Buddhism
Note: Because many Eastern religions are not familiar to Westerners (the likely readers of the blog), this summary is longer than the pages describing common Western religions.
Buddhism, also known as Dharmavinaya "doctrines and disciplines" and Buddha Dharma, is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on a series of teachings attributed to Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha. It originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. It is the world's fourth-largest religion with over 520 million followers; more than 7% of the global population identify as Buddhists. Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on the Buddha's teachings.
Buddhism applies the theory of dependent arising to explain origination of endless cycles of dukkha and rebirth, through Twelve Nidānas (aka 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), Spars’a (sensory stimulation), Vedanā (feeling), Taṇhā (craving), Upādāna (grasping), Bhava (becoming), Jāti (birth), and Jarāmaraṇa (old age, death, sorrow, and pain). By breaking the circuitous links of the Twelve Nidanas, Buddhism asserts that liberation from these endless cycles of rebirth and dukkha can be attained.
As expressed by Buddha's Four Noble Truths, the goal of Buddhism is to overcome suffering caused by desire and the ignorance of the realties of nature, impermanence, and the non-existence of the self. Most Buddhist traditions emphasize transcendence of the individual self through the attainment of Nirvana, ending the cycle of death and rebirth. Widely observed practices include meditation, observance of moral precepts, monasticism, taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, and the cultivation of the Paramitas (perfections, or virtues).
The Buddha was moved by suffering experienced in life and death, and its endless repetition due to rebirth (aka dharma), so he set out on a quest to find liberation from suffering (known as nirvana). The Buddha studied under two teachers of meditation, Āḷāra Kālāma (Sanskrit: Arada Kalama) and Uddaka Ramaputta (Sanskrit: Udraka Ramaputra) learning meditation and philosophy, particularly the meditative attainment of the sphere of nothingness, and the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception.
Finding these teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, the Buddha turned to the practice of severe asceticism, which included a strict fasting regime and various forms of breath control. This too fell short of attaining his goal, so he turned to the practice of profound meditation achieved through yoga (dhyana). Buddha gained insight into a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existence (aka karma), to achieve the end of mental defilement and suffering, and the end of rebirth (aka saṃsāra). This event also brought certainty about the Middle Way as the right path of spiritual practice to end suffering. As a fully enlightened Buddha, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha (monastic order). He spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma he had discovered, and then died, achieving "final nirvana," at the age of 80.
The Buddha is the first of the three jewels of Buddhism. Buddhas in all worlds, in the past, present and in the future, are believed by Buddhists to understand and teach the Dharma. Indeed, it is part of what makes them a Buddha that they do so.
In Buddhism, Buddha Dharma refers to the teaching which 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. 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 understanding the way that things really are. Dharma is the second of the three jewels which all Buddhists take refuge in.
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.” 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 (depicted by alms bowl and robes).
The Sangha is seen as important because they preserve and pass down Buddha Dharma. The Sangha lives the teaching, preserves the teaching as Scriptures, and teaches the wider community. Without the Sangha there is no Buddhism. 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. The Sangha is also supposed to follow the Vinaya (monastic rule) of the Buddha, thereby serving as a spiritual example for the world and future generations. The Vinaya rules also force the Sangha to live in dependence on the rest of the lay community (ex. they must beg for food) and thus draw the Sangha into a relationship with the lay community.
The Four Noble Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism: we crave and cling to impermanent state of things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying, and painful. This keeps us caught in Saṃsāra, the endless cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha, and dying again. But, there is a way to liberation from this endless cycle to the state of nirvana - follow the Noble Eightfold Path.
The truth of dukkha is the basic insight that life in this mundane world, with its clinging and craving to impermanent states and things; this is dukkha, and unsatisfactory. Dukkha can be translated as "incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature and the general insecurity of all conditioned phenomena, or painful." Dukkha is most commonly translated as "suffering," but this is inadequate since it refers not to episodic suffering, but to the intrinsically unsatisfactory nature of temporary states and things, including pleasant but temporary experiences. We expect happiness from states and things which are impermanent, and therefore cannot attain real happiness.
In Buddhism, dukkha is one of the three marks of existence, along with impermanence and anattā (non-self). Buddhism asserts that everything is impermanent (anicca), but also asserts that there is no permanent self or soul in living beings (anattā). The ignorance or misperception (avijjā) that anything is permanent or that there is self in any being is considered a wrong understanding, and the primary source of clinging and dukkha.
Dukkha arises when we crave life in this mundane world and cling to it. The clinging and craving produces karma, which ties us to samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth. Craving includes kama-tanha, craving for sense-pleasures; bhava-tanha, craving to continue the cycle of life and death, including rebirth; and vibhava-tanha, craving to not experience the world and painful feelings. Dukkha ceases, or can be confined (aka Moksha or liberation) when craving and clinging cease or are confined. This also means that no more karma is being produced, and rebirth ends. Cessation is nirvana, peace of mind.
Rebirth is when the actions of a person lead to a new existence after death, in an endless cycle (aṃsāra). This cycle is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful. Rebirth is one of the foundational doctrines of Buddhism, along with karma, Nirvana and moksha. Rebirth does not necessarily take place as another human being, but can also lead to an existence in one of the six realms of existence, which also include heaven realms, the animal realm, the ghost realm and hell realms. Rebirth is determined by karma, with good realms favored by kushala (good or skillful karma), while a rebirth in evil realms is a consequence of akushala (bad karma). While nirvana is the ultimate goal of Buddhist teaching, much of traditional Buddhist practice has been centered on gaining merit and merit transfer, whereby one gains rebirth in the good realms and avoids rebirth in the evil realms.
Buddhism became structurally established within Japan by Emperor Shōmu (reign 724–749). With the introduction of Buddhism and its rapid adoption by the court in the 6th century, it was necessary to explain the apparent differences between native Japanese beliefs and Buddhist teachings. One Buddhist explanation saw the kami as supernatural beings still caught in the cycle of birth and rebirth (reincarnation). The kami are born, live, die, and are reborn like all other beings in the karmic cycle. However, the kami played a special role in protecting Buddhism and allowing its teachings of compassion to flourish.
The entry of Buddhism into China was marked by interaction and syncretism (shared beliefs), with Taoism in particular. Originally seen as a kind of "foreign Taoism", Buddhism's scriptures were translated into Chinese using the Taoist vocabulary. Chan Buddhism was particularly modified by Taoism, integrating distrust of scripture, text and even language, as well as the Taoist views of embracing "this life", dedicated practice and the "every-moment". Taoism incorporated Buddhist elements during the Tang period, such as monasteries, vegetarianism, prohibition of alcohol, the doctrine of emptiness, and collecting scripture in tripartite organization. During the same time, Chan Buddhism grew to become the largest sect in Chinese Buddhism.
Ideological and political rivals for centuries, Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism deeply influenced one another. They also share some similar values, with all three embracing a humanist philosophy emphasizing moral behavior and human perfection. In time, most Chinese people identified to some extent with all three traditions simultaneously. This became institutionalized when aspects of the three schools were synthesized in the Neo-Confucian school.
