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Buddhism is a philosophical and spiritual doctrine, which emerged in India in the 19th century. 6th B.C. and has as a precept the search for the end of human suffering and thus, achieve enlightenment.
Its principles are based on the teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama, known as the Buddha, which means "Awakened" or "Enlightened".
Buddhists, therefore, do not worship a god or gods, nor do they have a rigid religious hierarchy, being much more an individual pursuit when compared to Western monotheistic religions.
characteristics of buddhism
Buddhism is characterized by a series of teachings that guide the human being to let go of all human defects such as anger, jealousy, envy to develop qualities such as love, generosity, wisdom, etc.
Buddhism, therefore, is an attitude towards the world, as its followers learn to let go of everything that is transitory, which results in a kind of spiritual self-sufficiency.
In the Buddhist universe, which has no beginning or end, Nirvana would be the ideal stage, but it cannot be taught, only perceived.
Karma is a prominent subject in Buddhism. According to this idea, good and bad actions (arising from mental intention) will have consequences in the next rebirths. In each of them, the being will have the opportunity to let go of everything that prevents him from reaching perfection.
Therefore, rebirth, a process in which we go through successive lives, is precisely the cycle in which suffering is sought to be broken in order to ascend to the purest abodes. This vicious cycle of suffering is called "Samsara" and is governed by the laws of Karma.
Thus, the path intended in Buddhism is the “Middle Way”, that is, the practice of non-extremism, both physical and moral.
Buddha
The Buddha is not for the followers of the doctrine a private entity, but a title given to a Buddhist master or to all who have attained the spiritual realization of Buddhism. Thus, Buddha, in Hindu, means "the Enlightened One" or "the awakened one".
The first Buddha was Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Sakia dynasty in India, who left everything to devote himself to the spiritual life. Born in 563 BC his life is summarized by his followers in birth, maturity, renunciation, quest, awakening and liberation, teaching and death.
Siddhārtha Gautama was raised in luxury, married and had a son, but in his youth he discovered the reality of human suffering and was shocked. He met four people: an old woman, a sick one, a dead one, and finally an ascetic, and he wondered about the origin of it all.
However, it was when he met this religious ascetic, who was mortifying himself in strict fasting, that he thought that there was the answer to his questions. Therefore, he shaved his head as a sign of humility, changed his sumptuous clothes for the unpretentious orange costume, and launched himself into the world in search of explanations for the enigma of life.
After seven years of hardship, Gautama chose the shade of a sacred fig tree and began to meditate, remaining so until all his doubts were cleared.
During this time, the spiritual awakening he had been looking for took place. Illuminated by a new understanding of all things in life, he headed for the city of Benares, on the bank of the River Ganges. His idea was to convey to others what had happened to him.
origin of buddhism
Buddhism is born when Siddhārtha Gautama decides to share with others his path to reach the end of suffering.
Its doctrine is mixed with the beliefs of Hinduism, making it a philosophy that was easily adapted to each region where it settled, as well as to each human being who wished to learn it.
In the 45 years that he preached his doctrine, throughout all regions of India, the Buddha always mentioned the "Four Truths" and the "Eight Paths".
Furthermore, he summarized his thinking in the Golden Rule:
"Everything we are is the result of what we think".
Only centuries after his death was a meeting that defined Buddhist precepts held, where two great schools prevailed: Theravada and Mahayana.
The teachings of Gautama, delivered in the park of the city of Benares, defined the paths to follow to arrive at the wisdom of moderation and equality.
According to Buddhism, there are Four Truths:
1. life is suffering;
2. suffering is the fruit of desire,
3. it ends when desire ends,
4. it is attained by following those taught by the Buddha.
With these "Four Noble Truths", man has the basic elements to embark on the "Path of the Eight Trails".
From him they will demand purity of faith, will, language, action, life, application, memory and meditation.
From the third and fourth paths, Buddha's followers extracted five precepts, similar to the Jewish-Christian commandments, as they advised not to kill, not to steal, not to commit impure acts, not to lie, and not to drink intoxicating liquids.
buddhist schools
Four are the most well-known Buddhist schools:
Nyingma
Kagyu
Sakya
jellyfish
The path of liberation through the Three Jewels prevails in them:
The Buddha as a guide;
Dharma as the fundamental law of the universe;
The Sangha as the Buddhist community.
The expansion of Buddhism
During the three centuries that followed after Gautama's death, Buddhism spread throughout Ancient India. He ended up having more adherents than Hinduism itself, the country's traditional religion.
But, after spreading throughout Asia, it disappeared from the country of origin, giving way to Hinduism. In the course of expansion, carried along the silk trade route, it crossed the entire East.
The original doctrine differed, became less rigorous, adapted to the spiritual needs of simple people. This form of Buddhism was called Mahayana, or "greater vehicle".
In Tibet, the doctrine merged with the ancient bon-po religion, later drifting into Lamaism.
In Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Ceylon, and Vietnam, Buddhism remained orthodox, being called hinayana, or the "lesser vehicle".
Gradually, Chinese pilgrims and Hindu Buddhist monks began to cross the mountains as missionaries.
One of the pilgrims, Hsuan-Tsang (or Xuanzang), left China in 629, crossing the Gobi Desert and arriving in India. There, for 16 years he collected data on Buddhism and, according to tradition, wrote more than a thousand volumes.
China was ruled by the Tsang dynasty and thousands of people converted to Buddhism.
Among the other religions, Confucianism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism was the one that presented the most profound concepts and over time it branched out into many sects.
Around the 7th century, Buddhism reached Korea and Japan, which after the conversion of Prince Shotoku Taishi, was made the national religion.
In the following century, Buddhism arrived in Tibet, but it had already changed greatly. It was introduced by Padma Sambhava, a Hindu Buddhist monk.
The official religion was already in frank decadence. It easily merged with the new concepts and Lamaism emerged. This turned Tibet into a theocratic state, ruled by the Dalai and Panchen Lamas - lamaist monks considered to be the reincarnation of sanctities.
Buddhism entered Europe in 1819, where the German Arthur Schopenhauer developed new concepts, very close to Buddhism.
In 1875 the Theosophical Society was founded, which encouraged research into Asian religions.
Buddhism expanded throughout the world and there are Buddhist temples in several countries in Europe, the Americas and Australia. Buddhist leaders take their concepts of life around the world, adapting to each society.
Its principles are based on the teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama, known as the Buddha, which means "Awakened" or "Enlightened".
Buddhists, therefore, do not worship a god or gods, nor do they have a rigid religious hierarchy, being much more an individual pursuit when compared to Western monotheistic religions.
characteristics of buddhism
Buddhism is characterized by a series of teachings that guide the human being to let go of all human defects such as anger, jealousy, envy to develop qualities such as love, generosity, wisdom, etc.
Buddhism, therefore, is an attitude towards the world, as its followers learn to let go of everything that is transitory, which results in a kind of spiritual self-sufficiency.
In the Buddhist universe, which has no beginning or end, Nirvana would be the ideal stage, but it cannot be taught, only perceived.
Karma is a prominent subject in Buddhism. According to this idea, good and bad actions (arising from mental intention) will have consequences in the next rebirths. In each of them, the being will have the opportunity to let go of everything that prevents him from reaching perfection.
Therefore, rebirth, a process in which we go through successive lives, is precisely the cycle in which suffering is sought to be broken in order to ascend to the purest abodes. This vicious cycle of suffering is called "Samsara" and is governed by the laws of Karma.
Thus, the path intended in Buddhism is the “Middle Way”, that is, the practice of non-extremism, both physical and moral.
Buddha
The Buddha is not for the followers of the doctrine a private entity, but a title given to a Buddhist master or to all who have attained the spiritual realization of Buddhism. Thus, Buddha, in Hindu, means "the Enlightened One" or "the awakened one".
The first Buddha was Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Sakia dynasty in India, who left everything to devote himself to the spiritual life. Born in 563 BC his life is summarized by his followers in birth, maturity, renunciation, quest, awakening and liberation, teaching and death.
Siddhārtha Gautama was raised in luxury, married and had a son, but in his youth he discovered the reality of human suffering and was shocked. He met four people: an old woman, a sick one, a dead one, and finally an ascetic, and he wondered about the origin of it all.
However, it was when he met this religious ascetic, who was mortifying himself in strict fasting, that he thought that there was the answer to his questions. Therefore, he shaved his head as a sign of humility, changed his sumptuous clothes for the unpretentious orange costume, and launched himself into the world in search of explanations for the enigma of life.
After seven years of hardship, Gautama chose the shade of a sacred fig tree and began to meditate, remaining so until all his doubts were cleared.
During this time, the spiritual awakening he had been looking for took place. Illuminated by a new understanding of all things in life, he headed for the city of Benares, on the bank of the River Ganges. His idea was to convey to others what had happened to him.
origin of buddhism
Buddhism is born when Siddhārtha Gautama decides to share with others his path to reach the end of suffering.
Its doctrine is mixed with the beliefs of Hinduism, making it a philosophy that was easily adapted to each region where it settled, as well as to each human being who wished to learn it.
In the 45 years that he preached his doctrine, throughout all regions of India, the Buddha always mentioned the "Four Truths" and the "Eight Paths".
Furthermore, he summarized his thinking in the Golden Rule:
"Everything we are is the result of what we think".
Only centuries after his death was a meeting that defined Buddhist precepts held, where two great schools prevailed: Theravada and Mahayana.
The teachings of Gautama, delivered in the park of the city of Benares, defined the paths to follow to arrive at the wisdom of moderation and equality.
According to Buddhism, there are Four Truths:
1. life is suffering;
2. suffering is the fruit of desire,
3. it ends when desire ends,
4. it is attained by following those taught by the Buddha.
With these "Four Noble Truths", man has the basic elements to embark on the "Path of the Eight Trails".
From him they will demand purity of faith, will, language, action, life, application, memory and meditation.
From the third and fourth paths, Buddha's followers extracted five precepts, similar to the Jewish-Christian commandments, as they advised not to kill, not to steal, not to commit impure acts, not to lie, and not to drink intoxicating liquids.
buddhist schools
Four are the most well-known Buddhist schools:
Nyingma
Kagyu
Sakya
jellyfish
The path of liberation through the Three Jewels prevails in them:
The Buddha as a guide;
Dharma as the fundamental law of the universe;
The Sangha as the Buddhist community.
The expansion of Buddhism
During the three centuries that followed after Gautama's death, Buddhism spread throughout Ancient India. He ended up having more adherents than Hinduism itself, the country's traditional religion.
But, after spreading throughout Asia, it disappeared from the country of origin, giving way to Hinduism. In the course of expansion, carried along the silk trade route, it crossed the entire East.
The original doctrine differed, became less rigorous, adapted to the spiritual needs of simple people. This form of Buddhism was called Mahayana, or "greater vehicle".
In Tibet, the doctrine merged with the ancient bon-po religion, later drifting into Lamaism.
In Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Ceylon, and Vietnam, Buddhism remained orthodox, being called hinayana, or the "lesser vehicle".
Gradually, Chinese pilgrims and Hindu Buddhist monks began to cross the mountains as missionaries.
One of the pilgrims, Hsuan-Tsang (or Xuanzang), left China in 629, crossing the Gobi Desert and arriving in India. There, for 16 years he collected data on Buddhism and, according to tradition, wrote more than a thousand volumes.
China was ruled by the Tsang dynasty and thousands of people converted to Buddhism.
Among the other religions, Confucianism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism was the one that presented the most profound concepts and over time it branched out into many sects.
Around the 7th century, Buddhism reached Korea and Japan, which after the conversion of Prince Shotoku Taishi, was made the national religion.
In the following century, Buddhism arrived in Tibet, but it had already changed greatly. It was introduced by Padma Sambhava, a Hindu Buddhist monk.
The official religion was already in frank decadence. It easily merged with the new concepts and Lamaism emerged. This turned Tibet into a theocratic state, ruled by the Dalai and Panchen Lamas - lamaist monks considered to be the reincarnation of sanctities.
Buddhism entered Europe in 1819, where the German Arthur Schopenhauer developed new concepts, very close to Buddhism.
In 1875 the Theosophical Society was founded, which encouraged research into Asian religions.
Buddhism expanded throughout the world and there are Buddhist temples in several countries in Europe, the Americas and Australia. Buddhist leaders take their concepts of life around the world, adapting to each society.