Introduction
Understanding Buddhism
Buddhism brings together traditions born around the teaching attributed to Siddhartha Gautama. It offers a diagnosis of suffering and a path of transformation based on ethics, meditation and understanding.
There is not one form of Buddhism: Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna bring together schools, texts, practices and cultures. The absence of a central creative god does not mean that all schools lack cosmology, rituals or devotion.
To be retained
Four essential principles
- The Four Noble Truths structure much of the teaching.
- Karma refers to the moral effect of intentional acts.
- Meditation is only one element of a broader ethical and community path.
- Buddhist schools differ greatly in their texts and practices.
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Life and Teaching of the Historical Buddha
Start of movement in northern India.
Expansion under Emperor Aśoka
Dissemination to several regions in Asia.
Diversification of schools
Development of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions.
Global dissemination
Translations, reforms and settlement outside Asia.
History and development
The Buddhist communities organized around the Dharma, teaching, and the Sasgha, the community. Oral transmission preceded the writing of several cannons.
Over the centuries, Buddhism has adapted to the languages and cultures of South Asia, Central Asia, East Asia and Himalayas.
Principles and worldviews
The formulations vary, but the notions of impermanence, conditioning, non-self and liberation occupy a central place.
The rebirth and Buddhist cosmologies are religious traditions; they should not be confused with the results of scientific research.
- Four Noble Truths
- Noble Way bycuple
- Impermanence
- Karma and renaissance
- Nirvā
Internal diversity
Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna are great families useful for guidance, but they do not summarize the full diversity of schools and practices.
What research can and cannot say
Many studies have been conducted on contemporary meditation programs and suggest modest to moderate effects on stress, attention or some symptoms, which do not validate karma, rebirth, or Buddhist cosmologies, and are highly dependent on the practice studied and the quality of protocols.
References