Introduction to Buddhism.

Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life. This makes Buddhism different from many other faiths for it is not centred on the relationship between humanity and God. Buddhism doesn't fit the pattern of other faiths and needs to be seen in its own terms to be understood properly. Buddhists do not believe in a personal creator God. It does not have the concept of a Saviour, nor of Heaven and Hell in the popular sense. Buddhism doesn't demand blind faith or belief, and says that people should test its teachings against personal experience.

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Twenty-five years ago, in the light of a full moon, I sat facing the lying Buddha in Polonnaruwa in central Sri Lanka. It was Buddha Purnima . I noticed the Buddha’s smile as he lay dying, and the concern on his disciple, Ananda’s face, standing before him.

Buddha’s last words were: “Be lamps unto yourselves”. As he left us, the Sakyamuni did not ask us to pray to him or believe in him as a messiah. Unfortunately, over time, his life and teachings have become encrusted in layers of religiosity.

(See also: Buddhism, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Buddhism in Brazil has practitioners of various Buddhist schools, as well as a fair number of somewhat Buddhist-inspired cults and "New Age" movements. Many Japanese schools have a strong presence mainly as a result of World War II, which encouraged emigration of Japanese people. A considerable number of those chose to radicate in Brazil, including teachers of schools such as Soto Zen, Honmon Butsuryu Shu (a Nichiren Buddhism school), Jodo Shinshu (also known as True Pure Land Buddhism) and the controversial Soka Gakkai movemen ...

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The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods, namely the Nara period (up to 784), the Heian period (794-1185) and the post-Kamakura period (1185 onwards). Each period saw the introduction of new doctrines and upheavals in existing schools. Buddhism in Japan - Early Chinese accounts. In 467 CE, according to the Chinese historic treatise Liang Shu, five monks from Gandhara traveled to the country of Fusang (Chinese: 扶桑, Jp: Fusō: "The country of the extreme East" beyo ...

Including:

• Buddhism in Japan - Early Chinese accounts
• Buddhism in Japan - Nara Period
• Buddhism in Japan - Jojitsu
• Buddhism in Japan - Kusha
• Buddhism in Japan - Sanron
• Buddhism in Japan - Hosso
• Buddhism in Japan - Kegon
• Buddhism in Japan - Heian Period
• Buddhism in Japan - Tendai
• Buddhism in Japan - Shingon
• Buddhism in Japan - Kamakura to Modern Period
• Buddhism in Japan - Amidist Schools
• Buddhism in Japan - Zen Schools
• Buddhism in Japan - Nichiren Buddhism
• Buddhism in Japan - Timeline

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Theravada is the single remaining representative of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikaya schools of Indian Buddhism, which are sometimes referred to by the controversial term Hinayana. Theravada is now practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Another prominent Nikaya school, was the Sarvastivada, much of the doctrine of which was incorporated into Tibetan Buddhism. It included one of the main branches of Indian Abhidharma that was instrumental in the creation of Yogacara doctrine. Its system of monastic ru ...

Including:

• Buddhism in India - Characteristics
• Buddhism in India - Mahayana
• Buddhism in India - Vajrayana
• Buddhism in India - History
• Buddhism in India - Modern Revival

Read more here: » Buddhism in India

Neo-Buddhism is a modern Buddhist revivalist movement in India. As a popular movement, Neo-Buddhism began on October 14, 1956 when B. R. Ambedkar, the 20th century's most prominent Untouchable converted to Buddhism along with nearly 400,000 of his followers. Neo-Buddhism - Origins. At the beginning of the 20th century, Buddhism was all but dead in India, the land of its origin. Certain tribal groups in Bengal continued to follow Buddhism, as did peoples in Ladakh and Sikkim where Tibetan culture was influen ...

Including:

• Neo-Buddhism - Origins
• Neo-Buddhism - 22 Vows
• Neo-Buddhism - Distinctive interpretation
• Neo-Buddhism - Buddhism in India after Ambedkar
• Neo-Buddhism - S. N. Goenka
• Neo-Buddhism - Recent developments

Read more here: » Neo-Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Neo-Buddhism

Won Buddhism, often written Wonbuddhism, is a modern religious movement based in South Korea. The Korean word, based on a Chinese character, Won means circular. Won Buddhism - History. Founded in 1924 by the venerable So Tae San, Won Buddhism combines aspects of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, Zen Buddhism and Christianity. Won Buddhism - Beliefs and Rituals. Combining Zen, Seon, Chan Buddhist teachings with some Christian influence, Won Buddhists believe in the ...

Including:

• Won Buddhism - History
• Won Buddhism - Beliefs and Rituals

Read more here: » Won Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Won Buddhism

Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Græco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between the culture of Classical Greece and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 800 years in Central Asia in the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE. Greco-Buddhism influenced the artistic (and, possibly, conceptual) development of Buddhism, and in particular Mahayana Buddhism, before it was adopted by Central and Northeastern Asia from the 1st century CE, ultima ...

Including:

• Greco-Buddhism - Historical outline
• Greco-Buddhism - Religious interactions
• Greco-Buddhism - Alexander the Great in Bactria and India 331-325
• Greco-Buddhism - The Mauryan empire 322–183 BCE
• Greco-Buddhism - The Greek presence in Bactria 325 to 125 BCE
• Greco-Buddhism - The Indo-Greek kingdom and Buddhism 180 BCE –10 CE
• Greco-Buddhism - The Kushan empire 1st–3rd century CE
• Greco-Buddhism - Artistic influences
• Greco-Buddhism - The anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha
• Greco-Buddhism - A Hellenized Buddhist pantheon
• Greco-Buddhism - Greco-Buddhism and the rise of the Mahayana
• Greco-Buddhism - Conceptual influences
• Greco-Buddhism - Gandharan proselytism
• Greco-Buddhism - Intellectual influences in Asia
• Greco-Buddhism - Greco-Buddhism and the West
• Greco-Buddhism - Exchanges
• Greco-Buddhism - Religious influences
• Greco-Buddhism - Notes

Read more here: » Greco-Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Greco-Buddhism

Several instances of interaction between Buddhism and the Roman world are documented by Classical and early Christian writers. Buddhism and the Roman world - Pandion embassy. Roman historical accounts describe an embassy sent by the "Indian king Pandion (Pandya?), also named Porus," to Caesar Augustus around 13 CE. The embassy was travelling with a diplomatic letter in Greek, and one of its members was a sramana who burned himself alive in Athens to demonstrate his faith. The event made a sensation and was ...

Including:

• Buddhism and the Roman world - Pandion embassy
• Buddhism and the Roman world - Western knowledge of Buddhism
• Buddhism and the Roman world - Buddhism and Gnosticism
• Buddhism and the Roman world - Notes

Read more here: » Buddhism and the Roman world: Encyclopedia - Buddhism and the Roman world

Buddhism in Vietnam is Buddhism that had been localized to Vietnam from India and later from China. Vietnamese Buddhism has many characteristics different from Buddhism practiced in other countries. Buddhism is the most influential religion in Vietnam, with about 50 percent of Vietnamese being Buddhists. The number of practicing Buddhists numbers about three million, those who frequently visit Buddhist temples and participate in Buddhist rites number about ten million, and those living under the influence of Buddhism number in ...

Including:

• Buddhism in Vietnam - Formation and Spread of Buddhism in Vietnam
• Buddhism in Vietnam - Zen Buddhism
• Buddhism in Vietnam - Pure Land Buddhism
• Buddhism in Vietnam - Vajrayana Buddhism
• Buddhism in Vietnam - Characteristics of Vietnamese Buddhism
• Buddhism in Vietnam - Syncretism
• Buddhism in Vietnam - Ying-yang harmony
• Buddhism in Vietnam - Flexibility
• Buddhism in Vietnam - Hoa Hao Buddhism

Read more here: » Buddhism in Vietnam: Encyclopedia - Buddhism in Vietnam

The history of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddharta Gautama. This makes it one of the oldest religions practiced today. Throughout this period, the religion evolved as it encountered various countries and cultures, adding to its original Indian foundation Hellenistic as well as Central Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian cultural elements. In the process, its geographical extent became considerable so as to affect at one time or another most of the Asian continent. ...

Including:

• History of Buddhism - Life of the Buddha
• History of Buddhism - Early Buddhism
• History of Buddhism - 1st Buddhist council 5th c. BCE
• History of Buddhism - 2nd Buddhist council 383 BCE
• History of Buddhism - Ashokan proselytism c. 260 BCE
• History of Buddhism - 3rd Buddhist council c.250 BCE
• History of Buddhism - Hellenistic world
• History of Buddhism - Asian expansion
• History of Buddhism - Sunga persecutions 2nd–1st c.BCE
• History of Buddhism - Greco-Buddhist interaction 2nd c. BCE–1st c. CE
• History of Buddhism - Rise of Mahayana 1st c.BCE–2nd c.CE
• History of Buddhism - Mahayana expansion 1st c.CE–10th c.CE
• History of Buddhism - India
• History of Buddhism - Central and Northern Asia
• History of Buddhism - South-East Asia
• History of Buddhism - Emergence of the Vajrayana 5th century
• History of Buddhism - Theravada Renaissance 11th century CE—
• History of Buddhism - Expansion of Buddhism to the West
• History of Buddhism - Notes

Read more here: » History of Buddhism: Encyclopedia - History of Buddhism

Over the past few decades, the world has witnessed the dramatic growth of the Christian faith in South Korea. Almost a third of the population professed to be Christian in the year 2000, and Seoul, the capital, contained eleven of the world's twelve largest Christian congregations. The impact of Christianity on the Korean culture has been considerable, and is partly responsible for a steady decline in the membership and influence of Buddhism, Shamanism and Confucianism, which have traditionally had deep roots in Korean culture. South ...

Including:

• Christianity in Korea - Early failures: 1593-1784
• Christianity in Korea - Underpinnings of Christian growth
• Christianity in Korea - Academic sympathy—the Shilhak school
• Christianity in Korea - Lay leadership
• Christianity in Korea - Parallels in Korean tradition
• Christianity in Korea - Use of the Korean alphabet
• Christianity in Korea - Protestantism and the founding of modern educational institutions
• Christianity in Korea - Idenfication with Korean nationalism
• Christianity in Korea - The impact of Christianity on Korean society
• Christianity in Korea - Education and literacy
• Christianity in Korea - Economic effects
• Christianity in Korea - Social relationships
• Christianity in Korea - Minjung theology and the human rights struggle
• Christianity in Korea - Summary
• Christianity in Korea - Looking ahead
• Christianity in Korea - Sources
• Christianity in Korea - Numbered references
• Christianity in Korea - Bibliography

Read more here: » Christianity in Korea: Encyclopedia - Christianity in Korea

Buddhism is a religion with millions of followers in the United States, including traditionally Buddhist Asian Americans as well as non-Asian converts. The U.S. presents a strikingly new and different environment for Buddhists, leading to a unique history and a continuing process of development as Buddhism and America come to grips with each other. Buddhism in the United States - Early history. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years. ...

Including:

• Buddhism in the United States - Early history
• Buddhism in the United States - Modern American Buddhism
• Buddhism in the United States - Immigrant Buddhists
• Buddhism in the United States - Import Buddhists
• Buddhism in the United States - Export Buddhists
• Buddhism in the United States - Demographics of Buddhism in the United States
• Buddhism in the United States - Ethnic divide
• Buddhism in the United States - Trends in American Buddhism
• Buddhism in the United States - Engaged Buddhism
• Buddhism in the United States - Buddhist education in the United States

Read more here: » Buddhism in the United States: Encyclopedia - Buddhism in the United States

For more background on this topic, see Culture of Austria. Buddhism is a legally recognized religion in Austria and it is followed by more than 10,000 Austrians. Although still small in absolute numbers (10,402 at the 2001 census), Buddhism in Austria enjoys widespread acceptance if not popularity. A majority of Buddhists in the country are Austrian nationals (some of them naturalized after immigration from Asia, predominantly from China and Vietnam), ...

Including:

• Buddhism in Austria - History
• Buddhism in Austria - Early Years
• Buddhism in Austria - After World War II
• Buddhism in Austria - Buddhism recognized
• Buddhism in Austria - Buddhist religious instruction at Austrian schools

Read more here: » Buddhism in Austria: Encyclopedia - Buddhism in Austria

Tibetan Buddhism — formerly also called Lamaism, after their religious gurus known as lamas — is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. It is a multifaceted and integrated teaching, naturally implementing methods for all human-condition levels: Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana (Tantric Path) and Ati Yoga (Dzogchen). Tibetan Buddhism - Distinguishing characteristics. Tibetan Buddhism may be distinguished from other schools of Tantric ...

Including:

• Tibetan Buddhism - Distinguishing characteristics
• Tibetan Buddhism - Rituals and ritual objects
• Tibetan Buddhism - Traditions/Orders/Sects of Tibetan Buddhism
• Tibetan Buddhism - Schools/Tenets of Tibetan Buddhism
• Tibetan Buddhism - Monasticism
• Tibetan Buddhism - History of Tibetan Buddhism

Read more here: » Tibetan Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Tibetan Buddhism

Nichiren Buddhism (日蓮系諸宗派: Nichiren-kei sho shūha) is a branch of Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). Nichiren Buddhism is a comprehensive term covering several major schools and many sub-schools, as well as several of Japan's new religions. Various forms of Nichiren Buddhism have had great influence among certain sections of Japanese society at different times in the country's history, such as among the merchants of Kyoto in Japan's middle ages and among ...

Including:

• Nichiren Buddhism - The founder Nichiren
• Nichiren Buddhism - Schools
• Nichiren Buddhism - Major Nichiren Buddhist schools
• Nichiren Buddhism - Doctrine and practices
• Nichiren Buddhism - Nichiren's writings
• Nichiren Buddhism - Sources and references
• Nichiren Buddhism - English
• Nichiren Buddhism - Japanese

Read more here: » Nichiren Buddhism: Encyclopedia - Nichiren Buddhism

Buddhism is a very important religion in China and one of the three major schools of thought along with Confucianism and Taoism. It has affected and been affected by Chinese culture, politics, literature and philosophy for almost two millennia. For a more generalized discussion of Chinese religion, see religion in China. Buddhism in China - History of Buddhism in China. Buddhism in China - Arrival along the Silk Road. The arrival of Buddhism in China followed the first contacts between ...

Including:

• Buddhism in China - History of Buddhism in China
• Buddhism in China - Arrival along the Silk Road
• Buddhism in China - Relation to Confucianism and Daoism
• Buddhism in China - Local interpretation of Indian texts
• Buddhism in China - Buddhism gains political traction in the north
• Buddhism in China - Monks and rulers join forces
• Buddhism in China - Modern Chinese Buddhism
• Buddhism in China - Reference

Read more here: » Buddhism in China: Encyclopedia - Buddhism in China

A Theosophical definition of Buddhism :

Buddhism

The teachings of Gautama the Buddha. Buddhism today is divided into two branches, the Northern and the Southern. The Southern still retains the teachings of the "Buddha's brain," the "eye doctrine," that is to say his outer philosophy for the general world, sometimes inadequately called the doctrine of forms and ceremonies. The Northern still retains his "heart doctrine"  - that which is hid, the inner life, the heart-blood, of the religion: the doctrine of the inner heart of the teaching.

The religious philosophy of the Buddha-Sakyamuni is incomparably nearer to the ancient wisdom, the esoteric philosophy of the archaic ages, than is Christianity. Its main fault today is that teachers later than the Buddha himself carried its doctrines too far along merely formal or exoteric lines; yet, with all that, to this day it remains the purest and holiest of the exoteric religions on earth, and its teachings even exoterically are true  - once they are properly understood. They need but the esoteric key in interpretation of them. As a matter of fact, the same may be said of all the great ancient world religions. Christianity, Brahmanism, Taoism, and others all have the same esoteric wisdom behind the outward veil of the exoteric formal faith. See: exoteric. esoteric

See also: Buddhism, Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul)

Buddhism. Buddhism is now split into two distinct Churches: the Southern and the Northern Church.

The former is said to be the purer form, as having preserved more religiously the original teachings of the Lord Buddha. It is the religion of Ceylon, Siam, Burmah and other places, while Northern Buddhism is confined to Tibet, China and Nepaul. Such a distinction, however, is incorrect.

If the Southern Church is nearer, in that it has not departed, except perhaps in some trifling dogmas due to the many councils held after the death of the Master, from the public or exoteric teachings of Sakyamuni - the Northern Church is the outcome of Siddharta Buddha’s esoteric teachings which he confined to his elect Bhikshus and Arhats. In fact, Buddhism in the present age, cannot he justly judged either by one or the other of its exoteric popular forms. Real Buddhism can be appreciated only by blending the philosophy of the Southern Church and the metaphysics of the Northern Schools.

If one seems too iconoclastic and stero:, and the other too metaphysical and transcendental, even to being overgrown with the weeds of Indian exotericism - many of the gods of its Pantheon having been transplanted under new names to Tibetan soil - it is entirely due to the popular expression of Buddhism in both Churches.

Correspondentially they stand in their relation to each other as Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. Both err by an excess of zeal and erroneous interpretations, though neither the Southern nor the Northern Buddhist clergy have ever departed from truth consciously, still less have they acted under the dictates of priestocracy, ambition, or with an eye to personal gain and power, as the two Christian Churches have.

(See also: Buddhism, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Buddhism - The Three Marks of Existence. According to the Buddhist tradition, all phenomena (dharmas) are marked by three characteristics, sometimes referred to as the Dharma seals, that is anicca(impermanence), dukkha (suffering) and Anatta (no self) Main Article: Anicca (Pāli; Sanskrit: anitya): All compounded phenomena (things and experiences) are inconstant, unsteady, and impermanent. (Practically) everything is made up of parts, and is dependent on the right condit ...

See also:

Buddhism, Buddhism - Headline text, Buddhism - What is a Buddha?, Buddhism - Origins, Buddhism - Principles of Buddhism, Buddhism - The Three Marks of Existence, Buddhism - The Four Noble Truths, Buddhism - The Noble Eightfold Path, Buddhism - Practices of Buddhism, Buddhism - Refuge in The Three Jewels, Buddhism - The Five Precepts, Buddhism - Meditation, Buddhism - Buddha-dhatu Buddha-Principle Buddha-nature, Buddhism - Other principles and practices, Buddhism - Vegetarianism, Buddhism - Buddhist religious philosophy and branches, Buddhism - Buddhism after the Buddha, Buddhism - Principal schools of Buddhist philosophy, Buddhism - Scriptures, Buddhism - Relations with other Eastern faiths, Buddhism - Buddhism in the modern world, Buddhism - Buddhism and the West, Buddhism - Buddhism, Buddhism - Related systems and religions, Buddhism - References and Links, Buddhism - References, Buddhism - Footnotes, Buddhism - External links

Read more here: » Buddhism: Encyclopedia II - Buddhism - Principles of Buddhism

When Korea was liberated from Japanese occupation in 1945, the celibate ordained members of the main sect of Korean Buddhism, Chogye, to take over for the married monks who ran the temples during the occupation. The new occupiers, however, brought with them their own religions, Christianity in the south and Marxism in the north. Although today there are large Buddhist organizations in Korea, the influences of Marxism, Western secularism, and Christianity continue to grow, which some see as a natural result of ...

See also:

Korean Buddhism, Korean Buddhism - Historical overview of the development of Korean Buddhism, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism in the Three Kingdoms, Korean Buddhism - Goguryeo, Korean Buddhism - Baekje, Korean Buddhism - Kaya, Korean Buddhism - Silla, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism in the Unified Silla period 668-918, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism as state religion in the Goryeo period 918-1392, Korean Buddhism - Suppression under the Joseon dynasty 1392-1910, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism during the Japanese occupation 1910-1945, Korean Buddhism - Buddhism and Westernization 1945-present, Korean Buddhism - Looking Ahead

Read more here: » Korean Buddhism: Encyclopedia II - Korean Buddhism - Buddhism and Westernization 1945-present