can anyone give me facts about buddhism?

Question

i really want to learn more about the religion because its something i'm interested in.. i want to know everything anyone can tell me about it.

thanks in advance

Answer 1

The Wikipedia articles are actually very good.

In general there are 4 noble truths:
1. Life is inseparable from suffering
2. The cause of suffering is longing (also translated desire)
3. Relief from suffering is possible.
4. The way out of suffering can be found in following the 8-fold path

The 8-fold path can be summarized as follows:

1. Right Viewpoint - Realizing the Four Noble Truths (samyag-dṛṣṭi, sammā-diṭṭhi)
2. Right Values - Commitment to mental and ethical growth in moderation (samyak-saṃkalpa, sammā-saṅkappa)
3. Right Speech - One speaks in a non hurtful, not exaggerated, truthful way (samyag-vāc, sammā-vācā)
4. Right Actions - Wholesome action, avoiding action that would do harm (samyak-karmānta, sammā-kammanta)
5. Right Livelihood - One's job does not harm in any way oneself or others; directly or indirectly (weapon maker, drug dealer, etc.) (samyag-ājīva, sammā-ājīva}
6. Right Effort - One makes an effort to improve (samyag-vyāyāma, sammā-vāyāma)
7. Right Mindfulness - Mental ability to see things for what they are with clear consciousness (samyak-smṛti, sammā-sati)
8. Right Meditation - State where one reaches enlightenment and the ego has disappeared (samyak-samādhi, sammā-samādhi)

Answer 2

Briefly stated, "Between Heaven & Hell is Peace." More specifically, in hell cravings are unsatisfied, in heaven all cravings are gratified, and peace (enlightenment) is where cravings do not exist.

Answer 3

There are many sites that explain the teaching of the Buddha.Try:buddhanet!.........SADHU! SADHU! SADHU!

Answer 4

Buddhism is a major world religion and philosophy, it spread from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, and has influenced the spiritual, cultural, and social life of about 300 million of people for nearly 2500 years. The new Buddhist movements are noted for their effective organization, aggressive conversion techniques, and use of mass media, as well as nationalism. They have been involved in politics, running candidates for office in the Government Parties such as in Japan. As its influence in the West slowly grows, meditation centers and a number of actual monasteries are established.
In this context, we will shed some light on the great mass of myth and legend in which Buddhism is embedded, promising material benefit and worldly happiness to its believers. Devotees worship the images of Buddha and bodhisattvas on temple altars and in their homes.

Buddha: the Enlightened One *

Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, or the Enlightened One had founded this religion in northeast India during the period from the late 6th century to the early 4th century BC. Originating as a monastic movement within the dominant Brahman tradition, Buddhism challenged the authority of the Hindu philosophy and priesthood, denied the validity of the Vedic scriptures, and rejected the sacrificial cult based on them. It is generally agreed by Western scholars, that Buddha is born in 563 BC in Nepal. At the age of 29 he renounced earthly attachments and embarked on a quest for peace and enlightenment, seeking release from the cycle of rebirths.

For the next few years he practiced Yoga and adopted a life of asceticism. Eventually he gave up this approach as fruitless and instead adopted a middle path between the life of indulgence and that of extreme self-denial. About 528, while sitting under a tree, he meditated, rising through a series of higher states of consciousness until he claimed that he attained the enlightenment which revealed the way of salvation from suffering. Buddha took instruction on Hinduism from some famous Brahman teachers, but he found the Hindu caste system repellent and Hindu asceticism futile. Therefore, Buddhism is open to members of all castes and Buddha instructed his followers (the sangha) in the dharma ("truth").

Buddha underwent a period of intense inner struggle and then began to preach, wandering from place to place, gathering a body of disciples, and organizing them into a monastic community known as the sangha. In this way he spent the rest of his life. Accompanied by five disciples, Buddha traveled through the valley of the Ganges River, teaching his doctrines, gathering followers, and establishing monastic communities that admitted anyone regardless of caste. After 45 years of missionary activity Buddha died in Kusinagara, Nepal, as a result of eating contaminated pork. He was about 80 years old.

Buddha's Teachings

The Buddha was an oral teacher; he left no written body of thought. Later followers codified his beliefs. At the core of the Buddha's enlightenment was the realization of the Four Noble Truths as follows: Life is suffering and all suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment, and grasping that result from such ignorance. Thirdly, suffering can be ended by overcoming such ignorance and attachment. Finally, the path to the suppression of suffering is the It is a statement that, in its very nature, human existence is essentially painful from the moment of birth to the moment of death. Buddha accepted the Hindu idea of life as cyclical, with death leading to further rebirth. Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation. These eight are usually divided into three categories that form the cornerstone of Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadhi, or concentration.

Buddhism analyzes human existence as made up of five aggregates or "bundles" (skandhas): the material body, feelings, perceptions, predispositions or karmic tendencies, and consciousness. A person is only a temporary combination of these aggregates, which are subject to continual change. No one remains the same for any two consecutive moments. Buddhists regard it as a mistake to conceive of any lasting unity behind the elements that constitute an individual. The Buddha held that belief in such a self results in egoism, craving, and hence in suffering. Thus he taught the doctrine of anatman, or the denial of a permanent soul. He felt that all existence is characterized by the three marks of anatman (no soul), anitya (impermanence), and dukkha (suffering). A linked chain of causation shows how ignorance in a previous life creates the tendency for a combination of aggregates to develop. Sensations lead to craving and a clinging to existence. This condition triggers the process of producing a renewed cycle of birth, old age, and death. Through this causal chain a connection is made between one life and the next. What is posited is a stream of renewed existences, rather than a permanent being that moves from life to life-in effect a belief in rebirth without transmigration.

Karma

Closely related to this belief is the doctrine of karma. Karma consists of a person's acts and their ethical consequences. Human actions lead to rebirth, wherein good deeds are inevitably rewarded and evil deeds punished. According to the Buddha, one's karma determines such matters as one's species, beauty, intelligence, longevity, wealth, and social status. Karma of varying types can lead to rebirth as a human, an animal, a hungry ghost, a denizen of hell, or even one of the Hindu gods.

Although never actually denying the existence of the gods, Buddhism denies them any special role. Their lives in heaven are long and pleasurable, but they are in the same predicament as other creatures, being subject eventually to death and further rebirth in lower states of existence. They are not creators of the universe or in control of human destiny, and Buddhism denies the value of prayer and sacrifice to them. Enlightenment is possible only for humans.

Nirvana

The ultimate goal of the Buddhist path is release from the round of phenomenal existence with its inherent suffering. To achieve this goal is to attain nirvana, an enlightened state in which the fires of greed, hatred, and ignorance have been quenched. Nirvana is a state of consciousness beyond definition. After attaining nirvana, the enlightened individual may continue to live, burning off any remaining karma until a state of final nirvana (parinirvana) is attained at the moment of death.

Nirvana is a realistic goal attainable only by members of the monastic community. In Theravada Buddhism an individual who has achieved enlightenment by following the Eightfold Path is known as an arhat, or worthy one, a type of solitary saint.

The proximate goal of better rebirth through improved karma is an option generally pursued by lay Buddhists in the hope that it will eventually lead to a life in which they are capable of pursuing final enlightenment as members of the sangha.

Nirvana involves cultivating four virtuous attitudes, known as the Palaces of Brahma: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. The ethic that leads to better rebirth, however, is centered on fulfilling one's duties to society. It involves acts of charity, especially support of the sangha, as well as observance of the five precepts that constitute the basic moral code of Buddhism. The precepts prohibit killing, stealing, harmful language, sexual misbehavior, and the use of intoxicants. By observing these precepts, the three roots of evil-lust, hatred, and delusion-may be overcome.
After the Buddha's death, several important Buddhist councils were held to decide questions of faith and order. While the more conservative monks continued to honor the Buddha as a perfectly enlightened human teacher, the liberal Mahasanghikas developed a new concept. They considered the Buddha an eternal, omnipresent, transcendental being.

The councils decided the dispatch of missionaries to various countries. Finally they drew a distinction between those who believed they held to the most ancient traditions (the Theravadins) and those who claimed their understandings represented the highest and most complete account of Buddha's message (the Mahayanists). Scholars think that by the 3rd century BC, Theravada doctrine and practice were fairly formalized.

Another council dealt with the questionable monastic practices and irregularities of the monks. Buddhism today is divided into two major competitive branches known to their respective followers as Theravada (the Way of the Elders) and Mahayana (the Great Vehicle). Conflicting interpretations of Buddha's teachings appeared, resulting in the traditional 18 schools or sects of Theravada and the liberal wing of the sangha. The subdivisions differed on philosophical matters, religious questions, and points of discipline. The fourth council held about AD 100, was aimed at creating peace among the various branches and sects of Buddhism, but Theravada Buddhists refuse to recognize its authenticity.

The Theravada canon of sacred scriptures, the Tripitaka, "The Three Baskets"), include the ("Basket of Discipline"), the ("Basket of Discourses"), and ("Basket of Scholasticism"). They contain metaphysical, philosophical, psychological, and doctrinal classifications stories of former lives of the Buddha and rules governing the conduct of Buddhist monks and nuns. The complete canon, much expanded, also exists in Tibetan and Chinese versions.

There are other non-canonical texts that have great authority within Theravada Buddhism as they summarize Buddhist thought and meditative practice.

Mahayana

The founders of Mahayana are unknown but it originated between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. Among the more important Mahayana scriptures are the Lotus Sutra and Garland Sutra as well as a group of writings known as the Perfection of Wisdom.

Speculation about the eternal Buddha culminated in the Mahayana doctrine of his threefold nature, or triple "body" (trikaya). These aspects are the body of essence, the body of communal bliss, and the body of transformation. This essential Buddha nature manifests itself, taking on heavenly form as the body of communal bliss. In this form the Buddha sits in godlike splendor, preaching in the heavens. Lastly, the Buddha nature appears on earth in human form to convert humankind. Such an appearance is known as a body of transformation. The Buddha has taken on such an appearance countless times. Mahayana considers the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, only one example of the body of transformation.

The new Mahayana concept of the Buddha made possible concepts of ongoing revelation that are lacking in Theravada. Some scholars have therefore described the early development of Mahayana in terms of the "Hinduization" of Buddhism. In Mahayana, bodhisattva is an individual who has attained perfect enlightenment but delays entry into final nirvana in order to make possible the salvation of all other sentient beings. The bodhisattva transfers merit built up over many lifetimes to less fortunate creatures.

Tantrism

By the 7th century AD a new form of Buddhism known as Tantrism had developed through the blend of Mahayana with popular folk belief and magic in northern India. Buddhist Tantrism differs from Mahayana in its strong emphasis on sacramental action. Also known as Vajrayana, the Diamond Vehicle, Tantrism is an esoteric tradition. Its initiation ceremonies involve entry into a mandala, a mystic circle or symbolic map of the spiritual universe. Also important in Tantrism is the use of mudras, or ritual gestures, and mantras, or sacred syllables, which are repeatedly chanted and used as a focus for meditation. Vajrayana became the dominant form of Buddhism in Tibet and was also transmitted through China to Japan, where it continues to be practiced by the Shingon sect.

Asian Expansion

Buddhism spread rapidly throughout the Indian subcontinent by the missionaries of King Asoka. Theravada was the state religion of Sri Lanka and from there it was carried to Myanmar in 5th century AD. From Myanmar, Theravada spread to the area of modern Thailand in the 6th century. It was adopted by the Thai people when they finally entered the region from southwestern China between the 12th and 14th centuries. With the rise of the Thai Kingdom, it was adopted as the state religion. Theravada was adopted by the royal house in Laos during the 14th century.

About the beginning of the Christian era, Buddhism was carried to Central Asia. From there it entered China along the trade routes by the early 1st century AD. The major influence of Chinese Buddhism ended with the great persecution of 845, although the meditative Zen, or Ch'an sect and the devotional Pure Land sect continued to be important.

According to traditional sources, Buddhism first arrived in Korea from China in AD 372. From this date Korea was gradually converted through Chinese influence over a period of centuries. Buddhism was carried into Japan from Korea since AD 552. Prince Shôtoku proclaimed it the state religion of Japan in 594.

Theravada has been dominant in Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, and Laos, where Mahayana has had its greatest impact in China, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as in India.

A key figure in the development of Tibetan Buddhism was the Indian monk Padmasambhava, who arrived in Tibet in 747. His main interest was the spread of Tantric Buddhism, which became the primary form of Buddhism in Tibet. Indian and Chinese Buddhists vied for influence and the Chinese were finally defeated and expelled from Tibet near the end of the 8th century.

Some seven centuries later Tibetan Buddhists had adopted the idea that the abbots of its great monasteries were reincarnations of famous bodhisattvas. Thereafter, the chief of these abbots became known as the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet as a theocracy from the middle of the 17th century until the seizure of Tibet by China in 1950.

Several new sects of Buddhism developed and flourished in China and Japan, as well as elsewhere in East Asia. Among these, Ch'an, or Zen, Nichiren Buddhism and Pure Land, Sôka Gakkai, the Value Creation Society, or Amidism, were most important.

Institutions, Worship and Practices

Differences occur in the religious obligations and observances both within and between the sangha and the laity. The most devoted followers of Buddha are identified by their shaved heads and robes, which are made of unsewn orange cloth. They are organized into the monastic sangha. The monks recite the Vinaya rules and the public confessions of all violations are arranged. The sangha included an order for nuns as well as for monks, a unique feature among Indian monastic orders. Theravadan monks and nuns were celibate and obtained their food in the form of alms on a daily round of the homes of lay devotees. The Zen school came to disregard the rule that members of the sangha should live on alms. In Japan the popular Shin school, a branch of Pure Land, allows its priests to marry and raise families. Among the traditional functions of the Buddhist monks are the performance of funerals and memorial services in honor of the dead.

Lay worship in Buddhism is primarily individual rather than congregational. Since earliest times a common expression of faith for laity and members of the sangha alike has been taking the Three Refuges, that is, reciting the formula "I take refuge in the Buddha, refuge in the dharma and refuge in the sangha." Although technically the Buddha is not worshiped in Theravada, veneration is shown through the stupa. A stupa is a domelike sacred structure containing a relic. Devotees walk around the dome in a clockwise direction, carrying flowers and incense as a sign of reverence. The relic of the Buddha's tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka, is the focus of an especially popular festival on the Buddha's birthday. The Buddha's birthday is celebrated in every Buddhist country. Popular in Theravada lands is a ceremony known as pirit, or protection, in which readings from a collection of protective charms from the Pali canon are conducted to exorcise evil spirits, cure illness, bless new buildings, and achieve other benefits.

Images of the Buddha and bodhisattvas on temple altars and in the homes of devotees serve as a focus for worship. Prayer and chanting are common acts of devotion, as are offerings of fruit, flowers, and incense. One of the most popular festivals in China and Japan is the Ullambana Festival, in which offerings are made to the spirits of the dead and to hungry ghosts. It is held that during this celebration the gates to the other world are open so that departed spirits can return to earth for a brief time.

Buddhism Today

One of the lasting strengths of Buddhism has been its ability to adapt to changing conditions and to a variety of cultures. It is philosophically opposed to materialism, whether of the Western or the Marxist-Communist variety. Buddhism does not recognize a conflict between itself and modern science. On the contrary, it holds that the Buddha applied the experimental approach to questions of ultimate truth.

Although Buddhism in India largely died out between the 8th and 12th centuries AD, resurgence on a small scale was sparked by the conversion of 3.5 million former members of the untouchable caste, under the leadership of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, beginning in 1956. A similar renewal of Buddhism in Sri Lanka dates from the 19th century. In Thailand and Myanmar, Buddhism remains strong. Its monks have become involved in various social welfare projects.

Under the Communist republics in Asia, Buddhism has faced a more difficult time. In China, for example, it continues to exist, although under strict government regulation and supervision. Many monasteries and temples have been converted to schools, dispensaries, and other public use. Monks and nuns have been required to undertake employment in addition to their religious functions. In Tibet, the Chinese, after their takeover and the escape of the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist officials into India in 1959, attempted to undercut Buddhist influence.

Growing interest in Asian culture and spiritual values in the West has led to the development of a number of societies devoted to the study and practice of Buddhism. Zen has grown in the United States to encompass more than a dozen meditation centers and a number of actual monasteries. Interest in Vajrayana has also increased. Buddhism is once again beginning to undergo a process of acculturation to its new environment. Although its influence in the U.S. is still small, apart from immigrant Japanese and Chinese communities, it seems that new, distinctively American forms of Buddhism may eventually develop.