10 interesting facts about Buddhism

During the Buddha’s quest for enlightenment, there were many religious practices that required either excessive indulgence of the senses or severe deprivation, as in the weeks of fasting. Realizing that none of them were really useful, what would later become known as “middle pathto enlightenment… a balanced approach that would emphasize inner rather than outer renunciation.

Unlike most religions or spiritual beliefs, the Buddha’s teachings were spread through non-violent means, such as word of mouth or carvings on prominent stone buildings. Here are 10 more interesting facts about Buddhism.

10 Siddhartha Gautama is considered the founder of the teaching

Buddhism is mainly the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in 623 BC.. He was born a prince, but continued his long spiritual search for happiness and an end to suffering. After many trials and various paths, he finally found enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. After his enlightenment, he began to teach others, and that is how the teaching of Buddhism began.

9. Originated in the 1st millennium BC. e. in India

Several scholars have suggested that the Prajnaparamitic sutras, which are among the earliest Mahayana sutras, developed among the Mahasangikas along the Kha river in the Indhra region of South India.

The earliest Mahayana sutras include the earliest versions of the Prajnaparamita genre, as well as texts relating to Akshobhya Buddha, which were probably written down in the 1st century BC in southern India.

Guang Xing states:Some scholars have suggested that Prajñāpāramitā probably developed among the Mahasangikas in southern India, in the land of Indra, on the river Ksha“. A. K. Warder believes that “The Mahayana originated in southern India and almost certainly in the country of Andhra.

8. The Four Noble Truths Emphasize

The Four Noble Truths are the essence of the Buddha’s teachings, although many of them remain unexplained. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering.

Simply put, suffering exists; he has a reason; it has an end; and he has a reason to end it. The concept of suffering is not intended to convey a negative world view, but rather a pragmatic perspective that touches the world as such and attempts to correct it.

The concept of pleasure is not denied, but is recognized as fleeting. The pursuit of pleasure can only continue what is ultimately an unquenchable thirst.

7. It is impossible to become a follower of the doctrine “by birth”

Even if you are born into a Buddhist family, you will not be one.. The first hurdle to overcome is understanding that Buddhism is not a belief system.

When the Buddha realized enlightenment, what he realized was so far from ordinary human experience that there was no way to explain it. Instead, he developed a path of practice to help people realize enlightenment for themselves.

Thus, the doctrines of Buddhism are not meant for mere belief. There is a Zen saying:A hand pointing to the moon is not the moon.” Doctrines are more like testable hypotheses or pointers to truth. What is called Buddhism is the process by which the truths of the doctrines can be realized for oneself.

6. Buddhist meditation – the path to self-improvement

Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. Buddhist meditation practices are techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity and a calm vision of the true nature of things..

By engaging in certain meditation practices, you learn the patterns and habits of your mind, and this practice offers the means to develop new, more positive ways of being.

With regular work and patience, these focused states of mind can deepen into peaceful and energized states. Such experiences can have a transformative effect and can lead to a new understanding of life.

5. Belief in reincarnation

When Buddhism was founded 2500 years ago, it incorporated the Hindu belief in reincarnation.. Although Buddhism has two main divisions and countless variations in regional practices, most Buddhists believe in samsara or the cycle of rebirth.

Samsara is governed by the law of karma: good behavior generates good karma, and bad behavior generates evil karma. Buddhists believe that the karma of the soul moves between bodies and becomes “germ of consciousness‘ in the womb.

Like Hindus, Buddhists see unenlightened samsara as a state of suffering. We suffer because we desire a transitional process. Only when we achieve a state of complete passivity and become free from all desires can we escape samsara and achieve nirvana, or salvation.

Many Buddhists believe that a person can complete the cycle of reincarnation by following the Eightfold Path or the middle path. An enlightened being embodies the directives of the Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

4. The teaching is divided into Hinayana and Mahayana

After the death of Buddha, Buddhism was divided into two sects namely Mahayana and Hinayana..

Hinayana follows the original teachings of the Buddha. This teaching emphasizes individual salvation through self-discipline and meditation. This sect of Buddhism believes in the heavenliness of the Buddha and believes in idol worship.

The Mahayana sect spread from India to several other countries such as China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Mangolia. Mahayana believes in mantras.

Its basic principles were based on the possibility of universal liberation from suffering for all beings. That is why this sect is called Mahayana (Great conductor). Its principles are also based on the existence of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who embody the Buddha nature.

3. Buddhist monks followers of itinerant ascetics from early religions

Asceticism is the practice of denying physical or psychological desires in order to achieve a spiritual ideal or goal. The origins of asceticism lie in the attempts of a person to achieve various ultimate goals or ideals: the development of the “whole” person, the creative potential of a person, ideas, “I”. It is unlikely that any religion would have formed without traces or any signs of asceticism, including Buddhism..

2. The teaching is widespread in the countries of South, Southeast and East Asia

There are several countries that have a very large proportion of Buddhist followers. The country with the highest proportion of population is Cambodia. Of the more than 15 million people, more than 13 million – or 96,9% of the total population – are Buddhists. Other countries with a high percentage of Buddhists: Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Mongolia.

Each of the countries listed above has a Buddhist population that makes up at least 55% of the total population. However, these are not the only countries with millions of Buddhists.

Countries with a Buddhist population of at least 10% of the total population: Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Macau, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Northern Mariana Islands, Nepal.

1. Main differences from other teachings and beliefs

The key difference between, on the one hand, the original Buddhism, and, on the other hand, all other world religions (Hinduism and the Abrahamic faith of Judaism, Christianity and Islam) is that the central dynamic of religion is the elimination of suffering through the human activity of Awakening, not human relationship with the gods or god.