| What is Buddhism? Why should we ask that? | | | | The Theravada School, the most ancient and |
| Buddhism is defined as a religion (a really large one, | | | | conservative of Buddhist branches, considers the |
| with 500 million followers according to some sources), | | | | Tripitaka the only true scripture. They try to imitate |
| although not everyone agrees on that, saying that it | | | | what they consider were the practices and beliefs of |
| could be considered a philosophy or a way of life. | | | | the early followers of the Buddha. Many consider |
| Buddhism gets its name from Siddharta Gautama, | | | | Theravada Buddhism more of a philosophy, as it |
| whom was called the Buddha by his followers. This is | | | | doesn't involve any worship of gods. |
| a title that means the awakened one or the | | | | Then we have Mahayana Buddhism, the larger of |
| enlightened one. | | | | Buddhist branches. It has many variants, like Pure |
| He is thought to have lived in Northern India around | | | | Land Buddhism, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. The |
| the year 500 BC. We don't have many historical facts | | | | Mahayana changes dramatically the beliefs and |
| about him, but we can say that he existed and lived | | | | practices of what is considered traditional Buddhism. |
| in India. He was a prince of the Shakya tribe, son of | | | | They give more importance to devotion of what are |
| King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. It has been | | | | called celestial bodhisattvas and Buddhas. These are |
| common in the Buddhist world to refer to him as | | | | people who achieved enlightenment or certain degree |
| Shakyamuni, “the sage of Shakya tribe”. | | | | of wisdom. They have godlike powers and can help |
| After some time of living as a prince, he decided to | | | | you ahieve salvation. This sounds more like traditional |
| seek enlightenment. Eventually, he achieved that. He | | | | religion. |
| started to talk about his experience to others on the | | | | So, Buddhism is a very complex traditions that has |
| roads of Nortern India. In this way, Buddhism was | | | | many layers. It's difficult to characterize it as a whole. |
| founded. The most ancient of Buddhist scriptures are | | | | To learn more about the different beliefs and |
| called the Pali Canon or Tripitaka, they are written in | | | | practices of Buddhism, you might be interested in the |
| Pali, a language very similar to the one spoken by the | | | | following site by author Pablo Antuna: |
| Buddha. These scriptures are given different degrees | | | | - Buddhism Through Buddhist Eyes: Learn about |
| of importance by different schools or branches of | | | | Buddhism in a clear language. |
| Buddhism, but they are considered the mother of all | | | | - Buddhist teachings: Understand what the Buddha |
| Buddhist scriptures. | | | | tries to convey to his followers. |