Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an
Indian religion or
philosophical tradition based on
teachings attributed to
the Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
. It originated in
northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and
gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the
world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population.
The Buddha taught the
Middle Way
The Middle Way ( pi, ; sa, ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaṃ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha.; my, အလယ်� ...
, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme
asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path ( Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...
, a
training of the mind with observance of
Buddhist ethics
Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. The term for ethics or morality used in Buddhism is ''Śīla'' or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' in Buddhism is one of three sections of ...
and
meditation. Other widely observed practices include:
monasticism; "
taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and the ; and the cultivation of perfections ().
Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: ''
Theravāda'' () and (). The ''Theravāda'' branch has a widespread following in Sri Lanka as well as in Southeast Asia (namely Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia). The ' branch—which includes the traditions of
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and l ...
,
Pure Land,
Nichiren,
Tiantai,
Tendai
, also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese ...
, and
Shingon
Shingon monks at Mount Koya
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.
Kn ...
—is predominantly practiced in Nepal, Bhutan, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Additionally, (), a body of teachings attributed to
Indian adepts, may be viewed as a separate branch or an aspect of the ' tradition.
Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the teachings of eighth-century India, is practiced in the
Himalayan states
The term Himalayan states is used to group countries that straddle the Himalayas. It primarily denotes Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan; some definitions also include Afghanistan and Myanmar. Two countries—Bhutan and Nepal—are loc ...
as well as in Mongolia and
Russian Kalmykia. Historically, until the early 2nd millennium, Buddhism
was widely practiced in the Indian subcontinent;
it also had a foothold to some extent in other places such as Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines.
Buddhist schools
The schools of Buddhism are the various institutional and doctrinal divisions of Buddhism that have existed from ancient times up to the present. The classification and nature of various doctrinal, philosophical or cultural facets of the schools ...
vary in their interpretation of the paths to liberation () as well as the relative importance and canonicity assigned to various
Buddhist texts
Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...
, and their specific teachings and practices. The Theravada Buddhist tradition emphasizes transcending the individual self through the attainment of (), while the Mahayana tradition emphasizes the
Bodhisattva-ideal.
Etymology
Buddhism is an Indian religion the Buddha ("the Awakened One"), a
Śramaṇa
''Śramaṇa'' (Sanskrit: श्रमण; Pali: ''samaṇa, Tamil: Samanam'') means "one who labours, toils, or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious purpose)" or "seeker, one who performs acts of austerity, ascetic".Monier Monier ...
who lived c. 5th century BCE.
Followers of Buddhism, called ''Buddhists'' in English, referred to themselves as ''Sakyan''-s or ''Sakyabhiksu'' in ancient India. Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez asserts they also used the term ''Bauddha'', although scholar Richard Cohen asserts that that term was used only by outsiders to describe Buddhists.
The Buddha
Details of the Buddha's life are mentioned in many
Early Buddhist Texts
Early Buddhist texts (EBTs), early Buddhist literature or early Buddhist discourses are parallel texts shared by the early Buddhist schools. The most widely studied EBT material are the first four Pali Nikayas, as well as the corresponding Chines ...
but are inconsistent. His social background and life details are difficult to prove, and the precise dates are uncertain.
Early texts have the Buddha's family name as "Gautama" (Pali: Gotama), while some texts give Siddhartha as his surname. He was born in
Lumbini, present-day
Nepal and grew up in
Kapilavastu, a town in the
Ganges Plain
The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...
, near the modern Nepal–India border, and that he spent his life in what is now modern
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Ben ...
and
Uttar Pradesh. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother was Queen Maya.
Scholars such as
Richard Gombrich
Richard Francis Gombrich (; born 17 July 1937) is a British Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, Pāli, and Buddhist studies. He was the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is currently Founder-President ...
consider this a dubious claim because a combination of evidence suggests he was born in the
Shakya
Shakya ( Pāḷi: ; sa, शाक्य, translit=Śākya) was an ancient eastern sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organise ...
community, which was governed by a
small oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered instead. Some of the stories about the Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about the society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts.
According to early texts such as the Pali ''Ariyapariyesanā-sutta'' ("The discourse on the noble quest",
MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at
MĀ 204, Gautama was moved by the suffering (''
dukkha'') of life and death, and its
endless repetition due to
rebirth. He thus set out on a quest to find liberation from suffering (also known as "
nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
"). Early texts and biographies state that Gautama first studied under two teachers of meditation, namely
Āḷāra Kālāma
Alara Kalama (Pāḷi & Sanskrit ', was a hermit and a teacher of ancient meditation. He was a teacher of Śramaṇa thought and, according to the Pāli Canon scriptures, the first teacher of Gautama Buddha.
History
After Siddhartha Gautama ...
(Sanskrit: Arada Kalama) and
Uddaka Ramaputta (Sanskrit: Udraka Ramaputra), learning meditation and philosophy, particularly the meditative attainment of "the sphere of nothingness" from the former, and "the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception" from the latter.
Finding these teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of severe
asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
, which included a strict
fasting regime and various forms of
breath control.
[Analayo (2011). ''"A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya Volume 1 (Introduction, Studies of Discourses 1 to 90),"'' p. 236.] This too fell short of attaining his goal, and then he turned to the meditative practice of ''
dhyana
Dhyana may refer to:
Meditative practices in Indian religions
* Dhyana in Buddhism (Pāli: ''jhāna'')
* Dhyana in Hinduism
* Jain Dhyāna, see Jain meditation
Other
*''Dhyana'', a work by British composer John Tavener
Sir John Kenneth Ta ...
''. He famously sat in
meditation under a ''
Ficus religiosa'' tree — now called the
Bodhi Tree — in the town of
Bodh Gaya
Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...
and attained "Awakening" (
Bodhi
The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect, ...
).
According to various early texts like the ''Mahāsaccaka-sutta,'' and the ''
Samaññaphala Sutta,'' on awakening, the Buddha gained insight into the workings of karma and his former lives, as well as achieving the ending of the mental defilements (''
asava
Āsava is a Pali term (Sanskrit: Āsrava) that is used in Buddhist scripture, philosophy, and psychology, meaning "influx, canker." It refers to the mental defilements of sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and ignorance, which perpetuate ...
s''), the ending of suffering, and the end of rebirth in
saṃsāra.
This event also brought certainty about the
Middle Way
The Middle Way ( pi, ; sa, ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaṃ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha.; my, အလယ်� ...
as the right path of spiritual practice to end suffering. As a
fully enlightened Buddha, he attracted followers and founded a ''
Sangha
Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
'' (monastic order). He spent the rest of his life teaching the
Dharma he had discovered, and then died, achieving "
final nirvana", at the age of 80 in
Kushinagar
Kushinagar ( Hindustani: or ; Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained ''parinirvana''.
Etym ...
, India.
The Buddha's teachings were propagated by his followers, which in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE became various
Buddhist schools of thought, each with its own
basket of texts containing different interpretations and authentic teachings of the Buddha;
[ these over time evolved into many traditions of which the more well known and widespread in the modern era are Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
]
Worldview
The term "Buddhism" is an occidental neologism, commonly (and "rather roughly" according to Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Donald Sewell Lopez Jr. (born 1952) is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished university professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures.
Life
Lopez was born in Washington, D ...
) used as a translation for the Dharma of the Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
, ''fójiào'' in Chinese, ''bukkyō'' in Japanese, ''nang pa sangs rgyas pa'i chos'' in Tibetan, ''buddhadharma'' in Sanskrit, ''buddhaśāsana'' in Pali.
Four Noble Truths – ''dukkha'' and its ending
The Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism: we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is ''dukkha'', "incapable of satisfying" and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the endless cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha and dying again.
But there is a way to liberation
Liberation or liberate may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War
* "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode
* "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode
Gaming
* '' Liberati ...
from this endless cycle to the state of nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, namely following the Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path ( Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...
.
The truth of '' dukkha'' is the basic insight that life in this mundane world, with its clinging and craving to impermanent states and things is ''dukkha'', and unsatisfactory. ''Dukkha'' can be translated as "incapable of satisfying",[Ajahn Sumedho, ''The First Noble Truth''](_blank)
(nb: links to index-page; click "The First Noble Truth" for correct page. "the unsatisfactory nature and the general insecurity of all conditioned phenomena"; or "painful". ''Dukkha'' is most commonly translated as "suffering", but this is inaccurate, since it refers not to episodic suffering, but to the intrinsically unsatisfactory nature of temporary states and things, including pleasant but temporary experiences. We expect happiness from states and things which are impermanent, and therefore cannot attain real happiness.
In Buddhism, dukkha is one of the three marks of existence, along with impermanence and anattā
In Buddhism, the term ''anattā'' (Pali: अनत्ता) or ''anātman'' (Sanskrit: अनात्मन्) refers to the doctrine of "non-self" – that no unchanging, permanent self or essence can be found in any phenomenon. While often ...
(non-self). Buddhism, like other major Indian religions, asserts that everything is impermanent (anicca), but, unlike them, also asserts that there is no permanent self or soul in living beings (''anattā'').[Anatta Buddhism]
Encyclopædia Britannica (2013)['' ]
Anatta
Encyclopædia Britannica (2013), Quote: "Anatta in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying soul. The concept of anatta, or anatman, is a departure from the Hindu belief in atman ("the self").";
'' ' Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, , p. 64; "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of ātman is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the uddhistdoctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence.";
'' ' John C. Plott et al. (2000), ''Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age'', Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , p. 63, Quote: "The Buddhist schools reject any Ātman concept. As we have already observed, this is the basic and ineradicable distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism";
'' ' Katie Javanaud (2013)
Is The Buddhist 'No-Self' Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana?
Philosophy Now;
'' ' David Loy (1982), "Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same?", ''International Philosophical Quarterly'', Volume 23, Issue 1, pp. 65–74 The ignorance or misperception ('' avijjā'') that anything is permanent or that there is self in any being is considered a wrong understanding, and the primary source of clinging and dukkha.
The cycle of rebirth
Saṃsāra
''Saṃsāra'' means "wandering" or "world", with the connotation of cyclic, circuitous change. It refers to the theory of rebirth and "cyclicality of all life, matter, existence", a fundamental assumption of Buddhism, as with all major Indian religions. Samsara in Buddhism is considered to be '' dukkha'', unsatisfactory and painful, perpetuated by desire and '' avidya'' (ignorance), and the resulting karma
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
. Liberation from this cycle of existence, ''nirvana'', has been the foundation and the most important historical justification of Buddhism.
Buddhist texts assert that rebirth can occur in six realms of existence, namely three good realms (heavenly, demi-god, human) and three evil realms (animal, hungry ghosts, hellish). Samsara ends if a person attains nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, the "blowing out" of the afflictions through insight into impermanence and " non-self".
Rebirth
Rebirth refers to a process whereby beings go through a succession of lifetimes as one of many possible forms of sentient life, each running from conception to death. In Buddhist thought, this rebirth does not involve a soul or any fixed substance. This is because the Buddhist doctrine of anattā
In Buddhism, the term ''anattā'' (Pali: अनत्ता) or ''anātman'' (Sanskrit: अनात्मन्) refers to the doctrine of "non-self" – that no unchanging, permanent self or essence can be found in any phenomenon. While often ...
(Sanskrit: ''anātman'', no-self doctrine) rejects the concepts of a permanent self or an unchanging, eternal soul found in other religions.
The Buddhist traditions have traditionally disagreed on what it is in a person that is reborn, as well as how quickly the rebirth occurs after death. Some Buddhist traditions assert that "no self" doctrine means that there is no enduring self, but there is ''avacya'' (inexpressible) personality (''pudgala
In Jainism, Pudgala (or ') is one of the six Dravyas, or aspects of reality that fabricate the world we live in. The six ''dravya''s include the jiva and the fivefold divisions of ajiva (non-living) category: ''dharma'' (motion), ''adharma'' ( ...
'') which migrates from one life to another. The majority of Buddhist traditions, in contrast, assert that vijñāna (a person's consciousness) though evolving, exists as a continuum and is the mechanistic basis of what undergoes the rebirth process. The quality of one's rebirth depends on the merit
Merit may refer to:
Religion
* Merit (Christianity)
* Merit (Buddhism)
* Punya (Hinduism)
* Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity
Companies and brands
* Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria
* Merit Energy Company ...
or demerit gained by one's karma (i.e. actions), as well as that accrued on one's behalf by a family member. Buddhism also developed a complex cosmology to explain the various realms or planes of rebirth.
Karma
In Buddhism, karma
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
(from Sanskrit: "action, work") drives '' saṃsāra'' – the endless cycle of suffering and rebirth for each being. Good, skilful deeds (Pāli: ''kusala'') and bad, unskilful deeds (Pāli: ''akusala'') produce "seeds" in the unconscious receptacle (''ālaya'') that mature later either in this life or in a subsequent rebirth. The existence of karma is a core belief in Buddhism, as with all major Indian religions, and it implies neither fatalism nor that everything that happens to a person is caused by karma.
A central aspect of Buddhist theory of karma is that intent (''cetanā
Cetanā (Sanskrit, Pali; Tibetan Wylie: sems pa) is a Buddhist term commonly translated as "volition", "intention", "directionality", etc. It can be defined as a mental factor that moves or urges the mind in a particular direction, toward a specifi ...
'') matters and is essential to bring about a consequence or '' phala'' "fruit" or vipāka
Vipāka (Sanskrit and Pāli) is a Buddhist term for the ripening or maturation of ''karma'' (Pāli ''kamma''), or intentional actions. The theory of karmic action and result (''kamma-vipāka'') is a central belief within the Buddhist tradition.
A ...
"result". However, good or bad karma accumulates even if there is no physical action, and just having ill or good thoughts creates karmic seeds; thus, actions of body, speech or mind all lead to karmic seeds. In the Buddhist traditions, life aspects affected by the law of karma in past and current births of a being include the form of rebirth, realm of rebirth, social class, character and major circumstances of a lifetime. It operates like the laws of physics, without external intervention, on every being in all six realms
6 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
6 or six may also refer to:
* AD 6, the sixth year of the AD era
* 6 BC, the sixth year before the AD era
* The month of June
Science
* Carbon, the element with atomic number 6
* 6 Hebe, an asteroid
People ...
of existence including human beings and gods.
A notable aspect of the karma theory in Buddhism is merit transfer. A person accumulates merit not only through intentions and ethical living, but also is able to gain merit from others by exchanging goods and services, such as through ''dāna'' (charity to monks or nuns). Further, a person can transfer one's own good karma to living family members and ancestors.
Liberation
The cessation of the '' kleshas'' and the attainment of nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
(''nibbāna''), with which the cycle of rebirth ends, has been the primary and the soteriological
Soteriology (; el, σωτηρία ' " salvation" from σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in many reli ...
goal of the Buddhist path for monastic life since the time of the Buddha. The term "path" is usually taken to mean the Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path ( Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...
, but other versions of "the path" can also be found in the Nikayas. In some passages in the Pali Canon, a distinction is being made between right knowledge or insight (''sammā-ñāṇa''), and right liberation or release (''sammā-vimutti''), as the means to attain cessation and liberation.
Nirvana literally means "blowing out, quenching, becoming extinguished". In early Buddhist texts, it is the state of restraint and self-control that leads to the "blowing out" and the ending of the cycles of sufferings associated with rebirths and redeaths. Many later Buddhist texts describe nirvana as identical with '' anatta'' with complete "emptiness, nothingness". In some texts, the state is described with greater detail, such as passing through the gate of emptiness (''sunyata'') – realising that there is no soul or self in any living being, then passing through the gate of signlessness (''animitta'') – realising that nirvana cannot be perceived, and finally passing through the gate of wishlessness (''apranihita'') – realising that nirvana is the state of not even wishing for nirvana.
The nirvana state has been described in Buddhist texts partly in a manner similar to other Indian religions, as the state of complete liberation, enlightenment, highest happiness, bliss, fearlessness, freedom, permanence, non-dependent origination, unfathomable, and indescribable. It has also been described in part differently, as a state of spiritual release marked by "emptiness" and realisation of '' non-self''.
While Buddhism considers the liberation from saṃsāra as the ultimate spiritual goal, in traditional practice, the primary focus of a vast majority of lay Buddhists has been to seek and accumulate merit through good deeds, donations to monks and various Buddhist rituals in order to gain better rebirths rather than nirvana.
Dependent arising
''Pratityasamutpada'', also called "dependent arising, or dependent origination", is the Buddhist theory to explain the nature and relations of being, becoming, existence and ultimate reality. Buddhism asserts that there is nothing independent, except the state of nirvana. All physical and mental states depend on and arise from other pre-existing states, and in turn from them arise other dependent states while they cease.
The 'dependent arisings' have a causal conditioning, and thus ''Pratityasamutpada'' is the Buddhist belief that causality is the basis of ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities ex ...
, not a creator God nor the ontological Vedic concept called universal Self ( Brahman) nor any other 'transcendent creative principle'. However, Buddhist thought does not understand causality in terms of Newtonian mechanics; rather it understands it as conditioned arising. In Buddhism, dependent arising refers to conditions created by a plurality of causes that necessarily co-originate a phenomenon within and across lifetimes, such as karma in one life creating conditions that lead to rebirth in one of the realms of existence for another lifetime.
Buddhism applies the theory of dependent arising to explain origination of endless cycles of ''dukkha'' and rebirth, through Twelve Nidānas
Twelve or 12 may refer to:
* 12 (number)
* December, the twelfth and final month of the year
Years
* 12 BC
* AD 12
* 1912
* 2012
Film
* ''Twelve'' (2010 film), based on the 2002 novel
* ''12'' (2007 film), by Russian director and actor Nikit ...
or "twelve links". It states that because Avidyā (ignorance) exists, Saṃskāras (karmic formations) exist; because Saṃskāras exist therefore Vijñāna (consciousness) exists; and in a similar manner it links Nāmarūpa
Nāmarūpa ( sa, नामरूप) is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: ''nāma'' is typically considered to refer to the mental component of the person, while ''rūpa'' refers to the physical.
''Nāmarūpa'' is ...
(the sentient body), Ṣaḍāyatana (our six senses), Sparśa
Sparśa (Sanskrit; Pali: ''phassa'') is a Sanskrit/Indian term that is translated as "contact", "touching", "sensation", "sense impression", etc. It is defined as the coming together of three factors: the sense organ, the sense object, and sens ...
(sensory stimulation), Vedanā
Vedanā (Pāli and Sanskrit: वेदना) is an ancient term traditionally translated as either "feeling" or "sensation." In general, ''vedanā'' refers to the pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensations that occur when our internal sense or ...
(feeling), Taṇhā (craving), Upādāna
''Upādāna'' is a Sanskrit and Pali word that means "fuel, material cause, substrate that is the source and means for keeping an active process energized". It is also an important Buddhist concept referring to "attachment, clinging, grasping". ...
(grasping), Bhava
The Sanskrit word bhava (भव) means being, worldly existence, becoming, birth, be, production, origin,Monier Monier-Williams (1899), Sanskrit English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Archiveभव bhava but also habitual or emotional te ...
(becoming), Jāti
''Jāti'' is the term traditionally used to describe a cohesive group of people in the Indian subcontinent, like a tribe, community, clan, sub-clan, or a religious sect. Each Jāti typically has an association with an occupation, geography or t ...
(birth), and Jarāmaraṇa (old age, death, sorrow, and pain). By breaking the circuitous links of the Twelve Nidanas, Buddhism asserts that liberation from these endless cycles of rebirth and dukkha can be attained.
Not-Self and Emptiness
A related doctrine in Buddhism is that of ''anattā'' (Pali) or ''anātman'' (Sanskrit). It is the view that there is no unchanging, permanent self, soul or essence in phenomena. The Buddha and Buddhist philosophers who follow him such as Vasubandhu and Buddhaghosa, generally argue for this view by analyzing the person through the schema of the five aggregates
(Sanskrit) or (Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. They are also ...
, and then attempting to show that none of these five components of personality can be permanent or absolute. This can be seen in Buddhist discourses such as the '' Anattalakkhana Sutta''.
"Emptiness" or "voidness" (Skt'': Śūnyatā'', Pali: ''Suññatā)'', is a related concept with many different interpretations throughout the various Buddhisms. In early Buddhism, it was commonly stated that all five aggregates are void (''rittaka''), hollow (''tucchaka''), coreless (''asāraka''), for example as in the ''Pheṇapiṇḍūpama Sutta'' (SN 22:95). Similarly, in Theravada Buddhism, it often means that the five aggregates are empty of a Self.
Emptiness is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism, especially in Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...
's Madhyamaka
Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhis ...
school, and in the ''Prajñāpāramitā
A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala
Prajñāpāramitā ( sa, प्रज्ञापारमिता) means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna and Theravāda B ...
sutras''. In Madhyamaka philosophy, emptiness is the view which holds that all phenomena ( ''dharmas'') are without any ''svabhava
Svabhava ( sa, स्वभाव, svabhāva; pi, सभाव, sabhāva; ; ) literally means "own-being" or "own-becoming". It is the intrinsic nature, essential nature or essence of beings.
The concept and term ''svabhāva'' are frequently enco ...
'' (literally "own-nature" or "self-nature"), and are thus without any underlying essence, and so are "empty" of being independent. This doctrine sought to refute the heterodox theories of ''svabhava'' circulating at the time.
The Three Jewels
All forms of Buddhism revere and take spiritual refuge in the "three jewels" (''triratna''): Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
Buddha
While all varieties of Buddhism revere "Buddha" and "buddhahood", they have different views on what these are. Regardless of their interpretation, the concept of Buddha is central to all forms of Buddhism.
In Theravada Buddhism, a Buddha is someone who has become awake through their own efforts and insight. They have put an end to their cycle of rebirths and have ended all unwholesome mental states which lead to bad action and thus are morally perfected.[Crosby, Kate (2013). ''"Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity,"'' p. 16. John Wiley & Sons.] While subject to the limitations of the human body in certain ways (for example, in the early texts, the Buddha suffers from backaches), a Buddha is said to be "deep, immeasurable, hard-to-fathom as is the great ocean," and also has immense psychic powers (abhijñā
Abhijñā ( sa, अभिज्ञा; Pali pronunciation: ''abhiññā''; bo, མངོན་ཤེས ''mngon shes''; ) is a Buddhist term generally translated as "direct knowledge", "higher knowledge"Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-5), pp. 64-65. o ...
). Theravada generally sees Gautama Buddha (the historical Buddha Sakyamuni) as the only Buddha of the current era.
Mahāyāna Buddhism meanwhile, has a vastly expanded cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
, with various Buddhas
In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...
and other holy beings (''aryas'') residing in different realms. Mahāyāna texts not only revere numerous Buddhas
In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...
besides Shakyamuni, such as Amitabha and Vairocana, but also see them as transcendental or supramundane (''lokuttara'') beings. Mahāyāna Buddhism holds that these other Buddhas in other realms can be contacted and are able to benefit beings in this world. In Mahāyāna, a Buddha is a kind of "spiritual king", a "protector of all creatures" with a lifetime that is countless of eons long, rather than just a human teacher who has transcended the world after death. Shakyamuni's life and death on earth is then usually understood as a "mere appearance" or "a manifestation skilfully projected into earthly life by a long-enlightened transcendent being, who is still available to teach the faithful through visionary experiences."
Dharma
The second of the three jewels is "Dharma" (Pali: Dhamma), which in Buddhism refers to the Buddha's teaching, which includes all of the main ideas outlined above. While this teaching reflects the true nature of reality, it is not a belief to be clung to, but a pragmatic teaching to be put into practice. It is likened to a raft which is "for crossing over" (to nirvana) not for holding on to. It also refers to the universal law and cosmic order which that teaching both reveals and relies upon. It is an everlasting principle which applies to all beings and worlds. In that sense it is also the ultimate truth and reality about the universe, it is thus "the way that things really are."
Sangha
The third "jewel" which Buddhists take refuge in is the "Sangha", which refers to the monastic community of monks and nuns who follow Gautama Buddha's monastic discipline which was "designed to shape the Sangha as an ideal community, with the optimum conditions for spiritual growth." The Sangha consists of those who have chosen to follow the Buddha's ideal way of life, which is one of celibate monastic renunciation with minimal material possessions (such as an alms bowl and robes).
The Sangha is seen as important because they preserve and pass down Buddha Dharma. As Gethin states "the Sangha lives the teaching, preserves the teaching as Scriptures and teaches the wider community. Without the Sangha there is no Buddhism." The Sangha also acts as a "field of merit" for laypersons, allowing them to make spiritual merit or goodness by donating to the Sangha and supporting them. In return, they keep their duty to preserve and spread the Dharma everywhere for the good of the world.
There is also a separate definition of Sangha, referring to those who have attained any stage of awakening, whether or not they are monastics. This sangha is called the ''āryasaṅgha'' "noble Sangha". All forms of Buddhism generally reveres these '' āryas'' (Pali: ''ariya'', "noble ones" or "holy ones") who are spiritually attained beings. Aryas have attained the fruits of the Buddhist path. Becoming an arya is a goal in most forms of Buddhism. The ''āryasaṅgha'' includes holy beings such as bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
s, arhat
In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
s and stream-enterers.
Other key Mahāyāna views
Mahāyāna Buddhism also differs from Theravada and the other schools of early Buddhism in promoting several unique doctrines which are contained in Mahāyāna sutras and philosophical treatises.
One of these is the unique interpretation of emptiness and dependent origination found in the Madhyamaka school. Another very influential doctrine for Mahāyāna is the main philosophical view of the Yogācāra school variously, termed ''Vijñaptimātratā-vāda'' ("the doctrine that there are only ideas" or "mental impressions") or ''Vijñānavāda'' ("the doctrine of consciousness"). According to Mark Siderits, what classical Yogācāra thinkers like Vasubandhu had in mind is that we are only ever aware of mental images or impressions, which may appear as external objects, but "there is actually no such thing outside the mind." There are several interpretations of this main theory, many scholars see it as a type of Idealism, others as a kind of phenomenology.
Another very influential concept unique to Mahāyāna is that of "Buddha-nature" (''buddhadhātu'') or "Tathagata-womb" (''tathāgatagarbha''). Buddha-nature is a concept found in some 1st-millennium CE Buddhist texts, such as the ''Tathāgatagarbha sūtras
The Tathāgatagarbha sūtras are a group of Mahayana sutras that present the concept of the "womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the tathāgata, the buddha. Every sentient being has the possibility to attain Buddhahood because of the ''tathāgat ...
''. According to Paul Williams these Sutras suggest that 'all sentient beings contain a Tathagata' as their 'essence, core inner nature, Self'. According to Karl Brunnholzl "the earliest mahayana sutras that are based on and discuss the notion of tathāgatagarbha as the buddha potential that is innate in all sentient beings began to appear in written form in the late second and early third century." For some, the doctrine seems to conflict with the Buddhist anatta doctrine (non-Self), leading scholars to posit that the ''Tathāgatagarbha Sutras'' were written to promote Buddhism to non-Buddhists. This can be seen in texts like the ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra
The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' ( Sanskrit, "Discourse of the Descent into Laṅka" bo, ལང་ཀར་བཤེགས་པའི་མདོ་, Chinese:入楞伽經) is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist sūtra. This sūtra recounts a teachi ...
'', which state that Buddha-nature is taught to help those who have fear when they listen to the teaching of anatta. Buddhist texts like the ''Ratnagotravibhāga
The ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' (Sanskrit, abbreviated as RGV, meaning: ''Analysis of the Jeweled Lineage, Investigating the Jewel Disposition'') and its ''vyākhyā'' commentary (abbreviated RGVV to refer to the RGV verses along with the embedded comm ...
'' clarify that the "Self" implied in ''Tathagatagarbha'' doctrine is actually " not-self". Various interpretations of the concept have been advanced by Buddhist thinkers throughout the history of Buddhist thought and most attempt to avoid anything like the Hindu Atman doctrine.
These Indian Buddhist ideas, in various synthetic ways, form the basis of subsequent Mahāyāna philosophy in Tibetan Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism.
Paths to liberation
The ''Bodhipakkhiyādhammā
In Buddhism, the ''bodhipakkhiyā dhammā'' (Pali; variant spellings include ''bodhipakkhikā dhammā'' and ''bodhapakkhiyā dhammā''; Skt.: ''bodhipaka dharma'') are qualities (''dhammā'') conducive or related to (''pakkhiya'') awakening/under ...
'' are seven lists of qualities or factors that contribute to awakening (''bodhi''). Each list is a short summary of the Buddhist path, and the seven lists substantialy overlap. The best-known list in the West is the Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path ( Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...
, but a wide variety of paths and models of progress have been used and described in the different Buddhist traditions. However, they generally share basic practices such as ''sila'' (ethics), ''samadhi'' (meditation, ''dhyana'') and ''prajña'' (wisdom), which are known as the three trainings. An important additional practice is a kind and compassionate attitude toward every living being and the world. Devotion
Devotion or Devotions may refer to:
Religion
* Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept
* Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians
* Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance
* C ...
is also important in some Buddhist traditions, and in the Tibetan traditions visualisations of deities and mandalas are important. The value of textual study is regarded differently in the various Buddhist traditions. It is central to Theravada and highly important to Tibetan Buddhism, while the Zen tradition takes an ambiguous stance.
An important guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way
The Middle Way ( pi, ; sa, ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaṃ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha.; my, အလယ်� ...
(''madhyamapratipad''). It was a part of Buddha's first sermon, where he presented the Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path ( Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...
that was a 'middle way' between the extremes of asceticism and hedonistic sense pleasures. In Buddhism, states Harvey, the doctrine of "dependent arising" (conditioned arising, ''pratītyasamutpāda'') to explain rebirth is viewed as the 'middle way' between the doctrines that a being has a "permanent soul" involved in rebirth (eternalism) and "death is final and there is no rebirth" (annihilationism).
Paths to liberation in the early texts
A common presentation style of the path (''mārga'') to liberation in the Early Buddhist Texts
Early Buddhist texts (EBTs), early Buddhist literature or early Buddhist discourses are parallel texts shared by the early Buddhist schools. The most widely studied EBT material are the first four Pali Nikayas, as well as the corresponding Chines ...
is the "graduated talk", in which the Buddha lays out a step by step training.
In the early texts, numerous different sequences of the gradual path can be found.[Bucknell, Rod, "The Buddhist Path to Liberation: An Analysis of the Listing of Stages", ''The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies'' Volume 7, Number 2, 1984] One of the most important and widely used presentations among the various Buddhist schools is The Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path ( Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...
, or "Eightfold Path of the Noble Ones" (Skt. '''āryāṣṭāṅgamārga). This can be found in various discourses, most famously in the '' Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta'' (The discourse on the turning of the Dharma wheel
The dharmachakra (Sanskrit: धर्मचक्र; Pali: ''dhammacakka'') or wheel of dharma is a widespread symbol used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and especially Buddhism.John C. Huntington, Dina Bangdel, ''The Circle ...
).
Other suttas such as the ''Tevijja Sutta'', and the ''Cula-Hatthipadopama-sutta'' give a different outline of the path, though with many similar elements such as ethics and meditation.
According to Rupert Gethin, the path to awakening is also frequently summarized by another a short formula: "abandoning the hindrances, practice of the four establishings of mindfulness, and development of the awakening factors."
Noble Eightfold Path
The Eightfold Path consists of a set of eight interconnected factors or conditions, that when developed together, lead to the cessation of dukkha. These eight factors are: Right View (or Right Understanding), Right Intention (or Right Thought), Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
This Eightfold Path is the fourth of the Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones".,_and_asserts_the_path_to_the_cessation_of_''dukkha''_(suffering,_pain,_unsatisfactoriness)._The_path_teaches_that_the_way_of_the_enlightened_ones_stopped_their_craving,_clinging_and_karma">karmic_
Karma_(;__sa,_कर्म},_;__pi,_kamma,_italic=yes)_in_Sanskrit_means_an_action,_work,_or_deed,_and_its_effect_or_consequences._In_Indian_religions,_the_term_more_specifically_refers_to_a_principle_of__cause_and_effect,_often_descriptivel_...
_accumulations,_and_thus_ended_their_endless_cycles_of_rebirth_and_suffering.
The_Noble_Eightfold_Path_is_grouped_into_Three_disciplines_of_Buddhism.html" ;"title="karma.html" "title="Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ...
, and asserts the path to the cessation of ''dukkha'' (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness). The path teaches that the way of the enlightened ones stopped their craving, clinging and karma">karmic