The Religions Book

128

B

uddhism is regarded
by some as more of a
philosophical system
than a religion because it does
not explicitly involve a god or
gods. Its origins are also atypical:
its founder, Siddhartha Gautama,
the Buddha (“awakened one”),
based his teachings not on any
mystical vision or appearance,
but on conclusions he reached after
a long period of experience and
thought—enlightenment, rather
than revelation. Gautama neither
affirmed nor denied the existence
of deities, since they were irrelevant
to his ideas, but some branches of
Buddhism have since become
more theistic, even if deities are
not central to their practice.
The India in which Gautama
grew up was dominated by the
Brahmanic religions, and

incorporated Hindu belief in the

idea of samsara—a soul caught

in an eternal circle of birth and

rebirth. Buddhism proposed a

radically different view of how

the cycle could be broken. Instead

of relying on Hindu religious

practices, such as worship and

ritual, Gautama advocated a

change of lifestyle; instead of

sacred texts giving divine

guidance and authority, Buddhism

offered its founder’s teachings as

a starting point for meditation.

Basic tenets

The doctrine of Buddhism was

passed by word of mouth, at first

to Gautama’s immediate group of

followers, and then through the

teachers of the monastic order

that he founded. It was not until the

1st century BCE, hundreds of years

after his death, that Gautama’s

teachings first appeared in

written form, in the Tipitaka. This

was written in Pali, a Sri Lankan

dialect, rather than Sanskrit,

the language of the scholars.

The so-called Pali Canon was

followed by commentaries, such

as the Mahayana Sutras, which

interpreted Buddha’s teaching.

What Buddhism lacked in

theology, it made up for in its

analysis of the reasons a soul

might get caught up in samsara;

it explored how one could achieve

enlightenment and nirvana—the

ultimate extinction of desire,

aversion, and disillusionment.

Gautama explained that the main

obstacle to escape from the cycle of

samsara was human suffering,

caused by desires and attachments

that can never be satisfied. He set

INTRODUCTION

C. 563 BCE

5 TH CENTURY BCE

3 RD CENTURY BCE

3 RD CENTURY BCE

5 TH CENTURY BCE

4 TH CENTURY BCE

1 ST CENTURY BCE

Emperor Asoka

of India converts to

Buddhism and calls

the Third Buddhist

Council.

Different branches of

Buddhism evolve as

the religion spreads

across Asia.

The First Buddhist

Council is held in

the year following

Buddha’s death.

Mahayana

Buddhism emerges

in India, with an

emphasis on the

bodhisattva ideal.

The Second

Buddhist Council

is held, resulting in

the first schism

in Buddhism.

Siddhartha

Gautama

(later known as

Buddha) is born

in northeast

India.

A collection of the teachings

of Buddha, the Pali Canon,

is written down in Sri Lanka

and forms the basis of

Theravada Buddhism.

Buddhism spreads

to Sri Lanka and

Burma, and probably

into Central Asia.

1 ST CENTURY CE