Buddhism

Introduction

Buddhism originated in northeast India based on Siddhartha Gautama's teachings. The two major branches of Buddhism are the Mahayana, which means the Great Vehicle and the Theravada hat means the Way of the Elders. Buddhism is majorly present in Southeast Asia and East Asia. Theravada is popular in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, while Mahayana is more common in Nepal, Tibet, Japan, Mongolia, China, Korea, Taiwan, India and Vietnam. The total Buddhist population in world is around 300 million (Chitkara, 33).

History of Buddhism

Gautama Buddha Shakyamuni founded Buddhism in the 6th century in northern India, what is now Nepal. Gautama called as the Buddha, which means “The Awakened” or “Enlightened One.” Buddhist philosophy is based on the theory of Dharmas. The theory states that all that is natural is in a single flow, and based on atom composition, All the natural Elements have very brief and temporary life span, eventually, they end, Therefore, the nature both material and spiritual is not in true real existence. These elements are of the Dharma carrier, the everlasting and incontrovertible substance; this is true and real existence or real meaning of the phenomenon. The ultimate objective is the Nirvana (Davids, 87).

Key Believes and their Organizations

Rather than immediately trying to address issues such as, "What is the meaning of life" and "what happens after death?” the Buddhism tries to explore the fundamental problem, which is the state of human existence. These Four Noble Truths are regarded as the basics of Buddhist teachings. The Four Noble Truths are defined in many different ways, but each describes the nature of existence: life is temporary and is subject to suffering, but the end to the suffering can be achieved by giving up worldly concerns and following wisdom (Lopez, 16).

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism discover suffering of humans. These four truths are summarized as follows:

Dukha, which means life, is suffering, the reality and universality of suffering. Suffering can be caused by many reasons such as pain, sickness, failure, loss, and the lack of pleasure.

Samudaya, which says that the main cause of all suffering is ignorance. A wish to control and contain things is the cause of suffering. It has many different forms, such as the desire for wealth and fame, craving of sensual pleasures, and the wish to evade unpleasant feelings, such as anger, jealousy or fear.

Nirodha, avoiding ignorance can bring an end to suffering. Suffering comes to an end with the final deliverance of Nirvana. Liberation, freedom, and nonattachment are experienced by the mind, and there is no desire for anything.

Magga, the truth way shows the way to the cessation of suffering. The Noble Eightfold Path, which is the true path, must be followed, to restrain suffering, which includes right speech, right action, right intention, right view, right effort, right livelihood, right contemplation and right-mindedness.

One of the famous quotations by Buddha summarized the truth of Buddhism as “Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.

Geographical Distribution

Buddhism was founded in northern India and ...