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About Buddhism
Buddhism came into being in northeastern India during the period from
the late 6th
century to the early 4th century BC, a period of great social change and intense
religious activity. There is disagreement among scholars about the dates of the
Buddha's birth and death. Most scholars in Europe, the United States, and India
believe that the historical Buddha lived from about 563 to about 483 BC. Many others,
especially in Japan, believe that he lived about 100 years later (from about 448 to 368
BC).
Buddhism, like many of the sects that developed in northeastern India
at the time, was
constituted by the presence of a charismatic teacher, by the teachings this leader
promulgated, and by a community of adherents that was often made up of renunciant
members and lay supporters. In the case of Buddhism this pattern became the basis
for the Triratna--the
"Three Jewels" of Buddha (the teacher), dharma (the teaching),
and sangha (the community).
In the centuries following the founder's death, Buddhism developed in
two directions.
One, usually called Theravada by its present-day adherents, remained relatively
faithful to what it considered to be the true tradition of the Buddha's teachings. The
other is called Mahayana, "the means of salvation available to a larger number of
people," by its followers, who call the first Hinayana, "the means of salvation restricted
to a smaller number of people" (or simply the greater and lesser vehicles).
It may be said that the Buddha based his entire teaching on the fact of human
suffering. Existence is painful. The conditions that make an individual are precisely
those that also give rise to suffering. Individuality implies limitation; limitation gives rise
to desire; and, inevitably, desire causes suffering, since what is desired is transitory,
changing, and perishing. It is the impermanence of the object of craving that causes
disappointment and sorrow. By following the path taught by the Buddha, the
individual can dispel the ignorance that perpetuates this suffering. The Buddha's
doctrine was not one of despair. Living amid the impermanence of everything and
being themselves impermanent, human beings search for the way of deliverance, for
that which shines beyond the transitoriness of human existence--in short, for
enlightenment.
Buddha formulated the Four Noble
Truths: the truth of misery, the truth that misery originates within us from the craving
for pleasure and for being or nonbeing, the truth that this craving can be eliminated,
and the truth that this elimination is the result of a methodical way or path that must
be followed. Thus, there must be an understanding of the mechanism by which a
human being's psychophysical being evolves; otherwise, human beings would remain
indefinitely in samsara, in the continual flow of transitory existence.
Thr Eightfold Path
The question arises as to how one may escape the continually renewed
cycle of birth, suffering, and death. Here ethical conduct enters in. It is not enough to know that misery pervades
all existence and to know the way in which life evolves; there must also be a purification that leads to the overcoming
of this process. Such a liberating purification is effected by following the Noble Eightfold Path constituted by
right views, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness,
and right meditational attainment. The term right (true or correct) is used to distinguish sharply between the
precepts of the Buddha and other teachings.
The aim of religious practice is to be rid of the delusion of ego, thus
freeing oneself
from the fetters of this mundane world. One who is successful in doing so is said to
have overcome the round of rebirths and to have achieved enlightenment. This is the
final goal--not a paradise or a heavenly world.
This is just a very light overview and one needs to follow this , if
it seems to spark interest within you. There are many sources on the web.
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