Buddhism
Buddhism is the world’s fourth-largest religion with over 520 million followers, or over 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists. It originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravāda and Mahāyāna.
About Buddhism in brief
Buddhism is the world’s fourth-largest religion with over 520 million followers, or over 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists. It originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravāda and Mahāyāna. Most Buddhist traditions share the goal of overcoming suffering and the cycle of death and rebirth, either by the attainment of Nirvana or through the path of Buddhahood. Buddhist schools vary in their interpretation of the path to liberation, the relative importance and canonicity assigned to the various Buddhist texts, and their specific teachings and practices. Widely observed practices include taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, observance of moral precepts, Buddhist monasticism, Buddhist meditation, and the cultivation of the Paramitas. Theravada Buddhism has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon and Tiantai, is found throughout East Asia. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian adepts, may be viewed as a separate branch or as an aspect ofMahayana Buddhism. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about the society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts.
According to early texts such as the Pali Ariyapariyesanā-sutta and its Chinese parallel at MĀ 204, Gautama was moved by the suffering of life and death, and its endless repetition due to rebirth. He thus set out on a quest to find liberation from suffering. Early texts have the Buddha’s family name as ‘Gautama’ The details of Buddha’s life are mentioned in many Early Buddhist Texts but are inconsistent, and his social background and life details are difficult to prove. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother was Queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini. However, scholars such as Richard Gombrich consider this a dubious claim because a combination of evidence suggests he was Born in the Shakya community, which was governed by a small oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered instead. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya and attained awakening, the workings of karma, as well as achieving the end of the mental defilements, the ending of suffering, and rebirth in saṃsāra. He spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma, which became the last centuries of the last millennium of India.
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This page is based on the article Buddhism published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 29, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
