Śāsana (, śāsana; ) is a
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
term for the distribution time or availability of the teachings of a
Buddha. The currently available philosophy and practice are dated back to
Siddhartha Gautama and are only available for a limited time span.
It can be translated as teaching, practice, discipline, doctrine, and "the
Teaching of the Buddha". ''Śāsana'' is considered a more accurate description than "
religion
Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
" as it avoids the implication of a non-changing divine call from an all-knowing creator
god
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
.
Śāsana is also used for the 5000-year
Buddha's Dispensation; the current śāsana is that of
Śakyamuni Buddha.
References
Buddhist philosophical concepts
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