Buddhism is a set of
teachings often described as a religion. However, some definitions of
religion would exclude it, or some forms of it. Some say it is a body of
philosophies influenced by the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as
Gautama Buddha. Others say it is teachings to guide one to directly
experiencing reality. Buddhism is also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma,
which means roughly the "teachings of the Awakened One" in Sanskrit and
Pali, languages of ancient Buddhist texts.
Origin
On subsequent trips outside the palace,
Gautam Buddha encountered various sufferings such as a diseased man, a
decaying corpse, and a monk or an ascetic. These are often termed 'The
Four Sights.
Gautama was deeply depressed by these
four sights and sought to overcome old age, illness, and death by living
the life of an ascetic. Gautama escaped his palace, leaving behind this
royal life to become a mendicant. For a time on his spiritual quest,
Buddha "experimented with extreme asceticism,
which at that time was seen as a powerful spiritual practice...such as
fasting, holding the breath, and exposure of the body to pain...he
found, however, that these ascetic practices brought no genuine
spiritual benefits and in fact, being based on self-hatred, that they
were counterproductive.
After abandoning asceticism and
concentrating instead upon meditation and, according to some sources,
Anapanasati (awareness of breathing in and out), Gautama is said to have
discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way—a path of moderation that
lies mid-way between the extremes of self-indulgence and
self-mortification.
Typical interior of a temple in Korea
Buddhism
today
Buddhism had become virtually extinct
in India, and although it continued to exist in surrounding countries,
its influence was no longer expanding. It is now again gaining strength.
While estimates of the number of Buddhist followers range from 230 to
500 million worldwide, most estimates are between 310 million, and 350
million.
