By Dr. Meredith Sprunger

This document contains a brief historicaloverview of Buddhism, the life of Siddhartha Gautama, a description ofHinayana and Mahayana Buddhism, a description of basic beliefs and anoutline of Buddhism in today's world.

Buddhism began in India in the sixth century B. C. as a reform movementin Hinduism. It was the first religion of the world to become internationaland today (1982) has a membership of 254,867,450. The founder of Buddhismwas Siddhartha Gautama, the son of a rich ruler of the Kshatriya caste.There are legends of his non-human conception, supernatural birth, andof his future greatness prophesied by a Hindu saint. Gautama married atthe age of nineteen and later had a son. He lived a luxurious and shelteredlife but while riding outside the royal compound he saw a decrepit oldman, a diseased man, a corpse, and an ascetic monk. He became obsessedwith the fact that all must face age, sickness, and death and he determinedto find an answer to this anxiety and suffering.

Leaving his wife, son, family, and inheritance Gautama clipped his hairand beard, exchanged clothes with a beggar and began his quest. For yearshe tried to solve the problem of suffering first through philosophy andthen by extreme asceticism but found no inner peace.

Finally, around the age of thirty-five he sat down under the shade ofa fig or bo tree to meditate; he determined to meditate until he receivedenlightenment. After seven weeks he received the Great Enlightenment; TheFour Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path. Henceforth he became known asthe Buddha (enlightened one). This Middle Way is a psychological-philosophicalinsight into the cause and cure of suffering and evil.

The First Noble Truth points out that the human condition is steepedin suffering, that in some way life has become estranged from reality.The Second Noble Truth tells us the cause of life's dislocation. Anxietyand suffering are caused by indulging in inherently insatiable desires.All forms of selfishness tend to separate us from others, life, and reality.The Third Noble Truth states a logical conclusion: suffering will ceasewhen we suppress, overcome, and master these cravings and desires. We mustdevelop non attachment to the things of the world. The Fourth Noble Truthtells us how this cure is accomplished--by following the Noble Eight-foldPath.

Buddha's analysis of the problems of life in the Four Noble Truths isessentially that of a therapist; and the Eight-fold Path is the courseof treatment through training. First one needs to have right knowledgein order to have the facts, principles, and values to establish a wiselife plan. Second, right aspirations are required to give power to thisplan. The heart as well as the head must be dedicated to our goals. Third,right speech is needed to take hold of what is in our consciousness whichcontrols our thinking. We need to change our speech and thinking towardtruth and charity. Fourth, right behavior should be initiated to furtherchange and control our lives. We must follow the Five Precepts: do notkill, steal, lie, be unchaste, or drink intoxicants. Fifth, we should engagein a right livelihood. Spiritual progress is difficult if one's occupationpulls in the opposite direction. One should not take work which weakensor destroys life but serve in those occupations that promote life. Sixth,right effort is needed to keep us growing in spiritual attainment. Buddhalaid great stress on the importance of the will in determining our destiny.He had more confidence in the long steady pull than in quick spurts ofactivity. Seventh,, we need right mindfulness to sustain our growth. Fewteachers have equaled Buddha's emphasis on the mind as the shaper and determinerof the course of human life. The Damma-pada opens with the words, "Allwe are is the result of what we have thought." We should wisely controlour state of consciousness. Eighth, right contemplation and absorptionfinally brings the aspirant into a transmutation of consciousness whichtranscends the worldly preoccupation with things, desires, and suffering.Those who have followed the eight-fold path and arrived at the point ofachieving Nirvana are called arhat, or "saint."

Gautama Buddha taught a way of life devoid of authority, ritual, speculation,tradition, and the supernatural. He stressed intense self-effort. His lastwords before he died at the age of eighty were, "Work out your ownsalvation with diligence." Gautama accepted the law of karma and reincarnation.He saw Nirvana not as a state of extinction or annihilation but as "thehighest destiny of the human spirit." It is so totally different thatit is "incomprehensible, indescribably, inconceivable, unutterable...bliss."

Buddha did not believe in the existence of a personal God; nor did hebelieve that man had a soul. He tended to deny the existence of substanceof every kind and saw the transitoriness of all finite things and beings;he stressed impermanence. Man's life after achieving Nirvana is unfathomable- "reborn does not belong to him nor not-born, or any combinationof such terms." some scholars have pointed out that Buddhism in itsearliest form was not a religion but a system of psychological-ethicaldiscipline based on a pessimistic philosophy of life. Although there issome truth in this evaluation, there is much that is positive in Buddha'steaching.

The scripture of Buddhism is the Tripitaka (Three Baskets of Wisdom),made up of the Vinaya Pitaka (Discipline Basket), the Sutta Pitaka (TeachingBasket), and the Abhidhamma Pitaka (Higher Doctrine Basket). Parts of theTripitaka such as the Dhamma-pada and the Sutta-Nipata are among the mostexpressive religious books in the world. Some of Buddha's parables arevery similar to those used by Jesus.

Buddhism has been divided into two major branches which have in turnbeen subdivided into numerous sects. Today one may find in this one familyof religions nearly every form of religious belief and expression on theplanet.

Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) or Theravada Buddhism concentrated in SoutheastAsia is conservative and more closely follows the original teachings ofBuddha. It sees man as entirely dependent on self-effort, teaches wisdomas the key virtue and regards religion as a full-time job, primarily formonks. They regard Buddha as a saint, eschew metaphysics and ritual, andlimit prayer to meditation. Their ideal is arhat (sainthood).

Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism has spread throughout the worldand rests on the principle that Buddha taught many things in secret tothe elect who could properly interpret them. It sees man as involved withothers and saved by grace. It teaches compassion as the key virtue andbelieves its religion is relevant to life in the world; therefore, it isa religion for laymen as well as monks. The Mahayana branch sees Buddhaas a savior, welcomes metaphysics and ritual, and engages in petitionaryprayer. Their ideal is the Bodhisattva--a mortal who has achieved enlightenmentand after death postpones Nirvana attainment to serve in heaven answeringprayers and helping mortals who are in need. Mahayana Buddhism regardsBuddha as a divine savior--pre-existent, planfully incarnate, supernaturallyconceived, miraculously born, sinless, with a redemptive purpose, all knowing,and everlasting. Buddha has been made a member of the Buddhist Trinity.

Buddhism received its greatest impetus from the Indian emperor, Asoka,who was converted in 297 B. C. and became convinced that Buddhism was areligion for all of the peoples of the world. Accordingly, he sent missionariesthroughout the known world. Asoka also called the third council of Buddhismin 247 B. C. for the purpose of determining the true canon of Buddhistscriptures.

The main branches of Mahayana Buddhism are the Pure Land Sect, the IntuitiveSects, the Rationalist Sects, the Sociopolitical Sects, and the TibetanSect. The Pure Land Sect seeks to achieve salvation and life after deathin the "pure land of Western Paradise." They believe in DhyaniBuddhas who are lesser deities who help human beings. Their priests maymarry and their worship practices parallel the church and Sunday schoolservices of Christianity.

The Intuitive Sects such as Ch'an and Zen emphasize that the truthsof religion do not come through rational thought processes but througha sudden flash of insight. They believe the externals of religion are unnecessary.Reason is to be distrusted more than anything else; therefore riddles andvarious techniques of irrationality are used to confuse reason and triggeran intuitive flash. Zen is so concerned with the limitations of languageand reason that it makes their transcendence the central intent of itsmethod. Experience, not words are important. So they sit hour after hour,day after day, year after year seeking to develop their intuitive powers.

The Rationalist Sects believe that in addition to meditation one shouldutilize reason and a study of the scriptures in order to find the truth.All approaches to enlightenment may be useful at times but in reality thereis only one true Buddhist teaching and one must study the scriptures ofBuddhism in order to know this truth. The Chih-i sect in China and theTendai sect in Japan stress the importance of the rational approach.

The Sociopolitical Sects such as the Japanese Nichiren sect have hadgreat effect on the social and political dynamics of various nations. Thefounder of Nichiren thought that all of the sects of Buddhism were a perversionof the true teachings of Buddha and were leading peoples to hell. He cameto believe the only scripture one needed to study was the Lotus Sutra.Nichiren teaches a simplified form of Buddhism and uncompromising patriotism.

Tibetan Buddhism is representative of sects that emphasize the use ofmagic words or formulae to achieve various goals. Tibetan people traditionallyhave used incantations, spells, and magic to protect themselves from demons.Tibetan monks or lamas invented the prayer wheel to augment their defensesagainst evil. By the 14th century monastery leaders became more powerfulthan kings and for all practical purposes the country was ruled by Buddhistpriests. The lamas of Tibetan Buddhism have been divided into two orders,the Red Hats and the Yellow Hats. The leader of the larger Yellow Hat groupis known as the Dalai Lama who was virtually ruler of Tibet. China in 1950set up a puppet government in Tibet and when the Dalai Lama attempted tooverthrow Chinese rule in 1959 the rebellion was crushed. The Dalai Lamaand a few of his followers escaped to India.

During the twentieth century Buddhism is experiencing a revival. Thisnew awakening may have been augmented by Christian missionaries who translatedthe ancient Buddhist texts and made them available for all to study andby the rise of Asian nationalism. Buddhism today is once more a missionaryreligion.

If these topics are of interest to you, you may be very interested in The Urantia Book. What is The Urantia Book?

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Introduction to Buddhism - Expanding Spiritual Awareness