Buddhism is one of the world’s major religions along with Christianity and Islam. There are about 500 million “pure” Buddhists in the world who practice only Buddhism. However, this religion does not forbid adherence to any other faith. Recently, Buddhism has become very popular in the Western world, and many people have come to want to join it themselves. Perhaps the peacefulness and tranquility of this religion plays no small part in this.
History
To begin with, let’s find out where and how this religious and philosophical current appeared.
Buddhism originated in the 6th century BC in India. From India, Buddhism spread to other countries in Asia. The more popular it became, the more branches were formed.
The founder of Buddhism was Prince Gautama Siddhartha. He was born into a wealthy family and his life was full of luxury and fun.
Legend has it that at the age of 29, the prince had an epiphany: he realized that he was wasting his life. Deciding to abandon his former existence, he became an ascetic. For the next six years Gautama was a hermit: wandering and practicing yoga.
Legend has it that at the age of over 30 years old, having achieved spiritual enlightenment, the prince became known as the Buddha, which means “enlightened. He sat under a tree and meditated for 49 days, after which his mind became detached and luminous. He experienced a state of joy and peace.
Gautama under the bodhi tree
This tree was subsequently called the “bodhi tree”, or tree of enlightenment, by the disciples of the Buddha. The Buddha had many followers. His disciples would come to him, listen to his speeches about teaching, or dharma, listen to his sermons, and meditate so that they too could become enlightened.
Buddhism states that anyone can become enlightened by attaining a high awareness of their soul.
Basic concepts in Buddhism
Since there are many philosophical concepts in Buddhism that reflect the essence of this Eastern ideology, let’s focus on the main ideas and examine their meanings.
One of the main ideas is the concept of Sansara. Sansara is the wheel of the earthly reincarnations of all living beings. In the process of this cycle of life, the soul must “grow. Sansara depends entirely on your past actions, your karma.
Karma is your past deeds, noble or not so noble. For example, it is possible to reincarnate into higher forms: into a warrior, a human being or a deity, and also into lower forms: an animal, a hungry spirit or a living hell, i.e. karma depends directly on your deeds. Worthy deeds entail reincarnation into higher forms. The final outcome of samsara is nirvana.
Nirvana is a state of enlightenment, awareness, the highest spiritual existence. Nirvana frees us from karma.
Dharma is the teaching of the Buddha. Dharma is the maintenance of world order by all sentient beings. Everyone has their own way and should follow it according to ethics. Because Buddhism is a very peaceful religion, this aspect is incredibly important: do no harm to another.
A sangha is a community of Buddhists who adhere to the rules and laws of the Buddha’s teachings.
Buddhism is based on the four noble truths:
Life is suffering. We all suffer, we all feel anger, anger, fear.
Suffering has causes: envy, greed, lust.
Suffering can be stopped.
The path to nirvana will help you get away from suffering.
The goal of Buddhism is to get away from this suffering. To stop experiencing negative feelings and emotions, to get rid of various addictions.
According to the Buddha, the true path, or the path to the state of nirvana, is the median path, which lies between excess and asceticism. This path in Buddhism is called the Noble Eightfold Path. It must be taken in order to become a noble conscious person.