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Buddhism

Chapter · December 2015

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Ruchi Agarwal
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 Encyclopedia Article:

Agarwal, R. “Buddhism”. In Athyal, J.M (ed). Religions in Southeast Asia: An Encyclopedia

of Faiths and Cultures. ABC-CLIO, 2015

Buddhism is one of the major world religions. Its origins can be found in India in
the sixth century B.C.E. teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. It later spread to most parts of
Asia through China, Korea, and Japan, and on to the West.. Today there are over 300
million followers worldwide. Buddhism teaches individuals to reach the state of nirvana
be adhering to the path of Buddha. There is no personal god in Buddhism but rather a
belief in impermanence. Anyone can reach enlightenment through practice, wisdom and
mediation.

HISTORY OF BUDDHISM

The word Buddhism implies the devotion to ‘the Buddha’ which means the
‘Awakened One’ or the ‘Enlightened One”. From the earliest times, Buddhist tradition
has suggested several former Buddhas who have lived on earth in the past or will in the
future. However in many contexts, ‘the Buddha’ more commonly refers to the one known
in history as Gautama to the Theravada Buddhists and Sakyamuni to the Mahayana
Buddhists. Born to a royal family that ruled over the land of the Sakyans at Kapilvastu in
present-day Nepal around 490 B.C.E., Siddhartha did not lead a typical life. Legends say
that in 623 B.C. on a full moon day Queen Mahamaya was traveling from Kapilvastu to
Devadaha, to give birth to her child at her parental home. Halfway between the two cities,
she gave birth to a son while standing in a grove of trees now known as Lumbini. King
Ashoka erected a stone pillar over 300 years after the event, to mark this sacred place,
which is now a famous Buddhist pilgrimage site.

On the fifth day after the birth, his father, King Suddhodana invited eight wise
men for the naming ceremony that were also asked to predict the baby’s future. The
prince was named Siddhartha. The invited Brahmins predicted that he would either
become a great king or a great teacher when exposed to any sufferings. Queen Mahamaya
passed away on the seventh day after the childbirth and Siddhartha was raised by his
aunt. He grew up in all the luxuries and was encouraged to excel in education by his
father. At the age of sixteen, Siddhartha was married to his cousin, the beautiful princess
Yashodhara. However he was still not happy and longed to see the world beyond his
palace.

At the age of 29, Siddhartha left the palace with his charioteer Channa to explore
the world outside his palace. He was deeply touched by what he had never seen before,
the ‘Four Passing Sights’: an old man weakened with age; a sick man crying in pain; a
dead man whose corpse was taken for cremation; and a wandering sannyasin. Siddhartha
was saddened seeing ageing, sickness, and death for the first time. He was inspired by the
sannyasin and decided to leave the palace, his wife, and the newborn son to understand
life, sufferings, and find a solutions to sufferings in the world. His search for
enlightenment began by practicing strict asceticism. With six years of hardship,
Siddhartha realized neither luxury nor starvation can provide him a deeper understanding
of life and instead followed the Middle Path. He gained enlightenment in a village, Bodh
Gaya, under a Bodhi tree as he sat down in meditation. He saw his past lives, death, and
rebirths and realized that he had eliminated all desires and ignorance within himself. By
now he had become the ‘Awakened One’, a Buddha. With this awakening, Buddha gave
his first sermon to a group of ascetics with whom he practiced earlier. These ascetics
became the very first disciples of Buddha. Buddha continued to spread his teachings in
India for the next forty-five years gaining several followers until his death at the age of
80 in a small town called Kusinara.

He lived his life in the time when an early form of Hinduism, ‘Brahmanism’ was
influential. His teachings shared some of the basic ideas of Brahmanism, such as karma
and rebirth, moksha, existence of gods, yogic practices, and the value of spiritual insight.
However his ideas on these differed from Brahmanism, as he did not accept some of their
key features. He rejected the authority of Vedas, sacrifices to gods, and the social system
of caste. Buddhism was open to people of all social classes. The social order of monks
and nuns known as the Sangha was introduced by Buddha himself. Many followers
became monks and nuns; others remained lay-people providing material support to the
monks and nuns, whom in return gave lay people teachings and advice. This mutual
relationship still lies at the heart of the different schools of Buddhism.

The Buddha was a wandering teacher attracting followers with his charisma. As
more followers joined, a monastic community with rules and regulations formed
overtime. However Buddha never regarded himself as the leader of the community and
thus did not appoint a successor upon his death. He instead encouraged people to follow
his teachings (Dharma) and the monastic order. This soon led to disagreements on the
issues of monastic practice and the doctrine. With the absence of a central authority, a
number of different traditions developed. The most serious disagreement occurred a
century after Buddha’s death between the ‘Elders’ (Sthaviras) and the ‘Universal
Assembly’ (Mahasanghikas). Different records provide contradictory accounts. Some see
it as a doctrinal dispute on the status of Buddha as compared to an Arahant (seen inferior
to Buddha). However the more likely cause of the division seems to be an attempt the
Elders to amend the monastic rules by introducing additional rules of conduct. The
division occurred as Buddhism began to spread to other parts of India and came across
new customs and ideas. This raised questions on whether to stick to the old traditions or
accommodate new beliefs and practices. Eventually the two groups separated, a ‘Great
Division’ that led to a number of further divisions and sub-schools. Most died out over
time with the exception of Theravada (from Elder tradition). The legacy from the earlier
schools led to a revolutionary new movement known as the Mahayana.

TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM

Since Buddha does not refer to a unique individual, Buddhism focuses less on a
person as the founder but rather on the teachings of Buddha. These teachings include
ways to help individuals develop compassion and avoiding illusions that cause
attachments and bring suffering to an individual and to those the individual interact with.
The guide to this process is known as the Dharma or Dhamma, patterns of reality and
cosmic order discovered by Buddha, Buddhist teachings, the path, and the ultimate goal
of Buddhism, Nirvana. Dhamma is thus the most important element of Buddhism.

Buddha’s teachings are recorded in different collections of scripture known as

‘canons’, deriving from the oral tradition at the time of Buddha and preserved through
communal chanting. The most essential one is the Pali Canon, written in Pali in Sri Lanka
around the middle of the 1st century BC. The scripture consists of three baskets or Pitaka:
Sutta (Buddha’s sermons), Vinaya( monastic rules), and the Abhidhamma (scholastic
works). Since Buddhism lacked a central authority, several different schools emerged.
Each school compiled their own canons in different languages. However the Pali Canon
remained authoritative for the Theravada school.

THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM

Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are the great missionary religions of the world,
actively spreading their message and practice beyond their place of origin. The spread of
Buddhism goes to the time when Buddha himself sent out enlightened disciples to spread
teachings. This marked the beginning of the spread of Buddhism both within India and
beyond, becoming the main form of Indian religion for export and spreading literate
culture as well.
The spread of Buddhism gained a considerable boost in the 3rd century with the
great Mauryan ruler, King Ashoka, who extended his empire through conquest. During
one of the battles on the east coast in Orissa, he experienced guilt and turned to
Buddhism. Thereafter Ashoka ruled according to Buddhist principles and Buddhism
flourished under his reign with missionaries sent to the courts of rulers to South-east Asia
and to the West.

Within India great Buddhist universities were established like Nalanda, which
flourished between the 7th and the 12th centuries. Important Buddhist centers were also set
up both in the south and the north-west, which became an important gateway to central
Asia and the Far East. Buddhism however was under attack with the Muslim Turks
invasion in India in the 10th century. Several works of art were destroyed and libraries
were burned down. Only with the Moguls in the 16th century was stability and religious
tolerance restored. However by this time Buddhism had disappeared from the land of its
birth.

BUDDHISM IN SOUTH EAST ASIA

Buddhism survived in the rest of Asia with Mahayana Buddhism in the north and
Theravada in the south. The important Theravada countries in Southeast Asia are Burma
(Myanmar) and Thailand. Theravada Buddhism might have been introduced here by one
of the missionaries of Ashoka and has been present among the native Mons since the
early centuries of the Christian era. Southeast Asia also received the influence of both
Buddhism and Hinduism from South Asia which was historically looked upon for
cultural inspirations. Under the domination of the Khmer Empire from 5th to the 15th
 centuries, several forms of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism were popular. According
to the Burmese chronicles, different schools of Buddhism flourished under King
Anawarhta (1044-1077). However King Anawarhta’s promoted Theravada Buddhism
and as a result almost 90 percent of the population in Burma is Theravada Buddhist.

Theravada has long been established in parts of the neighboring territory of

present day Thailand, in the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya and the kingdom of Dvaravati,
and in the 11th century missionaries were sent to this region from Burma. The Theravada
Buddhism received royal patronage and today over 90 percent of the Thai population is
Buddhist.

Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam share a similar history. However a much more
syncretic religious system is found in these countries with a mix of Theravada,
Mahayana, and local indigenous religions. One of the reasons for the successful spread of
Buddhism is that it tends to incorporate existing beliefs of local gods and spirits, with its
own cosmology. Thus it is common to find Buddhists in villages who look to local gods
to find solutions to everyday problems while turning to Buddhism for answers to the
broader questions of human life.

- Ruchi Agarwal

See also – Dharma, Hinduism, Study of Religion, Thailand .

Further Readings

Harvey, P (Ed). Buddhism. London, New York: Continuum, 2001.

Harvey, P. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History, and Practices. England:
Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Ingram, M. D. Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha. The Independent Universe
3rd edition, 2007.
Keown, D. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013
Thera, P. The Buddha, His life and Teachings. Buddhist Publication Society, 1982.

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