Buddhism

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Standing Buddha. One of the earliest known representations of the Buddha, 1st–2nd century CE. Greco-Buddhist
art,Gandhara. (Tokyo National Museum)

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Buddhism is a religion indigenous to the Indian subcontinent that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs

and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the
Buddha, meaning "the awakened one". The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of the Indian
subcontinent sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. [1] He is recognized by Buddhists as
an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end their suffering
(dukkha) through the elimination of ignorance (avidyā) by way of understanding and the seeing of dependent
origination (pratītyasamutpāda) and the elimination of desire (taṇhā), and thus the attainment of the cessation
of all suffering, known as the sublime state of nirvāņa.[2]

Two major branches of Buddhism are generally recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders")
and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast
Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar etc.). Mahayana is found throughout East Asia(China, Korea,
Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan etc.) and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren
Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism,Shingon, and Tiantai (Tendai). In some classifications, Vajrayana—practiced
mainly in Tibet and Mongolia, and adjacent parts of China and Russia—is recognized as a third branch, while
others classify it as a part of Mahayana.

While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia and India, both branches are now found throughout the
world. Estimates of Buddhists worldwide vary significantly depending on the way Buddhist adherence is
defined. Estimates range from 350 million to 1.6 billion, with 350–550 million the most widely accepted figure.
Buddhism is also recognized as one of the fastest growing religions in the world.[3][4][5][6]
Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various
teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. [7] The foundations of Buddhist tradition and
practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and theSangha (the community).
Taking "refuge in the triple gem" has traditionally been a declaration and commitment to being on the Buddhist
path, and in general distinguishes a Buddhist from a non-Buddhist. [8] Other practices may include
following ethical precepts; support of the monastic community;renouncing conventional living and becoming
a monastic; the development of mindfulness and practice of meditation; cultivation of higher wisdom and
discernment; study of scriptures; devotional practices; ceremonies; and in the Mahayana tradition, invocation of
buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Contents

  [hide] 

 1 Life of the Buddha

 2 Buddhist concepts

o 2.1 Life and the world

 2.1.1 Saṃsāra

 2.1.2 Karma

 2.1.3 Rebirth

o 2.2 Suffering's causes and solution

 2.2.1 The Four Noble Truths

 2.2.2 Noble Eightfold Path

 2.2.3 The Four Immeasurables

 2.2.4 Middle Way

o 2.3 Nature of existence

 2.3.1 Three Marks of Existence

 2.3.2 Dependent arising

 2.3.3 Emptiness

o 2.4 Liberation

 2.4.1 Nirvana

 2.4.2 Buddhas

 2.4.2.1 According to Theravada

 2.4.2.2 According to Mahayana

 2.4.3 Buddha eras

 2.4.4 Bodhisattvas
 3 Practice

o 3.1 Devotion

 3.1.1 Yoga

 3.1.2 Refuge in the Three Jewels

o 3.2 Buddhist ethics

o 3.3 Monastic life

o 3.4 Meditation

 3.4.1 Samādhi (meditative cultivation): samatha meditation

 3.4.1.1 In Theravāda

 3.4.2 Prajñā (Wisdom): vipassana meditation

 3.4.3 Zen

 3.4.4 Vajrayana and Tantra

 4 History

o 4.1 Philosophical roots

o 4.2 Indian Buddhism

 4.2.1 Pre-sectarian Buddhism

 4.2.2 Early Buddhist schools

 4.2.3 Early Mahayana Buddhism

 4.2.4 Late Mahayana Buddhism

 4.2.5 Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism)

o 4.3 Development of Buddhism

o 4.4 Buddhism today

o 4.5 Late 20th Century Buddhist Movements

 5 Demographics

 6 Schools and traditions

o 6.1 Timeline

o 6.2 Theravada school

o 6.3 Mahayana traditions

o 6.4 Vajrayana traditions

 7 Buddhist texts

o 7.1 Pāli Tipitaka

o 7.2 Mahayana sutras

 8 Comparative studies
 o 8.1 Is Buddhism a religion?

 9 See also

 10 Notes

 11 References

 12 Bibliography

o 12.1 Online

 13 External links

Life of the Buddha

Relic depicting Gautama leaving home. The Great Departure, c.1–2nd century. (Musée Guimet)

Main article:  Gautama Buddha

This narrative draws on the Nidānakathā biography of the Theravāda sect in Sri Lanka, which is ascribed

to Buddhaghoṣa in the 5th century CE.[9]Earlier biographies such as the Buddhacarita,
the Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu, and the Mahāyāna / Sarvāstivāda Lalitavistara Sūtra, give different accounts.
Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most accept that
he lived, taught and founded a monastic order, but do not consistently accept all of the details contained in his
biographies.[10][11]

Ascetic Gautama with his five companions, who later comprised the firstSangha. (Painting in Laotian temple)

According to author Michael Carrithers, while there are good reasons to doubt the traditional account, "the
outline of the life must be true: birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching,
death."[12] In writing her biography of the Buddha, Karen Armstrong noted, "It is obviously difficult, therefore, to
write a biography of the Buddha that meets modern criteria, because we have very little information that can be
considered historically sound... [but] we can be reasonably confident Siddhatta Gotama did indeed exist and
that his disciples preserved the memory of his life and teachings as well as they could." [13][dubious  –  discuss]

The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhārtha Gautama was born in a community that was on the
periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the northeastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE.
[14]
 It was either a small republic, in which case his father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which
case his father was an oligarch.[14]

The Vajrashila, where Gautama sat under a tree and became enlightened,Bodh Gaya, India, 2011

According to the Theravada Tripitaka scriptures[which?] (from Pali, meaning "three baskets"), Gautama was born
inLumbini in modern-day Nepal, around the year 563 BCE, and raised in Kapilavastu.[15][16]

According to this narrative, shortly after the birth of young prince Gautama, an astrologer named Asita visited
the young prince's father—King Śuddhodana—and prophesied that Siddhartha would either become a great
king or renounce the material world to become a holy man, depending on whether he saw what life was like
outside the palace walls.

Śuddhodana was determined to see his son become a king, so he prevented him from leaving the palace
grounds. But at age 29, despite his father's efforts, Gautama ventured beyond the palace several times. In a
series of encounters—known in Buddhist literature as the four sights—he learned of the suffering of ordinary
people, encountering an old man, a sick man, a corpse and, finally, an ascetic holy man, apparently content
and at peace with the world. These experiences prompted Gautama to abandon royal life and take up a
spiritual quest.
Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh,India, built by King Ashoka, where the Buddha gave his first sermon

Gautama first went to study with famous religious teachers of the day, and mastered the meditative attainments
they taught. But he found that they did not provide a permanent end to suffering, so he continued his quest. He
next attempted an extreme asceticism, which was a religious pursuit common among the Shramanas, a
religious culture distinct from the Vedic one. Gautama underwent prolonged fasting, breath-holding, and
exposure to pain. He almost starved himself to death in the process. He realized that he had taken this kind of
practice to its limit, and had not put an end to suffering. So in a pivotal moment he accepted milk and rice from
a village girl and changed his approach. He devoted himself toanapanasati meditation, through which he
discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way (Skt. madhyamā-pratipad[17]): a path of moderation between the
extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. [18][19]

Buddha statue depicting Parinirvana. (Mahaparinirvana Temple, Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India)

Gautama was now determined to complete his spiritual quest. At the age of 35, he famously sat
inmeditation under a sacred fig tree — known as the Bodhi tree — in the town of Bodh Gaya, India, and vowed
not to rise before achieving enlightenment. After many days, he finally destroyed the fetters of his mind,
thereby liberating himself from the cycle of suffering and rebirth, and arose as a fully enlightened
being (Skt. samyaksaṃbuddha). Soon thereafter, he attracted a band of followers and instituted a monastic
order. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his life teaching the path of awakening he had discovered,
traveling throughout the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent, [20][21] and died at the age of 80 (483 BCE)
in Kushinagar, India. The south branch of the original fig tree available only in Anuradhapura Sri Lanka is
known as Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi.

Buddhist concepts

Main article:  Buddhist terms and concepts

Life and the world

Traditional Tibetan BuddhistThangka depicting the Wheel of Life with its six realms

Saṃsāra
Main article:  Saṃsāra (Buddhism)

Within Buddhism, samsara is defined as the continual repetitive cycle of birth and death that arises from
ordinary beings' grasping and fixating on a self and experiences. Specifically, samsara refers to the process of
cycling through one rebirth after another within the six realms of existence, [a] where each realm can be
understood as physical realm or a psychological state characterized by a particular type of suffering. Samsara
arises out of avidya (ignorance) and is characterized by dukkha (suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction). In the
Buddhist view, liberation from samsara is possible by following the Buddhist path. [b]

Karma
Main article:  Karma in Buddhism

In Buddhism, Karma (from Sanskrit: "action, work") is the force that drives saṃsāra—the cycle of suffering and
rebirth for each being. Good, skillful deeds (Pāli: "kusala") and bad, unskillful (Pāli: "akusala") actions produce
"seeds" in the mind that come to fruition either in this life or in a subsequent rebirth.[22] The avoidance of
unwholesome actions and the cultivation of positive actions is called śīla (from Sanskrit: "ethical conduct").

In Buddhism, karma specifically refers to those actions of body, speech or mind that spring from mental intent
("cetana"),[23] and bring about a consequence or fruit, (phala) or result (vipāka).

In Theravada Buddhism there can be no divine salvation or forgiveness for one's karma, since it is a purely
impersonal process that is a part of the makeup of the universe. In Mahayana Buddhism, the texts of
certain Mahayana sutras (such as the Lotus Sutra, the Angulimaliya Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra) claim that the
recitation or merely the hearing of their texts can expunge great swathes of negative karma. Some forms of
Buddhism (for example, Vajrayana) regard the recitation of mantras as a means for cutting off of previous
negative karma.[24] The Japanese Pure Land teacher Genshin taught that Amida Buddha has the power to
destroy the karma that would otherwise bind one in saṃsāra.[25][26]

Rebirth

Gautama's cremation site, Ramabhar Stupa in Uttar Pradesh, India

Main article:  Rebirth (Buddhism)

Rebirth refers to a process whereby beings go through a succession of lifetimes as one of many possible forms
of sentient life, each running from conception[27] to death. Buddhism rejects the concepts of a permanent self or
an unchanging, eternal soul, as it is called in Hinduism and Christianity. According to Buddhism there ultimately
is no such thing as a self independent from the rest of the universe (the doctrine of anatta). Buddhists also refer
to themselves as the believers of the anatta doctrine—Nairatmyavadin or Anattavadin. Rebirth in subsequent
existences must be understood as the continuation of a dynamic, ever-changing process of "dependent arising"
("pratītyasamutpāda") determined by the laws of cause and effect (karma) rather than that of one
being, transmigrating or incarnating from one existence to the next.

Each rebirth takes place within one of five realms according to Theravadins, or six according to other schools.
[28][29]

1. Naraka beings: those who live in one of many Narakas (Hells);

2. Preta: sometimes sharing some space with humans, but invisible to
most people; an important variety is the hungry ghost;[30]
3. Animals: sharing space with humans, but considered another type of
life;
4. Human beings: one of the realms of rebirth in which attaining Nirvana
is possible;
5. Asuras: variously translated as lowly deities, demons, titans, antigods;
not recognized by Theravāda (Mahavihara) tradition as a separate
realm;[31]
 6. Devas including Brahmas: variously translated as gods, deities, spirits,
angels, or left untranslated.

The above are further subdivided into 31 planes of existence. [32] Rebirths in some of the higher heavens, known
as the Śuddhāvāsa Worlds or Pure Abodes, can be attained only by skilled Buddhist practitioners known
as anāgāmis (non-returners). Rebirths in the arupa-dhatu (formless realms) can be attained by only those who
can meditate on the arūpajhānas, the highest object of meditation.

According to East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism, there is an intermediate state (Tibetan "Bardo") between one
life and the next. The orthodox Theravada position rejects this; however there are passages in the Samyutta
Nikaya of the Pali Canon (the collection of texts on which the Theravada tradition is based), that seem to lend
support to the idea that the Buddha taught of an intermediate stage between one life and the next. [33][34]

Suffering's causes and solution

The Four Noble Truths
Main article:  Four Noble Truths

The Buddha teaching the Four Noble Truths. Sanskrit manuscript. Nālandā, Bihar,India.

The teachings on the Four Noble Truths are regarded as central to the teachings of Buddhism, and are said to
provide a conceptual framework for Buddhist thought. These four truths explain the nature of dukkha (suffering,
anxiety, unsatisfactoriness), its causes, and how it can be overcome. The four truths are: [c]

1. The truth of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, unsatisfactoriness[d])

2. The truth of the origin of dukkha

3. The truth of the cessation of dukkha

4. The truth of the path leading to the cessation of dukkha

The first truth explains the nature of dukkha. Dukkha is commonly translated as “suffering”, “anxiety”,
“unsatisfactoriness”, “unease”, etc., and it is said to have the following three aspects:

 The obvious suffering of physical and mental illness, growing old, and
dying.
  The anxiety or stress of trying to hold onto things that are constantly
changing.

 A subtle dissatisfaction pervading all forms of life, due to the fact that all
forms of life are changing, impermanent and without any inner core or
substance. On this level, the term indicates a lack of satisfaction, a sense
that things never measure up to our expectations or standards. [e]

The second truth is that the origin of dukkha can be known. Within the context of the four noble truths, the
origin of dukkha is commonly explained as craving (Pali: tanha) conditioned by ignorance (Pali: avijja). On a
deeper level, the root cause of dukkha is identified as ignorance (Pali: avijja) of the true nature of things. The
third noble truth is that the complete cessation ofdukkha is possible, and the fourth noble truth identifies
a path to this cessation.[f]

Noble Eightfold Path

Main articles: Noble Eightfold Path  and  Buddhist Paths to liberation

The Dharmachakra represents the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Noble Eightfold Path—the fourth of the Buddha's Noble Truths—consists of a set of eight interconnected
factors or conditions, that when developed together, lead to the cessation of dukkha.[35] These eight factors are:
Right View (or Right Understanding), Right Intention (or Right Thought), Right Speech, Right Action, Right
Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

Ajahn Sucitto describes the path as "a mandala of interconnected factors that support and moderate each
other."[35] The eight factors of the path arenot to be understood as stages, in which each stage is completed
before moving on to the next. Rather, they are understood as eight significant dimensions of one's behaviour—
mental, spoken, and bodily—that operate in dependence on one another; taken together, they define a
complete path, or way of living.[36]
The eight factors of the path are commonly presented within three divisions (or higher trainings) as shown
below:

Division Eightfold factor Sanskrit, Pali Description

samyag dṛṣṭi,
1. Right view Viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be
sammā ditthi

Wisdom
(Sanskrit: prajñā,
Pāli: paññā) samyag
saṃkalpa,
2. Right intention Intention of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness
sammā
sankappa

samyag vāc,
3. Right speech Speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way
sammā vāca

samyag
Ethical conduct karman,
4. Right action Acting in a non-harmful way
(Sanskrit: śīla, sammā
Pāli: sīla) kammanta

samyag
5. Right livelihood ājīvana, A non-harmful livelihood
sammā ājīva

samyag
vyāyāma,
6. Right effort Making an effort to improve
sammā
vāyāma

Awareness to see things for what they are with clear

Concentration
7. Right samyag smṛti, consciousness;
(Sanskrit and
mindfulness sammā sati being aware of the present reality within oneself,
Pāli:samādhi)
without any craving or aversion

samyag
8. Right samādhi, Correct meditation or concentration, explained as the
concentration sammā first four jhānas
samādhi
The Four Immeasurables

Statue of Buddha in Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, Phitsanulok, Thailand

Main article:  Brahmavihara

While he searched for enlightenment, Gautama combined the yoga practice of his teacher Kalama with what
later became known as "the immeasurables".[37][dubious  –  discuss] Gautama thus invented a new kind of human, one
without egotism.[37][dubious  –  discuss] What Thich Nhat Hanhcalls the "Four Immeasurable Minds" of love,
compassion, joy, and equanimity [38] are also known as brahmaviharas, divine abodes, or simply as four
immeasurables.[39] Pema Chödrön calls them the "four limitless ones".[40] Of the four, mettā or loving-kindness
meditation is perhaps the best known.[39] The Four Immeasurables are taught as a form of meditation that
cultivates "wholesome attitudes towards all sentient beings." [41] The practitioner prays:

1. May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes,

2. May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes,

3. May all sentient beings never be separated from bliss without

suffering,
4. May all sentient beings be in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and
anger.[42]
Middle Way
Main article:  Middle Way

An important guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way (or Middle Path), which is said to have
been discovered by Gautama Buddha prior to his enlightenment. The Middle Way has several definitions:

1. The practice of non-extremism: a path of moderation away from the

extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification;
2. The middle ground between certain metaphysical views (for example,
that things ultimately either do or do not exist); [43]
 3. An explanation of Nirvana (perfect enlightenment), a state wherein it
becomes clear that all dualities apparent in the world are delusory;
4. Another term for emptiness, the ultimate nature of all phenomena (in
the Mahayana branch), a lack of inherent existence, which avoids the
extremes of permanence and nihilism or inherent existence and
nothingness.
Nature of existence

Monks debating at Sera Monastery, Tibet

Buddhist scholars have produced a remarkable quantity of intellectual theories, philosophies and world view
concepts (see, for example, Abhidharma, Buddhist philosophy and Reality in Buddhism). Some schools of
Buddhism discourage doctrinal study, and some regard it as essential practice.

The concept of liberation (nirvāṇa)—the goal of the Buddhist path—is closely related to overcoming ignorance
(avidyā), a fundamental misunderstanding or mis-perception of the nature of reality. In awakening to the true
nature of the self and all phenomena one develops dispassion for the objects of clinging, and is liberated from
suffering (dukkha) and the cycle of incessant rebirths (saṃsāra). To this end, the Buddha recommended
viewing things as characterized by thethree marks of existence.

Three Marks of Existence

Main article:  Three marks of existence

The Three Marks of Existence are impermanence, suffering, and not-self.

Impermanence (Pāli: anicca) expresses the Buddhist notion that all compounded or conditioned

phenomena (all things and experiences) are inconstant, unsteady, and impermanent. Everything we can
experience through our senses is made up of parts, and its existence is dependent on external conditions.
Everything is in constant flux, and so conditions and the thing itself are constantly changing. Things are
constantly coming into being, and ceasing to be. Since nothing lasts, there is no inherent or fixed nature to any
object or experience. According to the doctrine of impermanence, life embodies this flux in the aging process,
the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra), and in any experience of loss. The doctrine asserts that because things are
impermanent, attachment to them is futile and leads to suffering (dukkha).

Suffering (Pāli: दक्

ु ख dukkha; Sanskrit दःु ख duḥkha) is also a central concept in Buddhism. The word roughly

corresponds to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness, sorrow,

affliction, anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress, misery, and frustration. Although the term is often
translated as "suffering", its philosophical meaning is more analogous to "disquietude" as in the condition of
being disturbed. As such, "suffering" is too narrow a translation with "negative emotional connotations" [44] that
can give the impression that the Buddhist view is pessimistic, but Buddhism seeks to be neither pessimistic nor
optimistic, but realistic. In English-language Buddhist literature translated from Pāli, "dukkha" is often left
untranslated, so as to encompass its full range of meaning. [45][46][47]

Angkor Thom in Cambodia

Not-self (Pāli: anatta; Sanskrit: anātman) is the third mark of existence. Upon careful examination, one finds
that no phenomenon is really "I" or "mine"; these concepts are in fact constructed by the mind. In
the Nikayas anatta is not meant as a metaphysical assertion, but as an approach for gaining release from
suffering. In fact, the Buddha rejected both of the metaphysical assertions "I have a Self" and "I have no Self"
as ontological views that bind one to suffering.[48] When asked if the self was identical with the body, the
Buddha refused to answer. By analyzing the constantly changing physical and mental constituents (skandhas)
of a person or object, the practitioner comes to the conclusion that neither the respective parts nor the person
as a whole comprise a self.

Dependent arising
Main article:  Pratītyasamutpāda

The doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit; Pali: paticcasamuppāda; Tibetan: rten.cing.'brel.bar.'byung.ba;

Chinese: 緣起) is an important part of Buddhist metaphysics. It states that phenomena arise together in a
mutually interdependent web of cause and effect. It is variously rendered into English as "dependent
origination", "conditioned genesis", "dependent co-arising", "interdependent arising", or "contingency".

The best-known application of the concept of pratītyasamutpāda is the scheme of Twelve Nidānas (from Pāli
"nidāna" meaning "cause, foundation, source or origin"), which explain the continuation of the cycle of suffering
and rebirth (saṃsāra) in detail.[49]

Main article:  Twelve Nidānas

The Twelve Nidānas describe a causal connection between the subsequent characteristics or conditions of
cyclic existence, each one giving rise to the next:

1. Avidyā: ignorance, specifically spiritual ignorance of the nature of

reality;[50]
2. Saṃskāras: literally formations, explained as referring to karma;
3. Vijñāna: consciousness, specifically discriminative;[51]
4. Nāmarūpa: literally name and form, referring to mind and body;[52]
5. Ṣaḍāyatana: the six sense bases: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and
mind-organ;
6. Sparśa: variously translated contact, impression, stimulation (by a
sense object);
7. Vedanā: usually translated feeling: this is the "hedonic tone", i.e.
whether something is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral;
8. Tṛṣṇā: literally thirst, but in Buddhism nearly always used to mean
craving;
9. Upādāna: clinging or grasping; the word also means fuel, which feeds
the continuing cycle of rebirth;
10. Bhava: literally being (existence) or becoming. (The Theravada
explains this as having two meanings: karma, which produces a new
existence, and the existence itself.);[53]
11. Jāti: literally birth, but life is understood as starting at conception;[54]
12. Jarāmaraṇa: (old age and death) and also soka, parideva, dukkha,
domanassa and upāyāsā (sorrow, lamentation, pain, affliction and
despair).[55]
Sentient beings always suffer throughout saṃsāra, until they free themselves from this suffering (dukkha) by
attaining Nirvana. Then the absence of the first Nidāna—ignorance—leads to the absence of the others.

Emptiness
Main article:  Śūnyatā

Mahayana Buddhism received significant theoretical grounding from Nagarjuna (perhaps c. 150–250 CE),

arguably the most influential scholar within the Mahayana tradition. Nagarjuna's primary contribution
to Buddhist philosophy was the systematic exposition of the concept of śūnyatā, or "emptiness", widely attested
in the Prajñāpāramitā sutras that emerged in his era. The concept of emptiness brings together other key
Buddhist doctrines, particularly anatta and pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination), to refute the
metaphysics of Sarvastivada and Sautrantika (extinct non-Mahayana schools). For Nagarjuna, it is not merely
sentient beings that are empty of ātman; all phenomena (dharmas) are without any svabhava (literally "own-
nature" or "self-nature"), and thus without any underlying essence; they are "empty" of being independent; thus
the heterodox theories of svabhava circulating at the time were refuted on the basis of the doctrines of early
Buddhism. Nagarjuna's school of thought is known as the Mādhyamaka. Some of the writings attributed to
Nagarjuna made explicit references to Mahayana texts, but his philosophy was argued within the parameters
set out by the agamas. He may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of
the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the Canon. In the eyes of Nagarjuna the Buddha was not merely a
forerunner, but the very founder of the Mādhyamaka system.[56]

Sarvastivada teachings—which were criticized by Nāgārjuna—were reformulated by scholars such

as Vasubandhu and Asanga and were adapted into the Yogacara (Sanskrit: yoga practice) school. While the
Mādhyamaka school held that asserting the existence or non-existence of any ultimately real thing was
inappropriate, some exponents of Yogacara asserted that the mind and only the mind is ultimately real (a
doctrine known as cittamatra). Not all Yogacarins asserted that mind was truly existent; Vasubandhu and
Asanga in particular did not.[57] These two schools of thought, in opposition or synthesis, form the basis of
subsequent Mahayana metaphysics in the Indo-Tibetan tradition.

Besides emptiness, Mahayana schools often place emphasis on the notions of perfected spiritual insight
(prajñāpāramitā) and Buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha). There are conflicting interpretations of
the tathāgatagarbha in Mahāyāna thought. The idea may be traced to Abhidharma, and ultimately to
statements of the Buddha in the Nikāyas. In Tibetan Buddhism, according to the Sakya school,
tathāgatagarbha is the inseparability of the clarity and emptiness of one's mind. In Nyingma, tathāgatagarbha
also generally refers to inseparability of the clarity and emptiness of one's mind. According to the Gelug school,
it is the potential for sentient beings to awaken since they are empty (i.e. dependently originated). According to
the Jonang school, it refers to the innate qualities of the mind that expresses themselves as omniscience etc.
when adventitious obscurations are removed. The "Tathāgatagarbha Sutras" are a collection of Mahayana
sutras that present a unique model of Buddha-nature. Even though this collection was generally ignored in
India,[58] East Asian Buddhism provides some significance to these texts.

Liberation
Nirvana

Mahabodhi temple inBodhgaya, India, where Gautama Buddha attained Nirvana under the Bodhi Tree (left)

Main article:  Nirvana (concept)

Nirvana (Sanskrit; Pali: "Nibbana") means "cessation", "extinction" (of craving and ignorance and

therefore suffering and the cycle of involuntary rebirths (saṃsāra)), "extinguished", "quieted", "calmed"; it is
also known as "Awakening" or "Enlightenment" in the West. The term for anybody who has achievednirvana,
including the Buddha, is arahant.

Bodhi (Pāli and Sanskrit, in devanagari: बॊधि) is a term applied to the experience of Awakening of

arahants. Bodhi literally means "awakening", but it is more commonly translated into English as

"enlightenment". In Early Buddhism, bodhi carried a meaning synonymous to nirvana, using only some different
metaphors to describe the experience, which implies the extinction of raga (greed, craving),[59] dosa (hate,
aversion)[60] and moha (delusion).[61] In the later school of Mahayana Buddhism, the status of nirvana was
downgraded in some scriptures, coming to refer only to the extinction of greed and hate, implying that delusion
was still present in one who attained nirvana, and that one needed to attain bodhi to eradicate delusion:

An important development in the Mahayana [was] that it came to separate nirvana from bodhi ('awakening' to
the truth, Enlightenment), and to put a lower value on the former (Gombrich, 1992d). Originally nirvana and
bodhi refer to the same thing; they merely use different metaphors for the experience. But the Mahayana
tradition separated them and considered that nirvana referred only to the extinction of craving (passion and
hatred), with the resultant escape from the cycle of rebirth. This interpretation ignores the third fire, delusion:
the extinction of delusion is of course in the early texts identical with what can be positively expressed
as gnosis, Enlightenment.
—Richard F. Gombrich, How Buddhism Began[62]

Therefore, according to Mahayana Buddhism, the arahant has attained only nirvana, thus still being subject to
delusion, while the bodhisattva not only achievesnirvana but full liberation from delusion as well. He thus
attains bodhi and becomes a buddha. In Theravada Buddhism, bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning as
in the early texts, that of being freed from greed, hate and delusion.

The term parinirvana is also encountered in Buddhism, and this generally refers to the
complete nirvana attained by the arahant at the moment of death, when the physical body expires.

Buddhas
Main article:  Buddhahood

According to Buddhist traditions a Buddha is a fully awakened being who has completely purified his mind of
the three poisons of desire, aversion and ignorance. A Buddha is no longer bound bySamsara and has ended
the suffering which unawakened people experience in life.

Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama to have been the only Buddha. The Pali Canon refers to many
previous ones (see List of the 28 Buddhas), while the Mahayana tradition additionally has many Buddhas of
celestial, rather than historical, origin (see Amitabha or Vairocana as examples, for lists of many thousands
Buddha names see Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyōnumbers 439–448). A common Theravada and Mahayana
Buddhist belief is that the next Buddha will be one named Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya).

According to Theravada

Shwezigon Paya near Bagan, Myanmar

In Theravada doctrine, a person may awaken from the "sleep of ignorance" by directly realizing the true nature
of reality; such people are calledarahants and occasionally buddhas. After numerous lifetimes of spiritual
striving, they have reached the end of the cycle of rebirth, no longer reincarnating as human, animal, ghost, or
other being. The commentaries to the Pali Canon classify these awakened beings into three types:

 Sammasambuddha, usually just called the Buddha, who discovers the truth
by himself and teaches the path to awakening to others

 Paccekabuddha, who discovers the truth by himself but lacks the skill to
teach others

 Savakabuddha, who receive the truth directly or indirectly from a

Sammasambuddha

Bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning, that of being freed from craving, hate, and delusion. In
attaining bodhi, the arahant has overcome these obstacles. As a further distinction, the extinction of only hatred
and greed (in the sensory context) with some residue of delusion, is calledanagami.

According to Mahayana

The Great Statue of Buddha Amitabha inKamakura, Japan

In the Mahayana, the Buddha tends not to be viewed as merely human, but as the earthly projection of a
beginningless and endless, omnipresent being (see Dharmakaya) beyond the range and reach of thought.
Moreover, in certain Mahayana sutras, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are viewed essentially as One: all
three are seen as the eternal Buddha himself.
The Buddha's death is seen as an illusion, he is living on in other planes of existence, and monks are therefore
permitted to offer "new truths" based on his input. Mahayana also differs from Theravada in its concept
of śūnyatā (that ultimately nothing has existence), and in its belief in bodhisattvas(enlightened people who vow
to continue being reborn until all beings can be enlightened). [63]

Celestial Buddhas are individuals who no longer exist on the material plane of existence, but who still aid in the
enlightenment of all beings.

Nirvana came to refer only to the extinction of greed and hate, [dubious  –  discuss] implying that delusion was still
present in one who attained Nirvana. Bodhi became a higher attainment that eradicates delusion entirely.
[62]
 Thus, the Arahant attains Nirvana but not Bodhi, thus still being subject to delusion, while the Buddha attains
Bodhi.[dubious  –  discuss]

The method of self-exertion or "self-power"—without reliance on an external force or being—stands in contrast

to another major form of Buddhism, Pure Land, which is characterised by utmost trust in the salvific "other-
power" of Amitabha Buddha. Pure Land Buddhism is a very widespread and perhaps the most faith-orientated
manifestation of Buddhism and centres upon the conviction that faith in Amitabha Buddha and the chanting of
homage to his name liberates one at death into the Blissful (安樂), Pure Land (淨土) of Amitabha Buddha. This
Buddhic realm is variously construed as a foretaste of Nirvana, or as essentially Nirvana itself. The great vow of
Amitabha Buddha to rescue all beings from samsaric suffering is viewed within Pure Land Buddhism as
universally efficacious, if only one has faith in the power of that vow or chants his name.

Buddha eras

Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha was the first to achieve enlightenment in this Buddha era and is therefore
credited with the establishment of Buddhism. A Buddha era is the stretch of history during which people
remember and practice the teachings of the earliest known Buddha. This Buddha era will end when all the
knowledge, evidence and teachings of Gautama Buddha have vanished. This belief therefore maintains that
many Buddha eras have started and ended throughout the course of human existence. [64][65] The Gautama
Buddha, then, is the Buddha of this era, who taught directly or indirectly to all other Buddhas in it (see types of
Buddhas).

In addition, Mahayana Buddhists believe there are innumerable other Buddhas in other universes. [66] A
Theravada commentary says that Buddhas arise one at a time in this world element, and not at all in others.
[67]
 The understandings of this matter reflect widely differing interpretations of basic terms, such as "world
realm", between the various schools of Buddhism.

The idea of the decline and gradual disappearance of the teaching has been influential in East Asian
Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism holds that it has declined to the point where few are capable of following the
path, so it may be best to rely on the power of the Amitabha Buddha.
Bodhisattvas
Main article:  Bodhisattva

A statue of Prajñāpāramitāpersonified, Java, Indonesia

Bodhisattva means "enlightenment being", and generally refers to one who is on the path to buddhahood.
Traditionally, a bodhisattva is anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is
a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.[68] Theravada Buddhism
primarily uses the term in relation to Gautama Buddha's previous existences, but has traditionally
acknowledged and respected the bodhisattva path as well. [69]

According to Jan Nattier, the term Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") was originally even an honorary synonym
for Bodhisattvayāna, or the "Bodhisattva Vehicle."[70]The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, an early and
important Mahāyāna text, contains a simple and brief definition for the term bodhisattva, and this definition is
the following:[71][72][73]

Because he has enlightenment as his aim, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is so called.

Mahāyāna Buddhism encourages everyone to become bodhisattvas and to take the bodhisattva vows. With
these vows, one makes the promise to work for the complete enlightenment of all beings by practicing six
perfections (Skt. pāramitā).[74] According to the Mahāyāna teachings, these perfections
are: giving,discipline, forbearance, effort, meditation, and transcendent wisdom.

A famous saying by the 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar-saint Shantideva, which the Dalai Lama often cites
as his favourite verse, summarizes the Bodhisattva's intention (Bodhicitta) as follows:

For as long as space endures, and for as long as living beings remain, until then may I too abide to dispel the
misery of the world.

Practice
Devotion
Main article:  Buddhist devotion

Devotion is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists. [75] Devotional practices include bowing,
offerings, pilgrimage, and chanting. In Pure Land Buddhism, devotion to the Buddha Amitabha is the main
practice. In Nichiren Buddhism, devotion to the Lotus Sutra is the main practice.

Yoga

Statue of the Buddha in meditation position, Haw Phra Kaew, Vientiane, Laos

Buddhism traditionally incorporates states of meditative absorption (Pali: jhāna; Skt: dhyāna).[76] The most

ancient sustained expression of yogic ideas is found in the early sermons of the Buddha. [77] One key innovative
teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption must be combined with liberating cognition. [78] The
difference between the Buddha's teaching and the yoga presented in early Brahminic texts is striking.
Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not
liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a
liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful awareness. [79]

Meditation was an aspect of the practice of the yogis in the centuries preceding the Buddha. The Buddha built
upon the yogis' concern with introspection and developed their meditative techniques, but rejected their
theories of liberation.[80] In Buddhism, mindfulness and clear awareness are to be developed at all times; in pre-
Buddhist yogic practices there is no such injunction. A yogi in the Brahmanical tradition is not to practice while
defecating, for example, while a Buddhist monastic should do so. [81]

Religious knowledge or "vision" was indicated as a result of practice both within and outside of the Buddhist
fold. According to the Samaññaphala Sutta, this sort of vision arose for the Buddhist adept as a result of the
perfection of "meditation" coupled with the perfection of "discipline" (Pali sīla; Skt. śīla). Some of the Buddha's
meditative techniques were shared with other traditions of his day, but the idea that ethics are causally related
to the attainment of "transcendent wisdom" (Pali paññā; Skt. prajñā) was original.[82]

The Buddhist texts are probably the earliest describing meditation techniques. [83] They describe meditative
practices and states that existed before the Buddha as well as those first developed within Buddhism. [84] Two
Upanishads written after the rise of Buddhism do contain full-fledged descriptions of yoga as a means to
liberation.[85]

While there is no convincing evidence for meditation in pre-Buddhist early Brahminic texts, Wynne argues that
formless meditation originated in the Brahminic or Shramanic tradition, based on strong parallels between
Upanishadic cosmological statements and the meditative goals of the two teachers of the Buddha as recorded
in the early Buddhist texts.[86] He mentions less likely possibilities as well.[87] Having argued that the
cosmological statements in the Upanishads also reflect a contemplative tradition, he argues that the Nasadiya
Sukta contains evidence for a contemplative tradition, even as early as the late Rig Vedic period. [86]

Refuge in the Three Jewels

Relic depicting footprint of the Buddha with Dharmachakra andtriratna, 1st century CE,Gandhāra.

Main articles: Refuge (Buddhism) and Three Jewels

Traditionally, the first step in most Buddhist schools requires taking refuge in the Three Jewels (Sanskrit: tri-
ratna, Pāli: ti-ratana)[88] as the foundation of one's religious practice. The practice of taking refuge on behalf of
young or even unborn children is mentioned[89] in the Majjhima Nikaya, recognized by most scholars as an early
text (cf. Infant baptism). Tibetan Buddhism sometimes adds a fourth refuge, in the lama. In Mahayana, the
person who chooses thebodhisattva path makes a vow or pledge, considered the ultimate expression of
compassion. In Mahayana, too, the Three Jewels are perceived as possessed of an eternal and unchanging
essence and as having an irreversible effect: "The Three Jewels have the quality of excellence. Just as real
jewels never change their faculty and goodness, whether praised or reviled, so are the Three Jewels
(Refuges), because they have an eternal and immutable essence. These Three Jewels bring a fruition that is
changeless, for once one has reached Buddhahood, there is no possibility of falling back to suffering." [90]

The Three Jewels are:

 The Buddha. This is a title for those who have attained Nirvana. See also
the Tathāgata and Gautama Buddha. The Buddha could also be
represented as a concept instead of a specific person: the perfect wisdom
that understands Dharma and sees reality in its true form. In Mahayana
Buddhism, the Buddha can be viewed as the supreme Refuge: "Buddha is
the Unique Absolute Refuge. Buddha is the Imperishable, Eternal,
Indestructible and Absolute Refuge."[91]

 The Dharma. The teachings or law of nature as expounded by the

Gautama Buddha. It can also, especially in Mahayana, connote the
ultimate and sustaining Reality that is inseparable from the Buddha.
Further, from some Mahayana perspectives, the Dharma embodied in the
form of a great sutra (Buddhic scripture) can replace the need for a
personal teacher and can be a direct and spontaneous gateway into Truth
(Dharma). This is especially said to be the case with the Lotus Sutra. Dr.
Hiroshi Kanno writes of this view of the Lotus Sutra: "it is a Dharma-gate of
sudden enlightenment proper to the Great Vehicle; it is a Dharma-gate
whereby one awakens spontaneously, without resorting to a teacher". [92]

 The Sangha. Those who have attained any of the Four stages of

enlightenment, or simply the congregation of monastic practitioners. The
monks' order, which began during the lifetime of the Buddha, is among the
oldest organizations on Earth.

According to the scriptures, Gautama Buddha presented himself as a model. The Dharma offers a refuge by
providing guidelines for the alleviation of suffering and the attainment of Nirvana. The Sangha is considered to
provide a refuge by preserving the authentic teachings of the Buddha and providing further examples that the
truth of the Buddha's teachings is attainable.

Buddhist ethics
Main article:  Śīla
Statue of Gautama Buddha, 1st century CE, Gandhara, present-day Pakistan. (Musée Guimet)

Śīla (Sanskrit) or sīla (Pāli) is usually translated into English as "virtuous behavior", "morality", "ethics" or
"precept". It is an action committed through the body, speech, or mind, and involves an intentional effort. It is
one of the three practices (sila, samadhi, and panya) and the second pāramitā. It refers to moral purity of
thought, word, and deed. The four conditions of śīla are chastity, calmness, quiet, and extinguishment.

Śīla is the foundation of Samadhi/Bhāvana (Meditative cultivation) or mind cultivation. Keeping the precepts
promotes not only the peace of mind of the cultivator, which is internal, but also peace in the community, which
is external. According to the Law of Karma, keeping the precepts are meritorious and it acts as causes that
would bring about peaceful and happy effects. Keeping these precepts keeps the cultivator from rebirth in the
four woeful realms of existence.

Śīla refers to overall principles of ethical behavior. There are several levels of sila, which correspond to "basic
morality" (five precepts), "basic morality with asceticism" (eight precepts), "novice monkhood" (ten precepts)
and "monkhood" (Vinaya or Patimokkha). Lay people generally undertake to live by the five precepts, which are
common to all Buddhist schools. If they wish, they can choose to undertake the eight precepts, which add basic
asceticism.

The five precepts are training rules in order to live a better life in which one is happy, without worries, and can
meditate well:

1. To refrain from taking life (non-violence towards sentient life forms),

or ahimsā;
2. To refrain from taking that which is not given (not committing theft);
 3. To refrain from sensual (including sexual) misconduct;

4. To refrain from lying (speaking truth always);

5. To refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss
of mindfulness (specifically, drugs and alcohol).

The precepts are not formulated as imperatives, but as training rules that laypeople undertake voluntarily to
facilitate practice.[93] In Buddhist thought, the cultivation of dana and ethical conduct themselves refine
consciousness to such a level that rebirth in one of the lower heavens is likely, even if there is no further
Buddhist practice. There is nothing improper or un-Buddhist about limiting one's aims to this level of attainment.
[94]

In the eight precepts, the third precept on sexual misconduct is made more strict, and becomes a precept
of celibacy. The three additional precepts are:

6. To refrain from eating at the wrong time (eat only from sunrise to
noon);

7. To refrain from dancing and playing music, wearing jewelry and

cosmetics, attending shows and other performances;

8. To refrain from using high or luxurious seats and bedding.

The complete list of ten precepts may be observed by laypeople

for short periods. For the complete list, the seventh precept is
partitioned into two, and a tenth added:

6. To refrain from taking food at an unseasonable time, that is after the

mid-day meal;

7. To refrain from dancing, music, singing and unseemly shows;

8. To refrain from the use of garlands, perfumes, ointments, and from

things that tend to beautify and adorn (the person);

9. To refrain from (using) high and luxurious seats (and beds);

10. To refrain from accepting gold and silver;[95]

Monastic life
 Buddhist monks performing a ceremony in
Hangzhou, China

Vinaya is the specific moral code for

monks and nuns. It includes
the Patimokkha, a set of 227 rules for
monks in the Theravadin recension. The
precise content of
the vinayapitaka (scriptures on Vinaya)
differs slightly according to different
schools, and different schools or
subschools set different standards for the
degree of adherence to Vinaya. Novice-
monks use the ten precepts, which are the
basic precepts for monastics.

Regarding the monastic rules, the Buddha

constantly reminds his hearers that it is the
spirit that counts. On the other hand, the
rules themselves are designed to assure a
satisfying life, and provide a perfect
springboard for the higher attainments.
Monastics are instructed by the Buddha to
live as "islands unto themselves". In this
sense, living life as the vinaya prescribes it
is, as one scholar puts it: "more than
merely a means to an end: it is very nearly
the end in itself."[96]

In Eastern Buddhism, there is also a

distinctive Vinaya and ethics contained
within the Mahayana Brahmajala Sutra (not
to be confused with the Pali text of that
name) for Bodhisattvas, where, for
example, the eating of meat is frowned
upon and vegetarianism is actively
encouraged (seevegetarianism in
Buddhism). In Japan, this has almost
completely displaced the monastic vinaya,
and allows clergy to marry.

Meditation

Buddhist monks praying in Thailand

Main article:  Buddhist meditation

Buddhist meditation is fundamentally

concerned with two themes: transforming
the mind and using it to explore itself and
other phenomena.[97]According to
Theravada Buddhism the Buddha taught
two types of
meditation, samatha meditation (Sanskrit: 
śamatha)
and vipassanā meditation(Sanskrit: vipaśy
anā). In Chinese Buddhism, these exist
(translated chih kuan), but Chán (Zen)
meditation is more popular.[98] According to
Peter Harvey, whenever Buddhism has
been healthy, not only monks, nuns, and
married lamas, but also more committed
lay people have practiced meditation.
[99]
 According to Routledge's Encyclopedia
of Buddhism, in contrast, throughout most
of Buddhist history before modern times,
serious meditation by lay people has been
unusual.[100] The evidence of the early texts
suggests that at the time of the Buddha,
many male and female lay practitioners did
practice meditation, some even to the point
of proficiency in all eight jhānas (see the
next section regarding these).[101]

Samādhi (meditative cultivation):

samatha meditation
Main articles: Samādhi
(Buddhism)  and  Dhyāna in Buddhism

Samadhi Buddha statue in Anuradhapura,

Sri Lanka

In the language of the Noble Eightfold

Path, samyaksamādhi is "right
concentration". The primary means of
cultivating samādhi is meditation. Upon
development of samādhi, one's mind
becomes purified of defilement, calm,
tranquil, and luminous.

Once the meditator achieves a strong and

powerful concentration (jhāna, Sanskrit
ध्यान dhyāna), his mind is ready to

penetrate and gain insight (vipassanā) into

the ultimate nature of reality, eventually
obtaining release from all suffering. The
cultivation of mindfulness is essential to
mental concentration, which is needed to
achieve insight.

Samatha meditation starts from being

mindful of an object or idea, which is
expanded to one's body, mind and entire
surroundings, leading to a state of total
concentration and tranquility (jhāna) There
are many variations in the style of
meditation, from sitting cross-legged or
kneeling to chanting or walking. The most
common method of meditation is to
concentrate on one's breath (anapanasati),
because this practice can lead to
both samatha andvipassana'.

In Buddhist practice, it is said that

while samatha meditation can calm the
mind, only vipassanā meditation can reveal
how the mind was disturbed to start with,
which is what leads to insight
knowledge (jñāna; Pāli ñāṇa) and
understanding (prajñā Pāli paññā), and
thus can lead to nirvāṇa (Pālinibbāna).
When one is in jhana, all defilements are
suppressed temporarily. Only
understanding (prajñā or vipassana)
eradicates the defilements completely.
Jhanas are also states thatArahants abide
in order to rest.

In Theravāda

Main article:  Jhāna in Theravada

A young monk in Sri Lanka

In Theravāda Buddhism, the cause of
human existence and suffering is identified
as craving, which carries with it the various
defilements. These various defilements are
traditionally summed up as greed, hatred
and delusion. These are believed deeply
rooted afflictions of the mind that create
suffering and stress. To be free from
suffering and stress, these defilements
must be permanently uprooted through
internal investigation, analyzing,
experiencing, and understanding of the
true nature of those defilements by
using jhāna, a technique of the Noble
Eightfold Path. It then leads the meditator
to realize the Four Noble Truths,
Enlightenment and Nibbana. Nibbana is
the ultimate goal of Theravadins.

Prajñā (Wisdom): vipassana

meditation
Main articles: Prajñā and Vipassana

Prajñā (Sanskrit) or paññā (Pāli) means

wisdom that is based on a realization
of dependent origination, The Four Noble
Truths and the three marks of
existence. Prajñā is the wisdom that is able
to extinguish afflictions and bring
about bodhi. It is spoken of as the principal
means of attaining nirvāṇa, through its
revelation of the true nature of all things
as dukkha (unsatisfactoriness), anicca (imp
ermanence) and anatta (not-self). Prajñā is
also listed as the sixth of the
six pāramitās of the Mahayana.
Initially, prajñā is attained at a conceptual
level by means of listening to sermons
(dharma talks), reading, studying, and
sometimes reciting Buddhist texts and
engaging in discourse. Once the
conceptual understanding is attained, it is
applied to daily life so that each Buddhist
can verify the truth of the Buddha's
teaching at a practical level. Notably, one
could in theory attain Nirvana at any point
of practice, whether deep in meditation,
listening to a sermon, conducting the
business of one's daily life, or any other
activity.

Zen
Main article:  Zen

Ginkaku-ji, a Zen temple in Kyoto, Japan

Zen Buddhism (禅), pronounced Chán in

Chinese, seon in Korean or zen in
Japanese (derived from the Sanskrit
term dhyāna, meaning "meditation") is a
form of Buddhism that became popular in
China, Korea and Japan and that lays
special emphasis on meditation.[102] Zen
places less emphasis on scriptures than
some other forms of Buddhism and prefers
to focus on direct spiritual breakthroughs to
truth.

Zen Buddhism is divided into two main

schools: Rinzai (臨済宗) and Sōtō (曹洞宗),
the former greatly favouring the use in
meditation on the koan (公案, a meditative
riddle or puzzle) as a device for spiritual
break-through, and the latter (while
certainly employing koans) focusing more
on shikantaza or "just sitting".[103]

Zen Buddhist teaching is often full of

paradox, in order to loosen the grip of the
ego and to facilitate the penetration into the
realm of the True Self or Formless Self,
which is equated with the Buddha himself.
[104]
 According to Zen master Kosho
Uchiyama, when thoughts and fixation on
the little "I" are transcended, an Awakening
to a universal, non-dual Self occurs: "When
we let go of thoughts and wake up to the
reality of life that is working beyond them,
we discover the Self that is living universal
non-dual life (before the separation into
two) that pervades all living creatures and
all existence."[105] Thinking and thought
must therefore not be allowed to confine
and bind one.[106]

Vajrayana and Tantra

Though based upon Mahayana, Tibeto-

Mongolian Buddhism is one of the schools
that practice Vajrayana or "Diamond
Vehicle" (also referred to as Mantrayāna,
Tantrayāna, Tantric Buddhism,
oresoteric Buddhism). It accepts all the
basic concepts of Mahāyāna, but also
includes a vast array of spiritual and
physical techniques designed to enhance
Buddhist practice. Tantric Buddhism is
largely concerned with ritual and meditative
practices.[107] One component of the
Vajrayāna is harnessing psycho-physical
energy through ritual, visualization,
physical exercises, and meditation as a
means of developing the mind. Using these
techniques, it is claimed that a practitioner
can achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime, or
even as little as three years. In the Tibetan
tradition, these practices can
include sexual yoga, though only for some
very advanced practitioners.[108]

History

Main article:  History of Buddhism

Philosophical roots

The Buddhist "Carpenter's Cave"

atEllora in Maharashtra, India

Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the

religious thought of ancient India during the
second half of the first millennium BCE.
[109]
 That was a period of social and
religious turmoil, as there was significant
discontent with the sacrifices and rituals
of Vedic Brahmanism.[110] It was challenged
by numerous new ascetic religious and
philosophical groups and teachings that
broke with the Brahmanic tradition and
rejected the authority of the Vedasand
the Brahmans.[111][112] These groups, whose
members were known as shramanas, were
a continuation of a non-Vedic strand of
Indian thought distinct from Indo-Aryan
Brahmanism.[113][114] Scholars have reasons
to believe that ideas such as samsara,
karma (in the sense of the influence of
morality on rebirth), and moksha originated
in the shramanas, and were later adopted
by Brahmin orthodoxy.[115][116][117][118][119][120]

A ruined Buddhist temple on Gurubhakthula
Konda (konda meaning "hill" in Telugu)
in Ramatheertham village inVizianagaram, a
district of Andhra Pradesh, India

This view is supported by a study of the

region where these notions originated.
Buddhism arose in GreaterMagadha,
which stretched from Sravasti, the capital
of Kosala in the north-west, to Rajagrha in
the south east. This land, to the east
of aryavarta, the land of the Aryas, was
recognised as non-Vedic.[121] Other Vedic
texts reveal a dislike of the people of
Magadha, in all probability because the
Magadhas at this time were not
Brahmanised.[122] It was not until the 2nd or
3rd centuries BCE that the eastward
spread of Brahmanism into Greater
Magadha became significant. Ideas that
developed in Greater Magadha prior to this
were not subject to Vedic influence. These
include rebirth and karmic retribution that
appear in a number of movements in
Greater Magadha, including Buddhism.
These movements inherited notions of
rebirth and karmic retribution from an
earlier culture.[123]

Rock-cut Lord Buddha statue at

Bojjanakonda near Anakapalle in
theVisakhapatnam district of Andhra
Pradesh, India

At the same time, these movements were

influenced by, and in some respects
continued, philosophical thought within the
Vedic tradition as reflected e.g. in
the Upanishads.[124] These movements
included, besides Buddhism,
various skeptics (such as Sanjaya
Belatthiputta), atomists (such as Pakudha
Kaccayana), materialists (such as Ajita
Kesakambali), antinomians (such
as Purana Kassapa); the most important
ones in the 5th century BCE were
the Ajivikas, who emphasized the rule of
fate, the Lokayata(materialists),
the Ajnanas (agnostics) and the Jains, who
stressed that the soul must be freed from
matter.[125]

Many of these new movements shared the

same conceptual vocabulary—
atman ("Self"), buddha ("awakened
one"), dhamma ("rule" or
"law"), karma("action"), nirvana ("extinguis
hing"), samsara ("eternal recurrence")
and yoga ("spiritual practice").[110] The
shramanas rejected the Veda, and the
authority of the brahmans, who claimed
they possessed revealed truths not
knowable by any ordinary human means.
Moreover, they declared that the entire
Brahmanical system was fraudulent: a
conspiracy of the brahmans to enrich
themselves by charging exorbitant fees to
perform bogus rites and give useless
advice.[126]

A particular criticism of the Buddha was

Vedic animal sacrifice.[82] The Buddha
declared that priests reciting the Vedas
were like the blind leading the blind.
[127]
 According to him, those priests who
had memorized the Vedas really knew
nothing.[128] He also mocked the Vedic
"hymn of the cosmic man".[129] However,
the Buddha was not anti-Vedic, and
declared that the Veda in its true form was
declared by "Kashyapa" to certain rishis,
who by severe penances had acquired the
power to see by divine eyes.[130] He names
the Vedic rishis, and declared that the
original Veda of the rishis[131][132] was
altered by a few Brahmins who introduced
animal sacrifices. The Buddha says that it
was on this alteration of the true Veda that
he refused to pay respect to the Vedas of
his time.[133] He declared that the primary
goal of Upanishadic thought, the Atman,
was in fact non-existent,[134] and, having
explained that Brahminical attempts to
achieve liberation at death were futile,
proposed his new idea of liberation in life.
[135][136]
 However, he did not denounce the
union with Brahman,[137] or the idea of the
self uniting with the Self.[138] At the same
time, the traditional Brahminical religion
itself gradually underwent profound
changes, transforming it into what is
recognized as early Hinduism.[110][111][139] In
particular, the brahmans thus developed
"philosophical systems of their own,
meeting the new ideas with adaptations of
their doctrines".[140]

Indian Buddhism
Main article:  History of Buddhism in India

The history of Indian Buddhism may be

divided into five periods:[141] Early
Buddhism (occasionally called Pre-
sectarian Buddhism), Nikaya Buddhism or
Sectarian Buddhism: The period of
theEarly Buddhist schools,
Early Mahayana Buddhism, Later
Mahayana Buddhism, and Esoteric
Buddhism (also called Vajrayana
Buddhism).

Pre-sectarian Buddhism
Main article:  Pre-sectarian Buddhism

Pre-sectarian Buddhism is the earliest

phase of Buddhism, recognized by nearly
all scholars. Its main scriptures are
the Vinaya Pitaka and the four
principal Nikayas or Agamas. Certain basic
teachings appear in many places
throughout the early texts, so most
scholars conclude that Gautama Buddha
must have taught something similar to
the Three marks of existence, the Five
Aggregates, Dependent
origination, Karma and Rebirth, the Four
Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path,
and Nirvana.[142] Some scholars disagree,
and have proposed many other theories.
[143][144]

Early Buddhist schools

Main articles: Early Buddhist
schools, Buddhist councils,
and Theravada

Painting depicting Buddhaghosa offering
his Visuddhimagga to monks in Mahavihara, the
center of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka

According to the scriptures, soon after

the parinirvāṇa (from Sanskrit: "highest
extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha,
the first Buddhist council was held. As with
any ancient Indian tradition, transmission
of teaching was done orally. The primary
purpose of the assembly was to collectively
recite the teachings to ensure that no
errors occurred in oral transmission. In the
first council, Ānanda, a cousin of the
Buddha and his personal attendant, was
called upon to recite the discourses
(sūtras, Pāli suttas) of the Buddha, and,
according to some sources,
the abhidhamma. Upāli, another disciple,
recited the monastic rules (vinaya).
Scholars regard the traditional accounts of
the council as greatly exaggerated if not
entirely fictitious.[145]

According to most scholars, at some period

after the Second Council
the Sangha began to break into separate
factions.[146] The various accounts differ as
to when the actual schisms occurred.
According to the Dipavamsa of the Pāli
tradition, they started immediately after the
Second Council, the Puggalavada tradition
places it in 137 AN,
the Sarvastivada tradition
of Vasumitra says it was in the time of
Asoka and the Mahasanghika tradition
places it much later, nearly 100 BCE.

The root schism was between

the Sthaviras and the Mahāsāṅghikas. The
fortunate survival of accounts from both
sides of the dispute reveals disparate
traditions. The Sthavira group offers two
quite distinct reasons for the schism. The
Dipavamsa of the Theravāda says that the
losing party in the Second Council dispute
broke away in protest and formed the
Mahasanghika. This contradicts the
Mahasanghikas' own vinaya, which shows
them as on the same, winning side. The
Mahāsāṅghikas argued that the Sthaviras
were trying to expand the vinaya and may
also have challenged what they perceived
were excessive claims or inhumanly high
criteria for arhatship. Both parties,
therefore, appealed to tradition.[147]

The Sthaviras gave rise to several schools,

one of which was the Theravāda school.
Originally, these schisms were caused by
disputes over vinaya, and monks following
different schools of thought seem to have
lived happily together in the same
monasteries, but eventually, by about 100
CE if not earlier, schisms were being
caused by doctrinal disagreements too.[148]

Following (or leading up to) the schisms,

each Saṅgha started to accumulate
an Abhidharma, a detailed scholastic
reworking of doctrinal material appearing in
the Suttas, according to schematic
classifications. These Abhidharma texts do
not contain systematic philosophical
treatises, but summaries or numerical lists.
Scholars generally date these texts to
around the 3rd century BCE, 100 to 200
years after the death of the Buddha.
Therefore the seven Abhidharma works
are generally claimed not to represent the
words of the Buddha himself, but those of
disciples and great scholars.[149] Every
school had its own version of the
Adhidharma, with different theories and
different texts. The different Adhidharmas
of the various schools did not agree with
each other. Scholars disagree on whether
the Mahasanghika school had an
Abhidhamma Pitaka or not.[149][150]

Early Mahayana Buddhism

Main article:  Mahāyāna

A Buddhist triad depicting, left to right,

aKushan, the future
buddha Maitreya,Gautama Buddha, the
bodhisattvaAvalokiteśvara, and a Buddhist
monk. 2nd—3rd century. Musée Guimet

The origins of Mahāyāna, which formed

between 100 BCE and 100 AD,[151] are still
not completely understood.[152] The earliest
views of Mahāyāna Buddhism in the West
assumed that it existed as a separate
school in competition with the so-called
"Hīnayāna" schools. The split was on the
order of the European Protestant
Reformation, which divided Christians
into Catholic and Protestant.[151] Due to the
veneration of buddhas and bodhisattvas,
Mahāyāna was often interpreted as a more
devotional, lay-inspired form of Buddhism,
with supposed origins in stūpa veneration.
[153]
 The old views of Mahāyāna as a lay-
inspired sect are now largely considered
misguided and wrong.[154]

There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever

referred to a separate formal school or sect
of Buddhism, but rather that it existed as a
certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for
bodhisattvas.[155] Initially it was known
as Bodhisattvayāna (the "Vehicle of the
Bodhisattvas").[151] Paul Williams has also
noted that the Mahāyāna never had nor
ever attempted to have a
separate Vinaya or ordination lineage from
the early schools of Buddhism, and
therefore each bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī adhering
to the Mahāyāna formally belonged to an
early school. This continues today with
the Dharmaguptakaordination lineage in
East Asia, and
the Mūlasarvāstivāda ordination lineage
in Tibetan Buddhism. Therefore Mahāyāna
was never a separate rival sect of the early
schools.[156] From Chinese monks visiting
India, we now know that both Mahāyāna
and non-Mahāyāna monks in India often
lived in the same monasteries side by side.
[157]

Buddhas of Bamiyan: Vairocana before and

after destruction by the Taliban in 2001
The Chinese monk Yijing who visited India
in the 7th century CE, distinguishes
Mahāyāna from Hīnayāna as follows:[158]

Both adopt one and the same

Vinaya, and they have in common
the prohibitions of the five
offences, and also the practice of
the Four Noble Truths. Those who
venerate the bodhisattvas and
read the Mahāyāna sūtras are
called the Mahāyānists, while
those who do not perform these
are called the Hīnayānists.

Much of the early extant evidence for the

origins of Mahāyāna comes from early
Chinese translations of Mahāyāna texts.
These Mahāyāna teachings were first
propagated into China by Lokakṣema, the
first translator of Mahāyāna sūtras
into Chinese during the 2nd century CE.
[159]
 Some scholars have traditionally
considered the earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to
include the very first versions of
the Prajñāpāramitā series, along with texts
concerningAkṣobhya Buddha, which were
probably composed in the 1st century BCE
in the south of India.[160][161][162]

Late Mahayana Buddhism

During the period of Late Mahayana

Buddhism, four major types of thought
developed: Madhyamaka, Yogacara, Tatha
gatagarbha, and Buddhist Logicas the last
and most recent.[163] In India, the two main
philosophical schools of the Mahayana
were the Madhyamaka and the later
Yogacara.[164] According to Dan Lusthaus,
Madhyamaka and Yogacara have a great
deal in common, and the commonality
stems from early Buddhism.[165] There were
no great Indian teachers associated with
tathagatagarbha thought.[166]

Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism)

Main article:  Vajrayana

Scholarly research concerning Esoteric

Buddhism is still in its early stages and has
a number of problems that make research
difficult:[167]

1. Vajrayana Buddhism was

influenced by Hinduism, and
therefore research must include
explore Hinduism as well.

2. The scriptures of Vajrayana have

not yet been put in any kind of
order.

3. Ritual must be examined as well,

not just doctrine.
Development of Buddhism
Main article:  Timeline of Buddhism

Buddhist proselytism at the time of

emperor Ashoka (260–218 BCE).
 Coin depicting Indo-Greek kingMenander,
who, according to Buddhist tradition records
in the Milinda Panha, converted to the
Buddhist faith and became an arhat in the
2nd century BCE . (British Museum)

Buddhism may have spread only slowly in

India until the time of
the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, who was a
public supporter of the religion. The
support of Aśoka and his descendants led
to the construction of
morestūpas (Buddhist religious memorials)
and to efforts to spread Buddhism
throughout the enlarged Maurya empire
and even into neighboring lands—
particularly to the Iranian-speaking regions
of Afghanistan andCentral Asia, beyond
the Mauryas' northwest border, and to the
island of Sri Lanka south of India. These
two missions, in opposite directions, would
ultimately lead, in the first case to the
spread of Buddhism into China, and in the
second case, to the emergence of
Theravāda Buddhism and its spread from
Sri Lanka to the coastal lands of Southeast
Asia.

This period marks the first known spread of

Buddhism beyond India. According to
the edicts of Aśoka, emissaries were sent
to various countries west of India to spread
Buddhism (Dharma), particularly in eastern
provinces of the neighboring Seleucid
Empire, and even farther
to Hellenistic kingdoms of the
Mediterranean. It is a matter of
disagreement among scholars whether or
not these emissaries were accompanied by
Buddhist missionaries.[168]

The gradual spread of Buddhism into

adjacent areas meant that it came into
contact with new ethnical groups. During
this period Buddhism was exposed to a
variety of influences, from Persian and
Greek civilization, to changing trends in
non-Buddhist Indian religions—themselves
influenced by Buddhism. Striking examples
of this syncretistic development can be
seen in the emergence of Greek-speaking
Buddhist monarchs in the Indo-Greek
Kingdom, and in the development of
the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra. A
Greek king, Menander, has even been
immortalized in the Buddhist canon.

The Theravada school spread south from

India in the 3rd century BCE, to Sri Lanka
and Thailand and Burma and later
also Indonesia. The Dharmagupta school
spread (also in 3rd century BCE) north
to Kashmir, Gandhara and Bactria
(Afghanistan).

The Silk Road transmission of

Buddhism to China is most commonly
thought to have started in the late 2nd or
the 1st century CE, though the literary
sources are all open to question.[169][170]The
first documented translation efforts by
foreign Buddhist monks in China were in
the 2nd century CE, probably as a
consequence of the expansion of
the Kushan Empire into the Chinese
territory of the Tarim Basin.[171]

In the 2nd century CE, Mahayana Sutras

spread to China, and then to Korea and
Japan, and were translated into Chinese.
During the Indian period of Esoteric
Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards),
Buddhism spread from India to Tibet
and Mongolia.

Buddhism today
Main article:  Timeline of
Buddhism:Common Era

Buryat Buddhist monk in Siberia

By the late Middle Ages, Buddhism had

become virtually extinct in India, and
although it continued to exist in
surrounding countries, its influence was no
longer expanding. It is now again gaining
strength worldwide.[172][173] China and India
are now starting to fund Buddhist shrines in
various Asian countries as they compete
for influence in the region.[174]

Most Buddhist groups in the West are

nominally affiliated with at least one of
these three traditions:

 Theravada Buddhism, using Pāli as its

scriptural language, is the dominant
form of Buddhism in
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka,
andBurma. The Dalit Buddhist
movement in India (inspired by B. R.
Ambedkar) also practices Theravada.
Approximately 124 million adherents.
[175]

 East Asian forms of Mahayana

Buddhism that use Chinese scriptures
are dominant in most of China,
Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and
Vietnam as well as such communities
within Indochina, Southeast Asia and
the West. Vietnam and Singapore are
major concentrations of Mahayana
Buddhism in Southeast Asia.
Approximately 500 million to one
billion.[176]

 Tibetan Buddhism is found

in Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, areas
of India (it's the majority religion
in Ladakh; significant population
 in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal
Pradesh and Sikkim), China (particular
ly in Tibet and Inner Mongolia),
and Russia (Kalmyk Autonomous
Republic). Approximately 20 million
adherents.[175]

Formal membership varies between

communities, but basic lay adherence is
often defined in terms of a traditional
formula in which the practitioner takes
refuge in The Three Jewels: the Buddha,
the Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha),
and the Sangha (the Buddhist community).
At the present time, the teachings of all
three branches of Buddhism have spread
throughout the world, and Buddhist texts
are increasingly translated into local
languages. While in the West Buddhism is
often seen as exotic and progressive, in
the East it is regarded as familiar and
traditional. Buddhists in Asia are frequently
well organized and well funded. In a
number of countries, it is recognized as an
official religion and receives state support.
Modern influences increasingly lead tonew
forms of Buddhism that significantly depart
from traditional beliefs and practices.
 Map showing regions where Buddhism is a
major religion

Overall there is an overwhelming diversity

of recent forms of Buddhism.[177]

Late 20th Century Buddhist

Movements
A number of modern movements or
tendencies in Buddhism emerged during
the second half of the 20th Century,
including the Dalit Buddhist movement[178]
[179]
 (also sometimes called 'neo-
Buddhism'), Engaged Buddhism, and the
further development of various Western
Buddhist traditions.

In the second half of the 20th Century a

modern movement in Nichiren
Buddhism: Soka Gakkai (Value Creation
Society) emerged in Japan and spread
further to other countries. Soka Gakkai
International (SGI) is a lay Buddhist
movement linking more than 12 million
people around the world, and is currently
described as "the most diverse”[180] and
“the largest Lay Buddhist movement in the
world”.[181]

Demographics

Main article:  Buddhism by country

 Percentage of cultural/nominal adherents of
combined Buddhism with its related
religions (according to the highest
estimates).[182][183][184][185][186][187][188][189]

In the 1990s, Bhutan expelled or forced to

leave its Hindu population in the name of
preserving its Buddhist culture and identity.
[190]

According to most scholars of religious

demographics, there are between 200
million and 600 million Buddhists,[191] with
350–550 million the most widely accepted
estimate.[191][192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199] This
makes Buddhism the fourth-largest religion
after Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.
Due to the highly syncretistic nature of
religious beliefs in East Asia, however,
some believe the Buddhist population
exceeds 1 billion.[200][201][202][203] According to
demographers Todd M. Johnson and Brian
J. Grim,

The demographics of Buddhism

can be considered in two ways:
core Buddhism and wider
Buddhism. Core Buddhism
includes the major schools of
Buddhist thought: Theravada,
Mahayana, and Tibetan. The
 concept of wider Buddhism
includes all Buddhists of core
Buddhism, plus all Chinese folk-
religionists and most other
Chinese. The Buddhist worldview
and key rituals impact the whole of
Chinese culture, including many
Chinese who claim to be agnostic
or atheist. In this "wider" definition
it is appropriate to speak of 1
billion Buddhists.[194]

Estimates are uncertain for several

reasons:

 difficulties in defining who counts as a

Buddhist;

 syncretism among the Eastern
religions. Buddhism is practiced by
adherents alongside many other
religious traditions—
including Taoism,Confucianism, Shint
o, traditional religions, shamanism,
and animism—throughout East and
Southeast Asia.[204][205][206][207][208][209][210]

 difficulties in estimating the number of

Buddhists who do not have
congregational memberships and
often do not participate in public
ceremonies;[211]

 official policies on religion in several

historically Buddhist countries that
make accurate assessments of
religious adherence more difficult;
most
notably China, Vietnam and North
 Korea.[212][213][214] In many current and
former Communist governments in
Asia, government policies may
discourage adherents from reporting
their religious identity, or may
encourage official counts to
underestimate religious adherence.

Buddhism was the first world religion[215][216]

[217]
 and according to some definitions was
the world's largest religion in the first half of
the 20th century, with 520 million
adherents in 1951. By comparison, the
second largest was Christianity with 500
million adherents.[218] According to stricter
definitions, however, Buddhism has
remained the fourth-largest religion since
1910.[194]

Schools and traditions

Main articles: Schools of
Buddhism and Buddhahood

Buddhists generally classify themselves as

either Theravada or Mahayana.[219] This
classification is also used by some
scholars[220][page  needed] and is the one
ordinarily used in the English language.
[221]
 An alternative scheme used by some
scholars[222] divides Buddhism into the
following three traditions or geographical or
cultural areas: Theravada, East Asian
Buddhism andTibetan Buddhism.
 Young monks in Cambodia

Some scholars[223] use other schemes.

Buddhists themselves have a variety of
other schemes. Hinayana (literally "lesser
vehicle") is used by Mahayana followers to
name the family of early philosophical
schools and traditions from which
contemporary Theravada emerged, but as
this term is rooted in the Mahayana
viewpoint and can be considered
derogatory, a variety of other terms are
increasingly used instead,
including Śrāvakayāna, Nikaya Buddhism,
early Buddhist schools, sectarian
Buddhism, conservative Buddhism,
mainstream Buddhism and non-Mahayana
Buddhism.

Not all traditions of Buddhism share the

same philosophical outlook, or treat the
same concepts as central. Each tradition,
however, does have its own core concepts,
and some comparisons can be drawn
between them. For example, according to
one Buddhist ecumenical organization,
[224]
 severalconcepts common to both major
Buddhist branches:
  Both accept the Buddha as their
teacher.

 Both accept the Middle

way, Dependent origination, the Four
Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold
Path and the Three marks of
existence.

 Both accept that members of the laity

and of the sangha can pursue the path
toward enlightenment (bodhi).

 Both consider buddhahood the highest

attainment.
Timeline
This is a rough timeline of the development
of the different schools/traditions:

Timeline: Development and propagation of Buddhist traditions (ca. 450

BCE – ca. 1300 CE)
450 700 1200
  BCE
[225] 250 BCE 100 CE 500 CE
CE
800 CE
CE
[226]

   

Mahayana Vajrayana
Early Buddhist
Early schools
India
 

 
Sangha
 

   

Sri  Lanka  & Theravada

     
Buddhism
Southeast  Asia
   

 
 Greco-Buddhism

Central  Asia    
  Tibetan Buddhism

Silk Road Buddhism

Shingon
Chán, Tiantai, Pure
East  Asia  
Land, Zen, Nichiren
 

700 1200
  450 BCE 250 BCE 100 CE 500 CE
CE
800 CE
CE
= Theravada traditio = Mahayana tradition
  Legend:       = Vajrayana traditions
n s

Theravada school
Main article:  Theravada

Theravada ("Doctrine of the Elders", or

"Ancient Doctrine") is the oldest surviving
Buddhist school. It is relatively
conservative, and generally closest to early
Buddhism.[227] This school is derived from
the Vibhajjavāda grouping that emerged
amongst the older Sthavira group at the
time of the Third Buddhist Council (c. 250
BCE). This school gradually declined on
the Indian subcontinent, but its branch in
Sri Lanka and South East Asia continues
to survive.

The Theravada school bases its practice

and doctrine exclusively on the Pāli
Canon and its commentaries. After being
orally transmitted for a few centuries, its
scriptures, the Pali Canon, were finally
committed to writing in the 1st century
BCE, in Sri Lanka, at what the Theravada
usually reckon as the fourth council. It is
also one of the first Buddhist schools to
commit the complete set of its canon into
writing.[citation needed] The Sutta collections
and Vinaya texts of the Pāli Canon (and
the corresponding texts in other versions of
the Tripitaka), are generally considered by
modern scholars to be the earliest
Buddhist literature, and they are accepted
as authentic in every branch of Buddhism.

Theravāda is primarily practiced today

in Sri
Lanka, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia 
as well as small portions of
China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
It has a growing presence in Europe and
America.

Theravadin Buddhists think that personal

effort is required to realize rebirth.
Meditation is done by forest monks for the
most part, while village monks teach and
serve their lay communities. Laypersons
can perform good actions, producing merit
that can be traded to the gods who may
reward it with material benefits.[228]

Mahayana traditions
Main article:  Mahayana
 Chinese and Central Asianmonks. Bezeklik,
Eastern Tarim Basin, China, 9th–10th
century. (National Institute of
Informaticsand the Tōyō Bunko)

Mahayana Buddhism flourished in India

from the 5th century CE onwards, during
the dynasty of the Guptas. Mahāyāna
centres of learning were established, the
most important one being the Nālandā
University in north-eastern India.

Mahayana schools recognize all or part of

the Mahayana Sutras. Some of these
sutras became for Mahayanists a
manifestation of the Buddha himself, and
faith in and veneration of those texts are
stated in some sutras (e.g. the Lotus
Sutra and the Mahaparinirvana Sutra) to
lay the foundations for the later attainment
of Buddhahood itself.
Japanese Mahayana Buddhist monk with alms
bowl

Native Mahayana Buddhism is practiced

today in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore,
parts of Russia and most of Vietnam (also
commonly referred to as "Eastern
Buddhism"). The Buddhism practiced in
Tibet, the Himalayan regions, and
Mongolia is also Mahayana in origin, but is
discussed below under the heading of
Vajrayana (also commonly referred to as
"Northern Buddhism". There are a variety
of strands in Eastern Buddhism, of which
"the Pure Land school of Mahayana is the
most widely practised today.".[229] In most of
this area however, they are fused into a
single unified form of Buddhism. In Japan
in particular, they form separate
denominations with the five major ones
being: Nichiren, peculiar to Japan; Pure
Land; Shingon, a form of
Vajrayana; Tendai, and Zen. In Korea,
nearly all Buddhists belong to the Chogye
school, which is officially Son (Zen), but
with substantial elements from other
traditions.[230]

Vajrayana traditions
Main article:  Vajrayana

Bodhnath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal

The Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism

spread to China, Mongolia, and Tibet. In
Tibet, Vajrayana has always been a main
component of Tibetan Buddhism, while in
China it formed a separate sect. However,
Vajrayana Buddhism became extinct in
China but survived in elements of Japan's
Shingon and Tendai sects.

There are differing views as to just when

Vajrayāna and its tantric practice started.
In the Tibetan tradition, it is claimed that
the historical Śākyamuni Buddha taught
tantra, but as these are esoteric teachings,
they were passed on orally first and only
written down long after the Buddha's other
teachings. Nālandā University became a
center for the development of Vajrayāna
theory and continued as the source of
leading-edge Vajrayāna practices up
through the 11th century. These practices,
scriptures and theories were transmitted to
China, Tibet, Indochina and Southeast
Asia. China generally received Indian
transmission up to the 11th century
including tantric practice, while a vast
amount of what is considered Tibetan
Buddhism (Vajrayāna) stems from the late
(9th–12th century) Nālandā tradition.

In one of the first major contemporary

academic treatises on the subject, Fairfield
University professor Ronald M. Davidson
argues that the rise of Vajrayana was in
part a reaction to the changing political
climate in India at the time. With the fall of
the Gupta dynasty, in an increasingly
fractious political environment, institutional
Buddhism had difficulty attracting
patronage, and the folk movement led
by siddhas became more prominent. After
perhaps two hundred years, it had begun
to get integrated into the monastic
establishment.[231][page  needed]

Vajrayana combined and developed a

variety of elements, a number of which had
already existed for centuries.[232] In addition
to the Mahāyāna scriptures, Vajrayāna
Buddhists recognise a large body
of Buddhist Tantras, some of which are
also included in Chinese and Japanese
collections of Buddhist literature, and
versions of a few even in the Pali Canon.

Buddhist texts

Buddhist monk Geshe Konchog Wangdu reads

Mahayana sutras from an old woodblock copy of
the Tibetan Kanjur.

Main article:  Buddhist texts

Buddhist scriptures and other texts exist in

great variety. Different schools of
Buddhism place varying levels of value on
learning the various texts. Some schools
venerate certain texts as religious objects
in themselves, while others take a more
scholastic approach. Buddhist scriptures
are mainly written
in Pāli,Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese.
Some texts still exist
in Sanskrit and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit.

Unlike many religions, Buddhism has no

single central text that is universally
referred to by all traditions. However, some
scholars have referred to the Vinaya
Pitaka and the first four Nikayas of
the Sutta Pitaka as the common core of all
Buddhist traditions.[233] This could be
considered misleading, as Mahāyāna
considers these merely a preliminary, and
not a core, teaching. The Tibetan
Buddhists have not even translated most of
the āgamas (though theoretically they
recognize them) and they play no part in
the religious life of either clergy or laity in
China and Japan.[234] Other scholars say
there is no universally accepted common
core.[235] The size and complexity of the
Buddhist canons have been seen by some
(including Buddhist social
reformer Babasaheb Ambedkar) as
presenting barriers to the wider
understanding of Buddhist philosophy.

The followers of Theravāda Buddhism take

the scriptures known as the Pāli Canon as
definitive and authoritative, while the
followers of Mahāyāna Buddhism base
their faith and philosophy primarily on the
Mahāyāna sūtras and their own vinaya.
The Pāli sutras, along with other, closely
related scriptures, are known to the other
schools as the āgamas.

Over the years, various attempts have

been made to synthesize a single Buddhist
text that can encompass all of the major
principles of Buddhism. In the Theravada
tradition, condensed 'study texts' were
created that combined popular or influential
scriptures into single volumes that could be
studied by novice monks. Later in Sri
Lanka, the Dhammapada was championed
as a unifying scripture.
 Dwight Goddard collected a sample of
Buddhist scriptures, with the emphasis on
Zen, along with other classics of Eastern
philosophy, such as the Tao Te Ching, into
his 'Buddhist Bible' in the 1920s. More
recently, Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar attempted to create a single,
combined document of Buddhist principles
in "The Buddha and His Dhamma". Other
such efforts have persisted to present day,
but currently there is no single text that
represents all Buddhist traditions.

Pāli Tipitaka
Main article:  Pāli Canon

Pāli Canon

Vinaya Pitaka

Suttavibhanga

Khandhaka

Parivara

Sutta Pitaka

Digha Nikaya

Majjhima Nikaya

Samyutta Nikaya

Anguttara Nikaya

Khuddaka Nikaya

Abhidhamma Pitaka

Dhammasangani
 

Vibhanga

Dhatukatha and Puggalapannatti

Kathavatthu

Yamaka

Patthana

 V

 T

 E

The Pāli Tipitaka, which means "three

baskets", refers to the Vinaya Pitaka,
the Sutta Pitaka, and the Abhidhamma
Pitaka. The Vinaya Pitakacontains
disciplinary rules for the
Buddhist monks and nuns, as well as
explanations of why and how these rules
were instituted, supporting material, and
doctrinal clarification. The Sutta
Pitaka contains discourses ascribed
to Gautama Buddha. The Abhidhamma
Pitaka contains material often described as
systematic expositions of the Gautama
Buddha's teachings.

The Pāli Tipitaka is the only early Tipitaka

(Sanskrit: Tripiṭaka) to survive intact in its
original language, but a number of early
schools had their own recensions of the
Tipitaka featuring much of the same
material. We have portions of the Tipitakas
of the Sārvāstivāda, Dharmaguptaka,
Sammitya, Mahāsaṅghika, Kāśyapīya, and
Mahīśāsaka schools, most of which survive
in Chinese translation only. According to
some sources, some early schools of
Buddhism had five or seven pitakas.[236]

According to the scriptures, soon after the

death of the Buddha, the first Buddhist
council was held; a monk
named Mahākāśyapa (Pāli: Mahākassapa)
presided. The goal of the council was to
record the Buddha's
teachings. Upāli recited
the vinaya. Ānanda, the Buddha's personal
attendant, was called upon to recite the
dhamma. These became the basis of the
Tripitaka. However, this record was initially
transmitted orally in form of chanting, and
was committed to text in the last century
BCE. Both the sūtras and the vinaya of
every Buddhist school contain a wide
variety of elements including discourses on
the Dharma, commentaries on other
teachings, cosmological and cosmogonical
texts, stories of the Gautama Buddha's
previous lives, and various other subjects.

Much of the material in the Canon is not

specifically "Theravadin", but is instead the
collection of teachings that this school
preserved from the early, non-sectarian
body of teachings. According to Peter
Harvey, it contains material at odds with
later Theravadin orthodoxy. He states:
"The Theravadins, then, may
have added texts to the Canon for some
time, but they do not appear to have
tampered with what they already had from
an earlier period."[237]

Mahayana sutras
Main article:  Mahayana sutras

The Tripiṭaka Koreana in South Korea, an

edition of the Chinese Buddhist
canoncarved and preserved in over 81,000
wood printing blocks.

The Mahayana sutras are a very broad

genre of Buddhist scriptures that
the Mahayana Buddhist tradition holds are
original teachings of the Buddha. Some
adherents of Mahayana accept both the
early teachings (including in this the
Sarvastivada Abhidharma, which was
criticized by Nagarjuna and is in fact
opposed to early Buddhist thought[238]) and
the Mahayana sutras as authentic
teachings of Gautama Buddha, and claim
they were designed for different types of
persons and different levels of spiritual
understanding.

The Mahayana sutras often claim to

articulate the Buddha's deeper, more
advanced doctrines, reserved for those
who follow the bodhisattva path. That path
is explained as being built upon the
motivation to liberate all living beings from
unhappiness. Hence the
name Mahāyāna (lit., the Great Vehicle).

According to Mahayana tradition, the

Mahayana sutras were transmitted in
secret, came from other Buddhas
or Bodhisattvas, or were preserved in non-
human worlds because human beings at
the time could not understand them:[239]

Some of our sources maintain the

authenticity of certain other texts
not found in the canons of these
schools (the early schools). These
texts are those held genuine by
the later school, not one of the
eighteen, which arrogated to itself
the title of Mahayana, 'Great
Vehicle'. According to the
Mahayana historians these texts
were admittedly unknown to the
early schools of Buddhists.
However, they had all been
promulgated by the Buddha. [The
Buddha's] followers on earth, the
sravakas ('pupils'), had not been
sufficiently advanced to
understand them, and hence were
not given them to remember, but
they were taught to various
supernatural beings and then
preserved in such places as the
Dragon World.

Approximately six hundred Mahayana

sutras have survived in Sanskrit or
in Chinese or Tibetan translations. In
addition, East Asian Buddhism recognizes
some sutras regarded by scholars as of
Chinese rather than Indian origin.

Generally, scholars conclude that the

Mahayana scriptures were composed from
the 1st century CE onwards: "Large
numbers of Mahayana sutras were being
composed in the period between the
beginning of the common era and the fifth
century",[240] five centuries after the
historical Gautama Buddha. Some of these
had their roots in other scriptures
composed in the 1st century BCE. It was
not until after the 5th century CE that the
Mahayana sutras started to influence the
behavior of mainstream Buddhists in India:
"But outside of texts, at least in India, at
exactly the same period, very different—in
fact seemingly older—ideas and
aspirations appear to be motivating actual
behavior, and old and established
Hinnayana groups appear to be the only
ones that are patronized and
supported."[240] These texts were
apparently not universally accepted among
Indian Buddhists when they appeared; the
pejorative label hinayana was applied by
Mahayana supporters to those who
rejected the Mahayana sutras.

Only the Theravada school does not

include the Mahayana scriptures in its
canon. As the modern Theravada school is
descended from a branch of Buddhism that
diverged and established itself in Sri Lanka
prior to the emergence of the Mahayana
texts, debate exists as to whether the
Theravada were historically included in
the hinayana designation; in the modern
era, this label is seen as derogatory, and is
generally avoided.

Scholar Isabelle Onians asserts that

although "the Mahāyāna ... very
occasionally referred contemptuously to
earlier Buddhism as the Hinayāna, the
Inferior Way," "the preponderance of this
name in the secondary literature is far out
of proportion to occurrences in the Indian
texts." She notes that the
term Śrāvakayāna was "the more politically
correct and much more usual" term used
by Mahāyānists.[241] Jonathan Silk has
argued that the term "Hinayana" was used
to refer to whomever one wanted to
criticize on any given occasion, and did not
refer to any definite grouping of Buddhists.
[242]

Comparative studies

Buddhism provides many opportunities for

comparative study with a diverse range of
subjects. For example, Buddhism's
emphasis on the Middle way not only
provides a unique guideline for ethics but
has also allowed Buddhism to peacefully
coexist with various differing beliefs,
customs and institutions in countries where
it has resided throughout its history. Also,
its moral and spiritual parallels with other
systems of thought—for example, with
various tenets of Christianity—have been
subjects of close study. In addition, the
Buddhist concept of dependent
originationhas been compared to modern
scientific thought, as well as Western
metaphysics.

Is Buddhism a religion?

The Great Buddha of Kamakura,Kōtoku-

in in Japan

There are differences of opinion on the

question of whether or not Buddhism
should be considered a religion. Many
sources commonly refer to Buddhism as a
religion. For example:

 Peter Harvey states: "The English

term 'Buddhism' correctly indicates
that the religion is characterized by
devotion to 'the Buddha', 'Buddhas', or
'buddhahood'."[243]

 Joseph Goldstein states: "Although

there are many difference among the
various religions of the world, and
 among the various schools of
Buddhism itself, there is also a great
deal in common..."[244]

Other sources note that the answer to this

question depends upon how religion is
defined. For example:

 Surya Das states: "For Buddhism is

less a theology or religion than a
promise that certain meditative
practices and mind trainings can
effectively show us how to awaken our
Buddha-nature and liberate us from
suffering and confusion."[245]

 B. Alan Wallace states: "When we in

the West first engage with Buddhism,
it is almost inevitable that we bring out
one of our familiar stereotypes and
apply it to Buddhism, calling it simply a
'religion.'... But Buddhism has never
been simply a religion as we define it
in the West. From the very beginning it
has also had philosophical elements,
as well as empirical and rational
elements that may invite the term
'science.'"[246]

 Rupert Gethin states: "I am not

concerned here to pronounce on a
question that is sometimes asked of
Buddhism: is it a religion? Obviously it
depends on how one defines ‘a
religion’. What is certain, however, is
that Buddhism does not involve belief
in a creator God who has control over
human destiny, nor does it seek to
 define itself by reference to a creed;
as Edward Conze has pointed out, it
took over 2,000 years and a couple of
Western converts to Buddhism to
provide it with a creed. On the other
hand, Buddhism views activities that
would be generally understood as
religious—such as devotional
practices and rituals—as a legitimate,
useful, and even essential part of the
practice and training that leads to the
cessation of suffering."[247] Gethin
points out that some key differences
between Buddhism and conventionally
considered Western religions are that
Buddhism does not assert a belief in a
creator god, nor does it define itself by
a particular creed. On the other hand,
Gethin notes, Buddhist practice often
includes devotional practices and
ritual, which are typically associated
with religious belief.[247]

 Damien Keown states: "Problems [...]

confront us as soon as we try to define
what Buddhism is. Is it a religion? A
philosophy? A way of life? A code of
ethics? It is not easy to classify
Buddhism as any of these things, and
it challenges us to rethink some of
these categories. What, for example,
do we mean by ‘religion’? Most people
would say that religion has something
to do with belief in God. [...] If belief in
God in this sense is the essence of
religion, then Buddhism cannot be a
 religion. [...] Some have suggested
that a new category – that of the ‘non-
theistic’ religion – is needed to
encompass Buddhism. Another
possibility is that our original definition
is simply too narrow.[248]

Czech Buddhists

 The Dalai Lama states: "From one

viewpoint, Buddhism is a religion, from
another viewpoint Buddhism is a
science of mind and not a religion.
Buddhism can be a bridge between
these two sides. Therefore, with this
conviction I try to have closer ties with
scientists, mainly in the fields of
cosmology, psychology, neurobiology
and physics. In these fields there are
insights to share, and to a certain
extent we can work together."[249]

 Ilkka Pyysiäinen states: "There are

thus great difficulties involved in
 conceptualizing religion as belief in
god(s), superhuman agents, etc.,
although we intuitively think that some
such beings, nevertheless, are
essential in religion. As is well-known,
Buddhism is the favorite example of
scholars who have argued that we
should find some other way of defining
religion than the one based on the
idea of belief in gods or superhuman
beings." and "Buddhism does not have
to be the problematic touchstone for a
global concept of religion."[250]

 Martin Southwold states: "It is argued

that Buddhism, though non-theistic,
resembles other religions in depending
on mystical notions; it is shown how
this contributes to understanding the
social functions of religions."[251]

 Walpola Rahula states: "The question

has often been asked: Is Buddhism a
religion or a philosophy? It does not
matter what you call it. Buddhism
remains what it is whatever label you
may put on it. The label is immaterial.
Even the label 'Buddhism' which we
give to the teaching of the Buddha is
of little importance. The name one
gives it is inessential. What's in a
name? That which we call a rose, By
any other name would smell as
sweet. In the same way Truth needs
no label: it is neither Buddhist,
Christian, Hindu nor Moslem. It is not
the monopoly of anybody. Sectarian
 labels are a hindrance to the
independent understanding of Truth,
and they produce harmful prejudices
in men's minds."[252]

 Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche states: "If

you are interested in 'meeting the
Buddha' and following his example,
then you should realize that the path
the Buddha taught is primarily a study
of your own mind and a system for
training your mind. This path is
spiritual, not religious. Its goal is self-
knowledge, not salvation; freedom, not
heaven. And it is deeply personal."[253]
See also

 Book: Buddhism

Buddhism portal

 Outline of Buddhism

 Buddhism by country

 Chinese folk religion

 Criticism of Buddhism

 Dharma Drum Retreat Center

 Easily confused Buddhist

representations

 Iconography of Gautama Buddha in

Laos and Thailand

 Index of Buddhism-related articles

 Indian religions

 List of books related to Buddhism

 List of Buddhist temples

 Nonviolence
Notes
 1. Jump up^ Earlier Buddhist texts
refer to five realms rather than six

realms; when described as five

realms, the god realm and demi-

god realm constitute a single realm.

2. Jump up^ See the article Saṃsāra

(Buddhism) for further details and

citations.

3. Jump up^ See the article Four

Noble Truths for further details and

citations. In particular, the section

"The four truths" within that article

provides a footnote showing variety

of translations of these four

statements.

4. Jump up^ For clarification of

translations,

see Dukkha#Translating the term

dukkha.

5. Jump up^ See the

article Dukkha for further details

and citations.

6. Jump up^ See the article Four

Noble Truths for further details and

citations.

References

1. Jump up^ "Buddhism". (2009). In

Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved

November 26, 2009, from

Encyclopædia Britannica Online

Library Edition.

2. Jump up^ Gethin
(1998), Foundations, pp. 27–28, pp.

73–74
3. Jump up^ "Buddhism May Regain
Its Status as the World’s Largest

Religion". PROUT Globe. Retrieved

2013-06-18.

4. Jump up^ Beckford,
Martin. "Buddhism is fastest-

growing religion in English jails over

past decade". Telegraph. Retrieved

2013-06-18.

5. Jump up^ "Buddhism fastest

growing religion in West". Asian

Tribune. 2008-04-07. Retrieved

2013-06-18.

6. Jump up^ "Stateline Western

Australia". Abc.net.au. Retrieved

2013-06-18.

7. Jump up^ Robinson et
al., Buddhist Religions, page

xx; Philosophy East and West, vol

54, ps 269f; Williams, Mahayana

Buddhism, Routledge, 1st ed.,

1989, pp. 275f (2nd ed., 2008, p.

266)

8. Jump up^ Padmasambhava,
Jamgon Kongtrul, Erik Pema

Kunsang (2004). Light of Wisdom.

Rangjung Yeshe

Publications.ISBN 978-962-7341-

37-6. Retrieved 2010-08-25.

9. Jump up^ Swearer,
Donald. Becoming the

Buddha. 2004. p. 177

10. Jump up^ Macmillan Encyclopedia

of Buddhism Vol. 1, p. 352
11. Jump up^ Lopez
(1995). Buddhism in Practice.

Princeton University Press.

p. 16. ISBN 0-691-04442-2.

12. Jump up^ Carrithers, Michael.

"The Buddha", in the Oxford

University paperback Founders of

Faith, 1986, p. 10.

13. Jump up^ Armstrong,

Karen (September 28,

2004). Buddha.Penguin Press.

p. xii. ISBN 0-14-303436-7.

14. ^ Jump up to:a b Richard

Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A

Social History from Ancient

Benares to Modern

Colombo.Routledge and Kegan

Paul, 1988, page 49.

15. Jump up^ UNESCO, Lumbini is

the birthplace of the Lord Buddha,

Gethin Foundations, p. 19, which

states that in the mid-3rd century

BCE the

Emperor Ashoka determined that

Lumbini was Gautama's birthplace

and thus installed a pillar there with

the inscription: "... this is where the

Buddha, sage of the Śākyas

(Śākyamuni), was born."

16. Jump up^ For instance,

Gethin Foundations, p. 14, states:

"The earliest Buddhist sources state

that the future Buddha was born

Siddhārtha Gautama (Pali

Siddhattha Gotama), the son of a

 local chieftain—a rājan—in

Kapilavastu (Pali Kapilavatthu) what

is now the Indian–Nepalese

border." However, Professor

Gombrich (Theravāda Buddhism, p.

1) and the old but specialized study

by Edward Thomas, The Life of the

Buddha, ascribe the name

Siattha/fitta to later sources.

17. Jump up^ Kohn, Michael

(1991). The Shambhala Dictionary

of Buddhism and Zen. Shambhala.

p. 143. ISBN 0-87773-520-4.

18. Jump up^ "The Middle Way of the

Buddha". Buddhamind.info.

Retrieved 2011-10-24.

19. Jump up^ "Buddhism - The Middle

Path". Buddhanet.net. Retrieved

2011-10-24.

20. Jump up^ Keown, Dictionary of

Buddhism, p. 267

21. Jump up^ Skilton, Concise, p. 25

22. Jump up^ Journal of Buddhist
Ethics: "Zen as a Social Ethics of
Responsiveness" (PDF), T. P.

Kasulis, Ohio State University

23. Jump up^ Harvey, Introduction to

Buddhism, p. 40

24. Jump up^ Dr. Richard K. Payne

(ed.), Tantric Buddhism in East

Asia, Wisdom Publications, Boston,

2006, p. 74

25. Jump up^ Lopez, Story of

Buddhism. p. 239
26. Jump up^ Lopez, Buddhism. p.
248

27. Jump up^ Keown, Buddhism,

Oxford University Press, 1996, p.

107

28. Jump up^ Harvey, Introduction to

Buddhism, p. 34

29. Jump up^ Macmillan Encyclopedia

of Buddhism (Volume Two), p. 711

30. Jump up^ Harvey, Introduction to

Buddhism, p. 33

31. Jump up^ André Bareau, Les

Sectes bouddhiques du Petit

Véhicule, École Française

d'Extrême-Orient, Saigon, 1955, pp.

212–223: the top of p. 212 says:

"Here are the theses of the

Theravadins of the Mahavihara";

then begins a numbered list of

doctrines over the following pages,

including on p. 223: "There are only

five destinies ... the kalakanjika

asuras have the same colour, same

nourishment, same foods, same

lifespan as the petas, with whom ...

they marry. As for the

Vepacittiparisa, they have the same

colour, same nourishment, same

foods, same lifespan as the gods,

with whom they marry."(Translated

from the French)

32. Jump up^ The 31 Planes of

Existence (PDF), Ven. Suvanno

Mahathera
33. Jump up^ Macmillan Encyclopedia
of Buddhism. Vol. 1, p. 377

34. Jump up^ The Connected

Discourses of the Buddha. A

Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya,

Bhikkhu Bodhi, Translator. Wisdom

Publications.

35. ^ Jump up to:a b Ajahn Sucitto 2010,

p. 87-88.

36. Jump up^ Gethin 1998, p. 82.

37. ^ Jump up to:a b Armstrong, p. 77.
38. Jump up^ Nhat Hahn, Thich, p. 36.
39. ^ Jump up to:a b Roth, Beth. "Family
Dharma: A Bedtime

Ritual".Tricycle (Tricycle

Foundation). Retrieved January 11,

2011.

40. Jump up^ Chodron, Pema

(2002). The Places that Scare You:

A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult

Times. Shambhala via Amazon

Look Inside. p. 37. ISBN 1-57062-

921-8.

41. Jump up^ "Unit Six: The Four

Immeasurables". Buddha Dharma

Education Association &

Buddhanet. and "Unit Six: Loving-

Kindness". Buddha Dharma

Education Association &

Buddhanet. Retrieved January 10,

2011.

42. Jump up^ "A View on Buddhism:

The Four Immeasurables". Rudy

Harderwijk (viewonbuddhism.org).

Retrieved January 11, 2011.

43. Jump up^ Kohn, Shambhala, pp.
131, 143

44. Jump up^ Jeffrey Po, "Is Buddhism

a Pessimistic Way of Life?"

45. Jump up^ Rahula, Walpola (1959).

"Chapter 2". What the Buddha

Taught. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-

3031-3.

46. Jump up^ Prebish, Charles

(1993). Historical Dictionary of

Buddhism. The Scarecrow

Press. ISBN 0-8108-2698-4.

47. Jump up^ Keown, Damien

(2003). Dictionary of

Buddhism. Oxford University

Press. ISBN 0-19-860560-9.

48. Jump up^ Thanissaro

Bhikkhu, The Not-Self Strategy,

See Point 3 – The Canon quote

Thanissaro Bhikkhu draws attention

to is the Sabbasava Sutta.

49. Jump up^ This twelve nidana

scheme can be found, for instance,

in multiple discourses in chapter 12

of the Samyutta Nikaya—Nidana

Vagga (e.g., see SN

12.2, Thanissaro, 1997a). Other

"applications" of what might be

termed "mundane dependent

origination" include the nine-nidana

scheme ofDigha Nikaya 15

(e.g., Thanissaro, 1997b) and the

ten-nidana scheme of Samyutta

Nikaya 12.65 (e.g.,Thanissaro,

1997c). So-called "transcendental
 dependent origination" (also

involving twelve nidanas) is

described in Samyutta

Nikaya 12.23 (e.g., see Bodhi,

1995). In addition, Digha Nikaya 15

describes an eleven-nidana

scheme (starting with "feeling") that

leads to interpersonal suffering

("the taking up of sticks and knives;

conflicts, quarrels, and disputes;

accusations, divisive speech, and

lies").

50. Jump up^ Harvey, Introduction to

Buddhism, page 56

51. Jump up^ Harvey, Introduction to

Buddhism, p. 57

52. Jump up^ Harvey, Introduction to

Buddhism, p. 58

53. Jump up^ Harvey, Introduction to

Buddhism, p. 59

54. Jump up^ Harvey, Introduction to

Buddhism, p. 60

55. Jump up^ "Upādāparitassanā

Sutta". Buddha-Vacana. Retrieved
18 September 2013.

56. Jump up^ Christian

Lindtner, Master of

Wisdom. Dharma Publishing 1997,

p. 324.

57. Jump up^ Dan Lusthaus, "What is

and isn't Yogacara"

58. Jump up^ Williams, Paul. Buddhist

Thought. Routledge 2000, page

161.
59. Jump up^ raga, Pali-English
Dictionary, The Pali Text Society

60. Jump up^ dosa, Pali-English

Dictionary, The Pali Text Society

61. Jump up^ moha, Pali-English

Dictionary, The Pali Text Society

62. ^ Jump up to:a b Richard F.

Gombrich, How Buddhism Began,

Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, p. 67

63. Jump up^ Hawkins, pp. 40, 46.

64. Jump up^ "''Access to Insight'', a
Theravada Buddhist website,

discusses Buddha Eras".

Accesstoinsight.org. 2010-06-05.

Retrieved 2010-08-25.

65. Jump up^ "Gautama Buddha

discusses the Maitreya Buddha in

the Tipitaka". Accesstoinsight.org.

2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-08-25.

66. Jump up^ Kogen

Mizuno, Essentials of Buddhism,

Shunju-sha, 1972, English

translation, Kosei, Tokyo, 1996, p.

57

67. Jump up^ Dispeller of Delusion.

Vol. II. Pali Text Society, p. 184

68. Jump up^ The Bodhisattva Vow: A

Practical Guide to Helping Others,

page 1, Tharpa Publications (2nd.

ed., 1995) ISBN 978-0-948006-50-0

69. Jump up^ "Bodhisattva Ideal in

Buddhism". Access to Insight.

Retrieved 2010-10-18.

70. Jump up^ Nattier, Jan (2003), A

few good men: the Bodhisattva
 path according to the Inquiry of

Ugra: p. 174

71. Jump up^ Mall, Linnart. Studies in

the Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita

and Other Essays. Motilal

Banarsidass. 2005. pp. 53-54.

72. Jump up^ Hirakawa, Akira. A

History of Indian Buddhism: from

Śākyamuni to Early

Mahāyāna. Motilal Banarsidass.

2007. p. 297.

73. Jump up^ Conze, Edward. The

Perfection of Wisdom in Eight

Thousand Lines and its Verse

Summary. Grey Fox Press. 2001. p.

89.

74. Jump up^ The Bodhisattva Vow: A

Practical Guide to Helping Others,

pages 4-12, Tharpa

Publications (2nd. ed., 1995) ISBN

978-0-948006-50-0

75. Jump up^ Harvey, p. 170

76. Jump up^ Zen Buddhism: A
History (India and
China) by Heinrich Dumoulin,

James W. Heisig, Paul F. Knitter

(page 22)

77. Jump up^ Barbara Stoler

Miller, Yoga: Discipline of Freedom:

the Yoga Sutra Attributed to

Patanjali; a Translation of the Text,

with Commentary, Introduction, and

Glossary of Keywords.University of

California Press, 1996, page 8.

78. Jump up^ Alexander Wynne, The
Origin of Buddhist Meditation.

Routledge, 2007, page 73.

79. Jump up^ Alexander Wynne, The

Origin of Buddhist Meditation.

Routledge, 2007, page 105.

80. Jump up^ Michael Carrithers, The

Buddha. Taken from Founders of

Faith, published by Oxford

University Press, 1986, page 30.

81. Jump up^ Alexander Wynne, The

origin of Buddhist

meditation.Routledge, 2007, p. 72.

82. ^ Jump up to:a b "Dharmacarini

Manishini". Western Buddhist

Review.

83. Jump up^ Richard

Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A

Social History from Ancient

Benares to Modern

Colombo. Routledge and Kegan

Paul, 1988, page 44.

84. Jump up^ Johannes

Bronkhorst, The Two Traditions of
Mediation in Ancient India. Franz

Steiner Verlag Weisbaden GmbH,

pages 1-17.

85. Jump up^ Randall Collins, The

Sociology of Philosophies: A Global

Theory of Intellectual

Change. Harvard University Press,

2000, page 199.

86. ^ Jump up to:a b Alexander Wynne, The

Origin of Buddhist Meditation.

Routledge 2007, page 51.

87. Jump up^ Alexander Wynne, The
Origin of Buddhist Meditation.

Routledge 2007, page 56.

88. Jump up^ Bhikku, Thanissaro

(2001). "Refuge". An Introduction to

the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha.

Access to Insight.

89. Jump up^ Middle-Length

Discourses of the Buddha, tr.

Nanamoli, rev. Bodhi, Wisdom

Publications, 1995, pp. 708f

90. Jump up^ Professor C.D.

Sebastian, Metaphysics and

Mysticism in Mahayana Buddhism,

Sri Satguru Publications,

Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica Series

No. 238, Delhi, 2005, p. 83

91. Jump up^ Professor C.D.

Sebastian, Metaphysics and

Mysticism in Mahayana Buddhism,

Delhi, 2005, p. 82

92. Jump up^ Hiroshi Kanno, Huisi's

Perspective on the Lotus Sutra as

Seen Through the Meaning of the

Course of Ease and Bliss in the

Lotus Sutra, p.

147,http://www.iop.or.jp/0414/kanno

2.pdf, consulted 5 February 2010

93. Jump up^ Stewart McFarlane in

Peter Harvey,

ed., Buddhism.Continuum, 2001,

page 187.

94. Jump up^ Stewart McFarlane in

Peter Harvey,
 ed., Buddhism.Continuum, 2001,

pages 195-196.

95. Jump up^ Morgan, Peggy; Lawton,

Clive A., eds. (2007). Ethical Issues

in Six Religious Traditions (2nd

ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh

University Press. pp. 62–

63. ISBN 978-0-7486-2330-3.

96. Jump up^ Richard

Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A

Social History from Ancient

Benares to Modern

Colombo. Routledge and Kegan

Paul, 1988, page 89. He is quoting

Carrithers.

97. Jump up^ B. Alan

Wallace, Contemplative

Science. Columbia University

Press, 2007, p. 81.

98. Jump up^ Welch, Practice of

Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967,

p. 396

99. Jump up^ Peter Harvey, An

Introduction to

Buddhism. Cambridge University

Press, 1990, page 144.

100. Jump up^ Damien

Keown, Charles S Prebish,

editors, Encyclopedia of Buddhism.

Routledge, 2007. p. 502

101. Jump up^ Sarah

Shaw, Buddhist Meditation: An

Anthology of Texts from the Pāli

Canon. Routledge, 2006, page 13.

Shaw also notes that discourses on

 meditation are addressed to

"bhikkhave", but that in this context

the terms is more generic than

simply (male) "monks" and refers to

all practitioners, and that this is

confirmed by Buddhaghosa.

102. Jump up^ According to

Charles S. Prebish (in his Historical

Dictionary of Buddhism, Sri Satguru

Publications, Delhi, 1993, p. 287):

"Although a variety of Zen 'schools'

developed in Japan, they all

emphasize Zen as a teaching that

does not depend on sacred texts,

that provides the potential for direct

realization, that the realization

attained is none other than the

Buddha nature possessed by each

sentient being ...".

103. Jump up^ Prebish

comments (op. cit., p. 244): "It

presumes thatsitting in meditation

itself (i.e. zazen) is an expression of

Buddha nature." The method is to

detach the mind from conceptual

modes of thinking and perceive

Reality directly. Speaking of Zen in

general, Buddhist scholar Stephen

Hodge writes (Zen Masterclass,

Godsfield Press, 2002, pp. 12–13):

"... practitioners of Zen believe that

Enlightenment, the awakening of

the Buddha-mind or Buddha-nature,

is our natural state, but has been

covered over by layers of negative

 emotions and distorted thoughts.

According to this view,

Enlightenment is not something that

we must acquire a bit at a time, but

a state that can occur instantly

when we cut through the dense veil

of mental and emotional

obscurations."

104. Jump up^ (Critical

Sermons on the Zen Tradition,

Hisamatsu Shin'ichi, Palgrave

Macmillan, New York,

2002, passim) Commenting on

Rinzai Zen and its Chinese founder,

Linji, Hisamatsu states: "Linji

indicates our true way of being in

such direct expressions as 'True

Person' and 'True Self'. It is

independent of words or letters and

transmitted apart from scriptural

teaching. Buddhism doesn't really

need scriptures. It is just our direct

awakening to Self ..." (Hisamatsu,

op. cit., p. 46).

105. Jump up^ Kosho

Uchiyama, Opening the Hand of

Thought: Approach to Zen, Penguin

Books, New York, 1993, p. 98

106. Jump

up^ Harvey, Introduction, pp. 165f

107. Jump

up^ Williams, Mahayana

Buddhism, Routledge, 1st ed.,

1989, p. 185
108. Jump

up^ Routledge Encyclopedia of

Buddhism, p. 781 .

109. Jump

up^ Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha,

Oxford University Press, 2008, p. xv

110. ^ Jump up
to:a b c
     Encyclopædia Britannica

Online. Buddhism: The foundations

of Buddhism: The cultural context.

Retrieved 19-07-2009.

111. ^ Jump up to:a b Encyclopædia

Britannica Online. Hinduism:

History of Hinduism: The Vedic

period (2nd millennium - 7th century

BCE); Challenges to Brahmanism

(6th - 2nd century BCE); Early

Hinduism (2nd century BCE - 4th

century CE). Retrieved 19-07-2009.

112. Jump up^ Warder, A.K.

2000. Indian Buddhism. P.32

113. Jump up^ Y. Masih

(2000) In : A Comparative Study of

Religions, Motilal Banarsidass

Publ : Delhi, ISBN 81-208-0815-

0 Page 18. "There is no evidence to

show that Jainism and Buddhism

ever subscribed to vedic sacrifices,

vedic deities or caste. They are

parallel or native religions of India

and have contributed to much to the

growth of even classical Hinduism

of the present times."

114. Jump up^ S. Cromwell

Crawford, review of L. M.
 Joshi, Brahmanism, Buddhism and

Hinduism, Philosophy East and

West (1972): "Alongside

Brahmanism was the non-Aryan

Shramanic culture with its roots

going back to prehistoric times."

115. Jump up^ "This confirms

that the doctrine of transmigration is

non-aryan and was accepted by

non-vedics like Ajivikism, Jainism

and Buddhism. The Indo-aryans

have borrowed the theory of re-birth

after coming in contact with the

aboriginal inhabitants of India.

Certainly Jainism and non-vedics

[..] accepted the doctrine of rebirth

as supreme postulate or article of

faith." Masih, page 37.

116. Jump up^ Karel

Werner, The Longhaired

Sage in The Yogi and the

Mystic. Karel Werner, ed., Curzon

Press, 1989, page 34. "Rahurkar

speaks of them as belonging to two

distinct 'cultural strands' ... Wayman

also found evidence for two distinct

approaches to the spiritual

dimension in ancient India and calls

them the traditions of 'truth and

silence.' He traces them particularly

in the older Upanishads, in early

Buddhism, and in some later

literature."

117. Jump up^ Gavin D. Flood

(1996), An Introduction to
 Hinduism, Cambridge University —

Press : UK ISBN 0-521-43878-0 -

"The origin and doctrine of Karma

and Samsara are obscure. These

concepts were certainly circulating

amongst sramanas, and Jainism

and Buddhism developed specific

and sophisticated ideas about the

process of transmigration. It is very

possible that the karmas and

reincarnation entered the

mainstream brahaminical thought

from the sramana or the renouncer

traditions." Page 86.

118. Jump up^ Padmanabh S.

Jaini 2001 "Collected Paper on

Buddhist Studies" Motilal

Banarsidass Publ 576 pages ISBN

81-208-1776-1: "Yajnavalkya's

reluctance and manner in

expounding the doctrine of karma in

the assembly of Janaka (a

reluctance not shown on any other

occasion) can perhaps be

explained by the assumption that it

was, like that of the transmigration

of soul, of non-brahmanical origin.

In view of the fact that this doctrine

is emblazoned on almost every

page of sramana scriptures, it is

highly probable that it was derived

from them." Page 51.

119. Jump up^ Govind

Chandra Pande, (1994) Life and

Thought of Sankaracarya, Motilal

 Banarsidass ISBN 81-208-1104-6 :

Early Upanishad thinkers like

Yajnavalkya were acquainted with

the sramanic thinking and tried to

incorporate these ideals of Karma,

Samsara and Moksa into the vedic

thought implying a disparagement

of the vedic ritualism and

recognising the mendicancy as an

ideal. Page 135.

120. Jump up^ "The sudden

appearance of this theory [of

karma] in a full-fledged form is likely

due, as already pointed out, to an

impact of the wandering muni-and-

shramana-cult, coming down from

the pre-Vedic non-Aryan time."

Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, Early

Buddhism and the Bhagavadgita.

Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1998,

page 76.

121. Jump up^ Satapatha

Brahmana 13.8.1.5

122. Jump up^ Oldenburg,

Hermann, The Doctrine of the

Upanishads and Early Buddhism,

1915, reprinted 1991 by Shridhar B.

Shrotri, Delhi, Motilalal Banardass

123. Jump up^ Greater

Magadha, Studies the Culture of

Early India, Bronkhorst, Johannes,

Brill Academic Publishers Inc, 2007,

Series: Handbook of Oriental

Studies, Section 2 South Asia

Series, ISBN 978-90-04-11519-4
124. Jump up^ Warder, A.K.

2000. Indian Buddhism. P.30-32

125. Jump up^ Warder, A.K.

2000. Indian Buddhism. P.39

126. Jump up^ Warder, A.K.

Indian Buddhism. P.33

127. Jump up^ Walpola

Rahula, What the Buddha Taught,

pages 9-10.

128. Jump up^ "The brahmin

by caste alone, the teacher of

the Veda, is (jokingly) etymologized

as the 'non-meditator' (ajhāyaka).

Brahmins who have memorized the

three Vedas (tevijja) really know

nothing: it is the process of

achieving Enlightenment — what

the Buddha is said to have

achieved in the three watches of

that night—which constitutes the

true 'three knowledges.'" R.F.

Gombrich in Paul Williams, ed.,

"Buddhism: Critical Concepts in

Religious Studies." Taylor and

Francis 2006, page 120.

129. Jump up^ Richard

Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A

Social History from Ancient

Benares to Modern

Colombo. Routledge and Kegan

Paul, 1988, page 85.

130. Jump up^ P. 177 The

sacred books of the Buddhists

compared with history and modern

science By Robert Spence Hardy

131. Jump up^ Vinaya

Pitaka of the Mahavagga (I.245) in

P. 494 The Pali-English

dictionary By Thomas William Rhys

Davids, William Stede

132. Jump up^ "Atthako,

Vâmako,

Vâmadevo, Vessâmitto, Yamataggi,

Angiraso, Bhâradvâjo, Vâsettho, Ka

ssapo, and Bhagu" in P. 245 The

Vinaya piṭakaṃ: one of the

principle Buddhist holy

scriptures ..., Volume 1 edited by

Hermann Oldenberg

133. Jump up^ The Vinaya

Pitaka's section Anguttara Nikaya:

Panchaka Nipata in P. 44 The

legends and theories of the

Buddhists, compared with history

and science By Robert Spence

Hardy

134. Jump up^ Richard

Francis Gombrich, How Buddhism

began: the conditioned genesis of

the early teachings Continuum

International Publishing Group,

1996, pages 38-39

135. Jump up^ Michael

Carrithers, The Buddha, 1983,

pages 41-42. Found in Founders of

Faith, Oxford University Press,

1986.

136. Jump up^ Alexander

Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist

 Meditation. Routledge 2007, page

21.

137. Jump up^ "Even so have

I, monks, seen an ancient way, an

ancient road followed by the wholly

awakened ones of olden

time....Along that have I done, and

the matters that I have come to

know fully as I was going along it, I

have told to the monks, nuns, men

and women lay-followers, even

monks, this Brahma-faring

brahmacharya that is prosperous

and flourishing, widespread and

widely known become popular in

short, well made manifest for gods

and men." (P. 57Buddhist Art &

Antiquities of Himachal Pradesh,

Upto 8th Century A.D. By

Omacanda Hāṇḍā)

138. Jump up^ . 59 What the

Buddha taught by Walpola Rāhula

139. Jump up^ Encyclopædia

Britannica Online. Vedic religion.

Retrieved 19-07-2009.

140. Jump up^ Warder, A.K.

2000. Indian Buddhism. P.35

141. Jump up^ A History of

Indian Buddhism — Hirakawa Akira

(translated and edited by Paul

Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass

Publishers, Delhi, 1993, p. 7

142. Jump

up^ Mitchell, Buddhism, Oxford
 University Press, 2002, p. 34 &

table of contents

143. Jump

up^ Skorupski, Buddhist Forum, vol

I, Heritage, Delhi/SOAS, London,

1990, p. 5; Journal of the

International Association of

Buddhist Studies, vol 21 (1998),

part 1, pp. 4, 11

144. Jump up^ see also the

book Bones, Stones, and Buddhist

Monks, University of Hawai'i Press,

by Dr Gregory Schopen

145. Jump up^ Encyclopedia

of Religion, Macmillan, New York,

sv Councils, Buddhist

146. Jump up^ Journal of the

Pāli Text Society, volume XVI, p.

105)

147. Jump up^ Janice J.

Nattier and Charles S. Prebish,

1977.Mahāsāṅghika Origins: the

beginnings of Buddhist

sectarianism in History of Religions,

Vol. 16, pp. 237–272

148. Jump

up^ Harvey, Introduction to

Buddhism, p. 74

149. ^ Jump up to:a b "Abhidhamma

Pitaka." Encyclopædia Britannica.

Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago:

Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.

150. Jump up^ Encyclopedia

of Buddhism. Routledge. p. 485.

151. ^ Jump up to:a b c Keown,

Damien (1996). Buddhism: A Very

Short Introduction. Oxford

University Press. pp. 58,

61. ISBN 978-0-19-285386-8.

152. Jump up^ Akira,

Hirakawa (translated and edited by

Paul Groner) (1993. A History of

Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal

Banarsidass: p. 260

153. Jump up^ Akira,

Hirakawa (1993), A History of

Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni

to Early Mahayana: p. 271

154. Jump up^ "One of the

most frequent assertions about the

Mahayana ... is that it was a lay-

influenced, or even lay-inspired and

dominated, movement that arose in

response to the increasingly closed,

cold, and scholastic character of

monastic Buddhism. This, however,

now appears to be wrong on all

counts." Macmillan Encyclopedia of

Buddhism(2004): p. 494

155. Jump up^ Nattier, Jan

(2003), A few good men: the

Bodhisattva path according to the

Inquiry of Ugra: p. 193-194

156. Jump up^ Williams, Paul

(2008) Mahayana Buddhism: The

Doctrinal Foundations: p. 4-5

157. Jump up^ Williams, Paul

(2000) Buddhist Thought: A
 Complete Introduction to the Indian

Tradition: p. 97

158. Jump up^ Williams, Paul

(2008) Mahāyāna Buddhism: The

Doctrinal Foundations: p. 5

159. Jump up^ "The most

important evidence — in fact the

only evidence — for situating the

emergence of the Mahayana

around the beginning of the

common era was not Indian

evidence at all, but came from

China. Already by the last quarter of

the 2nd century CE, there was a

small, seemingly idiosyncratic

collection of substantial Mahayana

sutras translated into what Erik

Zürcher calls 'broken Chinese' by

an Indoscythian, whose Indian

name has been reconstructed as

Lokaksema." Macmillan

Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004):

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164. Jump up^ Peter Harvey,

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165. Jump up^ Dan

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166. Jump up^ Peter Harvey,

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page 113. "There were no great

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strand of thought."

167. Jump up^ A History of

Indian Buddhism — Hirakawa Akira

(translated and edited by Paul

Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass

Publishers, Delhi, 1993, p. 9

168. Jump

up^ Gombrich, Theravada

Buddhism, Routledge, 2nd ed,

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169. Jump up^ Zürcher (1972),

pp. 22-27.

170. Jump up^ Hill (2009), p.

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171. Jump up^ Zürcher (1972),

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172. Jump up^ Carol E.

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Japanese Tradition: From earliest

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up^ Keown, Buddhism, Oxford

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up^ Smith, Buddhism;

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Buddhism". American Heritage
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(Gombrich,1984); Gethin (1998),

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traditions" as: (1) "The Theravāda

tradition of Sri Lanka and South-

East Asia, also sometimes referred

to as 'southern' Buddhism"; (2) "The

East Asian tradition of China,

Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, also

sometimes referred to as 'eastern'

Buddhism"; and, (3) "The Tibetan

tradition, also sometimes referred to

as 'northern' Buddhism."; Robinson

& Johnson (1982) divide their book

into two parts: Part One is entitled

"The Buddhism of South Asia"

(which pertains to Early Buddhism

in India); and, Part Two is entitled

"The Development of Buddhism

Outside of India" with chapters on

"The Buddhism of Southeast Asia",

 "Buddhism in the Tibetan Culture

Area", "East Asian Buddhism" and

"Buddhism Comes West;

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Religions, 1984, page 279; Prebish

& Keown, Introducing Buddhism,

ebook, Journal of Buddhist Ethics,

2005, printed ed, Harper, 2006

223. Jump up^ See e.g. the

multi-dimensional classification

inEncyclopedia of Religion,

Macmillan, New York, 1987, volume

2, pages 440ff

224. Jump up^ A Comparative

Study of the Schools, Tan Swee

Eng

225. Jump up^ Cousins, L.S.

(1996); Buswell (2003), Vol. I, p. 82;

and, Keown & Prebish (2004), p.

107. See also, Gombrich

(1988/2002), p. 32: “…[T]he best

we can say is that [the Buddha] was

probably Enlightened between 550

and 450, more likely later rather

than earlier."

226. Jump up^ Williams (2000,

pp. 6-7) writes: "As a matter of fact

Buddhism in mainland India itself

had all but ceased to exist by the

thirteenth century CE, although by

that time it had spread to Tibet,

China, Japan, and Southeast Asia."

Embree et al. (1958/1988),

"Chronology," p. xxix: "c. 1000-

1200: Buddhism disappears as [an]

 organized religious force in India."

See also, Robinson & Johnson

(1970/1982), pp. 100-1, 108 Fig. 1;

and, Harvey (1990/2007), pp. 139-

40.

227. Jump

up^ Gethin, Foundations, page 1

228. Jump up^ Hawkins, p. 88.

229. Jump up^ Clarke &

Beyer, The World's Religions,

Routledge, 2009, page 86

230. Jump

up^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of

Buddhism (Volume One), pages

430, 435

231. Jump up^ Davidson,

Ronald M. (2003). Indian Esoteric

Buddhism: A Social History of the

Tantric Movement. New York:

Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-

231-12619-0.

232. Jump up^ Prebish &

Keown, Introducing Buddhism,

page 89

233. Jump up^ A.K. Warder,

Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition (2000)

234. Jump up^ Eliot, Japanese

Buddhism, Edward Arnold, London,

1935, page 16

235. Jump

up^ Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha,

Oxford University Press, 2008,

page xiv
236. Jump up^ Journal of the

Pali Text Society, volume XVI, page

114

237. Jump up^ Peter

Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon

Press, 1995, page 9.

238. Jump up^ David

Kalupahana, "Sarvastivada and its

theory of sarvam asti." University of

Ceylon Review 24 1966, 94-105.

239. Jump up^ Indian

Buddhism, 3rd edition, page 4

240. ^ Jump up to:a b MacMillan

Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004,

page 494

241. Jump up^ Isabelle

Onians, "Tantric Buddhist

Apologetics, or Antinomianism as a

Norm," D.Phil. dissertation, Oxford,

Trinity Term 2001 pg 72

242. Jump up^ Jonathan A

Silk. What, if anything, is Mahayana

Buddhism? Numen 49:4

(2002):335-405. Article reprinted in

Williams, Buddhism, Vol III,

Routledge, 2005

243. Jump up^ Harvey 1990,

p. 1.

244. Jump up^ Goldstein

2011, p. 27.

245. Jump up^ Lama Surya

Das 1997, p. 16.

246. Jump up^ Goleman 2008,

Kindle Locations 1301-1305.

 247. ^ Jump up to:a b Gethin 1998,

p. 65-66.

248. Jump up^ Keown 2000,

Kindle Locations 361-372.

249. Jump up^ Pinburn 1990,

p. 101.

250. Jump up^ Pyysiäinen,

Ilkka (2003). "Buddhism, Religion,

and the Concept of

"God"". Man 50 (2): 147–

171.JSTOR 3270517.

251. Jump up^ Southwold,

Martin (Sep 1978). "Buddhism and

The Definition of

Religion". Man 13 (3): 362–

379.doi:10.2307/2801935. JSTOR 

2801935.

252. Jump up^ Walpola

Rahula 2007, Kindle Locations 316-

323.

253. Jump up^ "Is Buddhism a

Religion?". The Huffington Post.

August 6, 2010. Retrieved April 24,

2013.

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External links

Wikiquote has a collection of

quotations related
to: Buddhism

Wikisource has the text of

the1911  Encyclopædia
Britannicaarticle Buddhism.

Wikimedia Commons has

media related to Buddhism.

Wikiversity has learning

materials about Buddha
oracle# Buddhism

 Frequently Asked Questions About

Buddhism

 Orange Tip Editions Buddhism in

everyday life

 Religion and Spirituality: Buddhism at

Open Directory Project

 "Buddhism — objects, art and

history". Asia. Victoria and Albert
Museum. Retrieved 2007-12-06.

 Buddhist texts at Sacred Texts.com

  Buddhism in various languages

 The Future of Buddhism series,

from Patheos

 Thanissaro Bhikkhu. "Emptiness". A
Theravada Library. Retrieved 2012-
12-19.

 V

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 This page was last modified on 17 October 2013

at 13:12.
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