Buddhism Basics:

History:

Buddhism was born in India about 2500 years ago in northern India. The story goes that an Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama of the Shakya clan was sheltered from all the troubles of the world because of an omen his father received. However, Siddhartha decided to go out and see the kingdom he would once rule. His father tried to hide all the problems in the kingdom from his son. However, Siddhartha saw 4 sights that changed his life. The first was a decrepit elderly person. The second was a leper. The third was a corps. The fourth was a spiritual ascetic. This caused Siddhartha to realize that happiness couldn’t be found in worldly things. He left the palace and became an acetic.
In his asceticism he almost died. This brought about his first teaching of the Middle Path. This is not to go to extremes with anything. After 6 years of this practice Siddhartha has a deep realization about the nature of existence, which is called enlightenment or Nirvana. After that he began teaching first his ascetic friends and then his following grew. He became known as Shakyamuni or “sage of the Shakya clan” and also Buddha or “enlightened one”. He taught for 40 some years and then passed away.
Shortly after his death his closest students held councils to remember his teaching. These teachings were handed down as oral tradition untill they were first written down about 200 years after Shakyamuni Buddha’s death. Buddhism split into two major branches about 300 years after the Buddha’s death. One tradition is called Mahayana, which means “great vehicle” and is considered more liberal. The other is called Thervada, which mean vehicle of the elders, and is more conservative and traditional. The two schools use different cannons of scripture (sutras or suttas). Therava uses an older cannon which is in Pali while Mahayana used a cannon that was written later in Sanskrit.

Buddha’s teachings:

The Buddha is quoted saying many time that the only thing he teaches is “the truth of suffering and the end of suffering”.

Four Noble Truths

1. There is an unsatisfactoriness to life.
2. The cause of this is the desire to have things a different from the way they are and this is caused by ignorance.
3. It is possible to end this unsatisfactoriness of life.
4. There is a path out of this unsatisfactoriness.

The path the buddha laid out a basic path to work from.
The 8 fold path:

1. Right view- understanding the three marks of existence (three dharma seals)
2. Right thought- keeping purifying the mind of the three poisons.
3. Right speech- not using hurtful speech.
4. Right action- practicing loving kindness and compassion.
5. Right lively hood- not having a profession that causes others suffering.
6. Right effort-having a balance in practicing this path
7. Right mindfulness- being aware and attentive to all of your experience.
8. Right concentration- purifying the mind and calming the mind with meditation.

The Three Marks of Existence (aka Three Dharma Seals)

1. Suffering and its end-(see four noble truths)
2. Change- Nothing stays the same, everything is always in flux.
3. Interconnectedness- Nothing is separate in and of itself, everything is made of things that are not itself. A flower is made of sunshine, rain, minerals, nutrients, dirt, insects, air, etc. Those parts are then connected to everything else.

There are three main problems that stem from this ignorance that cause our suffering. They are the Three Poisons.

The three poisons:
1. Anger
2. Aversion
3. Greed

The Buddha also taught 5 basic rules to live by for lay people and 10 basic ones for monks and nuns.

5 precepts:

1. No killing
2. No stealing
3. No lying
4. No sexual misconduct
5. No not consume intoxicants

These help one practice the 8 fold path.

The Three schools of Buddhism

Theravada:

Theravada Buddhism is the oldest form of Buddhism. It is primarily practiced in southeast Asia. It’s main focus is to become enlightened by your own effort and focus on first freeing yourself before you free others. However, this distinction is much less important when actually practiced. It’s monks and nuns follow the strictest code of conduct. They practice loving-kindness meditation and insight meditation.

Mahayana:

Mahayana is the second oldest of the traditions. It is mostly found in east Asia. It focuses on the Bodhisattva Idea. A Bodhisattva holds off on passing into Nirvana and decides to keep being reborn or appear in the world so he or she can help other beings realize enlightenment. Mahayana Buddhism also contains the idea of Buddha-Nature. Everyone has an inner essence which is free from ignorance. To become enlightened one must realize or awaken to their Buddha nature. In this tradition there are many more buddhas. Shakyamuni is only the historical Buddha of our time. There are many other Buddhas in many other worlds. Within Mahayana there are many sects suct as Pure Land, Zen, Chan, Ten-Dai, Hua-Yen, and many others.

Vajrayana:

Vajrayana Buddhism encompasses all of Mahyana Buddhism but also adds to it. Vajrayana adds to the Mahayana scriptures with Tantric scriptures. These texts describe characters, stories, and practices that are more esoteric and mystical. Vajrayana is unique in that it tries to used desire as a tool toward realization. Vajrayana practice includes rituals, chanting, mantras, visualizations, and meditation. Vajrayana is found mostly in Tibet and northern India. It is practiced to some extent in some forms of Japanese Buddhism.

Two Important Issues for Westerners:

Vegetarian vs. Non-vegetarian

The history and location of Buddhism dictates much of this debate. In Shakyamuni’s time the monks and nuns begged for food. They were given what ever the family they received from was having. This included meat. They had no choice in what they received. This is still how Buddhism is practiced in Theravada. When Mahayana Buddhism moved to east Asia where monks and nuns lived in separate communities far apart from lay people Buddhist monks and nuns made the move toward vegetarianism. Since they supported themselves by farming they would not receive meat from townspeople. This in turn set the example for lay Buddhists and devote followers began being vegetarian. Also begging was not accepted in east Asia. It was not looked on as a vow of spiritual poverty. It was seen as a thing outcasts did. In many areas vegetarianism was not an option. People could not be vegetarian in Tibet. The climate did not support good plant growth. So for the modern Buddhist it is a personal question. What is the correct path for one’s self while empathizing with other living things. There are many Buddhists who are vegetarian and many who are not.

Buddhism and God:

Most religions say that God is the answer or at least can explain the answer to suffering. However, that entails figuring out the nature and qualities of God. Buddha did not teach about God. There were plenty of qualified people in his time teaching about God. When Buddha was asked questions about metaphysics and God either Buddha did not answer or said “the question does not tend to edification”. Buddha only taught the truth of suffering and it’s end. Buddha was not willing to speculate about God. He was only interested in easing people’s suffering. So it is perfectly all right for a Buddhist to believe in God. It is even more all right if this belief is based on personal experience. However, there is no need to believe or not believe in God in Buddhism. Buddhism just doesn’t deal with God. At least for the most part. It can be argued that some things in Mahayana Buddhism point to God, however, it’s not the emphasis.

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This page last updated: February 23, 2005