Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
31 March 2011
Buddhism
WHEN
Buddhism developed in India about 525 BCE. It owes much of its origin to Hinduism although it rejects some Hindu beliefs such as division of humans into castes, sacrifices, and the authority of the priesthood.
It’s said that Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born the son of the wealthy ruler of a small kingdom. A prophet foretold that the infant would grow up to be a great leader and warrior or he would live a life of spiritual isolation and self denial.
The king was horrified at the thought of the latter prediction coming true. To ward it off he kept Prince Siddhartha in the palace allowing him to live a life of supreme luxury. The king hoped his son would never want anything other than to become a monarch.
But, at the age of 29, Prince Siddhartha went outside the palace for the first time and, for the first time, saw old age, illness, and death. The experience changed his life.
He shunned all luxury believing it had only brought him an empty and useless life. He vowed to become a holy man and left the palace in search of a way of relieving human suffering.
After a spiritual search lasting many years, Siddhartha Gautama had some sort of
revelation. The faith that developed from this awakening places heavy emphasis on
liberation from self-
Three habits -
FOLLOWERS
Currently, there are an estimated 350 million Buddhists, or 6.2% of the world’s population. This makes it the fourth largest religion.
Within overall Buddhist faith there are several branches (see below). Theravada Buddhism is dominant in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Mahayana Buddhism is found in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, and Taiwan.
In the 2001 Canadian Census, 300,346 people identified themselves as Buddhists, up from 163,415 in 1991, and from 51,955 in 1981.
BELIEFS
Buddhism is often regarded as a philosophy as much as it is a religion. Instead of relying on a god or gods, people must rely on themselves to reach enlightenment.
Divine beings have no power over daily human life, and there are no priests or churches. Each of us has the ability to work out our own salvation through the examination of our own minds.
At the centre of the religion are the Four Noble Truths: (1) All life is suffering; (2) This suffering is the result of selfish desire; (3) This desire can be overcome; (4) This truth tells us how.
The Fourth Noble Truth tells followers that they must follow the Eightfold Path.
Of course, the next question is: What is the Eightfold Path? Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Alertness, and Right Concentration. These all fit into a simpler, threefold path, consisting of morality, meditation, and wisdom.
Buddhists believe that to view the self as an independent entity becomes a barrier to spirituality. The self does not exist separately from everything else. We cannot point to the body or the mind and say “This is the self.” Nothing exists on its own; everything is a combination of physical form, feelings, perceptions, predispositions, and consciousness.
A person is only a temporary combination of these five bundles (skandhas as they are called), which are subject to continual change. No one stays the same for any two consecutive moments. When we die, this combination breaks down and the only thing left is the karma; this is the force created by the actions of a person’s life.
Karma determines the nature of the next rebirth. If karma is good, so will be the next rebirth. If karma is bad...Thus, neither undeserved pleasure nor unwarranted suffering exists in the world, only a universal justice. According to the Buddha, karma of varying types can lead to rebirth as a human, an animal, a hungry ghost, or even a Hindu god.
All Buddhists must follow a moral code. However, this is seen as an expression of one’s own nature rather than a set of rules handed down from a god or gods that must be obeyed.
Buddhists must not:
- kill;
- steal;
- misbehave sexually;
- speak falsely; or,
- use intoxicants.
In addition, Buddhist monks must not:
- eat at times not appointed;
- watch entertainments deemed as “secular;”
- wear perfumes or ornaments;
- sleep in beds that are too high or too wide; or,
- accept money.
Buddhism is opposed to materialism, and its followers say there is no conflict between itself and modern science. On the contrary, it holds that the Buddha applied the experimental approach to questions of ultimate truth.
SACRED TEXTS
There were no written records of the Buddha’s teaching during his lifetime; the first scriptures appeared some 400 years after his death.
The Tripitaka is a collection of the Buddha’s teachings which number as many as 84,000; it is one of the longest books in the world. According to one estimate, it would take the average person 450 days of reading eight hours a day to finish the entire Tripitaka.
DIVISIONS
Theravada Buddhism
This branch emphasizes a life of solitary religious discipline. People are supposed
to follow an existence of self-
Those who choose to live in the mainstream of society follow a less rigorous lifestyle than the monks, but are expected to help support the monastic orders. The aim of Theravada Buddhism is to become an arhat, or perfect sage. Lay Buddhists can aim for a better rebirth that will lead to a monastic life and, eventually, to Nirvana. About one third of all Buddhists follow this path.
Mahayana Buddhism
Founded in about the first century CE by the philosopher Nagajuna, this branch has become the dominant teaching in Buddhism. The idea of living a life of seclusion is rejected in favour of compassion and service to others.
The goal is to become a bodhisattva, someone who has earned the right to Nirvana but vows to postpone entry until all sentient beings are rescued from the cycle of rebirth and suffering.
Tibetan Buddhism
By the 7th century CE, a new form of Buddhism, known as Tantrism, had developed through the blend of Mahayana with popular folk belief and magic in northern India. Similar to Hindu Tantrism, which arose about the same time, Buddhist Tantrism differs from Mahayana in its use of ceremonies, prayer, worship, and clergy.
Tibetan Buddhist worship consists mainly in reciting 
prayers and sacred texts and
chanting hymns to the accompaniment of horns, trumpets, and drums. This is done three
times a day. Religious ceremonies also employ prayer wheels (right), and prayer flags,
in addition to holy relics, and charms.
Also important in Tibetan Buddhism is the use of mudras, or ritual gestures, and mantras, or sacred syllables, which are repeatedly chanted and used as a focus for meditation.
Vajrayana became the dominant form of Buddhism in Tibet and was also transmitted through China to Japan, where it continues to be practiced by the Shingon sect.
Unlike other forms of Buddhism, there is a priesthood whose members are called lamas,
and this form of Buddhism is sometimes called Lamaism. There is a hierarchy, or ranking,
of lamas. At the top are two lamas -
These three orders constitute the so-
A scripture important in Tibetan Buddhism is the Bardo Thodol, known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. It is a book of instruction for those who are dying and for their spiritual guides. It is said to be difficult to read but, once read, it’s never forgotten.
Zen Buddhism
Zen started in China, where it is called Chan, in the 5th century CE. The practice made its way to Japan, where it was called Zen.
The central belief is that enlightenment will come via intuition through the practice of meditation. However, for many Westerners, Zen has come to stand for all that is baffling about Eastern philosophy; it is summed up in the classic Zen question of “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” This is called a koan, and by focusing totally on trying to solve this riddle one might achieve sudden enlightenment.
Another school of Zen thought says that one should practice meditation without expecting to achieve enlightenment. However, freedom from greed, anger, and ignorance can be achieved through meditation.
Zen doesn’t go in for explanations, scriptures, or dogmas.
Here is an oft-
FESTIVALS
Nirvana Day is celebrated on February 15 and marks the day on which the death of the Buddha is observed.
Buddha’s birth is celebrated on April 8, appropriately called Buddha Day.
On December 8, Buddhists honour Bodhi Day. This recalls the day on which Prince Siddhartha Gautama took his place beneath a Bodhi tree, vowing to remain there until he attained supreme enlightenment.
Tibetan Buddhist religious festivals are numerous. The most notable are New Year’s, celebrated in February and marking the start of spring; the Flower Feast, held at the beginning of summer in commemoration of the incarnation of the Buddha; and the Water Feast, observed in August and September to mark the start of autumn.
Image credits
Shapour Bahrami
Praphol Chattharakul
Zrim
Dey Alexander
Sources used in this series
Religions in Canada, Directorate of Human Rights and Diversity, Government of Canada.
The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Robert S. Ellwood (ed.) Facts on File, 1998.
Religion for Dummies, Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman, For Dummies Publishing, 2002.
Religious Tolerance, Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Religion, CBC Montreal
© Canada and the World, March 2011
All rights reserved
Although Buddhism
arose in India it had
practically disappeared
from that country by the 12th century CE. Today, there are 3.5 million Buddhists in India; mostly, converts from the Hindu untouchable caste.
Buddhist monks at prayer.
Buddhists form the majority of the population in several countries:
Cambodia -
Thailand -
Mongolia -
Burma -
Vietnam -
One copy of the Tripitaka was engraved on 729 marble pages 1.1 metres wide by 1.5 metres high. It was carved under the orders of King Mindon of Burma in 1861 and took 50 stone masons more than seven years to complete. King Mindon wanted the sacred words to last forever.
NIRVANA
No, not the rock group. To Buddhists, the goal is to achieve a state of Nirvana. This is
extremely difficult to define or describe, but it is something like
reaching ultimate
understanding. The Buddha described it as being in a place “where there is no more thirst nor grasping; where there is no more
attachment to external things.” Upon reaching
Nirvana, the cycle of rebirth and death ends. Existence becomes eternal.
PURE LAND BUDDHISM
According to tradition, Buddha Amitabha vowed to save all sentient beings. This is said to have happened in the 2nd century CE. Believers say the promised rebirth will take them to an eternal paradise known as the Pure Land.
Followers show their devotion to Amitabha with countless repetitions of the phrase “Homage to the Buddha Amitabha.” Although, a single sincere recitation of these words may be enough to guarantee entry into the Pure Land.
True believers are promised eternal life in the paradise of Pure Land, while others will suffer the torments of hell. The Jodo Shinshu branch of Pure Land Buddhism is the largest Buddhist denomination in Japan today.
The Dharmachakra represents the Eightfold Path.
The lotus flower is the sacred symbol of both
Buddhism and Hinduism.
VAJRADHATU
INTERNATIONAL
Halifax, Nova Scotia is one of the world’s major centres of Tibetan Buddhism.
In 1985, Rinpoche Chogyam Trungpa settled there.
He was the leading western-
Bodhidharma, creator of Zen Buddhism,
is said to have
meditated for nine straight years.