From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices, considered by many to be a
religion.[1][2] Buddhism is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha
Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha", who lived in the northeastern
region of the Indian subcontinent and likely died around 400 BCE.[3]
Buddhists recognize him as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to
help sentient beings end their suffering and escape the cycle of rebirths
(saṃsāra). Among the methods various schools of Buddhism apply towards
this goal are: ethical conduct and altruistic behaviour, devotional practices,
ceremonies and the invocation of bodhisatvas that help them achieve
Nirvana, renunciation of worldly matters, meditation, physical exercises
akin to hatha yoga, study, and the cultivation of wisdom. A Statue of the Buddha in Tawang Gompa,
India
Buddhism is broadly recognized as being composed of two major branches:
Theravada, which has a widespread following in Southeast Asia. [hide]
Mahayana (including Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren and Vajrayana), found throughout
Part of a series on
East Asia.
Buddhism
Both branches have spread into Europe and the Americas.
Buddhist schools disagree on what the historical teachings of Gautama Buddha were, so
much so that some scholars claim Buddhism does not have a clearly definable common
core.[4] Significant disagreement also exists over the importance and canonicity of various
scriptures. Portal of Buddhism
Various sources put the number of Buddhists in the world between 230 million and 500 History of Buddhism
million.[5][6][7][8] While formal conversion or membership varies between communities,
basic lay adherence is often defined in terms of a traditional formula in which the Timeline - Buddhist councils
practitioner "takes refuge" in The Three Jewels, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
Most Buddhists live in Asia, but adherents are found worldwide. Major Figures
Gautama Buddha
Contents Disciples · Later Buddhists
1 Life of the Buddha Dharma or Concepts
2 Buddhist Concepts
2.1 Life and the World
Four Noble Truths
2.1.1 Karma: Cause and Effect
Noble Eightfold Path
2.1.2 Rebirth
Three marks of existence
2.1.3 The Cycle of Samsara
Dependent Origination
2.2 Suffering: Causes and Solution
Saṃsāra · Nirvana
2.2.1 The Four Noble Truths
Skandha · Cosmology
2.2.2 The Noble Eightfold Path
Karma · Rebirth
2.2.3 Middle Way
2.3 The Nature of Reality
Practices and Attainment
2.3.1 Impermanence, Dukkha and Non-Self
2.3.2 Dependent Arising
2.3.3 Emptiness
Buddhahood · Bodhisattva
4 Stages of Enlightenment
2.3.4 Speculation vs Direct Experience: Buddhist Epistemology
2.4 Liberation
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2.4.1 Nirvana Wisdom · Meditation · Precepts
2.4.2 Buddhas Pāramitās · Three Jewels
2.4.2.1 Theravada
Monastics · Laity
2.4.2.2 Mahayana
2.4.2.3 Buddha Eras
Countries and Regions
2.4.3 Bodhisattvas
3 Practice
3.1 Devotion
Schools
3.1.1 Refuge in the Three Jewels
3.2 Buddhist Ethics Theravāda · Mahāyāna
3.3 Monastic life Vajrayāna
3.4 Meditation
3.4.1 Samādhi/Bhāvanā (Meditative cultivation): samatha meditation Texts
3.4.1.1 In Theravāda
3.4.2 Prajñā (Wisdom): vipassana meditation Pali Canon · Tibetan Canon
3.4.3 Zen Chinese Canon
3.4.4 Tantra
4 History Related topics
4.1 Indian Buddhism Criticism
4.1.1 Pre-sectarian Buddhism
4.1.2 Early Buddhist Schools Comparative Studies
4.1.3 Early Mahayana Buddhism Cultural elements
4.1.3.1 Origins of Mahayana
4.1.3.2 Earliest Mahayana Sutras
4.1.4 Late Mahayana Buddhism
4.1.5 Esoteric Buddhism / Vajrayana
4.2 Buddhism in other countries
4.3 Buddhism today
5 Schools and Traditions
5.1 Theravāda
5.2 Mahayana
5.3 Vajrayāna or Tibetan Buddhism
6 Buddhist texts
6.1 Pāli Tipitaka
6.2 Mahayana Sutras
7 Comparative studies
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
10.1 Online
11 External links
Life of the Buddha
The following information about Buddha's life comes from the
Tipitaka (other scriptures, such as the Lalitavistara Sutra, give
differing accounts).
Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was born in the city of Lumbini and was raised in Kapilavastu.[9][10]
Moments after birth, according to the scriptures, he performed the first of several miracles, taking a few steps and
proclaiming, "Supreme am I in the world. Greatest am I in the world. Noblest am I in the world. This is my last birth.
Never shall I be reborn."
Shortly thereafter, a wise man visited his father, King Śuddhodana. The wise man said that Siddhartha would either
become a great king (chakravartin) or a holy man (Sadhu) based on whether he saw life outside of the palace walls.
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Determined to make Siddhartha a king, Śuddhodana shielded his
son from the unpleasant realities of daily life. Years after this,
Gautama married Yasodhara, with whom he had a son, Rahula, who
later became a Buddhist monk.
At the age of 29, Siddhartha ventured outside the palace complex
several times despite his father's wishes. As a result he discovered
the suffering of his people, through encounters with an old man, a
diseased man, a decaying corpse and an ascetic. These are known
among Buddhists as "The Four Sights",[11] one of the first
contemplations of Siddhartha. The Four Sights eventually prompted
Gautama to abandon royal life to take up his spiritual quest to
become free from suffering by living the life of a mendicant ascetic, Ascetic Gautama with his five companions, who later
a highly respected spiritual practice at the time in ancient India. He formed the first Sangha. Wallpainting in a laotian
temple
found companions with similar spiritual goals and teachers who
taught him various forms of meditation, including jhāna.
Ascetics practised many forms of self-denial, including severe undereating. One day, after almost starving to death,
Gautama accepted a little milk and rice from a village girl named Sujata. After this experience, he concluded that ascetic
practices, such as fasting, holding one's breath, and exposure to pain, brought little spiritual benefit. He viewed them as
counterproductive due to their reliance on self-hatred and mortification.[12] He abandoned asceticism, concentrating
instead on anapanasati meditation (awareness of breathing), thus discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, a path
of moderation between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.
After discovering the Middle Way, he sat under a sacred fig tree, also known as the Bodhi tree, in the town of Bodh Gaya
and vowed not to rise before achieving Nirvana. At age 35, after many days of meditation, he attained his goal of becoming
a Buddha. He spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma.[13] He died at age 80 in Kushinagara, India of food poisoning.
Scholars are increasingly hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of Gautama Buddha's life.[14]
According to 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."[15] Most historians accept that he
lived, taught and founded a monastic order, but do not consistently accept most details in his biographies.[16]
Buddhist Concepts
Life and the World
Karma: Cause and Effect
Karma (from Sanskrit: action, work[17]) is the energy which drives Saṃsāra, the cycle
of suffering and rebirth for each being. Good, skillful (Pāli: kusala) and bad, unskillful
(Pāli: akusala) actions produce "seeds" in the mind which come to fruition either in
this life or in a subsequent rebirth.[18] The avoidance of unwholesome actions and the
cultivation of positive actions is called Śīla (from Sanskrit: ethical conduct).
In Buddhism, Karma specifically refers to those actions (of body, speech and mind)
which spring from mental intent (Pāli: cetana),[19] and which bring about a
consequence (or fruit, Sanskrit: phala)[20]) or result (Pāli: vipāka). Every time a person
acts there is some quality of intention at the base of the mind and it is that quality
rather than the outward appearance of the action that determines its effect.
In Theravada Buddhism there is no divine salvation or forgiveness from one's Karma.
Some Mahayana traditions hold different views. The text of certain sSutras (such as
Traditional Tibetan Thangka the Lotus Sutra, the Angulimaliya Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra) claim that merely
depicting the "Wheel of Life"
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hearing or reciting these texts can expunge great swathes of negative Karma. Similarly,
with its six realms
the Japanese Pure Land teacher Genshin taught that Buddha Amitabha has the power
to destroy the Karma that would otherwise bind one in Saṃsāra.[21]
Rebirth
Rebirth means beings go through a succession of lives, each running from conception[22] to death, as one of many possible
forms of sentient life. It is important to note though, that Buddhism rejects the idea of a permanent self or the concept of an
unchanging, eternal soul as it is known e.g. in Christianity or even Hinduism. As there ultimately is no such thing as a self
(anatta), rebirth in subsequent existences must rather be understood as the continuation of a dynamic, ever changing
process of "Dependent Arising" (Pratītyasamutpāda) determined by the laws of cause and effect (karma) rather than that of
one being, "jumping" from one existence to the next.
Each rebirth takes place within one of five realms, according to Theravadins, or six according to other schools.[23][24]
These are further subdivided into 31 planes of existence:[25]
1. Naraka beings: those who live in one of many Narakas (Hells).
2. Animals: sharing some space with humans, but considered another type of life.
3. Preta: Sometimes sharing some space with humans, but invisible to most people; an important variety is the hungry
ghost.[26]
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 Theravada (Mahavihara)
tradition as a separate realm.[27]
6. Devas including Brahmas: variously translated as gods, deities, spirits, angels, or left untranslated.
Rebirths in some of the higher heavens, known as the Śuddhāvāsa Worlds (Pure Abodes), can be attained only by anāgāmis
(non-returners). Rebirths in the arupa-dhatu (formless realms) can be attained only by those who can meditate on the arupa-
jhānas.
According to East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism, there is an intermediate state between one life and the next, but Theravada
rejects this.[28]
The Cycle of Samsara
Sentient beings crave pleasure and are averse to pain from birth to death. In being controlled by these attitudes, they
perpetuate the cycle of conditioned existence and suffering (Samsara), and produce the causes and conditions for the next
rebirth after death. After another rebirth they do the same, and continue repeating this cycle. Buddhists strive to end this
involuntary cycle of suffering and rebirth by eradicating its causes and conditions through the application of the path laid
out by the Buddha.
Suffering: Causes and Solution
The Four Noble Truths
According to the Pali Tipitaka, the Four Noble Truths were the first teaching of Gautama Buddha after attaining Nirvana.
[29] They are sometimes considered as containing the essence of the Buddha's teachings and are presented in the manner of
a medical diagnosis and remedial prescription – a style common at that time:
1. Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering (dukkha) in one way or another.
2. Suffering is caused by craving or attachments to worldly pleasures of all kinds. This is often expressed as a deluded
clinging to a certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or people that we consider the cause of happiness
or unhappiness.
3. Suffering ends when craving ends, when one is freed from desire. This is achieved by eliminating all delusion,
thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment (bodhi);
4. Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by the Buddha.
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This interpretation is followed closely by many modern Theravadins, described by early Western scholars, and taught as an
introduction to Buddhism by some contemporary Mahayana teachers (e.g., the Dalai Lama).[30]
According to other interpretations by Buddhist teachers and scholars and lately recognized by some Western scholars[31]
the "truths" do not represent mere statements, but divisions or aspects of most phenomena, which fall into one of these four
categories, grouped in two:
1. Suffering and causes of suffering
2. Cessation and the paths towards liberation from suffering.
Thus, according to the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism[32] they are
1. "the noble truth that is suffering"
2. "the noble truth that is the arising of suffering"
3. "the noble truth that is the end of suffering"
4. "the noble truth that is the way leading to the end of suffering"
The early teaching,[33] and the traditional understanding in the Theravada,[34] is that the four noble truths are an advanced
teaching for those who are ready for them. The Mahayana position is that they are a preliminary teaching for people not yet
ready for the higher and more expansive Mahayana teachings.[35] They are little known in the Far East.[36]
The Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path, the fourth of the Buddha's Noble Truths, is the way to the
cessation of suffering (dukkha). It has eight sections, each starting with the word samyak
(Sanskrit, meaning correctly, properly, or well,[37] frequently translated into English as
right), and presented in three groups:
Prajñā is the wisdom that purifies the mind, allowing it to attain spiritual insight
into the true nature of all things. It includes:
1. dṛṣṭi (ditthi): viewing[38] reality as it is, not just as it appears to be.
2. saṃkalpa (sankappa): intention[39] of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness.
Śīla is the ethics or morality, or abstention from unwholesome deeds. It includes: The Dharmachakra represents
the Noble Eightfold Path.
3. vāc (vāca): speaking[40] in a truthful and non hurtful way
4. karman (kammanta): acting[41] in a non harmful way
5. ājīvana (ājīva): a non harmful livelihood[42]
Samādhi is the mental discipline required to develop mastery over one’s own mind. This is done through the practice
of various contemplative and meditative practices, and includes:
6. vyāyāma (vāyāma): making an effort[43] to improve
7. smṛti (sati): awareness[44] to see things for what they are with clear consciousness, being aware of the present reality
within oneself, without any craving or aversion
8. samādhi (samādhi): correct meditation or concentration[45], explained as the first 4 dhyānas
The practice of the Eightfold Path is understood in one of two ways. It requires either simultaneous development (all eight
items practiced in parallel), or it is conceived of as a progressive series of stages through which the practitioner moves, the
culmination of one leading to the beginning of another.
In the early sources (the four main Nikayas) the Eightfold Path is not generally taught to laypeople, and it is little known in
the Far East.[46]
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Middle Way
An important guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way, which is said to have been discovered by Gautama
Buddha prior to his enlightenment (bodhi). The Middle Way or Middle Path 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 (e.g., that things ultimately either exist or do not exist).[47]
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, lack of inherent existence, which avoids the
extremes of permanence and nihilism or inherent existence and nothingness.
The Nature of Reality
Buddhist scholars have produced a prodigious quantity of intellectual theories, philosophies
and world view concepts (see, e.g., Abhidharma, Buddhist philosophy and Reality in
Buddhism). Some schools of Buddhism discourage doctrinal study, some regard it as
essential, but most regard it as having a place, at least for some people at some stages. The
concept of Liberation (Nirvana), the goal of the Buddhist path, is closely related to the
correct perception of reality. In awakening to the true nature of the self and all phenomena
one is liberated from the cycle of suffering (Dukkha) and involuntary rebirths (Samsara).
Impermanence, Dukkha and Non-Self
According to the impermanence doctrine, human life embodies this flux in the aging process, the cycle of rebirth
(samsara), and in any experience of loss. The doctrine further asserts that because things are impermanent, attachment to
them is futile, and leads to suffering (dukkha).
Although dukkha 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" (Jeffrey Po)[48], which can give the impression that the Buddhist view is one of pessimism, but Buddhism is
neither pessimistic nor optimistic, but realistic. Thus in English-language Buddhist literature dukkha is often left
untranslated, so as to encompass its full range of meaning. [49] [50] [51].
Anatta (Pāli) or anātman (Sanskrit) refers to the notion of "not-self". In Indian philosophy, the concept of a self is called
ātman (that is, "soul" or metaphysical self), which refers to an unchanging, permanent essence conceived by virtue of
existence. This concept and the related concept of Brahman, the Vedantic monistic ideal, which was regarded as an
ultimate ātman for all beings, were indispensable for mainstream Indian metaphysics, logic, and science; for all apparent
things there had to be an underlying and persistent reality, akin to a Platonic form. Buddhists reject all these concepts of
ātman, emphasizing not permanence, but changeability. Therefore all concepts of a substantial personal self are incorrect,
and formed in the realm of ignorance.
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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.[52] By analyzing the constantly changing physical and mental constituents ("skandhas") of a person
(or object), the practitioner comes to the conlusion, that neither the respective parts, nor the person as a whole comprise a
self.
Dependent Arising
The doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit; Pali: paticcasamuppāda; Tibetan: rten.cing.'brel.bar.'byung.ba; Chinese: 緣
起), often translated as "Dependent Arising," 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 Twelve Nidānas describe a causal connection between the subsequent characteristics/conditions of cyclic existence,
each giving rise to the next:
1. Avidyā: ignorance, specifically spiritual[54]
2. Saṃskāras: literally formations, explained as referring to Karma.
3. Vijñāna: consciousness, specifically discriminative[55]
4. Nāmarūpa: literally name and form, referring to mind and body[56]
5. Ṣaḍāyatana: the six sense bases: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind-organ
6. Sparśa: variously translated contact, impression, stimulation (by a sense object)
7. Vedanā: usually translated feeling: this is the "hedonic tone", i.e. whether something is pleasant, unpleasant or
neutral
8. Tṛṣṇā: literally thirst, but nearly always in Buddhism used to mean craving
9. Upādāna: 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 having two meanings: karma, which
produces a new existence, and the existence itself.[57])
11. Jāti: literally birth, but life is understood as starting at conception[58]
12. Jarāmaraṇa (old age and death) and also śokaparidevaduḥkhadaurmanasyopāyāsa (sorrow, lamentation, pain,
sadness and misery)
Sentient beings always suffer throughout samsara, until they free themselves from this suffering by attaining Nirvana. Then
the absence of the first Nidāna, ignorance, leads to the absence of the others.
Emptiness
Mahāyāna Buddhism received significant theoretical grounding from Nāgārjuna (perhaps c.150–250 CE), arguably the
most influential scholar within the Mahāyāna tradition. Some of the writings attributed to him made explicit references to
Mahāyāna texts, but his philosophy was argued within the parameters set out by the agamas. Nāgārjuna asserted that the
nature of the dharmas (hence the enlightenment) to be śūnya (void or empty), bringing together other key Buddhist
doctrines, particularly anātman (no-self) and pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination). His school of thought is known as
the Madhyamaka. 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 Madhyamaka system.[59]
Sarvāstivāda teaching, which was criticized by Nāgārjuna, was reformulated by scholars such as Vasubandhu and Asaṅga
and were adapted into the Yogācāra (Sanskrit: yoga practice) school. While the Madhyamaka school held that asserting the
existence or non-existence of any ultimately real thing was inappropriate, some exponents of Yogācāra asserted that the
mind and only the mind is ultimately real. Not all Yogācārins asserted that mind was truly existent, Vasubandhu and
[60]
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Theravāda promotes the concept of Vibhajjavada (Pali), literally "Teaching of Analysis". This doctrine says that insight
must come from the aspirant's experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by blind faith. As the Buddha said
according to the canonical scriptures:[72]
Do not accept anything by mere tradition ... Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures ... Do not
accept anything merely because it agrees with your pre-conceived notions ... But when you know for yourselves—these
things are moral, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise, these things, when performed and
undertaken, conduce to well-being and happiness—then do you live acting accordingly.
Liberation
Nirvana
Nirvana (Sanskrit; Pali "Nibbana") means "cessation", "extinction" (of craving and
ignorance and therefore suffering and the cycle of involuntary rebirths Samsara),
"extinguished", "quieted", "calmed"[73]; it's also known as "Awakening" or
"Enlightenment" in the West. Buddhists believe that anybody who has achieved nirvana is
in fact a Buddha.
Bodhi (Pāli and Sanskrit, in devanagari: बॊिध) is a term applied to the experience of
Awakening of arahants. Bodhi literally means "awakening", but is more commonly
referred to 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),[74] dosa (hate, aversion)[75] and moha (delusion).
[76] In the later school of Mahayana Buddhism, the status of nirvana was downgraded in
Mahabodhi temple in some scriptures, coming to refer only to the extinction of greed and hate, implying that
Bodhgaya, India, where
delusion was still present in one who attained nirvana, and that one needed to attain bodhi
Buddha attained Nirvana
under the Bodhi Tree (left) to eradicate delusion [77]. 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, that of being freed from greed,
hate and delusion.
Buddhas
Theravada
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 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, Gautama Buddha, 1st
is called anagami. century CE, Gandhara
Mahayana
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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.
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, implying that delusion was still present in one who attained
Nirvana. Bodhi became a higher attainment that eradicate delusion entirely.[78] Thus, the Arahant attains Nirvana but not
Bodhi, thus still being subject to delusion, while the Buddha attains Bodhi.
Nearly all Chinese Buddhists accept that the chances of attaining sufficient enlightenment by one's own efforts are very
slim, so that Pure Land practice is essential as an "insurance policy" even if one practises something else.[79]
Buddha Eras
Buddhists believe the 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
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.[80][81] 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.[82] A Theravada
commentary says that Buddhas arise one at a time in this world element, and not at all in others.[83]
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, if any, are capable of following the path, so most or all must
rely on the power of the Buddha Amitabha. Zen and Nichiren traditionally hold that most are incapable of following the
"complicated" paths of some other schools and present what they view as a simple practice instead.
Bodhisattvas
Mahayana Buddhism puts great emphasis and, in fact, encourages anybody to follow the path of a Bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva means either "enlightened (bodhi) existence (sattva)" or "enlightenment-being" or, given the variant Sanskrit
spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one (satva) for enlightenment (bodhi)". Another translation is "Wisdom-
Being".[84]
The various divisions of Buddhism understand the word Bodhisattva in different ways. Theravada and some Mahayana
sources consider a Bodhisattva as someone on the path to Buddhahood, while other Mahayana sources speak of
Bodhisattvas renouncing Buddhahood[85], but especially in Mahayana Buddhism, it mainly refers to a being that
compassionately refrains from entering nirvana in order to save others. So the Bodhisattva is a person who already has a
considerable degree of enlightenment and seeks to use their wisdom to help other sentient beings to become liberated
themselves.
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While Theravada regards it as an option, Mahayana encourages everyone to follow a Bodhisattva path and to take the
Bodhisattva vows. With these vows, one makes the promise to work for the complete enlightenment of all sentient beings.
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."
According to the Mahayana, a Bodhisattva practices in the six perfections: giving, morality, patience, joyous effort,
concentration and wisdom.
Practice
Devotion
Devotion is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists.[86] Devotional practices include bowing, offerings,
pilgrimage, 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.
Refuge in the Three Jewels
Traditionally, the first step in most Buddhist schools requires taking refuge in the Three
Jewels (Sanskrit: tri-ratna, Pāli: ti-ratana)[87] as the foundation of one's religious practice.
The practice of taking refuge on behalf of young or even unborn children is mentioned[88]
in the Majjhima Nikaya, recognized by most scholars as an early text (cf. Infant baptism).
Tibetan Buddhism sometimes adds a fourth refuge, in the lama. In Mahayana, the person
who chooses the bodhisattva path makes a vow or pledge, considered the ultimate
expression of compassion.
The Three Jewels are:
The Buddha. This is a title for those who have attained Nirvana. See also the
Tathāgata 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.
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
which is inseparable from the Buddha.
The Sangha. the community of Buddhists or the congregation of monastic Footprint of the Buddha with
practitioners. Dharmachakra and triratna,
1st century CE, Gandhāra.
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
Śīla (Sanskrit) or sīla (Pāli) 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 pāramitā. It refers to moral purity of thought, word, and deed. The four
conditions of śīla are chastity, calmness, quiet, and extinguishment.
Śīla is the foundation of Samadhi/Bhāvana (Meditative cultivation) or mind cultivation. Keeping the precepts promotes not
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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 which would bring about peaceful and
happy effects. Keeping these precepts keeps the cultivator from rebirth in the four woeful realms of existence.
Śīla 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 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)
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)
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 (only eat 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
Monastic life
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) differ 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.
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
Buddhist meditation is fundamentally concerned with two themes: transforming the mind and using it to explore itself and
other phenomena.[89] According to Theravada Buddhism the Buddha taught two types of meditation, samatha meditation
(Sanskrit: śamatha) and vipassanā meditation (Sanskrit: vipaśyanā). In Chinese Buddhism, these exist (translated chih
kuan), but Chan (Zen) meditation is more popular.[90] Throughout most of Buddhist history before modern times, serious
meditation by lay people has been unusual.[91]
Samādhi/Bhāvanā (Meditative cultivation): samatha meditation
In the language of the Noble Eightfold Path, samyaksamādhi is "right concentration". The primary means of cultivating
samādhi is meditation. Upon development of samādhi, one's mind becomes purified of defilement, calm, tranquil, and
luminous.
Once the meditator achieves a strong and powerful concentration (jhāna, Sanskrit यानdhyāna), his mind is ready to
penetrate and gain insight (vipassanā) 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.
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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 (jhāna) 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 Theravāda
In Theravāda Buddhism, the cause of human existence and suffering is identified as the craving, which carries with it the
various defilements. These various defilements are traditionally summed up as greed, hatred and delusion. These are
believed to be parasites that have infested the mind and create suffering and stress. In order to be free from suffering and
stress, these defilements need to be permanently uprooted through internal investigation, analyzing, experiencing, and
understanding of the true nature of those defilements by using jhāna, a technique which is part of the Noble Eightfold Path.
It will then lead the meditator to realize the Four Noble Truths, Enlightenment and Nibbana. Nibbana is the ultimate goal
of Theravadins.
Prajñā (Wisdom): vipassana meditation
Zen
Ch'an (Chinese) or Zen (Japanese) Buddhism (derived from the Sanskrit term dhyana, meaning "meditation") is a form of
Buddhism that became popular in China and Japan and that lays special emphasis on meditation.[92] 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 Soto, the former greatly favouring the use in meditation on the
koan (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".[93]
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.[94] Nevertheless, Zen does not
neglect the scriptures.[95]
Tantra
Though based upon Mahayana, Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism is one of the schools that practice Vajrayāna or "Diamond
Vehicle" (also referred to as Mantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Tantric Buddhism, or esoteric Buddhism). It accepts all the basic
concepts of Mahāyāna, but also includes a vast array of spiritual and physical techniques designed to enhance Buddhist
[96]
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The root schism was between the Sthaviras and the Mahāsāṅghikas. 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 Theravāda 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
northern lineages, including the Sarvastivada and Puggalavada (both branches of the ancient Sthaviras) attribute the
Mahāsāṅghika schism to the '5 points' that erode the status of the arahant. The Mahāsāṅghikas argued that the Sthaviras
were trying to expand the vinaya and may also have challenged what they perceived to be excessive claims or inhumanly
high criteria for arhatship. Both parties, therefore, appealed to tradition.[104]
The Sthaviras gave rise to several schools, one of which was the Theravāda 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.[105]
Following (or leading up to) the schisms, each Saṅgha 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[106]. Scholars generally date these texts to
around the third century BCE, 100 to 200 years after the death of the Buddha. Therefore the seven Abhidhamma works are
generally claimed not to represent the words of the Buddha himself, but those of disciples and great scholars[107]. 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[108].
Early Mahayana Buddhism
The period of Early Mahayana Buddhism concerns the origins of Mahayana and the contents of early Mahayana Sutras
[109]. The development of the various Early Buddhist Schools and the arising of Mahayana were not always consecutive.
For example, the early schools continued to exist alongside Mahayana.
Origins of Mahayana
The commonly expressed misconception that Mahayana started as a lay-inspired movement[110] is based on a selective
reading of a very tiny sample of extant Mahayana Sutra literature[111]. Currently scholars have moved away from this
limited corpus of literature, and have started to open up early Mahayana literature which is very ascetic and expounds the
ideal of the monks' life in the forest.[112] A scholarly consensus about the origin of the Mahayana has not yet been reached,
but it has been suggested that when Mahayana became popular in the fifth century AD, it had become what it originally
most strongly objected to: a fully landed, sedentary, lay-oriented monastic institution[113]. Before that, the Mahayana
movement may well have been either a marginalized ascetic group of monks living in the forest, or a group of
conservatives embedded in mainstream, socially engaged early Buddhist monasteries[114]. Most scholars conclude that
Mahayana remained a marginal movement until the 5th century AD[115][116].
Earliest Mahayana Sutras
The earliest Mahayana Sutras are called the Proto-Mahayana Sutras such as the Ajitasena Sutra which contains a mixture
of Mahayana and pre-Mahayana ideas. It occurs in a world where monasticism is the norm, which is typical of the Pali
Suttas; there is none of the usual antagonism towards the followers of the Early Buddhist Schools or the notion of
Arahantship, which is typical of many Mahayana Sutras such as the White Lotus, or Vimalakirti Nirdesha. However, the
sutra also has an Arahant seeing all the Buddha fields, it is said that reciting the name of the sutra will save beings from
suffering and the hell realms, and a meditative practice is described which allows the practitioner to see with the eyes of a
Buddha, and to receive teachings from them that are very much typical of Mahayana Sutras. Some early Mahayana Sutras
are Ratnagunasamcayagatha and the Astasaharika.
Some scholars contend that the Mahayana sutras were mainly composed in the south[117] of India, and that later the
activity of writing additional scriptures was continued in the east[118] and north[119] of India.
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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.[120] In India, the two main philosophical schools of the
Mahayana were the Madhyamaka and the later Yogacara.[121] There were no great Indian teachers associated with
tathagatagarbha thought.[122]
Esoteric Buddhism / Vajrayana
Scholarly research concerning Esoteric Buddhism is still in its early stages and has a number of problems which make
research difficult:[123].
1. Esoteric Buddhism was influenced by Hinduism, and therefore the research has to include research on Hinduism as
well.
2. The scriptures of Esoteric Buddhism have not yet been put in any kind of order.
3. Ritual has to be examined as well, not just doctrine.
Buddhism in other countries
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
Aśoka and his descendants led to the construction of more stūpas (Buddhist
religious memorials) and to efforts to spread Buddhism throughout the
enlarged Maurya empire and even into neighboring lands – particularly 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
Theravāda Buddhism and its spread from Sri Lanka to the coastal lands of Buddhist proselytism at the time of
Southeast Asia. emperor Ashoka (260–218 BCE).
This period marks the first known spread of Buddhism beyond India. According to the edicts
of Aśoka, emissaries were sent to various countries west of India in order to spread Buddhism
(Dharma), particularly in eastern provinces of the neighboring Seleucid Empire, and even
farther to Hellenistic kingdoms of the Mediterranean. This led, a century later, to the
emergence of Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs in the Indo-Greek Kingdom, and to the
development of the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra. During this period Buddhism was
exposed to a variety of influences, from Persian and Greek civilization, and from changing
trends in non-Buddhist Indian religions – themselves influenced by Buddhism. It is a matter of
disagreement among scholars whether or not these emissaries were accompanied by Buddhist Buddhist tradition
missionaries.[124] records in the Milinda
Panha that the 2nd
The Theravada school spread south from India in the 3rd century BC, to Sri Lanka and century BCE Indo-Greek
Thailand and Burma and later also Indonesia. The Dharmagupta school spread (also in 3rd king Menander converted
to the Buddhist faith and
century BC) north to Kashmir, Gandhara and Bactria (Afghanistan). In the 2nd century AD, became an arhat.
Mahayana Sutras spread from that general area to China,Korea, Japan and Taiwan, and were
translated into Chinese. During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism (from 8th century
onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and Mongolia.
Buddhism today
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 in India and elsewhere. Estimates of the
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number of Buddhist followers by scholars range from 230 million to 500 million, with most around 350 million. 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. One Buddhist organization claims the total could be as much as 1.691 billion.
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.[125][126][127][128][129][130][131]
difficulties in estimating the number of Buddhists who do not have
congregational memberships and often do not participate in public
ceremonies;[132]
official policies on religion in several historically Buddhist countries that
Typical interior of a temple in Korea
make accurate assessments of religious adherence more difficult; most
notably China, Vietnam and North Korea[133][134][135]. 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.
According to one analysis,[136] Buddhism is the fourth-largest religion in the world behind Christianity, Islam, and
Hinduism. The monks' order (Sangha), which began during the lifetime of the Buddha, is among the oldest organizations
on earth.
Theravāda Buddhism, using Pāli as its scriptural language, 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.[137]
East Asian forms of Mahayana Buddhism that use scriptures in Chinese are dominant in most of China, Japan,
Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam as well as within Chinese and Japanese communities within Indochina,
Southeast Asia and the West. Approximately 185 million adherents.[138]
Tibetan Buddhism is found in Tibet, Bhutan,Mongolia, surrounding areas in India, China, Nepal, and the Russian
Federation, and Kalmykia. Approximately 20 million adherents.[139]
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 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, Buddhism 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. In the West, Buddhism
is recognized as one of the growing spiritual influences.
There is an overwhelming diversity of recent forms of Buddhism.[140]
Schools and Traditions
Buddhists generally classify themselves as either Theravada or Mahayana[141] This classification is also used by some
scholars[142] and is the one ordinarily used in the English language.[143] An alternative scheme used by some scholars[144]
divides Buddhism into the following three traditions or geographical or cultural areas: Theravada, East Asian Buddhism
and Tibetan Buddhism. Some scholars[145] use other schemes. Buddhists themselves have a variety of other schemes.
Hinayana (literally "smaller vehicle") is used by Mahayana followers to name the family of early philosphical schools and
traditions from which contemporary Theravada emerged, but as this can be considered derogatory, a variety of other terms
are increasingly used instead, including Śrāvakayāna, Nikaya Buddhism, early Buddhist schools, sectarian Buddhism,
conservative Buddhism, mainstream Buddhism and non-Mahayana Buddhism.
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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.
Mahayana Buddhism shows a great deal of doctrinal variation and development over time, and even more variation in
terms of practice. While there is much agreement on general principles, there is disagreement over which texts are more
authoritative.
Despite some differences among the Theravada and Mahayana schools, there are, e.g. according to one Buddhist
ecumenical organization[146], 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 and the noble eightfold path, in theory,
though in practice these have little or no importance in some traditions.
Both accept that members of the laity and of the sangha can pursue the path toward enlightenment (bodhi).
Both consider buddhahood to be the highest attainment; however Theravadins consider the nirvana (nibbana to the
Theravadins) attained by arahants as identical to that attained by the Buddha himself, as there is only one type of
nirvana. According to Theravadins, a buddha is someone who has discovered the path all by himself and taught it to
others.
This is a rough timeline of the development of the different schools/traditions:
Mahayana Buddhism
Early Buddhism Mahayana Vajrayana
Theravada Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Theravāda
Theravāda ("Doctrine of the Elders", or "Ancient Doctrine") is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It is relatively
conservative, and generally closest to early Buddhism.[147] This school is derived from the Vibhajjavāda grouping which
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 Pāli Canon and its commentaries. After being
orally transmitted for a few centuries, its scriptures, the Pali Canon, were finally committed to writing in the last 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. The Sutta collections and Vinaya texts of the Pāli 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.
Theravāda 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.
Mahayana
Mahayana Buddhism flourished in India from the fifth century AD onwards, during the dynasty
of the Guptas. Mahāyāna centres of learning were established, the most important one being the
Nālandā 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
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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.
Native Eastern Buddhism is practiced today in China, Japan,
Korea, Singapore, parts of Russia and most of Vietnam. The
Buddhism practiced in Tibet, the Himalayan regions, and
Mongolia is also Mahayana in origin, but will be discussed
below under the heading of Northern Buddhism. There are a
variety of strands in Eastern Buddhism, which in most of this
area are fused into a single unified form of Buddhism.
Chinese Ming dynasty However, in Japan they form separate denominations. The five
porcelain figure of major ones are the following.
Guanyin, "Goddess of
Mercy."
Nichiren, peculiar to Japan Chinese Seated Buddha, Tang
Pure Land Dynasty, Chinese Buddhism is
Shingon, a form of Vajrayana of the Mahayana tradition,
with popular schools today
Tendai
being Pure Land and Zen.
Chan/Zen
In Korea, nearly all Buddhists belong to the Chogye school, which is officially Son (Zen), but with substantial elements
from other traditions.[148]
Vajrayāna or Tibetan Buddhism
There are differing views as to just when Vajrayāna and its tantric practice started.
In the Tibetan tradition, it is claimed that the historical Śākyamuni Buddha taught
tantra, but as these are esoteric teachings, they were written down long after the
Buddha's other teachings. Nālandā University became a center for the
development of Vajrayāna theory and continued as the source of leading-edge
Vajrayāna practices up through the 11th century. These practices, scriptures and
theory 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 to be Tibetan Buddhism
Bodhnath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal (Vajrayāna) stems from the late (9th–12th century) Nālandā 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.[149]
Vajrayana combined and developed a variety of elements, a number of which had already existed for centuries.[150] In
addition to the Mahāyāna scriptures, Vajrayāna 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 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 written in these languages: Pāli, Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese, along with
some texts that 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
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scholars have referred to the Vinaya Pitaka and the first four Nikayas of the Sutta Pitaka as the common core of all
Buddhist traditions.[151] However, this could be considered misleading, as Mahāyāna considers these merely a preliminary,
and not a core, teaching, the Tibetan Buddhists have not even translated most of the āgamas, though theoretically they
recognize them, and they play no part in the religious life of either clergy or laity in China and Japan.[152] Other scholars
say there is no universally accepted common core.[153] 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 Theravāda Buddhism take the scriptures known as the Pāli Canon as definitive and authoritative, while
the followers of Mahāyāna Buddhism base their faith and philosophy primarily on the Mahāyāna sūtras and their own
vinaya. The Pāli sutras, along with other, closely related scriptures, are known to the other schools as the āgamas.
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.
Pāli Tipitaka
The Pāli Tipitaka, which means "three baskets", refers to its three main:
Pali Canon
The Vinaya Pitaka contains disciplinary rules for the Buddhist monks and Vinaya Pitaka
nuns, as well as explanations of why and how these rules were instituted,
SV. Khandhaka Vin V
supporting material, and doctrinal clarification.
The Sutta Pitaka contains discourses ascribed to Gautama Buddha.
Sutta Pitaka
The Abhidhamma Pitaka contains material often described as systematic
expositions of the Gautama Buddha's teachings. DN MN SN AN KN
According to the scriptures, soon after the death of the Buddha, the first Buddhist Abhidhamma Pitaka
council was held; a monk named Mahākāśyapa (Pāli: Mahākassapa) presided. The
goal of the council was to record the Buddha's teachings. Upāli recited the vinaya. Dhs. Vbh. Dhk. Kvu. Yam. Patthana
Pug.
Ānanda, 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 sūtras 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 which is
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.[154]
Mahayana Sutras
The Mahayana sutras are a very broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that the Mahayana
Buddhist tradition holds are original teachings of the Buddha. The adherents of Mahayana
accept both the early teachings and the Mahayana sutras as authentic teachings of Gautama Buddha, and claim they were
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designed for different types of persons and different levels of spiritual understanding. For
the Theravadins, however, the Mahayana sutras are works of poetic fiction, not the words
of the Buddha. The Theravadins and adherents of other Early Buddhist schools are
confident that the Pali Canon represents the full and final statement by Gautama Buddha
of his Dhamma—and nothing more is truly needed beyond that. Anything outside of the
Pali Canon and its commentaries that claims to be the word of the Buddha is treated with
extreme caution if not outright rejection.
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 Mahāyāna (lit., the Great Vehicle). For Theravadins and many scholars, including
Buddhist monk Geshe
Konchog Wangdu reads A.K. Warder,[155] however, the self-proclaimed "greatness" of the Mahayana Sutras does
Mahayana sutras from an old not make them a true account of the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha.
woodblock copy of the
Tibetan Kanjur. 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 couldn't understand them[156]. 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 to be of Chinese rather than Indian origin.
Generally, scholars conclude that the Mahayana scriptures were composed from the first century CE onwards[157], five
centuries after the historical Gautama Buddha, with some of them having their roots in other scriptures, composed in the
first century BCE. It was not until after the fifth century CE that the Mahayana sutras started to influence the behavior of
mainstream Buddhists in India[158].
Comparative studies
Buddhism provides many opportunities for comparative study with a diverse range of subjects. For example, dependent
origination can be considered one of Buddhism's contributions to metaphysics. Additionally, Buddhism's emphasis on the
Middle way not only provides a unique guideline for ethics but has also allowed Buddhism to peacefully coexist with
various differing beliefs, customs and institutions in countries in which it has resided throughout its history. Also, Its moral
and spiritual parallels with other systems of thought--for example, with various tenets of Christianity--have been subjects
of close study.
List of Buddhism related topics in comparative studies
Buddhism and Jainism
Buddhism and Hinduism
Buddhism and Christianity
God in Buddhism (Buddhism, mysticism, and monotheism)
Buddhism and Eastern teaching (Buddhism and East Asian teaching)
Buddhism and psychology
Buddhism and science
Buddhist Ethics (Buddhism and ethics)
Buddhist philosophy (Buddhism and Western philosophy)
Buddhism and Thelema[159]
See also
Basic Points Unifying the Theravada and the Mahayana
Buddhism and Christianity
Buddhism and Eastern teaching
Buddhism and Hinduism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
Buddhism and Jainism
Buddhism and psychology
Buddhism and science
Buddhism in the West
Buddhist Ethics
Buddhist Ceremonies
Buddhist flag
Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist terms and concepts
God in Buddhism
List of Buddhist topics
List of Buddhists
Shinbutsu shūgō
Notes
1. ^ Numen, vol 49, p 388; reprinted in Williams, Buddhism, vol III, p 403
2. ^ Excluding it as a "religion" by definition: Numen, vol 49, p 389; reprinted in Williams, Buddhism, Routledge, 2005, vol III, p
403. At least one authority regards Buddhism as a family of religions rather than a single religion: Robinson et al., Buddhist
Religions, 5th ed, Wadsworth, 2004, page xxi
3. ^ Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford University Press, 2008, page xv, says there is a more or less established consensus on
this.
4. ^ Robinson et al, Buddhist Religions, page xx; Philosophy East and West, vol 54, ps 269f; Williams, Mahayana Buddhism,
Routledge, 1st edn, 1989, ps 275f/2nd edn, 2008, p 266
5. ^ Major Religions Ranked by Size
6. ^ U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/ Accessed 20
September 2008.
7. ^ Garfinkel, Perry. "Buddha Rising." National Geographic Dec. 2005: 88-109.
8. ^ CIA - The World Factbook
9. ^ UNESCO. Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666. Gethin Foundations, p. 19, which
states that in the mid-third century BCE the Emperor Ashoka determined that Lumbini was the Buddha's birthplace and thus
installed a pillar there with the inscription: "... this is where the Buddha, sage of the Śākyas, was born."
10. ^ For instance, Gethin Foundations, p. 14, states: "The earliest Buddhist sources state that the future Buddha was born Siddhārtha
Gautama (Pali Siddhattha Gotama), the son of a local chieftain—a rājan—in Kapilavastu (Pali Kapilavatthu) what is now the
Indian-Nepalese border." However, Professor Gombrich (Theravada Buddhism, p. 1) and the old but specialized study by
Edwerard Thomas, The Life of the Buddha, ascribe the name Siattha/fitta to later sources
11. ^ http://buddhism.about.com/library/blbudlifesights2.htm The Life of the Buddha: The Four Sights "On the first visit he
encountered an old man. On the next excursion he encountered a sick man. On his third excursion, he encountered a corpse being
carried to cremation. Such sights sent home to him the prevalence of suffering in the world and that he too was subject to old age,
sickness and death. On his fourth excursion, however, he encountered a holy man or sadhu, apparently content and at peace with
the world."
12. ^ http://www.wildmind.org/mantras/figures/shakyamuni/5 Wild mind Buddhist Meditation, The Buddha’s biography: Spiritual
Quest and Awakening
13. ^ Skilton, Concise, p. 25
14. ^ Lopez (1995). Buddhism in Practice. Princeton University Press, 16.
15. ^ Carrithers, Michael. "The Buddha," in the Oxford University paperback Founders of Faith, 1986, page 10.
16. ^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism Vol. 1, page 352
17. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary, using कम न् as input
18. ^ T.P. Kasulis of Ohio State University, Zen as a Social Ethics of Responsiveness." Journal of Buddhist Ethics: [1].
19. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 40
20. ^ sanskrit-english dictionary with फल as input
21. ^ Lopez, Story of Buddhism, page 239/Buddhism, page 248
22. ^ Keown, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1996, page 107
23. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 34
24. ^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume Two), page 711
25. ^ The 31 Planes of Existence by Ven. Suvanno Mahathera
26. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 33
27. ^ André Bareau, Les Sectes bouddhiques du Petit Véhicule, École Française d'Extrême-Orient, Saigon, 1955, pages 212-223: the
top of page 212 says "Voici les thèses des Theravâdin du Mahâvihâra:": "Here are the theses of the Theravadins of the
Mahavihara"; then begins a numbered list of doctrines over the following pages, including on page 223 "74°) Il n'y a que cinq
(pañca) destinées (gati) ... les Asura Kâlakañjika ont même couleur (samânavanna), même nourriture (samânabhoga), mêmes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
aliments (samânâhâra), même durée de vie (samânâyuka) que les Peta avec lesquels ... ils se marient (âvâhavivâham gacchanti).
Quant aux Vepacittiparisa, ils ont même couleur, même nourriture, mêmes aliments, même durée de vie que les Dieux, avec
lesquels ils se marient ": "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"
28. ^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume One), page 377
29. ^ Thera, Piyadassi (1999). "Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta", The Book of Protection. Buddhist Publication Society. In what is
said in Theravada to be the Buddha's first sermon, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, which was given to the five ascetics with
whom he had practiced austerities. He talks about the Middle Way, the noble eightfold path and the Four Noble Truths.
30. ^ See for example: http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/fourtruths.html The Four Noble Truths
31. ^ Gethin, Foundations, page 60
32. ^ (2004), Volume One, page 296
33. ^ Harvey, Introduction, p. 47
34. ^ Hinnels, John R. (1998). The New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140514805.,pages
393f
35. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 92
36. ^ Eliot, Japanese Budhism, Edward Arnold, London, 1935, page 60
37. ^ with स यक ् as input
38. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary with as input
39. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary with संक पas input
40. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary with वाच ् as input
41. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary with कम न् as input
42. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary with आजीवन as input
43. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary with यायामas input
44. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary with मृितas input
45. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary with समािध as input
46. ^ Eliot, Japanese Buddhism, Edward Arnold, London, 1935, pages 59f
47. ^ Kohn, Shambhala, pp. 131, 143
48. ^ Jeffrey Po, “Is Buddhism a Pessimistic Way of Life?”, http://www.4ui.com/eart/172eart1.htm
49. ^ Rahula, Walpola (1959). "Chapter 2", What the Buddha Taught. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3031-3.
50. ^ Prebish, Charles (1993). Historical Dictionary of Buddhism. The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2698-4.
51. ^ Keown, Damien (2003). Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860560-9.
52. ^ Thanissaro Bhikkhu, The Not-Self Strategy. See Point 3, [2]. The Canon quote Thanissaro Bhikkhu draws attention to is the
Sabbasava Sutta, [3].
53. ^ This 12 nidana scheme can be found, for instance, in multiple discourses in the Samyutta Nikaya's chapter 12, Nidana 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 DN 15 (e.g., Thanissaro, 1997b) and the ten-nidana scheme of SN 12.65 (e.g., Thanissaro, 1997c). So-
called "transcendental dependent origination" (also involving 12 nidanas) is described in SN 12.23 (e.g., see Bodhi, 1995). In
addition, DN 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").
54. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 56
55. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 57
56. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 58
57. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 59
58. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 60
59. ^ Christian Lindtner, Master of Wisdom. Dharma Publishing 1997, page 324.
60. ^ Dan Lusthaus, "What is and what isn't Yogacara." [4].
61. ^ Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967, page 395
62. ^ The Theravada commentary on the Nettipakarana, ascribed to Dhammapala, says (Pali pamāṇa is equivalent to Sanskrit
pramāṇa): "na hi pāḷito aññaṃ pamāṇataraṃ atthi (quoted in Pali Text Society edition of the Nettipakarana, 1902, page XI)
which Nanamoli translates as: "for there is no other criterion beyond a text" (The Guide, Pali Text Society, 1962, page xi
63. ^ MN 72 (Thanissaro, 1997). For further discussion of the context in which these statements was made, see Thanissaro (2004).
64. ^ "Experience is ... the path most elaborated in early Buddhism. The doctrine on the other hand was kept low. The Buddha
avoided doctrinal formulations concerning the final reality as much as possible in order to prevent his followers from resting
content with minor achievements on the path in which the absence of the final experience could be substituted by conceptual
understanding of the doctrine or by religious faith, a situation which sometimes occurs, in both varieties, in the context of Hindu
systems of doctrine.", Karel Werner, Mysticism and Indian Spirituality. In Karel Werner, ed., The Yogi and the Mystic. Curzon
Press, 1989, page 27.
65. ^ Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "Introduction to the Avyakata Samyutta," [5].
66. ^ Gadjin M. Nagao, Madhyamika and Yogachara. Leslie S. Kawamura, translator, SUNY Press, Albany 1991, pages 40-41.
67. ^ Gadjin M. Nagao, Madhyamika and Yogachara. Leslie S. Kawamura, translator, SUNY Press, Albany 1991, pages 40-41.
68. ^ Philosophy East and West, volume Twenty-Six, page 138
69. ^ The Sovereign All-Creating Mind tr. by E.K. Neumaier-Dargyay, pp. 111–112.
70. ^ Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1989, p. 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
71. ^ Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967, p. 395
72. ^ Kalama Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya III.65
73. ^ spokensanskrit dictionary with िनव नas input
74. ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:489.pali Pali Text Society Pali Dictionary
75. ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:2598.pali Pali Text Society Pali Dictionary
76. ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:229.pali Pali Text Society Pali Dictionary
77. ^ 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.’’ How Buddhism Began, Richard F. Gombrich, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, p.
67
78. ^ 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.’’ How Buddhism Began, Richard F. Gombrich, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, p.
67
79. ^ Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2007, page 611
80. ^ Access to Insight, a Theravada Buddhist website, discusses Buddha Eras
81. ^ Gautama Buddha discusses tne Maitreya Buddha in the Tipitaka
82. ^ Kogen Mizuno, Essentials of Buddhism, Shunju-sha, 1972, English translation, Kosei, Tokyo, 1996, page 57
83. ^ Dispeller of Delusion, Pali Text Society, volume II, page 184
84. ^ Coomaraswamy, Ananda (1975). Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism. Boston: University Books, Inc., 225.
85. ^ Cook, Hua-yen Buddhism, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977, pages 110f; Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism
(Volume One), page 351
86. ^ Harvey, page 170
87. ^ Bhikku, Thanissaro (2001). "Refuge". An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha. Access to Insight.
88. ^ Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha, tr Nanamoli, rev Bodhi, Wisdom Pubns, 1995, pages 708f
89. ^ B. Alan Wallace, Contemplative Science. Columbia University Press, 2007, page 81.
90. ^ Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967, page 396
91. ^ Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2007, page 502
92. ^ 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 ...".
93. ^ 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 Zen in general,
Buddhist scholar Stephen Hodge writes (Zen Masterclass, Godsfield Press, 2002, pp. 12–13): "... 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."
94. ^ (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).
95. ^ Harvey, Introduction, pages 165f
96. ^ Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1st ed, 1989, page 185
97. ^ Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, page 781
98. ^ A History of Indian Buddhism - Hirakawa Akira (translated and edited by Paul Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi,
1993, p. 7
99. ^ Professor of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Buddhist Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His main views and arguments can be
found in his book Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks, University of Hawai'i Press
100. ^ Mitchell, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2002, page 34 & table of contents
101. ^ Skorupski, Buddhist Forum, vol I, Heritage, Delhi/SOAS, London, 1990, page 5; Journal of the International Association of
Buddhist Studies, vol 21 (1998), part 1, pages 4, 11
102. ^ Encyclopedia of Religion, Macmillan, New York, sv Councils, Buddhist
103. ^ Journal of the Pāli Text Society, volume XVI, p. 105)
104. ^ Janice J. Nattier and Charles S. Prebish, 1977. Mahāsāṅghika Origins: the beginnings of Buddhist sectarianism in History of
Religions, Vol. 16, pp. 237–272
105. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 74
106. ^ "Abhidhamma Pitaka." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
107. ^ "Abhidhamma Pitaka." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.
108. ^ Yes: Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, page 485. No: "Abhidhamma Pitaka." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate
Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.
109. ^ A History of Indian Buddhism - Hirakawa Akira (translated and edited by Paul Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi,
1993, p. 8
110. ^ 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, page 494
111. ^ MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 494
112. ^ As scholars have moved away from this limited corpus, and have begun to explore a wider range of Mahayana Sutras, they have
stumbled on, and have started to open up, a literature that is often stridently ascetic and heavily engaged in reinventing the forest
ideal, an individualistic, antisocial, ascetic ideal that is encapsulated in the apparently resurrected image of “wandering alone like
a rhinoceros.” MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 494
113. ^ At this point we can only postulate that the Mahayana may have had a visible impact in India only when, in the fifth
century, it had become what it had originally most strongly objected to: a fully landed, sedentary, lay-oriented monastic institution
114. ^ either a collection of marginalized ascetic groups living in the forest, or groups of cantankerous and malcontent conservatives
embedded in mainstream, socially engaged monasteries, all of whom continued pouring out pamphlets espousing their views and
values, pamphlets that we now know as Mahayana Sutras. We simply do not know. MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004,
page 494 and 495
115. ^ At this point we can only postulate that the Mahayana may have had a visible impact in India only when, in the fifth
century, it had become what it had originally most strongly objected to: a fully landed, sedentary, lay-oriented monastic
institution, MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 494
116. ^ Certainly, we have for this period an extensive body of inscriptions from virtually all parts of India. ... But nowhere in this
extensive body of material is there any reference, prior to the fifth century, to a named Mahayana. There are, on the other hand,
scores of references to what used to be called Hinayana groups — the Sarvastivadins, Mahasamghikas, and so on. From this
point of view, at least, this was not “the period of the Mahayana,” but “the period of the Hinayana.”, Macmillan Encyclopedia of
Buddhism, 2004, page 493
117. ^ ‘The south (of India) was then vigorously creative in producing Mahayana Sutras’ – AK Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition,
1999, p. 335.
118. ^ Mahayanism in all probability germinated in the south, where the offshoots of the Mahasanghikas had their centres of activities,
but where it appeared more developed was a place somewhere in the eastern part of India, a place where the Sarvastivadins were
predominant.' Buddhist Sects in India, Nalinaksha Dutt, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition, 1978, p. 243)
119. ^ ‘The sudden appearance of large numbers of (Mahayana) teachers and texts (in North India in the second century AD) would
seem to require some previous preparation and development, and this we can look for in the South.’ AK Warder, Indian
Buddhism, 3rd edition, 1999 p. 335.
120. ^ A History of Indian Buddhism - Hirakawa Akira (translated and edited by Paul Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi,
1993, p. 8,9
121. ^ Peter Harvey, "An Introduction to Buddhism." Cambridge University Press, 1993, page 95.
122. ^ Peter Harvey, "An Introduction to Buddhism." Cambridge University Press, 1993, page 113. "There were no great Indian
teachers associated with this strand of thought."
123. ^ A History of Indian Buddhism - Hirakawa Akira (translated and edited by Paul Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi,
1993, p. 9
124. ^ Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism, Routledge, 2nd ed, 2006, page 135
125. ^ Chinese Cultural Studies: The Spirits of Chinese Religion
126. ^ Windows on Asia - Chinese Religions
127. ^ Religions and Beliefs in China
128. ^ SACU Religion in China
129. ^ Index-China Chinese Philosophies and religions
130. ^ AskAsia - Buddhism in China
131. ^ BUDDHISM AND ITS SPREAD ALONG THE SILK ROAD
132. ^ U.S. Department of States - International Religious Freedom Report 2006: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
133. ^ openDemocracy.net - 'The Atlas of Religion,' Joanne O'Brien & Martin Palmer: State Attitudes to Religion
134. ^ Center for Religious Freedom - Survey Files
135. ^ The Range of Religious Freedom
136. ^ Garfinkel, Perry (December 2005). "Buddha Rising". National Geographic: 88–109.
137. ^ [6], retrieved on 2008-01-15
138. ^ [7], retrieved on 2008-01-15
139. ^ [8], retrieved on 2008-01-15
140. ^ Philosophy East and West, volume 54, page 270
141. ^ Keown, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1996, page 12
142. ^ Smith, Buddhism; Juergensmeyer, Oxford Handbook.
143. ^ "Tibetan Buddhism". American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. (2004). Houghton Mifflin Company. Retrieved
on 2007-07-07.
144. ^ (Harvey, 1990); (Gombrich,1984); Gethin (1998), pp. 1–2, identifies "three broad traditions" as: (1) "The Theravāda tradition of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
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
145. ^ See e.g. the multi-dimensional classification in Encyclopedia of Religion, Macmillan, New York, 1987, volume 2, pages 440ff
146. ^ http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/comparative.htm
147. ^ Gethin, Foundations, page 1
148. ^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume One), pages 430, 435
149. ^ Davidson, Ronald M. (2003). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement. New York: Columbia
University Press. ISBN 0231126190.
150. ^ Prebish & Keown, Introducing Buddhism, page 89
151. ^ A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition (2000)
152. ^ Eliot, Japanese Buddhism, Edward Arnold, London, 1935, page 16
153. ^ Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford University Press, 2008, page xiv
154. ^ Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press, 1995, page 9.
155. ^ A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition (2000), p. 4
156. ^ 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. Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, page 4
157. ^ large numbers of Mahayana sutras were being composed in the period between the beginning of the common era and the fifth
century. MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 494
158. ^ But outside of texts, at least in India, at exactly the same period, very different—in fact seemingly older—ideas 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. MacMillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 494
159. ^ Thelema & Buddhism in Journal of Thelemic Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, Autumn 2007, pp. 18-32
References
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Cousins, L. S. (1996). "The Dating of the Historical Buddha: A Review Article". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
Society Series 3 (6.1): 57–63, http://indology.info/papers/cousins/. Retrieved on 11 July 2007.; reprinted in
Williams, Buddhism, volume I; NB in the online transcript a little text has been accidentally omitted: in section 4,
between "... none of the other contributions in this section envisage a date before 420 B.C." and "to 350 B.C." insert
"Akira Hirakawa defends the short chronology and Heinz Bechert himself sets a range from 400 B.C."
Davidson, Ronald M. (2003). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement. New York:
Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231126190.
de Give, Bernard (2006). Les rapports de l'Inde et de l'Occident des origines au règne d'Asoka. Les Indes savants.
ISBN-10: 2846540365.
Gethin, Rupert (1998). Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-289223-1.
Harvey, Peter (1990). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-52-131333-3.
Lamotte, Étienne (trans. from French) (1976). Teaching of Vimalakirti, trans. Sara Boin, London: Pali Text Society,
XCIII. ISBN 0710085400.
Skilton, Andrew (1997). A Concise History of Buddhism. Windhorse Publications. ISBN 0904766926.
Williams, Paul (1989). Mahayana Buddhism: the doctrinal foundations. London: Routledge.
Williams, Paul (ed.) (2005). Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, 8 volumes, Routledge, London &
New York.
Armstrong, Karen (2001). Buddha. Penguin Books, 187. ISBN 0-14-303436-7.
Buswell, Robert E. (ed.) (2003). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. MacMillan Reference Books. ISBN 978-0028657189.
Coogan, Michael D. (ed.) (2003). The Illustrated Guide to World Religions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 1-84483-
125-6.
Donath, Dorothy C. (1971). Buddhism for the West: Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna; a comprehensive review
of Buddhist history, philosophy, and teachings from the time of the Buddha to the present day. Julian Press. ISBN 0-
07-017533-0.
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Gunaratana, Bhante Henepola (2002). Mindfulness in Plain English. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-321-4.
Also available on this websites: saigon.com urbandharma.org vipassana.com
Juergensmeyer, Mark (2006). The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions, Oxford Handbooks in Religion and
Theology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195137989.
Lowenstein, Tom (1996). The Vision of the Buddha. Duncan Baird Publishers. ISBN 1-903296-91-9.
Kohn, Michael H. (trans.) (1991). The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-520-
4.
Morgan, Kenneth W. (ed), The Path of the Buddha: Buddhism Interpreted by Buddhists, Ronald Press, New York,
1956; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi; distributed by Wisdom Books
Nattier, Jan (2003). A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path according to The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugrapariprccha).
University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 0-8248-2607-8.
Robinson, Richard H., and Johnson, Willard L. (1982). The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction.
Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-534-01027-X.
Sinha, H.P. (1993). Bhāratīya Darshan kī rūprekhā (Features of Indian Philosophy). Motilal Banarasidas Publ..
ISBN 81-208-2144-0.
Smith, Huston; Phillip Novak (2003). Buddhism: A Concise Introduction. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 978-
0060730673.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2001). Refuge: An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha (3rd ed., rev.).
Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, Broadway Books, 1974. ISBN 0-7679-0369-2.
Thurman, Robert A. F. (translator) (1976). Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: Mahayana Scripture. Pennsylvania State
University Press. ISBN 0-271-00601-3.
Walpola Rahula (1974). What the Buddha Taught. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3031-3.
White, Kenneth (2005). The Role of Bodhicitta in Buddhist Enlightenment Including a Translation into English of
Bodhicitta-sastra, Benkemmitsu-nikyoron, and Sammaya-kaijo. The Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 0-7734-5985-5.
Yamamoto, Kosho (translation), revised and edited by Dr. Tony Page. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra.
(Nirvana Publications 1999-2000).
Yin Shun, Yeung H. Wing (translator) (1998). The Way to Buddhahood: Instructions from a Modern Chinese
Master. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-133-5.
Indian Books Centre. Bibliotheca Indo Buddhica Series, Delhi.
Ranjini. Jewels of the Doctrine. Sri Satguru Publications.
Online
External links
About Buddhism
Access to Insight Buddhism portal
BuddhaNet
Seeing Through The Net
Buddhism at Open Directory Project
"Buddhism - objects, art and history". Asia. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
Imagery of Buddha in contemporary cultures
Buddhism Potpourri
Buddhist texts (English translations)
DharmaNet
Essential Theravada Buddhism in graphics
Tathagatagarbha Mahayana sutras
Video documentary Buddhist history in India
What Buddha Taught Multi-lingual
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Nepal
Coordinates: 26°32′N 86°44′E
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nepal (Nepali: नेपाल [neˈpaːl]) is a landlocked country in South Asia.
It is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the north and by India
संघीय लोकता क गणत नेपाल
to the south, east and west. The Himalaya mountain range runs across Sanghiya Loktāntrik Ganatantra Nepāl
Nepal's northern and western parts, and eight of the world's ten highest Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest, are within its territory.
Historically, Nepal had many small kingdoms and the modern state was
formed with the Unification of Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah on
December 21, 1768. Prior to 2006, Nepal was a kingdom. Nepal is now a
federal democratic republic.[3] Its recent history has involved struggles
for democratic government with periods of direct monarchic rule. From
1996 until 2006, Nepal suffered from a Civil War between government
forces and guerrillas of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
Flag Emblem
On December 28, 2007, the Interim Parliament passed a bill and declared
Nepal to be a Federal Democratic Republic. The first meeting of the Motto: "Mother and Motherland are Greater than
Constituent Assembly officially implemented that declaration on May 28, Heaven"
2008. Anthem: "Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka"
Nepal is a multi-cultural, multi-linguistic and multi religious country. For
a relatively small country, Nepal has a diverse landscape, ranging from
the humid Terai plains in the south to the mountainous Himalayas in the
north, which makes it a major tourist destination. Hinduism is practiced
by a large majority of the people, but the country also has a strong
Buddhist tradition; Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha Siddhartha
Gautama is located in the Terai, one of the three regions of Nepal.
Official languages Nepali[1]
Nepal's flag is the only national flag in the world that is non-quadrilateral
Recognised Maithili, Nepal Bhasa,
in shape. The blue border on the flag of Nepal signifies peace. The red in
regional languages Bhojpuri, Tharu, Gurung,
the flag stands for victory in war or courage, and is also color of the Tamang, Magar, Awadhi,
rhododendron, the national flower of Nepal. While the curved moon on Sherpa, Kiranti and another
the flag is a symbol of the peaceful and calm nature of Nepalese, the sun 100 different indigenous
represents the aggressiveness of Nepalese warriors. languages.
Demonym Nepali
Contents
Government Republic
1 Etymology - President Ram Baran Yadav
1.1 Nepal Bhasa origin
1.2 Ne Muni - Vice President Parmanand Jha
2 Language
3 History - Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal
3.1 Prehistory
(Prachanda)
3.2 Ancient
Unification
3.3 Medieval
- Kingdom December 21, 1768
3.4 Modern
declared
3.5 Recent Events
4 Geography - State declared January 15, 2007
5 Subdivisions
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
6 Neotectonics of Nepal
Republic declared May 28, 2008
6.1 Structural and Neotectonic pattern of Nepal
6.2 Present-day deformation of Nepal Area
7 Government and politics - Total 147,181 km² (93rd)
8 Military and foreign affairs 56,827 sq mi
9 Largest cities - Water (%) 2.8
10 Economy
11 Demographics
11.1 Religion
Population
12 Culture - July 29,519,114 (40th)
13 See also 2008 estimate
14 Notes - 2007 census 28,875,140
15 References
16 External links - Density 184/km² (56th)
477/sq mi
According to Skanda Purana, a rishi called "Ne" or "Nemuni" used to live in Himalaya.[8] In the Pashupati Purana, he is
mentioned as a saint and a protector.[9] He is said to have practiced penance at the Bagmati and Kesavati rivers[10] and to have
taught his doctrines there too.[5]
Language
All the languages spoken in Nepal are national languages.[11] Nepali is the official language of Nepal,with almost 60 percent of
the population speaking it.[12] This language, which is believed to be language with the closest derivation from Sanskrit, was
originally called Khaskura, but became known as Nepali during the 20th century.[13] Nepal's constitution, however, guarantees
that, irrespective of what the official language is, all languages spoken in Nepal can be used for official purposes and
documentation.[14]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
In the capital Kathmandu, Nepal Bhasa (the Newar language) and Nepali are the most widely used language.
History
Prehistory
Neolithic tools found in the Kathmandu Valley indicate that people have been living in the
Himalayan region for at least 9,000 years. It appears that people who were probably of Kirant
ethnicity lived in Nepal 2,500 years ago.[15]
Ancient
Terai News writes, "Nepal has been highlighted for last several centuries in Indian Sanskrit
literature like ‘Skand Purana’. ‘Skand Purana’ has a separate volume known as ‘Nepal
Mahatmyaya’, which explains in more details about Nepal."[16] Nepal is also mentioned in Kathmandu Valley
[17]
Hindu scriptures such as the Narayana Puja and the Atharva Siras (800-600 BC). [17]
Around 1000 BC, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the region. From one of these, the Shakya confederation,
arose a prince named Siddharta Gautama (563–483 BC), who later renounced his royalty to lead an ascetic life and came to be
known as the Buddha ("the enlightened one").7th Kirata king Jitedasti was on throne in Nepal valley at the time. By 250 BC,
the region came under the influence of the Mauryan empire of northern India, and later became a vassal state under the Gupta
Dynasty in the fourth century AD. In the fifth century, rulers called the Licchavis governed the majority of its area. There is a
good and quite detailed description of the kingdom of Nepal in the account of the renowned Chinese Buddhist pilgrim monk,
Xuanzang, dating from c. 645 AD.[18][19]
The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late eighth century and was followed by a Newari era, from 879, although the
extent of their control over the entire country is uncertain. By the late 11th century, southern Nepal came under the influence of
the Chalukaya Empire of southern India. Under the Chalukayas, Nepal's religious establishment changed as the kings patronised
Hinduism instead of the prevailing Buddhism.
Medieval
By the early 12th century, leaders were emerging whose names ended with the Sanskrit suffix malla ("wrestler"). Initially their
reign was marked by upheaval, but the kings consolidated their power and ruled over the next 200 years; by the late 14th
century, much of the country began to come under a unified rule. This unity was short-lived; in 1482 the region was carved into
three kingdoms: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur.
After centuries of petty rivalry between the three kingdoms, in the mid-18th century
Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha King set out to unify the kingdoms. Seeking arms
and aid from India, and buying the neutrality of bordering Indian kingdoms, he
embarked on his mission in 1765. After several bloody battles and sieges, he
managed to unify Kathmandu Valley three years later in 1768. However, an actual
battle never took place to conquer the Kathmandu valley; it was taken over by
Prithvi Narayan and his troops without any effort, during Indra Jatra, a festival of
Newars, when all the valley's citizens were celebrating the festival. This event
marked the birth of the modern nation of Nepal.
Modern
Hindu temples in Patan, capital of one of
the three medieval Newar kingdoms
There is historical evidence that, at one time, the boundary
of Greater Nepal extended from Tista River on the East to
Kangara, across Sutlej River, in the west. A dispute and subsequently war with Tibet over the control of mountain passes forced
the Nepalese to retreat and pay heavy reparations. Rivalry between Nepal and the British East India Company over the
annexation of minor states bordering Nepal eventually led to the Anglo-Nepalese War (1815–16). The valor displayed by the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
Nepalese during the war astounded their enemies and earned them their image of fierce and ruthless
"Gurkhas". The war ended in the Treaty of Sugauli, a territorial disaster for the nation, under which
Nepal ceded Sikkim and lands in Terai to the Company.
Factionalism inside the royal family had led to a period of instability. In 1846 a plot was discovered,
revealing that the reigning queen had planned to overthrow Jung Bahadur Rana, a fast-rising military
leader. This led to the Kot Massacre; armed clashes between military personnel and administrators loyal
to the queen led to the execution of several hundred princes and chieftains around the country. Jung
Bahadur Rana emerged victorious and founded the Rana lineage. The king was made a titular figure,
and the post of Prime Minister was made powerful and hereditary. The Ranas were staunchly pro-
British, and assisted them during the Indian Sepoy Rebellion in 1857 (and later in both World Wars).
The decision to help British East India Company was taken by the Rana Regime, then led by Jang
Bahadur Rana. Some parts of Terai Region were given back to Nepal by the British as a friendly
gesture, because of her military help to sustain British control in India during the Sepoy Rebellion. In
1923, the United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, in which Nepal's
independence was recognized by the UK.
Gurkha
Slavery was abolished in Nepal in 1924.[20]
In the late 1940s, newly emerging pro-democracy movements and political parties
in Nepal were critical of the Rana autocracy. Meanwhile, with the assertion of
Chinese control in Tibet in the 1950s, India sought to counterbalance the perceived
military threat from its northern neighbour by taking pre-emptive steps to assert
more influence in Nepal. India sponsored both King Tribhuvan as Nepal's new ruler
in 1951, and a new government, mostly comprising the Nepali Congress Party, thus
terminating Rana hegemony in the kingdom. After years of power wrangling
between the king and the government, the monarch scrapped the democratic Nepalese royalty in the 1920s
experiment in 1959, and a "partyless" panchayat system was made to govern Nepal
until 1989, when the "Jan Andolan" (People's Movement) forced the monarchy to
accept constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament that took seat in May 1991.[21]
In 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) started a bid to replace the royal parliamentary system with a people's socialist
republic. This led to the long Nepal Civil War and more than 12,000 deaths. On June 1, 2001, there was a massacre in the royal
palace; it left the King, the Queen and the Heir Apparent Crown Prince Dipendra among the dead. Prince Dipendra was accused
of patricide and of committing suicide thereafter, alleged to be a violent response to his parents' refusal to accept his choice of
wife. However, there are lots of speculations and doubts among Nepalese citizens about the person(s) responsible for the Royal
Massacre. Following the carnage, the throne was inherited by King Birendra's brother Gyanendra. On February 1, 2005,
Gyanendra dismissed the entire government and assumed full executive powers to quash the violent Maoist movement. In
September 2005, the Maoists declared a three-month unilateral ceasefire to negotiate their demands.
In response to the 2006 democracy movement, the king agreed to relinquish the sovereign power back to the people and
reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives on April 24, 2006. Using its newly acquired sovereign authority, on May 18,
2006, the newly resumed House of Representatives unanimously passed a motion to curtail the power of the king and declared
Nepal a secular state, abolishing its time honoured official status as a Hindu Kingdom. On December 28, 2007, a bill was
passed in parliament, to amend Article 159 of the constitution - replacing "Provisions regarding the King" by "Provisions of the
Head of the State" - declaring Nepal a federal republic, and thereby abolishing the monarchy.[22] The bill came into force on
May 28, 2008 as a constituent assembly meeting in the capital, Kathmandu, overwhelmingly voted to abolish royal rule.[23]
Recent Events
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) won the largest number of seats in the Constituent Assembly election held on 10 April
2008 and have thus formed a coalition government which includes most of the parties in the CA. But Nepali Congress notably
is not in the government. Although acts of violence occurred during the pre-electoral period, election observers noted the
elections themselves were markedly peaceful and "well-carried out."[24]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
The Maoists had insisted on the abolition of the monarchy, with Nepal remaining democratic, but becoming a federal state with
an elected head.[25] The newly elected Assembly met in Kathmandu on May 28, 2008, and, after a polling of 564 constituent
Assembly members, 560 voted to end Nepal's 240 year old monarchy,[23][26] with the monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party,
which had four members in the assembly, registering a dissent note. At that point, it was declared that Nepal had become a
secular and inclusive democratic republic,[27] with the government announcing a three day long public holiday from 28 May to
30 May. The King was thereafter given 15 days to vacate the Narayanhiti Royal Palace, in order to re-open it as a public
museum. He did not, however, grant Royal Assent to the acts of either the interim parliament or the Constituent Assembly,
especially that which declared a republic. Some have argued that as the interim constitution is repugnant to the 1992
constitution, which had never been legally abolished, making the republic – from either a de jure or royalist, divine right
perspective – invalid, keeping Gyanendra as king.
Geography
Geography of Nepal is uncommonly diverse. Nepal is of
roughly trapezoidal shape, 800 kilometres (500 mi) long and
200 kilometres (125 mi) wide, with an area of 147,181 square
kilometres (56,827 sq mi). See List of territories by size for
the comparative size of Nepal.
Nepal is commonly divided into three physiographic areas:
Topographic map of Nepal. the Mountain, Hill, Siwalik region and Terai Regions. These Gosainkunda Lake in
ecological belts run east-west and are vertically intersected by Langtang.
Nepal's major, north to south flowing river systems.
The southern lowland Plains bordering India are part of the northern rim of the Indo-Gangetic plains. They were formed and are
fed by three major rivers: the Kosi, the Narayani, and the Karnali. This region has a hot, humid climate.
The Hill Region (Pahad) abuts the mountains and varies from 1,000 to 4,000 metres (3,300–13,125 ft) in altitude. Two low
mountain ranges, the Mahabharat Lekh and Shiwalik Range (also called the Churia Range) dominate the region. The hilly belt
includes the Kathmandu Valley, the country's most fertile and urbanised area. Unlike the valleys called Inner Tarai (Bhitri Tarai
Uptyaka), elevations above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) are sparsely populated.
The Mountain Region, situated in the Great Himalayan Range, makes the northern part of
Nepal. It contains the regions of highest altitude in the world; the world's highest mountain,
8,850 metres (29,035 ft) height Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) is located here on
the border with Tibet. Seven other of the world's ten highest mountains are located in
Nepal: Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Kanchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu.
Nepal has five climatic zones, broadly corresponding to
the altitudes. The tropical and subtropical zones lie below
1,200 metres (3,940 ft), the temperate zone 1,200 to 2,400 Mount Everest
metres (3,900–7,875 ft), the cold zone 2,400 to 3,600
metres (7,875–11,800 ft), the subarctic zone 3,600 to
4,400 metres (11,800–14,400 ft), and the Arctic zone above 4,400 metres (14,400 ft).
The arid and barren Nepal experiences five seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. The Himalaya
Himalayan landscape. blocks cold winds from Central Asia in winter, and forms the northern limit of the monsoon
wind patterns. Once thickly forested, deforestation is a major problem in all regions, with
resulting erosion and degradation of ecosystems.
Nepal is a hotspot of mountaineering, containing some of the highest and most challenging mountains in the world, including
Mount Everest. Technically, the south-east ridge on the Nepali side of the mountain is easier to climb; so, most climbers prefer
to trek to Everest through Nepal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
Until the Sugauli Sandhi (treaty) was signed, the territory of Nepal also included Darjeeling, and Tista to the east, Nainital to
the south-west and Kumaun,Garwal and Bashahar to the west. However, today these areas are a part of India (Although
International Rules and Nepal's Friendly Treaty with India-1950 directly indicate that these be apart of Nepal. As a result, Nepal
shares no boundary with Bangladesh now and the two countries are separated by a narrow strip of land about 21 kilometre
(13 mi) wide, called the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck.A huge majority of Nepalese still live here (almost 2 million).
Efforts are underway to make this area a free-trade zone.[28] The border dispute between India and Nepal has often been a cause
of tension between the two countries.
Subdivisions
Nepal is divided into 14 zones and 75 districts, grouped into 5 development regions. Each
district is headed by a permanent chief district officer responsible for maintaining law and
order and coordinating the work of field agencies of the various government ministries. The 14
zones are:
Bagmati Lumbini
Bheri Mahakali
Dhawalagiri Mechi
Gandaki Narayani Subdivisions of Nepal
Janakpur Rapti
Karnali Sagarmatha
Kosi Seti
Neotectonics of Nepal
The collision between the Indian subcontinent and the Eurasian continent, which started in Paleogene time and continues today,
produced the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau, a spectacular modern example of the effects of plate tectonics. Nepal lies
completely within this collision zone, occupying the central sector of the Himalayan arc, nearly one third of the 2400km-long
Himalayas.[29]
The Indian plate continues to move northward relative to Asia at the rate of ~50mm/yr.[30] Given the great magnitudes of the
blocks of the Earth's crust involved, this is remarkably fast, about twice the speed at which human fingernails grow. As the
strong Indian continental crust subducts beneath the relatively weak Tibetan crust, it pushes up the Himalaya mountains. This
collision zone has accommodated huge amounts of crustal shortening as the rock sequences slide one over another. Erosion of
the Himalayas is a very important source of sediment, which flows via great rivers (Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra) to the Indian
Ocean.[31]
Structural and Neotectonic pattern of Nepal
The main structures of Nepal consist of several north-dipping thrust faults; the more important ones are the main frontal thrust
(MFT), the main boundary thrust (MBT) and the main central thrust (MCT) (F. Jouanne et al.,2004). These thrust faults lie to
the south of the South Tibetan Detachment System(STDS) which is a system of low angle normal faults and is also an important
aspect of Nepal Himalayan tectonics.
The thrust faults trend generally 120°N in western Nepal, curving to 90°N in the eastern part of
the country (Upreti & Le Fort 1999). These thrust faults, with generally southerly transport
directions (Brunel 1986; Pecher 1991; Mugnier et al.,1999), are inferred to branch off the
major basal detachment of the Himalayan thrust belt called the main Himalayan thrust (MHT)
that localizes the underthrusting of the Indian lithosphere beneath the Himalayas and Tibet
(Zhao et al., 1993). All the cross-sections made through the Himalayan belt advocate a mid-
crustal ramp, below a large-scale antiformal structure of the Lesser Himalayas and to be north
of a synformal structure(Schelling & Arita 1991; Srivastava & Mitra 1994; Pandey et al. 1990;
DeCelles et al. 1998; Mugnier et al. 2003). Geological, geophysical and structural data indicate Geological Map of Nepal
Showing Major Tectonic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
that there are lateral variations in the geometry of the MHT (Zhao et al.,1993; Pandey et
Thrusts.
al.1995,1999), but direct knowledge of the geometry of the MHT is sparse and therefore the
validity of the profiles is still in debate. The thrusts are generally younger from north to south
(24-21 Ma for the MCT, less than 2 Ma for the MFT) (Hodges et al. 1996; Harrison et al. 1997). On the basis of these faults, the
structure of Nepal is generally subdivided into five tectonic zones:
1. Gangetic Plain (Terai) (area on the south of MFT)
2. Sub-Himalayas (Siwaliks)(area between MFT and MBT)
3. Lesser Himalayas (area between MBT and MCT)
4. Higher Himalayas (area between MCT and STDS)
5. Tibetan-Tethys (area north of STDS)
Present-day deformation of Nepal
The modern deformation of the Himalayas is characterized by big earthquakes. Almost half of
the continuing convergence between India and Eurasia is absorbed by underthrusting of the
Indian lithosphere, beneath the Himalayas and Tibet along the MHT, as proposed by seismic
investigations (Zhao et al.1993). Three of the big Nepalese earthquakes (1905,1934 and 1950,
with magnitudes around 8) were caused by the mid-crustal ramp along MHT (Pandey &
Molnar 1989). The territory of Nepal is characterized by very intense microseismic activity,
most of which follows approximately the topographic front of the Higher Himalaya (Pandey et
al.,1999). Most of the earthquakes cluster between the MCT and MBT (Fig: Seismicity in the
Seismicity in the Himalayas of
Himalayas of Nepal). Earthquake focal mechanisms indicate that the intermediate magnitude Nepal.
earthquakes are shallow depth (10-20km) beneath the Lesser Himalayas, demonstrating the
activation of thrust planes gently dipping to the north (Ni and Barazangi, 1984). Detailed
analysis of the Uttarkashi earthquake (Cotton et al. 1996) in the west of Nepal indicates that
this event was initiated to the south of the Higher Himalayas front at 12±3 km depth
corresponding to the southward propagation of a rupture along this segment of the MHT. A
detailed study of the microseismic clusters suggests segmentation of the Himalayan arc
(Pandey et al. 1999) and two major discontinuities segment the microseismicity belt at 82.5°E
and 86.5°E. The projection along cross sections of the microseismic event (Fig:Cross-section
and Projection of Microseimic Activity) reveals a noticeable change in shape of the clusters
between central Nepal (rounded clusters are located in the vicinity of the flat-ramp transition of
the MHT) and western Nepal (clusters are elongated and nearly horizontal) (F. Jouanne et Cross-section and Projection
al.,2004). Similarly, vertical displacement rates, expressed with reference to the Gangetic of Microseimic Activity.
plain, indicate current uplift of the high Himalayas at 6 mm/yr, but also suggest active
displacement along frontal thrusts inducing localized uplift (B. Antoine et al., 2004). There is change in maximum elevation
between central (8500m) and western (7500m) Nepal and also a big difference in incision between eastern-central Nepal
(6000m) and western Nepal (4500m)(B. Antoine et al., 2004). This is reflected in gentler relief in western Nepal and confirms
the segmentation of geology and deformation observed with microseismicity and GPS measurements (Fig:Cross-section and
Projection of Microseimic Activity).
Conclusion: To summarise, the neotectonic deformation of Nepal is characterised by three major thrust faults (MCT, MBT and
MFT) which are inferred to be the splay thrust of MHT that marks the underthrusting of Indian lithosphere beneath the
Himalayas. Likewise, there is a sudden change in geometry of the MHT between central and western Nepal, which is also
marked in the Himalayan relief. The MHT is the main structure responsible for recent uplift and continuing deformation in
Nepal. This hypothesis is reinforced by the observation that Quaternary displacement along the Main Frontal Thrust, southern
emergence of the MHT and the convergence rate estimated across the Himalayas by GPS are both estimated at 18-20 mm/yr,
which suggests that nearly all the displacement between India and Tibet is today transferred along the MHT (B. Antoine et al.,
2004).
Government and politics
Nepal has seen rapid political changes during the last two decades. Until 1990, Nepal was an
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
absolute monarchy running under the executive control of the king. Faced with a people's
movement against the absolute monarchy, King Birendra, in 1990, agreed to large-scale
political reforms by creating a parliamentary monarchy with the king as the head of state and a
prime minister as the head of the government.
Nepal's legislature was bicameral, consisting of a House of Representatives called the
Pratinidhi Sabha and a National Council called the Rastriya Sabha. The House of
Representatives consisted of 205 members directly elected by the people. The National
Council had sixty members: ten nominated by the king, thirty-five elected by the House of
Representatives and the remaining fifteen elected by an electoral college made up of chairs of
villages and towns. The legislature had a five-year term, but was dissolvable by the king before
its term could end. All Nepali citizens 18 years and older became eligible to vote.
The executive comprised the King and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet). The leader of
the coalition or party securing the maximum seats in an election was appointed as the Prime Flag of Nepal
Minister. The Cabinet was appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Prime
Minister. Governments in Nepal tended to be highly unstable, falling either through internal collapse or parliamentary
dissolution by the monarch, on the recommendation of prime minister, according to the constitution; no government has
survived for more than two years since 1991.
The movement in April, 2006, brought about a change in the nation's governance: an interim constitution was promulgated, with
the King giving up power, and an interim House of Representatives was formed with Maoist members after the new
government held peace talks with the Maoist rebels. The number of parliamentary seats was also increased to 330. In April,
2007, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) joined the interim government of Nepal.
On 28 December 2007, the interim parliament passed a bill that would make Nepal a federal republic, with the Prime Minister
becoming head of state. The bill was passed by the Constituent Assembly on May 28, 2008.
On 10 April 2008, there was the first election in Nepal for the constitution assembly. The Maoist party led the poll results, but
failed to gain a simple majority in the parliament.[32]
On 28 May 2008, lawmakers in Nepal legally abolished the monarchy and declared the country a republic, ending 239 years of
royal rule in the Himalayan nation. The newly elected assembly, led by the former communist rebels, adopted the resolution at
its first meeting by an overwhelming majority. King Gyanendra was given 15 days to leave former Royal Palace in central
Kathmandu by the Nepalese Constituent Assembly. He left former Royal Palace on June 11.[33]
On 26 June 2008, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala tendered his resignation to the Nepalese Constituent Assembly, which is
also functioning as Nepalese Parliament, however a new Prime Minister has yet to be elected by the Nepalese Constituent
Assembly.
On 19 July 2008, the first round of voting for the election of the country's president and vice president took place in the
Constituent Assembly. Parmanand Jha became the first vice president of Nepal. However, the two presidential frontrunners, Dr.
Ram Baran Yadav of Nepali Congress and the Maoist-backed candidate Ram Raja Prasad Singh, both failed to gain the
minimum 298 votes needed to be elected, with Yadav receiving 283 votes and Singh receiving 270. 578 out of 594 CA
members registered in the voter list had cast their votes, of which 24 were invalid.
On 21 July 2008, the second round of voting was held. Yadav received 308 votes of the 590 votes casted, securing his election
as president.[34]
In August 2008, Maoist leader Prachanda (Pushpa Kamal Dahal) was elected Prime Minister of Nepal, the first since the
country's transition from a monarchy to a republic.
Military and foreign affairs
Nepal's military consists of the Nepalese Army which includes the Nepalese Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
Air Service (the air force unit under it.) Nepalese Police Force is the civilian police
and the Armed Police Force Nepal[35] is the paramilitary force. Service is voluntary
and the minimum age for enlistment is 18 years. Nepal spends $99.2 million (2004)
on its military—1.5% of its GDP. Many of the equipment and arms are imported
from India. Consequently, the USA provided M16 M4 and other Colt weapons to
combat communist (Maoist) Insurgents. As of now the standard issue Battle rifle of
the Nepalese army is the Colt M16.[36]
Nepal has close ties with both of its neighbours, India and China. In accordance
with a long standing treaty, Indian and Nepalese citizens may travel to each others'
countries without a passport or visa. Nepalese citizens may work in India without The famous outpost of Naamche Bazaar in
the Khumbu region close to Mount
legal restriction. Although Nepal and India typically have close ties, from time to Everest. The town is built on terraces in
time Nepal becomes caught up in the problematic Sino-Indian relationship. what resembles a giant Greek theatre.
Recently China has been asking Nepal to curb protests in Nepal against China's
Policy on Tibet[37], and on April 17, 2008, police arrested over 500 Tibetan
protestors[38] citing a need to maintain positive relations with China.
Terai News writes, "Being a Hindu Nation Nepal has a permanent relation, especially with the important religious places of the
northern states of India. Religion has played a great role in the cultural relations between Nepal and India."[16]
Largest cities
2007 Census
Kathmandu
Economy
Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) for the year 2005 was estimated at just over US$39
billion (adjusted to Purchasing Power Parity), making it the 83rd-largest economy in the world.
Agriculture accounts for about 40% of Nepal's GDP, services comprise 41% and industry 22%.
Agriculture employs 76% of the workforce, services 18% and manufacturing/craft-based
industry 6%. Agricultural produce — mostly grown in the Terai region bordering India —
includes tea, rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops, milk, and water buffalo meat. Industry
mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce, including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and
Terraced farming on the grain. Its workforce of about 10 million suffers from a severe shortage of skilled labour. The
foothills of the Himalayas. spectacular landscape and diverse, exotic cultures of Nepal represent considerable potential for
tourism, but growth in this hospitality industry has been stifled by recent political events. The
rate of unemployment and underemployment approaches half of the working-age population.
Thus many Nepali citizens move to India in search of work; the Gulf countries and Malaysia being new sources of work. Nepal
receives US$50 million a year through the Gurkha soldiers who serve in the Indian and British armies and are highly esteemed
for their skill and bravery. The total remittance value is worth around 1 billion USD, including money sent from Persian Gulf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
and Malaysia, who combined employ around 700,000 Nepali citizens. A long-standing economic agreement underpins a close
relationship with India. The country receives foreign aid from India, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the
European Union, China, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries. Poverty is acute; per-capita income is less than US$ 470.[39]
The distribution of wealth among the Nepalis is consistent with that in many developed and developing countries: the highest
10% of households control 39.1% of the national wealth and the lowest 10% control only 2.6%.
The government's budget is about US$1.153 billion, with expenditures of $1.789bn (FY05/06). The Nepalese rupee has been
tied to the Indian Rupee at an exchange rate of 1.6 for many years. Since the loosening of exchange rate controls in the early
1990s, the black market for foreign exchange has all but disappeared. The inflation rate has dropped to 2.9% after a period of
higher inflation during the 1990s.
Nepal's exports of mainly carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods and grain total $822 million. Import commodities of
mainly gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products and fertilizer total US$2 bn. India (53.7%), the US (17.4%), and
Germany (7.1%) are its main export partners. Nepal's import partners include India (47.5%), the United Arab Emirates (11.2%),
China (10.7%), Saudi Arabia (4.9%), and Singapore (4%).
Nepal remains isolated from the world's major land, air and sea transport
routes although, within the country, aviation is in a better state, with 48
airports, ten of them with paved runways; flights are frequent and support a
sizeable traffic. Hilly and mountainous terrain in the northern two-thirds of
the country has made the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult
and expensive. There were just over 8,500 km of paved roads, and one 59
km railway line in the south in 2003. There is only one reliable road route
from India to the Kathmandu Valley. The only practical seaport of entry for
goods bound for Kathmandu is Calcutta in India. Internally, the poor state of A Rs.500 banknote of The Republic of Nepal. (Yet
development of the road system (22 of 75 administrative districts lack road the watermark on the right contains picture of King
Gyanendra, later admitted clerical error by state
links) makes volume distribution unrealistic. Besides having landlocked,
owned Nepal Rashtra Bank.)[40]
rugged geography, few tangible natural resources and poor infrastructure,
the long-running civil war is also a factor in stunting the economic growth.
[41]
There is less than one telephone per 19 people. Landline telephone services are not adequate nationwide but are concentrated in
cities and district headquarters. Mobile telephony is in a reasonable state in most parts of the country with increased
accessibility and affordability; there were around 175,000 Internet connections in 2005. After the imposition of the "state of
emergency", intermittent losses of service-signals were reported, but uninterrupted Internet connections have resumed after
Nepal's second major people's revolution to overthrow the King's absolute power.[42]
Demographics
Perched on the southern slopes of the
Himalayan Mountains, Nepal is as ethnically
diverse as its terrain of fertile plains, broad valleys, and the highest mountain peaks in the world. The Nepalese are descendants
of three major migrations from India, Tibet, and North Burma and Yunnan via Assam.
Among the earliest inhabitants were the Kirat of east mid-region, Newar of the Kathmandu Valley and aboriginal Tharu in the
southern Terai region. The ancestors of the Brahman and Chetri caste groups came from India's present Kumaon, Garhwal and
Kashmir regions, while other ethnic groups trace their origins to North Burma and Yunnan and Tibet, e.g. the Gurung and
Magar in the west, Rai and Limbu in the east (from Yunnan and north Burma via Assam), and Sherpa and Bhotia in the north
(from Tibet).
In the Terai, a part of the Ganges Basin with 20% of the land, much of the population is physically and culturally similar to the
Indo-Aryans of northern India. Indo-Aryan and East Asian looking mixed people live in the hill region. The mountainous
highlands are sparsely populated. Kathmandu Valley, in the middle hill region, constitutes a small fraction of the nation's area
but is the most densely populated, with almost 5% of the population.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
Nepal is a multilingual, multireligious and
multiethnic society. These data are largely
derived from Nepal's 2001 census results
published in the Nepal Population Report
2002.
According to the World Refugee Survey
2008, published by the U.S. Committee for
Refugees and Immigrants, Nepal hosted a
population of refugees and asylum seekers in
2007 numbering approximately 130,000. Of
this population, approximately 109,200
persons were from Bhutan and 20,500 from
People's Republic of China.[43] The
government of Nepal restricted Bhutanese
refugees to seven camps in the Jhapa and
Morang districts, and refugees were not
permitted to work in most professions.[43] The Population Density map of Nepal.
Population Structure
Data Size
Population 28,676,547 (2005)
Growth Rate 2.2%
Population below 14 Years old 39%
Population of age 15 to 64 57.3%
Population above 65 3.7%
The median age (Average) 20.07
The median age (Male) 19.91
The median age (Females) 20.24
Ratio (Male:Female) 1, 000:1,060
Life expectancy (Average) 59.8 Years
Languages Spoken in Nepal.
Life expectancy (Male) 60.9
Life expectancy (Female) 59.5
Literacy Rate (Average) 53.74%
Literacy Rate (Male) 68.51%
Literacy Rate (Female) 42.49%
Despite the migration of a significant section of the population to the southern plains or terai in recent years, the majority of the
population still lives in the central highlands. The northern mountains are sparsely populated.
Kathmandu, with a population of around 800,000 (metropolitan area: 1.5 million), is the largest city in the country.
Religion
The main religion of Nepal is Hinduism.
Nepal religiosity Shiva is regarded as the guardian deity
religion percent of the country.[44] Nepal is home to the largest
Hinduism 80.6% Shiva temple in the world, the famous
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
Pashupatinath Temple, where Hindus
Buddhism 10.7% from all over the world come for
pilgrimage. According to mythology,
Islam 4.2%
Sita Devi of the epic Ramayana was
Mundhum 3.6% born in the Mithila Kingdom of King
Janaka Raja.[45] Buddhism was
Christianity 0.5% relatively more common among the
Newar. Buddha is said to be a
Other 0.4% descendant of Sage Angirasa in many
Buddhist texts.[46] Scholars like Dr.
Shaiva-devotees gather at the Hindu
Eitel connects it to the Rishi Gautama.[47] But, differences between Hindus and Pashupatinath Temple
Buddhists have been in general very subtle and academic in nature due to the
intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Both share common temples and
worship common deities and many of Nepal's Buddhists could also be regarded as Hindus
and vice versa. Gurkhas from Nepal are Hindu. Among other natives of Nepal, those most
influenced by Hinduism were the Magar, Sunwar, Limbu and Rai. Hindu influence is less
prominent among the Gurung, Bhutia, and Thakali groups, who employ Buddhist monks for
their religious ceremonies.[42][15] Most of the festivals in Nepal are Hindu.[48] The
Machendrajatra festival, dedicated to Hindu Shaiva Siddha, is celebrated even by Buddhists
and it is the Buddhists' main festival.[49] As it is believed that Ne Muni established Nepal,
[50] important priests in Nepal are called "Tirthaguru Nemuni".
1994 Nepalese stamp of Hindu
Culture Swami
Nepalese culture is diverse, reflecting different ethnic origins of the people. The Newar
community is particularly rich in cultural diversity; they celebrate many festivals, well known for their music and dance.
A typical Nepalese meal is dal-bhat-tarkari. Dal is a spicy lentil soup, served over bhat (boiled rice), served with tarkari
(curried vegetables) together with achar (pickles) or chutni (spicy condiment made from fresh ingredients).. The Newar
community, however, has its own unique cuisine. It consists of non-vegetarian as well as vegetarian items served with alcoholic
and non-alcoholic beverages. Mustard oil is the cooking medium and a host of spices, such as cumin, coriander, black peppers,
sesame seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger, methi (fenugreek), bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, chillies, mustard seeds etc., are
used in the cooking. The cuisine served on festivals is generally the best.
The Newari Music orchestra consists mainly of
percussion instruments, though wind instruments, such
as flutes and other similar instruments, are also used.
String instruments are very rare. There are songs
pertaining to particular seasons and festivals. Paahan
chare music is probably the fastest played music
whereas the Dapa the slowest. There are certain
musical instruments such as Dhimay and Bhusya which
Traditional Nepalese cuisine. are played as instrumental only and are not
accompanied with songs. The dhimay music is the
loudest one. In the hills, people enjoy their own kind of
music, playing saarangi (a string instrument), madal and flute. They also have many
popular folk songs known as lok geet and lok dohari.
The Newar dances can be broadly classified into masked dances and non-masked dances.
The most representative of Newari dances is Lakhey dance. Almost all the settlements of Costumed Hindu-girls in Nepal.
Newaris organise Lakhey dance at least once a year, mostly in the Goonlaa month. So, they The two small children represent
are called Goonlaa Lakhey. However, the most famous Lakhey dance is the Majipa Lakhey the god Krishna and his consort
Radha. Sitting behind are the god
dance; it is performed by the Ranjitkars of Kathmandu and the celeberation continues for
Vishnu and his consort Laxmi.
one whole week that contains the full moon of Yenlaa month. The Lakhey are considered as
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
the saviors of children.
Folklore is an integral part of Nepalese society. Traditional stories are rooted in the reality of day-to-day life, tales of love,
affection and battles as well as demons and ghosts and thus reflect local lifestyles, cultures and beliefs. Many Nepalese folktales
are enacted through the medium of dance and music.
The Nepali year begins in mid-April and is divided into 12 months. Saturday is the official weekly holiday. Main annual
holidays include the National Day, celebrated on the birthday of the king (December 28), Prithvi Jayanti, (January 11), Martyr's
Day (February 18) and a mix of Hindu and Buddhist festivals such as dashain in autumn, and tihar in late autumn. During tihar,
the Newar community also celebrates its New Year as per their local calendar Nepal Sambat.
Most houses in rural lowland of Nepal are made up of a tight bamboo framework and walls of a mud and cow-dung mix. These
dwellings remain cool in summer and retain warmth in winter. Houses in the hills are usually made of unbaked bricks with
thatch or tile roofing. At high elevations construction changes to stone masonry and slate may be used on roofs.
See also
List of Nepal-related topics
Nepali (film), a film which title of Nepal peoples
Nepali People
Nepali language
Notes
1. ^ According to Interim Constitution Nepali is only the official language (article 5, point 2), other languages spoken as the mother
tongue in Nepal are the national languages (article 5, point 1). According to article 5, point3, ALL LANGUAGES ARE ACCEPTED
AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGES AT REGIONAL LEVEL. Besides, this part of article is about native names and NOT about official
language. The constitution does not state that Nepal written in Devanagari is the official name. Nepal_Interim_Constitution2007
2. ^ a b c d "Nepal". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
3. ^ "Nepal's first president sworn in". Radio Australia (2008-07-24).
4. ^ Newa-Author:Shrestha, Moolookha Publication
5. ^ a b c W.B., P. 34 Land of the Gurkhas
6. ^ a b The Ancient Period
7. ^ Balfour, P. 195 Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, :
8. ^ Alone In Kathmandu
9. ^ Prasad, P. 4 The life and times of Maharaja Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal
10. ^ Khatri, P. 16 The Postage Stamps of Nepal
11. ^ Interim Constitution, Article 5, point 1
12. ^ Interim Constitution of Nepal, Article 5, point 2
13. ^ Nepali - UCLA
14. ^ Interim Constitution of Nepal, Article 5, point 3
15. ^ a b "A Country Study: Nepal". Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
16. ^ a b Terai News
17. ^ a b P. 17 Looking to the Future: Indo-Nepal Relations in Perspective By Lok Raj Baral
18. ^ Li, Rongxi (translator). 1995. The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, pp. 219-220. Numata Center for Buddhist
Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. ISBN 1-886439-02-8
19. ^ Watters, Thomas. 1904-5. On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India (A.D. 629-645), pp. 83-85. Reprint: Mushiram Manoharlal Publishers,
New Delhi. 1973.
20. ^ Tucci, Giuseppe. (1952). Journey to Mustang, 1952. Trans. by Diana Fussell. 1st Italian edition, 1953; 1st English edition, 1977. 2nd
edition revised, 2003, p. 22. Bibliotheca Himalayica. ISBN 99933-0-378-X (South Asia); 974-524-024-9 (Outside of South Asia).
21. ^ "Timeline: Nepal". BBC News. Retrieved on 2005-09-29.
22. ^ Nepal votes to abolish monarchy - CNN
23. ^ a b Nepal votes to abolish monarchy - CNN
24. ^ The Carter Center, "Activities by Country: Nepal", http://www.cartercenter.org/countries/nepal.html, retrieved on 17 July 2008
25. ^ Nepal becomes a federal democratic republic - Nepalnews.com
26. ^ http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?nid=148454
27. ^ "Nepal abolishes its monarchy", Al Jazeera (May 28, 2008). Retrieved on 29 May 2008.
28. ^ Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and India to set up FTA
29. ^
Beek van der Peter,Xavier Robert, Jean-Louis Mugnier, Matthias Bernet, Pascale Huyghe and Erika Labrin, "Late Miocene-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
Recent Exhumation of the Central Himalaya and Recycling in the Foreland Basin Assessed by Apatite Fission-Track
Thermochronology of Siwalik Sediments, Nepal," Basic research, 18, 413-434, 2006.
Berger Antoine, Francois Jouanne, Riadm Hassani and Jean Louis Mugnier, "Modelling the Spatial Distribution of Present day
Deformation in Nepal: how cylindrical is the Main Himalayan Thrust in Nepal?", Geophys.J.Int., 156, 94-114, 2004.
Bilham Roger and Michael Jackson,"Constraints on Himalayan Deformation inferred from Vertical Velocity Fields in Nepal and
Tibet," Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 99, 897-912, 10 July, 1994.
Chamlagain Deepak and Daigoro Hayashi, "Neotectonic Fault Analysis by 2D Finite Element Modeling for Studying the
Himalayan Fold and Thrust belt in Nepal," University of the Ryukyus,Okinawa, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 1-16, 14 July
2006.
F. Jouanne et al., "Current Shortening Across the Himalayas of Nepal", Geophys.J.Int., 154, 1-14, 2004.
Pandey M.R, R.P. Tandukar, J.P. Avouac, J. Vergne and Th. Heritier, "Seismotectonics of the Nepal Himalaya from a Local
Seismic Network", Journal of Asian Earth Sciences,17, 703-712,1999.
30. ^ Bilham et al., 1998; Pandey et al., 1995.
31. ^ Summerfield & Hulton, 1994; Hay, 1998.
32. ^ Nepal's election The Maoists triumph | Economist.com
33. ^ Nepal's Lawmakers Abolish the Country's Monarchy
34. ^ http://www.presidentofnepal.com
35. ^ Official Website of Armed Police Force Nepal
36. ^ www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/rl31599.pdf
37. ^ China urges Nepal to act on Tibet - BBC News
38. ^ Nepal Arrests Tibetan Protesters - BBC News
39. ^ "Nepal". Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
40. ^ "Nepal king's head spared on new banknotes". Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
41. ^ "Nepal: Economy". MSN Encarta. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
42. ^ a b "Nepal". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
43. ^ a b "World Refugee Survey 2008", U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (2008-06-19).
44. ^ Anthologia anthropologica. The native races of Asia and Europe; by James George Frazer, Sir; Robert Angus Downie
45. ^ P. 28 Nepal is also the birthplace of Siddhartha Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. He is believed to have been born some 2550 years
back in a place called Lumbini, a town south-west of Nepal, bordering India. Historical Studies and Recreations By Shoshee Chunder
Dutt
46. ^ The Life of Buddha as Legend and History, by Edward Joseph Thomas
47. ^ P. 95 A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms By James Legge
48. ^ Festivals of Nepal
49. ^ P. 885 Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Part 10 By James Hastings
50. ^ Wright, P. 107, History of Nepal: With an Introductory Sketch of the Country and People of Nepal
References
Shaha, Rishikesh (1992). Ancient and Medieval Nepal. New Delhi: Manohar Publications. ISBN 8185425698.
Tiwari, Sudarshan Raj (2002). The Brick and the Bull: An account of Handigaun, the Ancient Capital of Nepal. Himal
Books. ISBN 9993343528.
"Nepal". MSN Encarta. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
"India Nepal Open Border". Nepal Democracy. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
"Football at the heart of the Himalaya". FIFA. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
"Nepal: Information Portal". Explore Nepal. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
"The Best Memoir You Never Heard Of: "Shadow Over Shangri-La"". San Francisco Chronicle.
"Nepal: A state under siege". The South Asian: Featured Articles. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
"Nepal: Basic Fact Sheet". Nepal homepage. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
"Jailed ex-PM in Nepal court plea". BBC News. Retrieved on 2005-09-29.
"Nepal's new emblem". Citizen Journalism Nepal. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
Gotz Hagmuller (2003). Patan Museum: The Transformation of a Royal Palace in Nepal. London: Serindia. ISBN
0962658X.
Kunda Dixit (2006). A people war: Images of the Nepal conflict 1996–2006. Kathmandu: nepa-laya.
Barbara Crossette (1995). So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas. New York: Vintage.
ISBN 0679743634.
Bista, Dor Bahadur (1967). People of Nepal. Dept. of Publicity, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of
Nepal. ISBN 9993304182.
Michael Hutt, ed., Himalayan 'people's war' : Nepal's Maoist rebellion, London: C. Hurst, 2004
Peter Matthiessen (1993). The Snow Leopard. Penguin. ISBN 0002720256.
Joe Simpson (1997). Storms of Silence. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0898865123.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
Samrat Upadhyay (2001). Arresting God in Kathmandu. Mariner Books. ISBN 0618043713.
Joseph R. Pietri (2001). The King of Nepal. ISBN 061511928X.
Maurice Herzog (1951). Annapurna. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1558215492.
Dervla Murphy (1968). The Waiting Land: A Spell in Nepal. Transatlantic Arts. ISBN 0719517451.
Rishikesh Shaha (2001). Modern Nepal: A Political History. Manohar Publishers and Distributors. ISBN 8173044031.
External links
Government of Nepal
Planet Nepal Encyclopedia Project Nepal portal
Wikimedia Atlas of Nepal Topics
Wikia has a wiki on this subject at Nepal Topics
Library of Congress — Nepal SAARC portal
United States Department of State Profile of Nepal
Nepal topics entry at The World Factbook
National Geographic Country Profile: Nepal
Languages of Nepal from the Ethnologue
The Carter Center information on Nepal
Geographic locale [hide]
International membership [hide]
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