BUDDHISM

Buddhism

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. 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, and 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.

Western scholars were not showing interest in the Buddhist scriptures until the nineteenth century, and in the second half of the twentieth century, the West began considering Buddhism as a religion. Then still today, Buddhism remained as the religion of inner peace and happiness, and known all over the world and is said to be world religion, because there are no restrictions or conditions to meet to become a Buddhist (Chopra, 1983, p.435). The emperor Ashoka sent missions to the west, but he did not succeed. Till modern times Buddhism remains unknown to the western countries. It was Asian immigrants who brought Buddhism in various forms with them in Europe, North America, and Australia. The attitudes, traditions, and behavior of Buddhists attract westerns. Although, Buddhism teachings spread for last 2500 years, but it get attention in the twentieth century in the western world.

Discussion

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.

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 ...