Buddhism

Founder/ Origin
Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism.
He was an Indian Prince.
It was found in Northeastern India.
Was found in c. 520 BC
Locations:
China
Japan
Korea
Southeast Asia


Sacred Books
Buddhism has a book called the Tripitaka.
Ti means 3 and Pitaka means baskets.
It consists of 3 sections
Sutta Pitaka: Stories of Buddha
Vinaya Pitaka: Rules of Buddhism
Abhidhamma Pitaka: Teachings
of the Theravada
Written on Palm leaves in 100 BCE
Originally written in Pali

Places of Worship
Buddhist Temples:
Vihara: an early type of Buddhist Monastery
Chaitya Grihas: Halls that hold stupas
Stupas: Spiritual Monument to Buddha; it is a symbol of an enlightened
mind.
Prayer Wheels: a metal cylinder with a scroll of mantras inside. These are
spun as a form of prayer.
Pagan or Bagan Temples in Burma
Beliefs
Buddhism belief puts emphasis on knowledge and cosmology.
Buddhism believes that knowledge is the key to enlightenment.
They believe in four noble truths
Buddhism is often considered close to atheism because it rejects the idea
of speculation.
Buddhism does not believe in a ruler of the universe.
Holy Days
Wesak is the celebration of Buddha's birth and death
and his holy teachings.
It begins on the first full moon in May (Except on leap
year than it is held in June) and is the most important
festival
Dharma day is a day that celebrates Buddha's first
teachings.
Sangha celebrates is when 1250 arahants her Buddha
preach
It is the 2nd most important festival.
Sacred Places
Lumbini
Where Buddha was born.
Buddha Gaya
Realized Place
Sarnath
It is ground where the first preaching was done to
the training companion
Kushinagar
Dying Place
Diffusion
Buddhism started in North Eastern India c. 520 B.C.E. by
Siddhartha Gautama.
Along the road that the Buddha traveled communities of Buddhist
nuns and monks developed.
About 200 years in the third century B.C.E. a king of the Mauryan
Empire named Ashoka converted and expanded Buddhism by
sending monks to other territories. This caused Buddhism to
spread through the rest of India, Ceylon, Burma, Tibet, China,
Central Asia, Nepal, and Japan.
Sarnath, where Siddhartha Gautama
preached his first sermon
Sources
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/beliefs.htm
http://indiaing.zening.info/en/buddha/index.htm
http://www.ushistory.org/civ/8d.asp
http://www.stupa.org.nz/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/628714/vih
ara
http://www.touropia.com/famous-buddhist-temples/