Understanding World Religions and Beliefs 9781532114236, 9781532154065

Table of contents :
Ch. 1. Happy birthday, Buddha! --
ch. 2. The Buddha --
ch. 3. The Dharma : beliefs and practices --
ch. 4. The Wheel of Dharma : changes and spread --
ch. 5. The Sangha --
ch. 6. The Sangha and the community --
ch. 7. Buddhism and the west --
ch. 8. Challenges --
ch. 9. Buddhism worldwide.

Citation preview

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From the triumphant Easter hymns of Christianity to the colorful Holi festival of Hinduism, religious practices around the globe are as diverse as the people who perform them. Understanding World Religions and Beliefs provides a detailed look at these enduring pillars of human

BUDDHISM BY A. W. BUCKEY

practices while exploring challenges such as prejudice and conflicting factions within a single religion. Gain deeper insights into major faith systems with Understanding World Religions and Beliefs.

BOOKS IN THIS SET UNDERSTANDING BUDDHISM

UNDERSTANDING JUDAISM

UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIANITY

UNDERSTANDING SCIENTOLOGY

UNDERSTANDING HINDUISM

UNDERSTANDING SIKHISM

UNDERSTANDING ISLAM

UNDERSTANDING THE NONRELIGIOUS

I S B N 978-1-5321-1423-6

781532 114236

UNDERSTANDING BUDDHISM

culture. Examine each religion’s history, its founders, and its modern-day

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UNDERSTANDING

BUDDHISM BY A. W. BUCKEY

CONTENT CONSULTANT Constance Kassor Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Lawrence University

Essential Library

An Imprint of Abdo Publishing | abdopublishing.com

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ABDOPUBLISHING.COM Published by Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55439. Copyright © 2019 by Abdo Consulting Group, Inc. International copyrights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Essential Librar y™ is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing. Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota 042018 092018

Cover Photo: Vincent St. Thomas/Shutterstock Images Interior Photos: Lim Yaohui/SPH Editorial Use Only/Newscom, 4 –5; Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images, 7; AP Images, 8–9; Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/ZumaPress/Newscom, 10 –11; Karleen Stevens/iStockphoto, 14 –15; Wellcome Images/Science Source, 20 –21; Ann Ronan Pictures/Heritage Images/Glow Images, 24; Neo Photo/iStockphoto, 26 –27; Amos Chapple/REX/Shutterstock, 29; iStockphoto, 32–33, 38–39, 67, 80 –81, 94 –95; Santi Photo SS/Shutterstock Images, 36 –37; Kathy Willens/AP Images, 43; Saikat Paul/Pacific Press/Sipa USA/ AP Images, 49; Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock Images, 50 –51; Vichan Poti/ZUMA Press/Newscom, 54 –55; Shutterstock Images, 59, 61, 98–99; Stuart Jenner/Shutterstock Images, 62– 63; Philippe Lissac/Godong/picture alliance/Godong/Newscom, 68; New York Public Librar y/Science Source, 70 –71; Shane Myers Photography/Shutterstock Images, 76 –77; Mark Maynard/ The Herald Bulletin/AP Images, 79; Sk Hasan Ali/Shutterstock Images, 83; Chiang Ying-ying/AP Images, 85; Design Facts/Shutterstock Images, 90 –91 Editor: Marie Pearson Series Designer: Maggie Villaume

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER: 2017961378 PUBLISHER’S CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Name: Buckey, A. W., author. Title: Understanding Buddhism / by A. W. Buckey. Description: Minneapolis, Minnesota : Abdo Publishing, 2019. | Series: Understanding world religions and beliefs | Includes online resources and index. Identifiers: ISBN 9781532114236 (lib.bdg.) | ISBN 9781532154065 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Buddhism--Doctrines--Histor y--Juvenile literature. | Buddhism and culture--Juvenile literature. | World religions-Juvenile literature. | Religious belief--Juvenile literature. Classification: DDC 294.3--dc23

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CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUDDHA!

CHAPTER SIX

4

CHAPTER TWO

THE BUDDHA

THE SANGHA AND THE COMMUNITY

62

CHAPTER SEVEN

14

BUDDHISM AND THE WEST

70

CHAPTER THREE

THE DHARMA: BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

CHAPTER EIGHT

26

CHAPTER FOUR

THE WHEEL OF DHARMA: CHANGES AND SPREAD

CHALLENGES

80

CHAPTER NINE

BUDDHISM WORLDWIDE 90 38

Essential Facts 100 Glossary 102

CHAPTER FIVE

THE SANGHA

50

Additional Resources 104 Source Notes 106 Index 110 About the Author 112

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUDDHA! On a warm day in May 2017, the streets of Singapore were alive with delicious smells, joyful sounds, and bright, dazzling decorations. The alleys were full of food carts giving away free snacks to anyone who wanted them. Other vendors brought games and colorful henna plant decorations to the partiers in the streets, and music and singing filled the air. Buildings and alleyways were strung with bright lanterns shaped like lotus flowers, lighting up with bursts of color. The city was hosting a birthday party. Singapore is an island city-state in southern Asia with 5.6 million citizens.1 The city welcomes immigrants from many regions. Its religious diversity reflects the Chinese, Malay, Indian, and British influences of its heritage. Singapore has temples and monasteries

Worshippers gather to be blessed on Vesak, which celebrates the Buddha’s birthday.

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LOTUS The lotus is a sacred flower in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It is native to Asia and has been a holy symbol for thousands of years. Lotuses can be white or brightly colored. They sit on top of water like lily pads, with their roots in the mud. The lotus is a powerful symbol of rebirth and enlightenment. Lotus flowers grow in muddy water, but then some bloom bright and clean on the water’s surface. Because the lotus can spend time in muddy water without getting dirty, it is a symbol of purity as well. Gods, Buddhas, and other powerful people are often portrayed sitting on lotus thrones. Lotus flowers and plants are used in teas and cooking. Lotus flowers are very common in Buddhist art and literature. The lotus lanterns at Vesak are reminders of the flowers that bloomed near the Buddha’s feet when he was born.

representing almost all of Buddhism’s major traditions. On the full-moon day of the lunar month of Vesakha, usually in spring, people from every faith are invited to celebrate Vesak. It is the birthday of the Buddha, an important teacher in the history of Buddhism. Vesak is a day of reflection as well as celebration. At Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery on Bright Hill Road, more than 20,000 people came in 2017 to walk barefoot around the temple, taking three steps forward, kneeling, bowing to the ground, and getting up to take another three steps and bow again.2 Through the night, devotees carried out the three steps, one bow ceremony in turns that lasted more than two hours. Each person focused on letting go of the past, present, and future,

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Both monks and lay Buddhists can perform the three steps, one bow ceremony.

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Tibetan Buddhists and tourists alike gather to view the beautiful thangkas.

focusing only on the Buddha. Their bows showed respect to the Buddha. At other temples, people gathered around tubs of water perfumed with flowers. They scooped the water from the basins and poured it over statues of baby Buddha, remembering the bath he was given on his first day on Earth. They brought flowers, incense, and candles to the temples. The gifts were reminders that life passes by quickly, like plucked flowers and burning candles. Monks recited sutras, or holy texts, and visitors to temples could join in chanting as well. Singapore’s Tibetan Buddhist temple follows the tradition of creating and showing a thangka, a large sacred picture that can help people with meditation and give blessings to those who see it. In 2017, the temple’s thangka was more than four stories high with an image of the sitting Buddha in striking blues and yellows. Vesak is a day of kindness to animals in the name of the Buddha. Many celebrators give up meat for the day, choosing

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Buddhists may watch or participate in performances or parades on Vesak.

to eat a meal of rice in milk similar to a meal the Buddha once ate. It used to be common to free caged birds and other animals on Vesak. Today, Singapore’s government cautions people against leaving tame animals to fend for themselves in the wild. People instead show compassion by leaving animals where they’re safe and well cared for. Vesak is also a day for giving gifts. People give gifts to images of the Buddha, to temples, to hungry partiers, and to loved ones and people in need. In Singapore, people come together to give to charity during Vesak. They go to hospitals to donate blood. They visit the less fortunate. In 2016, more than 40 Buddhist temples and 20,000 of their members and visitors joined forces to raise money for Singapore’s National Kidney Foundation.3 They did it to remember the way the Buddha’s generosity and compassion touched their lives. The celebration of Vesak continues well into the night. Thousands of people gather under the full moon and light candles to illuminate their way through the streets, chanting

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and singing together. Singapore is not the only place that holds birthday parties for the Buddha.

TOOTH RELIC TEMPLE

Every spring, there are festivals of music and

The city-state of Singapore’s most famous

prayer, statue bathing, and devotion across Asia

Buddhist house of worship is the Buddha

and on every continent.

Tooth Relic Temple and Museum. The lavish red building was built in 2007 in Singapore’s Chinatown. Visitors can go see and pay respects

What Is Buddhism?

to a tooth fragment believed to have belonged

The Buddha was a man who lived in Nepal and

to the Buddha.

northern India more than 2,000 years ago. He was deeply disturbed by the suffering of the world and searched for a way to free himself and others from

pain. After many years of meditating and searching, the Buddha found a path out of suffering and into enlightenment. His teachings focus on freeing the self from desire and attachment and avoiding harm to other living beings. He preached his ideas to a community of followers, and their beliefs and practices became the religion known as Buddhism. Buddhism is a faith practiced by almost 500 million people worldwide. Approximately 7 percent of all people are Buddhists. While there are Buddhists across the world, almost 99 percent live in Asia. Half of all Buddhists live in China, and most of the rest are in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Tibet.4

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Buddhism is a complex and diverse religion practiced in many different ways. At its heart,

BUDDHA STATUES

however, Buddhism seeks to end a harmful cycle

Statues of the Buddha come in a variety of sizes and shapes—they can be a few inches

of death and rebirth by freeing living things from suffering. Buddhists seek to get rid of their illusions

high or more than 100 feet (30 m) tall.5 Each type of Buddha statue has a different symbolic

about reality and treat others with compassion and

meaning expressed in details such as the

wisdom. The life and teachings of the Buddha are

Buddha’s hand positions (known as mudras), his posture, his age, and his facial expression.

their first guides.

For example, in some statues, the Buddha is portrayed as having tangled, matted hair, to remind people of the part of his life when he was a wandering seeker.

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THE BUDDHA Buddha is not a given name. It is a title that means “the awakened one” in Sanskrit. The story of the Buddha’s life and awakening has been told in thousands of ways. Historians believe that the story of the Buddha dates between 500 and 300 BCE.1 He was born in or near Lumbini, in what is today southern Nepal. He belonged to a people called the Shakya, who followed a religious and social system with similarities to Hinduism. Similarly to the Hindus of today, the Shakya believed that human beings were reborn after death, living life after life in a series of bodies, in an endless cycle known as samsara. Shakya society, like many South Asian cultures of the time, organized people into four estates, or social ranks. The second estate, warriors and leaders called the Kshatriya, ruled society. According to traditional biographies, the Buddha was a Kshatriya prince from a royal family named Gautama. However, some historians believe that the Shakya elected their leaders.

The Maya Devi Temple in Nepal marks the place where the Buddha was born.

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Tradition says that before coming to Earth, the

NEPAL

being who would become the Buddha waited in

Nepal is a small country located to the

a heaven, trying to choose the appropriate time

northeast of India. It became an independent

and place for his rebirth. His earthly mother, the

kingdom in the 1700s, but it has been culturally linked to the rest of South Asia, as well as Tibet,

queen Maya, had a dream about a beautiful white

for thousands of years. Buddhism spread from

elephant. Shortly after, her son chose to enter her

the Buddha’s preaching in northern India to

womb. Even his birth was extraordinary. As his

the rest of the subcontinent, and from there

mother clung to the branch of a tree for strength,

to other parts of Asia. Today, however, there are few Buddhists in either Nepal or India.

he burst from her right side, dressed in a loincloth,

Most modern-day Nepalese and Indians

with his hair in a topknot. He walked forward, and

practice Hinduism.

lotus flowers began to bloom on the ground his feet touched. Nanda and Upananda, two magical snake kings, came from the sky to bathe and praise

the child. His parents named him Siddhartha, meaning “one who reaches his goal.” Moments after his birth, baby Siddhartha spoke his first words, announcing this would be his final life. Many stories say Siddhartha’s mother died seven days later, leaving him to be raised by his protective father, King Shuddhodana, and his mother’s sister.

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Shuddhodana saw his son was special. Soon after Siddhartha was born, the king went to astrologers to ask about the boy’s future. The seers predicted the prince either would become a world-changing, or “wheel-turning,” king or would turn away from the world entirely and become a wandering visionary. Siddhartha’s father, eager to have a king for a son, made sure the boy had every advantage and pleasure available at home so he would never want to leave. Young Siddhartha grew up in the comfort and safety of his palace. He was an excellent student, a brilliant archer, and a handsome, sheltered youth.

Entering the Real World Siddhartha eventually became a man. He married a woman named Gopa and had a son, Rahula. His life was lucky, but he began to sense his ignorance of

MAYA Although many traditions say Queen Maya, also known as Mayadevi, died before she could get to know her child, the Buddha and Maya did meet later on. After the Buddha achieved

the outside world. He decided to take a trip to the

enlightenment, he traveled to a beautiful

town outside the palace. Before his son left home,

heaven, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (also

the king made every effort to sweep the area

called Tushita), where his mother had been

beyond the gates of anything ugly or upsetting,

reborn after her death on Earth. There, he

so Siddhartha would see only young and healthy

taught her and her companions the same lessons he preached on Earth.

people, happy in their work.

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For the first time, Siddhartha left the cocoon of his home and stepped into the world. Despite his father’s best efforts, Siddhartha didn’t travel long before he came across an old man, frail and struggling to walk. The prince was shocked. He had never seen the effects of aging before. Panicked, he asked the man what was wrong and was even more shocked to understand that the man’s condition was normal. All humans grow old. Even though Siddhartha was disturbed, he chose to take a second trip outside. This time he came across a very sick man, disfigured and in pain. On a third trip, he saw the one thing his father had tried to shield him from the most: a human corpse. Left along the road, the body proved to him that death was inevitable. Siddhartha understood at last that aging, sickness, and death were the fate of all living beings. Suffering was impossible to escape. On his fourth trip, he saw a lone man meditating under a tree and sensed the key to his future.

Path to Enlightenment Siddhartha could no longer live in the secluded comfort of his home. He knew he had to leave and search for a way to end suffering. In those days, some people in his part of the world left society’s structures to become wandering thinkers and seekers. They gave up their possessions, slept in forests, and begged for their food. They used techniques such as meditation and fasting to focus on spiritual matters. Their goal was to move beyond the material world and break the cycle of death and rebirth. Siddhartha left behind his beautiful life—his father, wife, and son—and went to join these people.

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First, Siddhartha found teachers who would help him understand how to meditate. He learned from one how to enter a state of nothingness, and from another how to move beyond perceiving the outside world. He was an excellent student, but he was unsatisfied. The techniques did not give him the freedom he was seeking. Then, he joined a group of ascetics, people who believe in living with as little as possible. For years, he practiced holding his breath for minutes at a time and living on a grain of rice a day, training his body to stay alert on almost nothing, but eventually he saw that these experiments would

BODHI TREE

not work either.

The bodhi tree (scientific name Ficus religiosa,

Leaving his fasting behind for good,

which translates from Latin to “religious fig”)

Siddhartha ate a simple meal, which some believe

is a type of tall fig tree with heart-shaped

was rice and milk, prepared by a woman villager.

leaves. It is considered sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism. Legends say that early

He sat underneath a tree now known as the bodhi

Buddhists took branches from the Buddha’s

or pipal tree and vowed to himself that he would

bodhi tree and replanted them in temples and monasteries. One such tree, the Sri Maha

not leave until he had reached enlightenment.

bodhi tree in Sri Lanka, was planted in 288 BCE.

Siddhartha’s approach to enlightenment

Pilgrims come from around the world to

disturbed the forces of the universe. Most stories

meditate under its branches.

say his journey enraged the demon Mara, who

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Many artists have depicted Siddhartha’s encounter with Mara.

appears in many Buddhist fables as a symbol of death, disorder, and the dark side of desire. Mara sent his armies to attack Siddhartha, who sat still and unharmed. Mara also hurled tempting visions, conjuring hallucinations of wealth, power, and beautiful women. But Siddhartha held fast until he arrived at a simple but profound truth. At last, he understood that the self he had been trying to free from suffering, aging, and death was impossible to save because it did not really exist. It was his attachment to this fake idea of a self that was causing his pain, keeping him inside the endless cycle of aging, sickness, death, and rebirth. Siddhartha had now fully awakened, becoming the Buddha at this moment. He suddenly gained access to memories of eons of his former lives, and he stayed by the tree for seven weeks, absorbing his own enlightenment. In time, the Buddha arose. He was ready to share his message with the world.

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JATAKA In addition to biographies of the Buddha, there are many collections of stories that describe his former lives. These past-life biographies are known as the Jataka. One common theme of the Buddha’s lives is his incredible generosity and willingness to sacrifice for others. In one former life, the Buddha was a rabbit who threw himself into a fire to become dinner for a hungry wise man. Many stories say the Buddha’s second-to-last life was as a king named Vessantara. He was so generous that he gave away his kingdom’s most prized treasures, his wife, and finally his children, simply because someone asked for them. King Vessantara made a wish that he would never regret giving a gift, and eventually he had a son, won back his kingdom, and continued to rule with gentleness and compassion.

Spreading the Word In those days, kings and wealthy people kept forested parks full of deer so they could hunt whenever they liked. Wandering ascetics and seekers would live or preach in these parks. The Buddha went to a deer park near a place called Benares and prepared to share the truth he had found. He knew his old teachers would be there, and he wanted to share the news with them first. At that park, the Buddha told his listeners four simple things: life is suffering, desire and attachment are the roots of suffering, it is possible to end suffering, and there is a path to the end of suffering. His words are known in English as the Four Noble Truths. Then, he offered his prescription

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for the end of suffering, known as the Eightfold Path. This plan explained things a person should do to achieve enlightenment. Some in the Buddha’s audience heard his words and immediately achieved enlightenment themselves. As the Buddha repeated his message a second and third time, others joined them. These people are known as arhats. Unlike the Buddha, who arrived at the truth of enlightenment on his own, an arhat is someone who reaches enlightenment after hearing the message from someone else. Soon, a community grew around the Buddha, as arhats and seekers came to learn his teachings and follow his way of life. They were looking for what are known as the Three Jewels. The first jewel is the Buddha himself. The second is the dharma, a Sanskrit word that has many meanings but is similar to “truth.” Dharma describes both the way things are and the way they should be, the correct path in life. The third jewel is the sangha, or community of monks and nuns committed to living away from the world and striving for enlightenment. These followers helped establish the third jewel, and their arguments, customs, and debates, as well as the Buddha’s responses and decisions, formed the foundation for thousands of years of monastic life. Most stories say the Buddha continued to preach for 45 years after his enlightenment.2 Eventually, he told his faithful companion Ananda that he was capable of living for thousands of years beyond the life span of a normal man. These stories say the Buddha was hinting that he could remain on Earth if

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The Buddha’s followers listened to his last words of advice before he died.

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his followers needed him, but Ananda failed to take the hint and ask his teacher to stay. The Buddha prepared to free himself from existence. The Buddha asked a blacksmith’s son to prepare him a dish of pork and to bury the leftovers when he was finished. The pork was spoiled, and the Buddha’s body became sick, experiencing the age and decay that had terrified him so much when he was young. Surrounded by his followers, the Buddha welcomed the end of his life. He passed into nirvana, a state beyond both existence and nonexistence, perception and nonperception. Some Buddhists celebrate this moment each year in February on a holiday known as Parinirvana or Nehan. On it, people visit temples, give gifts, and meditate. Though the Buddha had freed himself from human life, he left behind the dharma as a guide for those who were ready and willing to follow his path.

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THE DHARMA: BELIEFS AND PRACTICES The Buddha gave his followers a cure for suffering. To understand his solution, it is necessary to understand the problem itself. Buddhists see themselves as part of a large and complicated universe with many worlds beyond this one. The universe runs according to a law called karma, which affects the fate of all living beings. Beyond life, death, and karma, there is nirvana, the state that extinguishes all existence and is the final Buddhist goal. Buddhism teaches that there are many worlds and possibly many universes. Death and rebirth do not only occur on Earth. There are heavens and hells with gods and demons living in them. After death, human beings can die and be reborn into a heaven. They spend varying amounts of time there, from brief stays to many eons,

For Buddhists, lighting lanterns is symbolic of lighting the way to enlightenment.

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before possibly coming back to Earth. Buddhist

THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE

literature often describes heavens as stunningly beautiful, full of jewels, beautiful music, sweet

According to traditional Buddhist thought,

smells, and lotus flowers. For example, the Heaven

the origin of the universe is impossible to

of the Thirty-Three, where Maya went after her

understand. However, one Buddhist story of the universe’s creation tells of a group of beings with see-through bodies who came to this realm after their old one was destroyed. They

death, was famous as the home of many powerful Indian gods.

were attracted to the material of the universe

Types of Rebirth

and started to eat it as food. Soon, the universe

The cycle of death and rebirth includes more than

food turned them into beings with solid bodies and strong material desires, and they began to fight each other out of greed and hunger.

just humans on Earth. Beings can be reborn as gods, demigods, humans, animals, ghosts, and hell beings. Buddhist gods and demigods are powerful, but they are not immortal. They can live for thousands, possibly millions, of years.

It is lucky to be reborn as a human, although of course some humans are luckier than others. Rebirth as an animal is not as lucky, since many animals live short, anxious, and painful lives. Animals also usually do not have the mental ability to work toward enlightenment. Ghosts are even less fortunate than animals. They are trapped in a world that cannot see them, with cravings and desires

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they can never satisfy. Ghosts are often described as hungry, with huge bellies and tiny mouths, desperate for food they are unable to eat. Even existence as a ghost, however, may be better than rebirth into a hell. There are plenty of Buddhist hells, just as there are many Buddhist heavens. There are hot hells and cold hells. There are sections of hells reserved for specific types of wrong actions, such as cheating on a spouse or killing birds for no reason. There have also been other Buddhas in different eras and realms. Siddhartha Gautama is the Buddha people on Earth know best, but Buddhist tradition has identified

A monastery in Thailand made a hell garden full of depictions of creatures and punishments one might face in a hell.

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THE HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL In many monastic communities, monks and nuns feed hungry ghosts by leaving them offerings of food and drink. Chinese cultures celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival every summer. The festival is a time to honor ghosts and try to ease their hunger by offering them the things they still desire. Many people burn paper versions of food, drinks, and luxury goods for ghosts to use. It’s even possible to buy paper iPhones, cars, and handbags for hungry ghosts. Followers of Chinese traditional religion as well as Buddhists celebrate the festival, but the term hungry ghost comes from Buddhism. During the festival, people also stage traditional Chinese operas to entertain the ghosts. They leave the first row of seats empty at each opera so the ghosts are free to enjoy the show. The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, among other places.

several other Buddha figures. Buddhist thought predicts that there will be a future Buddha named Maitreya who will appear after Siddhartha’s teachings have left the world.

Death, Rebirth, and Interconnection The cycle of birth and rebirth links living things in unexpected ways. Enemies in one life might fall in love in another life. A powerful person who abuses his or her power could be reborn as a small animal, neglected and disrespected. There is a famous story about a monk named Shariputra who found a woman eating a piece of pork with her baby. The woman kicked a dog that tried to steal the pork.

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Shariputra burst into tears because he could see the past lives of everyone involved, and he knew the pig that had become the pork had once been the woman’s father, and the dog had been her mother. Death is not the end of existence, and people who are unable to achieve enlightenment in one lifetime may make more progress in the next one. Even so, there are plenty of benefits to avoiding the fate of ghosts and hell beings and being born again in heaven. Wise people can work toward a lucky rebirth by paying close attention to karma. Karma is a concept that exists in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Even though Buddhism rejects the idea of an eternal self, it teaches that beings do have a kind of consciousness that

KARMA IN HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM

transfers from one body to another with each new

Hinduism, like Buddhism, teaches that karma is a universal law that plays a key role in the cycle

life. This awareness carries the effects of actions

of death and rebirth. Like Buddhists, Hindus

in previous lives. Good actions have good effects,

pay attention to their karma and seek to free

and negative actions cause pain and suffering. This

themselves from suffering and rebirth. Unlike Buddhists, they do not deny the existence of

process is known as karma.

the self. They seek freedom by living moral lives

Karma is often described as a universal law.

and showing devotion to gods instead.

It is more like the laws of physics than the laws of a country or courtroom. There is no supernatural

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Some Tibetan Buddhists hang prayer flags. They believe the wind will spread the prayers written on the flags around the world.

judge who watches people’s choices and decides their karma. Instead, the chain of action and consequences happens naturally and inevitably. Being born wealthy or lucky is seen as a sign of good karma in a past life. Negative life events such as losses and natural disasters may be the result of harmful actions in the past. Not all actions are equally important as far as karma is concerned. Sometimes one small action from a long-ago life can have a large effect, either painful or happy, in a future life. A person’s intentions and state of mind at the time of death are especially important in determining the fate of that person’s future lives. Since karma is such a powerful force, it might seem that the goal of every Buddhist should be to do as many good deeds as possible to enjoy rebirth in a heaven. However, the Buddha was skeptical of all types of karma. He believed joy and excitement could be just as dangerous as pain, since they both represent forms of attachment to existence and samsara.

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There is a tension in Buddhism between the desire to have good karma and the goal of turning away from existence by finding enlightenment and passing into nirvana. In a way, the two goals are opposed, but in another way, they can work together. The good karma that leads to birth as a god, demigod, or human is a key step toward receiving the Buddha’s message and trying to find enlightenment. Buddhists who are not satisfied with good karma and wish to seek nirvana turn toward the Buddha’s Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path There are eight aspects to the type of life that

BUDDHISM AND VEGETARIANISM The Buddha, whose last meal on Earth was

points the way to enlightenment. These aspects are right view, right intention, right speech,

pork, was not a vegetarian, and neither are

right action, right effort, right livelihood, right

most Buddhists. Some monks and nuns will

mindfulness, and right concentration. Right

commit to vegetarianism as part of their vows,

view and right intention combine to make up

and other Buddhists may stop eating meat temporarily or on special holidays. They are

panna, or wisdom. Right speech, right action,

not allowed to kill an animal to eat. However,

and right livelihood are the elements of sila, or

Buddhism does not have any diet restrictions

morality. Right effort, right mindfulness, and

that apply to all believers.

right concentration are known as samadhi, often translated as “meditation.”

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In practice, this means that the first step for a Buddhist might be to accept the Four Noble Truths and decide to live according to the Buddha’s teachings. Then, Buddhists must work to live correctly by avoiding words and actions that cause unnecessary harm to others. The principle of no harm is known as ahimsa. It can be understood in many different ways. Some Buddhists avoid jobs such as fishmonger or leather tanner because they involve too much killing of other beings. The most devoted monks make a commitment not to harm or disturb any living thing at all, including insects. Samadhi can include many activities, including the type of meditation where people sit and try to clear their minds of all distractions. Buddhists can also meditate on specific ideas or images. A well-known Buddhist meditation involves focusing completely on the image of a decaying corpse to truly understand that each life is temporary. There is even a long Buddhist tradition of meditating next to actual corpses. Samadhi does not always have to mean silent, seated meditation, however. Buddhists can meditate through daily activities or while visiting sacred sites and objects.

Nirvana Nirvana is a state beyond existence. It is often described as an extinguishment, similar to what happens to a candle flame after it is blown out. While this definition may seem simple, it can be almost impossible for people who have not reached nirvana to understand what it is like. However, it is not necessary to understand nirvana to work toward it.

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Many Buddhists meditate while sitting cross-legged and keeping their spines straight.

The Buddha told a famous story about people who worried too much about the nature of nirvana. They put off their journey to enlightenment until they knew their destination. He compared those people to a man who had been shot by a poison arrow and wanted to know everything about the arrow—who had shot it, why he had been attacked, what kind of poison was on the tip, at what angle it had entered his body—before he even tried to save his life by pulling the arrow out. The Buddha encouraged his followers to remove the arrow first and find answers later.

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THE WHEEL OF DHARMA: CHANGES AND SPREAD In the centuries after the Buddha’s death, traveling merchants, missionary monks, and shifting cultural trends helped spread Buddhism across Asia. Buddhism changed a great deal as it moved through space and time. Through hundreds of years, the Buddha’s original message developed into three major schools of Buddhist thought. They are the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana schools, known in their original languages as “vehicles” because they turn the wheel of the dharma in the world. Each of these three schools is most popular and influential in a different part of Asia.

Theravada monks carefully study the Pali Canon, which they believe is the most accurate record of the Buddha’s teachings.

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These three major branches of Buddhism have also developed smaller sects and schools of thought, some of which have gone extinct and some of which are still alive today. Three of the most significant are Tibetan Buddhism, Chan—or Zen—Buddhism, and a branch of Mahayana Buddhism called the Pure Land School.

Theravada Buddhism THE PALI CANON The Buddha did not write any of his teachings

The word Theravada means “way of the elders” in the Pali language. This form of Buddhism traces

down, and the first several hundred years of

back to the beginnings of Buddhism in India a little

Buddhism survived through oral traditions. The

before 500 BCE. Today, Theravada Buddhism is

Pali Canon was the first major attempt to keep all the important rules and verses of Buddhism

practiced most in the majority-Buddhist countries

in one place. It was written in approximately

of Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

50 BCE in a South Asian language called Pali,

The Pali Canon, a set of important traditional

which may have been similar to the Buddha’s native language. The texts of the Pali Canon were written on dried palm leaves and kept in

Buddhist texts, was first written down and preserved in Sri Lanka.

baskets. The canon is divided into three baskets: the Buddha’s sermons, the rules for monks, and a group of scholarly writings.

Theravada Buddhism has a strong monastic tradition and a great respect for the writings and actions of the early Buddhists. According to a text called the Dhammapada, the Buddha reminded

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believers that “the best of ways is the eightfold; the best of truths the four words; the best of virtues passionlessness; the best of men he who has eyes to see.”1 Members of the Theravada tradition believe in detaching themselves from ordinary existence and freeing themselves from karma with the goal of passing into nirvana.

Mahayana Buddhism, the Great Vehicle In approximately 100 BCE, 400 years after the foundation of Buddhism, a group of Indian scholars said they had sacred Buddhist texts. These texts, or sutras, were the lost words of the Buddha. They gave a new interpretation of the correct path to enlightenment. This new group of writings focused on the fact that the Buddha could have chosen to pass into nirvana immediately after finding enlightenment but decided to spend more than 45 years showing the way to others instead.2 His compassion and generosity moved him to stay in samsara so he could free others. The leaders of this movement believed other people could follow in the Buddha’s footsteps, becoming new Buddhas and using many lifetimes of wisdom and compassion to guide others to Buddhahood as well. It was not enough to retreat from the desires and troubles of the world as a renouncing arhat. True enlightenment came with a responsibility to help others. A person who is committed to helping others achieve Buddhahood is called a bodhisattva. The most advanced and powerful bodhisattvas are as enlightened as the Buddha was.

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This form of Buddhism is called Mahayana,

ASHVAGHOSHA

sometimes interpreted as the “Great Vehicle,”

Ashvaghosha is known as one of the first and

where great means “all-encompassing.” Mahayana

most important Buddhist poets. He was born in approximately 100 BCE in northern India.

Buddhism encourages all followers to recognize

Legends say he became a Buddhist as an adult

and work toward their own inborn potential for

after losing an argument to a Buddhist scholar.

Buddhahood. While other schools of Buddhism

In addition to his great work of Mahayana

share the idea of the bodhisattva, it is an especially

philosophy, The Awakening of the Faith, he is famous for a poetic biography of the Buddha.

important Mahayana ideal. Bodhisattvas often

He may also have played a role in organizing

have supernatural powers, and other Buddhists can

one of the first Buddhist councils, where monks

call on them for help. One famous bodhisattva is

from various Buddhist lands gathered to recite and write down important texts.

Avalokiteshvara, also known in Chinese as Guanyin. Avalokiteshvara, known as the bodhisattva of compassion, is sometimes described as male and sometimes appears as female. People can recite

his verse in a famous text called the Lotus Sutra for his protection from “flood, shipwreck, murderers, demons, prison, bandits, and wild animals.”3 This bodhisattva is also known in China as a white-robed god who can give sons to infertile people.

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In addition to its focus on compassion and helping others, Mahayana Buddhist philosophy also discusses the emptiness and illusions of existence. Some Mahayana scholars believe the Buddha had a spiritual as well as a physical body, or that what appeared to be the Buddha’s body was just an illusion the spiritual Buddha presented. Others extended this idea to understand that the whole universe was nothing but the body of the Buddha himself. Nirvana was not a goal, but an existing, eternal state of being. Mahayana philosophers often discussed the idea of emptiness. There was no difference between

A Buddha statue sits in the Mahayana Buddhist Temple in New York City, New York.

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PERSPECTIVES MYOE, WHO WROTE TO AN ISLAND

nirvana and ordinary reality, they argued, because the truth was that they were both empty. As the famous early Mahayana

Myoe Shonin was a Japanese Mahayana monk born in 1173 CE. He longed to visit India but instead lived his whole

philosopher Ashvaghosha put it, “Therefore

life in his native Japan. He believed in the concept that all

Buddha teaches that all beings are from all

reality was one and that everything in the universe was

eternity ever abiding in Nirvana. In truth

identical with the body of the Buddha. A talented and creative writer, he kept a dream journal for more than

enlightenment cannot be manufactured, nor

40 years, tracing the progress of his meditation and visions.

can it be created; it is absolutely intangible; it is

He once wrote a letter to Karma Island in Japan, a place he

no material existence.”4

had visited and loved. The letter began, “Dear Mr. Island,”

Mahayana traveled from India to China,

and in it he wrote, “Why do we need to seek anything other than your physical form as an island since it is the body of the

and from there to Japan, Korea, and other

radiant Buddha? Even as I speak to you in this way, tears fill

parts of East Asia. It is the main form of

my eyes. Though so much time has passed since I saw you so long ago, I can never forget the memory of how much fun I

Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and

had playing on your island shores. . . . I am firmly convinced

Taiwan and the most popular school in the

that you, more than some wonderful person, are truly an

world today.

interesting and enjoyable friend.”5

Chan (Zen) Buddhism Chan, or Zen, Buddhism developed from the Mahayana Buddhism of China in the 400s CE.

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Scholars believe that Chan Buddhism influenced Taoism, a Chinese religion. Taoism contains many short anecdotes and sayings that help people find wisdom. Chan Buddhism, better known by its Japanese name, Zen, also has a strong tradition of short sayings, known as koans. The word koan refers to a legal judgment. One famous Zen koan asks, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”6 Other koans contain questions and answers about the nature of the Buddha. “What is Buddha?” a koan asks. One answer is “three pounds of flax.”7 Koans help meditators reach enlightenment quickly by shocking the mind into a new understanding of reality. They reach beyond ordinary reasoning and twisted philosophies to help people see the truth of things. Zen Buddhism is popular in Japan and South Korea. It is one of the best-known forms of Buddhism in the West.

Pure Land Buddhism There is a story about a monk who promised to become a Buddha. The monk made a series of vows. One vow was that anyone who called on his name would be reborn in a beautiful realm full of golden beings. It was free of ghosts, and no one had to eat or work. The monk became the Buddha Amitabha, and his vow came true. Those who call on him so that they can reach his heaven are known as Pure Land Buddhists. In the 500s and 600s in China, where Mahayana Buddhism had already taken root, Pure Land Buddhism became very popular. The practice of the recitation of Amitabha’s name spread east

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to Japan. Some people criticized Pure Land Buddhism for what they saw as its single-minded

TAOISM AND BUDDHISM

concentration on getting to a heaven rather than

When Buddhism came to China 2,000 years

finding Buddhahood or nirvana. Nevertheless, Pure

ago, it intersected with Taoism, a Chinese faith based on the writings of the philosopher

Land Buddhism has developed a complex religious

Lao-tzu. Taoism is a slightly younger religion

tradition of its own. Today, Pure Land Buddhism is

than Buddhism, and both have been influential

still popular in East Asia.

in Chinese culture and history. Similarly to Buddhists, Taoists practice meditation and believe in seeking moderation. Taoism differs from Buddhism in that it seeks harmony

Vajrayana The word Vajrayana means “diamond vehicle”

with nature and unity with the universe,

and “thunderbolt vehicle.” The Vajrayana school

not Buddhahood or the end of the self. In

began a little bit like Mahayana Buddhism. In India,

traditional Chinese religious thought, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism are known as

between 500 and 600 CE, some people said they

the “three teachings.” According to this belief,

had rediscovered several lost teachings of the

the three separate traditions support and

Buddha. Instead of sutras, or verses, these new

complement each other, working together to shape Chinese culture.

teachings were more like instructions or guides. The new writings were called Tantras and became the basis of Vajrayana Buddhism.

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Tantras focus on the actions a person must do to realize enlightenment. They can be instructions for doing rituals or imagining other realities. There are Tantric practices to cultivate inner heat and light and align winds inside the body. They can grant magical powers and increased ability to concentrate. Vajrayana Buddhists believe Tantras have all the wisdom of sutras and classic Buddhist thought but that the rituals and visualization activities they teach help believers reach enlightenment more quickly. One famous Tantric practice is called “deity yoga.” Believers visualize themselves as having the mind and body of a Buddha to make that vision a reality. Vajrayana Buddhism spread as far as Indonesia but was most popular in the areas northeast of India. Today, the most famous Vajrayana sect is centered in Tibet. It is called Tibetan Buddhism.

Tibetan Buddhism Buddhism arrived in Tibet between 600 and 700, where it was influenced by the native Tibetan Bon religion and its spiritual traditions. Tibetan Buddhism is famous for its rich artistic heritage. For example, the Tibetan mandala is a famous meditation tool. A mandala, named after the Sanskrit word for circle, is an image of the home of an awakened Buddha. It often takes the form of a series of widening circles, describing a gorgeous palace or a beautiful realm of existence. Mandalas can be painted or made from sand and destroyed. Tibetan Buddhists meditate on mandalas to live in the reality the mandala presents, a realm of pure awakening.

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THE DALAI LAMA In 1933, the thirteenth Dalai Lama, a powerful political leader who led a movement to modernize an independent Tibet, died. In 1935, the fourteenth Dalai Lama was born in a small Tibetan farming village. Lhamo Thondup was recognized as an incarnate lama at age two and became a novice monk at age six. Tibet has had a violent and complicated political history. The Dalai Lama’s destiny was to become Tibet’s political and spiritual leader. But in 1959, he had to flee the country after a Tibetan uprising against the Chinese government, which administers Tibet as part of its territory. The Dalai Lama has lived in exile ever since. In 1989, the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on behalf of world peace and Tibetan independence. He travels the world giving lectures, educating others about Buddhism, and advocating on behalf of a variety of causes. He has met with dozens of heads of state and has written more than 100 books. In 2011, the Dalai Lama stepped down as Tibet’s political leader so Tibetans could form a more democratic government.

Tibetan Buddhist teachers are known as lamas. In Tibet, after an especially great lama dies, his followers try to find him in his next rebirth. The reborn lama, a young boy, is trained to become a teacher himself and carry on the tradition of his past life. These reborn lamas have a great deal of power in Tibetan culture. The most famous incarnate lama is the fourteenth Dalai Lama, born in 1935. He is considered the rebirth of a great teacher who died in 1474. Followers consider the Dalai Lama a

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The Dalai Lama has spoken around the world.

manifestation of Avalokiteshvara. Since 1642, Dalai Lamas have served on and off as the political and religious leaders of Tibet. The lamas of Tibet are just one part of the vast and rich tradition of the sangha, or community of Buddhist monks and nuns. This community follows a variety of paths. It makes up the third jewel of Buddhism.

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THE SANGHA When the Buddha began to live with a community of followers, it made sense for the group to live like those of their time who practiced self-denial. They wore simple robes, often castoffs or hand-me-downs, and they shaved their heads to show they did not care about physical appearances. They carried wooden bowls with them to collect food donations from nonmonks and used fermented cow urine as medicine for their sicknesses. The gifts of food they received from sympathetic people, as well as other charitable gifts that helped them live, are known as alms. The monks’ spare lifestyles became harder to maintain as the number of the Buddha’s followers grew. Monks began to settle in permanent communities instead of wandering the countryside and sleeping outdoors. Monastic communities realized they needed a set of rules, or vows, for proper monk behavior. These rules are known as the Five Precepts. Buddhists in Southeast Asia celebrate the day the Buddha gave his followers rules for monastic life on Magha Puja,

Many monks today still rely on food donations.

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or Sangha Day. It happens in late winter or early

THE FIVE STRONG FLAVORS

spring, and devotees perform good deeds and make merit, or create good karma. Buddhist monks take vows not to harm others,

Some monasteries have very strict dietary rules and ban what are known as the five strong flavors: garlic, onions, ginger, chives, and leeks. Other traditions say they are garlic, scallions,

steal, have sex, lie, gossip, drink, or do drugs. Ordinary Buddhists take a few of these vows or

leeks, rocambole garlics, and dropwort. These

decide to follow all of them on holidays or during

five flavors are forbidden in some monastic

a visit to a monastery. Most Buddhist monasteries

traditions because it is believed they cause

also have additional vows for monks, sometimes

annoyance and sexual desire, two feelings the sangha tries to avoid.

several hundred of them. Common monastic vows include promises not to eat after noon, dance, sing, wear perfume, or sleep on a luxurious bed.

Life in a Monastery In Thai Theravada monasteries, monks attempt to live life according to the earliest traditions of the sangha. Many monasteries practice a form of meditation called Vipassana, which traces itself back to the techniques of the Buddha. It has become popular in Thailand since it was introduced from Burma in the 1950s. In the type of Vipassana meditation these monks practice, meditators focus on paying close attention to the self to notice and change thoughts, desires, and states of mind. Meditators

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quietly listen to the inner workings of their minds and bodies, training themselves not to react to emotions or physical sensations. To set aside several hours every day for meditation, vipassana monasteries run on a strict schedule. Thai monasteries often host a wide variety of people. Not everyone who takes monastic vows remains a monk for life. It’s traditional in Thai culture for young men to take temporary ordination vows and spend a few weeks or a summer at a monastery to balance negative karma they might get during their adult lives. Monasteries also host visitors and mae chee, a term for women who follow the monastic lifestyle but do not take full

MONASTIC CLOTHING

ordination vows. Some mae chee would like to

Almost all Buddhist monks and nuns wear robes

be fully ordained nuns, but Thailand has never

as their official clothing. Some of the strictest early Buddhists believed in dressing themselves

allowed them. Before they take their vows, monks

only with other people’s thrown-out rags.

and mae chee must shave all the hair off their

Today, the color and style of a monk’s or nun’s

heads, including their eyebrows, and trade their

robe can help communicate his or her religious tradition—which tends to be linked with a

clothes for robes whose colors and styles show

region—and status. Southeast Asian monks

their statuses at the monastery. Visitors staying at

tend to wear yellow and orange robes, while

a monastery must follow the same rules. After an

Tibetan monks wear deep red.

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Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta of Bangkok, Thailand, runs a home for women who have been sexually abused.

ordination ceremony where Thai monks promise to keep 227 vows, monastic life begins.1 In one Thai monastery, monks wake at 4:00 a.m. Before breakfast, many monks go on an alms round, walking miles from the monastery into a nearby town with their bowls, collecting food and other donations. Many Thai monks are not allowed to handle money, so the alms they collect are mostly in the form of food (cooked especially for them) or useful gifts. Breakfast is at 6:00 a.m. Afterward, monks, visitors, and mae chee either chant and meditate or take care of the chores of the order. At 10:30 a.m., everyone eats lunch. Since monastery residents have vowed not to eat food after noon, this lunch is the last meal of the day. Between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m., the monks may meet with a meditation teacher to discuss their own progress. At 5:00 p.m., there is another hour and a half of chanting. Once a week at 8:00 p.m., the community gathers to chant, discuss problems, and hear lectures. In the

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evenings, monks are free to continue their studies

HEALTH AND MONASTIC LIFE The monastic lifestyle can be hard on the body.

and meditation practices until the day ends at 10:00 p.m.

People in some monasteries fast for 18 hours a

Monks Worldwide

day and often live on little sleep, suffering the

Not all monasteries follow the same traditions as

effects of sleep deprivation.2 Monks and nuns in Thai Theravada monasteries may lack exercise

the Theravada communities of Thailand. In fact,

and find themselves battling fatigue. One writer

throughout history many monasteries have been

who spent months as a mae chee found herself

very small, with only a few monks running a local

tired and suffering from low blood sugar. She ended up volunteering for heavy chores just

temple. Some monasteries have been oriented

to use her muscles. Many monks and nuns,

toward scholarship, with monks spending their

however, feel that the benefits of meditation

time studying and making commentaries on

outweigh any risks to the body.

famous texts or sutras. There is a long tradition of monk debate, where monks travel to each other’s homes to compete in dense scholarly arguments

about sutras and finer points of Buddhist philosophy. These debates are a way for monks to learn the traditions of their school of thought and grow as scholars and academics. Other monasteries focus on other rituals or practices, such as the monks of the Shaolin tradition in China, who practice kung fu.

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HEART SUTRA AND LOTUS SUTRA The Heart Sutra and the Lotus Sutra are two of the most famous sutras in Buddhism. The Heart Sutra is Mahayana in origin and is known for its healing powers. It is short, and most translations fit on one page. It discusses the Mahayana idea of emptiness, saying, “In emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no conditioning factors, no consciousness.”3 The Heart Sutra can save people from danger. One famous Japanese legend tells the story of a boy who is saved from a family of vengeful ghosts by painting the words of the Heart Sutra all over his body. The Lotus Sutra, which is traditionally made up of 28 short chapters, is another famous sutra with magical properties.4 As with many sutras, copying it, reciting it, or learning it by heart can bring special powers. The Lotus Sutra is full of instructive stories and myths that help readers understand Buddhist truths. There is a story about a Chinese monk who recited the Lotus Sutra. One day, an unhappy ghost appeared to the monk and told him where he had buried some money in a past life. The monk went to the spot, dug up the money, and used it to copy the Lotus Sutra for the ghost. The ghost came back to say the sutra had eased his suffering.

For some members of the sangha, these rituals are at the heart of daily life at the monastery and provide a rhythm and structure for Buddhist practice. In Mahayana Buddhism, monks swear to reach Buddhahood and take 18 additional bodhisattva vows. Vajrayana monks take time to learn the Tantras and practices of their order. And there are

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PERSPECTIVES JEONG KWAN, NUN AND MASTER CHEF

wandering monks and forest monks who keep a simpler life farther away from society.

Since the age of 17, Jeong Kwan has lived as a nun in a Zen

Buddhist Nuns

monastery in South Korea. She prepares meals for other monks and nuns. Her meals have become world famous

Since the beginning of Buddhism, there have

for their simplicity, taste, and respect for nature. Jeong

been Buddhist nuns. A nun’s vows are different

Kwan grows food in her own garden and believes that her

from a monk’s. When the Buddha allowed

connection with the plants improves the quality of her food.

women to become nuns, he also put a series

She keeps a garden without walls that grows in and out of the nearby forest, and she doesn’t prevent insects or pests

of eight rules in place that restricted nuns’

from eating her plants if they choose. Her motto is “Let

freedoms and privileges. For example, nun

nature take care of it.”6 She prepares meals without meat,

ordination vows say that while monks can

dairy, fish, and the five strong flavors, including garlic and onions. Her cooking focuses on the Buddhist principles of

criticize nuns, nuns cannot criticize monks.

eliminating desire and clarifying the mind.

These are known as the eight “heavy rules,” or

Jeong Kwan takes time to prepare food in nature, using

garudhamma. Furthermore, ten fully ordained

the ground to ferment kimchi, a pickled food made with

nuns have to be in the room when a new nun

traditional Korean cabbage, and letting some of her sauces age for years before they are ready. Jeong Kwan believes she

is ordained.5 This practice has caused the nun

may have been a cook in a former life. She says, “There is no

tradition to die out in many places because

difference between cooking and pursuing Buddha’s way. . . . I

there are too few nuns available to carry it

am not a chef, I am a monk.”7

on. Most fully ordained Buddhist nuns live in

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Nuns in some areas wear different colors than monks.

East Asia. In fact, in Taiwan, there are more Buddhist nuns than monks. Yet in many parts of the world, such as in Theravada Thai monasteries, women who live religious lives lack all the privileges of nuns. However, this is changing in some places. In 2017, the seventeenth Karmapa, a great teacher of Tibet, made it possible for Tibetan women to take their vows to be fully ordained nuns.

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Visitors to Shaolin Temple can watch monks perform kung fu demonstrations.

SHAOLIN TEMPLE The Shaolin Temple is a Zen monastery in Henan province in central China. It is famous worldwide as the home of Shaolin kung fu, an ancient martial art that combines the mental discipline of Zen Buddhism with Chinese fighting techniques. Legend says that the Indian monk Bodhidharma founded the monastery when he came to China in approximately 500 CE. His statue still stands there. The temple became world famous in the 1900s thanks to a series of action movies. One movie, 1982’s The Shaolin Temple, is based on an ancient legend. It stars Chinese actor Jet Li as a young man who learns kung fu from the temple monks to take revenge on the unjust king who killed his father. In real life, the monks of Shaolin Temple do practice their own several-hundred-year-old tradition of kung fu and teach it to visitors. The monastery has always been wealthy, but lately its earnings have exploded as the Shaolin brand of temples expands to North America and Europe. The abbot of Shaolin, Shi Yongxin, is a controversial figure, with some people criticizing what they see as his greed and hypocrisy. Shaolin Temple’s seeming contradictions help show the richness and complexity of Buddhist experience.

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THE SANGHA AND THE COMMUNITY The sangha is a vital part of the Buddhist religion. But the Buddhist world stretches far beyond its monasteries and temples. Throughout Buddhist history, most Buddhists have not been monks or nuns. Instead, they have been kings, queens, artists, farmers, pirates, craftspeople, and human beings from every possible walk of life. The sangha plays many important roles in the relationship between Buddhist tradition and nonmonastic, or lay, Buddhists. Monasteries and temples are usually linked, so Buddhists who come to see relics or make offerings at temples will come into contact with the monks who maintain them. The stupas, statues, relics, and art that monasteries preserve are vital for community worship.

Buddhists may go to the temple to pray or request help.

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Traditionally, monks do not perform marriages or involve themselves much in weddings, although they might bless a couple after a marriage ceremony. However, the sangha does play a large role in funeral ceremonies. Monks may recite sutras for the dead and perform rituals that help the deceased avoid a bad rebirth. Japanese Buddhism even has a tradition of ordaining dead bodies as monks, shaving their heads and reciting vows so they can possibly have a better rebirth. Tibetan Buddhists believe that dead people spend time in a bardo, or space between worlds, before being reborn. The bardo can be a confusing and overwhelming place. The texts and Tantras of Tibetan monks teach

STUPA

people how to move through it to the next life.

A stupa is a Buddhist shrine traditionally shaped like a dome. Stupas are built to contain relics—parts of the Buddha’s body or other possessions. Stupas can also have relics of other

Merit and the Sangha Buddhists are concerned with making merit, or

Buddhist gods, bodhisattvas, or great monks.

doing things that produce good karma for a better

At temples and monasteries, people visit stupas

future rebirth. Monasteries can act like factories for

to get close to the relics and make merit. There are famous stupas at the Mahabodhi Temple in India, built at the site of the bodhi tree where

merit, helping people give donations or perform religious acts that build merit in their lives.

the Buddha was enlightened.

For lay Buddhists, donating food, money, or land to a monastery can be a powerful form of giving with effects in other lives. In Southeast Asia,

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THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD There is a famous Tibetan text called The Great Liberation through Hearing in the Intermediate State, or Bardo Thödol. It is thought to have been written in the 700s CE. The text gives instructions on how to navigate the sights, sounds, and feelings of the first stages of death. It also tells how to move through the bardo on the way to a good rebirth. It is famous for its vivid descriptions of the visions of the bardo. It reminds the dead not to panic at the frightening animals, gods, and spirits they might see there. Bardo Thödol is meant to be read to people who have just died so they can hear the lessons on how to move to the next life. In English, this book has become known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead and has been translated several times. It is a fascinating but incomplete look at Tibetan ideas about death and rebirth.

where many monks rely on alms for their food, the almsgivers can increase their own merit by giving regularly to the monks. Many monks are not allowed to turn down extra or unwanted food because refusing the gift would prevent the giver from making merit. Monasteries often store collections of sutras and other holy texts and teach their monks how to read and recite them. Historically, monks have been some of the most educated and well-read people in Buddhist societies. Lay Buddhists can enlist monks’ special skills and knowledge for themselves by making donations for a certain number of prayers. Reciting sutras on another person’s behalf can bring that person protection and power and helps that person build merit, and laypeople can

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ask monks to perform recitations or copy sutras for themselves or loved ones.

TEMPLE AND MONASTERY ANIMALS

Some monasteries are closed off to the outside world except on certain ritual days or holidays. For

People have traditionally brought

example, many South Korean monasteries are mostly

abandoned animals to Buddhist temples.

closed to the public except on Vesak, when they

Monks and nuns care for these animals,

serve free vegetarian lunches to visitors and celebrate

which may include stray cats, dogs, and even monkeys. Monks, inspired by their vow of

with lotus lanterns and baths for the Buddha statues.

ahimsa, care for these homeless animals,

These holidays can be some of the only times for

which become part of temple life. However,

lay Buddhists to see the workings of a monastery

some temples receive so many animals they can no longer take good care of all of them.

up close, and they are important opportunities for lay worshippers to gain merit through observance and ritual.

Monks and Society Monks are often educated, well connected, and wise. As a result, they are sometimes very powerful. Many times throughout history, monks have served as advisers to kings and rulers who relied on their wisdom and presumed supernatural powers. Some monasteries became powerful institutions with

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Buddhists can make merit by burning incense for the Buddha.

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A vegetarian meal at a temple might include noodles, a variety of vegetables, and tofu.

the ability to hire their own soldiers. In Japan, Buddhist monks quickly became very powerful because Japanese rulers thought their magical abilities could bring safety and good fortune to the state. Not every Buddhist has had a positive view of monks. Some people have seen monks as men who are too lazy or immature to survive in the real world. There are stories of corrupt monasteries full of

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MONK MARRIAGE IN JAPAN In 1872, the Meiji government of Japan announced that monks would be allowed to marry, eat meat, grow their hair, and break other traditional monastic laws. Previously, the government had helped Buddhists enforce traditional rules by punishing members of the sangha who broke them. However, at the time, the Japanese government wanted to modernize the country and reduce the influence of religious law. Many Buddhists were upset by the government’s action, which they felt took power away from Buddhist institutions and left Buddhists less able to enforce their traditions. Since then, Japanese monks have been able to marry and have children. Many small Buddhist monasteries are passed on from fathers to sons. Wives help run the temple, and some are even priests.

fun-loving monks who do not have to work for a living and spend their days gambling and drinking. In some places, it has not been uncommon for monks to have children, even though they are not supposed to marry or have sex. There are regions where monasteries developed reputations as hiding places for people who were fleeing past crimes. Nevertheless, for the Buddhist community as a whole, the sangha serves an irreplaceable role. Buddhists who cannot or do not want to live as monks or nuns in this life can still use the monastery as a tool to gain wisdom and improve their rebirth.

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BUDDHISM AND THE WEST The Italian explorer Marco Polo traveled to Asia along the Silk Road in the late 1200s. This road was actually an ancient series of trade routes through western and central Asia. Merchants could travel and exchange goods such as spices, silk and other textiles, and wood and metal crafts. When Polo visited China, he learned about the Mahayana Buddhism that had existed there for more than 1,000 years. Polo, who thought about Buddhism from his own medieval Catholic perspective, described the Buddha as a man who would have been a saint if he had been born a Christian. Polo may not have understood Buddhism well, but most Europeans of his time had never heard of it at all. Even so, communication along the Silk Road helped information travel in unexpected ways. There is a medieval Christian story called

Marco Polo recorded his journeys in a book called The Travels of Marco Polo, which also contained illustrations.

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“Barlaam and Josaphaat” that is actually a retelling of the Buddha’s story. Most Europeans would have never guessed that the word Josaphaat was originally bodhisattva. By the 1800s, some European countries, especially the United Kingdom and France, had conquered large parts of South and Southeast Asia and hoped to gain more political control in China and Japan. European colonizers became curious about Buddhism and Buddhist culture.

THE SILK ROAD AND WEST ASIAN BUDDHISM More than 1,000 years ago, Buddhism was a thriving religion in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Around this time, British scholars translated the Pali Canon. They began the Pali Text Society, which was devoted to studying Buddhist writings.

The Silk Road helped Buddhism travel west

These people, part of a group of scholars called

from India to West Asia. In the 500s, people

Orientalists, published their research for other

in the ancient Buddhist city of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, constructed two standing Buddha

Westerners and helped build Western awareness of

statues, each more than 100 feet (30 m) high,

Buddhism. English Victorians called Theosophists,

in the rock valley near their city.1 The Taliban,

who were interested in magic, séances, and

a political and religious group, destroyed the statues in 2001. But beautiful and ancient

communication with spirits, became fascinated by

West Asian cave temples remain as proof of

Hinduism and Buddhism, popularizing their own

Buddhist influence in the region.

versions of Buddhist texts and beliefs.

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Growth of Western Buddhism

ORIENTALISM The word Orient is an old Western term for Asia

Some of the first Buddhists in the United States

and the Middle East. The term Orientalist was

were Chinese immigrants to the West Coast in the

first used to describe Western scholars and

mid-1800s. Japanese immigrants followed them,

researchers who studied Asian and Middle Eastern languages and cultures. However,

establishing new Buddhist temples and meeting

in 1978, the Palestinian thinker Edward Said

places. Other Asian immigrants also brought

published a book that argued that Orientalists

their Buddhist beliefs and practices with them to

used negative and ignorant stereotypes about the East in their research. He believed

the United States. In 1893, visitors to the World’s

Orientalists used their studies as a way to

Parliament of Religions in Chicago, Illinois, could

gain power over other cultures. Said changed the way many people look at religious and

meet and learn from Buddhist representatives.

cultural studies.

Some Americans were introduced to Buddhist thought for the first time when Buddhists from Japan discussed their religion. In the late 1800s

and early 1900s, however, the United States restricted the number of Asian immigrants allowed in the country, preventing many Buddhists from settling. In the 1940s, the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II (1939–1945), as well as government surveillance of Buddhist leaders, deeply hurt the size and safety of the American Buddhist community.

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Buddhism quickly gained popularity in the West in the 1950s and 1960s. The United States became involved with conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, countries with large Buddhist populations. Many people came together to protest US involvement in the Vietnam War and American

COUNTERCULTURE In the 1950s and 1960s, people opposed to the values and activities of modern Western

aggression in a majority-Buddhist country. The Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, an outspoken

life started to define themselves as part of

anti-war voice, came to the United States in the

a counterculture. This counterculture was a

1960s and attracted supporters and admirers. Civil

way of life that went against the mainstream. Members of the counterculture pursued

rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. nominated Hanh

new trends in music, clothing, and art. They

for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work connecting

sometimes experimented with hallucinogenic

the Vietnamese struggle to other fights for

drugs and new kinds of romantic relationships.

independence and civil rights worldwide.

They were often fascinated by Asian cultures,

During this time, many Westerners were

and other South and East Asian religions also became more popular in the West around

drawn to Buddhism because of what they saw as

this time. Members of countercultures were

its peacefulness and focus outside the self. Young

sometimes called “hippies,” “peaceniks,” or “Beats.”

people in European and North American countries began to question the traditional values they had learned as children. They were dissatisfied by what

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PERSPECTIVES THICH QUANG DUC PROTESTS

they saw as the greed, individualism, and violence of Western culture and wanted to explore other paths. America’s first Buddhist

On a June day in 1963, during a protest on a busy street in

monasteries, Buddhist seminaries, and centers

Saigon, Vietnam, a Mahayana monk sat down in the middle

for Buddhist studies all opened in the 1960s.

of an intersection. With the help of two other monks, he let himself be doused in kerosene and set himself on fire.

D. T. Suzuki, a Japanese Buddhist who had

Thich Quang Duc was protesting the mistreatment

lived on and off in the United States for

of Buddhists by the Vietnamese government, then led by

more than 50 years, helped introduce Zen

President Ngo Dinh Diem, a Catholic. In a letter Duc wrote

Buddhism to the United States. He is partly

shortly before he died, he said, “Before closing my eyes and moving toward the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead

responsible for the large influence of Zen on

to President Diem to take a mind of compassion toward

Western Buddhism.

the people of the nation and implement religious equality to maintain the strength of the homeland eternally. I call

Buddhists also began to have a larger

the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha and the

presence in American and European arts and

lay Buddhists to organize in solidarity to make sacrifices to

culture. In the 1950s and 1960s, famous writers

protect Buddhism.”2

such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and

The moment of Duc’s death was captured in a shocking photograph that quickly appeared in newspapers worldwide.

Alan Watts wrote books and poems inspired

President Diem was overthrown later that year, but Vietnam

by Buddhist ideas. Americans and Europeans

descended into more than a decade of war and violence.

made pilgrimages to monasteries across

In the later years of conflict in Vietnam, many other monks followed in Duc’s footsteps, and the tactic spread to other parts of the world.

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There are Buddhist temples across the United States. The Byodu-In Temple is on the Hawaiian island Oahu.

Asia, including in Tibet, to learn directly from members of the sangha.

Western Buddhism Today The counterculture poets, protesters, and seekers who first embraced Buddhism in the West were looking for a way to protest what they saw as harmful parts of Western society. But these days, the focus has shifted. Today, many Buddhists and seekers are more focused on finding ways to blend Western and Buddhist ideas together. Although the first Buddhists in the West were Asian immigrants, today most Western Buddhists are converts from other cultures and traditions. Western Buddhists tend to be more focused on meditation than nonmonastic Buddhists in other countries. In recent years, Western Buddhists have tried to make connections between the mental effects of Buddhist meditation and Western scientific ideas about thinking and the brain. Some Westerners believe that the Buddhist idea that there is no self is compatible with Western cognitive science.

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BUDDHISM AND THEORIES OF EVOLUTION Robert Wright, an American journalist and professor, wrote a book called Why Buddhism Is True. In the book, he argues that the Buddha’s teachings can be proven correct by comparing them with scientific evolutionary theories about how the mind works. For instance, Wright says that evolution has created the human brain to be anxious and worried because those are the traits that help people stay alive in dangerous situations. According to Wright, Buddhism recognizes this truth about the human brain and can help people overcome it through meditation. Wright’s argument is an example of the intersection between Western scientific ideas and Buddhist thought. On the one hand, Wright has a great deal of respect for Buddhist ideals and meditates regularly. On the other hand, his argument implies Buddhist spirituality is acceptable or true only if it agrees with current Western ideas about how brains and bodies work.

Others, including neuroscientist Richard Davidson, are investigating whether learning the Buddhist values of compassion and generosity prompt the brain to respond with happiness. Popular meditation centers, meditation podcasts, and meditation apps promote Buddhist ideas of no self and right mindfulness alongside other goals such as productivity and inner calm. Buddhism’s journey in the West demonstrates how the religion has changed and been changed by every culture it has touched. Globalization continues to connect Buddhists across the world. Western Buddhists will continue to add their interpretations and perspectives to the layers of Buddhist thought.

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Temples in the United States may serve both as places of worship and as places where people can learn about Buddhism and the cultures in which it is often practiced.

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CHALLENGES As with any ancient and diverse tradition, Buddhism can be difficult to understand. Believers and nonbelievers argue about the meanings of its writings, practices, beliefs, and history. Buddhism’s relationship to violence and its understanding of the role of women are topics of especially intense debate. Additionally, people outside the faith often misunderstand the role of meditation in Buddhism and the status of Buddhism as a world religion.

Buddhism, War, and Peace The satirical website the Onion once published a fake article with the headline “Buddhist Extremist Cell Vows to Unleash Tranquility on West.”1 The article made a joke about the fact that the news often seems to be full of stories about extremist religious groups that wage war and cause destruction in the name of God. Buddhism’s commitment to nonviolence makes the idea of Buddhist terrorism seem ridiculous and unrealistic. The joke reveals that there is a

Generalizing a religion that millions of people follow can lead to stereotyping.

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stereotype of Buddhists as unusually peaceful, passive, and maybe even boring. Like all stereotypes, this one is a distortion of the full truth. It’s true that many Buddhists take the principle of ahimsa seriously and are careful not to cause unnecessary pain to other living beings. However, there are many ways to interpret Buddhist ideas about right action and right livelihood. Buddhists throughout history have planned and participated in wars. There have been long traditions of warrior monks in Buddhism. Some of these monks fought on behalf of the kingdoms or regions they lived in, and others went to war for their monasteries, which were sometimes very wealthy and powerful places. Buddhist literature contains descriptions of battles, killing, and war among both gods and humans. Buddhist thought also says that people who live in the world must try to become successful according to the laws and customs of their own societies. For ordinary people, this can mean defending themselves and their possessions with violence. For governments and empires, the same logic can apply. It is also important to remember that Buddhists, like all human beings, do not always live according to the laws of their religion or follow their highest moral values. One example of the complex relationship between Buddhism and violence is the current human rights crisis in the Southeast Asian nation of Burma, a majority-Buddhist country with a small Muslim minority. The government is expelling Rohingya Muslims from their homes, condoning or directing rape and murder, and burning villages and towns. Its actions have the full support and participation of many

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Many Rohingya have fled Burma, bringing along only what they can carry.

Burmese Buddhists, including monks. Between late August 2016 and October 2017, more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims had fled their homes.2 Many devout Buddhists support the violence, claiming that Rohingya, and Muslims in general, are lesser people and do not belong in Burma. One Buddhist monk even thanked the “Lord Buddha” for the killings and displacement.3

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Women in Buddhism HISTORY OF BURMA

Tradition says that even though the Buddha

Burma is sometimes called Myanmar. In the

welcomed male followers, he was reluctant to

1800s, the United Kingdom conquered Burma. In 1948, the country gained independence.

allow women to become part of the sangha as well.

Throughout the late 1900s, Burma was ruled for

His companion Ananda pointed out that the former

some time by a dictator and then by a junta, or

wives of monks had been abandoned by their

military group, that seized power, changed the country’s name to Myanmar, and suppressed

husbands and needed their own community to live

opposition. Burma’s current political leader is

in. Finally, the Buddha agreed to Ananda’s request

a Buddhist woman named Aung San Suu Kyi.

and allowed women to become nuns, although he

She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her

complained that allowing women into the sangha

work against the previous Burma government. But in 2017, she faced criticism for ignoring the

would make his preaching less effective. This story helps show some contradictions

growing Rohingya human rights crisis.

about the role of women in Buddhism. On the one hand, women have been included in Buddhist life since the beginning of the religion. On the other hand, Buddhist monks have more power and freedom than Buddhist nuns. Buddhist philosophy and mythology have positive portrayals of women and female figures, but they also show signs of misogyny, the hatred of women or belief that women are inferior to men. For example, the Buddha’s

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Some Taiwanese nuns are activists protesting government activities they see as dangerous, such as operating nuclear power plants.

mother, Maya, is an honored and respected figure, residing in a heaven after an excellent life on Earth. However, some scholars believe the reason the Buddha is described as being born from his mother’s side is because early Buddhists believed natural birth from a woman was disgusting and unworthy of respect. Some sources even say Maya’s womb was transformed into a bejeweled palace during the Buddha’s stay there, because the unborn baby was too noble to suffer the uncleanliness of a normal

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pregnancy. There are beloved female Buddhist

SRI LANKAN NUNS

deities, such as the Tibetan bodhisattva Tara, who

Eight hundred years ago, Buddhist nunneries

helps people with eight fears: “lions, elephants, fire,

in Sri Lanka had to shut their doors. For a long time, the nun tradition in Sri Lanka was

snakes, bandits, prison, water, and demons.”4 For

dormant. Today, many women are again

humans, however, rebirth as a woman is seen as

deciding to live as nuns. However, religious

less fortunate than rebirth as a man.

and government rules say the official nun title, bhikkuni, is not available to them. There are now many unofficial nuns in Sri Lanka, and they are advocating for freedom and official recognition.

Today, some Buddhist women are adapting Buddhist traditions to their own needs and looking for ways to increase their influence. Female writers such as Pema Chodron write books on Buddhism for large international audiences. In Taiwanese society, nuns help organize important social

service work. In other countries, women are working to bring the tradition of nun ordination back to life after hundreds of years.

Buddhism and Meditation Buddhism is famous for its connection to meditation. One very common image of a Buddhist is a monk sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, meditating in deep concentration. Many people believe meditation is similar to the Buddhist version of prayer and that faithful Buddhists must practice

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it often. This is untrue. Most Buddhists throughout history have not meditated. Buddhist literature shows that it is possible to achieve enlightenment—and to enlighten others—without meditation. The Buddha himself lived in a time and place where meditation was widespread. He spent several years experimenting with meditative practices as a wandering seeker. None of the techniques he learned in his early journey helped him reach enlightenment, and it is unclear what exactly happened under the bodhi tree to help him finally reach his goal. Similarly, Ananda found enlightenment suddenly. He was enlightened the moment before he fell asleep one night. Still, Buddhist texts show that meditation can have countless benefits. It can even grant magical powers, such as the ability to fly or walk through walls. For some people, meditation can lead to the clarity of mind and awareness of reality that leads to enlightenment. For many ordinary Buddhists, visiting relics, making pilgrimages to holy places, and helping monks make merit are more common ways of developing compassion and nonattachment.

Is Buddhism a Religion? It may seem strange to wonder if Buddhism, one of the world’s most famous religions, is a religion at all. But that is the argument some people make, saying that Buddhism should be considered a philosophy or way of life instead. There are people who think that, because Buddhism has changed so much over space and time, the word Buddhisms should be used instead to show that the religion

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is practiced in multiple ways. There are also secular Buddhists and atheist Buddhists who enjoy the benefits of meditation but do not believe in gods, heavens, or hells. The confusion around Buddhism’s status as a religion comes partly from disagreements over the meaning of the word religion. Another cause is that those who think Buddhism is not a religion have a limited view of its history and beliefs. The word religion has Latin roots and a few different meanings. Some people believe religion means worship of a God or gods. This worship can be

BUDDHIST ATHEISTS Recently, some prominent religious and anti-religious thinkers have embraced

seen in the polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt or monotheistic religions such as Christianity,

Buddhist meditation techniques. They believe

Judaism, and Islam. There are many gods in

meditation brings insights and benefits that

Buddhism, but none of them is immortal or

are not supernatural. Sam Harris is an atheist and author of books including The End of Faith

all powerful. Faithful Buddhists do not have to

and Letter to a Christian Nation. He also spends

worship any gods, although they can choose to do

a great deal of time in Buddhist meditation. He

so. No god has the power to create or destroy the

wrote on his blog that, although he once wrote an essay called “Killing the Buddha,” “there is no substitute for doing extended periods of silent

universe. In this sense, Buddhism is different from some other religions. But there is another, more inclusive, definition

[meditation] practice.”5

of the word. Religion can refer to the organized

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CHANGES IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES How people define religion affects how they study it. In the past, people who studied world religions spent most of their time reading and analyzing holy books and other religious texts, just as monks have done for thousands of years. But no religion can be understood completely from looking at its texts. Many Buddhists throughout history have been unable to read and write. Their main experience of their faith came from sources other than books. Religious scholars have tried to open the field of religious studies by shifting some of their focus to the ways ordinary people live out their faith in daily life. Today, academic books and articles on Buddhism might include descriptions of sutras and explanations of Buddhist philosophy. But they can also include first-person stories and interviews with Buddhists, descriptions of folk tales and traditions, excerpts of personal letters and narratives, and historical studies of the lives and activities of a variety of lay Buddhists.

practice of faith and worship. Buddhists share a common faith in the path that the Buddha taught, even if they understand that path in very different ways. Their ceremonies and holidays have a shared heritage. Buddhists around the world recite the same sutras, bow to statues of the same man, and feel joy on the same holidays. With or without the gods, Buddhists hold a faith and a worldview in common, and that is enough to qualify Buddhism as a religion.

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BUDDHISM WORLDWIDE In the 1900s, technology and shifts in global politics changed Buddhism’s relationship with the world. Today, there are many ways for Buddhists to connect with each other across national and cultural barriers. The World Buddhist Directory, run by the organization BuddhaNet, keeps a record of Buddhist organizations sorted by location and tradition. There are international organizations and conferences for Buddhist members of the sangha, scholars of Buddhism, and Buddhists concerned about global issues such as social justice and climate change. In 1950, the World Federation of Buddhists officially adopted a six-stripe Buddhist flag. The flag is often used to celebrate Buddhist national holidays. Sacred Buddhist sites such as the birthplace of the Buddha in Lumbini and the site of Buddha’s enlightenment have been recognized by the United Nations as World Heritage Sites, vital places

The colors on the Buddhist flag represent the colors that shone from the Buddha when he reached enlightenment.

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BUDDHISM AND ACTIVISM Traditionally, Buddhism has not been a religion of social activism. Buddhist vows tend to concentrate on avoiding harm to others rather than giving to the needy or fighting unjust systems. Today, Buddhists all over the world have combined the ideas of Buddhism with activism on behalf of the environment, social justice, and human rights. Buddhist organizations such as Buddhist Global Relief and the Thai Buddhist ecology movement, as well as the work of Taiwanese nuns in projects such as the Buddhist Compassion-Relief Foundation, combine Buddhist ideals with charity and public service. Thich Nhat Hanh has developed the idea of Engaged Buddhism. This philosophy states that helping others can be part of a practice of meditation and awareness. He says, “Engaged Buddhism is just Buddhism. When bombs begin to fall on people, you cannot stay in the meditation hall all of the time. Meditation is about the awareness of what is going on—not only in your body and in your feelings, but all around you.”1

in global history. One such site is Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious monument. The Cambodian temple, built in the 1100s CE, was originally a Hindu place of worship that transformed over centuries into a Buddhist one. In 1431, after the fall of an empire, Angkor Wat was abandoned and lost in the jungle for hundreds of years. In the early 1900s, French colonizers began to restore the temple. Today, it is a global tourist attraction and a reminder of the enduring power and beauty of Buddhist buildings.

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Buddhist Culture and Fame The global popularity of Buddha statues in stores, homes, and restaurants, as well as temples and

UNESCO HERITAGE SITES

monasteries, helps show Buddhism’s vast artistic

After World War II, the United Nations

influence. Zen gardens are famous for their

founded an organization called the United

spare but beautiful placement of rocks, plants,

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

and sand. The Zen garden of Ryoanji Temple in

Organization (UNESCO). UNESCO is committed to promoting world peace through science,

Kyoto, Japan, for example, is a tennis-court-sized

education, the humanities, and the arts. One

garden consisting of 15 rocks of different sizes

of UNESCO’s projects is the designation of World Heritage Sites. These places around the

in a courtyard of sand raked into even patterns.2

world have a special place in the story of world

These gardens are physical examples of the ways

history. UNESCO tries to protect these sites

Buddhist thought deals with nature, time, and

and teach the world about their value. Angkor

space. Some of the world’s great literature has

Wat, the Buddha’s birthplace, the Silk Road,

come from Buddhist cultures. The Japanese novel

and the great Indonesian Borobudur Temple Compounds are all World Heritage Sites with

The Tale of Genji, one of the world’s oldest great

ties to Buddhism.

books, was written in approximately 1000 CE by a woman living in Buddhist Japan. Journey to the West, one of the four great classics of Chinese

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The Zen garden in Ryoanji Temple is one of the most famous gardens.

literature, tells the tale of a traveling Buddhist monk. It has been the inspiration for operas, plays, movies, anime, manga, and even video games. Buddhist cuisine has a long and deep tradition. In Chinese cooking, vegetarian meals such as Buddha’s Delight, a dish with cabbage and tofu, were designed for people who took the vow of ahimsa, either permanently or temporarily. Many other Asian cuisines make similar dishes for Buddhist holidays and celebrations. Outside of individual monasteries, Buddhism has never had an official leadership structure. There is no head Buddhist, and the influence of global Buddhist conferences is limited. But like the bodhisattvas and great teachers of history, there are Buddhists today who have become role models and international celebrities. In 1985, American astronaut Ellison Onizuka became the first Buddhist to fly in space. The Dalai Lama is probably the world’s most famous Buddhist, and Thich Nhat Hanh also has a large global following. In the 2000s and 2010s, Buddhist artists such as Leonard Cohen, Tina Turner, Jet

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Li, and Michelle Yeoh spoke publicly about their Buddhist beliefs.

JOURNEY TO THE WEST Eccentric author and failed government official Wu Cheng’en wrote Journey to the West in the

Future and Legacy As the number of people in the world continues

1500s. He based the book’s plot on a real travel

to grow, the number of Buddhists is expected to

diary by the monk Xuanzang, who had traveled

stay about the same. Buddhists tend to be older

from China to India in the 600s to find and study Buddhist texts. Wu changed the monk’s

and have fewer children than members of other

name, portraying him as a weak complainer.

religions. In the future, they are expected to make

He also added a few extra characters, including

up a smaller share of the world population than

a monkey with magical powers. The monkey

they do now. While the majority of Buddhists will

had been banished from the heavens for sins he committed. Helping the monk was his

probably stay in Asia, the number of Buddhists in

last chance to earn the right to return to the

North America and Europe is expected to increase

heavens. The story represents people’s spiritual

a little, and the population of Buddhists in the

journeys. The novel is famous for its humor and the way it questions society. In 1942, the British Orientalist Arthur Waley translated part of the

Middle East and Africa is already growing rapidly due to Buddhist immigration.

book into a novel called Monkey.

In the 200s BCE, the legendary Indian emperor Ashoka waged a bloody war against a region called Kalinga. Eventually, he won his campaign

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and conquered the area, but thousands of people were lost in the bloodshed. Ashoka felt very guilty about what he had done. Soon afterward, he

more compassionate king. To remember and honor

BUDDHISM AND CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

his commitments, he did something extraordinary.

Cultural appropriation is a term that describes

converted to Buddhism and decided to rule as a

when people who have oppressed another

Ashoka wrote a series of messages on large rock

group take objects or ideas from that group’s

pillars throughout his kingdom. The messages

culture and use them in a new way in their

spelled out his respect for the dharma and the

own culture. Often, people who borrow things

principles of wisdom and ahimsa he wanted to see in his kingdom and in the world. In time, Ashoka’s

from other cultures may not understand their original meanings and may use them in inappropriate or disrespectful ways. The word Zen is sometimes used in English as a synonym

kingdom passed away, and Buddhism left India

for calm and peaceful. Some people may use

centuries later. The rock pillars remained over hundreds of years of political upheaval and cultural

Buddha statues as nonreligious decorations. Both of these instances could be considered

change. They are now recognized as priceless

examples of cultural appropriation of Buddhist

historical artifacts.

things and ideas.

The story of Buddhism is similar to the story of Ashoka’s rock edicts. Over centuries, the Buddhist

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Devotees and tourists alike visit temples to pray and learn more about Buddhism.

world has grown and shifted in countless ways that would have been impossible for its first followers to predict. There will be other changes in the future. But throughout the inevitable upheavals of samsara, the core messages of Buddhism remain ready for discovery by anyone who looks for them.

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ESSENTIAL FACTS DATE FOUNDED Buddhism was founded in approximately 500 BCE.

BASIC BELIEFS Human beings exist in a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that is defined by suffering and pain. People can achieve enlightenment and find a state known as nirvana, the end of all suffering. Buddhists follow the Buddha by cultivating wisdom and showing compassion and generosity to others. They do good deeds and live morally to have good karma for future lives, and they meditate, recite texts, and visit holy places to draw closer to enlightenment and nirvana.

IMPORTANT HOLIDAYS AND EVENTS  



Many Buddhists celebrate Vesak, the Buddha’s birthday, in the spring. Magha Puja, also known as Sangha Day, is a day devoted to good deeds and making merit. It commemorates the day when the Buddha first gave the rules for the sangha. Buddhists in Southeast Asia celebrate it in late February or early March. Parinirvana, also known as Nehan, is a Mahayana holiday that celebrates the day the Buddha died and achieved nirvana. Parinirvana is a day of visiting temples and bringing them presents, and it is a day of meditation.

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FAITH LEADERS 

The Dalai Lama, a Tibetan monk



Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE BUDDHISM There are almost 500 million Buddhists living today. Approximately 99 percent of Buddhists live in Asia.

QUOTE “Meditation is about the awareness of what is going on—not only in your body and in your feelings, but all around you.” —Thich Nhat Hanh

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GLOSSARY DEMIGOD

FERMENT

A being in between a human and a god.

To undergo fermentation, a chemical change that often involves yeast or microorganisms.

DHARMA

HALLUCINOGENIC

The law or teachings of the Buddha; one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism.

Causing hallucinations, or things that are sensed but aren’t actually there.

EDICT

HENNA

An announcement of a law.

A bush or small tree that is often used to make a kind of dye.

ENLIGHTENMENT The last state someone can achieve, where he or she no longer experiences suffering or desire.

KARMA The law of actions and consequences; actions in past lives affect the present, with good actions creating merit and evil actions leading to suffering.

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LAMA

SANGHA

Tibetan word for teacher, often used to refer to teachers who are identified as rebirths of past lamas.

The community of monks and nuns committed to living away from the world and striving for enlightenment; one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism.

NIRVANA

SELF-DENIAL

A state beyond both existence and nonexistence, perception and nonperception.

The practice of not allowing one’s desires to be felt strongly.

PHILOSOPHY

STUPA

The attempt to gain wisdom through thinking.

A Buddhist shrine traditionally shaped like a dome.

SAMADHI

SUTRA

Concentration that leads to deep understanding; often used to refer to meditation.

A saying of the Buddha or one inspired by the Buddha’s teachings. Famous examples include the Lotus Sutra and the Heart Sutra.

SAMSARA An endless cycle of being reborn into a new body after death.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Keown, Damien. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, 2013. Print. Lopez, Donald S., Jr. The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History and Teachings. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. Print. Roebuck, Valerie J. The Dhammapada. New York: Penguin, 2010. Print.

FURTHER READINGS McFarlane, Marilyn. Sacred Stories: Wisdom from World Religions. New York: Beyond Words, 2012. Print. Rowell, Rebecca. Ancient India. Minneapolis: Abdo, 2015. Print.

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ONLINE RESOURCES

To learn more about Buddhism, visit abdobooklinks.com. These links are routinely monitored and updated to provide the most current information available.

MORE INFORMATION For more information on this subject, contact or visit the following organizations:

DEER PARK MONASTERY 2499 Melru Lane Escondido, CA 92026 760-291-1003 deerparkmonastery.org

This Buddhist monastery, founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, offers retreats and day visits as well as information on mindfulness.

SHAMBHALA MEDITATION CENTER OF NEW YORK 118 W. Twenty-Second Street, Sixth Floor New York, NY 10011 212-675-6544 ny.shambhala.org

Shambhala Meditation Center holds meditation classes and lectures on Buddhist teachings.

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SOURCE NOTES 4. “Buddhists.” Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life. Pew Research Center, 18 Dec. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

Chapter 1. Happy Birthday, Buddha! 1. “Singapore.” One World Nations Online. Nationsonline.org, 2018. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

5. “Giant Buddha Statues.” World Heritage Sites. WHS, 2018. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

2. Ng Wei Kai. “Thousands Turn Up at Temple for Rituals ahead of Vesak Day.” The Straights Times Singapore. Singapore Press Holdings, 10 May 2017. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

Chapter 2. The Buddha 1. Donald S. Lopez. “Buddha.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2 Feb. 2018. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

3. “Vesak Day Charity Drive 2016.” NKF. National Kidney Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

2. Donald S. Lopez. The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History and Teaching. San Francisco: Harper, 2001. Print. 54–56.

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3. Lopez, The Story of Buddhism, 80.

Chapter 3. The Dharma: Beliefs and Practices

4. Teitaro Suzuki, trans., The Awakening of Faith: The Classic Exposition of Mahayana Buddhism. Dover ed. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2003. Print. 74.

None.

Chapter 4. The Wheel of Dharma: Changes and Spread

5. Donald S. Lopez Jr., ed., Buddhism in Practice. Abridged ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2007. 90–91. Google Books. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

1. F. Max Müller. Wisdom of the Buddha: The Unabridged Dhammapada. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2000. Print. 34.

6. Edward Conze. Buddhism: Its Essence and Development, Etc. Faber & Faber, 1963. Print. 202.

2. Donald S. Lopez. The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History and Teaching. San Francisco: Harper, 2001. Print. 54–56.

7. Kazuaki Tanahashi and John Daido Loori, trans., The True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Three Hundred Koans. Boston: Shambhala, 2005. 231. Web. Google Books. 23 Feb. 2018.

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SOURCE NOTES CONTINUED 5. Lopez, The Story of Buddhism, 164.

Chapter 5. The Sangha

6. Jeff Gordinier. “Jeong Kwan, the Philosopher Chef.” New York Times. New York Times, 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

1. Joanna Cook. Meditation in Modern Buddhism: Renunciation and Change in Thai Monastic Life. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge UP, 2010. Print. 4–6.

7. David Gelb, creator. Chef’s Table. Season 3, Episode 1. Netflix Original, 2017.

2. Cook, Meditation in Modern Buddhism, 90. 3. Donald S. Lopez. The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History and Teaching. San Francisco: Harper, 2001. Print. 36.

Chapter 6. The Sangha and the Community None.

4. Barbara O’Brien. “The Lotus Sutra: An Overview.” ThoughtCo. ThoughtCo, 11 July 2017. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.

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3. Hannah Beech. “Across Myanmar, Denial of Ethnic Cleansing and Loathing of Rohingya.” New York Times. New York Times, 24 Oct. 2017. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

Chapter 7. Buddhism and the West 1. Denise Patry Leidy. The Art of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its History and Meaning. Boston: Shambhala, 2009. Print. 57.

4. Donald S. Lopez. The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History and Teaching. San Francisco: Harper, 2001. Print. 83.

2. “The Lengths to Which Some Will Go: The Self-Immolation of Thích Quảng Đức in 1963: Lesson Plan.” PBS LearningMedia New York. PBS & WGBH Educational Foundation, 2018. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

5. Sam Harris. “How to Meditate.” Sam Harris. Sam Harris, 10 May 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

Chapter 8. Challenges

Chapter 9. Buddhism Worldwide

1. “Buddhist Extremist Cell Vows to Unleash Tranquility on West.” Onion. Onion, 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

1. Karen Larkins. “The Tranquil Zen Garden of Kyoto.” Smithsonian. Smithsonian, Jan. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

2. “Over 600,000 Rohingya Have Fled to Bangladesh, UN Says.” Guardian. Guardian, 22 Oct. 2017. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

2. John Malkin. “In Engaged Buddhism, Peace Begins with You.” Lion’s Roar. Lion’s Roar, 1 July 2003. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

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INDEX activism, 92 ahimsa, 35, 66, 82, 95, 97 Ananda, 23–25, 84, 87 Angkor Wat, 92, 93 animals, 9–10, 28, 30, 34, 65, 66 ascetics, 19, 22 Ashoka, 96–97 Ashvaghosha, 42, 44 Avalokiteshvara, 42, 49

Cambodia, 40, 92 China, 12, 30, 42, 44, 45, 46, 56, 60, 71–72, 96 cultural appropriation, 97

hells, 27–29, 31, 88 Hinduism, 6, 15, 16, 19, 31, 72, 92 Hungry Ghost Festival, 30

Dalai Lama, 48–49, 95 demigods, 28, 34 dharma, 23, 25, 39, 97 Duc, Thich Quang, 75

India, 5, 12, 16, 28, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46–47, 60, 64, 72, 96–97

“Barlaam and Josaphaat,” 72 bodhi tree, 19, 64, 87 bodhisattvas, 41–42, 57, 64, 72, 86, 95 Buddha, the, 6–13, 29–30, 41, 43, 44, 46, 58, 64, 71–72, 84–85 birth, 6, 15–16, 91, 93 death, 25 enlightenment, 19–20, 87 life, 17–25, 87 statues, 13, 66, 72, 93, 97 teachings, 22–23, 32–36, 40, 41, 44, 46, 51, 78 Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, 12 Burma, 40, 52, 82–83, 84

Eightfold Path, 23, 34, 41 enlightenment, 6, 12, 23, 28, 31, 34, 36, 41, 44–45, 47, 87 Four Noble Truths, 22, 35 funerals, 64 Gautama, Siddhartha. See the Buddha ghosts, 28–29, 30, 31, 45, 57 gods, 6, 27–28, 31, 34, 42, 64, 65, 82, 88–89 Hanh, Thich Nhat, 74, 92, 95 Harris, Sam, 88 heavens, 16, 27–29, 31–32, 45–46, 85, 88, 96 Heaven of the Thirty-Three, 17, 28

Japan, 44–46, 57, 64, 68, 69, 72–73, 75, 93 Jataka, 22 Jeong Kwan, 58 Journey to the West, 93, 96 karma, 27, 31–34, 41, 52, 53, 64 lotus, 5, 6, 16, 28, 66 Magha Puja, 51 Mahayana Buddhism, 39–40, 41–45, 46, 57, 71, 75 Chan Buddhism. See Zen Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism, 40, 45–46 Zen Buddhism, 40, 44–45, 58, 60, 75, 93, 97 Mara, 19–20 Maya, 16, 17, 28, 85

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meditation, 9, 12, 18–19, 25, 34–35, 44, 45, 46, 47, 52–56, 77–78, 81, 86–88, 92 merit, 52, 64–66, 87 monasteries, 5–6, 19, 52–59, 60, 63–69, 75, 82, 93–95 monks, 9, 23, 30, 34, 35, 39, 42, 44, 48, 56–58, 60, 82–83, 89, 95, 96 clothing, 53 daily life, 52–56 marriage, 69 rules and vows, 40, 45, 51–54 services, 64–69 Nepal, 12, 15, 16 nirvana, 25, 27, 34, 35–36, 41, 43–44, 46 nuns, 23, 30, 34, 56, 58, 66, 84, 86, 92 clothing, 53 mae chee, 53–54, 56 rules and vows, 53, 58–59 Orientalists, 72, 73, 96 Pali Canon, 40, 72 Polo, Marco, 71

rebirth, 6, 13, 18, 20, 27–32, 48, 64, 65, 69, 86 Rohingya, 82–83, 84 Ryoanji Temple, 93 Said, Edward, 73 samadhi, 34–35 sangha, 23, 49, 52, 57, 63–64, 69, 75, 77, 84, 91 Shakya, 15 Shaolin Temple, 56, 60 Shariputra, 30–31 Shonin, Myoe, 44 Shuddhodana, 16–17 Silk Road, 71, 72, 93 Singapore, 5, 9–12, 30 Sri Lanka, 19, 40, 86 sutras, 9, 41, 46, 56, 64–66, 89 Heart Sutra, 57 Lotus Sutra, 42, 57 Suzuki, D. T., 75 Tale of Genji, The, 93 Tantras, 46–47, 57, 64 Taoism, 45, 46 Thailand, 40, 52–56, 92 thangkas, 9

Theravada Buddhism, 39–41, 52, 56, 59 Tibet, 9, 12, 16, 40, 47–49, 53, 59, 64, 65, 77, 86 Tibetan Book of the Dead, 65 United Kingdom, 72, 84 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 93 Vajrayana Buddhism, 39, 46–47, 57 Tibetan Buddhism, 9, 40, 47–49, 64 vegetarianism, 34, 66, 95 Vesak, 6–10, 66 Western Buddhists, 73–78 women, 84–86 World Federation of Buddhists, 91 World Heritage Sites, 91, 93 World’s Parliament of Religions, 73 Wright, Robert, 78 Wu Cheng’en, 96

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR A. W. Buckey is a writer and tutor living in Brooklyn, New York.

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W

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L I G L I E FS E R BE

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Essential Library

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BUCKEY

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N DI

From the triumphant Easter hymns of Christianity to the colorful Holi festival of Hinduism, religious practices around the globe are as diverse as the people who perform them. Understanding World Religions and Beliefs provides a detailed look at these enduring pillars of human practices while exploring challenges such as prejudice and conflicting factions within a single religion. Gain deeper insights into major faith systems with Understanding World Religions and Beliefs.

BOOKS IN THIS SET UNDERSTANDING BUDDHISM

UNDERSTANDING JUDAISM

UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIANITY

UNDERSTANDING SCIENTOLOGY

UNDERSTANDING HINDUISM

UNDERSTANDING SIKHISM

UNDERSTANDING ISLAM

UNDERSTANDING THE NONRELIGIOUS

I S B N 978-1-5321-1423-6

9

781532 114236

90000

UNDERSTANDING BUDDHISM

culture. Examine each religion’s history, its founders, and its modern-day