About Buddhism

(Picture) Schwedagon Pagoda, Burma

Historical Buddha

Buddhism has become one of the most famous religions after roughly 2500 years since Siddhartha Gautama founded it. He was born as a crown prince in a small kingdom, which was located in present day Nepal around 7th century BC. Prince Siddhartha became disillusioned by the sorrow and suffering in the world and renounced his home and family at an early age. After meditating and learning for many years under the most famous teachers of his time, he finally attained enlightenment while sitting under a Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, thus became known as the Buddha, or "the one who knows". He renounced extreme indulgence in worldly luxuries as well as severe ascetic penances and austerities and preached the middle way as a path to liberation from suffering. He preached the Dhamma (path) throughout his life in the local tongue rather than the language of the learned, and attained a vast following from all sections of society in India of that time.

The Emergence of Buddhism

After the death of the Buddha, his disciples held a meeting and collected his teachings. It is widely accepted amongst historians that his teachings were originally recited in one of the dialects of North India, and the verses had been recited by generations of monks until they were brought to Sri Lanka and collectively recorded in writing in Pali, which was a language prevalent at that time. The scriptures written at that time are now available and known as “Pali Canon”. The canon was also written in Sanskrit and brought to Central Asia, where such documents have been found in the deserts as late as in 19th Century. The Pali Tripitaka and Chinese translation of the Sanskrit Agamas have been found to be mostly similar, indicating they share a common root. Over the years, the teachings of the Buddha were spread beyond India, to countries such as China, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Japan and parts of central Asia. Two prominent schools of Buddhism developed: the Mahayana (including the Tibetan Vajrayana, the Chinese Cha'an, PureLand and Japanese Zen schools) and the Theravada (which spread in countries of South and south east Asia such as Thailand and Sri Lanka). Due to the spread in various countries, we find a rich diversity of Buddhist rituals and practices.

Buddhism pays great importance to compassion for all living beings, avoiding extremities and doing things mindfully in life. Meditation is a central aspect of Buddhism, through which one can realise the truth by experiencing it for oneself, rather than relying on blind belief. It can be summed up in Buddha's message: Ehipassiko (meaning 'Come and see for yourself')

Principles of Buddhism

Buddhism is a very diverse religion, but all of the different traditions share the following principles:

The four noble truths about the world

The eightfold path: the way of liberation from suffering

The triple gem: the three refuges

The five precepts of moral behaviour

If you feel the above principles are correct, based on whatever reasons, it is very likely that you are a Buddhist. It means that you can be a Buddhist to a varying extent even if you practice another religion.

Quotes of the Buddha

"Do not believe in anything, simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions simply because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But when, after observation and analysis, you find anything that agrees with reason, and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. " (Kalama Sutta)

"Impermanant are all component things. Work out your salvation with diligence." (Buddha's dying words)