Buddhism is a very large religion! It has between 350-500 million followers which is 5-10% of the whole world`s population. Buddhism is based on a variety of teachings, beliefs, and practices. Buddihsts tend to believe that change is always possible; that nothing is permanent. Buddihst don`t believe in any God or any deity, but if there`s something they do believe in, it is The Buddha.
The Buddha
The Buddha is an enlightened or awakened teacher. His name is Siddharta Gautama. He was a spirtual teacher and his teachings are the foundation of Buddhism. His birth and death dates are uncertain, but he was believed to live from 563 BCE to 483 BCE. His life was beleived to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Most traditonal biographies of Siddharta Gautama contain miracles, supernatural events and various omens. They state that Siddharta was a perfected being who had no need for food, water, sleep, medicine or showers. It also says that Siddharta`s birth was a painless one, with no need of "special relations" between his mom and his dad. He was beleived to have the ability to overcome karma.(if he did bad things, bad things didn`t happen to him!) His mother died 7 days after his birth. His father didn`t want him to know about how people age and die and so kept him protected throughout his youth. When he was 29 years old, he left his castle to meet his subjects and saw and old man. Later, he left his castle again and found a diseased man, a decaying corpse and an ascetic. He became depressed and sought to overcome ageing and death by becoming an ascetic. He snuck out of the palace and began his life as a menidcant. He first went to the kingdom of Rajagaha where the king recognized him and offered him the throne. Siddharta refused and left the kingdom. After leaving, he studied under Alara Kamala and Udaka Ramaputt until he had mastered their teachings. He left with 4 other students and tried to enlighten himself by refusing to eat any earthly food. After almost starving to death, he discovers that the true path to enlightment is through a type of meditation called jhana. When he started, he learned of the Middle Way which is to moderate from the extremes of being overfed or starving. Afterword he sat under a Bodhi tree and vowed not to leave until he learned the truth. After 49 days of meditation, he became Enlightened. After this he taught many people the way of Enlightment until he passed away.
Beliefs and Practices
Buddhists have many beliefs.One of them is rebirth. They do not believe that the soul is unchanging and permanent. They believe that whatever actions you do will be the seeds and the form you are reborn into is the fruit. You could be a: -a Naraka being: a being who lives in hell -a Preta: a being who lives with humans but is normally invicible to them (ghost,etc.) -a Animal: lives with humans but is not a human (dogs,cats,etc.) -a Human: a human being (what you are currently) -a Asura: a lowly class of rebirth (devil or anti-god) -a Devas: a high class of rebirth ( lower god or deity) Buddhists don`t believe in any god or deity except the ones they are reborn to, and even then, they don`t worship them! They meditate for long periods of time and while they meditate, they don`t eat or drink. They don`t do anything except breath for a long time. They have a couple of rules which every Buddhist follows. Here are some: -Do not take away life (do not kill) -Do not take what isn`t given to you (don`t steal) -Do not drink alchohol or take drugs
The Buddhacarita and other symbols
The Buddhacarita is an epic poem which was made in the 2nd century A.D. It is one of the main sources for discovering the Buddha`s life. It`s like an exagerated biography of the life of Siddharta. There are other poems like this but some of them are not complete. The Eight spoked Dharmacakra is another important sign. The Eight spokes stand for The Eightfold Path. The lotus stands for the pure potential of the mind. The swastika is good luck charm in both the Buddhism religion and the Hindu religion.
Contemporary Issues
Buddhism is experiencing a problem.The people of Tibet have been saying that they have and are being abused and are denied certain human rights. They say that they are being mistreated. The Chinese government denies this and cites progress in human rights. Various organizations with campaigns for human rights wish to pressure various governments to support Tibetan independence. Supporters of the Tibetan cause estimate that the number of fatalities in Tibet from unnatural causes are about 400,000! However, Tenzin Gyatso, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, no longer demands independence. Instead, he wishes for Tibet to be given meaningful autonomy within the People`s Republic of China.
Other sites about Buddhism
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/ - features good information on the major religions of the world. www.religioustolerance.org › World religions - Great information on the practices and beliefs of Buddhists