BuddhistStudiesBasicBuddhismGuide5MinuteIntroduction

WhatisBuddhism?
Buddhismisareligiontoabout300millionpeoplearoundtheworld.Thewordcomesfrom'budhi','toawaken'.It
hasitsoriginsabout2,500yearsagowhenSiddharthaGotama,knownastheBuddha,washimselfawakened
(enlightened)attheageof35.

IsBuddhismaReligion?
Tomany,Buddhismgoesbeyondreligionandismoreofaphilosophyor'wayoflife'.Itisaphilosophybecause
philosophy'meansloveofwisdom'andtheBuddhistpathcanbesummedupas:
(1)toleadamorallife,
(2)tobemindfulandawareofthoughtsandactions,and
(3)todevelopwisdomandunderstanding.

HowCanBuddhismHelpMe?
Buddhismexplainsapurposetolife,itexplainsapparentinjusticeandinequalityaroundtheworld,andit
providesacodeofpracticeorwayoflifethatleadstotruehappiness.

WhyisBuddhismBecomingPopular?
Buddhismisbecomingpopularinwesterncountriesforanumberofreasons,ThefirstgoodreasonisBuddhism
hasanswerstomanyoftheproblemsinmodernmaterialisticsocieties.Italsoincludes(forthosewhoare
interested)adeepunderstandingofthehumanmind(andnaturaltherapies)whichprominentpsychologists
aroundtheworldarenowdiscoveringtobebothveryadvancedandeffective.

WhoWastheBuddha?
SiddharthaGotamawasbornintoaroyalfamilyinLumbini,nowlocatedinNepal,in563BC.At29,herealised
thatwealthandluxurydidnotguaranteehappiness,soheexploredthedifferentteachingsreligionsand
philosophiesoftheday,tofindthekeytohumanhappiness.Aftersixyearsofstudyandmeditationhefinally
found'themiddlepath'andwasenlightened.Afterenlightenment,theBuddhaspenttherestofhislifeteaching
theprinciplesofBuddhismcalledtheDhamma,orTruthuntilhisdeathattheageof80.

WastheBuddhaaGod?
Hewasnot,nordidheclaimtobe.Hewasamanwhotaughtapathtoenlightenmentfromhisownexperience.

DoBuddhistsWorshipIdols?
BuddhistssometimespayrespecttoimagesoftheBuddha,notinworship,nortoaskforfavours.Astatueof
theBuddhawithhandsrestedgentlyinitslapandacompassionatesmileremindsustostrivetodeveloppeace
andlovewithinourselves.Bowingtothestatueisanexpressionofgratitudefortheteaching.

WhyaresoManyBuddhistCountriesPoor?
OneoftheBuddhistteachingsisthatwealthdoesnotguaranteehappinessandalsowealthisimpermanent.The
peopleofeverycountrysufferwhetherrichorpoor,butthosewhounderstandBuddhistteachingscanfindtrue
happiness.

AreThereDifferentTypesofBuddhism?
TherearemanydifferenttypesofBuddhism,becausetheemphasischangesfromcountrytocountrydueto

TherearemanydifferenttypesofBuddhism,becausetheemphasischangesfromcountrytocountrydueto
customsandculture.WhatdoesnotvaryistheessenceoftheteachingtheDhammaortruth.

AreOtherReligionsWrong?
Buddhismisalsoabeliefsystemwhichistolerantofallotherbeliefsorreligions.Buddhismagreeswiththe
moralteachingsofotherreligionsbutBuddhismgoesfurtherbyprovidingalongtermpurposewithinour
existence,throughwisdomandtrueunderstanding.RealBuddhismisverytolerantandnotconcernedwithlabels
like'Christian','Moslem','Hindu'or'Buddhist'thatiswhytherehaveneverbeenanywarsfoughtinthenameof
Buddhism.ThatiswhyBuddhistsdonotpreachandtrytoconvert,onlyexplainifanexplanationissought.

IsBuddhismScientific?
Scienceisknowledgewhichcanbemadeintoasystem,whichdependsuponseeingandtestingfactsand
statinggeneralnaturallaws.ThecoreofBuddhismfitintothisdefinition,becausetheFourNobletruths(see
below)canbetestedandprovenbyanyoneinfacttheBuddhahimselfaskedhisfollowerstotesttheteaching
ratherthanaccepthiswordastrue.Buddhismdependsmoreonunderstandingthanfaith.

WhatdidtheBuddhaTeach?
TheBuddhataughtmanythings,butthebasicconceptsinBuddhismcanbesummedupbytheFourNoble
TruthsandtheNobleEightfoldPath.

WhatistheFirstNobleTruth?
Thefirsttruthisthatlifeissufferingi.e.,lifeincludespain,gettingold,disease,andultimatelydeath.Wealso
endurepsychologicalsufferinglikelonelinessfrustration,fear,embarrassment,disappointmentandanger.This
isanirrefutablefactthatcannotbedenied.Itisrealisticratherthanpessimisticbecausepessimismisexpecting
thingstobebad.lnstead,Buddhismexplainshowsufferingcanbeavoidedandhowwecanbetrulyhappy.

WhatistheSecondNobleTruth?
Thesecondtruthisthatsufferingiscausedbycravingandaversion.Wewillsufferifweexpectotherpeopleto
conformtoourexpectation,ifwewantotherstolikeus,ifwedonotgetsomethingwewant,etc.Inotherwords,
gettingwhatyouwantdoesnotguaranteehappiness.Ratherthanconstantlystrugglingtogetwhatyouwant,try
tomodifyyourwanting.Wantingdeprivesusofcontentmentandhappiness.Alifetimeofwantingandcraving
andespeciallythecravingtocontinuetoexist,createsapowerfulenergywhichcausestheindividualtobeborn.
Socravingleadstophysicalsufferingbecauseitcausesustobereborn.

WhatistheThirdNobleTruth?
Thethirdtruthisthatsufferingcanbeovercomeandhappinesscanbeattainedthattruehappinessand
contentmentarepossible.lfwegiveupuselesscravingandlearntoliveeachdayatatime(notdwellinginthe
pastortheimaginedfuture)thenwecanbecomehappyandfree.Wethenhavemoretimeandenergytohelp
others.ThisisNirvana.

WhatistheFourthNobleTruth?
ThefourthtruthisthattheNoble8foldPathisthepathwhichleadstotheendofsuffering.

WhatistheNoble8FoldPath?
Insummary,theNoble8foldPathisbeingmoral(throughwhatwesay,doandourlivelihood),focussingthe
mindonbeingfullyawareofourthoughtsandactions,anddevelopingwisdombyunderstandingtheFourNoble
Truthsandbydevelopingcompassionforothers.

Whatarethe5Precepts?
ThemoralcodewithinBuddhismistheprecepts,ofwhichthemainfiveare:nottotakethelifeofanythingliving,
nottotakeanythingnotfreelygiven,toabstainfromsexualmisconductandsensualoverindulgence,torefrain
fromuntruespeech,andtoavoidintoxication,thatis,losingmindfulness.

WhatisKarma?
Karmaisthelawthateverycausehasaneffect,i.e.,ouractionshaveresults.Thissimplelawexplainsa
numberofthings:inequalityintheworld,whysomearebornhandicappedandsomegifted,whysomeliveonlya
shortlife.Karmaunderlinestheimportanceofallindividualsbeingresponsiblefortheirpastandpresentactions.
Howcanwetestthekarmiceffectofouractions?Theanswerissummedupbylookingat(1)theintention
behindtheaction,(2)effectsoftheactionononeself,and(3)theeffectsonothers.

WhatisWisdom?
Buddhismteachesthatwisdomshouldbedevelopedwithcompassion.Atoneextreme,youcouldbeagood
heartedfoolandattheotherextreme,youcouldattainknowledgewithoutanyemotion.Buddhismusesthe
middlepathtodevelopboth.Thehighestwisdomisseeingthatinreality,allphenomenaareincomplete,
impermanentanddonotconstituteafixedentity.Truewisdomisnotsimplybelievingwhatwearetoldbut
insteadexperiencingandunderstandingtruthandreality.Wisdomrequiresanopen,objective,unbigotedmind.
TheBuddhistpathrequirescourage,patience,flexibilityandintelligence.

WhatisCompassion?
Compassionincludesqualitiesofsharing,readinesstogivecomfort,sympathy,concern,caring.InBuddhism,
wecanreallyunderstandothers,whenwecanreallyunderstandourselves,throughwisdom.

HowdoIBecomeaBuddhist?
Buddhistteachingscanbeunderstoodandtestedbyanyone.Buddhismteachesthatthesolutionstoour
problemsarewithinourselvesnotoutside.TheBuddhaaskedallhisfollowersnottotakehiswordastrue,but
rathertotesttheteachingsforthemselves.lnthisway,eachpersondecidesforthemselvesandtakes
responsibilityfortheirownactionsandunderstanding.ThismakesBuddhismlessofafixedpackageofbeliefs
whichistobeacceptedinitsentirety,andmoreofateachingwhicheachpersonlearnsandusesintheirown
way.
PreparedbyBrianWhite1993,withthankstoVenS.Dhammika.
Copyright19962015,BDEA/BuddhaNet.AllRightsReserved.