* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Buddhism: Facts and Terms
Buddhist art wikipedia , lookup
Early Buddhist schools wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and violence wikipedia , lookup
Karma in Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist texts wikipedia , lookup
Tara (Buddhism) wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist cosmology of the Theravada school wikipedia , lookup
Greco-Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Buddha-nature wikipedia , lookup
Gautama Buddha wikipedia , lookup
Persecution of Buddhists wikipedia , lookup
Pratītyasamutpāda wikipedia , lookup
Sanghyang Adi Buddha wikipedia , lookup
Nirvana (Buddhism) wikipedia , lookup
History of Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Korean Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism in the United States wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism in Thailand wikipedia , lookup
Four Noble Truths wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and Western philosophy wikipedia , lookup
Dalit Buddhist movement wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism in Japan wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and Hinduism wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist philosophy wikipedia , lookup
Silk Road transmission of Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and psychology wikipedia , lookup
History of Buddhism in India wikipedia , lookup
Triratna Buddhist Community wikipedia , lookup
Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist ethics wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism in Vietnam wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and sexual orientation wikipedia , lookup
Dhyāna in Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Noble Eightfold Path wikipedia , lookup
Women in Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism: Facts and Terms Number of Buddhists worldwide: circa 350 million; 98% live in Asia—Mahayana Buddhism (“Northern Buddhism”) 62%; Theravada Buddhism (“Southern Buddhism”) 38% Buddhists are in majority of population in countries of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Japan and have significant minority representation in Nepal, China, South Korea, and Singapore Circa 700,000 monks and nuns worldwide; men outnumber women 6-1 Founded by: Siddhartha, 563-483 BCE (son of a warrior-caste parents in the Himalayan foothills of northern India); as such Buddhism has its roots in Hinduism (hence you will note similar terms and concepts at points, e.g., karma, reincarnation, dharma); his life is the paradigm for the individual Buddhists quest for enlightenment Siddhartha after embracing an ascetic life of questing after enlightenment is known by a number of names including: Buddha (because he ultimately found enlightenment under the bo/bodhi “enlightenment” tree) Gautama Buddha (using his family surname) Shakyamuni/muni “the sage” (using his family’s clan name, Shakyas) Dharma—ultimate truth and the teachings that lead to it Stupas—relic mound shrine which are pilgrimage sites for Buddhists Sangha—“monastic community”—a key feature of Buddhist societies where devout men and women renounce the world to live a life devoted to the teachings of Buddhism, meditation and the performance of rituals; lay Buddhists can gain merit through making donations to the sangha Buddhists societies typically marked out by: relic shrines as centers of community ritual and economy; monasteries as refuges for meditation, study, and access to material resources; and sangha members who assumed leadership roles in the community’s spiritual instruction and ritual life Conversion to Buddhism—accomplished by reciting the following (also used to affirm devotion and start rituals): Buddham Saranam Gacchami “I go to refuge in the Buddha” Dharmam Saranam Gacchami “I go to refuge in the teachings” Sangham Saranam Gacchami “I go for refuge in the community” Nirvana—a state in which desires are extinguished, it represents escape from the world of ongoing rebirth and suffering; it can be achieved through moral living and meditation, ultimately the cultivation of prajna “insight” Four Noble Truths (earliest and most enduring formulation of Buddha’s teaching) 1. All life entails suffering Response: make most of spiritual opportunities of a human birth by showing compassion and kindness to alleviate suffering of all beings 2. The cause of suffering is desire Makes plain the need for renunciation, detachment and asceticism 3. Removing desire removes suffering The sangha is the ultimate refuge for individuals who wish to remove themselves from the world of desire 4. The way for removing desire is to follow the Eightfold Path The cure for the human condition (the constant cycle of rebirth, suffering and redeath) is achieved through moral practice, meditation, and the cultivation of the prajna, the progressive path to nirvana Eightfold Path 1. Right Views (especially of the Four Noble Truths) 2. Right Thought (thought shaped by detachment from hatred and cruelty) 3. Right Speech (refrains from lies, gossip, and frovility) 4. Right Action (no killing, stealing, and harming) 5. Right Livelihood (not earning a living through astrology, magic or careers that inflict harm or kill) 6. Right Effort (to clear and calm mind) 7. Right Mindfulness (Buddhist meditation that observes clearly the mind and body and cultivates detachment) 8. Right Concentration (advanced meditation that attains the mastery of trance states) Typically categorized as follows: Morality (Shila)—Right Speech, Action, and Livelihood Meditation (Dhyana)—Right Effort, Mindfulness and Concentration Insight (Prajna)—Views and Thoughts Karma—a doctrine of destiny; carries from over from one life to the next, the “karma calculus” can be changed through making new punya (“merit”) or pap (“demerit”) Lay Buddhists most influenced by doctrine of “Four Conditions” and “Four Good Deeds” Four Conditions (to seek): 1. Wealth (by legal means), 2. Good renown in society, 3. Long life, 4. Birth in Heaven Four Good Deeds (to use wealth for): 1. Make family and friends happy, 2.ensure security against worldly dangers, 3.make offerings to family, friends, gods, and ghosts, 4. support worthy religious people