What Are the Origins of Buddhism?

One of the most compelling fundamental ideas in Buddhism is that every single person has the potential to improve their situation, both in this world and in the greater scheme of things.

However, when and where did Buddhism first emerge? How did it manage to grow into such a huge phenomenon, winning over the minds and hearts of millions of devoted followers all over the world?

In India, about 2,500 years ago, Siddhartha Gautama, also known as "the Buddha," established the religion that is known today as Buddhism. Scholars believe Buddhism to be one of the major world religions due to its large following of over 470 million people.

The East and Southeast Asian regions have traditionally been the most major centres for the practise, although there is a growing awareness of its significance in Western culture. There is a great deal of overlap between Buddhist thought and the beliefs of other religions.

Departing From a Life of Pleasure

Suddenly, Siddhartha caught his first glimpse of an elderly individual who was weak, hunched over, white-haired, and missing most of his teeth. Siddhartha was taken aback when he was informed that this will one day be the condition of all men, including himself. The next person he came across was a sick man who was shivering with fever and covered in blisters.

Once more, Siddhartha endeavoured to attain comprehension. Then, Siddhartha witnessed grieving family members transporting a deceased loved one's body to the cremation site.

Last but not least, Siddhartha was able to make out a travelling mendicant who was looking for an escape from the torments of this earthly human existence.

Siddhartha was able to liberate himself from the delights of the palace as a result of these four sights that shattered the tranquilly.

In order to become a member of a group of ascetics, he first severed all of his luxurious hair and then abandoned his family and all of his assets.

Siddhartha, in the same vein as the Jain leader Mahavira, went to extremes in terms of self-sacrifice and asceticism. Siddhartha, in contrast to Mahavira, discovered that fasting had the opposite effect on him, making him weaker and unable to concentrate his mind on the eternal.

After six years of living the life of an ideal ascetic, Siddhartha came to the realisation that the path of austerities led not to enlightenment but rather to the agonising disappointment of his life.

Instead, he went back to eating, and as his physical health improved, he started to reflect extensively on the nature of both humanity and the cosmos in his meditations.

According to Buddhist mythology, numerous gods, most notably the god of death, did their best to divert the Buddha from his concentration, but they were unsuccessful.

At long last, while taking refuge beneath a pipal tree, also known as a sacred fig tree, he attained enlightenment and became known as the Buddha.

This took occurred in the city of Gaya, which at the time was a part of the developing kingdom of Magadha in the north of India but is now a part of the province of Bihar in that country.

The city that is now known as Bodh Gaya is said to still be home to the same same tree that the Buddha used as a place of meditation, according to some of his followers. Skeptics, on the other hand, are sceptical that the actual tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment has been around for the past two thousand five hundred years.

It is extremely possible that the current tree sprang from a number of cuttings, each of which was devotedly taken from an earlier generation of the tree.

On the other hand, if you go to Bodh Gaya in modern times, there are certain traders who will try to sell you a leaf that they claim comes from the very first tree. There are a lot of Buddhist pilgrims and other people who come back with one of these relics.

Buddha Sculpture FAQs

When Did Buddhism Begin?

Although Siddhartha Guatama (also known as the Buddha) was born in 560 B.C.E. and would become enlightened many years later, it was not until after his death in 483 B.C.E. that his followers arranged his teachings and started spreading them to the general public. The Buddha was born in 560 B.C.E. In the third century B.C.E., it was Ashoka who was responsible for establishing Buddhism as the official religion of India.

Was Buddha An Actual Person?

The historical figure known as Buddha was actually a man whose given name was Siddhartha Guatama. He was brought up in an affluent family that belonged to the ruling class, but he finally joined a community of ascetics in order to rid himself of worldly trappings and achieve enlightenment.

 Is Buddha A God?

Buddhism does not practise any form of god worship. They believe that everything is always changing, and that it is possible to reach a state of emptiness or joy on one's own. This condition, known as Nirvana, is a liberation from the suffering that comes with being alive.

Who Is Ashoka?

When Ashoka the Great ruled the Indian Mauryan Empire in the third century B.C.E., it was the largest empire in the world at the time. His contributions were critical in establishing Buddhism as India's official religion.

What Is The Source Of Buddhism?

Sacred scriptures are the most significant and authoritative source of information for Buddhists. They include the teachings of the Buddha on how one can achieve enlightenment as well as teachings that help guide Buddhists in their day-to-day lives and can be used as a resource for Buddhists in general. The scriptures of Theravada Buddhism are commonly referred to as the Pali canon.

The Enlightened Buddha

Siddhartha, who had by this time become the Buddha, started giving sermons. Buddhists of the later eras describe his First Sermon, in which he taught the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, which would later become the foundation of their faith. According to the first of the Buddhist teachings known as the "Noble Truths," the life of this world is fundamentally fraught with suffering, including old age, illness, and death.

The second Noble Truth explains that the source of all this suffering is a person's attachment to this world and their desire to gratify their sensual appetites. The third doctrine asserts that if one is able to control their senses, they can eliminate desire and attachment, which in turn eliminates suffering.

The Buddhist Middle Way is outlined in the fourth and final Noble Truth. This Way rejects both the extremes of pleasure and austerity and seeks to find a balance between the two.

This is known as the Eightfold Path, and it is comprised of correct views, right intentions, right speech, right actions, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. The Middle Way is also known as the Noble Eightfold Path.

Nirvana is the last condition of full tranquilly, beyond all desire and sorrow. Anyone can reach nirvana if they master all eight conditions and do them in the right order.

He continued to practise and teach these principles until his death at the age of 80 in around 480 B.C.E., after having spent the rest of his life in this world.

When two armies from competing Indian kingdoms were about to engage in combat, the Buddha intervened and preached nonviolence to them both.

He, along with generations of his followers, spelt out the specifics for following the Middle Way and elucidated on the significance of the Buddhist truths.

Instead of the antiquated Vedic Sanskrit that was retained by Brahmins, these early teachings were frequently delivered in Pali, which was the language spoken by the North Indian people who lived in the area.

These early Buddhists described their Middle Way as an ideal code of conduct by which all humans—and everything in the universe—should act by using the Pali term dhamma rather than the Sanskrit term of the same concept, dharma. This was done in order to avoid confusion with the Sanskrit term for the same concept.

A Loyal Following Takes Shape

The Buddha established a monastic organisation, known as a sangha, in response to the swelling number of devoted disciples who flocked around him.

The members of the sangha roamed for eight months out of the year, during which time they had their heads shaved, gave up all of their family and property, lived in nonviolence and without desire or attachment on food that was donated, and wore robes of a saffron colour.

After that, they moved into a monastery for the duration of the four months that the Indian monsoon rained.

The Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha came to be regarded as the three most precious aspects of Buddhism. According to emic traditions, at first the Buddha did not permit nuns to become members of the sangha. However, after hearing the pleadings of Siddhartha's foster mother and aunt, the Buddha eventually changed his mind.

According to various accounts, a great number of women found Buddhism and its Middle Way of nonviolence, giving, and renunciation of desire to be quite convincing.

As a result of the fact that some of the earliest women who joined the sangha communicated their own feelings in poetry, these phrases are among the very oldest recorded words uttered by women in the entire history of humankind.

For instance, a nun named Sumangalamata who lived around the year 500 B.C.E. celebrated her emancipation from the responsibilities of this life as a wife, as well as figuratively from the limitations of this existence. Her proclamation was:

But in many countries where Buddhism is practised today, the sangha is traditionally closed off to the vast majority of women. Despite this, many people, both men and women, have lived in India and other parts of the world as lay Buddhists, attempting to put as much of the dhamma into practise as they can.

Due to the fact that Buddhism welcomes anyone who follows the Middle Way, it quickly expanded among many various social classes in India.

The Buddha and subsequent Buddhist teachers refined the strategy of suitable teaching, which consisted of conveying as much of the Buddhist message to a particular audience as they were able to comprehend and enjoy.

Buddhism Beliefs

The following are some fundamental Buddhist beliefs:

• Buddhists do not believe in or accept the existence of an all-powerful god or divinity. They are more concerned with reaching enlightenment, which is defined as a state of having both inner serenity and insight. When a disciple reaches this higher level of spiritual development, it is stated that they have attained nirvana.
• The Buddha, who is credited with founding this religion, is revered as a divine figure but is not regarded a god. The name Buddha comes from the Sanskrit word for "enlightened."
• Through the practise of morality, meditation, and wisdom, one can progress along the road that leads to enlightenment. Meditation is a common practise in Buddhism because Buddhists think it helps awaken truth.
• Buddhism is a tolerant and ever-evolving religion because it allows for a wide variety of ideas and interpretations of its teachings.
• Buddhism is considered by some academics to be less of a "religion" and more of a "way of life" or "spiritual tradition," rather than an organised religion.
• Buddhism encourages its people to avoid self-indulgence but also self-denial.
• The most important teachings of Buddha, which are collectively referred to as The Four Noble Truths, are necessary for gaining a knowledge of the religion.
• The ideas of reincarnation and karma, often known as the law of cause and effect, are central to the Buddhist religion (the continuous cycle of rebirth).
• Worship services might take place either in a Buddhist temple or in the homes of Buddhist adherents.
• Celibacy is one of the tenets of the Buddhist monastic code of conduct, which is followed by bhikkhus, also known as Buddhist monks.
• The lotus flower, the eight-spoked dharma wheel, the Bodhi tree, and the swastika are just few of the pictures that have developed over time to symbolise Buddhist beliefs. Although there is no single symbol that represents Buddhism, there are a number of symbols that have emerged over time that do (an ancient symbol whose name means "well-being" or "good fortune" in Sanskrit).

Founder Of Buddhism

In the fifth century B.C., Siddhartha Gautama, who would later be known as "the Buddha," established Buddhism and was the religion's first teacher.

In the Nepal that is known today as India, the prince Gautama was born to a wealthy household. Gautama was moved by the suffering in the world despite the fact that his life was relatively comfortable.

He made the decision to forgo his opulent lifestyle and instead live in abject poverty. After finding that this did not satisfy him, he began advocating for the concept of the "Middle Way," which refers to a state of being that is between two extremes. As a result, he looked for a life free of social excesses but also free of material deprivation.

Buddhists say that Gautama attained enlightenment while meditating beneath a Bodhi tree after searching for it for a period of six years. He devoted the rest of his life to sharing with others the practises that had brought him to this elevated spiritual state.

Buddhism History

After Gautama's death about 483 B.C., his disciples immediately began organising a religious movement in his name. The teachings of Buddha laid the groundwork for the religion that would later be known as Buddhism.

Buddhism became the official religion of India under the reign of Ashoka the Great, a Mauryan monarch who ruled the country in the third century B.C. Construction of Buddhist monasteries occurred concurrently with the encouragement of missionary activity.

Over the course of the subsequent several centuries, Buddhism started to spread outside of India. The ideas and philosophies of Buddhists eventually became diverse as a result of the fact that various Buddhist followers interpreted them in various ways.

During their invasion of India in the sixth century, the Huns were successful in destroying a large number of Buddhist monasteries; nonetheless, the Huns were ultimately driven out of the country.

During the Middle Ages, Islam began to rapidly spread over the region, pushing Buddhism farther into the background as a result.

Types Of Buddhism

There are now numerous schools of Buddhism practised in different parts of the world. The following are the three primary categories that each reflect a certain geographical area:

• Theravada Buddhism: The disease is widespread throughout Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma.
• Mahayana Buddhism: The term is frequently used in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam.
• Tibetan Buddhism: The majority of the population lives in Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, and Bhutan, in addition to certain regions of Russia and northern India.

Each of these subgroups reveres a unique body of literature and approaches the teachings of Buddha from a slightly unique perspective. There are also a number of schools of thought that fall under the umbrella of Buddhism, such as Nirvana Buddhism and Zen Buddhism.

There are various schools of Buddhism, and some of these schools borrow concepts and ideas from other religions and philosophies, such as Taoism and Bon.

Dharma

The word "dharma" refers to the lessons that Buddha taught. He instilled in his students the importance of wisdom, kindness, patience, generosity, and compassion in his teachings.

To be more specific, all Buddhists are expected to abide by the following five moral precepts:

• Killing living things
• Taking what is not given
• Sexual misconduct
• Lying
• Using drugs or alcohol

Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths, which Buddha taught, are:

• The truth of suffering (dukkha)
• The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
• The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
• The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)

These guiding concepts, when taken as a whole, explain both why humans suffer and how they can find relief from it.

Eightfold Path

The Buddha imparted upon his disciples the knowledge that the liberation from suffering, as outlined in the fourth of the Four Noble Truths, might be attained by travelling down an Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path of Buddhism teaches the following standards for ethical conduct, mental discipline, and the achievement of knowledge. These ideals are not listed in any specific order.

• Right understanding (Samma ditthi)
• Right thought (Samma sankappa)
• Right speech (Samma vaca)
• Right action (Samma kammanta)
• Right livelihood (Samma ajiva)
• Right effort (Samma vayama)
• Right mindfulness (Samma sati)
• Right concentration (Samma samadhi)

Buddhist Holy Book

Scriptures and other sacred texts are held in high regard by Buddhists. Some of the most crucial aspects to consider.

• Tipitaka: It is generally agreed that these works, which are collectively referred to as the "three baskets," constitute the earliest collection of Buddhist scriptures.
• Sutras: There are over 2,000 sutras, which are sacred teachings that are mostly adhered to by followers of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.
• The Book of the Dead: This Tibetan literature provides a detailed description of the many stages of death.

Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is considered to be the most important monk in all of Tibetan Buddhism. Those who adhere to this faith are under the impression that the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of a previous lama who chose to reincarnate in order to assist humankind. There have been a total of 14 people that have held the position of Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama was also the ruler of Tibet up until 1959, when China assumed control of the region. Lhamo Thondup, the current holder of the title of Dalai Lama, was born in 1935.

Buddhist Holidays

Vesak is a holiday that is celebrated by Buddhists all around the world on an annual basis. This festival remembers Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death.

Uposatha is the name of the rite that adherents of Buddhism take part in at each of the four quarters of the moon. Buddhists can refresh their dedication to the practise of their religion by participating in this observance.

In addition to this, they take part in a number of other annual festivities in addition to celebrating the Buddhist New Year.

Teaching Lessons As Jatakas

In order to teach Buddhist ethics to people of varying levels of education, Buddhist teachers frequently rewrote traditional tales.

There were instances when these teachers used these folktales as the foundation for stories of the previous lives of the Buddha, which occurred before he was born for the final time as Prince Siddhartha.

There are 537 of these jatakas, which are accounts of his prior lives, given in poetic form, but with prose commentary, within the collection that is considered to be the most authoritative.

There are some Buddhists who believe that these jatakas are actual biographies of those past lives; however, when seen from an etic perspective, it is clear that these jatakas originated from folktales.

In these, the Buddha-to-be is imagined in some births as a Brahmin, in some births as a Kshatriya, in others as a peasant, and frequently as an animal, such as an elephant or a rabbit. In other births, the Buddha-to-be is a peasant.

It is noteworthy that none of these jatakas had him born as a female, which may reflect that Buddhism still favours males over females.

In one jataka, for example, the Buddha-to-be is born as a royal Brahmin called Prince Five Weapons. When encountering a shaggy ogre, he uses his poisoned arrows, sharp sword, piercing spear, and mighty mace. Each of these, however, fails to penetrate the ogre’s thick, sticky, matted hair.

The prince then uses his two fists, two feet, and a forehead against the ogre. None of these five blows does him any good. Instead, the only result is his being stuck fast to the ogre, who prepares to eat him.

Undismayed, the prince teaches the ogre the Buddhist lessons of the inevitability of death, the futility of fear of it, and also the virtue of not killing. Consequently, the ogre is convinced of the spiritual and moral power of the prince, releases him, and becomes his nonviolent supporter.

The Buddhist message about not relying on the five senses, but rather on the truths of Buddhism to overcome former foes, comes out clearly in this simple story.

However, the motif of this particular folktale, about being stuck multiple times to a sticky foe but then escaping through persuasive words, appears in nearly 300 versions of this same folktale around the world.

This jataka is the only version in which the Buddha appears, but all the others spread out around the world over the centuries from an Indian origin. Even before the jataka version, the folktale seems to have described how hunters trapped monkeys by putting sticky substances on tree branches.

Thousands of years later, the American version appears in the Uncle Remus collection, about Brer Rabbit stuck in the Tar Baby. Here, Brer Rabbit talks his way into being thrown in the briar patch and thus escapes.

Collectively, the more than 500 Indian jatakas reveal how the Buddhist teachers reached out, using the language and stories of the folk to convey to them Buddhist lessons in a simple, but effective form. In the Buddhist social model, people are ranked according to the dana, from the same Indo-European word root that gives us donations in English—that is, how much they give.

Monks and nuns give up everything and donate their lives to following the dhamma, ranking them the highest. But lay people can also follow the Middle Way, to the extent that they are able.

Over time, people who gave the most, including donations to Buddhist monasteries and shrines, took precedence over those who gave less.

This meant that rich merchants and kings, who gave wealth generously, stood highest among laypeople.

Those others who did not give to Buddhism at all are ranked the lowest—and these included Jains, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and other non-Buddhist members of other Varnas.

Teaching The Middle Way

The Buddhist Middle Way, which taught that every individual who practised nonviolence and dana might rise up in his or her condition, was extremely popular in ancient India. This was one of the reasons for its popularity.

In particular, many prosperous merchants who were able to live their lives without murdering others and who had the financial ability to make significant charitable contributions found Buddhism to be appealing.

In order to address their specific worries, Buddhist academics crafted lectures and manuals that demonstrated how one can maintain money by resisting the temptation to give in to want, as well as how one can prevent one's son from squandering one's carefully maintained resources.

In addition, men and women from other groups in Indian society who did not find the Brahmanic Varna model persuasive, particularly those whose place within that model was unsatisfactorily low, also joined or supported Buddhism. This was especially the case for those whose place within that model was lower than they considered to be appropriate.

For instance, Shudras and other non-Kshatriyas who had battled their way to the throne tended to patronise Buddhists more than Brahmins.

Within the realm of Buddhist philosophy, India gave rise to the development of a number of distinct schools of metaphysics. The fundamental ideas that each had concerning the make-up of life were, for the most part, same.

They were all in agreement that the individual self is reborn in successive incarnations, either as a human or an animal. This self is made up of a collection of sensory experiences and wants, and it is the karma, or the sum of one's good and bad deeds, both from this life and from prior lives, that it carries with it.

When a person gives up their cravings and becomes entirely unattached to their senses, their karma is released along with it. When one finally achieves nirvana and lets go of all of their attachments and wants, they are freed from the cycle of birth, death, reincarnation, and re-death forever. This is the ultimate kind of emancipation.

The Buddha Achieved Nirvana

The Buddhist Middle Way, which taught that every individual who practised nonviolence and dana might rise up in his or her condition, was extremely popular in ancient India. This was one of the reasons for its popularity.

In particular, many prosperous merchants who were able to live their lives without murdering others and who had the financial ability to make significant charitable contributions found Buddhism to be appealing.

In order to address their specific worries, Buddhist academics crafted lectures and manuals that demonstrated how one can maintain money by resisting the temptation to give in to want, as well as how one can prevent one's son from squandering one's carefully maintained resources.

In addition, men and women from other groups in Indian society who did not find the Brahmanic Varna model persuasive, particularly those whose place within that model was unsatisfactorily low, also joined or supported Buddhism. This was especially the case for those whose place within that model was lower than they considered to be appropriate.

For instance, Shudras and other non-Kshatriyas who had battled their way to the throne tended to patronise Buddhists more than Brahmins.

Within the realm of Buddhist philosophy, India gave rise to the development of a number of distinct schools of metaphysics. The fundamental ideas that each had concerning the make-up of life were, for the most part, same.

They were all in agreement that the individual self is reborn in successive incarnations, either as a human or an animal. This self is made up of a collection of sensory experiences and wants, and it is the karma, or the sum of one's good and bad deeds, both from this life and from prior lives, that it carries with it.

When a person gives up their cravings and becomes entirely unattached to their senses, their karma is released along with it. When one finally achieves nirvana and lets go of all of their attachments and wants, they are freed from the cycle of birth, death, reincarnation, and re-death forever. This is the ultimate kind of emancipation.

The Buddha Represented In Art

Artists have utilised a variety of methods throughout history in order to graphically portray Buddhist teachings. Some of the first artists chose to depict the Buddha without him in their works since he had already attained nirvana, the state of complete liberation.

This method was also utilised by Jain artists for depicting their enlightened and transcendental gurus. Early Buddhist sculptors often depicted the Tree of Enlightenment with an empty space beneath it to represent the Buddha. According to this representation, all attention should be directed to the location where the Buddha once stood.

The same message is communicated by other sculptors, who do so by depicting the Buddha's footprint, which is indented with the meritorious marks of his sole. Still others depict what is known as the symbolic wheel of dharma, which is said to go across the cosmos in order to establish Buddhist law.

Later Buddhist artists have shown the Buddha in the shape of a human being. The Ajanta Caves are located in western India, not too far from Mumbai, and feature some of the most impressive examples of ancient Indian representational art.

Approximately thirty rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments have been dated to anywhere between the second century B.C. and possibly the seventh century C.E. The Buddha, the important events in his life, and the world that he lived in are depicted in extremely detailed murals that can be found on the walls of several of these caves.

In these and other depictions of the Buddha, as well as those of Mahavira and various other Indian sages, the Buddha is typically depicted with a halo on his head, with stretched earlobes that are devoid of the golden jewelled earrings that he wore during his prosperous youth before he gave them up, and with hair that is stylised into tight snail-like curls.

Additionally, in traditional depictions of the Buddha and other religious entities, he has a tuft of hair or other growth protruding from the crown of his head.

Art historians who specialise in Etruscan art have offered a variety of interpretations for this, ranging from an extension of his brain to a hair knot.

However, for Siddhartha, asceticism was only an unproductive phase that he abandoned in favour of the Middle Way. Siddhartha is sometimes depicted as the ultimate in asceticism, similar to Mahavira and other revered Jains.

Buddhism Spreads Across The Globe

Over the course of many centuries, Buddhism evolved into a global religion and spread across a significant portion of Asia. Beginning around about the third century B.C., emissaries from the Indian subcontinent travelled to Sri Lanka, where they converted the great majority of the local population.

There, they adhered to the fundamental teachings, which are referred to as Theravada or Hinayana, both of which translate to "Lesser Vehicle form."

This particular school of Buddhism originated in Sri Lanka and quickly expanded throughout Southeast Asia, where it is still practised to this day in Burma (formerly known as Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Other religious traditions that originated in India, such as Hinduism, also spread along these similar paths. However, in each instance, the local societies along these routes adapted these religious traditions to their own unique cultures.

Around the 1st century C.E., the Mahayana, also known as the Greater Vehicle, evolved as a result of the continued development of Buddhist concepts in India. This eventually reached what is now Afghanistan via land travel.

The most striking examples of Buddhism in Bamiyan were the tall sculptures of the Buddha that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. These statues were notable for their height and were known around the world. Buddhism in Afghanistan became intertwined with Greek culture at various points throughout its history. Beginning in Afghanistan, Mahayana Buddhism travelled to China and subsequently Japan, where it adapted to the cultural norms of each country as it went.

The third main school of Buddhism to originate in India is known as the Vajrayana, which literally translates to "Thunderbolt Vehicle." This school of thought is notable for emphasising rapid enlightenment as one of its core tenets. This type had already made its way to Nepal and Tibet by the seventh century.

Despite the fact that India was the location where Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, lived and preached, Buddhism eventually died out in that country.

This was due, in part, to the fact that Buddhism attracted the interest of monarchs and emperors, particularly those who had not been born into the Kshatriya caste.

They, along with wealthy businessmen, accumulated merit by making substantial contributions to the Buddhist sangha and the sangha's monasteries and nunneries. Some of these eventually evolved into centres of great knowledge and were compared to "ivory towers" of education. However, over time, they became increasingly disconnected from the main population.

About 8 million people identify as Buddhists in India today, the majority of them are referred to as neo-Buddhist Dalits. However, this is a much smaller percentage of the total Indian population.

In spite of this, these new Buddhists have used India's legal system to recapture many of the sacred sites associated with Buddhism from the Brahmins. This includes the sites in Bodh Gaya where the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.

Beliefs/Practices

Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) grew up in a rich family. He made the decision to go down the route of self-denial, but he did not arrive at the truth until he sat down beneath a tree that is now famously referred to as the Bo tree. There, he had a "aha!" moment and realised he had found the information he had been seeking all along.

The Buddha allegedly spent 49 days sitting under the Bo tree, during which time he was enticed by many demons. He uncovered the Four Noble Truths as well as the Eightfold Path to Nirvana, also known as the path to complete happiness.

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism are as follows: 1) Suffering is an inevitable part of being alive; 2) Craving and attachment are the root causes of suffering; 3) Nirvana refers to the state of no longer experiencing any form of suffering; and 4) The path to Nirvana is comprised of eight stages and is also referred to as the Eightfold Path.

The goal of the Eightfold Path to Nirvana is to attain "rightness" in each of these aspects of one's life: concentration, views, speech, determination, action, livelihood, effort, and mindfulness.

There are two primary schools of thought within Buddhism. These are known respectively as Mahayana and Theravada or Hinayana. There is also a third school known as Vajrayana, but its adherents are quite few in number.

These schools form the foundation for dozens of distinct Buddhist sects, each of which has its own unique traits yet adheres to the same fundamental tenets.

Reincarnation is a central tenet of the Buddhist religion. According to this doctrine, in order to break free from the endless cycle of being reborn as a self-centered, unhappy person, one must strive to reach Nirvana, the spiritual pinnacle and the end of the self.

The concept of karma refers to the idea that individuals will experience the consequences of their actions, whether they be positive or negative. This is the foundation upon which a good and moral life can be built.

The Pali Tipitaka is the oldest collection of Buddhist sacred writings and is primarily utilised by members of the Theravada school of Buddhism. The literal meaning of the phrase is "Three Baskets."