Intro
If you have ever been to a china shop, then more than likely you have seen a statue of a heavy man named Buddha. But is he a god or a regular man? What did he teach? Founder
The founder of Buddhism was a Kshatriyan Prince named Guatama. Since he was a prince he was always in his palace, sheltered from the outside world. One day though no one was watching Guatama, and so he decided to leave and explore his kingdom. As he walked the streets he saw people suffering and dying from poverty and disease. This led him to abandon his priveleged life to search and travel India to find a way people could end their suffering. He practiced meditation,
which is a when you go without food to separate yourself from the material world. One day while meditating under a tree, Guatama had a
vision and found a way to end suffering. He developed the Four Noble Truths which are: Everyone suffers and knows sorrow, people's desires blind them to the Cycle of Rebirth, to end your suffering you must separate yourself from the material world, and that you must use the Eightfold Path
to end your suffering. The Cycle of Rebirth is a traditional Hindu belief that when you die you will come back to life as another physical being whether it is human or animal. Guatama also developed the Eightfold Path, as mentioned before. They are: To know truth, resist evil, control your thoughts, work for the good of others, respect others, practice meditation, separate yourself from the material world, and and to free your mind of evil. Once Guatama discovered the way to end suffering, he shared this knowledge with friends. His friends started calling him Buddha, or " Enlightened One"(who is pictured above). Although he was once a Kshatriyan prince and was born into believing in Hinduism, Buddha had rejected the idea of the Caste System, which Hindu people used to determine a person's place in life based on their birth. However, he believed it was the person who decided what his or her place in life was. Buddha's teachings had spread and he had thousands of followers. After his death, his followers expanded his teachings to places in Asia such as China, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East. However as Buddhism spread, disagreements rose within itself. Eventually there became two branches of Buddhism. The Theravada branch was the same and still saw Buddha as a teacher. The other branch,
was the Mahayana, which was the same as the Theravada, except they worship Buddha as a deity or savior.
Number of Followers and Locations today
Today there are over 376 million Buddhist followers. Most are in East Asia, in countries like Taiwan, Japan, Cambodia, and Thailand. However there are also over 300,000 Buddhists in the United States.
Holy Books and Sacred Texts
Some sacred texts of Buddhism are the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which describes in detail of the stages of death in the Tibetan point of view. The Mahayana Sutras are a collection of texts that the Mahayana branch of Buddhism consider sacred. The Tipetaka is the earliest collection of Buddhist teaching that was passed down orally until the third century.
Religious Holidays
Religious Holidays Buddists celebrate are Vesak (Buddha Day) which celebrates Buddha's birthday. This is celebrated on the first full moon day of May and celebrated by Buddhists around the world. The Elephant Festival is held on the third Saturday of November. It is celebrated because Buddha used a wild elephant as an example to show that a person new to Buddhism can be tamed and learn Buddhism by an older Buddhist.
Rituals/Customs
Buddhists still practice meditation as they always have which is an ancient ritual to separate yourself from the material world. Other rituals of Buddhism are doing Mantras (sacred sounds), Mudrus (symbolic hand gestures), and Prayer Wheel (reciting Mantras while spinning a wheel).
Particular Dress/Clothing
Clothing most
Buddhist monks wear are prayer robes called Zens (pictured left) which looks like a robe, but with a darker piece of cloth over the shoulder of the robe. Some Buddhists also wear shauls.
Hierarchy/Organization
Buddhist hierarchy is in the order of importance. The Dalai Lama which is the leader, next is the Panchen Lama who is second in command to the Dalai Lama, then there are the Monastics who are regular Lamas, and at the bottom are the laypeople who are non-monastics.
