Buddhism

Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an <a href="/facts/Indian_religion/XW0aX8GF">Indian religion</a> based on <a href="/facts/Pre-sectarian_Buddhism/5GhsfLCb">teachings</a> attributed to <a href="/facts/The_Buddha/8UchTM1s">the Buddha</a>, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century <a href="/facts/Before_the_Common_Era/e5DpqUoe">BCE</a>. It is the <a href="/facts/Major_religious_groups/w6oGgDHN">world's fourth-largest religion</a>, with about 300 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise four percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern <a href="/facts/Gangetic_plain/kWHsYSNK">Gangetic plain</a> as a <a href="/facts/%25C5%259Arama%25E1%25B9%2587a/ka4nb2ve">śramaṇa</a> movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to <a href="/facts/Western_world/UQl4e7du">the West</a> in the 20th century.
According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of <a href="/facts/Bhavana/lQdvhVmW">development</a> which leads to <a href="/facts/Enlightenment_in_Buddhism/AGFXqGgz">awakening</a> and <a href="/facts/Moksha/b3uuA7jI">full liberation</a> from <a href="/facts/Du%25E1%25B8%25A5kha/d6eRFcXo">dukkha</a> (lit. 'suffering, unease'). He regarded this path as a <a href="/facts/Middle_Way/6PHWgQQC">Middle Way</a> between extremes such as <a href="/facts/Asceticism/s3szkXBx">asceticism</a> or sensual indulgence. Teaching that dukkha arises alongside <a href="/facts/Up%25C4%2581d%25C4%2581na/QeYswrUQ">attachment or clinging</a>, the Buddha advised <a href="/facts/Buddhist_meditation/kB2cwgAM">meditation practices</a> and <a href="/facts/Buddhist_ethics/wca2dyJ4">ethical precepts</a> rooted in <a href="/facts/Ahimsa/gV8J0KQI">non-harming</a>. Widely observed teachings include the <a href="/facts/Four_Noble_Truths/TaFqBJ8T">Four Noble Truths</a>, the <a href="/facts/Noble_Eightfold_Path/jfJVDCm4">Noble Eightfold Path</a>, and the doctrines of <a href="/facts/Dependent_origination/kaWoN2wW">dependent origination</a>, <a href="/facts/Karma_in_Buddhism/SqCaws2W">karma</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Three_marks_of_existence/qa3S3vWw">three marks of existence</a>. Other commonly observed elements include the <a href="/facts/Triple_Gem/jgdEWoed">Triple Gem</a>, the taking of <a href="/facts/Buddhist_monasticism/Cwc4dzX1">monastic vows</a>, and the cultivation of perfections (<a href="/facts/P%25C4%2581ramit%25C4%2581/MLogc3Hl">pāramitā</a>).
The <a href="/facts/Tripi%25E1%25B9%25ADaka/vc3oqMw0">Buddhist canon</a> is vast, with <a href="/facts/Philosophical_tradition/5qkV7G2A">philosophical traditions</a> and many different textual collections in different languages (such as <a href="/facts/Sanskrit/ychfjhlx">Sanskrit</a>, <a href="/facts/Pali/HLQW2fvS">Pali</a>, <a href="/facts/Tibeto-Burman_languages/H7kY9J5E">Tibetan</a>, and <a href="/facts/Chinese_language/771ruUY1">Chinese</a>). <a href="/facts/Schools_of_Buddhism/VzIRBl6t">Buddhist schools</a> vary in their interpretation of the paths to liberation (<a href="/facts/Buddhist_paths_to_liberation/lD7jQQoj">mārga</a>) as well as the relative importance and "canonicity" assigned to various <a href="/facts/Buddhist_texts/1jSFL7Wd">Buddhist texts</a>, and their specific teachings and practices. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: <a href="/facts/Theravada/nMhXBXBo">Theravāda</a> (lit. 'School of the Elders') and <a href="/facts/Mahayana/hxwvCFe3">Mahāyāna</a> (lit. 'Great Vehicle'). The Theravada tradition emphasizes the attainment of <a href="/facts/Nirvana_(Buddhism)/GQSTVL0T">nirvāṇa</a> (lit. 'extinguishing') as a means of transcending the individual self and ending the cycle of death and rebirth (<a href="/facts/Sa%25E1%25B9%2583s%25C4%2581ra_(Buddhism)/SCvm91be">saṃsāra</a>), while the Mahayana tradition emphasizes the <a href="/facts/Bodhisattva/dCMtuevK">Bodhisattva ideal</a>, in which one works for the liberation of all sentient beings. Additionally, <a href="/facts/Vajray%25C4%2581na/pDIn4wcG">Vajrayāna</a> (lit. 'Indestructible Vehicle'), a body of teachings incorporating esoteric <a href="/facts/Tantra/PWp3GPK9">tantric</a> techniques, may be viewed as a separate branch or tradition within Mahāyāna.
The Theravāda branch has a widespread following in <a href="/facts/Sri_Lanka/VtTBmysE">Sri Lanka</a> as well as in Southeast Asia, namely <a href="/facts/Myanmar/zcqQH2oE">Myanmar</a>, <a href="/facts/Thailand/GCUnN4JK">Thailand</a>, <a href="/facts/Laos/S0afugjX">Laos</a>, and <a href="/facts/Cambodia/t1wJd6GU">Cambodia</a>. The Mahāyāna branch—which includes the East Asian traditions of <a href="/facts/Tiantai/WWGv0Y1V">Tiantai</a>, <a href="/facts/Chan_Buddhism/UYu0BfVh">Chan</a>, <a href="/facts/Pure_Land_Buddhism/2hkcYJ94">Pure Land</a>, <a href="/facts/Zen/Fvgltk1w">Zen</a>, <a href="/facts/Nichiren_Buddhism/guugbslD">Nichiren</a>, and <a href="/facts/Tendai/nmAz3tWW">Tendai</a> is predominantly practised in <a href="/facts/Nepal/yWCzTBR2">Nepal</a>, <a href="/facts/Bhutan/fSRsLss9">Bhutan</a>, <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a>, <a href="/facts/Malaysia/8zbUMzCP">Malaysia</a>, <a href="/facts/Vietnam/0ulfA8Eq">Vietnam</a>, <a href="/facts/Taiwan/VcJoUD8w">Taiwan</a>, <a href="/facts/Korea/cj2kDBzc">Korea</a>, and <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a>. <a href="/facts/Tibetan_Buddhism/xWbwElWv">Tibetan Buddhism</a>, a form of Vajrayāna, is practised in the <a href="/facts/Himalayan_states/eRSf0yyE">Himalayan states</a> as well as in <a href="/facts/Mongolia/ogQzUcQb">Mongolia</a> and <a href="/facts/Kalmykia/HPWAsdpW">Russian Kalmykia</a> and <a href="/facts/Tuva/PNR0xpI9">Tuva</a>. Japanese <a href="/facts/Shingon/umV2zB70">Shingon</a> also preserves the Vajrayana tradition as transmitted to <a href="/facts/Tangmi/I9jSbKlw">China</a>. Historically, until the early <a href="/facts/2nd_millennium/eRTCzMPm">2nd millennium</a>, Buddhism was widely practiced in <a href="/facts/Decline_of_Buddhism_in_the_Indian_subcontinent/o5WFzGmG">the Indian subcontinent before declining there</a>; it also had a foothold to some extent elsewhere in Asia, namely <a href="/facts/Afghanistan/v63Auu1C">Afghanistan</a>, <a href="/facts/Turkmenistan/YqJ4NvjU">Turkmenistan</a>, <a href="/facts/Uzbekistan/o8wfw2xR">Uzbekistan</a>, and <a href="/facts/Tajikistan/xLLXqHEJ">Tajikistan</a>.

Buddhism open-in-new

Buddhism