Buddhism is over 2500 years old and is practiced by over
350 million people worldwide. Unlike other major religions,
Buddhism is not based on the spiritual relationship between
humanity and God. Rather, Buddhism depends upon personal
spiritual development and the attainment of enlightenment
into the nature of life. Buddhism does not centre on the
existence of one God or creator, and does not depend on
notions of heaven, hell or salvation.
Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddartha Gautama,
or The Buddha. Born into a wealthy family, Siddartha
was protected by the daily sufferings of humanity. In
his late-twenties, Siddartha went outside the royal enclosure
and saw, each for the first time, an old man, a sick
man and a corpse. These sights disturbed Siddartha greatly
and set out from the royal enclosure to find a way to
escape the inevitable: pain, suffering and death. A wandering
holy man directed Siddartha to adopt an acetic life of
self-denial and discipline. Siddartha also meditated,
but found even the highest level of meditation was insufficient.
One day, having just ended a fifty-day fast, Siddartha
sat beneath the Bodhi tree (tree of Englightenment.)
He began to meditate on his life and his experiences;
at this point, he reached Enlightenment and became The
Budda (Enlightened One).
With his first sermon, The Buddha set in motion the
wheel of teaching. Having lived as a prince and as an
acete, the Buddha chose to pursue The Middle Way, living
in neither luxury nor self-denial. The Buddha taught
many disciples in his lifetime and encouraged on-going
teaching and learning for others to find the path to
Enlightenment.
The core beliefs of Buddhism include the Three
Jewels:
· Buddha: the Enlightened One and founder of the
Buddhist religion in this stage of history
· Dhamma: the teachings of Buddhism
· Sangha: the order or organisation; those who have
dedicated their lives to live by a code of conduct that
allows them to study and follow the Dhamma
When taking part in any Buddhist ceremony or gathering,
Buddhists recite the Triple Refuge:
I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the Dhamma.
I take refuge in the Sangha.
Recorded information on: Buddha
Vihara, Wolverhampton
|
