Boolean Analysis of Definitions of Buddhism in Three Works of Reference

By D. C. Wijeratna

A definition is ‘a statement of the exact meaning of a word, especially in a dictionary’, according

to Oxford Dictionaries1. Definitions of Buddhism given in the following reference works however
differ: Oxford Dictionaries, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Wikipedia. This is a serious problem to the
student of Buddhism attempting to understand Buddhism and to meaningful discourse on Buddhism.
This short paper is a Boolean analysis of the three definitions mentioned above. The definitions are
quoted below.

Oxford Dictionaries (OD) Definition of Buddhism in English:

A widespread Asian religion or philosophy, founded by Siddartha Gautama in NE India in the

5th century bc; and Buddhism has no god, and gives a central role to the doctrine of karma.
The ‘four noble truths’ of Buddhism state that all existence is suffering, that the cause of
suffering is desire, that freedom from suffering is nirvana, and that this is attained through the
‘eightfold path’ of ethical conduct, wisdom, and mental discipline (including meditation).
There are two major traditions, Theravada and Mahayana2

Encyclopaedia Britannica (EB) Definition of Buddhism from the EB article on Buddhism:

Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit:

“awakened one”), a teacher who lived in northern India etween the mid-6th and the mid-4th
centuries bce (before the Common Era or Christian era)3.

Wikipedia (Buddhism)

Wikipedia has separate articles on Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy. The definition of
Buddhism from the article on Buddhism:

Buddhism is a non-theistic religion 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." According to Buddhist tradition, the
Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent sometime between the
6th and 4th centuries BCE4.

Wikipedia (Buddhist Philosophy) The definition of Buddhist philosophy from the Wikipedia

Buddhist philosophy is the elaboration and explanation of the delivered teachings of the
Buddha as found in the Tripitaka and Agama5.

1
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/definition?searchDictCode=all; downloaded on 1/11/2015
2
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Buddhism?searchDictCode=all; downloaded on 1/11/2015
3
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/83184/Buddhism; downloaded on 1/11/2015
4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism; downloaded on 1/11/2015
5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_philosophy; downloaded on 1/11/2015
 Reduced to bare essentials the definitions of Buddhism given above are:
OD: Religion or Philosophy
EB: Religion and Philosophy
Wikipedia separates Buddhism from Buddhist philosophy.

While looking for a method to analyse the above problem, I noticed the ‘or’ and ‘and’ which
reminded me of Boolean algebra I learnt in school. I found a method in a textbook by Jerrold W.
Grossman6; specifically, in Chapter 1 Logic; Section 1.1 Propositions. The inspiration to try this
method is the following quote:

When I use a word,” Humpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to
mean--neither more nor less.” --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass7

Boolean Analysis

Let T stands for true and F for false. A proposition can be either T or F.
Let R be the proposition ‘Buddhism is a religion’.
Let P be the proposition ‘Buddhism is a philosophy’.
Boolean expressions Conjunction and Disjunction are defined as follows:

Conjunction: If P and Q are propositions, then the conjunction of P and Q, written P ∧ Q and
read “P and Q” are both true and false otherwise.

Disjunction: If P and Q are propositions, then the disjunction of P and Q written P ∨ Q and
read “P or Q” is true, when either P is true, or Q is true, or both P and Q are true and false
otherwise.

With the above definitions, we have the following Boolean variables and expressions.

R Buddhism is a religion
P Buddhism is a philosophy
R∧P Buddhism is a religion and philosophy
R∨P Buddhism is a religion or philosophy

The truth table for the above is given below:

R P R∧P R∨Q
Case 1 T T T T
Case 2 T F F T
Case 3 F T F T
Case 4 F F F F
The results demonstrate that a unique definition for Buddhism in terms of religion or philosophy is
not possible.

Conclusions: 1 Buddhism is not a religion; and 2 Buddhism is not a philosophy.

6
Grossman, Jerrold W., Discrete Mathematics, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1990, pp. 4-10
7
Grossman, p 4