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Buddhism
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Standing Buddha. One of the earliest known representations of the Buddha, 1st2nd
century CE. Greco-Buddhist art, Gandhara. (Tokyo National Museum)
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Buddhism
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Nirv a[show]

Traditions
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Outline
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Buddhism is a religion indigenous to the Indian subcontinent that encompasses a
variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed
to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha, meaning "the awakened
one". The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent
sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.[1] He is recognized by Buddhists as
an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings
end their suffering (dukkha) through the elimination of ignorance (avidy) by way of
understanding and the seeing of dependent origination (prattyasamutpda) and the
elimination of craving (ta h), and thus the attainment of the cessation of all
suffering, known as the sublime state of nirva.[2]
Two major branches of Buddhism are generally recognized: Theravada ("The School of
the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada has a widespread
following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar etc.).
Mahayana is found throughout East Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore,
Taiwan etc.) and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism,
Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, and Tiantai (Tendai). In some classifications,
Vajrayanapracticed mainly in Tibet and Mongolia, and adjacent parts of China and
Russiais recognized as a third branch, while others classify it as a part of
Mahayana.
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While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia, both branches are now found
throughout the world. Estimates of Buddhists worldwide vary significantly depending
on the way Buddhist adherence is defined. Conservative estimates are between 350 and
750 million.[3][4][5] Higher estimates are between 1.2 and 1.7 billion.[6][7][8] It
is also recognized as one of the fastest growing religions in the
world.[9][10][11][12]
Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance
and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective
practices.[13] The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three
Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community).
Taking "refuge in the triple gem" has traditionally been a declaration and
commitment to being on the Buddhist path, and in general distinguishes a Buddhist
from a non-Buddhist.[14] Other practices may include following ethical precepts;
support of the monastic community; renouncing conventional living and becoming a
monastic; the development of mindfulness and practice of meditation; cultivation of
higher wisdom and discernment; study of scriptures; devotional practices;
ceremonies; and in the Mahayana tradition, invocation of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Contents
[hide] 1 Life of the Buddha
2 Buddhist concepts 2.1 Life and the world 2.1.1 Sa sra
2.1.2 Karma
2.1.3 Rebirth
2.2 Suffering's causes and solution 2.2.1 The Four Noble Truths
2.2.2 Noble Eightfold Path
2.2.3 The Four Immeasurables
2.2.4 Middle Way
2.3 Nature of existence 2.3.1 Three Marks of Existence
2.3.2 Dependent arising
2.3.3 Emptiness
2.4 Liberation 2.4.1 Nirvana
2.4.2 Buddhas 2.4.2.1 According to Theravada
2.4.2.2 According to Mahayana
2.4.3 Buddha eras
2.4.4 Bodhisattvas
3 Practice 3.1 Devotion 3.1.1 Yoga
3.1.2 Refuge in the Three Jewels
3.2 Buddhist ethics
3.3 Monastic life
3.4 Meditation 3.4.1 Samdhi (meditative cultivation): samatha meditation 3.4.1.1 In
Theravda
3.4.2 Praj (Wisdom): vipassana meditation
3.4.3 Zen
3.4.4 Vajrayana and Tantra
4 History 4.1 Philosophical roots
4.2 Indian Buddhism 4.2.1 Pre-sectarian Buddhism
4.2.2 Early Buddhist schools
4.2.3 Early Mahayana Buddhism
4.2.4 Late Mahayana Buddhism
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4.2.5 Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism)
4.3 Development of Buddhism
4.4 Buddhism today
4.5 Late 20th Century Buddhist Movements
5 Demographics
6 Schools and traditions 6.1 Timeline
6.2 Theravada school
6.3 Mahayana traditions
6.4 Vajrayana traditions
7 Buddhist texts 7.1 Pli Tipitaka
7.2 Mahayana sutras
8 Comparative studies 8.1 Is Buddhism a religion?
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Bibliography 12.1 Online
13 External links

Life of the Buddha

Relic depicting Gautama leaving home. The Great Departure, c.12nd century. (Muse
Guimet)
Main article: Gautama Buddha
This narrative draws on the Nidnakath biography of the Theravda sect in Sri
Lanka, which is ascribed to Buddhagho a in the 5th century CE.[15] Earlier
biographies such as the Buddhacarita, the Lokottaravdin Mahvastu, and the Mahyna
/ Sarvstivda Lalitavistara Stra, give different accounts. Scholars are hesitant
to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most
accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order, but do not consistently
accept all of the details contained in his biographies.[16][17]

Ascetic Gautama with his five companions, who later comprised the first Sangha.
(Painting in Laotian temple)
According to author Michael Carrithers, while there are good reasons to doubt the
traditional account, "the outline of the life must be true: birth, maturity,
renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death."[18] In writing her
biography of the Buddha, Karen Armstrong noted, "It is obviously difficult,
therefore, to write a biography of the Buddha that meets modern criteria, because we
have very little information that can be considered historically sound... [but] we
can be reasonably confident Siddhatta Gotama did indeed exist and that his disciples
preserved the memory of his life and teachings as well as they could."[19][dubious
discuss]
The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhrtha Gautama was born in a
community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the
northeastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE.[20] It was either a small
republic, in which case his father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in
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which case his father was an oligarch.[20]

The Vajrashila, where Gautama sat under a tree and became enlightened, Bodh Gaya,
India, 2011
According to the Theravada Tripitaka scriptures[which?] (from Pali, meaning "three
baskets"), Gautama was born in Lumbini in modern-day Nepal, around the year 563 BCE,
and raised in Kapilavastu.[21][22]
According to this narrative, shortly after the birth of young prince Gautama, an
astrologer visited the young prince's fatherKing uddhodanaand prophesied that
Siddhartha would either become a great king or renounce the material world to become
a holy man, depending on whether he saw what life was like outside the palace walls.
uddhodana was determined to see his son become a king, so he prevented him from
leaving the palace grounds. But at age 29, despite his father's efforts, Gautama
ventured beyond the palace several times. In a series of encountersknown in
Buddhist literature as the four sightshe learned of the suffering of ordinary
people, encountering an old man, a sick man, a corpse and, finally, an ascetic holy
man, apparently content and at peace with the world. These experiences prompted
Gautama to abandon royal life and take up a spiritual quest.

Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India, built by King Ashoka, where the
Buddha gave his first sermon
Gautama first went to study with famous religious teachers of the day, and mastered
the meditative attainments they taught. But he found that they did not provide a
permanent end to suffering, so he continued his quest. He next attempted an extreme
asceticism, which was a religious pursuit common among the Shramanas, a religious
culture distinct from the Vedic one. Gautama underwent prolonged fasting,
breath-holding, and exposure to pain. He almost starved himself to death in the
process. He realized that he had taken this kind of practice to its limit, and had
not put an end to suffering. So in a pivotal moment he accepted milk and rice from a
village girl and changed his approach. He devoted himself to anapanasati meditation,
through which he discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way (Skt.
madhyam-pratipad[23]): a path of moderation between the extremes of self-indulgence
and self-mortification.[24][25]
Gold colored statue of man reclining on his right side
Buddha statue depicting Parinirvana. (Mahaparinirvana Temple, Kushinagar, Uttar
Pradesh, India)
Gautama was now determined to complete his spiritual quest. At the age of 35, he
famously sat in meditation under a sacred fig tree known as the Bodhi tree in
the town of Bodh Gaya, India, and vowed not to rise before achieving enlightenment.
After many days, he finally destroyed the fetters of his mind, thereby liberating
himself from the cycle of suffering and rebirth, and arose as a fully enlightened
being (Skt. samyaksa buddha). Soon thereafter, he attracted a band of followers and
instituted a monastic order. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his life
teaching the path of awakening he had discovered, traveling throughout the
northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent,[26][27] and died at the age of 80 (483
BCE) in Kushinagar, India. The south branch of the original fig tree available only
in Anuradhapura Sri Lanka is known as Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi.
Buddhist concepts
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Main article: Buddhist terms and concepts
Life and the world

Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Thangka depicting the Wheel of Life with its six
realms
Sa sra
Main article: Sa sra (Buddhism)
Samsara is the cycle of birth and death.[28] Sentient beings crave pleasure and are
averse to pain from birth to death. In being controlled by these attitudes, they
perpetuate the cycle of their conditioned existence and suffering (sa sra), and by
that means produce the causes and conditions of the next rebirth after death. Each
rebirth repeats this process in an involuntary cycle, which Buddhists strive to end
by eradicating these causes and conditions by the application of the methods laid
out by the Buddha and subsequent Buddhists.
Karma
Main article: Karma in Buddhism
In Buddhism, Karma (from Sanskrit: "action, work") is the force that drives
sa srathe cycle of suffering and rebirth for each being. Good, skillful deeds
(Pli: "kusala") and bad, unskillful (Pli: "akusala") actions produce "seeds" in
the mind that come to fruition either in this life or in a subsequent rebirth.[29]
The avoidance of unwholesome actions and the cultivation of positive actions is
called la (from Sanskrit: "ethical conduct").
In Buddhism, karma specifically refers to those actions of body, speech or mind that
spring from mental intent ("cetana"),[30] and bring about a consequence or fruit,
(phala) or result (vipka).
In Theravada Buddhism there can be no divine salvation or forgiveness for one's
karma, since it is a purely impersonal process that is a part of the makeup of the
universe. In Mahayana Buddhism, the texts of certain Mahayana sutras (such as the
Lotus Sutra, the Angulimaliya Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra) claim that the recitation
or merely the hearing of their texts can expunge great swathes of negative karma.
Some forms of Buddhism (for example, Vajrayana) regard the recitation of mantras as
a means for cutting off of previous negative karma.[31] The Japanese Pure Land
teacher Genshin taught that Amida Buddha has the power to destroy the karma that
would otherwise bind one in sa sra.[4][5]
Rebirth
A very large hill behind two palm trees and a boulevard, people walking are about
one fifth the hill's height
Gautama's cremation site, Ramabhar Stupa in Uttar Pradesh, India
Main article: Rebirth (Buddhism)
Rebirth refers to a process whereby beings go through a succession of lifetimes as
one of many possible forms of sentient life, each running from conception[32] to
death. Buddhism rejects the concepts of a permanent self or an unchanging, eternal
soul, as it is called in Hinduism and Christianity. According to Buddhism there
ultimately is no such thing as a self independent from the rest of the universe (the
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doctrine of anatta). Buddhists also refer to themselves as the believers of the
anatta doctrineNairatmyavadin or Anattavadin. Rebirth in subsequent existences must
be understood as the continuation of a dynamic, ever-changing process of "dependent
arising" ("prattyasamutpda") determined by the laws of cause and effect (karma)
rather than that of one being, transmigrating or incarnating from one existence to
the next.
Each rebirth takes place within one of five realms according to Theravadins, or six
according to other schools.[33][34]
1.Naraka beings: those who live in one of many Narakas (Hells);
2.Preta: sometimes sharing some space with humans, but invisible to most people; an
important variety is the hungry ghost;[35]
3.Animals: sharing space with humans, but considered another type of life;
4.Human beings: one of the realms of rebirth in which attaining Nirvana is possible;
5.Asuras: variously translated as lowly deities, demons, titans, antigods; not
recognized by Theravda (Mahavihara) tradition as a separate realm;[36]
6.Devas including Brahmas: variously translated as gods, deities, spirits, angels,
or left untranslated.
The above are further subdivided into 31 planes of existence.[37] Rebirths in some
of the higher heavens, known as the uddhvsa Worlds or Pure Abodes, can be
attained only by skilled Buddhist practitioners known as angmis (non-returners).
Rebirths in the arupa-dhatu (formless realms) can be attained by only those who can
meditate on the arpajhnas, the highest object of meditation.
According to East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism, there is an intermediate state
(Tibetan "Bardo") between one life and the next. The orthodox Theravada position
rejects this; however there are passages in the Samyutta Nikaya of the Pali Canon
(the collection of texts on which the Theravada tradition is based), that seem to
lend support to the idea that the Buddha taught of an intermediate stage between one
life and the next.[38][39]
Suffering's causes and solution
The Four Noble Truths
Main article: Four Noble Truths
The teachings on the Four Noble Truths are regarded as central to the teachings of
Buddhism, and are said to provide a conceptual framework for Buddhist thought. These
four truths explain the nature of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction), its
causes, and how it can be overcome. The four truths are:[a]
1.The truth of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction)
2.The truth of the origin of dukkha
3.The truth of the cessation of dukkha
4.The truth of the path leading to the cessation of dukkha
The first truth explains the nature of dukkha. Dukkha is commonly translated as
suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction, unease, etc., and it is said to have
the following three aspects:
the obvious suffering of physical and mental illness, growing old, and dying;
the anxiety or stress of trying to hold onto things that are constantly changing;
and
a subtle dissatisfaction pervading all forms of life, due to the fact that all forms
of life are impermanent and constantly changing.[b]
The second truth is that the origin of dukkha can be known. Within the context of
the four noble truths, the origin of dukkha is commonly explained as craving (Pali:
tanha) conditioned by ignorance (Pali: avijja). On a deeper level, the root cause of
dukkha is identified as ignorance (Pali: avijja) of the true nature of things. The
third noble truth is that the complete cessation of dukkha is possible, and the
fourth noble truth identifies a path to this cessation.[a]
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Noble Eightfold Path
Main articles: Noble Eightfold Path and Buddhist Paths to liberation

The Dharmachakra represents the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Paththe fourth of the Buddha's Noble Truthsconsists of a set
of eight interconnected factors or conditions, that when developed together, lead to
the cessation of dukkha.[40] These eight factors are: Right View (or Right
Understanding), Right Intention (or Right Thought), Right Speech, Right Action,
Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Ajahn Sucitto describes the path as "a mandala of interconnected factors that
support and moderate each other."[40] The eight factors of the path are not to be
understood as stages, in which each stage is completed before moving on to the next.
Rather, they are understood as eight significant dimensions of one's
behaviourmental, spoken, and bodilythat operate in dependence on one another;
taken together, they define a complete path, or way of living.[41]
The eight factors of the path are commonly presented within three divisions (or
higher trainings) as shown below:
Division
Eightfold factor
Sanskrit, Pali
Description
Wisdom
(Sanskrit: praj,
Pli: pa) 1. Right view samyag d i,
samm ditthi Viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be
2. Right intention samyag sa kalpa,
samm sankappa Intention of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness
Ethical conduct
(Sanskrit: la,
Pli: sla) 3. Right speech samyag vc,
samm vca Speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way
4. Right action samyag karman,
samm kammanta Acting in a non-harmful way
5. Right livelihood samyag jvana,
samm jva A non-harmful livelihood
Concentration
(Sanskrit and Pli: samdhi) 6. Right effort samyag vyyma,
samm vyma Making an effort to improve
7. Right mindfulness samyag sm ti,
samm sati Awareness to see things for what they are with clear consciousness;
being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion
8. Right concentration samyag samdhi,
samm samdhi Correct meditation or concentration, explained as the first four
jhnas
The Four Immeasurables

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Statue of Buddha in Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, Phitsanulok, Thailand
Main article: Brahmavihara
While he searched for enlightenment, Gautama combined the yoga practice of his
teacher Kalama with what later became known as "the immeasurables".[42][dubious
discuss] Gautama thus invented a new kind of human, one without egotism.[42][dubious
discuss] What Thich Nhat Hanh calls the "Four Immeasurable Minds" of love,
compassion, joy, and equanimity[43] are also known as brahmaviharas, divine abodes,
or simply as four immeasurables.[44] Pema Chdrn calls them the "four limitless
ones".[45] Of the four, mett or loving-kindness meditation is perhaps the best
known.[44] The Four Immeasurables are taught as a form of meditation that cultivates
"wholesome attitudes towards all sentient beings."[46] The practitioner prays:
1.May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes,
2.May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes,
3.May all sentient beings never be separated from bliss without suffering,
4.May all sentient beings be in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.[47]
Middle Way
Main article: Middle Way
An important guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way (or Middle
Path), which is said to have been discovered by Gautama Buddha prior to his
enlightenment. The Middle Way has several definitions:
1.The practice of non-extremism: a path of moderation away from the extremes of
self-indulgence and self-mortification;
2.The middle ground between certain metaphysical views (for example, that things
ultimately either do or do not exist);[48]
3.An explanation of Nirvana (perfect enlightenment), a state wherein it becomes
clear that all dualities apparent in the world are delusory (see Seongcheol);
4.Another term for emptiness, the ultimate nature of all phenomena (in the Mahayana
branch), a lack of inherent existence, which avoids the extremes of permanence and
nihilism or inherent existence and nothingness.
Nature of existence

Monks debating at Sera Monastery, Tibet
Buddhist scholars have produced a remarkable quantity of intellectual theories,
philosophies and world view concepts (see, for example, Abhidharma, Buddhist
philosophy and Reality in Buddhism). Some schools of Buddhism discourage doctrinal
study, and some regard it as essential practice.
The concept of liberation (nirv a)the goal of the Buddhist pathis closely related
to overcoming ignorance (avidy), a fundamental misunderstanding or mis-perception
of the nature of reality. In awakening to the true nature of the self and all
phenomena one develops dispassion for the objects of clinging, and is liberated from
suffering (dukkha) and the cycle of incessant rebirths (sa sra). To this end, the
Buddha recommended viewing things as characterized by the three marks of existence.
Three Marks of Existence
Main article: Three marks of existence
The Three Marks of Existence are impermanence, suffering, and not-self.
Impermanence (Pli: anicca) expresses the Buddhist notion that all compounded or
conditioned phenomena (all things and experiences) are inconstant, unsteady, and
impermanent. Everything we can experience through our senses is made up of parts,
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and its existence is dependent on external conditions. Everything is in constant
flux, and so conditions and the thing itself are constantly changing. Things are
constantly coming into being, and ceasing to be. Since nothing lasts, there is no
inherent or fixed nature to any object or experience. According to the doctrine of
impermanence, life embodies this flux in the aging process, the cycle of rebirth
(sa sra), and in any experience of loss. The doctrine asserts that because things
are impermanent, attachment to them is futile and leads to suffering (dukkha).
4 Suffering (Pli: dukkha; Sanskrit du kha) is also a central concept in
Buddhism. The word roughly corresponds to a number of terms in English including
suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness, sorrow, affliction, anxiety, dissatisfaction,
discomfort, anguish, stress, misery, and frustration. Although the term is often
translated as "suffering", its philosophical meaning is more analogous to
"disquietude" as in the condition of being disturbed. As such, "suffering" is too
narrow a translation with "negative emotional connotations"[49] that can give the
impression that the Buddhist view is pessimistic, but Buddhism seeks to be neither
pessimistic nor optimistic, but realistic. In English-language Buddhist literature
translated from Pli, "dukkha" is often left untranslated, so as to encompass its
full range of meaning.[50][51][52]
Not-self (Pli: anatta; Sanskrit: antman) is the third mark of existence. Upon
careful examination, one finds that no phenomenon is really "I" or "mine"; these
concepts are in fact constructed by the mind. In the Nikayas anatta is not meant as
a metaphysical assertion, but as an approach for gaining release from suffering. In
fact, the Buddha rejected both of the metaphysical assertions "I have a Self" and "I
have no Self" as ontological views that bind one to suffering.[53] When asked if the
self was identical with the body, the Buddha refused to answer. By analyzing the
constantly changing physical and mental constituents (skandhas) of a person or
object, the practitioner comes to the conclusion that neither the respective parts
nor the person as a whole comprise a self.
Dependent arising
Main article: Prattyasamutpda
The doctrine of prattyasamutpda (Sanskrit; Pali: paticcasamuppda; Tibetan:
rten.cing.'brel.bar.'byung.ba; Chinese: ) is an important part of Buddhist
metaphysics. It states that phenomena arise together in a mutually interdependent
web of cause and effect. It is variously rendered into English as "dependent
origination", "conditioned genesis", "dependent co-arising", "interdependent
arising", or "contingency".
The best-known application of the concept of prattyasamutpda is the scheme of
Twelve Nidnas (from Pli "nidna" meaning "cause, foundation, source or origin"),
which explain the continuation of the cycle of suffering and rebirth (sa sra) in
detail.[54]
Main article: Twelve Nidnas
The Twelve Nidnas describe a causal connection between the subsequent
characteristics or conditions of cyclic existence, each one giving rise to the next:
1.Avidy: ignorance, specifically spiritual ignorance of the nature of reality;[55]
2.Sa skras: literally formations, explained as referring to karma;
3.Vijna: consciousness, specifically discriminative;[56]
4.Nmarpa: literally name and form, referring to mind and body;[57]
5. a yatana: the six sense bases: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind-organ;
6.Spara: variously translated contact, impression, stimulation (by a sense object);
7.Vedan: usually translated feeling: this is the "hedonic tone", i.e. whether
something is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral;
8.T : literally thirst, but in Buddhism nearly always used to mean craving;
9.Updna: clinging or grasping; the word also means fuel, which feeds the
continuing cycle of rebirth;
10.Bhava: literally being (existence) or becoming. (The Theravada explains this as
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having two meanings: karma, which produces a new existence, and the existence
itself.);[58]
11.Jti: literally birth, but life is understood as starting at conception;[59]
12.Jarmara a: (old age and death) and also okaparidevadu khadaurmanasyopysa
(sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and misery).
Sentient beings always suffer throughout sa sra, until they free themselves from
this suffering by attaining Nirvana. Then the absence of the first
Nidnaignoranceleads to the absence of the others.
Emptiness
Main article: nyat
Mahayana Buddhism received significant theoretical grounding from Nagarjuna (perhaps
c. 150250 CE), arguably the most influential scholar within the Mahayana tradition.
Nagarjuna's primary contribution to Buddhist philosophy was the systematic
exposition of the concept of nyat, or "emptiness", widely attested in the
Prajpramit sutras that emerged in his era. The concept of emptiness brings
together other key Buddhist doctrines, particularly anatta and prattyasamutpda
(dependent origination), to refute the metaphysics of Sarvastivada and Sautrantika
(extinct non-Mahayana schools). For Nagarjuna, it is not merely sentient beings that
are empty of tman; all phenomena (dharmas) are without any svabhava (literally
"own-nature" or "self-nature"), and thus without any underlying essence; they are
"empty" of being independent; thus the heterodox theories of svabhava circulating at
the time were refuted on the basis of the doctrines of early Buddhism. Nagarjuna's
school of thought is known as the Mdhyamaka. Some of the writings attributed to
Nagarjuna made explicit references to Mahayana texts, but his philosophy was argued
within the parameters set out by the agamas. He may have arrived at his positions
from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded
in the Canon. In the eyes of Nagarjuna the Buddha was not merely a forerunner, but
the very founder of the Mdhyamaka system.[60]
Sarvastivada teachingswhich were criticized by Ngrjunawere reformulated by
scholars such as Vasubandhu and Asanga and were adapted into the Yogacara (Sanskrit:
yoga practice) school. While the Mdhyamaka school held that asserting the existence
or non-existence of any ultimately real thing was inappropriate, some exponents of
Yogacara asserted that the mind and only the mind is ultimately real (a doctrine
known as cittamatra). Not all Yogacarins asserted that mind was truly existent;
Vasubandhu and Asanga in particular did not.[61] These two schools of thought, in
opposition or synthesis, form the basis of subsequent Mahayana metaphysics in the
Indo-Tibetan tradition.
Besides emptiness, Mahayana schools often place emphasis on the notions of perfected
spiritual insight (prajpramit) and Buddha-nature (tathgatagarbha). There are
conflicting interpretations of the tathgatagarbha in Mahyna thought. The idea may
be traced to Abhidharma, and ultimately to statements of the Buddha in the Nikyas.
In Tibetan Buddhism, according to the Sakya school, tathgatagarbha is the
inseparability of the clarity and emptiness of one's mind. In Nyingma,
tathgatagarbha also generally refers to inseparability of the clarity and emptiness
of one's mind. According to the Gelug school, it is the potential for sentient
beings to awaken since they are empty (i.e. dependently originated). According to
the Jonang school, it refers to the innate qualities of the mind that expresses
themselves as omniscience etc. when adventitious obscurations are removed. The
"Tathgatagarbha Sutras" are a collection of Mahayana sutras that present a unique
model of Buddha-nature. Even though this collection was generally ignored in
India,[62] East Asian Buddhism provides some significance to these texts.
Liberation
Nirvana
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Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya, India, where Gautama Buddha attained Nirvana under the
Bodhi Tree (left)
Main article: Nirvana (concept)
Nirvana (Sanskrit; Pali: "Nibbana") means "cessation", "extinction" (of craving and
ignorance and therefore suffering and the cycle of involuntary rebirths (sa sra)),
"extinguished", "quieted", "calmed"; it is also known as "Awakening" or
"Enlightenment" in the West. The term for anybody who has achieved nirvana,
including the Buddha, is arahant.
) Bodhi (Pli and Sanskrit, in devanagari: is a term applied to the experience of
Awakening of arahants. Bodhi literally means "awakening", but it is more commonly
translated into English as "enlightenment". In Early Buddhism, bodhi carried a
meaning synonymous to nirvana, using only some different metaphors to describe the
experience, which implies the extinction of raga (greed, craving),[63] dosa (hate,
aversion)[64] and moha (delusion).[65] In the later school of Mahayana Buddhism, the
status of nirvana was downgraded in some scriptures, coming to refer only to the
extinction of greed and hate, implying that delusion was still present in one who
attained nirvana, and that one needed to attain bodhi to eradicate delusion:
An important development in the Mahayana [was] that it came to separate nirvana from
bodhi ('awakening' to the truth, Enlightenment), and to put a lower value on the
former (Gombrich, 1992d). Originally nirvana and bodhi refer to the same thing; they
merely use different metaphors for the experience. But the Mahayana tradition
separated them and considered that nirvana referred only to the extinction of
craving (passion and hatred), with the resultant escape from the cycle of rebirth.
This interpretation ignores the third fire, delusion: the extinction of delusion is
of course in the early texts identical with what can be positively expressed as
gnosis, Enlightenment.
Richard F. Gombrich, How Buddhism Began[66]
Therefore, according to Mahayana Buddhism, the arahant has attained only nirvana,
thus still being subject to delusion, while the bodhisattva not only achieves
nirvana but full liberation from delusion as well. He thus attains bodhi and becomes
a buddha. In Theravada Buddhism, bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning as in the
early texts, that of being freed from greed, hate and delusion.
The term parinirvana is also encountered in Buddhism, and this generally refers to
the complete nirvana attained by the arahant at the moment of death, when the
physical body expires.
Buddhas
Main article: Buddhahood
According to Buddhist traditions a Buddha is a fully awakened being who has
completely purified his mind of the three poisons of desire, aversion and ignorance.
A Buddha is no longer bound by Samsara and has ended the suffering which unawakened
people experience in life.
Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama to have been the only Buddha. The Pali
Canon refers to many previous ones (see List of the 28 Buddhas), while the Mahayana
tradition additionally has many Buddhas of celestial, rather than historical, origin
(see Amitabha or Vairocana as examples, for lists of many thousands Buddha names see
Taish Shinsh Daizky numbers 439448). A common Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist
belief is that the next Buddha will be one named Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya).
According to Theravada
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In Theravada doctrine, a person may awaken from the "sleep of ignorance" by directly
realizing the true nature of reality; such people are called arahants and
occasionally buddhas. After numerous lifetimes of spiritual striving, they have
reached the end of the cycle of rebirth, no longer reincarnating as human, animal,
ghost, or other being. The commentaries to the Pali Canon classify these awakened
beings into three types:
Sammasambuddha, usually just called the Buddha, who discovers the truth by himself
and teaches the path to awakening to others
Paccekabuddha, who discovers the truth by himself but lacks the skill to teach
others
Savakabuddha, who receive the truth directly or indirectly from a Sammasambuddha
Bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning, that of being freed from craving, hate,
and delusion. In attaining bodhi, the arahant has overcome these obstacles. As a
further distinction, the extinction of only hatred and greed (in the sensory
context) with some residue of delusion, is called anagami.
According to Mahayana

The Great Statue of Buddha Amitabha in Kamakura, Japan
In the Mahayana, the Buddha tends not to be viewed as merely human, but as the
earthly projection of a beginningless and endless, omnipresent being (see
Dharmakaya) beyond the range and reach of thought. Moreover, in certain Mahayana
sutras, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are viewed essentially as One: all three are
seen as the eternal Buddha himself.
The Buddha's death is seen as an illusion, he is living on in other planes of
existence, and monks are therefore permitted to offer "new truths" based on his
input. Mahayana also differs from Theravada in its concept of nyat (that
ultimately nothing has existence), and in its belief in bodhisattvas (enlightened
people who vow to continue being reborn until all beings can be enlightened).[67]
Celestial Buddhas are individuals who no longer exist on the material plane of
existence, but who still aid in the enlightenment of all beings.
Nirvana came to refer only to the extinction of greed and hate,[dubious discuss]
implying that delusion was still present in one who attained Nirvana. Bodhi became a
higher attainment that eradicates delusion entirely.[66] Thus, the Arahant attains
Nirvana but not Bodhi, thus still being subject to delusion, while the Buddha
attains Bodhi.[dubious discuss]
The method of self-exertion or "self-power"without reliance on an external force or
beingstands in contrast to another major form of Buddhism, Pure Land, which is
characterised by utmost trust in the salvific "other-power" of Amitabha Buddha. Pure
Land Buddhism is a very widespread and perhaps the most faith-orientated
manifestation of Buddhism and centres upon the conviction that faith in Amitabha
Buddha and the chanting of homage to his name liberates one at death into the
Blissful ( ), Pure Land ( ) of Amitabha Buddha. This Buddhic realm is variously
construed as a foretaste of Nirvana, or as essentially Nirvana itself. The great vow
of Amitabha Buddha to rescue all beings from samsaric suffering is viewed within
Pure Land Buddhism as universally efficacious, if only one has faith in the power of
that vow or chants his name.
Buddha eras
Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha was the first to achieve enlightenment in this
Buddha era and is therefore credited with the establishment of Buddhism. A Buddha
era is the stretch of history during which people remember and practice the
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teachings of the earliest known Buddha. This Buddha era will end when all the
knowledge, evidence and teachings of Gautama Buddha have vanished. This belief
therefore maintains that many Buddha eras have started and ended throughout the
course of human existence.[68][69] The Gautama Buddha, then, is the Buddha of this
era, who taught directly or indirectly to all other Buddhas in it (see types of
Buddhas).
In addition, Mahayana Buddhists believe there are innumerable other Buddhas in other
universes.[70] A Theravada commentary says that Buddhas arise one at a time in this
world element, and not at all in others.[71] The understandings of this matter
reflect widely differing interpretations of basic terms, such as "world realm",
between the various schools of Buddhism.
The idea of the decline and gradual disappearance of the teaching has been
influential in East Asian Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism holds that it has declined to
the point where few are capable of following the path, so it may be best to rely on
the power of the Amitabha Buddha.
Bodhisattvas
Main article: Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva means "enlightenment being", and generally refers to one who is on the
path to buddhahood. Traditionally, a bodhisattva is anyone who, motivated by great
compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain
Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.[72] Theravada Buddhism primarily
uses the term in relation to Gautama Buddha's previous existences, but has
traditionally acknowledged and respected the bodhisattva path as well.[73]
According to Jan Nattier, the term Mahyna ("Great Vehicle") was originally even an
honorary synonym for Bodhisattvayna, or the "Bodhisattva Vehicle."[74] The
A ashasrik Prajpramit Stra, an early and important Mahyna text, contains a
simple and brief definition for the term bodhisattva, and this definition is the
following:[75][76][77]
Because he has enlightenment as his aim, a bodhisattva-mahsattva is so called.
Mahyna Buddhism encourages everyone to become bodhisattvas and to take the
bodhisattva vows. With these vows, one makes the promise to work for the complete
enlightenment of all beings by practicing six perfections (Skt. pramit).[78]
According to the Mahyna teachings, these perfections are: giving, discipline,
forbearance, effort, meditation, and transcendent wisdom.
A famous saying by the 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar-saint Shantideva, which
the Dalai Lama often cites as his favourite verse, summarizes the Bodhisattva's
intention (Bodhicitta) as follows:
For as long as space endures, and for as long as living beings remain, until then
may I too abide to dispel the misery of the world.
Practice
Devotion
Main article: Buddhist devotion
Devotion is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists.[79] Devotional
practices include bowing, offerings, pilgrimage, and chanting. In Pure Land
Buddhism, devotion to the Buddha Amitabha is the main practice. In Nichiren
Buddhism, devotion to the Lotus Sutra is the main practice.
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Yoga

Statue of the Buddha in meditation position, Haw Phra Kaew, Vientiane, Laos
Buddhism traditionally incorporates states of meditative absorption (Pali: jhna;
Skt: dhyna).[80] The most ancient sustained expression of yogic ideas is found in
the early sermons of the Buddha.[81] One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was
that meditative absorption must be combined with liberating cognition.[82] The
difference between the Buddha's teaching and the yoga presented in early Brahminic
texts is striking. Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to the
Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a
complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a
liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful awareness.[83]
Meditation was an aspect of the practice of the yogis in the centuries preceding the
Buddha. The Buddha built upon the yogis' concern with introspection and developed
their meditative techniques, but rejected their theories of liberation.[84] In
Buddhism, mindfulness and clear awareness are to be developed at all times; in
pre-Buddhist yogic practices there is no such injunction. A yogi in the Brahmanical
tradition is not to practice while defecating, for example, while a Buddhist
monastic should do so.[85]
Religious knowledge or "vision" was indicated as a result of practice both within
and outside of the Buddhist fold. According to the Samaaphala Sutta, this sort of
vision arose for the Buddhist adept as a result of the perfection of "meditation"
coupled with the perfection of "discipline" (Pali sla; Skt. la). Some of the
Buddha's meditative techniques were shared with other traditions of his day, but the
idea that ethics are causally related to the attainment of "transcendent wisdom"
(Pali pa; Skt. praj) was original.[86]
The Buddhist texts are probably the earliest describing meditation techniques.[87]
They describe meditative practices and states that existed before the Buddha as well
as those first developed within Buddhism.[88] Two Upanishads written after the rise
of Buddhism do contain full-fledged descriptions of yoga as a means to
liberation.[89]
While there is no convincing evidence for meditation in pre-Buddhist early Brahminic
texts, Wynne argues that formless meditation originated in the Brahminic or
Shramanic tradition, based on strong parallels between Upanishadic cosmological
statements and the meditative goals of the two teachers of the Buddha as recorded in
the early Buddhist texts.[90] He mentions less likely possibilities as well.[91]
Having argued that the cosmological statements in the Upanishads also reflect a
contemplative tradition, he argues that the Nasadiya Sukta contains evidence for a
contemplative tradition, even as early as the late Rig Vedic period.[90]
Refuge in the Three Jewels

Relic depicting footprint of the Buddha with Dharmachakra and triratna, 1st century
CE, Gandhra.
Main articles: Refuge (Buddhism) and Three Jewels
Traditionally, the first step in most Buddhist schools requires taking refuge in the
Three Jewels (Sanskrit: tri-ratna, Pli: ti-ratana)[92] as the foundation of one's
religious practice. The practice of taking refuge on behalf of young or even unborn
children is mentioned[93] in the Majjhima Nikaya, recognized by most scholars as an
early text (cf. Infant baptism). Tibetan Buddhism sometimes adds a fourth refuge, in
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the lama. In Mahayana, the person who chooses the bodhisattva path makes a vow or
pledge, considered the ultimate expression of compassion. In Mahayana, too, the
Three Jewels are perceived as possessed of an eternal and unchanging essence and as
having an irreversible effect: "The Three Jewels have the quality of excellence.
Just as real jewels never change their faculty and goodness, whether praised or
reviled, so are the Three Jewels (Refuges), because they have an eternal and
immutable essence. These Three Jewels bring a fruition that is changeless, for once
one has reached Buddhahood, there is no possibility of falling back to
suffering."[94]
The Three Jewels are:
The Buddha. This is a title for those who have attained Nirvana. See also the
Tathgata and Gautama Buddha. The Buddha could also be represented as a concept
instead of a specific person: the perfect wisdom that understands Dharma and sees
reality in its true form. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha can be viewed as the
supreme Refuge: "Buddha is the Unique Absolute Refuge. Buddha is the Imperishable,
Eternal, Indestructible and Absolute Refuge."[95]
The Dharma. The teachings or law of nature as expounded by the Gautama Buddha. It
can also, especially in Mahayana, connote the ultimate and sustaining Reality that
is inseparable from the Buddha. Further, from some Mahayana perspectives, the Dharma
embodied in the form of a great sutra (Buddhic scripture) can replace the need for a
personal teacher and can be a direct and spontaneous gateway into Truth (Dharma).
This is especially said to be the case with the Lotus Sutra. Dr. Hiroshi Kanno
writes of this view of the Lotus Sutra: "it is a Dharma-gate of sudden enlightenment
proper to the Great Vehicle; it is a Dharma-gate whereby one awakens spontaneously,
without resorting to a teacher".[96]
The Sangha. Those who have attained any of the Four stages of enlightenment, or
simply the congregation of monastic practitioners.
According to the scriptures, Gautama Buddha presented himself as a model. The Dharma
offers a refuge by providing guidelines for the alleviation of suffering and the
attainment of Nirvana. The Sangha is considered to provide a refuge by preserving
the authentic teachings of the Buddha and providing further examples that the truth
of the Buddha's teachings is attainable.
Buddhist ethics
Main article: la

Statue of Gautama Buddha, 1st century CE, Gandhara. (Muse Guimet)
la (Sanskrit) or sla (Pli) is usually translated into English as "virtuous
behavior", "morality", "ethics" or "precept". It is an action committed through the
body, speech, or mind, and involves an intentional effort. It is one of the three
practices (sila, samadhi, and panya) and the second pramit. It refers to moral
purity of thought, word, and deed. The four conditions of la are chastity,
calmness, quiet, and extinguishment.
la is the foundation of Samadhi/Bhvana (Meditative cultivation) or mind
cultivation. Keeping the precepts promotes not only the peace of mind of the
cultivator, which is internal, but also peace in the community, which is external.
According to the Law of Karma, keeping the precepts are meritorious and it acts as
causes that would bring about peaceful and happy effects. Keeping these precepts
keeps the cultivator from rebirth in the four woeful realms of existence.
la refers to overall principles of ethical behavior. There are several levels of
sila, which correspond to "basic morality" (five precepts), "basic morality with
asceticism" (eight precepts), "novice monkhood" (ten precepts) and "monkhood"
(Vinaya or Patimokkha). Lay people generally undertake to live by the five precepts,
which are common to all Buddhist schools. If they wish, they can choose to undertake
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the eight precepts, which add basic asceticism.
The five precepts are training rules in order to live a better life in which one is
happy, without worries, and can meditate well:
1.To refrain from taking life (non-violence towards sentient life forms), or ahims;
2.To refrain from taking that which is not given (not committing theft);
3.To refrain from sensual (including sexual) misconduct;
4.To refrain from lying (speaking truth always);
5.To refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness (specifically, drugs
and alcohol).
The precepts are not formulated as imperatives, but as training rules that laypeople
undertake voluntarily to facilitate practice.[97] In Buddhist thought, the
cultivation of dana and ethical conduct themselves refine consciousness to such a
level that rebirth in one of the lower heavens is likely, even if there is no
further Buddhist practice. There is nothing improper or un-Buddhist about limiting
one's aims to this level of attainment.[98]
In the eight precepts, the third precept on sexual misconduct is made more strict,
and becomes a precept of celibacy. The three additional precepts are:
6. To refrain from eating at the wrong time (eat only from sunrise to noon);7. To
refrain from dancing and playing music, wearing jewelry and cosmetics, attending
shows and other performances;8. To refrain from using high or luxurious seats and
bedding.
The complete list of ten precepts may be observed by laypeople for short periods.
For the complete list, the seventh precept is partitioned into two, and a tenth
added:
6. To refrain from taking food at an unseasonable time, that is after the mid-day
meal;7. To refrain from dancing, music, singing and unseemly shows;8. To refrain
from the use of garlands, perfumes, ointments, and from things that tend to beautify
and adorn (the person);9. To refrain from (using) high and luxurious seats (and
beds);10. To refrain from accepting gold and silver;[99]
Monastic life

Buddhist monks performing a ceremony in Hangzhou, China
Vinaya is the specific moral code for monks and nuns. It includes the Patimokkha, a
set of 227 rules for monks in the Theravadin recension. The precise content of the
vinayapitaka (scriptures on Vinaya) differs slightly according to different schools,
and different schools or subschools set different standards for the degree of
adherence to Vinaya. Novice-monks use the ten precepts, which are the basic precepts
for monastics.
Regarding the monastic rules, the Buddha constantly reminds his hearers that it is
the spirit that counts. On the other hand, the rules themselves are designed to
assure a satisfying life, and provide a perfect springboard for the higher
attainments. Monastics are instructed by the Buddha to live as "islands unto
themselves". In this sense, living life as the vinaya prescribes it is, as one
scholar puts it: "more than merely a means to an end: it is very nearly the end in
itself."[100]
In Eastern Buddhism, there is also a distinctive Vinaya and ethics contained within
the Mahayana Brahmajala Sutra (not to be confused with the Pali text of that name)
for Bodhisattvas, where, for example, the eating of meat is frowned upon and
vegetarianism is actively encouraged (see vegetarianism in Buddhism). In Japan, this
has almost completely displaced the monastic vinaya, and allows clergy to marry.
Meditation
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Buddhist monks praying in Thailand
Main article: Buddhist meditation
Buddhist meditation is fundamentally concerned with two themes: transforming the
mind and using it to explore itself and other phenomena.[101] According to Theravada
Buddhism the Buddha taught two types of meditation, samatha meditation (Sanskrit:
amatha) and vipassan meditation (Sanskrit: vipayan). In Chinese Buddhism, these
exist (translated chih kuan), but Chn (Zen) meditation is more popular.[102]
According to Peter Harvey, whenever Buddhism has been healthy, not only monks, nuns,
and married lamas, but also more committed lay people have practiced
meditation.[103] According to Routledge's Encyclopedia of Buddhism, in contrast,
throughout most of Buddhist history before modern times, serious meditation by lay
people has been unusual.[104] The evidence of the early texts suggests that at the
time of the Buddha, many male and female lay practitioners did practice meditation,
some even to the point of proficiency in all eight jhnas (see the next section
regarding these).[105]
Samdhi (meditative cultivation): samatha meditation
Main articles: Samdhi (Buddhism) and Dhyna in Buddhism
In the language of the Noble Eightfold Path, samyaksamdhi is "right concentration".
The primary means of cultivating samdhi is meditation. Upon development of samdhi,
one's mind becomes purified of defilement, calm, tranquil, and luminous.
Once the meditator achieves a strong and powerful concentration (jhna, Sanskrit
dhyna), his mind is ready to penetrate and gain insight (vipassan) into the
ultimate nature of reality, eventually obtaining release from all suffering. The
cultivation of mindfulness is essential to mental concentration, which is needed to
achieve insight.
Samatha meditation starts from being mindful of an object or idea, which is expanded
to one's body, mind and entire surroundings, leading to a state of total
concentration and tranquility (jhna) There are many variations in the style of
meditation, from sitting cross-legged or kneeling to chanting or walking. The most
common method of meditation is to concentrate on one's breath (anapanasati), because
this practice can lead to both samatha and vipassana'.
In Buddhist practice, it is said that while samatha meditation can calm the mind,
only vipassan meditation can reveal how the mind was disturbed to start with, which
is what leads to knowledge (jna; Pli a) and understanding (praj Pli pa),
and thus can lead to nirv a (Pli nibbna). When one is in jhana, all defilements
are suppressed temporarily. Only understanding (praj or vipassana) eradicates the
defilements completely. Jhanas are also states that Arahants abide in order to rest.
In Theravda
Main article: Jhna in Theravada
In Theravda Buddhism, the cause of human existence and suffering is identified as
craving, which carries with it the various defilements. These various defilements
are traditionally summed up as greed, hatred and delusion. These are believed deeply
rooted afflictions of the mind that create suffering and stress. To be free from
suffering and stress, these defilements must be permanently uprooted through
internal investigation, analyzing, experiencing, and understanding of the true
nature of those defilements by using jhna, a technique of the Noble Eightfold Path.
It then leads the meditator to realize the Four Noble Truths, Enlightenment and
Nibbana. Nibbana is the ultimate goal of Theravadins.
Praj (Wisdom): vipassana meditation
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Main articles: Praj and Vipassana
Praj (Sanskrit) or pa (Pli) means wisdom that is based on a realization of
dependent origination, The Four Noble Truths and the three marks of existence.
Praj is the wisdom that is able to extinguish afflictions and bring about bodhi.
It is spoken of as the principal means of attaining nirv a, through its revelation
of the true nature of all things as dukkha (unsatisfactoriness), anicca
(impermanence) and anatta (not-self). Praj is also listed as the sixth of the six
pramits of the Mahayana.
Initially, praj is attained at a conceptual level by means of listening to sermons
(dharma talks), reading, studying, and sometimes reciting Buddhist texts and
engaging in discourse. Once the conceptual understanding is attained, it is applied
to daily life so that each Buddhist can verify the truth of the Buddha's teaching at
a practical level. Notably, one could in theory attain Nirvana at any point of
practice, whether deep in meditation, listening to a sermon, conducting the business
of one's daily life, or any other activity.
Zen
Main article: Zen
Zen Buddhism ( ), pronounced Chn in Chinese, seon in Korean or zen in Japanese
(derived from the Sanskrit term dhyna, meaning "meditation") is a form of Buddhism
that became popular in China, Korea and Japan and that lays special emphasis on
meditation.[106] Zen places less emphasis on scriptures than some other forms of
Buddhism and prefers to focus on direct spiritual breakthroughs to truth.
Zen Buddhism is divided into two main schools: Rinzai ( ) and St ( ), the
former greatly favouring the use in meditation on the koan ( , a meditative riddle
or puzzle) as a device for spiritual break-through, and the latter (while certainly
employing koans) focusing more on shikantaza or "just sitting".[107]
Zen Buddhist teaching is often full of paradox, in order to loosen the grip of the
ego and to facilitate the penetration into the realm of the True Self or Formless
Self, which is equated with the Buddha himself.[108] According to Zen master Kosho
Uchiyama, when thoughts and fixation on the little "I" are transcended, an Awakening
to a universal, non-dual Self occurs: "When we let go of thoughts and wake up to the
reality of life that is working beyond them, we discover the Self that is living
universal non-dual life (before the separation into two) that pervades all living
creatures and all existence."[109] Thinking and thought must therefore not be
allowed to confine and bind one.[110]
Vajrayana and Tantra
Though based upon Mahayana, Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism is one of the schools that
practice Vajrayana or "Diamond Vehicle" (also referred to as Mantrayna, Tantrayna,
Tantric Buddhism, or esoteric Buddhism). It accepts all the basic concepts of
Mahyna, but also includes a vast array of spiritual and physical techniques
designed to enhance Buddhist practice. Tantric Buddhism is largely concerned with
ritual and meditative practices.[111] One component of the Vajrayna is harnessing
psycho-physical energy through ritual, visualization, physical exercises, and
meditation as a means of developing the mind. Using these techniques, it is claimed
that a practitioner can achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime, or even as little as
three years. In the Tibetan tradition, these practices can include sexual yoga,
though only for some very advanced practitioners.[112]
History
Main article: History of Buddhism
Philosophical roots
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The Buddhist "Carpenter's Cave" at Ellora in Maharashtra, India
Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of ancient India
during the second half of the first millennium BCE.[113] That was a period of social
and religious turmoil, as there was significant discontent with the sacrifices and
rituals of Vedic Brahmanism.[114] It was challenged by numerous new ascetic
religious and philosophical groups and teachings that broke with the Brahmanic
tradition and rejected the authority of the Vedas and the Brahmans.[115][116] These
groups, whose members were known as shramanas, were a continuation of a non-Vedic
strand of Indian thought distinct from Indo-Aryan Brahmanism.[117][118] Scholars
have reasons to believe that ideas such as samsara, karma (in the sense of the
influence of morality on rebirth), and moksha originated in the shramanas, and were
later adopted by Brahmin orthodoxy.[119][120][121][122][123][124]

A ruined Buddhist temple on Gurubhakthula Konda (konda meaning "hill" in Telugu) in
Ramatheertham village in Vizianagaram, a district of Andhra Pradesh, India
This view is supported by a study of the region where these notions originated.
Buddhism arose in Greater Magadha, which stretched from Sravasti, the capital of
Kosala in the north-west, to Rajagrha in the south east. This land, to the east of
aryavarta, the land of the Aryas, was recognised as non-Vedic.[125] Other Vedic
texts reveal a dislike of the people of Magadha, in all probability because the
Magadhas at this time were not Brahmanised.[126] It was not until the 2nd or 3rd
centuries BCE that the eastward spread of Brahmanism into Greater Magadha became
significant. Ideas that developed in Greater Magadha prior to this were not subject
to Vedic influence. These include rebirth and karmic retribution that appear in a
number of movements in Greater Magadha, including Buddhism. These movements
inherited notions of rebirth and karmic retribution from an earlier culture.[127]

Rock-cut Lord Buddha statue at Bojjanakonda near Anakapalle in the Visakhapatnam
district of Andhra Pradesh, India
At the same time, these movements were influenced by, and in some respects
continued, philosophical thought within the Vedic tradition as reflected e.g. in the
Upanishads.[128] These movements included, besides Buddhism, various skeptics (such
as Sanjaya Belatthiputta), atomists (such as Pakudha Kaccayana), materialists (such
as Ajita Kesakambali), antinomians (such as Purana Kassapa); the most important ones
in the 5th century BCE were the Ajivikas, who emphasized the rule of fate, the
Lokayata (materialists), the Ajnanas (agnostics) and the Jains, who stressed that
the soul must be freed from matter.[129]
Many of these new movements shared the same conceptual vocabulary - atman ("Self"),
buddha ("awakened one"), dhamma ("rule" or "law"), karma ("action"), nirvana
("extinguishing"), samsara ("eternal recurrence") and yoga ("spiritual
practice").[114] The shramanas rejected the Veda, and the authority of the brahmans,
who claimed they possessed revealed truths not knowable by any ordinary human means.
Moreover, they declared that the entire Brahmanical system was fraudulent: a
conspiracy of the brahmans to enrich themselves by charging exorbitant fees to
perform bogus rites and give useless advice.[130]
A particular criticism of the Buddha was Vedic animal sacrifice.[86] The Buddha
declared that priests reciting the Vedas were like the blind leading the blind.[131]
According to him, those priests who had memorized the Vedas really knew
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nothing.[132] He also mocked the Vedic "hymn of the cosmic man".[133] However, the
Buddha was not anti-Vedic, and declared that the Veda in its true form was declared
by "Kashyapa" to certain rishis, who by severe penances had acquired the power to
see by divine eyes.[134] He names the Vedic rishis, and declared that the original
Veda of the rishis[135][136] was altered by a few Brahmins who introduced animal
sacrifices. The Buddha says that it was on this alteration of the true Veda that he
refused to pay respect to the Vedas of his time.[137] He declared that the primary
goal of Upanishadic thought, the Atman, was in fact non-existent,[138] and, having
explained that Brahminical attempts to achieve liberation at death were futile,
proposed his new idea of liberation in life.[139][140] However, he did not denounce
the union with Brahman,[141] or the idea of the self uniting with the Self.[142] At
the same time, the traditional Brahminical religion itself gradually underwent
profound changes, transforming it into what is recognized as early
Hinduism.[114][115][143] In particular, the brahmans thus developed "philosophical
systems of their own, meeting the new ideas with adaptations of their
doctrines".[144]
Indian Buddhism
Main article: History of Buddhism in India
The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods:[145] Early Buddhism
(occasionally called Pre-sectarian Buddhism), Nikaya Buddhism or Sectarian Buddhism:
The period of the Early Buddhist schools, Early Mahayana Buddhism, Later Mahayana
Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism (also called Vajrayana Buddhism).
Pre-sectarian Buddhism
Main article: Pre-sectarian Buddhism
Pre-sectarian Buddhism is the earliest phase of Buddhism, recognized by nearly all
scholars. Its main scriptures are the Vinaya Pitaka and the four principal Nikayas
or Agamas. Certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout the early texts,
so most scholars conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to
the Three marks of existence, the Five Aggregates, Dependent origination, Karma and
Rebirth, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and Nirvana.[146] Some
scholars disagree, and have proposed many other theories.[147][148]
Early Buddhist schools
Main articles: Early Buddhist schools, Buddhist councils, and Theravada

Painting depicting Buddhaghosa offering his Visuddhimagga to monks in Mahavihara,
the center of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka
According to the scriptures, soon after the parinirv a (from Sanskrit: "highest
extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held. As with any
ancient Indian tradition, transmission of teaching was done orally. The primary
purpose of the assembly was to collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no
errors occurred in oral transmission. In the first council, nanda, a cousin of the
Buddha and his personal attendant, was called upon to recite the discourses (stras,
Pli suttas) of the Buddha, and, according to some sources, the abhidhamma. Upli,
another disciple, recited the monastic rules (vinaya). Scholars regard the
traditional accounts of the council as greatly exaggerated if not entirely
fictitious.[149]
According to most scholars, at some period after the Second Council the Sangha began
to break into separate factions.[150] The various accounts differ as to when the
actual schisms occurred. According to the Dipavamsa of the Pli tradition, they
started immediately after the Second Council, the Puggalavada tradition places it in
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137 AN, the Sarvastivada tradition of Vasumitra says it was in the time of Asoka and
the Mahasanghika tradition places it much later, nearly 100 BCE.
The root schism was between the Sthaviras and the Mahs ghikas. The fortunate
survival of accounts from both sides of the dispute reveals disparate traditions.
The Sthavira group offers two quite distinct reasons for the schism. The Dipavamsa
of the Theravda says that the losing party in the Second Council dispute broke away
in protest and formed the Mahasanghika. This contradicts the Mahasanghikas' own
vinaya, which shows them as on the same, winning side. The Mahs ghikas argued that
the Sthaviras were trying to expand the vinaya and may also have challenged what
they perceived were excessive claims or inhumanly high criteria for arhatship. Both
parties, therefore, appealed to tradition.[151]
The Sthaviras gave rise to several schools, one of which was the Theravda school.
Originally, these schisms were caused by disputes over vinaya, and monks following
different schools of thought seem to have lived happily together in the same
monasteries, but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being
caused by doctrinal disagreements too.[152]
Following (or leading up to) the schisms, each Sa gha started to accumulate an
Abhidharma, a detailed scholastic reworking of doctrinal material appearing in the
Suttas, according to schematic classifications. These Abhidharma texts do not
contain systematic philosophical treatises, but summaries or numerical lists.
Scholars generally date these texts to around the 3rd century BCE, 100 to 200 years
after the death of the Buddha. Therefore the seven Abhidharma works are generally
claimed not to represent the words of the Buddha himself, but those of disciples and
great scholars.[153] Every school had its own version of the Adhidharma, with
different theories and different texts. The different Adhidharmas of the various
schools did not agree with each other. Scholars disagree on whether the Mahasanghika
school had an Abhidhamma Pitaka or not.[153][154]
Early Mahayana Buddhism
Main article: Mahyna

A Buddhist triad depicting, left to right, a Kushan, the future buddha Maitreya,
Gautama Buddha, the bodhisattva Avalokitevara, and a Buddhist monk. 2nd3rd
century. Muse Guimet
The origins of Mahyna, which formed between 100 BCE and 100 AD,[155] are still not
completely understood.[156] The earliest views of Mahyna Buddhism in the West
assumed that it existed as a separate school in competition with the so-called
"Hnayna" schools. The split was on the order of the European Protestant
Reformation, which divided Christians into Catholic and Protestant.[155] Due to the
veneration of buddhas and bodhisattvas, Mahyna was often interpreted as a more
devotional, lay-inspired form of Buddhism, with supposed origins in stpa
veneration.[157] The old views of Mahyna as a lay-inspired sect are now largely
considered misguided and wrong.[158]
There is no evidence that Mahyna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect
of Buddhism, but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later
doctrines, for bodhisattvas.[159] Initially it was known as Bodhisattvayna (the
"Vehicle of the Bodhisattvas").[155] Paul Williams has also noted that the Mahyna
never had nor ever attempted to have a separate Vinaya or ordination lineage from
the early schools of Buddhism, and therefore each bhik u or bhik u adhering to the
Mahyna formally belonged to an early school. This continues today with the
Dharmaguptaka ordination lineage in East Asia, and the Mlasarvstivda ordination
lineage in Tibetan Buddhism. Therefore Mahyna was never a separate rival sect of
the early schools.[160] From Chinese monks visiting India, we now know that both
Mahyna and non-Mahyna monks in India often lived in the same monasteries side by
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side.[161]
Large empty outline of a person in a rock cliff
Buddhas of Bamiyan: Vairocana before and after destruction by the Taliban in 2001
The Chinese monk Yijing who visited India in the 7th century CE, distinguishes
Mahyna from Hnayna as follows:[162]
Both adopt one and the same Vinaya, and they have in common the prohibitions of the
five offences, and also the practice of the Four Noble Truths. Those who venerate
the bodhisattvas and read the Mahyna stras are called the Mahynists, while
those who do not perform these are called the Hnaynists.
Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahyna comes from early
Chinese translations of Mahyna texts. These Mahyna teachings were first
propagated into China by Lokak ema, the first translator of Mahyna stras into
Chinese during the 2nd century CE.[163] Some scholars have traditionally considered
the earliest Mahyna stras to include the very first versions of the
Prajpramit series, along with texts concerning Ak obhya Buddha, which were
probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India.[164][165][166]
Late Mahayana Buddhism
During the period of Late Mahayana Buddhism, four major types of thought developed:
Madhyamaka, Yogacara, Tathagatagarbha, and Buddhist Logic as the last and most
recent.[167] In India, the two main philosophical schools of the Mahayana were the
Madhyamaka and the later Yogacara.[168] According to Dan Lusthaus, Madhyamaka and
Yogacara have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early
Buddhism.[169] There were no great Indian teachers associated with tathagatagarbha
thought.[170]
Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism)
Main article: Vajrayana
Scholarly research concerning Esoteric Buddhism is still in its early stages and has
a number of problems that make research difficult:[171]
1.Vajrayana Buddhism was influenced by Hinduism, and therefore research must include
explore Hinduism as well.
2.The scriptures of Vajrayana have not yet been put in any kind of order.
3.Ritual must be examined as well, not just doctrine.
Development of Buddhism
Main article: Timeline of Buddhism

Buddhist proselytism at the time of emperor Ashoka (260218 BCE).

Coin depicting Indo-Greek king Menander, who, according to Buddhist tradition
records in the Milinda Panha, converted to the Buddhist faith and became an arhat in
the 2nd century BCE . (British Museum)
Buddhism may have spread only slowly in India until the time of the Mauryan emperor
Ashoka, who was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aoka and his
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descendants led to the construction of more stpas (Buddhist religious memorials)
and to efforts to spread Buddhism throughout the enlarged Maurya empire and even
into neighboring landsparticularly to the Iranian-speaking regions of Afghanistan
and Central Asia, beyond the Mauryas' northwest border, and to the island of Sri
Lanka south of India. These two missions, in opposite directions, would ultimately
lead, in the first case to the spread of Buddhism into China, and in the second
case, to the emergence of Theravda Buddhism and its spread from Sri Lanka to the
coastal lands of Southeast Asia.
This period marks the first known spread of Buddhism beyond India. According to the
edicts of Aoka, emissaries were sent to various countries west of India to spread
Buddhism (Dharma), particularly in eastern provinces of the neighboring Seleucid
Empire, and even farther to Hellenistic kingdoms of the Mediterranean. It is a
matter of disagreement among scholars whether or not these emissaries were
accompanied by Buddhist missionaries.[172]
The gradual spread of Buddhism into adjacent areas meant that it came into contact
with new ethnical groups. During this period Buddhism was exposed to a variety of
influences, from Persian and Greek civilization, to changing trends in non-Buddhist
Indian religionsthemselves influenced by Buddhism. Striking examples of this
syncretistic development can be seen in the emergence of Greek-speaking Buddhist
monarchs in the Indo-Greek Kingdom, and in the development of the Greco-Buddhist art
of Gandhra. A Greek king, Menander, has even been immortalized in the Buddhist
canon.
The Theravada school spread south from India in the 3rd century BCE, to Sri Lanka
and Thailand and Burma and later also Indonesia. The Dharmagupta school spread (also
in 3rd century BCE) north to Kashmir, Gandhara and Bactria (Afghanistan).
The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to China is most commonly thought to have
started in the late 2nd or the 1st century CE, though the literary sources are all
open to question.[173][174] The first documented translation efforts by foreign
Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the
expansion of the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory of the Tarim Basin.[175]
In the 2nd century CE, Mahayana Sutras spread to China, and then to Korea and Japan,
and were translated into Chinese. During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism
(from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and Mongolia.
Buddhism today
Main article: Timeline of Buddhism:Common Era

Polish Buddhists
By the late Middle Ages, Buddhism had become virtually extinct in India, and
although it continued to exist in surrounding countries, its influence was no longer
expanding. It is now again gaining strength worldwide.[176][177] Estimates of the
number of Buddhist followers by scholars range from 550 million to 1.691 billion.
Most scholars classify similar numbers of people under a category they call "Chinese
folk" or "traditional" religion, an amalgam of various traditions that includes
Buddhism.

Map showing regions where Buddhism is a major religion
Formal membership varies between communities, but basic lay adherence is often
defined in terms of a traditional formula in which the practitioner takes refuge in
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The Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha), and the
Sangha (the Buddhist community).
Estimates are uncertain for several reasons:
difficulties in defining who counts as a Buddhist;
syncretism among the Eastern religions. Buddhism is practiced by adherents alongside
many other religious traditions- including Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, traditional
religions, shamanism, and animism- throughout East and Southeast
Asia.[178][179][180][181][182][183][184]
difficulties in estimating the number of Buddhists who do not have congregational
memberships and often do not participate in public ceremonies;[185]
official policies on religion in several historically Buddhist countries that make
accurate assessments of religious adherence more difficult; most notably China,
Vietnam and North Korea.[186][187][188] In many current and former Communist
governments in Asia, government policies may discourage adherents from reporting
their religious identity, or may encourage official counts to underestimate
religious adherence.
China and India are now starting to fund Buddhist shrines in various Asian countries
as they compete for influence in the region.[189]
Late 20th Century Buddhist Movements
A number of modern movements or tendencies in Buddhism emerged during the second
half of the 20th Century, including the Dalit Buddhist movement[190][191] (also
sometimes called 'neo-Buddhism'), Engaged Buddhism, and the further development of
various Western Buddhist traditions.
Demographics

Percentage of cultural/nominal adherents of combined Buddhism with its related
religions (according to the highest
estimates).[192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199]
According to one analysis, Buddhism is the fourth-largest religion in the world,
after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.[200] The monks' order (Sangha), which began
during the lifetime of the Buddha, is among the oldest organizations on earth.
Buddhism was the first world religion[201][202][203] and was the world's largest
religion in the first half of the 20th century in 1951 Buddhism was the world's
largest religion with 520 million adherents. By comparison, the second largest was
Christianity with 500 million
adherents.[204][205][206][207][208][209][210][211][212][213][214][215]
Theravada Buddhism, using Sanskrit and Pli as its scriptural languages, is the
dominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma. The
Dalit Buddhist movement in India (inspired by B. R. Ambedkar) also practices
Theravada. Approximately 124 million adherents.[216]
East Asian forms of Mahayana Buddhism that use Chinese scriptures are dominant in
most of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam as well as such
communities within Indochina, Southeast Asia and the West. Vietnam and Singapore are
major concentrations of Mahayana Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Approximately 500
million to one billion.[217]
Tibetan Buddhism is found in Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, areas of India (it's the
majority religion in Ladakh; significant population in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal
Pradesh and Sikkim), China (particularly in Tibet and Inner Mongolia), and Russia
(Kalmyk Autonomous Republic). Approximately 20 million adherents.[216]
Most Buddhist groups in the West are at least nominally affiliated with one of these
three traditions.
At the present time, the teachings of all three branches of Buddhism have spread
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throughout the world, and Buddhist texts are increasingly translated into local
languages. While in the West Buddhism is often seen as exotic and progressive, in
the East it is regarded as familiar and traditional. Buddhists in Asia are
frequently well organized and well funded. In a number of countries, it is
recognized as an official religion and receives state support. Modern influences
increasingly lead to new forms of Buddhism that significantly depart from
traditional beliefs and practices.
Overall there is an overwhelming diversity of recent forms of Buddhism.[218]
Schools and traditions
Main articles: Schools of Buddhism and Buddhahood

Young monks in Cambodia
Buddhists generally classify themselves as either Theravada or Mahayana.[219] This
classification is also used by some scholars[220][page needed] and is the one
ordinarily used in the English language.[221] An alternative scheme used by some
scholars[222] divides Buddhism into the following three traditions or geographical
or cultural areas: Theravada, East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism.
Some scholars[223] use other schemes. Buddhists themselves have a variety of other
schemes. Hinayana (literally "lesser vehicle") is used by Mahayana followers to name
the family of early philosophical schools and traditions from which contemporary
Theravada emerged, but as this term is rooted in the Mahayana viewpoint and can be
considered derogatory, a variety of other terms are increasingly used instead,
including rvakayna, Nikaya Buddhism, early Buddhist schools, sectarian Buddhism,
conservative Buddhism, mainstream Buddhism and non-Mahayana Buddhism.
Not all traditions of Buddhism share the same philosophical outlook, or treat the
same concepts as central. Each tradition, however, does have its own core concepts,
and some comparisons can be drawn between them. For example, according to one
Buddhist ecumenical organization,[224] several concepts common to both major
Buddhist branches:
Both accept the Buddha as their teacher.
Both accept the Middle way, Dependent origination, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble
Eightfold Path and the Three marks of existence.
Both accept that members of the laity and of the sangha can pursue the path toward
enlightenment (bodhi).
Both consider buddhahood the highest attainment.
Timeline
This is a rough timeline of the development of the different schools/traditions:
Timeline: Development and propagation of Buddhist traditions (ca. 450 BCE ca. 1300
CE)


450 BCE[225] 250 BCE 100 CE 500 CE 700 CE 800 CE 1200 CE[226]


India

Early
Sangha
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Early Buddhist schools Mahayana Vajrayana










Sri Lanka &
Southeast Asia
Theravada Buddhism









Central Asia



Greco-Buddhism


Tibetan Buddhism


Silk Road Buddhism



East Asia
Chn, Tiantai, Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren
Shingon



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450 BCE 250 BCE 100 CE 500 CE 700 CE 800 CE 1200 CE
Legend: = Theravada tradition = Mahayana traditions = Vajrayana traditions

Theravada school
Main article: Theravada
Theravada ("Doctrine of the Elders", or "Ancient Doctrine") is the oldest surviving
Buddhist school. It is relatively conservative, and generally closest to early
Buddhism.[227] This school is derived from the Vibhajjavda grouping that emerged
amongst the older Sthavira group at the time of the Third Buddhist Council (c. 250
BCE). This school gradually declined on the Indian subcontinent, but its branch in
Sri Lanka and South East Asia continues to survive.
The Theravada school bases its practice and doctrine exclusively on the Pli Canon
and its commentaries. After being orally transmitted for a few centuries, its
scriptures, the Pali Canon, were finally committed to writing in the 1st century
BCE, in Sri Lanka, at what the Theravada usually reckon as the fourth council. It is
also one of the first Buddhist schools to commit the complete set of its canon into
writing.[citation needed] The Sutta collections and Vinaya texts of the Pli Canon
(and the corresponding texts in other versions of the Tripitaka), are generally
considered by modern scholars to be the earliest Buddhist literature, and they are
accepted as authentic in every branch of Buddhism.
Theravda is primarily practiced today in Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia
as well as small portions of China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bangladesh. It has a
growing presence in Europe and America.
Theravadin Buddhists think that personal effort is required to realize rebirth.
Meditation is done by forest monks for the most part, while village monks teach and
serve their lay communities. Laypersons can perform good actions, producing merit
that can be traded to the gods who may reward it with material benefits.[228]
Mahayana traditions
Main article: Mahayana

Chinese and Central Asian monks. Bezeklik, Eastern Tarim Basin, China, 9th10th
century. (National Institute of Informatics and the Ty Bunko)
Mahayana Buddhism flourished in India from the 5th century CE onwards, during the
dynasty of the Guptas. Mahyna centres of learning were established, the most
important one being the Nland University in north-eastern India.
Mahayana schools recognize all or part of the Mahayana Sutras. Some of these sutras
became for Mahayanists a manifestation of the Buddha himself, and faith in and
veneration of those texts are stated in some sutras (e.g. the Lotus Sutra and the
Mahaparinirvana Sutra) to lay the foundations for the later attainment of Buddhahood
itself.

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Japanese Mahayana Buddhist monk with alms bowl
Native Mahayana Buddhism is practiced today in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, parts
of Russia and most of Vietnam (also commonly referred to as "Eastern Buddhism"). The
Buddhism practiced in Tibet, the Himalayan regions, and Mongolia is also Mahayana in
origin, but is discussed below under the heading of Vajrayana (also commonly
referred to as "Northern Buddhism". There are a variety of strands in Eastern
Buddhism, of which "the Pure Land school of Mahayana is the most widely practised
today.".[229] In most of this area however, they are fused into a single unified
form of Buddhism. In Japan in particular, they form separate denominations with the
five major ones being: Nichiren, peculiar to Japan; Pure Land; Shingon, a form of
Vajrayana; Tendai, and Zen. In Korea, nearly all Buddhists belong to the Chogye
school, which is officially Son (Zen), but with substantial elements from other
traditions.[230]
Vajrayana traditions
Main article: Vajrayana

Bodhnath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal
The Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism spread to China, Mongolia, and Tibet. In Tibet,
Vajrayana has always been a main component of Tibetan Buddhism, while in China it
formed a separate sect. However, Vajrayana Buddhism became extinct in China but
survived in elements of Japan's Shingon and Tendai sects.
There are differing views as to just when Vajrayna and its tantric practice
started. In the Tibetan tradition, it is claimed that the historical kyamuni
Buddha taught tantra, but as these are esoteric teachings, they were passed on
orally first and only written down long after the Buddha's other teachings. Nland
University became a center for the development of Vajrayna theory and continued as
the source of leading-edge Vajrayna practices up through the 11th century. These
practices, scriptures and theories were transmitted to China, Tibet, Indochina and
Southeast Asia. China generally received Indian transmission up to the 11th century
including tantric practice, while a vast amount of what is considered Tibetan
Buddhism (Vajrayna) stems from the late (9th12th century) Nland tradition.
In one of the first major contemporary academic treatises on the subject, Fairfield
University professor Ronald M. Davidson argues that the rise of Vajrayana was in
part a reaction to the changing political climate in India at the time. With the
fall of the Gupta dynasty, in an increasingly fractious political environment,
institutional Buddhism had difficulty attracting patronage, and the folk movement
led by siddhas became more prominent. After perhaps two hundred years, it had begun
to get integrated into the monastic establishment.[231][page needed]
Vajrayana combined and developed a variety of elements, a number of which had
already existed for centuries.[232] In addition to the Mahyna scriptures,
Vajrayna Buddhists recognise a large body of Buddhist Tantras, some of which are
also included in Chinese and Japanese collections of Buddhist literature, and
versions of a few even in the Pali Canon.
Buddhist texts

Buddhist monk Geshe Konchog Wangdu reads Mahayana sutras from an old woodblock copy
of the Tibetan Kanjur.
Page 29
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Main article: Buddhist texts
Buddhist scriptures and other texts exist in great variety. Different schools of
Buddhism place varying levels of value on learning the various texts. Some schools
venerate certain texts as religious objects in themselves, while others take a more
scholastic approach. Buddhist scriptures are mainly written in Pli, Tibetan,
Mongolian, and Chinese. Some texts still exist in Sanskrit and Buddhist Hybrid
Sanskrit.
Unlike many religions, Buddhism has no single central text that is universally
referred to by all traditions. However, some scholars have referred to the Vinaya
Pitaka and the first four Nikayas of the Sutta Pitaka as the common core of all
Buddhist traditions.[233] This could be considered misleading, as Mahyna considers
these merely a preliminary, and not a core, teaching. The Tibetan Buddhists have not
even translated most of the gamas (though theoretically they recognize them) and
they play no part in the religious life of either clergy or laity in China and
Japan.[234] Other scholars say there is no universally accepted common core.[235]
The size and complexity of the Buddhist canons have been seen by some (including
Buddhist social reformer Babasaheb Ambedkar) as presenting barriers to the wider
understanding of Buddhist philosophy.
The followers of Theravda Buddhism take the scriptures known as the Pli Canon as
definitive and authoritative, while the followers of Mahyna Buddhism base their
faith and philosophy primarily on the Mahyna stras and their own vinaya. The Pli
sutras, along with other, closely related scriptures, are known to the other schools
as the gamas.
Over the years, various attempts have been made to synthesize a single Buddhist text
that can encompass all of the major principles of Buddhism. In the Theravada
tradition, condensed 'study texts' were created that combined popular or influential
scriptures into single volumes that could be studied by novice monks. Later in Sri
Lanka, the Dhammapada was championed as a unifying scripture.
Dwight Goddard collected a sample of Buddhist scriptures, with the emphasis on Zen,
along with other classics of Eastern philosophy, such as the Tao Te Ching, into his
'Buddhist Bible' in the 1920s. More recently, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar attempted to
create a single, combined document of Buddhist principles in "The Buddha and His
Dhamma". Other such efforts have persisted to present day, but currently there is no
single text that represents all Buddhist traditions.
Pli Tipitaka
Main article: Pli Canon
Pli Canon
Vinaya Pitaka
Suttavibhanga
Khandhaka
Parivara

Sutta Pitaka
Digha Nikaya
Majjhima Nikaya
Samyutta Nikaya
Anguttara Nikaya
Khuddaka Nikaya

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Abhidhamma Pitaka
Dhammasangani
Vibhanga
Dhatukatha and Puggalapannatti
Kathavatthu
Yamaka
Patthana

v
t
e

The Pli Tipitaka, which means "three baskets", refers to the Vinaya Pitaka, the
Sutta Pitaka, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Vinaya Pitaka contains disciplinary
rules for the Buddhist monks and nuns, as well as explanations of why and how these
rules were instituted, supporting material, and doctrinal clarification. The Sutta
Pitaka contains discourses ascribed to Gautama Buddha. The Abhidhamma Pitaka
contains material often described as systematic expositions of the Gautama Buddha's
teachings.
The Pli Tipitaka is the only early Tipitaka (Sanskrit: Tripi aka) to survive intact
in its original language, but a number of early schools had their own recensions of
the Tipitaka featuring much of the same material. We have portions of the Tipitakas
of the Srvstivda, Dharmaguptaka, Sammitya, Mahsa ghika, Kyapya, and
Mahsaka schools, most of which survive in Chinese translation only. According to
some sources, some early schools of Buddhism had five or seven pitakas.[236]
According to the scriptures, soon after the death of the Buddha, the first Buddhist
council was held; a monk named Mahkyapa (Pli: Mahkassapa) presided. The goal of
the council was to record the Buddha's teachings. Upli recited the vinaya. nanda,
the Buddha's personal attendant, was called upon to recite the dhamma. These became
the basis of the Tripitaka. However, this record was initially transmitted orally in
form of chanting, and was committed to text in the last century BCE. Both the stras
and the vinaya of every Buddhist school contain a wide variety of elements including
discourses on the Dharma, commentaries on other teachings, cosmological and
cosmogonical texts, stories of the Gautama Buddha's previous lives, and various
other subjects.
Much of the material in the Canon is not specifically "Theravadin", but is instead
the collection of teachings that this school preserved from the early, non-sectarian
body of teachings. According to Peter Harvey, it contains material at odds with
later Theravadin orthodoxy. He states: "The Theravadins, then, may have added texts
to the Canon for some time, but they do not appear to have tampered with what they
already had from an earlier period."[237]
Mahayana sutras
Main article: Mahayana sutras

The Tripi aka Koreana in South Korea, an edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon
carved and preserved in over 81,000 wood printing blocks.
The Mahayana sutras are a very broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that the Mahayana
Buddhist tradition holds are original teachings of the Buddha. Some adherents of
Mahayana accept both the early teachings (including in this the Sarvastivada
Abhidharma, which was criticized by Nagarjuna and is in fact opposed to early
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Buddhist thought[238]) and the Mahayana sutras as authentic teachings of Gautama
Buddha, and claim they were designed for different types of persons and different
levels of spiritual understanding.
The Mahayana sutras often claim to articulate the Buddha's deeper, more advanced
doctrines, reserved for those who follow the bodhisattva path. That path is
explained as being built upon the motivation to liberate all living beings from
unhappiness. Hence the name Mahyna (lit., the Great Vehicle).
According to Mahayana tradition, the Mahayana sutras were transmitted in secret,
came from other Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, or were preserved in non-human worlds
because human beings at the time could not understand them:[239]
Some of our sources maintain the authenticity of certain other texts not found in
the canons of these schools (the early schools). These texts are those held genuine
by the later school, not one of the eighteen, which arrogated to itself the title of
Mahayana, 'Great Vehicle'. According to the Mahayana historians these texts were
admittedly unknown to the early schools of Buddhists. However, they had all been
promulgated by the Buddha. [The Buddha's] followers on earth, the sravakas
('pupils'), had not been sufficiently advanced to understand them, and hence were
not given them to remember, but they were taught to various supernatural beings and
then preserved in such places as the Dragon World.
Approximately six hundred Mahayana sutras have survived in Sanskrit or in Chinese or
Tibetan translations. In addition, East Asian Buddhism recognizes some sutras
regarded by scholars as of Chinese rather than Indian origin.
Generally, scholars conclude that the Mahayana scriptures were composed from the 1st
century CE onwards: "Large numbers of Mahayana sutras were being composed in the
period between the beginning of the common era and the fifth century",[240] five
centuries after the historical Gautama Buddha. Some of these had their roots in
other scriptures composed in the 1st century BCE. It was not until after the 5th
century CE that the Mahayana sutras started to influence the behavior of mainstream
Buddhists in India: "But outside of texts, at least in India, at exactly the same
period, very differentin fact seemingly olderideas and aspirations appear to be
motivating actual behavior, and old and established Hinnayana groups appear to be
the only ones that are patronized and supported."[240] These texts were apparently
not universally accepted among Indian Buddhists when they appeared; the pejorative
label hinayana was applied by Mahayana supporters to those who rejected the Mahayana
sutras.
Only the Theravada school does not include the Mahayana scriptures in its canon. As
the modern Theravada school is descended from a branch of Buddhism that diverged and
established itself in Sri Lanka prior to the emergence of the Mahayana texts, debate
exists as to whether the Theravada were historically included in the hinayana
designation; in the modern era, this label is seen as derogatory, and is generally
avoided.
Scholar Isabelle Onians asserts that although "the Mahyna ... very occasionally
referred contemptuously to earlier Buddhism as the Hinayna, the Inferior Way," "the
preponderance of this name in the secondary literature is far out of proportion to
occurrences in the Indian texts." She notes that the term rvakayna was "the more
politically correct and much more usual" term used by Mahynists.[241] Jonathan
Silk has argued that the term "Hinayana" was used to refer to whomever one wanted to
criticize on any given occasion, and did not refer to any definite grouping of
Buddhists.[242]
Comparative studies
Buddhism provides many opportunities for comparative study with a diverse range of
subjects. For example, Buddhism's emphasis on the Middle way not only provides a
unique guideline for ethics but has also allowed Buddhism to peacefully coexist with
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various differing beliefs, customs and institutions in countries where it has
resided throughout its history. Also, its moral and spiritual parallels with other
systems of thoughtfor example, with various tenets of Christianityhave been
subjects of close study. In addition, the Buddhist concept of dependent origination
has been compared to modern scientific thought, as well as Western metaphysics.
Is Buddhism a religion?
There are differences of opinion on the question of whether or not Buddhism should
be considered a religion. Many sources commonly refer to Buddhism as a religion. For
example:
Peter Harvey states: "The English term 'Buddhism' correctly indicates that the
religion is characterized by devotion to 'the Buddha', 'Buddhas', or
'buddhahood'."[243]
Joseph Goldstein states: "Although there are many difference among the various
religions of the world, and among the various schools of Buddhism itself, there is
also a great deal in common..."[244]
Other sources note that the answer to this question depends upon how religion is
defined. For example:
Surya Das states: "For Buddhism is less a theology or religion than a promise that
certain meditative practices and mind trainings can effectively show us how to
awaken our Buddha-nature and liberate us from suffering and confusion."[245]
B. Alan Wallace states: "When we in the West first engage with Buddhism, it is
almost inevitable that we bring out one of our familiar stereotypes and apply it to
Buddhism, calling it simply a 'religion.'... But Buddhism has never been simply a
religion as we define it in the West. From the very beginning it has also had
philosophical elements, as well as empirical and rational elements that may invite
the term 'science.'"[246]
Rupert Gethin states: "I am not concerned here to pronounce on a question that is
sometimes asked of Buddhism: is it a religion? Obviously it depends on how one
defines a religion. What is certain, however, is that Buddhism does not involve
belief in a creator God who has control over human destiny, nor does it seek to
define itself by reference to a creed; as Edward Conze has pointed out, it took over
2,000 years and a couple of Western converts to Buddhism to provide it with a creed.
On the other hand, Buddhism views activities that would be generally understood as
religioussuch as devotional practices and ritualsas a legitimate, useful, and even
essential part of the practice and training that leads to the cessation of
suffering.[247] Gethin points out that some key differences between Buddhism and
conventionally considered Western religions are that Buddhism does not assert a
belief in a creator god, nor does it define itself by a particular creed. On the
other hand, Gethin notes, Buddhist practice often includes devotional practices and
ritual, which are typically associated with religious belief.[247]
Damien Keown states: "Problems [...] confront us as soon as we try to define what
Buddhism is. Is it a religion? A philosophy? A way of life? A code of ethics? It is
not easy to classify Buddhism as any of these things, and it challenges us to
rethink some of these categories. What, for example, do we mean by religion? Most
people would say that religion has something to do with belief in God. [...] If
belief in God in this sense is the essence of religion, then Buddhism cannot be a
religion. [...] Some have suggested that a new category that of the non-theistic
religion is needed to encompass Buddhism. Another possibility is that our original
definition is simply too narrow.[248]
The Dalai Lama states: "From one viewpoint, Buddhism is a religion, from another
viewpoint Buddhism is a science of mind and not a religion. Buddhism can be a bridge
between these two sides. Therefore, with this conviction I try to have closer ties
with scientists, mainly in the fields of cosmology, psychology, neurobiology and
physics. In these fields there are insights to share, and to a certain extent we can
work together."[249]
Ilkka Pyysiinen states: "There are thus great difficulties involved in
conceptualizing religion as belief in god(s), superhuman agents, etc., although we
intuitively think that some such beings, nevertheless, are essential in religion. As
is well-known, Buddhism is the favorite example of scholars who have argued that we
should find some other way of defining religion than the one based on the idea of
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belief in gods or superhuman beings." and "Buddhism does not have to be the
problematic touchstone for a global concept of religion."[250]
Martin Southwold states: "It is argued that Buddhism, though non-theistic, resembles
other religions in depending on mystical notions; it is shown how this contributes
to understanding the social functions of religions."[251]
Walpola Rahula states: "The question has often been asked: Is Buddhism a religion or
a philosophy? It does not matter what you call it. Buddhism remains what it is
whatever label you may put on it. The label is immaterial. Even the label 'Buddhism'
which we give to the teaching of the Buddha is of little importance. The name one
gives it is inessential. What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other
name would smell as sweet. In the same way Truth needs no label: it is neither
Buddhist, Christian, Hindu nor Moslem. It is not the monopoly of anybody. Sectarian
labels are a hindrance to the independent understanding of Truth, and they produce
harmful prejudices in men's minds."[252]
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche states: "If you are interested in 'meeting the Buddha' and
following his example, then you should realize that the path the Buddha taught is
primarily a study of your own mind and a system for training your mind. This path is
spiritual, not religious. Its goal is self-knowledge, not salvation; freedom, not
heaven. And it is deeply personal."[253]
See also
Book icon Book: Buddhism

Portal icon Buddhism portal
Outline of Buddhism
Buddhism by country
Criticism of Buddhism
Index of Buddhism-related articles
List of books related to Buddhism
List of Buddhist temples
Dharma Drum Retreat Center
Nonviolence
Indian religions
Easily confused Buddhist representations
Chinese folk religion
Iconography of Gautama Buddha in Laos and Thailand
Notes
a.^ a b See the article Four Noble Truths for further details and citations. In
particular, the section "The four truths" within that article provides a footnote
showing variety of translations of these four statements.
b.^ See the article Dukkha for further details and citations.
References
1.^ "Buddhism". (2009). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved November 26, 2009,
from Encyclopdia Britannica Online Library Edition.
2.^ Gethin (1998), Foundations, pp. 2728, pp. 7374
3.^ Major Religions Ranked by Size; U.S. State Department's International Religious
Freedom Report 2004. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/ Accessed 20 September
2008; Garfinkel, Perry. "Buddha Rising", National Geographic Dec. 2005: 88109; CIA
- The World Factbook
4.^ a b Lopez, Story of Buddhism. p. 239
5.^ a b Lopez, Buddhism. p. 248
6.^ http://www.thedhamma.com/buddhists_in_the_world.htm
7.^ http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Buddhists_in_the_world
8.^ http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/blog/2010/mar/17/how-buddhism-came-west-maia-duerr/
9.^
http://www.proutglobe.org/2012/01/buddhism-may-regain-its-status-as-the-worlds-large
Page 34
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st-religion/
10.^
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/5977093/Buddhism-is-fastest-growing-religio
n-in-English-jails-over-past-decade.html
11.^ http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/10418
12.^ http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/wa/content/2006/s1947996.htm
13.^ Robinson et al., Buddhist Religions, page xx; Philosophy East and West, vol 54,
ps 269f; Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1st ed., 1989, pp. 275f (2nd ed.,
2008, p. 266)
14.^ Padmasambhava, Jamgon Kongtrul, Erik Pema Kunsang (2004). Light of Wisdom.
Rangjung Yeshe Publications. ISBN 978-962-7341-37-6. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
15.^ Swearer, Donald. Becoming the Buddha. 2004. p. 177
16.^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism Vol. 1, p. 352
17.^ Lopez (1995). Buddhism in Practice. Princeton University Press. p. 16. ISBN
0-691-04442-2.
18.^ Carrithers, Michael. "The Buddha", in the Oxford University paperback Founders
of Faith, 1986, p. 10.
19.^ Armstrong, Karen (September 28, 2004). Buddha. Penguin Press. p. xii. ISBN
0-14-303436-7.
20.^ a b Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares
to Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, page 49.
21.^ UNESCO, Lumbini is the birthplace of the Lord Buddha, Gethin Foundations, p.
19, which states that in the mid-3rd century BCE the Emperor Ashoka determined that
Lumbini was Gautama's birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with the
inscription: "... this is where the Buddha, sage of the kyas (kyamuni), was
born."
22.^ For instance, Gethin Foundations, p. 14, states: "The earliest Buddhist sources
state that the future Buddha was born Siddhrtha Gautama (Pali Siddhattha Gotama),
the son of a local chieftaina rjanin Kapilavastu (Pali Kapilavatthu) what is now
the IndianNepalese border." However, Professor Gombrich (Theravda Buddhism, p. 1)
and the old but specialized study by Edward Thomas, The Life of the Buddha, ascribe
the name Siattha/fitta to later sources.
23.^ Kohn, Michael (1991). The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. Shambhala.
p. 143. ISBN 0-87773-520-4.
24.^ "The Middle Way of the Buddha". Buddhamind.info. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
25.^ "Buddhism - The Middle Path". Buddhanet.net. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
26.^ Keown, Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 267
27.^ Skilton, Concise, p. 25
28.^ Smith, Huston & Novak, Philip, Buddhism: A Concise Introduction,HarperCollins
2003, p.116
29.^ Journal of Buddhist Ethics: "Zen as a Social Ethics of Responsiveness" (PDF),
T. P. Kasulis, Ohio State University
30.^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 40
31.^ Dr. Richard K. Payne (ed.), Tantric Buddhism in East Asia, Wisdom Publications,
Boston, 2006, p. 74
32.^ Keown, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 107
33.^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 34
34.^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume Two), p. 711
35.^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 33
36.^ Andr Bareau, Les Sectes bouddhiques du Petit Vhicule, cole Franaise
d'Extrme-Orient, Saigon, 1955, pp. 212223: the top of p. 212 says: "Here are the
theses of the Theravadins of the Mahavihara"; then begins a numbered list of
doctrines over the following pages, including on p. 223: "There are only five
destinies ... the kalakanjika asuras have the same colour, same nourishment, same
foods, same lifespan as the petas, with whom ... they marry. As for the
Vepacittiparisa, they have the same colour, same nourishment, same foods, same
lifespan as the gods, with whom they marry."(Translated from the French)
37.^ The 31 Planes of Existence (PDF), Ven. Suvanno Mahathera
38.^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Vol. 1, p. 377
39.^ The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya,
Bhikkhu Bodhi, Translator. Wisdom Publications.
40.^ a b Ajahn Sucitto 2010, p. 87-88.
41.^ Gethin 1998, p. 82.
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42.^ a b Armstrong, p. 77.
43.^ Nhat Hahn, Thich, p. 36.
44.^ a b Roth, Beth. "Family Dharma: A Bedtime Ritual". Tricycle (Tricycle
Foundation). Retrieved January 11, 2011.
45.^ Chodron, Pema (2002). The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in
Difficult Times. Shambhala via Amazon Look Inside. p. 37. ISBN 1-57062-921-8.
46.^ "Unit Six: The Four Immeasurables". Buddha Dharma Education Association &
Buddhanet. and "Unit Six: Loving-Kindness". Buddha Dharma Education Association &
Buddhanet. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
47.^ "A View on Buddhism: The Four Immeasurables". Rudy Harderwijk
(viewonbuddhism.org). Retrieved January 11, 2011.
48.^ Kohn, Shambhala, pp. 131, 143
49.^ Jeffrey Po, "Is Buddhism a Pessimistic Way of Life?"
50.^ Rahula, Walpola (1959). "Chapter 2". What the Buddha Taught. Grove Press. ISBN
0-8021-3031-3.
51.^ Prebish, Charles (1993). Historical Dictionary of Buddhism. The Scarecrow
Press. ISBN 0-8108-2698-4.
52.^ Keown, Damien (2003). Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press. ISBN
0-19-860560-9.
53.^ Thanissaro Bhikkhu, The Not-Self Strategy, See Point 3 The Canon quote
Thanissaro Bhikkhu draws attention to is the Sabbasava Sutta.
54.^ This twelve nidana scheme can be found, for instance, in multiple discourses in
chapter 12 of the Samyutta NikayaNidana Vagga (e.g., see SN 12.2, Thanissaro,
1997a). Other "applications" of what might be termed "mundane dependent origination"
include the nine-nidana scheme of Digha Nikaya 15 (e.g., Thanissaro, 1997b) and the
ten-nidana scheme of Samyutta Nikaya 12.65 (e.g., Thanissaro, 1997c). So-called
"transcendental dependent origination" (also involving twelve nidanas) is described
in Samyutta Nikaya 12.23 (e.g., see Bodhi, 1995). In addition, Digha Nikaya 15
describes an eleven-nidana scheme (starting with "feeling") that leads to
interpersonal suffering ("the taking up of sticks and knives; conflicts, quarrels,
and disputes; accusations, divisive speech, and lies").
55.^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 56
56.^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 57
57.^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 58
58.^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 59
59.^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 60
60.^ Christian Lindtner, Master of Wisdom. Dharma Publishing 1997, p. 324.
61.^ Dan Lusthaus, "What is and isn't Yogacara"
62.^ Williams, Paul. Buddhist Thought. Routledge 2000, page 161.
63.^ raga, Pali-English Dictionary, The Pali Text Society
64.^ dosa, Pali-English Dictionary, The Pali Text Society
65.^ moha, Pali-English Dictionary, The Pali Text Society
66.^ a b Richard F. Gombrich, How Buddhism Began, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, p. 67
67.^ Hawkins, pp. 40, 46.
68.^ "''Access to Insight'', a Theravada Buddhist website, discusses Buddha Eras".
Accesstoinsight.org. 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
69.^ "Gautama Buddha discusses the Maitreya Buddha in the Tipitaka".
Accesstoinsight.org. 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
70.^ Kogen Mizuno, Essentials of Buddhism, Shunju-sha, 1972, English translation,
Kosei, Tokyo, 1996, p. 57
71.^ Dispeller of Delusion. Vol. II. Pali Text Society, p. 184
72.^ The Bodhisattva Vow: A Practical Guide to Helping Others, page 1, Tharpa
Publications (2nd. ed., 1995) ISBN 978-0-948006-50-0
73.^ "Bodhisattva Ideal in Buddhism". Access to Insight. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
74.^ Nattier, Jan (2003), A few good men: the Bodhisattva path according to the
Inquiry of Ugra: p. 174
75.^ Mall, Linnart. Studies in the Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita and Other Essays.
Motilal Banarsidass. 2005. pp. 53-54.
76.^ Hirakawa, Akira. A History of Indian Buddhism: from kyamuni to Early
Mahyna. Motilal Banarsidass. 2007. p. 297.
77.^ Conze, Edward. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and its Verse
Summary. Grey Fox Press. 2001. p. 89.
78.^ The Bodhisattva Vow: A Practical Guide to Helping Others, pages 4-12, Tharpa
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Publications (2nd. ed., 1995) ISBN 978-0-948006-50-0
79.^ Harvey, p. 170
80.^ Zen Buddhism: A History (India and China) by Heinrich Dumoulin, James W.
Heisig, Paul F. Knitter (page 22)
81.^ Barbara Stoler Miller, Yoga: Discipline of Freedom: the Yoga Sutra Attributed
to Patanjali; a Translation of the Text, with Commentary, Introduction, and Glossary
of Keywords. University of California Press, 1996, page 8.
82.^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge, 2007, page 73.
83.^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge, 2007, page 105.
84.^ Michael Carrithers, The Buddha. Taken from Founders of Faith, published by
Oxford University Press, 1986, page 30.
85.^ Alexander Wynne, The origin of Buddhist meditation. Routledge, 2007, p. 72.
86.^ a b Dharmacarini Manishini, Western Buddhist Review. Accessed at
http://www.westernbuddhistreview.com/vol4/kamma_in_context.html
87.^ Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to
Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, page 44.
88.^ Johannes Bronkhorst, The Two Traditions of Mediation in Ancient India. Franz
Steiner Verlag Weisbaden GmbH, pages 1-17.
89.^ Randall Collins, The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual
Change. Harvard University Press, 2000, page 199.
90.^ a b Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page
51.
91.^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 56.
92.^ Bhikku, Thanissaro (2001). "Refuge". An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha. Access to Insight.
93.^ Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha, tr. Nanamoli, rev. Bodhi, Wisdom
Publications, 1995, pp. 708f
94.^ Professor C.D. Sebastian, Metaphysics and Mysticism in Mahayana Buddhism, Sri
Satguru Publications, Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica Series No. 238, Delhi, 2005, p. 83
95.^ Professor C.D. Sebastian, Metaphysics and Mysticism in Mahayana Buddhism,
Delhi, 2005, p. 82
96.^ Hiroshi Kanno, Huisi's Perspective on the Lotus Sutra as Seen Through the
Meaning of the Course of Ease and Bliss in the Lotus Sutra, p. 147,
http://www.iop.or.jp/0414/kanno2.pdf, consulted 5 February 2010
97.^ Stewart McFarlane in Peter Harvey, ed., Buddhism. Continuum, 2001, page 187.
98.^ Stewart McFarlane in Peter Harvey, ed., Buddhism. Continuum, 2001, pages
195-196.
99.^ Morgan, Peggy; Lawton, Clive A., eds. (2007). Ethical Issues in Six Religious
Traditions (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 6263. ISBN
978-0-7486-2330-3.
100.^ Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to
Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, page 89. He is quoting Carrithers.
101.^ B. Alan Wallace, Contemplative Science. Columbia University Press, 2007, p.
81.
102.^ Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967, p. 396
103.^ Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism. Cambridge University Press, 1990,
page 144.
104.^ Damien Keown, Charles S Prebish, editors, Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Routledge,
2007. p. 502
105.^ Sarah Shaw, Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pli Canon.
Routledge, 2006, page 13. Shaw also notes that discourses on meditation are
addressed to "bhikkhave", but that in this context the terms is more generic than
simply (male) "monks" and refers to all practitioners, and that this is confirmed by
Buddhaghosa.
106.^ According to Charles S. Prebish (in his Historical Dictionary of Buddhism, Sri
Satguru Publications, Delhi, 1993, p. 287): "Although a variety of Zen 'schools'
developed in Japan, they all emphasize Zen as a teaching that does not depend on
sacred texts, that provides the potential for direct realization, that the
realization attained is none other than the Buddha nature possessed by each sentient
being ...".
107.^ Prebish comments (op. cit., p. 244): "It presumes that sitting in meditation
itself (i.e. zazen) is an expression of Buddha nature." The method is to detach the
mind from conceptual modes of thinking and perceive Reality directly. Speaking of
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Zen in general, Buddhist scholar Stephen Hodge writes (Zen Masterclass, Godsfield
Press, 2002, pp. 1213): "... practitioners of Zen believe that Enlightenment, the
awakening of the Buddha-mind or Buddha-nature, is our natural state, but has been
covered over by layers of negative emotions and distorted thoughts. According to
this view, Enlightenment is not something that we must acquire a bit at a time, but
a state that can occur instantly when we cut through the dense veil of mental and
emotional obscurations."
108.^ (Critical Sermons on the Zen Tradition, Hisamatsu Shin'ichi, Palgrave
Macmillan, New York, 2002, passim) Commenting on Rinzai Zen and its Chinese founder,
Linji, Hisamatsu states: "Linji indicates our true way of being in such direct
expressions as 'True Person' and 'True Self'. It is independent of words or letters
and transmitted apart from scriptural teaching. Buddhism doesn't really need
scriptures. It is just our direct awakening to Self ..." (Hisamatsu, op. cit., p.
46).
109.^ Kosho Uchiyama, Opening the Hand of Thought: Approach to Zen, Penguin Books,
New York, 1993, p. 98
110.^ Harvey, Introduction, pp. 165f
111.^ Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1st ed., 1989, p. 185
112.^ Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, p. 781 .
113.^ Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford University Press, 2008, p. xv
114.^ a b c Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Buddhism: The foundations of Buddhism:
The cultural context. Retrieved 19-07-2009.
115.^ a b Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Hinduism: History of Hinduism: The Vedic
period (2nd millennium - 7th century BCE); Challenges to Brahmanism (6th - 2nd
century BCE); Early Hinduism (2nd century BCE - 4th century CE). Retrieved
19-07-2009.
116.^ Warder, A.K. 2000. Indian Buddhism. P.32
117.^ Y. Masih (2000) In : A Comparative Study of Religions, Motilal Banarsidass
Publ : Delhi, ISBN 81-208-0815-0 Page 18. "There is no evidence to show that Jainism
and Buddhism ever subscribed to vedic sacrifices, vedic deities or caste. They are
parallel or native religions of India and have contributed to much to the growth of
even classical Hinduism of the present times."
118.^ S. Cromwell Crawford, review of L. M. Joshi, Brahmanism, Buddhism and
Hinduism, Philosophy East and West (1972): "Alongside Brahmanism was the non-Aryan
Shramanic culture with its roots going back to prehistoric times."
119.^ "This confirms that the doctrine of transmigration is non-aryan and was
accepted by non-vedics like Ajivikism, Jainism and Buddhism. The Indo-aryans have
borrowed the theory of re-birth after coming in contact with the aboriginal
inhabitants of India. Certainly Jainism and non-vedics [..] accepted the doctrine of
rebirth as supreme postulate or article of faith." Masih, page 37.
120.^ Karel Werner, The Longhaired Sage in The Yogi and the Mystic. Karel Werner,
ed., Curzon Press, 1989, page 34. "Rahurkar speaks of them as belonging to two
distinct 'cultural strands' ... Wayman also found evidence for two distinct
approaches to the spiritual dimension in ancient India and calls them the traditions
of 'truth and silence.' He traces them particularly in the older Upanishads, in
early Buddhism, and in some later literature."
121.^ Gavin D. Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University
Press : UK ISBN 0-521-43878-0 - "The origin and doctrine of Karma and Samsara are
obscure. These concepts were certainly circulating amongst sramanas, and Jainism and
Buddhism developed specific and sophisticated ideas about the process of
transmigration. It is very possible that the karmas and reincarnation entered the
mainstream brahaminical thought from the sramana or the renouncer traditions." Page
86.
122.^ Padmanabh S. Jaini 2001 "Collected Paper on Buddhist Studies" Motilal
Banarsidass Publ 576 pages ISBN 81-208-1776-1: "Yajnavalkya's reluctance and manner
in expounding the doctrine of karma in the assembly of Janaka (a reluctance not
shown on any other occasion) can perhaps be explained by the assumption that it was,
like that of the transmigration of soul, of non-brahmanical origin. In view of the
fact that this doctrine is emblazoned on almost every page of sramana scriptures, it
is highly probable that it was derived from them." Page 51.
123.^ Govind Chandra Pande, (1994) Life and Thought of Sankaracarya, Motilal
Banarsidass ISBN 81-208-1104-6 : Early Upanishad thinkers like Yajnavalkya were
acquainted with the sramanic thinking and tried to incorporate these ideals of
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Karma, Samsara and Moksa into the vedic thought implying a disparagement of the
vedic ritualism and recognising the mendicancy as an ideal. Page 135.
124.^ "The sudden appearance of this theory [of karma] in a full-fledged form is
likely due, as already pointed out, to an impact of the wandering
muni-and-shramana-cult, coming down from the pre-Vedic non-Aryan time." Kashi Nath
Upadhyaya, Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgita. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1998,
page 76.
125.^ Satapatha Brahmana 13.8.1.5
126.^ Oldenburg, Hermann, The Doctrine of the Upanishads and Early Buddhism, 1915,
reprinted 1991 by Shridhar B. Shrotri, Delhi, Motilalal Banardass
127.^ Greater Magadha, Studies the Culture of Early India, Bronkhorst, Johannes,
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132.^ "The brahmin by caste alone, the teacher of the Veda, is (jokingly)
etymologized as the 'non-meditator' (ajhyaka). Brahmins who have memorized the
three Vedas (tevijja) really know nothing: it is the process of achieving
Enlightenment what the Buddha is said to have achieved in the three watches of
that nightwhich constitutes the true 'three knowledges.'" R.F. Gombrich in Paul
Williams, ed., "Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies." Taylor and
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133.^ Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to
Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, page 85.
134.^ P. 177 The sacred books of the Buddhists compared with history and modern
science By Robert Spence Hardy
135.^ Vinaya Pitaka of the Mahavagga (I.245) in P. 494 The Pali-English dictionary
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136.^ "Atthako, Vmako, Vmadevo, Vessmitto, Yamataggi, Angiraso, Bhradvjo,
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Buddhist holy scriptures ..., Volume 1 edited by Hermann Oldenberg
137.^ The Vinaya Pitaka's section Anguttara Nikaya: Panchaka Nipata in P. 44 The
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138.^ Richard Francis Gombrich, How Buddhism began: the conditioned genesis of the
early teachings Continuum International Publishing Group, 1996, pages 38-39
139.^ Michael Carrithers, The Buddha, 1983, pages 41-42. Found in Founders of Faith,
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140.^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 21.
141.^ "Even so have I, monks, seen an ancient way, an ancient road followed by the
wholly awakened ones of olden time....Along that have I done, and the matters that I
have come to know fully as I was going along it, I have told to the monks, nuns, men
and women lay-followers, even monks, this Brahma-faring brahmacharya that is
prosperous and flourishing, widespread and widely known become popular in short,
well made manifest for gods and men." (P. 57 Buddhist Art & Antiquities of Himachal
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143.^ Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Vedic religion. Retrieved 19-07-2009.
144.^ Warder, A.K. 2000. Indian Buddhism. P.35
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Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: p. 260
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Mahayana: p. 271
158.^ "One of the most frequent assertions about the Mahayana ... is that it was a
lay-influenced, or even lay-inspired and dominated, movement that arose in response
to the increasingly closed, cold, and scholastic character of monastic Buddhism.
This, however, now appears to be wrong on all counts." Macmillan Encyclopedia of
Buddhism (2004): p. 494
159.^ Nattier, Jan (2003), A few good men: the Bodhisattva path according to the
Inquiry of Ugra: p. 193-194
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Tradition: p. 97
162.^ Williams, Paul (2008) Mahyna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations: p. 5
163.^ "The most important evidence in fact the only evidence for situating the
emergence of the Mahayana around the beginning of the common era was not Indian
evidence at all, but came from China. Already by the last quarter of the 2nd century
CE, there was a small, seemingly idiosyncratic collection of substantial Mahayana
sutras translated into what Erik Zrcher calls 'broken Chinese' by an Indoscythian,
whose Indian name has been reconstructed as Lokaksema." Macmillan Encyclopedia of
Buddhism (2004): p. 492
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Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: p. 263, 268
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Sutras" Warder, A.K. (3rd edn. 1999). Indian Buddhism: p. 335.
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broad traditions" as: (1) "The Theravda tradition of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia,
also sometimes referred to as 'southern' Buddhism"; (2) "The East Asian tradition of
China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, also sometimes referred to as 'eastern' Buddhism";
and, (3) "The Tibetan tradition, also sometimes referred to as 'northern'
Buddhism."; Robinson & Johnson (1982) divide their book into two parts: Part One is
entitled "The Buddhism of South Asia" (which pertains to Early Buddhism in India);
and, Part Two is entitled "The Development of Buddhism Outside of India" with
chapters on "The Buddhism of Southeast Asia", "Buddhism in the Tibetan Culture
Area", "East Asian Buddhism" and "Buddhism Comes West; Penguin handbook of Living
Religions, 1984, page 279; Prebish & Keown, Introducing Buddhism, ebook, Journal of
Buddhist Ethics, 2005, printed ed, Harper, 2006
223.^ See e.g. the multi-dimensional classification in Encyclopedia of Religion,
Page 41
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Macmillan, New York, 1987, volume 2, pages 440ff
224.^ A Comparative Study of the Schools, Tan Swee Eng
225.^ Cousins, L.S. (1996); Buswell (2003), Vol. I, p. 82; and, Keown & Prebish
(2004), p. 107. See also, Gombrich (1988/2002), p. 32: [T]he best we can say is
that [the Buddha] was probably Enlightened between 550 and 450, more likely later
rather than earlier."
226.^ Williams (2000, pp. 6-7) writes: "As a matter of fact Buddhism in mainland
India itself had all but ceased to exist by the thirteenth century CE, although by
that time it had spread to Tibet, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia." Embree et al.
(1958/1988), "Chronology," p. xxix: "c. 1000-1200: Buddhism disappears as [an]
organized religious force in India." See also, Robinson & Johnson (1970/1982), pp.
100-1, 108 Fig. 1; and, Harvey (1990/2007), pp. 139-40.
227.^ Gethin, Foundations, page 1
228.^ Hawkins, p. 88.
229.^ Clarke & Beyer, The World's Religions, Routledge, 2009, page 86
230.^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume One), pages 430, 435
231.^ Davidson, Ronald M. (2003). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the
Tantric Movement. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12619-0.
232.^ Prebish & Keown, Introducing Buddhism, page 89
233.^ A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition (2000)
234.^ Eliot, Japanese Buddhism, Edward Arnold, London, 1935, page 16
235.^ Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford University Press, 2008, page xiv
236.^ Journal of the Pali Text Society, volume XVI, page 114
237.^ Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press, 1995, page 9.
238.^ David Kalupahana, "Sarvastivada and its theory of sarvam asti." University of
Ceylon Review 24 1966, 94-105.
239.^ Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, page 4
240.^ a b MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 494
241.^ Isabelle Onians, "Tantric Buddhist Apologetics, or Antinomianism as a Norm,"
D.Phil. dissertation, Oxford, Trinity Term 2001 pg 72
242.^ Jonathan A Silk. What, if anything, is Mahayana Buddhism? Numen 49:4
(2002):335-405. Article reprinted in Williams, Buddhism, Vol III, Routledge, 2005
243.^ Harvey 1990, p. 1.
244.^ Goldstein 2011, p. 27.
245.^ Lama Surya Das 1997, p. 16.
246.^ Goleman 2008, Kindle Locations 1301-1305.
247.^ a b Gethin 1998, p. 65-66.
248.^ Keown 2000, Kindle Locations 361-372.
249.^ Pinburn 1990, p. 101.
250.^ Pyysiinen, Ilkka (2003). "Buddhism, Religion, and the Concept of "God"". Man
50 (2): 147171. JSTOR 3270517.
251.^ Southwold, Martin (Sep 1978). "Buddhism and The Definition of Religion". Man
13 (3): 362379. JSTOR 2801935.
252.^ Walpola Rahula 2007, Kindle Locations 316-323.
253.^ "Is Buddhism a Religion?". The Huffington Post. August 6, 2010. Retrieved
April 24, 2013.
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