme truth and final liberation of
nirvana which is achieved as the cause of suffering is eliminated.
The mind experiences complete freedom and liberation
- to be brought into being: the truth of the eightfold
ariya path leading to the cessation of suffering.
His Eightfold Path consists of:
- right understanding
- right thinking
- right speech
- right conduct
- right livelihood
- right effort
- right mindfulness
- right concentration
Buddhist Sects
Buddhism is not a single monolithic religion. Many of its adherents have
combined the teachings of the Buddha with local religious rituals, beliefs
and customs. Little conflict occurs, because Buddhism at its core is a
philosophical system to which such additions can be easily grafted.
After the Buddah's death, splits occurred. There are now three main systems
of thought within Buddhism which are geographically and philosophically
separate. Each tradition in turn has many sects. One source (J.R. Hinnels,
A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin, 1991) divides the religion
into three main groups by their location:
- Southern Buddhism (known as Therevada Buddhism) has 100 million
followers, mainly in Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It started
in Sri Lanka when Buddhist missionaries arrived from India. They promoted the
Vibhajjavada school (Separative Teaching). By the 15th century, this
form of the religion reached almost its present extent.
Concepts and practices include:
- Dana - thoughtful, ceremonial giving
- Sila - accepting Buddhist teaching and following it in practice;
refraining from killing, stealing, wrong behaviour, use of drugs. On
special days, three additional precepts may be added, restricting
adornment, entertainment and comfort.
- Karma - the balance of accumulated sin and merit, which will
determine ones future in the present life, and the nature of the
next life to come.
- The Cosmos - consists of billions of worlds grouped into clusters;
clusters are grouped into galaxies, which are themselves grouped into
super-galaxies. The universe also has many levels: four underworlds and
21 heavenly realms.
- Paritta - ritual chanting
- Worship - of relics of a Buddha, of items made by a Buddha, or of
symbolic relics.
- Festivals - days of the full moon, and three other days during the
lunar cycle are celebrated. There is a new year's festival, and
celebrations tied to the agricultural year.
- Pilgrimages - particularly to Buddhist sites in Sri Lanka and India.
- Eastern Buddhism is the predominant religion in China, Japan,
Korea and Vietnam. Buddhism's Mahayana tradition entered China during the
Han dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). It found initial acceptance there among the
workers; later, it gradually penetrated the ruling class. Buddhism reached
Japan in the 6th century. It underwent severe repression during the 1960's
in China during the Cultural Revolution.
Eastern Buddhism contains many distinct schools: T'ein-t'ai, Hua-yen, Pure
Land teachings, and the Meditation school. They celebrate New Years,
harvest festivals, and five anniversaries from the lives of Buddha
and of the Bodhissattva Kuan-yin. They also engage in Dana, Sila,
Chanting. Worship and Pilgrimage.
- Northern Buddhism has perhaps 10 million adherents in parts of
China, Mongolia, Russia and Tibet. It entered Tibet circa 640 CE. Conflict
with the native Tibetan religion of Bon caused it to go largely
underground until its revival in the 11th century. The heads of the
Gelu school of Buddhist teaching became the Dalai Lama, and ruled
Tibet. It has been, until recently, wrongly dismissed as a degenerate
form of Buddhism
Ceremony and ritual are emphasized. They also engage in Dana, Sila,
Chanting. Worship and Pilgrimage. They developed the practice of searching
out a young child at the time of death of an important teacher. The child
is believed to be the successor to the deceased teacher. They celebrate
New Years, harvest festivals and anniversaries of five important events
in the life of the Buddha. Buddhist and Tibetan culture suffered greatly
during the Cultural Revolution when an attempt was made to destroy all
religious belief.
Buddhism in the West
Southern Buddhism became established in Europe early in this century.
The Zen Buddhist tradition of Eastern Buddhism has also made inroads,
particularly in North America. Canadian Buddhists totaled 163,415 in the
1991 census.
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