Buddhism is one of the most important Asian spiritual traditions. During its roughly 2.

5
millennia of history, Buddhism has shown a flexible approach, adapting itself to different conditions
and local ideas while maintaining its core teachings. As a result of its wide geographical expansion,
coupled with its tolerant spirit, Buddhism today encompasses a number of different traditions,
beliefs, and practices.

During the last decades, Buddhism has also gained a significant presence outside Asia. With the
number of adherents estimated to be almost 400 million people, Buddhism in our day has expanded
worldwide, and it is no longer culturally specific. For many centuries, this tradition has been a
powerful force in Asia, which has touched nearly every aspect of the eastern world: arts, morals,
lore, mythology, social institutions, etc. Today, Buddhism influences these same areas outside of
Asia, as well.

ORIGIN & EARLY DEVELOPMENT

The origin of Buddhism points to one man, Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, who was
born in Lumbini (in present-day Nepal) during the 5th century BCE. Rather than the founder of a
new religion, Siddhartha Gautama was the founder and leader of a sect of wanderer ascetics
(Sramanas), one of many sects that existed at that time all over India. This sect came to be known
as Sangha to distinguish it from other similar communities.

The Sramanas movement, which originated in the culture of world renunciation that emerged in
India from about the 7th century BCE, was the common origin of many religious and philosophical
traditions in India, including the Charvaka school, Buddhism, and its sister religion, Jainism. The
Sramanas were renunciants who rejected the Vedic teachings, which was the traditional religious
order in India, and renounced conventional society.

Siddhartha Gautama lived during a time of profound social changes in India. The authority of the
Vedic religion was being challenged by a number of new religious and philosophical views. This
religion had been developed by a nomadic society roughly a millennium before Siddhartha’s time,
and it gradually gained hegemony over most of north India, especially in the Gangetic plain. But
things were different in the 5th BCE, as society was no longer nomadic: agrarian settlements had
replaced the old nomad caravans and evolved into villages, then into towns and finally into cities.
Under the new urban context, a considerable sector of Indian society was no longer satisfied with
the old Vedic faith. Siddhartha Gautama was one of the many critics of the religious establishment.

IN SOME RELIGIONS, SIN IS THE ORIGIN OF HUMAN

SUFFERING. IN BUDDHISM THERE IS NO SIN; THE ROOT
CAUSE OF HUMAN SUFFERING IS AVIDYĀ “IGNORANCE”.
After Siddhartha Gautama passed away, the community he founded slowly evolved into a religion-
like movement and the teachings of Siddhartha became the basis of Buddhism. The historical
evidence suggests that Buddhism had a humble beginning. Apparently, it was a relatively minor
tradition in India, and some scholars have proposed that the impact of the Buddha in his own day
was relatively limited due to the scarcity of written documents, inscriptions, and archaeological
evidence from that time.

By the 3rd century BCE, the picture we have of Buddhism is very different. The Mauryan Indian
emperor Ashoka the Great (304–232 BCE), who ruled from 268 to 232 BCE, turned Buddhism into
the state religion of India. He provided a favourable social and political climate for the acceptance
of Buddhist ideas, encouraged Buddhist missionary activity, and even generated among Buddhist
monks certain expectations of patronage and influence on the machinery of political decision
making. Archaeological evidence for Buddhism between the death of the Buddha and the time of
Ashoka is scarce; after the time of Ashoka it is abundant.

SCHISM: FRACTURE OF BUDDHISM & ORIGIN OF

THE DIFFERENT BUDDHIST SCHOOLS
There are many stories about disagreements among the Buddha's disciples during his lifetime and
also accounts about disputes among his followers during the First Buddhist Council held soon after
the Buddha’s death, suggesting that dissent was present in the Buddhist community from an early
stage. After the death of the Buddha, those who followed his teachings had formed settled
communities in different locations. Language differences, doctrinal disagreements, the influence of
non-Buddhist schools, loyalties to specific teachers, and the absence of a recognized overall
authority or unifying organizational structure are just some examples of factors that contributed to
sectarian fragmentation.About a century after the death of Buddha, during the Second Buddhist
Council, we find the first major schism ever recorded in Buddhism: The Mahasanghika school. Many
different schools of Buddhism had developed at that time. Buddhist tradition speaks about 18
schools of early Buddhism, although we know that there were more than that, probably around 25.
A Buddhist school named Sthaviravada (in Sanskrit“school of the elders”) was the most powerful of
the early schools of Buddhism. Traditionally, it is held that the Mahasanghika school came into
existence as a result of a dispute over monastic practice. They also seem to have emphasized the
supramundane nature of the Buddha, so they were accused of preaching that the Buddha had the
attributes of a god. As a result of the conflict over monastic discipline, coupled with their c the
Mahasanghikas were expelled, thus forming two eparate Buddhist lines: the Sthaviravada and the
Mahasanghika ontroversial views on the nature of the Buddha,.
Siddhartha Gautama, the Historical Buddha

During the course of several centuries, both the Sthaviravada and the Mahasanghika schools
underwent many transformations, originating different schools. The Theravadaschool, which still
lives in our day, emerged from the Sthaviravada line, and is the dominant form of Buddhism in
Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The Mahasanghika school eventually
disappeared as an ordination tradition.

During the 1st century CE, while the oldest Buddhist groups were growing in south and south-east
Asia, a new Buddhist school named Mahayana (“Great Vehicle”) originated in northern India. This
school had a more adaptable approach and was open to doctrinal innovations. Mahayama Buddhism
is today the dominant form of Buddhism in Nepal, Tibet, China, Japan, Mongolia, Korea, and
Vietnam.

BUDDHIST EXPANSION ACROSS SOUTHERN

ASIA
During the time of Ashoka’s reign, trade routes were opened through southern India. Some of the
merchants using these roads were Buddhists who took their religion with them. Buddhist monks also
used these roads for missionary activity. Buddhism entered Sri Lanka during this time. A Buddhist
chronicle known as the Mahavamsa claims that the ruler of Sri Lanka, Devanampiya Tissa, was
converted to Buddhism by Mahinda, Ashoka’s son, who was a Buddhist missionary, and Buddhism
became associated with Sri Lanka’s kingship: The tight relationship between the Buddhist
community and Lankan’s rulers was sustained for more than two millennia until the dethroning of
the last Lankan king by the British in 1815 CE.

After reaching Sri Lanka, Buddhism crossed the sea into Myanmar (Burma): Despite the fact that
some Burmese accounts say that the Buddha himself converted the inhabitants of Lower and Upper
Myanmar, historical evidence suggests otherwise. Buddhism co-existed in Myanmar with other
traditions such as Brahmanism and various locals animists cults. The records of a Chinese Buddhist
pilgrim named Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang, 602-664 CE) state that in the ancient city of Pyu (the capital
of the Kingdom of Sri Ksetra, present day Myanmar), a number of early Buddhist schools were
active. After Myanmar, Buddhism travelled into Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, around 200
CE. The presence of Buddhism in Indonesia and the Malay peninsula is supported by archaeological
records from about the 5th century CE.

The Spread of Buddhism

While Buddhism was flourishing all over the rest of Asia, its importance in India gradually
diminished. Two important factors contributed to this process: a number of Muslim invasions, and
the advancement of Hinduism, which incorporated the Buddha as part of the pantheon of endless
gods; he came to be regarded as one of the many manifestations of the god Vishnu. In the end, the
Buddha was swallowed up by the realm of Hindu gods, his importance diminished, and in the very
land where it was born, Buddhism dwindled to be practiced by very few.

BUDDHIST EXPANSION ACROSS CENTRAL &

EAST ASIA
Buddhism entered China during the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE): The first Buddhist missionaries
accompanied merchant caravans that travelled using the Silk Road, probably during the 1st century
BCE. The majority of these missionaries belonged to the Mahayana school.

The initial stage of Buddhism is China was not very promising. Chinese culture had a long-established
intellectual and religious tradition and a strong sense of cultural superiority that did not help the
reception of Buddhist ideas. Many of the Buddhist ways were considered alien by the Chinese and
even contrary to the Confucian ideals that dominated the ruling aristocracy. The monastic order
received a serious set of critiques: It was considered unproductive and therefore was seen as placing
an unnecessary economic burden on the population, and the independence from secular authority
emphasized by the monks was seen as an attempt to undermine the traditional authority of the
emperor.

Despite its difficult beginning, Buddhism managed to build a solid presence in China towards the fall
of the Han dynasty on 220 CE, and its growth accelerated during the time of disunion and political
chaos that dominated China during the Six Dynasties period (220-589 CE). The collapse of the
imperial order made many Chinese skeptical about the Confucian ideologies and more open to
foreign ideas. Also, the universal spirit of Buddhist teachings made it attractive to many non-Chinese
ruler in the north who were looking to legitimate political power. Eventually, Buddhism in China
grew strong, deeply influencing virtually every aspect of its culture.

From China, Buddhism entered Korea in 372 CE, during the reign of King Sosurim, the ruler of the
Kingdom of Koguryo, or so it is stated in official records. There is archaeological evidence that
suggests that Buddhism was known in Korea from an earlier time.

The official introduction of Buddhism in Tibet (according to Tibetan records) took place during the
reign of the first Tibetan emperor Srong btsan sgam po (Songtsen gampo, 617-649/650 CE), although
we know that the proto-Tibetan people had been in touch with Buddhism from an earlier time,
through Buddhist merchants and missionaries. Buddhism grew powerful in Tibet, absorbing the local
pre-Buddhist Tibetan religions. Caught between China and India, Tibet received monks from both
sides and tension between Chinese and Indian Buddhist practice and ideology turned out to be
inevitable. From 792 to 794 CE a number of debates were held in the Bsam yas monastery between
Chinese and Indian Buddhists. The debate was decided in favour of the Indians: Buddhists
translations from Chinese sources were abandoned and the Indian Buddhist influence became
predominant.
A rock cut image of the Buddha

KEY BUDDHIST CONCEPTS

The Buddha was not concerned with satisfying human curiosity related to metaphysical speculations.
Topics like the existence of god, the afterlife, or creation stories were ignored by him. During the
centuries, Buddhism has evolved into different branches, and many of them have incorporated a
number of diverse metaphysical systems, deities, astrology and other elements that the Buddha did
not consider. In spite of this diversity, Buddhism has a relative unity and stability in its moral code.

The most important teaching of the Buddha is known as “The Four Noble Truths”, which is shared
with varying adjustments by all Buddhist schools. In general, the Four Noble Truths are explained as
follows:

The First Noble Truth is generally translated as “all life is suffering”, which can be easily understood
when it comes to painful situations like death, illness, abuse, poverty, and so forth. But suffering also
may arise from good things because nothing is permanent, everything is changing, and whatever
gives us happiness will sooner or later come to an end. It seems that all pleasures are temporary and
the more we enjoy them, the more we will miss them when they end. “Nothing lasts forever”, is one
of the insights of the Buddha.

The cause of suffering is desire. Suffering comes from desire, also referred as “thirst” or greed. Our
desires will always exceed our resources and leave us unhappy and unsatisfied. All suffering
originates in desire, but not all desire generates suffering. Only selfish desire generates suffering:
desire directed to the advantage of the part rather than to the good of the whole.
By stopping desire, suffering also stops. The idea is not to get too attached to material goods, places,
ideas, or even people. Non-attachment to anything is the main idea behind the third noble truth. It
means that since all changes if our attachment is too strong, we will inevitably suffer at some point.
After all, we will all get old, decay, and die; this is a natural cycle, and there is nothing wrong with it.
The problem comes when, by attaching too much, we do not accept the changes.

By following “The Eightfold Path”, desire stops. The Eightfold Path is composed of: right views, right
intentions, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right
concentration.

In some religions, sin is the origin of human suffering. In Buddhism there is no sin; the root cause of
human suffering is avidyā “ignorance”. In the entrance area of some Buddhist monasteries,
sometimes the images of four scary-looking deities are displayed, the four protectors whose purpose
is to scare away the ignorance of those who enter.

Gandhara Relief of Buddha Eating with Monks

Buddhism does not require faith or belief. If faith can be understood as believing something which is
unsupported by evidence, and ignorance is overcome by understanding, then faith is not enough to
overcome ignorance and therefore suffering. And belief, as understood by other religions, is not
necessary in Buddhism:

“The question of belief arises when there is no seeing - seeing in every sense of the
word. The moment you see, the question of belief disappears. If I tell you that I have
a gem hidden in the folded palm of my hand, the question of belief arises because
you do not see it yourself. But if I unclench my fist and show you the gem, then you
see it for yourself, and the question of belief does not arise. So the phrase in ancient
Buddhist texts reads 'Realizing, as one sees a gem in the palm'”
(Rahula W., p.9)

In its most basic form, Buddhism does not include the concept of a god. The existence of god is
neither confirmed, nor denied; it is a non-theistic system. The Buddha is seen as an extraordinary
man, not a deity. Some Buddhist schools have incorporated supernatural entities into their
traditions, but even in these cases, the role of human choice and responsibility remains supreme, far
above the deeds of the supernatural.

In some Chinese and Japanese Buddhist monasteries, they go even further by performing a curious
exercise: The monks are requested to think that the Buddha did not even existed. There is a good
reason for this: the core of Buddhism is not the Buddha, but his teachings or dharma. It is said that
those who wish to understand Buddhism and are interested in the Buddha are as mistaken as a
person who wishes to study mathematics by studying the life of Pythagoras or Newton. By imagining
the Buddha never existed, they avoid focusing on the idol so that they can embrace the ideal.

Buddhists believe in reincarnation meaning that they believe that people are reborn
again after dying. They believe that people continually go through the cycle of birth,
living, death and rebirth.

The three trainings or practices in Buddhism are sila, samadhi and prajna. Sila is the
practice of virtue, morality and good conduct. Sila is the classic "golden rule" of
Christianity, do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you. Samadhi is the
mental development of the person and refers to concentration and meditation.
Buddhists believe that developing one's mind is the best way to lead to personal
freedom. Prajna is the discernment or enlightenment where wisdom emerges into a
person's calm and pure mind.

The four noble truths of Buddhism explore human suffering. The first is Dukkha,
which is that suffering exists. It states that suffering is universal and everyone will
feel suffering. The second is Samudaya, which is that there is a cause for the
suffering that everyone experiences. Buddhists believe that the desire to have and
control things is what leads to suffering. The third is Nirodha, which is that there is an
end to suffering. Buddhists believe that in achieving Nirvana then the mind is free to
experience complete freedom and non-attachment. The fourth is Magga, which is
that the eightfold path is the way to end suffering.

Sutra is a type of religious literaturepresent in many Asian traditions such

as Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The word sutra is a Sanskrit term
that means “discourse” (in the Pali language: sutta). Another meaning suggested for the
word sutrais “threads”. Sutras were originally oral traditions and designed to prompt the
memory, which was probably the best alternative in a context where the majority of the population
was illiterate.

Tipitaka (Sansktrit: Tripitaka), the Buddhist canon, consists of

three pitaka (Tri means three and Pitaka refers to boxes), namely Vinaya or Monastic
regimen, Sutta (Sanskrit: Sutra) or Discourses
and Abhidhamma (Sanskrit: Abhidharma) or Abstract
doctrine. Dhammapada (Sanskrit: Dharmapada) belongs to Khuddaka
nikaya (Minor collection), which itself is a part of the Sutta pitaka. The name is a
combination of two words Dharma and Pada. Dharma can be roughly translated
intoreligious virtue and Pada into stanzas or steps.

The Mahayana sutras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that various traditions
of Mahayana Buddhism accept as canonical. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist
canon, the Tibetan Buddhist canon, and in extant Sanskrit manuscripts. Around one hundred
Mahayana sutras survive in Sanskrit, or in Chinese and Tibetan translations.Mahayana sutras
are passed down as the legacy of Gautama Buddha: early versions were not written documents
but orally preserved teachings said to be verses that were committed to memory and recited by
his disciples, in particular Ananda, which were viewed as a substitute for the actual speech of the
Buddha following his parinirvana (death)

Mahayana

The ideas of the 2nd century scholar Nagarjuna helped shape the Mahayana traditions.

Mahayana schools consider the Mahayana Sutras as authoritative scriptures and accurate
rendering of Buddha's words.[335] These traditions have been the more liberal form of Buddhism
allowing different and new interpretations that emerged over time.[448]

Mahayana flourished in India from the time of Ashoka,[335] through to the dynasty of
the Guptas(4th to 6th-century). Mahāyāna monastic foundations and centres of learning were
established by the Buddhist kings, and the Hindu kings of the Gupta dynasty as evidenced by
records left by three Chinese visitors to India.[449][450] The Gupta dynasty, for example, helped
establish the famed Nālandā University in Bihar.[449][451] These monasteries and foundations helped
Buddhist scholarship, as well as studies into non-Buddhist traditions and secular subjects such
as medicine, host visitors and spread Buddhism into East and Central Asia.[449][452]

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.".[453] 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. [454]

Vajrayana traditions

: Vajrayana

7th-century Potala Palace in Lhasa valley symbolizes Tibetan Buddhism and is a UNESCO world heritage
site.[455]

The goal and philosophy of the Vajrayāna remains Mahāyānist, but its methods are seen as far
more powerful, so as to lead to Buddhahood in just one lifetime.[456] The practice of
using mantras was adopted from Hinduism, where they were first used in the Vedas.[457] Tantric
Buddhism is largely concerned with ritual and meditative practices.[458]

Various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both
Buddhism and Saivism.[459] The Mañjusrimulakalpa, which later came to classified
under Kriyatantra, states that mantras taught in the Saiva, Garuda and Vaisnava tantras will be
effective if applied by Buddhists since they were all taught originally by Manjushri.[460] The
Guhyasiddhi of Padmavajra, a work associated with the Guhyasamaja tradition, prescribes acting
as a Saiva guru and initiating members into Saiva Siddhanta scriptures and mandalas.
[461]
The Samvara tantra texts adopted the pitha list from the Saiva text Tantrasadbhava,
introducing a copying error where a deity was mistaken for a place.[462]

Tibetan Buddhism preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India.[11] In the Tibetan
tradition, practices can include sexual yoga, though only for some very advanced practitioners.[463]

Zen

: 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 Mahayana Buddhism found in
China, Korea and Japan. It lays special emphasis on meditation, and direct discovery of the
Buddha-nature.[448][note 53]

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".[note 54]

Zen Buddhism is primarily found in Japan, with some presence in South Korea and Vietnam. The
scholars of Japanese Soto Zen tradition in recent times have critiqued the mainstream Japanese
Buddhism for dhatu-vada, that is assuming things have substantiality, a view they assert to be
non-Buddhist and "out of tune with the teachings of non-Self and conditioned arising", states
Peter Harvey

 Vesak: Buddha's Birthday is known as Vesak and is one of the major festivals of the year. It
is celebrated on the first full moon day in May, or the fourth lunar month which usually occurs
in May or during a lunar leap year, June. In some countries this has become an occasion to
not only celebrate the birth but also the enlightenment and parinirvana of the Buddha. [1]
 Magha Puja: Magha Puja is an important religious festival celebrated by Buddhists in
Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month (this usually falls
in March).[2][3]
 Buddha's Birthday: Also known as "Hanamatsuri"[1] it is celebrated April 8 and in Japan
baby Buddha figurines are ceremonially washed with tea.[1]
 Asalha Puja Day: Also known as "Dhamma Day" celebrates the Buddha's first teaching on
the full moon day of the 8th lunar month, approximately July.[3]
 Uposatha: This day is known as observance day, there are four holy days on the new moon,
full moon, and quarter moon days every month.[3]
 Kathina Ceremony: This robe offering ceremony, is held on any date within the end of the
Vassa Retreat. New robes and other requisites can be offered by the laity to the monks.
 Abhidhamma Day: According to Burmese tradition, this day celebrates when the Buddha
went to the Tushita Heaven to teach his mother the Abhidhamma. It is celebrated on the full
moon of the seventh month of the Burmese lunar year which starts in April. [3][4]
 Songkran: This Thai festival goes on for three days during April during which people clean
their houses and clothes and sprinkle perfumed water on the monks, novices, and each
other. Boat races on the river are also part of the celebration.[3]
 Loy Krathong: When the rivers and canals are full of water, this festival takes place in all
parts of Thailand on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month. Bowls made with leaves,
 candles, and incense sticks, are placed in the water, and represent bad luck disappearing. [3]

 Madhu Purnima: It occurs on the day of the full moon in the month of Bhadro
(August/September). The day commemorates an occasion on which the Buddha retreated to
the wilderness of Parileyya forest to bring peace between two quarrelling factions of
disciples.[3]
 The Ploughing Festival: During the half moon in May, two oxen pull a plough painted gold.
Following behind them are girls dressed in white scattering rice seeds. This was to celebrate
the Buddha's first moment of enlightenment.[3]
 The Elephant Festival: The Buddha used an example of a wild elephant which is harnessed
to a tame one to be trained. He said that a person who is new to Buddhism should have a
special relationship with an older Buddhist. This festival takes place on the third Saturday in
November.[3]
 The Festival of the Tooth: In Sri Lanka there is a temple that houses a tooth relic of the
Buddha. It can't be seen, but once a year there is a procession for it on the full moon in
August.[3]
 Ulambana: "Ancestor Day" is celebrated from the first to the fifteenth days of the eighth lunar
month. This is the day when the monastics complete their Rains Retreat. It was considered
that many monastics would have made progress during their retreat and therefore become a
greater field of merit. Lay devotees make offerings on behalf of their ancestors and dedicate
the merit towards those suffering in the preta realm to relieve their suffering. [3]
 Avalokitesvara's Birthday: This festival celebrates the Bodhisattva ideal. On the full moon
day in March It represents the perfection of compassion in Mahayana traditions of Tibet and
China.
 Bodhi Day: The holiday which commemorates the day that the historical Buddha
 experienced enlightenment.[5][1]
Early symbol

Footprint of the Buddha. 1st century, Gandhara, with depictions of the triratna and the Dharmacakra.

It is not known what the role of the image was in Early Buddhism, although many surviving
images can be found, because their symbolic or representative nature was not clearly explained
in early texts. Among the earliest and most common symbols of Buddhism are the stupa (and the
relics therein), the Dharma wheel, the Bodhi tree (and the distinctively shaped leaves of this tree)
and the lotus flower. The dharma wheel, traditionally represented with eight spokes, can have a
variety of meanings. It initially only meant royalty (concept of the "Monarch of the Wheel,
or Chakravatin), but it began to be used in a Buddhist context on the Pillars of Ashoka during the
3rd century BC. The Dharma wheel is generally seen as referring to the historical process of
teaching the buddhadharma, the eight spokes referring to the Noble Eightfold Path. The lotus, as
well, can have several meanings, often referring to the quality of compassion and subsequently
to the related notion of the inherently pure potential of the mind. The Bodhi tree represents the
spot where the Buddha reached nibbana and thus represents liberation.

Other early symbols include the monks begging bowl and the trisula, a symbol used since around
the 2nd century BC, and combining the lotus, the vajra diamond rod and a symbolization of
the three jewels(The Buddha, the dharma, the sangha). The lion, riderless horse and also deers
were also used in early Buddhist iconography. The Buddha's teachings are referred to as the
'Lion's Roar' in the suttas, indicative of their power and nobility. The riderless horse represents
renunciation and the deer represent Buddhist disciples, as the Buddha gave his first sermon at
the deer park of Varanasi.

The swastika was traditionally used in India by Buddhists and Hindus to represent good fortune.
In East Asia, the swastika is often used as a general symbol of Buddhism. Swastikas used in this
context can either be left or right-facing.

Early Buddhism did not portray the Buddha himself instead using an empty throne and the Bodhi
tree to represent the Buddha and thus may have leaned towards aniconism. The first hint of a
human representation in Buddhist symbolism appear with the Buddha footprintand full
representations were influenced by Greco-Buddhist art.