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Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings of the Buddha, a teacher from the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world’s fourth-largest religion with nearly 500 million followers. Central to Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, guiding ethical living and meditation to transcend dukkha (suffering). Major branches include Theravāda and Mahāyāna, with the latter encompassing traditions like Zen and Pure Land. Vajrayāna, often linked to Tibetan Buddhism, incorporates tantric practices. Buddhism spread widely across Asia and reached the West in the 20th century, deeply influencing diverse cultures and spiritualities.

Etymology

The names Buddha Dharma and Bauddha Dharma come from Sanskrit: बुद्ध धर्म and बौद्ध धर्म respectively ("doctrine of the Enlightened One" and "doctrine of Buddhists"). The term Dharmavinaya comes from Sanskrit: धर्मविनय, literally meaning "doctrines [and] disciplines".24

The Buddha ("the Awakened One") was a Śramaṇa who lived in South Asia c. 6th or 5th century BCE.2526 Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists in English, referred to themselves as Sakyan-s or Sakyabhiksu in ancient India.2728 Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez asserts they also used the term Bauddha,29 although scholar Richard Cohen asserts that that term was used only by outsiders to describe Buddhists.30

The Buddha

Main article: The Buddha

Details of the Buddha's life are mentioned in many Early Buddhist Texts but are inconsistent. His social background and life details are difficult to prove, and the precise dates are uncertain, although the 5th century BCE seems to be the best estimate.3132

Early texts have the Buddha's family name as "Gautama" (Pali: Gotama), while some texts give Siddhartha as his surname. He was born in Lumbini, present-day Nepal and grew up in Kapilavastu,33 a town in the Ganges Plain, near the modern Nepal–India border, and he spent his life in what is now modern Bihar34 and Uttar Pradesh.3536 Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother was Queen Maya.37 Scholars such as Richard Gombrich consider this a dubious claim because a combination of evidence suggests he was born in the Shakya community, which was governed by a small oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered instead.38 Some of the stories about the Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about the society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts.3940

Various details about the Buddha's background are contested in modern scholarship. For example, Buddhist texts assert that Buddha described himself as a kshatriya (warrior class), but Gombrich writes that little is known about his father and there is no proof that his father even knew the term kshatriya.41 (Mahavira, whose teachings helped establish the ancient religion Jainism, is also claimed to be ksatriya by his early followers.42)

According to early texts such as the Pali Ariyapariyesanā-sutta ("The discourse on the noble quest", MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at 204, Gautama was moved by the suffering (dukkha) of life and death, and its endless repetition due to rebirth.43 He thus set out on a quest to find liberation from suffering (also known as "nirvana").44 Early texts and biographies state that Gautama first studied under two teachers of meditation, namely Āḷāra Kālāma (Sanskrit: Arada Kalama) and Uddaka Ramaputta (Sanskrit: Udraka Ramaputra), learning meditation and philosophy, particularly the meditative attainment of "the sphere of nothingness" from the former, and "the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception" from the latter.454647

Finding these teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of severe asceticism, which included a strict fasting regime and various forms of breath control.48 This too fell short of attaining his goal, and then he turned to the meditative practice of dhyana. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree—now called the Bodhi Tree—in the town of Bodh Gaya and attained "Awakening" (Bodhi).49[according to whom?]

According to various early texts like the Mahāsaccaka-sutta, and the Samaññaphala Sutta, on awakening, the Buddha gained insight into the workings of karma and his former lives, as well as achieving the ending of the mental defilements (asavas), the ending of suffering, and the end of rebirth in saṃsāra.50 This event also brought certainty about the Middle Way as the right path of spiritual practice to end suffering.5152 As a fully enlightened Buddha, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha (monastic order).53 He spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma he had discovered, and then died, achieving "final nirvana", at the age of 80 in Kushinagar, India.5455[according to whom?]

The Buddha's teachings were propagated by his followers, which in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE became various Buddhist schools of thought, each with its own basket of texts containing different interpretations and authentic teachings of the Buddha;565758 these over time evolved into many traditions of which the more well known and widespread in the modern era are Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.5960

Worldview

Main article: Glossary of Buddhism

The term "Buddhism" is an occidental neologism, commonly (and "rather roughly" according to Donald S. Lopez Jr.) used as a translation for the Dharma of the Buddha, fójiào in Chinese, bukkyō in Japanese, nang pa sangs rgyas pa'i chos in Tibetan, buddhadharma in Sanskrit, buddhaśāsana in Pali.61

Four Noble Truths – dukkha and its ending

Main articles: Dukkha and Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths, or the truths of the Noble Ones,62 express the basic orientation of Buddhism: we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, "incapable of satisfying" and painful.6364 This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the endless cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha and dying again.65

But there is a way to liberation from this endless cycle66 to the state of nirvana, namely following the Noble Eightfold Path.67

The truth of dukkha is the basic insight that life in this mundane world, with its clinging and craving to impermanent states and things68 is dukkha, and unsatisfactory.697071 Dukkha can be translated as "incapable of satisfying",72 "the unsatisfactory nature and the general insecurity of all conditioned phenomena"; or "painful".7374 Dukkha is most commonly translated as "suffering", but this is inaccurate, since it refers not to episodic suffering, but to the intrinsically unsatisfactory nature of temporary states and things, including pleasant but temporary experiences.75 We expect happiness from states and things which are impermanent, and therefore cannot attain real happiness.

The Four Noble Truths are:

  • dukkha ("not being at ease", "suffering") is an innate characteristic of the perpetual cycle (samsara, lit. 'wandering') of grasping at things, ideas and habits
  • samudaya (origin, arising, combination; "cause"): dukkha is caused by taṇhā ("craving," "desire" or "attachment," literally "thirst")
  • nirodha (cessation, ending, confinement): dukkha can be ended or contained by the confinement or letting go of taṇhā
  • marga (path) is the path leading to the confinement of taṇhā and dukkha, classically the Noble Eightfold Path but sometimes other paths to liberation

Three marks of existence

Main article: Three marks of existence

Buddhism teaches that the idea that anything is permanent or that there is self in any being is ignorance or misperception (avijjā), and that this is the primary source of clinging and dukkha.767778

Ignorance is countered by insight (paññā); most schools of Buddhism, therefore, teach three marks of existence, which fundamentally characterize all phenomena:79

  • Dukkha: unease, suffering
  • Anicca: impermanence
  • Anattā: non-self; living things have no permanent immanent soul or essence808182

Some schools describe four characteristics or "four seals of the Dharma", adding to the above

The cycle of rebirth

Saṃsāra

Main article: Saṃsāra (Buddhism)

Saṃsāra means "wandering" or "world", with the connotation of cyclic, circuitous change.8586 It refers to the theory of rebirth and "cyclicality of all life, matter, existence", a fundamental assumption of Buddhism, as with all major Indian religions.8788 Samsara in Buddhism is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful,89 perpetuated by desire and avidya (ignorance), and the resulting karma.909192 Liberation from this cycle of existence, nirvana, has been the foundation and the most important historical justification of Buddhism.9394

Buddhist texts assert that rebirth can occur in six realms of existence, namely three good realms (heavenly, demi-god, human) and three evil realms (animal, hungry ghosts, hellish).95 Samsara ends if a person attains nirvana, the "blowing out" of the afflictions through insight into impermanence and "non-self".969798

Rebirth

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 to death.99 In Buddhist thought, this rebirth does not involve a soul or any fixed substance. This is because the Buddhist doctrine of anattā (Sanskrit: anātman, no-self doctrine) rejects the concepts of a permanent self or an unchanging, eternal soul found in other religions.100101

The Buddhist traditions have traditionally disagreed on what it is in a person that is reborn, as well as how quickly the rebirth occurs after death.102103 Some Buddhist traditions assert that "no self" doctrine means that there is no enduring self, but there is avacya (inexpressible) personality (pudgala) which migrates from one life to another.104 The majority of Buddhist traditions, in contrast, assert that vijñāna (a person's consciousness) though evolving, exists as a continuum and is the mechanistic basis of what undergoes the rebirth process.105106 The quality of one's rebirth depends on the merit or demerit gained by one's karma (i.e., actions), as well as that accrued on one's behalf by a family member.107 Buddhism also developed a complex cosmology to explain the various realms or planes of rebirth.108

Karma

Main article: Karma in Buddhism

In Buddhism, karma (from Sanskrit: "action, work") drives saṃsāra—the endless cycle of suffering and rebirth for each being. Good, skilful deeds (Pāli: kusala) and bad, unskilful deeds (Pāli: akusala) produce "seeds" in the unconscious receptacle (ālaya) that mature later either in this life or in a subsequent rebirth.109110 The existence of karma is a core belief in Buddhism, as with all major Indian religions, and it implies neither fatalism nor that everything that happens to a person is caused by karma.111 (Diseases and suffering induced by the disruptive actions of other people are examples of non-karma suffering.112)

A central aspect of Buddhist theory of karma is that intent (cetanā) matters and is essential to bring about a consequence or phala "fruit" or vipāka "result".113 The emphasis on intent in Buddhism marks a difference from the karmic theory of Jainism, where karma accumulates with or without intent.114115 The emphasis on intent is also found in Hinduism, and Buddhism may have influenced karma theories of Hinduism.116

In Buddhism, good or bad karma accumulates even if there is no physical action, and just having ill or good thoughts creates karmic seeds; thus, actions of body, speech or mind all lead to karmic seeds.117 In the Buddhist traditions, life aspects affected by the law of karma in past and current births of a being include the form of rebirth, realm of rebirth, social class, character and major circumstances of a lifetime.118119120 According to the theory, it operates like the laws of physics, without external intervention, on every being in all six realms of existence including human beings and gods.121122

A notable aspect of the karma theory in modern Buddhism is merit transfer.123124 A person accumulates merit not only through intentions and ethical living, but also is able to gain merit from others by exchanging goods and services, such as through dāna (charity to monks or nuns).125 The theory also states a person can transfer one's own good karma to living family members and ancestors.126

This Buddhist idea may have roots in the quid-pro-quo exchange beliefs of the Hindu Vedic rituals.127 The "karma merit transfer" concept has been controversial, not accepted in later Jainism and Hinduism traditions, unlike Buddhism where it was adopted in ancient times and remains a common practice.128 According to Bruce Reichenbach, the "merit transfer" idea was generally absent in early Buddhism and may have emerged with the rise of Mahayana Buddhism; he adds that while major Hindu schools such as Yoga, Advaita Vedanta and others do not believe in merit transfer, some bhakti Hindu traditions later adopted the idea just like Buddhism.129

Liberation

Main articles: Moksha and Nirvana (Buddhism)

The cessation of the kleshas and the attainment of nirvana (nibbāna), with which the cycle of rebirth ends, has been the primary and the soteriological goal of the Buddhist path for monastic life since the time of the Buddha.130131132 The term "path" is usually taken to mean the Noble Eightfold Path, but other versions of "the path" can also be found in the Nikayas.133 In some passages in the Pali Canon, a distinction is being made between right knowledge or insight (sammā-ñāṇa), and right liberation or release (sammā-vimutti), as the means to attain cessation and liberation.134135

Nirvana literally means "blowing out, quenching, becoming extinguished".136137 In early Buddhist texts, it is the state of restraint and self-control that leads to the "blowing out" and the ending of the cycles of sufferings associated with rebirths and redeaths.138139140 Many later Buddhist texts describe nirvana as identical with anatta with complete "emptiness, nothingness".141142143144 In some texts, the state is described with greater detail, such as passing through the gate of emptiness (sunyata)—realising that there is no soul or self in any living being, then passing through the gate of signlessness (animitta)—realising that nirvana cannot be perceived, and finally passing through the gate of wishlessness (apranihita)—realising that nirvana is the state of not even wishing for nirvana.145146147

The nirvana state has been described in Buddhist texts partly in a manner similar to other Indian religions, as the state of complete liberation, enlightenment, highest happiness, bliss, fearlessness, freedom, permanence, non-dependent origination, unfathomable, and indescribable.148149 It has also been described in part differently, as a state of spiritual release marked by "emptiness" and realisation of non-self.150151152153

While Buddhism considers the liberation from saṃsāra as the ultimate spiritual goal, in traditional practice, the primary focus of a vast majority of lay Buddhists has been to seek and accumulate merit through good deeds, donations to monks and various Buddhist rituals in order to gain better rebirths rather than nirvana.154155156

Dependent arising

Main articles: Pratītyasamutpāda and Twelve Nidānas

Pratityasamutpada, also called "dependent arising, or dependent origination", is the Buddhist theory to explain the nature and relations of being, becoming, existence and ultimate reality. Buddhism asserts that there is nothing independent, except the state of nirvana.157 All physical and mental states depend on and arise from other pre-existing states, and in turn from them arise other dependent states while they cease.158

The 'dependent arisings' have a causal conditioning, and thus Pratityasamutpada is the Buddhist belief that causality is the basis of ontology, not a creator God nor the ontological Vedic concept called universal Self (Brahman) nor any other 'transcendent creative principle'.159160 However, Buddhist thought does not understand causality in terms of Newtonian mechanics; rather it understands it as conditioned arising.161162 In Buddhism, dependent arising refers to conditions created by a plurality of causes that necessarily co-originate a phenomenon within and across lifetimes, such as karma in one life creating conditions that lead to rebirth in one of the realms of existence for another lifetime.163164165

Buddhism applies the theory of dependent arising to explain origination of endless cycles of dukkha and rebirth, through Twelve Nidānas or "twelve links". It states that because Avidyā (ignorance) exists, Saṃskāras (karmic formations) exist; because Saṃskāras exist therefore Vijñāna (consciousness) exists; and in a similar manner it links Nāmarūpa (the sentient body), Ṣaḍāyatana (our six senses), Sparśa (sensory stimulation), Vedanā (feeling), Taṇhā (craving), Upādāna (grasping), Bhava (becoming), Jāti (birth), and Jarāmaraṇa (old age, death, sorrow, and pain).166167 By breaking the circuitous links of the Twelve Nidanas, Buddhism asserts that liberation from these endless cycles of rebirth and dukkha can be attained.168

Not-Self and Emptiness

Main articles: Anātman and Śūnyatā

 The Five Aggregates (pañca khandha)according to the Pali Canon.
 
 
form (rūpa)
 4 elements(mahābhūta) 
 
  
  contact(phassa)
    ↓
 consciousness(viññāna) 
    →←   ←
 mental factors (cetasika) 
 feeling(vedanā) 
 
 perception(sañña) 
 
 formation(saṅkhāra) 
 
 
 
 Source: MN 109 (Thanissaro, 2001)  |  diagram details

A related doctrine in Buddhism is that of anattā (Pali) or anātman (Sanskrit). It is the view that there is no unchanging, permanent self, soul or essence in phenomena.169 The Buddha and Buddhist philosophers who follow him such as Vasubandhu and Buddhaghosa, generally argue for this view by analyzing the person through the schema of the five aggregates, and then attempting to show that none of these five components of personality can be permanent or absolute.170 This can be seen in Buddhist discourses such as the Anattalakkhana Sutta.

"Emptiness" or "voidness" (Skt: Śūnyatā, Pali: Suññatā), is a related concept with many different interpretations throughout the various Buddhisms. In early Buddhism, it was commonly stated that all five aggregates are void (rittaka), hollow (tucchaka), coreless (asāraka), for example as in the Pheṇapiṇḍūpama Sutta (SN 22:95).171 Similarly, in Theravada Buddhism, it often means that the five aggregates are empty of a Self.172

Emptiness is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism, especially in Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka school, and in the Prajñāpāramitā sutras. In Madhyamaka philosophy, emptiness is the view which holds that all phenomena are without any svabhava (literally "own-nature" or "self-nature"), and are thus without any underlying essence, and so are "empty" of being independent.[example needed] This doctrine sought to refute the heterodox theories of svabhava circulating at the time.173

The Three Jewels

Main article: Three Jewels

All forms of Buddhism revere and take spiritual refuge in the "three jewels" (triratna): Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.174

Buddha

Main article: Buddhahood

While all varieties of Buddhism revere "Buddha" and "buddhahood", they have different views on what these are. Regardless of their interpretation, the concept of Buddha is central to all forms of Buddhism.

In Theravada Buddhism, a Buddha is someone who has become awake through their own efforts and insight. They have put an end to their cycle of rebirths and have ended all unwholesome mental states which lead to bad action and thus are morally perfected.175 While subject to the limitations of the human body in certain ways (for example, in the early texts, the Buddha suffers from backaches), a Buddha is said to be "deep, immeasurable, hard-to-fathom as is the great ocean", and also has immense psychic powers (abhijñā).176

Mahāyāna Buddhism meanwhile, has a vastly expanded cosmology, with various Buddhas and other holy beings (aryas) residing in different realms. Mahāyāna texts not only revere numerous Buddhas besides Shakyamuni, such as Amitabha and Vairocana, but also see them as transcendental or supramundane (lokuttara) beings.177 Mahāyāna Buddhism holds that these other Buddhas in other realms can be contacted and are able to benefit beings in this world.178 In Mahāyāna, a Buddha is a kind of "spiritual king", a "protector of all creatures" with a lifetime that is countless of eons long, rather than just a human teacher who has transcended the world after death.179 Shakyamuni's life and death on earth is then usually understood as a "mere appearance" or "a manifestation skilfully projected into earthly life by a long-enlightened transcendent being, who is still available to teach the faithful through visionary experiences".180181

Dharma

Main article: Dharma

The second of the three jewels is "Dharma" (Pali: Dhamma), which in Buddhism refers to the Buddha's teaching, which includes all of the main ideas outlined above. While this teaching reflects the true nature of reality, it is not a belief to be clung to, but a pragmatic teaching to be put into practice. It is likened to a raft which is "for crossing over" (to nirvana) not for holding on to.182 It also refers to the universal law and cosmic order which that teaching both reveals and relies upon.183 It is an everlasting principle which applies to all beings and worlds. In that sense it is also the ultimate truth and reality about the universe, it is thus "the way that things really are".

Sangha

Main articles: Sangha, Bodhisattva, and Arhat

The third "jewel" which Buddhists take refuge in is the "Sangha", which refers to the monastic community of monks and nuns who follow Gautama Buddha's monastic discipline which was "designed to shape the Sangha as an ideal community, with the optimum conditions for spiritual growth."184 The Sangha consists of those who have chosen to follow the Buddha's ideal way of life, which is one of celibate monastic renunciation with minimal material possessions (such as an alms bowl and robes).185

The Sangha is seen as important because they preserve and pass down Buddha Dharma. As Gethin states "the Sangha lives the teaching, preserves the teaching as Scriptures and teaches the wider community. Without the Sangha there is no Buddhism."186 The Sangha also acts as a "field of merit" for laypersons, allowing them to make spiritual merit or goodness by donating to the Sangha and supporting them. In return, they keep their duty to preserve and spread the Dharma everywhere for the good of the world.187

There is also a separate definition of Sangha, referring to those who have attained any stage of awakening, whether or not they are monastics. This sangha is called the āryasaṅgha "noble Sangha".188 All forms of Buddhism generally reveres these āryas (Pali: ariya, "noble ones" or "holy ones") who are spiritually attained beings. Aryas have attained the fruits of the Buddhist path.189

Other key Mahāyāna views

Main articles: Yogachara and Buddha-nature

Mahāyāna Buddhism also differs from Theravada and the other schools of early Buddhism in promoting several unique doctrines which are contained in Mahāyāna sutras and philosophical treatises.

One of these is the unique interpretation of emptiness and dependent origination found in the Madhyamaka school. Another very influential doctrine for Mahāyāna is the main philosophical view of the Yogācāra school variously, termed Vijñaptimātratā-vāda ("the doctrine that there are only ideas" or "mental impressions") or Vijñānavāda ("the doctrine of consciousness"). According to Mark Siderits, what classical Yogācāra thinkers like Vasubandhu had in mind is that we are only ever aware of mental images or impressions, which may appear as external objects, but "there is actually no such thing outside the mind".190 There are several interpretations of this main theory, many scholars see it as a type of Idealism, others as a kind of phenomenology.191

Another very influential concept unique to Mahāyāna is that of "Buddha-nature" (buddhadhātu) or "Tathagata-womb" (tathāgatagarbha). Buddha-nature is a concept found in some 1st-millennium CE Buddhist texts, such as the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras. According to Paul Williams these Sutras suggest that 'all sentient beings contain a Tathagata' as their 'essence, core inner nature, Self'.192193 According to Karl Brunnholzl "the earliest mahayana sutras that are based on and discuss the notion of tathāgatagarbha as the buddha potential that is innate in all sentient beings began to appear in written form in the late second and early third century."194 For some, the doctrine seems to conflict with the Buddhist anatta doctrine (non-Self), leading scholars to posit that the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras were written to promote Buddhism to non-Buddhists.195196 This can be seen in texts like the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, which state that Buddha-nature is taught to help those who have fear when they listen to the teaching of anatta.197 Buddhist texts like the Ratnagotravibhāga clarify that the "Self" implied in Tathagatagarbha doctrine is actually "not-self".198199

Paths to liberation

Main article: Buddhist paths to liberation

The Bodhipakkhiyādhammā are seven lists of qualities or factors that promote spiritual awakening (bodhi). Each list is a short summary of the Buddhist path, and the seven lists substantially overlap. The best-known list in the West is the Noble Eightfold Path, but a wide variety of paths and models of progress have been used and described in the different Buddhist traditions. However, they generally share basic practices such as sila (ethics), samadhi (meditation, dhyana) and prajña (wisdom), which are known as the three trainings. An important additional practice is a kind and compassionate attitude toward every living being and the world. Devotion is also important in some Buddhist traditions, and in the Tibetan traditions visualisations of deities and mandalas are important. The value of textual study is regarded differently in the various Buddhist traditions. It is central to Theravada and highly important to Tibetan Buddhism, while the Zen tradition takes an ambiguous stance.

An important guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way (madhyamapratipad). It was a part of Buddha's first sermon, where he presented the Noble Eightfold Path that was a 'middle way' between the extremes of asceticism and hedonistic sense pleasures.200201 In Buddhism, states Harvey, the doctrine of "dependent arising" (conditioned arising, pratītyasamutpāda) to explain rebirth is viewed as the 'middle way' between the doctrines that a being has a "permanent soul" involved in rebirth (eternalism) and "death is final and there is no rebirth" (annihilationism).202203

Paths to liberation in the early texts

A common presentation style of the path (mārga) to liberation in the Early Buddhist Texts is the "graduated talk", in which the Buddha lays out a step-by-step training.204

In the early texts, numerous different sequences of the gradual path can be found.205 One of the most important and widely used presentations among the various Buddhist schools is The Noble Eightfold Path, or "Eightfold Path of the Noble Ones" (Skt. 'āryāṣṭāṅgamārga'). This can be found in various discourses, most famously in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (The discourse on the turning of the Dharma wheel).

Other suttas such as the Tevijja Sutta, and the Cula-Hatthipadopama-sutta give a different outline of the path, though with many similar elements such as ethics and meditation.206

According to Rupert Gethin, the path to awakening is also frequently summarized by another a short formula: "abandoning the hindrances, practice of the four establishings of mindfulness, and development of the awakening factors".207

Noble Eightfold Path

Main article: Noble Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path consists of a set of eight interconnected factors or conditions, that when developed together, lead to the cessation of dukkha.208 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.

This Eightfold Path is the fourth of the Four Noble Truths and asserts the path to the cessation of dukkha (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness).209210 The path teaches that the way of the enlightened ones stopped their craving, clinging and karmic accumulations, and thus ended their endless cycles of rebirth and suffering.211212213

The Noble Eightfold Path is grouped into three basic divisions, as follows:214215216

DivisionEightfold factorSanskrit, PaliDescription
Wisdom(Sanskrit: prajñā,Pāli: paññā)1. Right viewsamyag dṛṣṭi,sammā ditthiThe belief that there is an afterlife and not everything ends with death, that Buddha taught and followed a successful path to nirvana;217 according to Peter Harvey, the right view is held in Buddhism as a belief in the Buddhist principles of karma and rebirth, and the importance of the Four Noble Truths and the True Realities.218
2. Right intentionsamyag saṃkalpa,sammā saṅkappaGiving up home and adopting the life of a religious mendicant in order to follow the path;219 this concept, states Harvey, aims at peaceful renunciation, into an environment of non-sensuality, non-ill-will (to lovingkindness), away from cruelty (to compassion).220
Moral virtues221(Sanskrit: śīla,Pāli: sīla)3. Right speechsamyag vāc,sammā vācaNo lying, no rude speech, no telling one person what another says about him, speaking that which leads to salvation.222
4. Right actionsamyag karman,sammā kammantaNo killing or injuring, no taking what is not given; no sexual acts in monastic pursuit,223 for lay Buddhists no sensual misconduct such as sexual involvement with someone married, or with an unmarried woman protected by her parents or relatives.224225226
5. Right livelihoodsamyag ājīvana,sammā ājīvaFor monks, beg to feed, only possessing what is essential to sustain life.227 For lay Buddhists, the canonical texts state right livelihood as abstaining from wrong livelihood, explained as not becoming a source or means of suffering to sentient beings by cheating them, or harming or killing them in any way.228229
Meditation230(Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi)6. Right effortsamyag vyāyāma,sammā vāyāmaGuard against sensual thoughts; this concept, states Harvey, aims at preventing unwholesome states that disrupt meditation.231
7. Right mindfulnesssamyag smṛti,sammā satiNever be absent-minded, conscious of what one is doing; this, states Harvey, encourages mindfulness about impermanence of the body, feelings and mind, as well as to experience the five skandhas, the five hindrances, the four True Realities and seven factors of awakening.232
8. Right concentrationsamyag samādhi,sammā samādhiCorrect meditation or concentration (dhyana), explained as the four jhānas.233234

Common practices

Hearing and learning the Dharma

In various suttas which present the graduated path taught by the Buddha, such as the Samaññaphala Sutta and the Cula-Hatthipadopama Sutta, the first step on the path is hearing the Buddha teach the Dharma. This then said to lead to the acquiring of confidence or faith in the Buddha's teachings.235

Mahayana Buddhist teachers such as Yin Shun also state that hearing the Dharma and study of the Buddhist discourses is necessary "if one wants to learn and practice the Buddha Dharma."236 Likewise, in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, the "Stages of the Path" (Lamrim) texts generally place the activity of listening to the Buddhist teachings as an important early practice.237

Refuge

Main article: Refuge (Buddhism)

Traditionally, the first step in most Buddhist schools requires taking of the "Three Refuges", also called the Three Jewels (Sanskrit: triratna, Pali: tiratana) as the foundation of one's religious practice.238 This practice may have been influenced by the Brahmanical motif of the triple refuge, found in the Rigveda 9.97.47, Rigveda 6.46.9 and Chandogya Upanishad 2.22.3–4.239 Tibetan Buddhism sometimes adds a fourth refuge, in the lama. The three refuges are believed by Buddhists to be protective and a form of reverence.240

The ancient formula which is repeated for taking refuge affirms that "I go to the Buddha as refuge, I go to the Dhamma as refuge, I go to the Sangha as refuge."241 Reciting the three refuges, according to Harvey, is considered not as a place to hide, rather a thought that "purifies, uplifts and strengthens the heart".242

Śīla – Buddhist ethics

Main article: Buddhist ethics

Śīla (Sanskrit) or sīla (Pāli) is the concept of "moral virtues", that is the second group and an integral part of the Noble Eightfold Path.243 It generally consists of right speech, right action and right livelihood.244

One of the most basic forms of ethics in Buddhism is the taking of "precepts". This includes the Five Precepts for laypeople, Eight or Ten Precepts for monastic life, as well as rules of Dhamma (Vinaya or Patimokkha) adopted by a monastery.245246

Other important elements of Buddhist ethics include giving or charity (dāna), Mettā (Good-Will), Heedfulness (Appamada), 'self-respect' (Hri) and 'regard for consequences' (Apatrapya).

Precepts

Main article: Five precepts

Buddhist scriptures explain the five precepts (Pali: pañcasīla; Sanskrit: pañcaśīla) as the minimal standard of Buddhist morality.247 It is the most important system of morality in Buddhism, together with the monastic rules.248

The five precepts are seen as a basic training applicable to all Buddhists. They are:249250251

  1. "I undertake the training-precept (sikkha-padam) to abstain from onslaught on breathing beings." This includes ordering or causing someone else to kill. The Pali suttas also say one should not "approve of others killing" and that one should be "scrupulous, compassionate, trembling for the welfare of all living beings".252
  2. "I undertake the training-precept to abstain from taking what is not given." According to Harvey, this also covers fraud, cheating, forgery as well as "falsely denying that one is in debt to someone".253
  3. "I undertake the training-precept to abstain from misconduct concerning sense-pleasures." This generally refers to adultery, as well as rape and incest. It also applies to sex with those who are legally under the protection of a guardian. It is also interpreted in different ways in the varying Buddhist cultures.254
  4. "I undertake the training-precept to abstain from false speech." According to Harvey this includes "any form of lying, deception or exaggeration...even non-verbal deception by gesture or other indication...or misleading statements."255 The precept is often also seen as including other forms of wrong speech such as "divisive speech, harsh, abusive, angry words, and even idle chatter".256
  5. "I undertake the training-precept to abstain from alcoholic drink or drugs that are an opportunity for heedlessness." According to Harvey, intoxication is seen as a way to mask rather than face the sufferings of life. It is seen as damaging to one's mental clarity, mindfulness and ability to keep the other four precepts.257

Undertaking and upholding the five precepts is based on the principle of non-harming (Pāli and Sanskrit: ahiṃsa).258 The Pali Canon recommends one to compare oneself with others, and on the basis of that, not to hurt others.259 Compassion and a belief in karmic retribution form the foundation of the precepts.260261 Undertaking the five precepts is part of regular lay devotional practice, both at home and at the local temple.262263 However, the extent to which people keep them differs per region and time.264265 They are sometimes referred to as the śrāvakayāna precepts in the Mahāyāna tradition, contrasting them with the bodhisattva precepts.266

Vinaya

Main article: Vinaya

Vinaya is the specific code of conduct for a sangha of monks or nuns. It includes the Patimokkha, a set of 227 offences including 75 rules of decorum for monks, along with penalties for transgression, in the Theravadin tradition.267 The precise content of the Vinaya Pitaka (scriptures on the Vinaya) differs in different schools and tradition, and different monasteries set their own standards on its implementation. The list of pattimokkha is recited every fortnight in a ritual gathering of all monks.268 Buddhist text with vinaya rules for monasteries have been traced in all Buddhist traditions, with the oldest surviving being the ancient Chinese translations.269

Monastic communities in the Buddhist tradition cut normal social ties to family and community and live as "islands unto themselves".270 Within a monastic fraternity, a sangha has its own rules.271 A monk abides by these institutionalised rules, and living life as the vinaya prescribes it is not merely a means, but very nearly the end in itself.272 Transgressions by a monk on Sangha vinaya rules invites enforcement, which can include temporary or permanent expulsion.273

Restraint and renunciation

Another important practice taught by the Buddha is the restraint of the senses (indriyasamvara). In the various graduated paths, this is usually presented as a practice which is taught prior to formal sitting meditation, and which supports meditation by weakening sense desires that are a hindrance to meditation.274 According to Anālayo, sense restraint is when one "guards the sense doors in order to prevent sense impressions from leading to desires and discontent".275 This is not an avoidance of sense impression, but a kind of mindful attention towards the sense impressions which does not dwell on their main features or signs (nimitta). This is said to prevent harmful influences from entering the mind.276 This practice is said to give rise to an inner peace and happiness which forms a basis for concentration and insight.277

A related Buddhist virtue and practice is renunciation, or the intent for desirelessness (nekkhamma).278 Generally, renunciation is the giving up of actions and desires that are seen as unwholesome on the path, such as lust for sensuality and worldly things.279 Renunciation can be cultivated in different ways. The practice of giving for example, is one form of cultivating renunciation. Another one is the giving up of lay life and becoming a monastic (bhiksu or bhiksuni).280 Practicing celibacy (whether for life as a monk, or temporarily) is also a form of renunciation.281 Many Jataka stories focus on how the Buddha practiced renunciation in past lives.282

One way of cultivating renunciation taught by the Buddha is the contemplation (anupassana) of the "dangers" (or "negative consequences") of sensual pleasure (kāmānaṃ ādīnava). As part of the graduated discourse, this contemplation is taught after the practice of giving and morality.283

Another related practice to renunciation and sense restraint taught by the Buddha is "restraint in eating" or moderation with food, which for monks generally means not eating after noon. Devout laypersons also follow this rule during special days of religious observance (uposatha).284

Mindfulness and clear comprehension

The training of the faculty called "mindfulness" (Pali: sati, Sanskrit: smṛti, literally meaning "recollection, remembering") is central in Buddhism. According to Analayo, mindfulness is a full awareness of the present moment which enhances and strengthens memory.285 The Indian Buddhist philosopher Asanga defined mindfulness thus: "It is non-forgetting by the mind with regard to the object experienced. Its function is non-distraction."286 According to Rupert Gethin, sati is also "an awareness of things in relation to things, and hence an awareness of their relative value".287

There are different practices and exercises for training mindfulness in the early discourses, such as the four Satipaṭṭhānas (Sanskrit: smṛtyupasthāna, "establishments of mindfulness") and Ānāpānasati (Sanskrit: ānāpānasmṛti, "mindfulness of breathing").

A closely related mental faculty, which is often mentioned side by side with mindfulness, is sampajañña ("clear comprehension"). This faculty is the ability to comprehend what one is doing and is happening in the mind, and whether it is being influenced by unwholesome states or wholesome ones.288

Meditation – Sama-amādhi and dhyāna

Main articles: Buddhist meditation, Samadhi, Samatha, and Rupajhana

A wide range of meditation practices has developed in the Buddhist traditions, but "meditation" primarily refers to the attainment of samādhi and the practice of dhyāna (Pali: jhāna). Samādhi is a calm, undistracted, unified and concentrated state of awareness. It is defined by Asanga as "one-pointedness of mind on the object to be investigated. Its function consists of giving a basis to knowledge (jñāna)."289 Dhyāna is "state of perfect equanimity and awareness (upekkhā-sati-parisuddhi)," reached through focused mental training.290

The practice of dhyāna aids in maintaining a calm mind and avoiding disturbance of this calm mind by mindfulness of disturbing thoughts and feelings.291292

Origins

The earliest evidence of yogis and their meditative tradition, states Karel Werner, is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda.293 While evidence suggests meditation was practised in the centuries preceding the Buddha,294 the meditative methodologies described in the Buddhist texts are some of the earliest among texts that have survived into the modern era.295296 These methodologies likely incorporate what existed before the Buddha as well as those first developed within Buddhism.297298

There is no scholarly agreement on the origin and source of the practice of dhyāna. Some scholars, like Bronkhorst, see the four dhyānas as a Buddhist invention.299 Alexander Wynne argues that the Buddha learned dhyāna from Brahmanical teachers.[274]

Whatever the case, the Buddha taught meditation with a new focus and interpretation, particularly through the four dhyānas methodology,300 in which mindfulness is maintained.301302 Further, the focus of meditation and the underlying theory of liberation guiding the meditation has been different in Buddhism.303304305 For example, states Bronkhorst, the verse 4.4.23 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad with its "become calm, subdued, quiet, patiently enduring, concentrated, one sees soul in oneself" is most probably a meditative state.306 The Buddhist discussion of meditation is without the concept of soul and the discussion criticises both the ascetic meditation of Jainism and the "real self, soul" meditation of Hinduism.307

The formless attainments

Often grouped into the jhāna-scheme are four other meditative states, referred to in the early texts as arupa samāpattis (formless attainments). These are also referred to in commentarial literature as immaterial/formless jhānas (arūpajhānas). The first formless attainment is a place or realm of infinite space (ākāsānañcāyatana) without form or colour or shape. The second is termed the realm of infinite consciousness (viññāṇañcāyatana); the third is the realm of nothingness (ākiñcaññāyatana), while the fourth is the realm of "neither perception nor non-perception".308 The four rupa-jhānas in Buddhist practice leads to rebirth in successfully better rupa Brahma heavenly realms, while arupa-jhānas leads into arupa heavens.309310

Meditation and insight

See also: Meditation and insight and Yoga

In the Pali canon, the Buddha outlines two meditative qualities which are mutually supportive: samatha (Pāli; Sanskrit: śamatha; "calm") and vipassanā (Sanskrit: vipaśyanā, insight).311 The Buddha compares these mental qualities to a "swift pair of messengers" who together help deliver the message of nibbana (SN 35.245).312

The various Buddhist traditions generally see Buddhist meditation as being divided into those two main types.313314 Samatha is also called "calming meditation", and focuses on stilling and concentrating the mind i.e. developing samadhi and the four dhyānas. According to Damien Keown, vipassanā meanwhile, focuses on "the generation of penetrating and critical insight (paññā)".315

There are numerous doctrinal positions and disagreements within the different Buddhist traditions regarding these qualities or forms of meditation. For example, in the Pali Four Ways to Arahantship Sutta (AN 4.170), it is said that one can develop calm and then insight, or insight and then calm, or both at the same time.316 Meanwhile, in Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośakārikā, vipaśyanā is said to be practiced once one has reached samadhi by cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness (smṛtyupasthānas).317

Beginning with comments by La Vallee Poussin, a series of scholars have argued that these two meditation types reflect a tension between two different ancient Buddhist traditions regarding the use of dhyāna, one which focused on insight based practice and the other which focused purely on dhyāna.318319 However, other scholars such as Analayo and Rupert Gethin have disagreed with this "two paths" thesis, instead seeing both of these practices as complementary.320321

The Brahma-vihara

Main article: Brahmavihara

The four immeasurables or four abodes, also called Brahma-viharas, are virtues or directions for meditation in Buddhist traditions, which helps a person be reborn in the heavenly (Brahma) realm.322323324 These are traditionally believed to be a characteristic of the deity Brahma and the heavenly abode he resides in.325

The four Brahma-vihara are:

  1. Loving-kindness (Pāli: mettā, Sanskrit: maitrī) is active good will towards all;326327
  2. Compassion (Pāli and Sanskrit: karuṇā) results from metta; it is identifying the suffering of others as one's own;328329
  3. Empathetic joy (Pāli and Sanskrit: muditā): is the feeling of joy because others are happy, even if one did not contribute to it; it is a form of sympathetic joy;330
  4. Equanimity (Pāli: upekkhā, Sanskrit: upekṣā): is even-mindedness and serenity, treating everyone impartially.331332

Tantra, visualization and the subtle body

See also: Tibetan Tantric Practice and Vajrayana § Tantra_techniques

Some Buddhist traditions, especially those associated with Tantric Buddhism (also known as Vajrayana and Secret Mantra) use images and symbols of deities and Buddhas in meditation. This is generally done by mentally visualizing a Buddha image (or some other mental image, like a symbol, a mandala, a syllable, etc.), and using that image to cultivate calm and insight. One may also visualize and identify oneself with the imagined deity.333334 While visualization practices have been particularly popular in Vajrayana, they may also found in Mahayana and Theravada traditions.335

In Tibetan Buddhism, unique tantric techniques which include visualization (but also mantra recitation, mandalas, and other elements) are considered to be much more effective than non-tantric meditations and they are one of the most popular meditation methods.336 The methods of Unsurpassable Yoga Tantra, (anuttarayogatantra) are in turn seen as the highest and most advanced. Anuttarayoga practice is divided into two stages, the Generation Stage and the Completion Stage. In the Generation Stage, one meditates on emptiness and visualizes oneself as a deity as well as visualizing its mandala. The focus is on developing clear appearance and divine pride (the understanding that oneself and the deity are one).337 This method is also known as deity yoga (devata yoga). There are numerous meditation deities (yidam) used, each with a mandala, a circular symbolic map used in meditation.338

Insight and knowledge

Main articles: Prajñā, Bodhi, Kenshō, Satori, Subitism, and Vipassana

Prajñā (Sanskrit) or paññā (Pāli) is wisdom, or knowledge of the true nature of existence. Another term which is associated with prajñā and sometimes is equivalent to it is vipassanā (Pāli) or vipaśyanā (Sanskrit), which is often translated as "insight". In Buddhist texts, the faculty of insight is often said to be cultivated through the four establishments of mindfulness.339 In the early texts, Paññā is included as one of the "five faculties" (indriya) which are commonly listed as important spiritual elements to be cultivated (see for example: AN I 16). Paññā along with samadhi, is also listed as one of the "trainings in the higher states of mind" (adhicittasikkha).340

The Buddhist tradition regards ignorance (avidyā), a fundamental ignorance, misunderstanding or mis-perception of the nature of reality, as one of the basic causes of dukkha and samsara. Overcoming this ignorance is part of the path to awakening. This overcoming includes the contemplation of impermanence and the non-self nature of reality,341342 and this develops dispassion for the objects of clinging, and liberates a being from dukkha and saṃsāra.343344345

Prajñā is important in all Buddhist traditions. It is variously described as wisdom regarding the impermanent and not-self nature of dharmas (phenomena), the functioning of karma and rebirth, and knowledge of dependent origination.346 Likewise, vipaśyanā is described in a similar way, such as in the Paṭisambhidāmagga, where it is said to be the contemplation of things as impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self.347

Devotion

Main article: Buddhist devotion

Most forms of Buddhism "consider saddhā (Sanskrit: śraddhā), 'trustful confidence' or 'faith', as a quality which must be balanced by wisdom, and as a preparation for, or accompaniment of, meditation."348 Because of this devotion (Sanskrit: bhakti; Pali: bhatti) is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists.349 Devotional practices include ritual prayer, prostration, offerings, pilgrimage, and chanting.350 Buddhist devotion is usually focused on some object, image or location that is seen as holy or spiritually influential. Examples of objects of devotion include paintings or statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, stupas, and bodhi trees.351 Public group chanting for devotional and ceremonial is common to all Buddhist traditions and goes back to ancient India where chanting aided in the memorization of the orally transmitted teachings.352 Rosaries called malas are used in all Buddhist traditions to count repeated chanting of common formulas or mantras. Chanting is thus a type of devotional group meditation which leads to tranquility and communicates the Buddhist teachings.353

Vegetarianism and animal ethics

Main article: Buddhist vegetarianism

Based on the Indian principle of ahimsa (non-harming), the Buddha's ethics strongly condemn the harming of all sentient beings, including all animals. He thus condemned the animal sacrifice of the Brahmins as well as hunting, and killing animals for food.354 However, early Buddhist texts depict the Buddha as allowing monastics to eat meat. This seems to be because monastics begged for their food and thus were supposed to accept whatever food was offered to them.355 This was tempered by the rule that meat had to be "three times clean": "they had not seen, had not heard, and had no reason to suspect that the animal had been killed so that the meat could be given to them".356 Also, while the Buddha did not explicitly promote vegetarianism in his discourses, he did state that gaining one's livelihood from the meat trade was unethical.357 In contrast to this, various Mahayana sutras and texts like the Mahaparinirvana sutra, Surangama sutra and the Lankavatara sutra state that the Buddha promoted vegetarianism out of compassion.358 Indian Mahayana thinkers like Shantideva promoted the avoidance of meat.359 Throughout history, the issue of whether Buddhists should be vegetarian has remained a much debated topic and there is a variety of opinions on this issue among modern Buddhists.

Texts

Main article: Buddhist texts

Buddhism, like all Indian religions, was initially an oral tradition in ancient times.360 The Buddha's words, the early doctrines, concepts, and their traditional interpretations were orally transmitted from one generation to the next. The earliest oral texts were transmitted in Middle Indo-Aryan languages called Prakrits, such as Pali, through the use of communal recitation and other mnemonic techniques.361 The first Buddhist canonical texts were likely written down in Sri Lanka, about 400 years after the Buddha died.362 The texts were part of the Tripitakas, and many versions appeared thereafter claiming to be the words of the Buddha. Scholarly Buddhist commentary texts, with named authors, appeared in India, around the 2nd century CE.363 These texts were written in Pali or Sanskrit, sometimes regional languages, as palm-leaf manuscripts, birch bark, painted scrolls, carved into temple walls, and later on paper.364

Unlike what the Bible is to Christianity and the Quran is to Islam, but like all major ancient Indian religions, there is no consensus among the different Buddhist traditions as to what constitutes the scriptures or a common canon in Buddhism.365 The general belief among Buddhists is that the canonical corpus is vast.366367368 This corpus includes the ancient Sutras organised into Nikayas or Agamas, itself the part of three basket of texts called the Tripitakas.369 Each Buddhist tradition has its own collection of texts, much of which is translation of ancient Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist texts of India. The Chinese Buddhist canon, for example, includes 2184 texts in 55 volumes, while the Tibetan canon comprises 1108 texts – all claimed to have been spoken by the Buddha – and another 3461 texts composed by Indian scholars revered in the Tibetan tradition.370 The Buddhist textual history is vast; over 40,000 manuscripts – mostly Buddhist, some non-Buddhist – were discovered in 1900 in the Dunhuang Chinese cave alone.371

Early texts

Main article: Early Buddhist Texts

The Early Buddhist Texts refers to the literature which is considered by modern scholars to be the earliest Buddhist material. The first four Pali Nikayas, and the corresponding Chinese Āgamas are generally considered to be among the earliest material.372373374 Apart from these, there are also fragmentary collections of EBT materials in other languages such as Sanskrit, Khotanese, Tibetan and Gāndhārī. The modern study of early Buddhism often relies on comparative scholarship using these various early Buddhist sources to identify parallel texts and common doctrinal content.375 One feature of these early texts are literary structures which reflect oral transmission, such as widespread repetition.376

The Tripitakas

Main articles: Tripiṭaka and Pali Canon

After the development of the different early Buddhist schools, these schools began to develop their own textual collections, which were termed Tripiṭakas (Triple Baskets).377

Many early Tripiṭakas, like the Pāli Tipitaka, were divided into three sections: Vinaya Pitaka (focuses on monastic rule), Sutta Pitaka (Buddhist discourses) and Abhidhamma Pitaka, which contain expositions and commentaries on the doctrine. The Pāli Tipitaka (also known as the Pali Canon) of the Theravada School constitutes the only complete collection of Buddhist texts in an Indic language which has survived until today.378 However, many Sutras, Vinayas and Abhidharma works from other schools survive in Chinese translation, as part of the Chinese Buddhist Canon. According to some sources, some early schools of Buddhism had five or seven pitakas.379

Mahāyāna texts

Main article: Mahayana sutras

The Mahāyāna sūtras are a very broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition holds are original teachings of the Buddha. Modern historians generally hold that the first of these texts were composed probably around the 1st century BCE or 1st century CE.380381382 In Mahāyāna, these texts are generally given greater authority than the early Āgamas and Abhidharma literature, which are called "Śrāvakayāna" or "Hinayana" to distinguish them from Mahāyāna sūtras.383 Mahāyāna traditions mainly see these different classes of texts as being designed for different types of persons, with different levels of spiritual understanding. The Mahāyāna sūtras are mainly seen as being for those of "greater" capacity.384[better source needed] Mahāyāna also has a very large literature of philosophical and exegetical texts. These are often called śāstra (treatises) or vrittis (commentaries). Some of this literature was also written in verse form (karikās), the most famous of which is the Mūlamadhyamika-karikā (Root Verses on the Middle Way) by Nagarjuna, the foundational text of the Madhyamika school.

Tantric texts

Main article: Tantras (Buddhism)

During the Gupta Empire, a new class of Buddhist sacred literature began to develop, which are called the Tantras.385 By the 8th century, the tantric tradition was very influential in India and beyond. Besides drawing on a Mahāyāna Buddhist framework, these texts also borrowed deities and material from other Indian religious traditions, such as the Śaiva and Pancharatra traditions, local god/goddess cults, and local spirit worship (such as yaksha or nāga spirits).386387

Some features of these texts include the widespread use of mantras, meditation on the subtle body, worship of fierce deities, and antinomian and transgressive practices such as ingesting alcohol and performing sexual rituals.388389390

History

Main article: History of Buddhism

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Buddhism.

Historical roots

Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Iron Age India around the middle of the first millennium BCE.391 This was a period of great intellectual ferment and socio-cultural change known as the "Second urbanisation", marked by the growth of towns and trade, the composition of the Upanishads and the historical emergence of the Śramaṇa traditions.392393394

New ideas developed both in the Vedic tradition in the form of the Upanishads, and outside of the Vedic tradition through the Śramaṇa movements.395396397 The term Śramaṇa refers to several Indian religious movements parallel to but separate from the historical Vedic religion, including Buddhism, Jainism and others such as Ājīvika.398

Several Śramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before the 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre-Mahavira), and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy.399 According to Martin Wilshire, the Śramaṇa tradition evolved in India over two phases, namely Paccekabuddha and Savaka phases, the former being the tradition of individual ascetic and the latter of disciples, and that Buddhism and Jainism ultimately emerged from these.400 Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical ascetic groups shared and used several similar ideas,401 but the Śramaṇa traditions also drew upon already established Brahmanical concepts and philosophical roots, states Wiltshire, to formulate their own doctrines.402403 Brahmanical motifs can be found in the oldest Buddhist texts, using them to introduce and explain Buddhist ideas.404 For example, prior to Buddhist developments, the Brahmanical tradition internalised and variously reinterpreted the three Vedic sacrificial fires as concepts such as Truth, Rite, Tranquility or Restraint.405 Buddhist texts also refer to the three Vedic sacrificial fires, reinterpreting and explaining them as ethical conduct.406

The Śramaṇa religions challenged and broke with the Brahmanic tradition on core assumptions such as Atman (soul, self), Brahman, the nature of afterlife, and they rejected the authority of the Vedas and Upanishads.407408409 Buddhism was one among several Indian religions that did so.410

Early Buddhist positions in the Theravada tradition had not established any deities, but were epistemologically cautious rather than directly atheist. Later Buddhist traditions were more influenced by the critique of deities within Hinduism and therefore more committed to a strongly atheist stance. These developments were historic and epistemological as documented in verses from Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra, and supplemented by reference to suttas and jātakas from the Pali canon.411

Indian Buddhism

Main article: History of Buddhism in India

The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods:412 Early Buddhism (occasionally called pre-sectarian Buddhism), Nikaya Buddhism or Sectarian Buddhism (the period of the early Buddhist schools), Early Mahayana Buddhism, Late Mahayana, and the era of Vajrayana or the "Tantric Age".

Pre-sectarian Buddhism

Main article: Pre-sectarian Buddhism

According to Lambert Schmithausen Pre-sectarian Buddhism is "the canonical period prior to the development of different schools with their different positions".413

The early Buddhist Texts include the four principal Pali Nikāyas414 (and their parallel Agamas found in the Chinese canon) together with the main body of monastic rules, which survive in the various versions of the patimokkha.415416417 However, these texts were revised over time, and it is unclear what constitutes the earliest layer of Buddhist teachings. One method to obtain information on the oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pāli Canon and other texts.418 The reliability of the early sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute.419 According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies.420421

According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished:422

  1. "Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a considerable part of the Nikayic materials". Proponents of this position include A. K. Warder423 and Richard Gombrich.424425
  2. "Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism". Ronald Davidson is a proponent of this position.426
  3. "Cautious optimism in this respect". Proponents of this position include J.W. de Jong,427428 Johannes Bronkhorst429 and Donald Lopez.430
The Core teachings

According to Mitchell, certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout the early texts, which has led most scholars to conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, Nirvana, the three marks of existence, the five aggregates, dependent origination, karma and rebirth.431

According to N. Ross Reat, all of these doctrines are shared by the Theravada Pali texts and the Mahasamghika school's Śālistamba Sūtra.432 A recent study by Bhikkhu Analayo concludes that the Theravada Majjhima Nikaya and Sarvastivada Madhyama Agama contain mostly the same major doctrines.433 Richard Salomon, in his study of the Gandharan texts (which are the earliest manuscripts containing early discourses), has confirmed that their teachings are "consistent with non-Mahayana Buddhism, which survives today in the Theravada school of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, but which in ancient times was represented by eighteen separate schools."434

However, some scholars argue that critical analysis reveals discrepancies among the various doctrines found in these early texts, which point to alternative possibilities for early Buddhism.435436437 The authenticity of certain teachings and doctrines have been questioned. For example, some scholars think that karma was not central to the teaching of the historical Buddha, while other disagree with this position.438439 Likewise, there is scholarly disagreement on whether insight was seen as liberating in early Buddhism or whether it was a later addition to the practice of the four jhānas.440441442 Scholars such as Bronkhorst also think that the four noble truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight".443 According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way".444 In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path.445

Ashokan Era and the early schools

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

According to numerous Buddhist scriptures, soon after the parinirvāṇa (from Sanskrit: "highest extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held to collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no errors occurred in oral transmission. Many modern scholars question the historicity of this event.446 However, Richard Gombrich states that the monastic assembly recitations of the Buddha's teaching likely began during Buddha's lifetime, and they served a similar role of codifying the teachings.447

The so called Second Buddhist council resulted in the first schism in the Sangha. Modern scholars believe that this was probably caused when a group of reformists called Sthaviras ("elders") sought to modify the Vinaya (monastic rule), and this caused a split with the conservatives who rejected this change, they were called Mahāsāṃghikas.448449 While most scholars accept that this happened at some point, there is no agreement on the dating, especially if it dates to before or after the reign of Ashoka.450

Buddhism may have spread only slowly throughout India until the time of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (304–232 BCE), who was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aśoka and his descendants led to the construction of more stūpas (such as at Sanchi and Bharhut), temples (such as the Mahabodhi Temple) and to its spread throughout the Maurya Empire and into neighbouring lands such as Central Asia and to the island of Sri Lanka.

During and after the Mauryan period (322–180 BCE), the Sthavira community gave rise to several schools, one of which was the Theravada school which tended to congregate in the south and another which was the Sarvāstivāda school, which was mainly in north India. Likewise, the Mahāsāṃghika groups also eventually split into different Sanghas. Originally, these schisms were caused by disputes over monastic disciplinary codes of various fraternities, but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being caused by doctrinal disagreements too.451

Following (or leading up to) the schisms, each Saṅgha started to accumulate their own version of Tripiṭaka (triple basket of texts).452453 In their Tripiṭaka, each school included the Suttas of the Buddha, a Vinaya basket (disciplinary code) and some schools also added an Abhidharma basket which were texts on detailed scholastic classification, summary and interpretation of the Suttas.454455 The doctrine details in the Abhidharmas of various Buddhist schools differ significantly, and these were composed starting about the third century BCE and through the 1st millennium CE.456457458

Post-Ashokan expansion

Main article: Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

According to the edicts of Aśoka, the Mauryan emperor sent emissaries to various countries west of India to spread "Dharma", particularly in eastern provinces of the neighbouring 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.459

In central and west Asia, Buddhist influence grew, through Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs and ancient Asian trade routes, a phenomenon known as Greco-Buddhism. An example of this is evidenced in Chinese and Pali Buddhist records, such as Milindapanha and the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra. The Milindapanha describes a conversation between a Buddhist monk and the 2nd-century BCE Greek king Menander, after which Menander abdicates and himself goes into monastic life in the pursuit of nirvana.460461 Some scholars have questioned the Milindapanha version, expressing doubts whether Menander was Buddhist or just favourably disposed to Buddhist monks.462

The Kushan Empire (30–375 CE) came to control the Silk Road trade through Central and South Asia, which brought them to interact with Gandharan Buddhism and the Buddhist institutions of these regions. The Kushans patronised Buddhism throughout their lands, and many Buddhist centres were built or renovated (the Sarvastivada school was particularly favored), especially by Emperor Kanishka (128–151 CE).463464 Kushan support helped Buddhism to expand into a world religion through their trade routes.465 Buddhism spread to Khotan, the Tarim Basin, and China, eventually to other parts of the far east.466 Some of the earliest written documents of the Buddhist faith are the Gandharan Buddhist texts, dating from about the 1st century CE, and connected to the Dharmaguptaka school.467468469

The Islamic conquest of the Iranian Plateau in the 7th-century, followed by the Muslim conquests of Afghanistan and the later establishment of the Ghaznavid kingdom with Islam as the state religion in Central Asia between the 10th- and 12th-century led to the decline and disappearance of Buddhism from most of these regions.470

Mahāyāna Buddhism

Main article: Mahāyāna

The origins of Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") Buddhism are not well understood and there are various competing theories about how and where this movement arose. Theories include the idea that it began as various groups venerating certain texts or that it arose as a strict forest ascetic movement.471

The first Mahāyāna works were written sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE.472473 Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahāyāna comes from early Chinese translations of Mahāyāna texts, mainly those of Lokakṣema. (2nd century CE).474 Some scholars have traditionally considered the earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to include the first versions of the Prajnaparamita series, along with texts concerning Akṣobhya, which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India.475476

There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, with a separate monastic code (Vinaya), but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas.477478 Records written by Chinese monks visiting India indicate that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks could be found in the same monasteries, with the difference that Mahāyāna monks worshipped figures of Bodhisattvas, while non-Mahayana monks did not.479

Mahāyāna initially seems to have remained a small minority movement that was in tension with other Buddhist groups, struggling for wider acceptance.480 However, during the fifth and sixth centuries CE, there seems to have been a rapid growth of Mahāyāna Buddhism, which is shown by a large increase in epigraphic and manuscript evidence in this period. However, it still remained a minority in comparison to other Buddhist schools.481

Mahāyāna Buddhist institutions continued to grow in influence during the following centuries, with large monastic university complexes such as Nalanda (established by the 5th-century CE Gupta emperor, Kumaragupta I) and Vikramashila (established under Dharmapala c. 783 to 820) becoming quite powerful and influential. During this period of Late Mahāyāna, four major types of thought developed: Mādhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddha-nature (Tathāgatagarbha), and the epistemological tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakirti.482 According to Dan Lusthaus, Mādhyamaka and Yogācāra have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early Buddhism.483

Late Indian Buddhism and Tantra

Main article: Vajrayana

During the Gupta period (4th–6th centuries) and the empire of Harṣavardana (c. 590–647 CE), Buddhism continued to be influential in India, and large Buddhist learning institutions such as Nalanda and Valabahi Universities were at their peak.484 Buddhism also flourished under the support of the Pāla Empire (8th–12th centuries). Under the Guptas and Palas, Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana developed and rose to prominence. It promoted new practices such as the use of mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas and developed a new class of literature, the Buddhist Tantras. This new esoteric form of Buddhism can be traced back to groups of wandering yogi magicians called mahasiddhas.485486

The question of the origins of early Vajrayana has been taken up by various scholars. David Seyfort Ruegg has suggested that Buddhist tantra employed various elements of a "pan-Indian religious substrate" which is not specifically Buddhist, Shaiva or Vaishnava.487

According to Indologist Alexis Sanderson, various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism. Sanderson has argued that Buddhist tantras can be shown to have borrowed practices, terms, rituals and more form Shaiva tantras. He argues that Buddhist texts even directly copied various Shaiva tantras, especially the Bhairava Vidyapitha tantras.488489 Ronald M. Davidson meanwhile, argues that Sanderson's claims for direct influence from Shaiva Vidyapitha texts are problematic because "the chronology of the Vidyapitha tantras is by no means so well established"490 and that the Shaiva tradition also appropriated non-Hindu deities, texts and traditions. Thus while "there can be no question that the Buddhist tantras were heavily influenced by Kapalika and other Saiva movements" argues Davidson, "the influence was apparently mutual".491

Already during this later era, Buddhism was losing state support in other regions of India, including the lands of the Karkotas, the Pratiharas, the Rashtrakutas, the Pandyas and the Pallavas. This loss of support in favor of Hindu faiths like Vaishnavism and Shaivism, is the beginning of the long and complex period of the Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent.492 The Islamic invasions and conquest of India (10th to 12th century), further damaged and destroyed many Buddhist institutions, leading to its eventual near disappearance from India by the 1200s.493

Spread to East and Southeast Asia

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.494495 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.496

The first documented Buddhist texts translated into Chinese are those of the Parthian An Shigao (148–180 CE).497 The first known Mahāyāna scriptural texts are translations into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema in Luoyang, between 178 and 189 CE.498 From China, Buddhism was introduced into its neighbours Korea (4th century), Japan (6th–7th centuries), and Vietnam (c. 1st–2nd centuries).499500

During the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907), Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was introduced from India and Chan Buddhism (Zen) became a major religion.501502 Chan continued to grow in the Song dynasty (960–1279) and it was during this era that it strongly influenced Korean Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism.503 Pure Land Buddhism also became popular during this period and was often practised together with Chan.504 It was also during the Song that the entire Chinese canon was printed using over 130,000 wooden printing blocks.505

During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and Mongolia. Johannes Bronkhorst states that the esoteric form was attractive because it allowed both a secluded monastic community as well as the social rites and rituals important to laypersons and to kings for the maintenance of a political state during succession and wars to resist invasion.506 During the Middle Ages, Buddhism slowly declined in India,507 while it vanished from Persia and Central Asia as Islam became the state religion.508509

The Theravada school arrived in Sri Lanka sometime in the 3rd century BCE. Sri Lanka became a base for its later spread to Southeast Asia after the 5th century CE (Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and coastal Vietnam).510511 Theravada Buddhism was the dominant religion in Burma during the Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1552).512 It also became dominant in the Khmer Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries and in the Thai Sukhothai Kingdom during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (1237/1247–1298).513514

Schools and traditions

Main articles: Schools of Buddhism and Timeline of Buddhism § Common Era

Buddhists generally classify themselves as either Theravāda or Mahāyāna.515 This classification is also used by some scholars516 and is the one ordinarily used in the English language.517 An alternative scheme used by some scholars divides Buddhism into the following three traditions or geographical or cultural areas: Theravāda (or "Southern Buddhism", "South Asian Buddhism"), East Asian Buddhism (or just "Eastern Buddhism") and Indo-Tibetan Buddhism (or "Northern Buddhism").518

The Theravada tradition traces its origins as the oldest tradition holding the Pali Canon as the only authority. The Mahayana tradition reveres the Canon but also derivative literature that developed in the 1st millennium CE; its roots are traceable to the 1st century BCE. The Vajrayana tradition is closer to the Mahayana, includes Tantra, and as the younger of the three is traceable to the 1st millennium CE.519520

Some scholars use other schemes, such as the multi-dimensional classification in the Encyclopedia of Religion.521 Buddhists themselves have a variety of other schemes. Hinayana (literally "lesser or inferior vehicle") is sometimes used by Mahāyāna followers to name the family of early philosophical schools and traditions from which contemporary Theravāda emerged, but as the Hinayana term is considered derogatory, a variety of other terms are used instead, including: Śrāvakayāna, Nikaya Buddhism, early Buddhist schools, sectarian Buddhism and conservative Buddhism.522523

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:524525

SameTheravādaMahāyāna
Both Theravāda and Mahāyāna accept and revere the Shakyamuni Buddha as the founder.Mahāyāna also reveres numerous other Buddhas, such as Amitabha or Vairocana as well as many other bodhisattvas not revered in Theravāda.
Both accept the Middle Way, Dependent origination, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Jewels, the Three marks of existence and the Bodhipakṣadharmas (aids to awakening).
Theravāda only focuses on the elimination of ignorance (not realising the Four Noble Truths).526Mahāyāna focuses mainly on the bodhisattva path to Buddhahood which it sees as universal and to be practiced by all persons, while Theravāda does not focus on teaching this path and teaches the elimination of ignorance (not realising the Four Noble Truths) as a worthy goal to strive towards. The bodhisattva path is not denied in Theravāda, it is generally seen as a long and difficult path suitable for only a few.527 Thus the Bodhisattva path is normative in Mahāyāna, while it is an optional path for a heroic few in Theravāda.528
Since the elimination of ignorance (not realising the Four Noble Truths) requires intelligence and wisdom, Theravāda focuses on them.529Mahāyāna sees the elimination of ignorance (not realising the Four Noble Truths) as being imperfect and inferior or preliminary to full Buddhahood. It sees it as selfish, since bodhisattvas vow to save all beings while Theravāda can only save the wise.530 Theravāda meanwhile does not accept that the elimination of ignorance (arhat's nirvana) is an inferior or preliminary attainment, nor that it is a selfish deed to attain arhatship (eliminate ignorance) since not only are arhats (those who've eliminated ignorance) described as compassionate but they have destroyed the root of greed, the sense of "I am".531
Both accepts the authority of the Pali canon.Theravāda only accepts the authority of the Pali canon which is the original and complete buddhavacana (word of the Buddha) unchanged.Mahāyāna accepts the authority of the many Mahāyāna sutras along with the other Nikaya texts like the Agamas and the Pali canon (though it sees Mahāyāna texts as primary), while Theravāda does not accept that the Mahāyāna sutras are buddhavacana (word of the Buddha) at all.532

Monasteries and temples

Main article: Buddhist architecture

Buddhist institutions are often housed and centred around monasteries (Sanskrit: viharas) and temples. Buddhist monastics originally followed a life of wandering, never staying in one place for long. During the three-month rainy season (vassa) they would gather together in one place for a period of intense practice and then depart again.533534 Some of the earliest Buddhist monasteries were at groves (vanas) or woods (araññas), such as Jetavana and Sarnath's Deer Park. There originally seems to have been two main types of monasteries, monastic settlements (sangharamas) were built and supported by donors, and woodland camps (avasas) were set up by monks. Whatever structures were built in these locales were made out of wood and were sometimes temporary structures built for the rainy season.535536 Over time, the wandering community slowly adopted more settled cenobitic forms of monasticism.537

There are many different forms of Buddhist structures. Classic Indian Buddhist institutions mainly made use of the following structures: monasteries, rock-hewn cave complexes (such as the Ajanta Caves), stupas (funerary mounds which contained relics), and temples such as the Mahabodhi Temple.538 In Southeast Asia, the most widespread institutions are centred on wats. East Asian Buddhist institutions also use various structures including monastic halls, temples, lecture halls, bell towers and pagodas. In Japanese Buddhist temples, these different structures are usually grouped together in an area termed the garan. In Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist institutions are generally housed in gompas. They include monastic quarters, stupas and prayer halls with Buddha images. In the modern era, the Buddhist "meditation centre", which is mostly used by laypersons and often also staffed by them, has also become widespread.539

In the modern era

Main articles: Buddhism by country and Buddhist modernism

Colonial era and after

Buddhism has faced various challenges and changes during the colonisation of Buddhist states by Christian countries and its persecution under modern states. Like other religions, the findings of modern science have challenged its basic premises. One response to some of these challenges has come to be called Buddhist modernism. Early Buddhist modernist figures such as the American convert Henry Olcott (1832–1907) and Anagarika Dharmapala (1864–1933) reinterpreted and promoted Buddhism as a scientific and rational religion which they saw as compatible with modern science.540

East Asian Buddhism meanwhile suffered under various wars which ravaged China during the modern era, such as the Taiping rebellion and World War II (which also affected Korean Buddhism). During the Republican period (1912–49), a new movement called Humanistic Buddhism was developed by figures such as Taixu (1899–1947), and though Buddhist institutions were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), there has been a revival of the religion in China after 1977.541 Japanese Buddhism also went through a period of modernisation during the Meiji period.542 In Central Asia meanwhile, the arrival of Communist repression to Tibet (1966–1980) and Mongolia (between 1924 and 1990) had a strong negative impact on Buddhist institutions, though the situation has improved somewhat since the 80s and 90s.543

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, militants have destroyed some historic Buddhist monuments.544545

In the West

Main article: Buddhism in the West

While there were some encounters of Western travellers or missionaries such as St. Francis Xavier and Ippolito Desideri with Buddhist cultures, it was not until the 19th century that Buddhism began to be studied by Western scholars. It was the work of pioneering scholars such as Eugène Burnouf, Max Müller, Hermann Oldenberg and Thomas William Rhys Davids that paved the way for modern Buddhist studies in the West. The English words such as Buddhism, "Boudhist", "Bauddhist" and Buddhist were coined in the early 19th-century in the West,546 while in 1881, Rhys Davids founded the Pali Text Society—an influential Western resource of Buddhist literature in the Pali language and one of the earliest publisher of a journal on Buddhist studies.547 It was also during the 19th century that Asian Buddhist immigrants (mainly from China and Japan) began to arrive in Western countries such as the United States and Canada, bringing with them their Buddhist religion. This period also saw the first Westerners to formally convert to Buddhism, such as Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott.548 An important event in the introduction of Buddhism to the West was the 1893 World Parliament of Religions, which for the first time saw well-publicized speeches by major Buddhist leaders alongside other religious leaders.

The 20th century saw a prolific growth of new Buddhist institutions in Western countries, including the Buddhist Society, London (1924), Das Buddhistische Haus (1924) and Datsan Gunzechoinei in St Petersburg. The publication and translations of Buddhist literature in Western languages thereafter accelerated. After the second world war, further immigration from Asia, globalisation, the secularisation on Western culture as well a renewed interest in Buddhism among the 60s counterculture led to further growth in Buddhist institutions.549 Influential figures on post-war Western Buddhism include Shunryu Suzuki, Jack Kerouac, Alan Watts, Thích Nhất Hạnh, and the 14th Dalai Lama. While Buddhist institutions have grown, some of the central premises of Buddhism such as the cycles of rebirth and Four Noble Truths have been problematic in the West.550551552 In contrast, states Christopher Gowans, for "most ordinary [Asian] Buddhists, today as well as in the past, their basic moral orientation is governed by belief in karma and rebirth".553 Most Asian Buddhist laypersons, states Kevin Trainor, have historically pursued Buddhist rituals and practices seeking better rebirth,554 not nirvana or freedom from rebirth.555

Buddhism has spread across the world,556557 and Buddhist texts are increasingly translated into local languages. While Buddhism in the West is often seen as exotic and progressive, in the East it is regarded as familiar and traditional. In countries such as Cambodia and Bhutan, it is recognised as the state religion and receives government support.

Neo-Buddhism movements

Main articles: Dalit Buddhist movement, Navayana, and Twenty-two vows of Ambedkar

A number of modern movements in Buddhism emerged during the second half of the 20th century.558559 These new forms of Buddhism are diverse and significantly depart from traditional beliefs and practices.560

In India, B.R. Ambedkar launched the Navayana tradition—literally, "new vehicle". Ambedkar's Buddhism rejects the foundational doctrines and historic practices of traditional Theravada and Mahayana traditions, such as monk lifestyle after renunciation, karma, rebirth, samsara, meditation, nirvana, Four Noble Truths and others.561562563 Ambedkar's Navayana Buddhism considers these as superstitions and re-interprets the original Buddha as someone who taught about class struggle and social equality.564565 Ambedkar urged low caste Indian Dalits to convert to his Marxism-inspired566 reinterpretation called the Navayana Buddhism, also known as Bhimayana Buddhism. Ambedkar's effort led to the expansion of Navayana Buddhism in India.567568

The Thai King Mongkut (r. 1851–68), and his son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910), were responsible for modern reforms of Thai Buddhism.569 Modern Buddhist movements include Secular Buddhism in many countries, Won Buddhism in Korea, the Dhammakaya movement in Thailand and several Japanese organisations, such as Shinnyo-en, Risshō Kōsei Kai or Soka Gakkai.

Some of these movements have brought internal disputes and strife within regional Buddhist communities. For example, the Dhammakaya movement in Thailand teaches a "true self" doctrine, which traditional Theravada monks consider as heretically denying the fundamental anatta (not-self) doctrine of Buddhism.570571572

Sexual abuse and misconduct

Buddhism has not been immune from sexual abuse and misconduct scandals, with victims coming forward in various Buddhist schools such as Zen and Tibetan.573574575 "There are huge cover ups in the Catholic church, but what has happened within Tibetan Buddhism is totally along the same lines," says Mary Finnigan, an author and journalist who has been chronicling such alleged abuses since the mid-80s.576 One notably covered case in media of various Western countries was that of Sogyal Rinpoche which began in 1994,577 and ended with his retirement from his position as Rigpa's spiritual director in 2017.578

Classification

There is consensus among religious studies scholars that Buddhism is a religion.579 However, Buddhism has posed problems to Western scholars of religion who define religion based solely on a "theistic conception".580581 Further, some Western Buddhists and commentators like Alan Watts maintain that Buddhism does not constitute a religion but rather a philosophy, a psychotherapy, or a way of life.582583584 This conception is rooted in 19th century orientalist writers, such as theosophist Henry Steel Olcott, which reinterpreted Buddhism in a Protestant lens and viewed Buddhism in Asia as representing a debased religious form of what was originally non-religious and rational.585 Some Buddhist teachers and commentators, such as Dharmavidya David Brazier, have criticized the persistence of this view.586587 Among Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Buddhism is parallel to Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity as an āgama,588 literally "scripture" or "teaching".589

Cultural influence

Main article: Culture of Buddhism

Buddhism has had a profound influence on various cultures, especially in Asia. Buddhist philosophy, Buddhist art, Buddhist architecture, Buddhist cuisine and Buddhist festivals continue to be influential elements of the modern Culture of Asia, especially in East Asia and the Sinosphere as well as in Southeast Asia and the Indosphere. According to Litian Fang, Buddhism has "permeated a wide range of fields, such as politics, ethics, philosophy, literature, art and customs", in these Asian regions.590 Buddhist teachings influenced the development of modern Hinduism as well as other Asian religions like Taoism and Confucianism. Buddhist philosophers like Dignaga and Dharmakirti were very influential in the development of Indian logic and epistemology.591 Buddhist educational institutions like Nalanda and Vikramashila preserved various disciplines of classical Indian knowledge such as grammar, astronomy/astrology and medicine and taught foreign students from Asia.592

In the Western world, Buddhism has had a strong influence on modern New Age spirituality and other alternative spiritualities. This began with its influence on 20th century Theosophists such as Helena Blavatsky, which were some of the first Westerners to take Buddhism seriously as a spiritual tradition.593 More recently, Buddhist meditation practices have influenced the development of modern psychology, particularly the practice of Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and other similar mindfulness based modalities.594595 The influence of Buddhism on psychology can also be seen in certain forms of modern psychoanalysis.596597

Demographics

See also: Buddhism by country

Buddhism is practised by an estimated 488 million,598 495 million,599 or 535 million600 people as of the 2010s, representing 7% to 8% of the world's total population. China is the country with the largest population of Buddhists, approximately 244 million or 18% of its total population.601602 They are mostly followers of Chinese schools of Mahayana, making this the largest body of Buddhist traditions. Mahayana, also practised in broader East Asia, is followed by over half of world Buddhists.603

Buddhism is the dominant religion in Thailand, Cambodia, Tibet, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia, Japan,604 Hong Kong,605 Macau,606 Singapore,607 and Vietnam.608 Large Buddhist populations live in Mainland China, Taiwan, North Korea, Nepal and South Korea.609 The Indian state of Maharashtra accounts for 77% of all Buddhists in India.610 In Russia, Buddhists form majority in Tuva (52%) and Kalmykia (53%). Buryatia (20%) and Zabaykalsky Krai (15%) also have significant Buddhist populations.611

Buddhism is also growing by conversion. In India, more than 85% of the total Buddhists have converted from Hinduism to Buddhism,612613 and they are called neo-Buddhists or Ambedkarite Buddhists.614615 In New Zealand, about 25–35% of the total Buddhists are converts to Buddhism.616617 Buddhism has also spread to the Nordic countries; for example, the Burmese Buddhists founded in the city of Kuopio in North Savonia the first Buddhist monastery of Finland, named the Buddha Dhamma Ramsi monastery.618

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of Buddhism

In modern Japan, Kawahashi Noriko observes that Buddhist communities hold harmful views of women as inherently incompetent and are dependent on men for liberation. These perspectives perpetuate gender bias, ignoring women's experiences and feminist critiques.619

See also

  • Buddhism portal
  • Religion portal

Explanatory notes

Other notes

Sources

References

  1. /ˈbʊdɪzəm/ BUUD-ih-zəm, US also /ˈbuːd-/ BOOD-[1][2][3] /wiki/Help:IPA/English

  2. "Indian religions" is a term used by scholars to describe those religions that originated on the Indian subcontinent.[4][5][6]

  3. Siderits, Mark (2019). "Buddha". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2021. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/buddha/

  4. "Buddhism". (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 26 November 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. /wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica

  5. Lopez (2001), p. 239. - Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (2001), The Story of Buddhism, HarperCollins

  6. Fahmy, Conrad Hackett, Marcin Stonawski, Yunping Tong, Stephanie Kramer, Anne Shi and Dalia (9 June 2025). "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 10 June 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/how-the-global-religious-landscape-changed-from-2010-to-2020/

  7. Reynolds, Frank; Tucci, Giuseppe. "Buddhism". Britannica. Retrieved 4 June 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism

  8. Bronkhorst (2011), pp. 233–237. - Bronkhorst, Johannes (2011). Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism. Brill Academic. ISBN 978-90-04-20140-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=BaX58-E5-3MC

  9. Schuhmacher & Woener (1991), p. 143. - Schuhmacher, Stephen; Woener, Gert, eds. (1991), The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, translated by Kohn, Michael H., Shambhala, ISBN 978-0-87773-520-5

  10. Avison, Austin (4 October 2021). "Delusional Mitigation in Religious and Psychological Forms of Self-Cultivation: Buddhist and Clinical Insight on Delusional Symptomatology". The Hilltop Review. 12 (6): 1–29. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2021 – via Digital Commons. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1429&context=hilltopreview

  11. British Library https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/articles/the-buddhist-canon

  12. Williams (1989), pp. 275ff. - Williams, Paul (1989), Mahayana Buddhism: the doctrinal foundations, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-02537-9

  13. Robinson & Johnson (1997), p. xx. - Robinson, Richard H.; Johnson, Willard L. (1997). Buddhist Religions: A Historical Introduction (4th ed.). Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 978-0-534-55858-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=-OYQAQAAIAAJ

  14. Gethin (1998), pp. 27–28, 73–74. - Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-289223-2 https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe

  15. Harvey (2013), p. 99. - Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-67674-8. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2015. https://books.google.com/books?id=u0sg9LV_rEgC

  16. Powers (2007), pp. 392–393, 415. - Powers, John (2007). Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1-55939-282-2.

  17. White, David Gordon, ed. (2000). Tantra in Practice. Princeton University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-691-05779-8. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2015. 978-0-691-05779-8

  18. Powers (2007), pp. 26–27. - Powers, John (2007). Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1-55939-282-2.

  19. "Candles in the Dark: A New Spirit for a Plural World" by Barbara Sundberg Baudot, p. 305

  20. Claus, Peter; Diamond, Sarah; Mills, Margaret (28 October 2020). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-000-10122-5. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022. 978-1-000-10122-5

  21. Akira Hirakawa; Paul Groner (1993). A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 227–240. ISBN 978-81-208-0955-0. 978-81-208-0955-0

  22. Damien Keown (2004). A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press. pp. 208–209. ISBN 978-0-19-157917-2. 978-0-19-157917-2

  23. Richard Foltz, "Buddhism in the Iranian World," The Muslim World. 100/2-3, 2010, pp. 204–214 /wiki/Richard_Foltz

  24. Buswell, Robert; Lopez, Donald (2014). Dharmavinaya. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691157863. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help) 9780691157863

  25. Gethin (1998), pp. 7–8. - Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-289223-2 https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe

  26. Bronkhorst (2013), pp. ix–xi. - Bronkhorst, Johannes (2013). Buddhist Teaching in India. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-0-86171-811-5. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016. https://books.google.com/books?id=fjU6AwAAQBAJ

  27. Beyond Enlightenment: Buddhism, Religion, Modernity by Richard Cohen. Routledge 1999. ISBN 0-415-54444-0. p. 33. "Donors adopted Sakyamuni Buddha's family name to assert their legitimacy as his heirs, both institutionally and ideologically. To take the name of Sakya was to define oneself by one's affiliation with the buddha, somewhat like calling oneself a Buddhist today. /wiki/ISBN_(identifier)

  28. Sakya or Buddhist Origins by Caroline Rhys Davids (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1931) p. 1. "Put away the word "Buddhism" and think of your subject as "Sakya." This will at once place you for your perspective at a true point. You are now concerned to learn less about 'Buddha' and 'Buddhism,' and more about him whom India has ever known as Sakya-muni, and about his men who, as their records admit, were spoken of as the Sakya-sons, or men of the Sakyas."

  29. Lopez, Donald S. (1995). Curators of the Buddha, University of Chicago Press. p. 7

  30. Beyond Enlightenment: Buddhism, Religion, Modernity by Richard Cohen. Routledge 1999. ISBN 0-415-54444-0. p. 33. Bauddha is "a secondary derivative of buddha, in which the vowel's lengthening indicates connection or relation. Things that are bauddha pertain to the buddha, just as things Saiva related to Siva and things Vaisnava belong to Visnu. ... baudda can be both adjectival and nominal; it can be used for doctrines spoken by the buddha, objects enjoyed by him, texts attributed to him, as well as individuals, communities, and societies that offer him reverence or accept ideologies certified through his name. Strictly speaking, Sakya is preferable to bauddha since the latter is not attested at Ajanta. In fact, as a collective noun, bauddha is an outsider's term. The bauddha did not call themselves this in India, though they did sometimes use the word adjectivally (e.g., as a possessive, the buddha's)." /wiki/ISBN_(identifier)

  31. Gethin (1998), pp. 13–14. - Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-289223-2 https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe

  32. Buddhist texts such as the Jataka tales of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, and early biographies such as the Buddhacarita, the Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu, the Sarvāstivādin Lalitavistara Sūtra, give different accounts about the life of the Buddha; many include stories of his many rebirths, and some add significant embellishments.[36][37] Keown and Prebish state, "In the past, modern scholars have generally accepted 486 or 483 BCE for this [Buddha's death], but the consensus is now that they rest on evidence which is too flimsy.[38] 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."[39][40][41][42] /wiki/Jataka_tales

  33. The exact identity of this ancient place is unclear. Please see Gautama Buddha article for various sites identified. /wiki/Gautama_Buddha

  34. Bihar is derived from Vihara, which means monastery.[43]

  35. Gombrich (1988), p. 49. - Gombrich, Richard F. (1988), Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-07585-5

  36. Gethin (1998), pp. 13–14. - Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-289223-2 https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe

  37. Edward J. Thomas (2013). The Life of Buddha. Routledge. pp. 16–29. ISBN 978-1-136-20121-9. 978-1-136-20121-9

  38. Gombrich (1988), pp. 49–50. - Gombrich, Richard F. (1988), Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-07585-5

  39. Gombrich (1988), pp. 18–19, 50–51.Davidson, Ronald M.,(2002). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, Columbia University Press, p. 228, 234. - Gombrich, Richard F. (1988), Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-07585-5

  40. Kurt Tropper (2013). Tibetan Inscriptions. Brill Academic. pp. 60–61 with footnotes 134–136. ISBN 978-90-04-25241-7. 978-90-04-25241-7

  41. Gombrich (1988), p. 50. - Gombrich, Richard F. (1988), Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-07585-5

  42. Gombrich (1988), pp. 50–51. - Gombrich, Richard F. (1988), Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-07585-5

  43. Analayo (2011). A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya Volume 1 Archived 21 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine (Introduction, Studies of Discourses 1 to 90), p. 170. https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/compstudyvol1.pdf

  44. Wynne, Alexander (2019). "Did the Buddha exist?". Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. 16: 98–148. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022. http://jocbs.org/index.php/jocbs/article/view/193

  45. Wynne (2007), pp. 8–23. - Wynne, Alexander (2007), The Origin of Buddhist Meditation, Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-42387-8 https://books.google.com/books?id=2LZ9AgAAQBAJ

  46. Hajime Nakamura (2000). Gotama Buddha: A Biography Based on the Most Reliable Texts. Kosei. pp. 127–129. ISBN 978-4-333-01893-2. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016. 978-4-333-01893-2

  47. The earliest Buddhist biographies of the Buddha mention these Vedic-era teachers. Outside of these early Buddhist texts, these names do not appear, which has led some scholars to raise doubts about the historicity of these claims.[52][54] According to Alexander Wynne, the evidence suggests that Buddha studied under these Vedic-era teachers and they "almost certainly" taught him, but the details of his education are unclear.[52][55]

  48. Analayo (2011). "A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya Volume 1 (Introduction, Studies of Discourses 1 to 90)", p. 236.Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, p. 171.

  49. K.T.S, Sarao (2020). The History of Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. Springer Nature. p. 62. ISBN 9789811580673. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2021. 9789811580673

  50. Analayo (2011). "A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya Volume 1 (Introduction, Studies of Discourses 1 to 90)", p. 236.Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, p. 171.

  51. Bronkhorst (2011), pp. 233–237. - Bronkhorst, Johannes (2011). Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism. Brill Academic. ISBN 978-90-04-20140-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=BaX58-E5-3MC

  52. Schuhmacher & Woener (1991), p. 143. - Schuhmacher, Stephen; Woener, Gert, eds. (1991), The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, translated by Kohn, Michael H., Shambhala, ISBN 978-0-87773-520-5

  53. Gombrich (1988), pp. 49–51. - Gombrich, Richard F. (1988), Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-07585-5

  54. Keown (2003), p. 267. - Keown, Damien (2003), Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-157917-2

  55. Keown & Prebish (2010), pp. 105–106. - Keown, Damien; Prebish, Charles S. (2010), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-55624-8

  56. Gethin (1998), pp. 54–55. - Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-289223-2 https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe

  57. Barbara Crandall (2012). Gender and Religion (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 56–58. ISBN 978-1-4411-4871-1. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016. 978-1-4411-4871-1

  58. "Tipitaka (Archived 27 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine). Encyclopædia Britannica (2015) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tipitaka

  59. Sarah LeVine; David N Gellner (2009). Rebuilding Buddhism. Harvard University Press. pp. 1–19. ISBN 978-0-674-04012-0. 978-0-674-04012-0

  60. Gethin (1998), pp. 1–5. - Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-289223-2 https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe

  61. Donald S. Lopez Jr. (21 December 2017). Hyecho's Journey: The World of Buddhism. University of Chicago Press. p. XIV. ISBN 978-0-226-51806-0. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2020. 978-0-226-51806-0

  62. "Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 31 March 2024. Although the term Four Noble Truths is well known in English, it is a misleading translation of the Pali term Chattari-ariya-saccani (Sanskrit: Chatvari-arya-satyani), because noble (Pali: ariya; Sanskrit: arya) refers not to the truths themselves but to those who recognize and understand them. A more accurate rendering, therefore, might be 'four truths for the [spiritually] noble' https://www.britannica.com/topic/Four-Noble-Truths

  63. Nyanatiloka (1980), p. 65. - Nyanatiloka (1980), Buddhist Dictionary, Buddhist Publication Society

  64. Emmanuel (2013), p. 30. - Emmanuel, Steven M., ed. (2013), A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy (hardback), Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 978-0-470-65877-2, archived from the original (hardback) on 16 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150316084217/http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/A%20Companion%20to%20Buddhist%20Philosophy_Emmanuel.pdf

  65. On samsara, rebirth and redeath:* Paul Williams: "All rebirth is due to karma and is impermanent. Short of attaining enlightenment, in each rebirth one is born and dies, to be reborn elsewhere in accordance with the completely impersonal causal nature of one's own karma. The endless cycle of birth, rebirth, and redeath, is samsara."[69]* Buswell and Lopez on "rebirth": "An English term that does not have an exact correlate in Buddhist languages, rendered instead by a range of technical terms, such as the Sanskrit Punarjanman (lit. 'birth again') and Punabhavan (lit. 're-becoming'), and, less commonly, the related PUNARMRTYU (lit. 'redeath')."[70]See also Perry Schmidt-Leukel (2006) pp. 32–34,[71] John J. Makransky (1997) p. 27.[72] for the use of the term "redeath". The term Agatigati or Agati gati (plus a few other terms) is generally translated as 'rebirth, redeath'; see any Pali-English dictionary; e.g. pp. 94–95 of Rhys Davids & William Stede, where they list five Sutta examples with rebirth and re-death sense.[73]

  66. Warder (2000), pp. 45–46. - Warder, A.K. (2000), Indian Buddhism, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers

  67. Graham Harvey: "Siddhartha Gautama found an end to rebirth in this world of suffering. His teachings, known as the dharma in Buddhism, can be summarized in the Four Noble truths."[75] Geoffrey Samuel (2008): "The Four Noble Truths [...] describe the knowledge needed to set out on the path to liberation from rebirth."[76] See also:[77][78][79][69][80][75][81][web 1][web 2]The Theravada tradition holds that insight into these four truths is liberating in itself.[82] This is reflected in the Pali canon.[83] According to Donald Lopez, "The Buddha stated in his first sermon that when he gained absolute and intuitive knowledge of the four truths, he achieved complete enlightenment and freedom from future rebirth."[web 1]The Maha-parinibbana Sutta also refers to this liberation.[web 3] Carol Anderson: "The second passage where the four truths appear in the Vinaya-pitaka is also found in the Mahaparinibbana-sutta (D II 90–91). Here, the Buddha explains that it is by not understanding the four truths that rebirth continues."[84]On the meaning of moksha as liberation from rebirth, see Patrick Olivelle in the Encyclopædia Britannica.[web 4]

  68. Nyanatiloka (1980), p. 65. - Nyanatiloka (1980), Buddhist Dictionary, Buddhist Publication Society

  69. Williams (2002), pp. 74–75. - Williams, Paul (2002), Buddhist Thought (Kindle ed.), Taylor & Francis

  70. Lopez (2009), p. 147. - Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (2009), Buddhism and Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, University of Chicago Press

  71. Donald Lopez, "Four Noble Truths" (Archived 18 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine), Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Four-Noble-Truths

  72. Ajahn Sumedho, The First Noble Truth Archived 5 November 1999 at the Wayback Machine (nb: links to index-page; click "The First Noble Truth" for correct page. http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm

  73. Nyanatiloka (1980), p. 65. - Nyanatiloka (1980), Buddhist Dictionary, Buddhist Publication Society

  74. Emmanuel (2013), p. 30. - Emmanuel, Steven M., ed. (2013), A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy (hardback), Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 978-0-470-65877-2, archived from the original (hardback) on 16 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150316084217/http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/A%20Companion%20to%20Buddhist%20Philosophy_Emmanuel.pdf

  75. As opposite to sukha, "pleasure", it is better translated as "pain".[85]

  76. Brian Morris (2006). Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction. Cambridge University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-521-85241-8. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016., Quote: "(...) anatta is the doctrine of non-self, and is an extreme empiricist doctrine that holds that the notion of an unchanging permanent self is a fiction and has no reality. According to Buddhist doctrine, the individual person consists of five skandhas or heaps – the body, feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness. The belief in a self or soul, over these five skandhas, is illusory and the cause of suffering." 978-0-521-85241-8

  77. Richard Francis Gombrich; Cristina Anna Scherrer-Schaub (2008). Buddhist Studies. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 209–210. ISBN 978-81-208-3248-0. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016. 978-81-208-3248-0

  78. Frank Hoffman; Deegalle Mahinda (2013). Pali Buddhism. Routledge. pp. 162–165. ISBN 978-1-136-78553-5. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016. 978-1-136-78553-5

  79. Gombrich (2005a), p. 47, Quote: "All phenomenal existence [in Buddhism] is said to have three interlocking characteristics: impermanence, suffering and lack of soul or essence.".Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, p. 217.

  80. "Anatta Buddhism" (Archived 22 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine), Encyclopædia Britannica (2013) https://www.britannica.com/topic/anatta

  81. [a] Christmas Humphreys (2012). Exploring Buddhism. Routledge. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-1-136-22877-3. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016.[b] Gombrich (2005a, p. 47), Quote: "(...) Buddha's teaching that beings have no soul, no abiding essence. This 'no-soul doctrine' (anatta-vada) he expounded in his second sermon." 978-1-136-22877-3

  82. [a] Anatta Archived 22 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Encyclopædia Britannica (2013), Quote: "Anatta in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying soul. The concept of anatta, or anatman, is a departure from the Hindu belief in atman ("the self").";[b] Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-2217-5, p. 64; "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of ātman is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the [Buddhist] doctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence.";[c] John C. Plott et al. (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0158-5, p. 63, Quote: "The Buddhist schools reject any Ātman concept. As we have already observed, this is the basic and ineradicable distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism";[d] Katie Javanaud (2013), Is The Buddhist 'No-Self' Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana? Archived 13 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Philosophy Now;[e] David Loy (1982), "Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same?", International Philosophical Quarterly, Volume 23, Issue 1, pp. 65–74 https://www.britannica.com/topic/anatta

  83. Ulrich Timme Kragh (editor), The Foundation for Yoga Practitioners: The Buddhist Yogācārabhūmi Treatise and Its Adaptation in India, East Asia, and Tibet, Volume 1 Harvard University, Department of South Asian studies, 2013, p. 144.

  84. "The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (3) | 84000 Reading Room". https://read.84000.co/translation/toh155.html

  85. Klostermaier (2010), p. 604. - Klostermaier, Klaus (2010). A Survey of Hinduism (3rd ed.). State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-8011-3.

  86. Juergensmeyer & Roof (2011), pp. 271–272. - Juergensmeyer, Mark; Roof, Wade Clark (2011), Encyclopedia of Global Religion, Sage Publications, ISBN 978-1-4522-6656-5, archived from the original on 11 January 2023, retrieved 10 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ

  87. Juergensmeyer & Roof (2011), pp. 271–272. - Juergensmeyer, Mark; Roof, Wade Clark (2011), Encyclopedia of Global Religion, Sage Publications, ISBN 978-1-4522-6656-5, archived from the original on 11 January 2023, retrieved 10 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ

  88. Trainor (2004), p. 58, Quote: "Buddhism shares with Hinduism the doctrine of Samsara, whereby all beings pass through an unceasing cycle of birth, death and rebirth until they find a means of liberation from the cycle. However, Buddhism differs from Hinduism in rejecting the assertion that every human being possesses a changeless soul which constitutes his or her ultimate identity, and which transmigrates from one incarnation to the next.. - Trainor, Kevin (2004), Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-517398-7, archived from the original on 11 January 2023, retrieved 10 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=_PrloTKuAjwC

  89. Wilson (2010). - Wilson, Jeff (2010), Saṃsāra and Rebirth, in Buddhism, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/obo/9780195393521-0141, ISBN 978-0-19-539352-1 https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fobo%2F9780195393521-0141

  90. Juergensmeyer & Roof (2011), pp. 271–272. - Juergensmeyer, Mark; Roof, Wade Clark (2011), Encyclopedia of Global Religion, Sage Publications, ISBN 978-1-4522-6656-5, archived from the original on 11 January 2023, retrieved 10 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ

  91. McClelland (2010), pp. 172, 240. - McClelland, Norman C. (2010), Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma, McFarland, ISBN 978-0-7864-5675-8, archived from the original on 11 January 2023, retrieved 10 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=S_Leq4U5ihkC

  92. Williams, Tribe & Wynne (2012), pp. 18–19, chapter 1. - Williams, Paul; Tribe, Anthony; Wynne, Alexander (2012), Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition (2nd ed.), Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-57179-1 https://books.google.com/books?id=NOLfCgAAQBAJ

  93. Conze (2013), p. 71, Quote: "Nirvana is the raison d'être of Buddhism, and its ultimate justification.". - Conze, Edward (2013), Buddhist Thought in India: Three Phases of Buddhist Philosophy, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-134-54231-4, archived from the original on 11 January 2023, retrieved 10 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=kY5TAQAAQBAJ

  94. Gethin (1998), p. 119. - Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-289223-2 https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe

  95. 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.[103]

  96. Buswell & Gimello (1992), pp. 7–8, 83–84. - Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Gimello, Robert M., eds. (1992), Paths to Liberation. The Marga and its Transformations in Buddhist Thought, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers

  97. Choong (1999), pp. 28–29, Quote: "Seeing (passati) the nature of things as impermanent leads to the removal of the view of self, and so to the realisation of nirvana.". - Choong, Mun-Keat (1999), The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-1649-7, archived from the original on 11 January 2023, retrieved 10 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=HJafx7uO0VsC

  98. Rahula (2014), pp. 51–58. - Rahula, Walpola (2014), What the Buddha Taught, Oneworld Classics, ISBN 978-1-78074-000-3, archived from the original on 11 January 2023, retrieved 10 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=s8CcAwAAQBAJ

  99. Keown (1996), p. 107. - Keown, Damien (1996), Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press

  100. Oliver Leaman (2002). Eastern Philosophy: Key Readings. Routledge. pp. 23–27. ISBN 978-1-134-68919-4. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016. 978-1-134-68919-4

  101. [a] Christmas Humphreys (2012). Exploring Buddhism. Routledge. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-1-136-22877-3. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016.[b] Brian Morris (2006). Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction. Cambridge University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-521-85241-8. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016., Quote: "(...) anatta is the doctrine of non-self, and is an extreme empiricist doctrine that holds that the notion of an unchanging permanent self is a fiction and has no reality. According to Buddhist doctrine, the individual person consists of five skandhas or heaps – the body, feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness. The belief in a self or soul, over these five skandhas, is illusory and the cause of suffering."[c] Gombrich (2005a, p. 47), Quote: "(...) Buddha's teaching that beings have no soul, no abiding essence. This 'no-soul doctrine' (anatta-vada) he expounded in his second sermon." 978-1-136-22877-3978-0-521-85241-8

  102. Buswell & Lopez (2003), pp. 708–709. - Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald Jr. (2003), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University Press

  103. Ronald Wesley Neufeldt (1986). Karma and Rebirth: Post Classical Developments. State University of New York Press. pp. 123–131. ISBN 978-0-87395-990-2. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016. 978-0-87395-990-2

  104. Buswell & Lopez (2003), pp. 708–709. - Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald Jr. (2003), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University Press

  105. Williams (2002), pp. 74–75. - Williams, Paul (2002), Buddhist Thought (Kindle ed.), Taylor & Francis

  106. Buswell & Lopez (2003), pp. 708–709. - Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald Jr. (2003), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University Press

  107. This merit gaining may be on the behalf of one's family members.[110][111][112]

  108. Wilson (2010). - Wilson, Jeff (2010), Saṃsāra and Rebirth, in Buddhism, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/obo/9780195393521-0141, ISBN 978-0-19-539352-1 https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fobo%2F9780195393521-0141

  109. Harvey (2013), pp. 131, 32–34. - Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-67674-8. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2015. https://books.google.com/books?id=u0sg9LV_rEgC

  110. Kasulis (2006), pp. 1–12. - Kasulis, T.P. (2006), "Zen as a Social Ethics of Responsiveness" (PDF), Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 13: 1–12, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090325011050/http://www.buddhistethics.org/13/zse1-kasulis.pdf

  111. Harvey (2013), pp. 40–41. - Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-67674-8. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2015. https://books.google.com/books?id=u0sg9LV_rEgC

  112. Harvey (2013), pp. 40–41. - Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-67674-8. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2015. https://books.google.com/books?id=u0sg9LV_rEgC

  113. Krishan (1997), pp. 59–78. - Krishan, Yuvraj (1997). The Doctrine of Karma: Its Origin and Development in Brāhmaṇical, Buddhist, and Jaina Traditions. Vidya Bhavan. ISBN 978-81-208-1233-8. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2016. https://books.google.com/books?id=_Bi6FWX1NOgC

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  119. Spiro (1982), p. 430 with footnote 1. - Spiro, Melford E. (1982), Buddhism and Society: A Great Tradition and Its Burmese Vicissitudes, University of California Press

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  124. Spiro (1982), pp. 124–128. - Spiro, Melford E. (1982), Buddhism and Society: A Great Tradition and Its Burmese Vicissitudes, University of California Press

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  129. Bruce Reichenbach (1990). The Law of Karma: A Philosophical Study. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 152–155. ISBN 978-1-349-11899-1. 978-1-349-11899-1

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  131. Buswell & Lopez (2003), pp. 589–590. - Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald Jr. (2003), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University Press

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  133. Another variant, which may be condensed to the eightfold or tenfold path, starts with a Tathagatha entering this world. A layman hears his teachings, decides to leave the life of a householder, starts living according to the moral precepts, guards his sense-doors, practises mindfulness and the four jhanas, gains the three knowledges, understands the Four Noble Truths and destroys the taints, and perceives that he is liberated.[130] /wiki/Asava

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  137. Cousins (1996), p. 9. - Cousins, L.S. (1996), "The Dating of the Historical Buddha: A Review Article", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Series 3 (6.1): 57–63, doi:10.1017/S1356186300014760, S2CID 162929573, archived from the original on 20 December 2010, retrieved 11 July 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20101220043745/http://indology.info/papers/cousins/

  138. Vetter (1988). - Vetter, Tilmann (1988), The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism, Brill

  139. Gombrich (1997), p. 66. - Gombrich, Richard F. (1997), How Buddhism Began, Munshiram Manoharlal

  140. Steven Collins (2010). Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative. Cambridge University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-521-88198-2., Quote: "This general scheme remained basic to later Hinduism, to Jainism, and to Buddhism. Eternal salvation, to use the Christian term, is not conceived of as world without end; we have already got that, called samsara, the world of rebirth and redeath: that is the problem, not the solution. The ultimate aim is the timeless state of moksha, or as the Buddhists seem to have been the first to call it, nirvana." 978-0-521-88198-2

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  144. The early Mahayana Buddhism texts link their discussion of "emptiness" (shunyata) to Anatta and Nirvana. They do so, states Mun-Keat Choong, in three ways: first, in the common sense of a monk's meditative state of emptiness; second, with the main sense of anatta or 'everything in the world is empty of self'; third, with the ultimate sense of nirvana or realisation of emptiness and thus an end to rebirth cycles of suffering.[141]

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  147. Some scholars such as Cousins and Sangharakshita translate apranaihita as "aimlessness or directionless-ness".[143]

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  153. These descriptions of nirvana in Buddhist texts, states Peter Harvey, are contested by scholars because nirvana in Buddhism is ultimately described as a state of "stopped consciousness (blown out), but one that is not non-existent", and "it seems impossible to imagine what awareness devoid of any object would be like".[149][150]

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  156. Better rebirth, not nirvana, has been the primary focus of a vast majority of lay Buddhists. This they attempt through merit accumulation and good kamma.[153][154]

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  159. Williams (2002), p. 64, Quote: In the Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta the Buddha [stresses] that things originate in dependence upon causal conditioning, and this emphasis on causality describes the central feature of Buddhist ontology. All elements of samsara exist in some sense or another relative to their causes and conditions..Orzech, Charles D. (general editor) (2011). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Brill. p. 4 - Williams, Paul (2002), Buddhist Thought (Kindle ed.), Taylor & Francis

  160. Robert Neville (2004). Jeremiah Hackett (ed.). Philosophy of Religion for a New Century: Essays in Honor of Eugene Thomas Long. Jerald Wallulis. Springer. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-4020-2073-5., Quote: "[Buddhism's ontological hypotheses] that nothing in reality has its own-being and that all phenomena reduce to the relativities of pratitya samutpada. The Buddhist ontological hypothesese deny that there is any ontologically ultimate object such a God, Brahman, the Dao, or any transcendent creative source or principle." 978-1-4020-2073-5

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  168. Harvey (1998), p. 54, Quote: "The main concrete application of the abstract principle is in the form of a series of conditioned links (nidanas), culminating in the arising of dukkha." (...) "This [doctrine] states the principle of conditionality, that all things, mental and physical, arise and exist due to the presence of certain conditions, and cease once their conditions are removed: nothing (except Nibbana) is independent. The doctrine thus complements the teaching that no permanent, independent self can be found.".Heng-Ching Shih (1987). Yung-Ming's Syncretism of Pure Land and Chan, The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 10 (1), p. 117 - Harvey, Peter (1998) [1990], An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-31333-9 https://archive.org/details/introductiontobu00harv_0

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  394. While some interpretations state that Buddhism may have originated as a social reform, other scholars state that it is incorrect and anachronistic to regard the Buddha as a social reformer.[355] Buddha's concern was "to reform individuals, help them to leave society forever, not to reform the world... he never preached against social inequality". Richard Gombrich, quoted by Christopher Queen.[355][356]

  395. Hajime Nakamura (1983). A History of Early Vedānta Philosophy. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 102–104, 264–269, 294–295. ISBN 978-81-208-0651-1.; Quote: "But the Upanishadic ultimate meaning of the Vedas, was, from the viewpoint of the Vedic canon in general, clearly a new idea.."; p. 95: The [oldest] Upanishads in particular were part of the Vedic corpus (...) When these various new ideas were brought together and edited, they were added on to the already existing Vedic..."; p. 294: "When early Jainism came into existence, various ideas mentioned in the extant older Upanishads were current,....". 978-81-208-0651-1

  396. Klaus G. Witz (1998). The Supreme Wisdom of the Upaniṣads: An Introduction. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 1–2, 23. ISBN 978-81-208-1573-5.; Quote: "In the Aranyakas therefore, thought and inner spiritual awareness started to separate subtler, deeper aspects from the context of ritual performance and myth with which they had been united up to then. This process was then carried further and brought to completion in the Upanishads. (...) The knowledge and attainment of the Highest Goal had been there from the Vedic times. But in the Upanishads inner awareness, aided by major intellectual breakthroughs, arrived at a language in which Highest Goal could be dealt with directly, independent of ritual and sacred lore".Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle (1994). The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 58 with footnote 148, 22–29, 87–103, for Upanishads–Buddhist Sutta discussion see 65–72. ISBN 978-3-447-03479-1. 978-81-208-1573-5978-3-447-03479-1

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  410. Mark Siderits (2007). Buddhism as Philosophy: An Introduction. Ashgate. p. 16 with footnote 3. ISBN 978-0-7546-5369-1. 978-0-7546-5369-1

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  412. Hirakawa (1993), p. 7. - Hirakawa, Akira (1993), Groner, Paul (ed.), A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna, translated by Groner, Paul, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0955-0, archived from the original on 11 January 2023, retrieved 10 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=XjjwjC7rcOYC

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  414. The Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya and Anguttara Nikaya /wiki/Digha_Nikaya

  415. Sujato & Brahmali (2015), p. 39–41. - Sujato, Bhante; Brahmali, Bhikkhu (2015), The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts (PDF), Chroniker Press, ISBN 978-1-312-91150-5, archived (PDF) from the original on 24 December 2015 https://ocbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/authenticity.pdf

  416. Gethin (2008), p. xviii. - Gethin, Rupert (2008), Sayings of the Buddha, Oxford University Press

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  418. The surviving portions of the scriptures of Sarvastivada, Mulasarvastivada, Mahīśāsaka, Dharmaguptaka and other schools.[377][378] /wiki/Sarvastivada

  419. Vetter (1988), pp. xxi–xxxvii. - Vetter, Tilmann (1988), The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism, Brill

  420. Vetter (1988), p. ix. - Vetter, Tilmann (1988), The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism, Brill

  421. Exemplary studies are the study on descriptions of "liberating insight" by Lambert Schmithausen,[380] the overview of early Buddhism by Tilmann Vetter,[135] the philological work on the four truths by K.R. Norman,[381] the textual studies by Richard Gombrich,[382] and the research on early meditation methods by Johannes Bronkhorst.[292]

  422. Bronkhorst (1993), p. vii. - Bronkhorst, Johannes (1993), The Two Traditions Of Meditation In Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass Publ.

  423. According to A.K. Warder, in his 1970 publication "Indian Buddhism", from the oldest extant texts a common kernel can be drawn out.[378] According to Warder, c.q. his publisher: "This kernel of doctrine is presumably common Buddhism of the period before the great schisms of the fourth and third centuries BC. It may be substantially the Buddhism of the Buddha himself, although this cannot be proved: at any rate it is a Buddhism presupposed by the schools as existing about a hundred years after the parinirvana of the Buddha, and there is no evidence to suggest that it was formulated by anyone else than the Buddha and his immediate followers."[384]

  424. Bronkhorst (1993), p. viii. - Bronkhorst, Johannes (1993), The Two Traditions Of Meditation In Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass Publ.

  425. Richard Gombrich: "I have the greatest difficulty in accepting that the main edifice is not the work of a single genius. By "the main edifice" I mean the collections of the main body of sermons, the four Nikāyas, and of the main body of monastic rules."[382]

  426. Ronald Davidson: "While most scholars agree that there was a rough body of sacred literature (disputed) [sic] that a relatively early community (disputed) [sic] maintained and transmitted, we have little confidence that much, if any, of surviving Buddhist scripture is actually the word of the historic Buddha."[386] /wiki/Sic

  427. Jong (1993), p. 25. - Jong, J.W. de (1993), "The Beginnings of Buddhism", The Eastern Buddhist, 26 (2)

  428. J.W. De Jong: "It would be hypocritical to assert that nothing can be said about the doctrine of earliest Buddhism [...] the basic ideas of Buddhism found in the canonical writings could very well have been proclaimed by him [the Buddha], transmitted and developed by his disciples and, finally, codified in fixed formulas."[387]

  429. Bronkhorst: "This position is to be preferred to (ii) for purely methodological reasons: only those who seek nay find, even if no success is guaranteed."[383]

  430. Lopez: "The original teachings of the historical Buddha are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover or reconstruct."[388]

  431. Mitchell (2002), p. 34. - Mitchell, Donald W. (2002), Buddhism: introducing the Buddhist experience, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-513951-8

  432. Reat, Noble Ross. "The Historical Buddha and his Teachings". In: Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophy. Ed. by Potter, Karl H. Vol. VII: Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD. Motilal Banarsidass, 1996, pp. 28, 33, 37, 41, 43, 48.

  433. Analayo (2011). A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya. Dharma Drum Academic Publisher. p. 891.

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  435. Skorupski (1990), p. 5. - Skorupski, Tadeusz, ed. (1990), Buddhist Forum, vol I, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-7286-0162-8

  436. Bronkhorst (1998), pp. 4, 11. - Bronkhorst, Johannes (1998), "Did the Buddha Believe in Karma and Rebirth?", Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 21 (1): 1–20, archived from the original on 29 November 2014, retrieved 15 November 2014 https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/download/8869/2776

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  487. Analayo (2011). "A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya Volume 1 (Introduction, Studies of Discourses 1 to 90)", p. 236.Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, p. 171.

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  490. Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, p. 204.

  491. Gombrich (2005a), p. 47, Quote: "All phenomenal existence [in Buddhism] is said to have three interlocking characteristics: impermanence, suffering and lack of soul or essence.".Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, p. 217.

  492. Omvedt, Gail (2003). "Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste", p. 172.

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  502. Williams (2002), p. 64, Quote: In the Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta the Buddha [stresses] that things originate in dependence upon causal conditioning, and this emphasis on causality describes the central feature of Buddhist ontology. All elements of samsara exist in some sense or another relative to their causes and conditions..Orzech, Charles D. (general editor) (2011). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Brill. p. 4 - Williams, Paul (2002), Buddhist Thought (Kindle ed.), Taylor & Francis

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  504. Harvey (1998), p. 54, Quote: "The main concrete application of the abstract principle is in the form of a series of conditioned links (nidanas), culminating in the arising of dukkha." (...) "This [doctrine] states the principle of conditionality, that all things, mental and physical, arise and exist due to the presence of certain conditions, and cease once their conditions are removed: nothing (except Nibbana) is independent. The doctrine thus complements the teaching that no permanent, independent self can be found.".Heng-Ching Shih (1987). Yung-Ming's Syncretism of Pure Land and Chan, The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 10 (1), p. 117 - Harvey, Peter (1998) [1990], An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-31333-9 https://archive.org/details/introductiontobu00harv_0

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