The Three Main Branches of Buddhism

Buddhism has evolved into myriad schools that can be roughly grouped into three types:

Nikaya, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.

Of the Nikaya schools, only the Theravada survives. Each branch sees itself as representing the true, original teachings of the Buddha, although some schools believe that the dialectic nature of Buddhism allows its format, terminology, and techniques to adapt over time in response to changing circumstances.

The Theravada school, whose name means "Doctrine of the Elders", bases its practice and doctrine exclusively on the Pali Canon. This is considered to be the oldest of the surviving Buddhist canons, and its sutras are accepted as authentic in every branch of Buddhism. Theravada is the only surviving representative of the historical Nikaya branch. Nikaya Buddhism and consequently Theravada are sometimes referred to as Hinayana or "lesser vehicle", although this is generally considered to be impolite. Theravada is practiced today in Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and portions of Vietnam and Malaysia.

The Mahayana, or exoteric branch, literally means "Great Vehicle" and emphasizes universal compassion and the selfless ideal of the bodhisattva. In addition to the Nikaya scriptures, Mahayana schools recognize all or part of a genre of scriptures that were first put in writing around 1 CE. These later scriptures were written in Sanskrit and are concerned with the purpose of achieving Buddhahood by following the path of the bodhisattva over the course of what is often described as countless eons of time. Because of this immense timeframe, many Mahayana schools accept the idea of working towards rebirth in a Pure Land, which is not enlightenment in itself but which is a highly conducive environment for working toward enlightenment. Mahayana Buddhism is practiced today in China, Japan, Korea, and most of Vietnam.

The Vajrayana or "Diamond Vehicle" (also referred to as Mantrayana, Tantrayana, Tantric or esoteric Buddhism) shares many of the basic concepts of Mahayana, but also includes a vast array of spiritual techniques designed to enhance Buddhist practice. One component of the Vajrayana is harnessing psycho-physical energy as a means of developing profoundly powerful states of concentration and awareness. These profound states are in turn to be used as an efficient path to Buddhahood. Using these techniques, it is claimed that a practitioner can achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime, or as little as three years. In addition to the Theravada and Mahayana scriptures, Vajrayana Buddhists recognise a large body of texts that include the Buddhist Tantras. Vajrayana is practiced today mainly in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Kalmykia, areas of India, and, to a limited extent, in China and Japan.

Buddhism and Vegetarianism

Buddhism and Vegetarianism

The first lay precept in Buddhism prohibits killing. Many see this as implying that Buddhists should not eat the meat of animals.

On the other hand, certain Mahayana sutras make a stronger argument against eating meat. In the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha states that "the eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion". A long passage in the Lankavatara Sutra shows the Buddha weighing strongly in favor of vegetarianism. Several other Mahayana Vyana also prohibit consumption of meat.

In the modern world, attitudes toward vegetarianism vary by location. In China and Vietnam, monks are expected to eat no meat.

In Japan and Korea, some monks practice vegetarianism, and most will do so at least when training at a monastery.

Buddhist Beliefs, Religious Practices and Principles

The Three Jewels
Buddhists seek refuge in what are often referred to as the Three Jewels, Triple Gem or Triple Jewel. These are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the "noble" (Sanskrit: arya) Sangha or community of monks and nuns who have become enlightened.

While it is impossible to escape one's karma or the effects caused by previous thoughts, words and deeds, it is possible to avoid the suffering that comes from it by becoming enlightened. In this way, dharma offers a refuge. Dharma, used in the sense of the Buddha's teachings, provides a raft and is thus a temporary refuge while entering and crossing the river. However, the real refuge is on the other side of the river.

Taking Refuge
To one who is seeking to become enlightened, taking refuge constitutes a continuing commitment to pursuing enlightenment and following in the footsteps of the people who have followed the path to enlightenment before. It contains an element of confidence that enlightenment is in fact a refuge, a supreme resort. Many Buddhists take the refuges each day, sometimes more than once in order to remind themselves of what they are doing and to direct their resolve inwardly towards liberation.

Although Buddhists concur that taking refuge should be undertaken with proper motivation (complete liberation) and an understanding of the objects of refuge, the Indian scholar Atisha identified that in practice there are many different motives found for taking refuge. His idea was to use these differing motivations as a key to resolving any apparent conflicts between all the Buddha's teachings without depending upon some form of syncresis that would cause as much confusion as it attempted to alleviate.

In the 11th century, Lamp for the Path by Atisha, and in the subsequent Lamrim tradition as elaborated by Tsongkhapa, the several motives for refuge are enumerated as follows, typically introduced using the concept of the "scope" (level of motivation) of a practitioner:

Worldly scope is taking refuge to improve the lot of this life Low scope is taking refuge to gain high rebirth and avoid the low realms Middle scope is taking refuge to achieve Nirvana High scope is taking refuge to achieve Buddhahood Highest scope is also sometimes included, which is taking refuge to achieve Buddhahood in this life.

The Four Noble Truths
The Buddha taught that life was dissatisfactory because of craving, but that this condition was curable by following the eightfold path. This teaching is called the four noble truths:

• Dukkha: All worldly life is unsatisfactory, disjointed, containing suffering.
• Samudaya: There is a cause of suffering, which is attachment or desire (tanha) rooted in ignorance.
• Nirodha: There is an end of suffering, which is Nirvana.
• Marga: There is a path that leads out of suffering, known as the Noble Eightfold Path.

Buddhist monk Geshe Konchog Wangdu reads Mahayana sutras from an old woodblock copy of the Tibetan Kanjur.In order to fully understand the noble truths and investigate whether they were in fact true, Buddha recommended that a certain lifestyle or path be followed which consists of:
• Right Understanding
• Right Thought
• Right Speech
• Right Action
• Right Livelihood
• Right Effort
• Right Mindfulness
• Right Concentration

Sometimes in the Pali Canon the Eightfold Path is spoken of as being a progressive series of stages which the practitioner moves through, the culmination of one leading to the beginning of another, but it is more usual to view the stages of the 'Path' as requiring simultaneous development.

The Eightfold Path essentially consists of meditation, following the precepts, and cultivating the positive converse of the precepts (e.g. benefiting living beings is the converse of the first precept of harmlessness). The Path may also be thought of as a the way of developing sila, meaning mental and moral discipline. The Five Precepts
Buddhists undertake certain precepts as aids on the path to coming into contact with ultimate reality. Laypeople generally undertake five precepts. The five precepts are:

• I undertake the precept to refrain from harming living creatures (killing).
• I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not freely given (stealing).
• I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.
• I undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech (lying, harsh language, slander, idle chit-chat).
• I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness.
• In some schools of Buddhism, serious lay people or aspiring monks take an additional three to five ethical precepts, and some of the five precepts are strengthened. For example, the precept pertaining to sexual misconduct becomes a precept of celibacy; the fourth precept, which pertains to incorrect speech, is expanded to four: lying, harsh language, slander, and idle chit-chat. Monks and nuns in most countries also vow to follow the 227 patimokkha rules.

The three marks of conditioned existence
According to the Buddhist tradition all phenomena (dharmas) are marked by three characteristics, sometimes referred to as the Dharma Seals:

Anatta (Pali; Sanskrit: anatman): In Indian philosophy, the concept of a self is called atman (that is, "soul" or metaphysical self), which refers to an unchanging, permanent essence conceived by virtue of existence. This concept and the related concept of Brahman, the Vedantic monistic ideal, which was regarded as an ultimate atman for all beings, were indispensable for mainstream Indian metaphysics, logic, and science; for all apparent things there had to be an underlying and persistent reality, akin to a Platonic form. The Buddha rejected all concepts of atman, emphasizing not permanence but changeability. He taught that all concepts of a substantial self were incorrect and formed in the realm of ignorance.

According to some thinkers both in the East and the West, this may imply that Buddhism is a form of nihilism or something similar. However, as thinkers like Nagarjuna have pointed out, Buddhism is not simply a rejection of the concept of existence (or of meaning, etc.) but of the hard and fast distinction between existence and nonexistence, or rather between being and nothingness. Buddhism thus has more in common with Western empiricism, pragmatism, and anti-foundationalism than it does with nihilism per se.

Anicca (Pali; Sanskrit: anitya): All things and experiences are inconstant, unsteady, and impermanent. Everything is made up of parts, and is dependent on the right conditions for its existence. Everything is in flux, and so conditions are constantly changing. Things are constantly coming into being, and ceasing to be. Nothing lasts. Dukkha (Pali; Sanskrit: du?kha): because we fail to truly grasp the first two conditions, we suffer. We desire a lasting satisfaction, but look for it amongst constantly changing phenomena. We perceive a self, and act to enhance that self by pursuing pleasure, and seek to prolong pleasure when it too is fleeting. It is by realizing (not merely understanding intellectually, but making real in one's experience) the three marks of conditioned existence that one develops Prajña, which is the antidote to the ignorance that lies at the root of all suffering.

Other principles and practices
Meditation or dhyana of some form is a common practice in most if not all schools of Buddhism, for the clergy if not the laity.

Central to Buddhist doctrine and practice is the law of karma and vipaka; action and its fruition, which happens within the dynamic of dependent origination (pratitya-samutpada). Actions which result in positive retribution (happiness) are defined as skillful or good, while actions that produce negative results (suffering) are called unskillful or bad actions. These actions are expressed by the way of mind, body or speech. Some actions bring instant retribution while the results of other actions may not appear until a future lifetime.

Rebirth, which is closely related to the law of karma. An action in this life may not give fruit or reaction until the next life time. This being said, action in a past life takes effect in this one, making a chain of existence. The full realization of the absence of an eternal self or soul (the doctrine of anatta (Pali; Sanskrit: anatman)) breaks this cycle of birth and death (samsara).

ORIGINS OF BUDDHISM AND BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY

Origins of Buddhism and Buddhist Traditions and Philosophy
Siddhartha Gautama, was born around the 6th century BCE. His birthplace is said to be Lumbini in the kingdom of Magadha, in what is now Nepal. His father was a king, and Siddhartha lived in luxury, being spared all hardship.

Buddha's first sermon, according to the Dhammacakka Pavattana Sutta, took place in the Deer Park at Sarnath in northern India.The legends say that a seer predicted that Siddhartha would become either a great king or a great holy man; because of this, the king tried to make sure that Siddhartha never had any cause for dissatisfaction with his life, as that might drive him toward a spiritual path.

Nevertheless, at the age of 29, while being escorted by his attendant Channa, he came across what has become known as the Four Passing Sights: an old crippled man, a sick man, a decaying corpse, and finally a wandering holy man. These four sights, as they are called, led him to the realization that birth, old age, sickness and death came to everyone, not only once but repeated for life after life in succession for uncounted aeons. He decided to abandon his worldly life, leaving behind his wife and child, his privilege, rank, caste, and to take up the life of a wandering holy man in search of the answer to the problem of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

It is said that he stole out of the house in the dead of night, pausing for one last look at his family, and did not return there for a very long time.

Indian holy men (sadhus), in those days just as today, engaged in a variety of ascetic practices designed to "mortify" the flesh. This belief was taken to an extreme in the faith of Jainism. It was thought that by enduring pain and suffering, the atman (Sanskrit; Pali: atta) or "soul" became free from the round of rebirth into pain and sorrow. Siddhartha proved adept at these practices, and was able to surpass his teachers.

However, he found no answer to his problem and, leaving behind his teachers, he and a small group of companions set out to take their austerities even further. He became a skeleton covered with skin, surviving on a single grain of rice per day, and practiced holding his breath.

After nearly starving himself to death with no success (some sources claim that he nearly drowned), Siddhartha began to reconsider his path. Then he remembered a moment in childhood in which he had been watching his father start the season's plowing, and he had fallen into a naturally concentrated and focused state in which time seemed to stand still, and which was blissful and refreshing. Perhaps this would provide an alternative to the dead end of self-mortification?

Taking a little buttermilk from a passing goatherd, he found a large tree (now called the Bodhi tree) under which he would be shaded from the heat of the mid-summer sun, and set to meditating. This new way of practicing began to bear fruit. His mind became concentrated and pure, and then, six years after he began his quest, he attained Enlightenment, and became a Buddha.

Historically speaking, there are questions about this story. First, there are other narrative versions of his life that do not exactly match - one has it that the Buddha leaves home in the "prime of his youth", his parents weeping and wailing all the while.

Second, we know from other sources that the country of Magadha, where he was born, was an oligarchic republic at that time, so there was no royal family of which to speak. However, regardless of the details of his early life, the evidence strongly indicates that the Buddha was indeed a historical person living in approximately the same time and place in which he is traditionally placed.

Who is Buddha?

Who is Buddha and what are the origins of Buddhism and Buddhist Philosophy?.

Buddha is a word in the ancient Indian languages Pali and Sanskrit which means "one who has become awake". It is derived from the verbal root "vbudh", meaning "to awaken."

The word "Buddha" denotes not just a single religious teacher who lived in a particular epoch, but a type of person, of which there have been many instances in the course of cosmic time. (As an analogy, the term "American President" refers not just to one man, but to everyone who has ever held the office of the American presidency.) The Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, then, is simply one member in the spiritual lineage of Buddhas, which stretches back into the dim recesses of the past and forward into the distant horizons of the future.

Gautama did not claim any divine status for himself, nor did he assert that he was inspired by a god or gods. He claimed to be not a personal saviour, but a teacher to guide those who choose to listen. A Buddha is any human being who has fully awakened to the true nature of existence, whose insight has totally transformed him or her beyond birth, death, and subsequent rebirth, and who is enabled to help others achieve the same enlightenment.

The principles by which a person can be led to enlightenment are known as the Buddhadharma, or simply the Dharma. Dharma in this sense of the rather complex term means, "law, doctrine, or truth." Anyone can attain what the Buddha attained regardless of age, gender, or caste. Indeed, Buddhists believe there have been many solitary buddhas (Pali pacceka-buddha; Sanskrit: pratyekabuddha) who achieved enlightenment on their own but did not go on to teach others.

According to one of the stories in the Sutta Nipata, the Buddha, too, was afraid to teach humans because he despaired of their limited capacity for understanding. The Vedic (early Hindu) god Indra, however, interceded, and requested that he teach despite this. That the historical Buddha did so is thus a mark of special compassion.

Buddhism, Buddhist History as a Philosophy and World Religion

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit; in Pali, Siddhattha Gotama), who lived between approximately 563 and 483 BCE. Originating in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, as well as the East Asian countries of China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan.

Buddhism teaches followers to perform good and wholesome actions, to avoid bad and harmful actions, and to purify and train the mind. The aim of these practices is to awaken the practitioner to the realization of anatta (the absence of a permanent or substantial self) and achieve enlightenment. Enlightenment leads to Nirvana (Sanskrit: "extinguishment").

Buddhist morality is underpinned by the principles of harmlessness and moderation. Mental training focuses on moral discipline (sila), meditative concentration (samadhi), and wisdom (prajña).

While Buddhism does not deny the existence of supernatural beings (indeed, many are discussed in Buddhist scripture), it does not ascribe power for creation, salvation or judgement to them. Like humans, they are regarded as having the power to affect worldly events, and so some Buddhist schools associate with them via ritual.

Expansion and Development of Buddhism

In the 3rd century BC the great Mauryan emperor, Ashoka saddened by the bloodshed of war, became a Buddhist. The conversion of Ashoka the Great, was an important turning point in the history of Buddhism. He declared that hence-forth he would make the Buddha-Dhamma the basis of all his actions in the spiritual as well as temporal fields. Ashoka convened the third Buddhist council at Pataliputra (modern Patna) and he launched a vigorous campaign to preach and propagate the message of the Buddha. With his systematic and energetic efforts, Ashoka took out the gospel of the Buddha from caves and monasteries and made it a national religion.

The efforts of Ashoka to popularise the gospel of the Buddha created a stir amongst the Buddhist masses. The stupas and railings which we see today at Sanchi and Bharhut are the creation of the pious devotees of the Buddha who came about 50-100 years after Ashoka. The religion of the Buddha had, by the 2nd century BC become a force to reckon with. Its popularity further increased when the Greeks and the Kushans, embraced Buddhism.

The period (200BC-700AD) saw the emergence of a number of illustrious saint-scholars who made an immense contribution to the Buddhist philosophy and religion.

Ashvaghosha, a poet, dramatist, musician, scholar and debater went on foot from village to village, town to town and city to city playing on his instruments and singing songs in praise of the Buddha. Thus he took Buddhism to every hearth and home.

Nagarujana, who was a friend and contemporary of the Satavahana king-propounded the Madhyamika school of Buddhist philosophy, popularly known as Sunyavada.

Asanga and Vasubandhu, who were brothers, flourished in Punjab in the 4th century A.D. Asanga was the most important teacher of the Yogacara or Vijnanvada school founded by his guru, Maitreyanatha. Vasubandhu's greatest work, the 'Abhidharmahosa' is still considered an important encyclopedia of Buddhism.

Buddhaghosha, who lived in the 5th century A.D was a great Pali Scholars. The commentaries and the Visuddhimaga written by him are key to the 'Tripitaka' theory of Buddhism. (More details on Tripitaka in Sacred Scriptures)

Dinnaga, the last mighty intellectual of the 5th century, is well known as the founder of the Buddhist logic. He is often referred to as the father of the Medieval Nayaya as a whole.

Buddhapalita and Bhavaviveka were important exponents, in the 5th century, of the Sunyavada doctrine propounded by Nagarjuna.

The grand tradition of Vasubandhu, was continued by Chandrkirti, Sthrimati and the younger Dhammapala.

The Sunyavada doctrine was further interpreted by the distinguished thinkers like Aryadeva, Santideva, Santaraksita and Kamalasila.

Dharmakirti, who lived in the 7th century AD, was another great Buddhist logician. Dharmakirti was a subtle philosophical thinker and dialectician. His writings mark the highest summit reached in epistemological speculation by later Buddhism.

Harsha (606-647AD) was the last illustrious Buddhist ruler. He had to assume power of the Thanesar and the Kanauj dynasties under dramatic circumstances. During his period, there were about 10,000 monasteries and about 75,000 monks in India. After the death of Harsha in 647 AD, Buddhism began declining rapidly. By the 12th century AD, Buddhism in India was only confined to a small pocket in north-east India. When Muslim army advanced towards Bihar, sacked the Buddhist establishments, massacred most of the monks, the route of Buddhism was complete.

Simultaneously, with its spread in India, Buddhism also crossed the borders of India and gained firm ground. Beginning with the missionary activities launched by Ashoka in the third century BC, when he send his own son and daughters to Sri Lanka, on a Buddhist Mission, it gradually spread across much of Asia. Though Buddhism declined in India due to various reasons, it is still a living religion in almost all parts of south-east Asia.