What do Buddhism believe?
Buddhism differs significantly from many other faiths because it does not focus on a relationship between humans and a god. In Buddhist thinking, there is no creator or saviour, no heaven or hell.
Instead, Buddhism centres around the dharma (teachings) of Siddhartha Gautama – the Buddha or enlightened one. The key to achieving Buddhahood – or enlightenment – lies in meditation, wisdom and morality.
Many Buddhists also believe in rebirth, and that their actions in this life will affect the quality of the next life.
At the heart of the Buddhist faith lie the Four Noble Truths. Their names and precise definitions can vary slightly, but essentially they are:
Duhkha (unsatisfactoriness)
Everything in the world is unsatisfactory and full of suffering. Buddhists regard duhkha as one of the three characteristics of existence, alongside anitya (constant change) and anatman (human impermanence).
Trishna (craving)
The origin or cause of duhkha. Trishna stems from our desire for the wrong things and our search for stability in a constantly changing world.
Nirvana (end of craving)
An end to duhkha. Some people believe nirvana means annihilation. In fact, it means a quenching of the cravings and desires that cause duhkha.
Arya Ashtangika Marga (Noble Eightfold Path)
Also known as the Middle Way, the Noble Eightfold Path leads away from duhkha. Following the path means finding the right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right contemplation. These eight elements are incorporated in the eight-spoked wheel that symbolises the Buddhist faith.
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Buddhists diversity
Some of the world’s ancient, traditional Buddhist groupings include:
Theravada
Theravada is a Buddhist tradition that spread south to Sri Lanka by 250BCE, and eventually established itself in the southern Asian countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Burma. This explains why Theravada is sometime known as Southern Transmission.
Theravada followers aspire to become an arahat – someone who is free from the cycle of birth and death. To achieve this, they focus on self-reliance and studying the history of the Buddha.
Mahayana
A second Buddhist tradition, known as the Mahayana tradition or Northern Transmission, gradually spread along the Northern Silk Road to reach China, Korea, Japan, the northern part of Vietnam and later Tibet.
Its followers strive to become Bodhisattvas. Regarded as greater than any other beings except Buddhas, Bodhisattvas devote their entire life to the welfare of others and liberating themselves.
Tibetan Buddhism
Tantric rituals and visualisations are two practices that distinguish Tibetan Buddhism from other forms of the faith. Tantric practices are regarded as particularly powerful, while visualising positive images helps to create inner calm. Both practices are used to achieve a state of diamond-like clarity.
Ch’an (Chinese Buddhism) and Zen (Japanese Buddhism)
Followers of the Zen tradition place great importance on sitting meditation – or zazen – as a way of developing a true insight into reality.
Shikantaza – which means ‘just sitting’ – is practised by followers of the Ch’an tradition to develop insight and awareness.Pure Land Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhists are devoted Amitabha, a cosmic Buddha who promised to liberate people.
In recent years, up to ten different Buddhist traditions have established themselves in the West. They include the Western Buddhist Order and the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order.
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How Buddhism developed
According to Buddhist beliefs, Siddhartha Gautama is the Buddha – or the enlightened one. He was born a prince in the early fifth century BCE in Lumbini, which is now Nepal.
In his twenties, he rejected his affluent lifestyle after witnessing old age, sickness and death for the first time. Driven by a determination to alleviate suffering, he began a six-year spiritual search that ended in his enlightenment under the Bo Tree (now the Bodhi Tree) at a place in northern India (now known as Bodh Gaya).
Gautama began his search by putting himself through extremes of self-denial before taking a less ascetic approach, known as the Middle Way. His change of direction caused the five ascetics he had been associated with to leave him. At this point, he sat beneath the Bodhi Tree, determined to find what he had been searching for. He finally achieved nirvana on the night of the full moon in May.
Gautama then reunited with the five ascetics and they became his first followers as he established the first Buddhist community – or sangha – at Deer Park, near Benares. After dedicating the rest of his life to teaching, he died aged 80 at Kushinagara.
Eight hundred years after its birth, Buddhism almost disappeared in India, the country of its origin. But during the 1950s, the faith underwent a great revival, especially among people belonging to the castes once known as ‘untouchables’.
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Buddhists leaders
Traditionally, the central unit of the Buddhist faith is the sangha, a community of monks and nuns. While devoting time to their own spiritual development and sharing the dharma, Buddhist monks often officiate at religious events and become involved in education and healthcare.
The numbers of nuns and monks has been increasing worldwide across all Buddhist traditions for many years.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the Lama plays an essential role as a teacher.
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How Buddhism worship
Buddhists worship wherever they can and also meet to meditate and study in Buddhist centres all over the world. Buddhist temples are known as viharas. A vihara is often a room in a large house, bare except for a carpet and cushions.
Meditation
To Buddhists, meditation is the key to well being, reinforcing positive thoughts while eliminating negative energy. They believe meditation cultivates faith, concentration, mindfulness, energy and wisdom – the five essentials for developing spiritual strength.
Diet
Buddhists believe that any form of intentional killing is wrong. As a result, many people associate Buddhism with vegetarianism. However, there are various views on meat eating among Buddhists themselves.
While Chinese Zen is strictly vegetarian, for example, many Tibetan Buddhists eat meat. There is a pragmatic reason for this: vegetables are scarce in the rocky Tibetan terrain. In Theravada Buddhism, monks and nuns can eat meat provided they do not see, hear or suspect that the animal has been killed specifically for them.
Most Western Buddhists would aim to be vegetarian and would oppose modern factory farming methods.
Even when Buddhists do eat meat, they generally avoid eating higher forms of life. |
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