The Daibutsu Buddha, a bronze statue, stands in Kamakura, Japan. The
statue's restful expression reflects the Buddhist ideal of detachment from all
desires and worldly things.
The Wheel
is an important symbol of Buddhism.
Buddhist monks chant before a statue of Buddha on an altai decorated
with flowers. The monks chant in rhythm to the sound of a metal drum played by
the monk standing.
Buddha (563?-483? B.C) is the title given to the founder of
Buddhism, one of the world's great religions. It means Enlightened or Awakened One.
The Buddha was Siddhartha Gautama. Another of his titles is Shakyamuni, which means "the wise man of the Shakya
clan."
Scholars agree that Siddhartha Gautama
lived.in northern India over 2,000 years ago, but there is still some debate
about his exact birth and death dates. Most scholars think he lived from about
563 to 483 B.C However, some scholars claim he lived from about 448 to 368 B.C
Buddhists believe that there were at least
six other Buddhas before Gautama. Buddhists believe there is another one to
come, whose name will be Maitreya.
Birth and early life. Buddhists believe in rebirth, and many tales are told
about Gautama's previous births. There are over 500 of these jataka
tales. The tales describe how, through human and animal forms, Gautama
attained the moral perfections needed for a final birth. These moral
perfections are qualities such as generosity, patience, and loving kindness.
The stories are part of the folklore of India. The accounts of Gautama's last birth are
set in the upper Ganges Valley of northern India, in the foothills of the
Himalaya. Siddhartha Gautama was born near the town of Kapilavastu, in what is
now Nepal. Gautama was from the warrior caste in Indian society. His father was
Suddhodhana, a local ruler and prince of the Shakya people. His mother's name
was Maya. She is often referred to as Mahamaya,
or Great Maya.
As the stories go, Maya dreamed that a
white elephant entered her womb when Gautama was conceived. White elephants
are very rare, so Buddhists take this as a sign of the child's future
greatness. When the time came for her child to be born, Maya was on her way to
her parent's home. She stopped near Kapilavastu in a grove of trees called the
Lumbini grove. This site now attracts many Buddhist pilgrims. The story
describes how Gautama was born, without pain, from Maya's side. This may have
been a way of describing an early Caesarian section, or an emphasis on the
miraculous. Maya died quite soon afterward and the future Buddha was brought up
by his aunt, Prajapati.
At the traditional naming ceremony of the
new child, one of the court astrologers, or wise men, predicted that the baby
would become either a great world ruler or a great religious teacher. The
astrologer said that if Gautama became a religious teacher, it would be as a
result of seeing great suffering. Gautama's father tried to prevent his son
from seeing suffering. He kept the child within the royal palace and its park.
When Gautama reached marrying age, about
20, he won an archery competition and the right to marry a princess called
Yasodhara. They had a son, Rahula, and lived a pleasant life within the royal
palace.
The four signs. When he was about 29, Gautama persuaded his
charioteer, Channa, to drive him outside the palace grounds and into the
neighbouring villages. There he saw an old man, a sick man, a corpse being
carried in a funeral procession, and a holy man. In some accounts these four signs appear as visions, or dreams, rather than actual
encounters. Whatever their origin, they had a profound effect on Gautama. For
the first time he faced the reality of old age, sickness, and death. Gautama
could not forget these experiences. He became restless and dissatisfied, and
decided to leave home to seek religious enlightenment.
The great renunciation. In the middle of the night, the prince left his
sleeping wife and baby son in the protection of his family. He crept out of
the palace, accompanied by Channa. He cut off his long black hair, took off
his fine clothes, and put on the clothes of a wandering monk. He sent Channa
back to the palace with his horse, to tell his family what he had done.
Gautama went into the forest. For six
years he learnt about meditation with some of the famous teachers of the time,
such as Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. Gautama tried to learn about the
true nature of life, and how to be freed from suffering. He practised strict
physical asceticism (self-denial), living on just a grain of rice a day.
He became so thin that he could feel his backbone through his stomach and all
his ribs stuck out. This sceneis often represented in Buddhist art. Gautama
found that self-denial brought him no closer to the end of his search than had
the life of luxury in the palace. He began to eat moderately, and some of the
other ascetics
thought he had given up his quest for
enlightenment. In fact, Gautama had found that the middle way, between
luxury and self-indulgence as a prince and
extreme self-denial as a hermit, was the most helpful for his spiritual quest.
The enlightenment. One day, Gautama came to the outskirts of a village
called Gaya. He sat down to meditate under a sacred tree. He accepted food
from a village girl, and decided he would stay under that tree until he had
found the answer to his quest.
Gautama meditated in a lotus
(cross-legged) posture throughout the night, using the methods he had been
taught. He overcame various obstacles and temptations which had obstructed his
path to enlightenment. The Buddha is said to have asked Mother Earth to bear
witness to his worthiness to enlightenment. In Buddhist art Buddha is shown
touching the earth with his right hand.
At the heart of this spiritual experience
was an understanding of how everything changes all the time. Gautama believed
that the root of all suffering caused by change is desire and ignorance.
Knowing this is what it means to be enlightened.
The tree under which Gautama was sitting
when this happened came to be known as the bodhi
or enlightenment tree, or Bo tree (see Bo tree). Buddhists call the place of
his enlightenment Bodh Gaya.
It is in Bihar, India, and has become a centre of Buddhist pilgrimage since the
Buddha's death. From the time of this enlightenment, Gautama came to be called
The Buddha.
Teaching.
Gautama knew that other people would find it difficult to make the disciplined
search he had made, and experience the truths he had experienced. Therefore, he
did not immediately think of teaching others. Finally, he went into a deer
park at Sarnath, near the city of Varanasi (Benares). There he met five holy
men, whom he had known before his enlightenment. The holy men realized there
was something different about the Buddha and were prepared to listen to what he
had to say. At the deer park, the Buddha preached his first sermon. Buddhists
often call this the "turning of the wheel of the law." The English word
law here is a translation of dharma,
which also means teaching the truth. The contents of the sermon are the basis
of all Buddhist teaching. They are called the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.
Followers of the Buddha. The five holy men became the Buddha's first
followers. The Buddha was then 35. He spent the next 45 years travelling round
northeast India, teaching all kinds of people, and debating with many other
religious teachers. The main body of sacred writings, called the Tripitaka
or Pali Canon, is concerned with the teachings of the Buddha.
Buddhists believe these teachings are more important than the life story of the
Buddha. The Buddha always based his teachings on what people already understood
and on what was good in their lives. Many people became his followers, but
stayed with their jobs, homes and families. These lay followers provided food and shelter for others who decided,
like the Buddha, to give up ordinary life and become wandering monks wearing
saffron robes. The community of monks and nuns became known as the sangha.
Buddha's death. At the age of 80, the Buddha became ill and died. His
death took place at Kusinara, and
is called the pari
or final nirvana. Buddhists believe that the Buddha attained eternal peace
and happiness at his enlightenment, when all greed, hatred, and ignorance were
overcome in his life. But they believe that he had to wait until the natural
death of his body for this state of nirvana
to be fully realized. (See Nirvana).
The Buddha told his followers not to be
sad. He had taught them that he was only human, and would die like everyone
else. His followers gave him a ceremonial cremation, and buried his bones as
relics in burial mounds called stupas. These mounds are
the characteristic monuments of Buddhism all over the Buddhist world.
The place where the Buddha died, as well
as the places of his birth, enlightenment, and first sermon, have become
important places of pilgrimage for Buddhists. Such places generally have two
kinds of statue. One shows the Buddha in his enlightenment, sitting in a lotus
posture. The other shows his death, lying peacefully on his right side.
Traditional lives of the Buddha. The oldest complete collection of Buddhist scriptures
in an Indian language is the Pali Canon.
This collection does not contain a continuous life of Gautama Buddha, but
describes some of the most important parts, such as his enlightenment and his
death. It also includes long sections of his teachings.
Books on the traditional, life of the
Buddha, such as the Lalitavistara
and Buddhacarita, were written later in the Sanskrit language. These
contain many tangled layers of history, legend, and myth. They have been told
and retold, and have inspired paintings and sculptures in the Buddhist world
for centuries.
Buddhism
Buddhism
is one of the major religious and philosophical traditions in the world. It
began over 2,000 years ago in northeast India, with the teachings of Siddhartha
Gautama, known as the Buddha (the founder).
Buddhism spread all over India, and then northward through the Himalaya
mountain passes into China, Tibet, Korea, and Japan. Southward, it reached Sri
Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, and Vietnam. During the 1900s, it spread to
Europe, the United States of America, and Australia.
Buddhism has always adapted well to other
cultures, and has developed distinctive forms in different countries. The
number of Buddhists in the world is estimated at well over 300 million.
The three jewels of Buddhism
People become or are counted as Buddhists
if they "take refuge" in the Buddha, the dharma
(the teaching), and the sangha (the community).
These three refuges are also called the three jewels or precious things of Buddhism. In the Sanskrit
language the word for the three jewels is triratna.
At the beginning of most Buddhist gatherings and on special occasions, people
say three times: "I go to the Buddha for refuge, I go to the dharma for
refuge, I go to the sangha for refuge."
The Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. He was a religious
teacher who lived in northeast India. Most scholars think he lived from about
563 to 483 B.C However, some scholars claim he lived from about 448 to 368 B.C
By his own effort he attained enlightenment
(a state of understanding truth) and then taught others how to do the same. The
title Buddha means Enlightened One.
Buddhists follow Buddha by following this path to enlightenment in one of its
forms. But Buddhists believe that taking refuge
in the Buddha means more than just following him. It also means that a person
has confidence in the nature of enlightenment, whether it is manifest in one's
own life or in other beings. See Buddha.
Dharma means teaching, especially the
teaching of the Buddha and his followers. Dharma also involves the wider idea
of truth, especially the truth about the way things are. This idea is taught in
various summaries, such as the Four Noble Truths,
the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Marks of Existence,
and the Twelve-Linked Chain of Dependent
Origination.
The sangha is the Buddhist religious community. It consists of four groups of people: laymen, laywomen,
bhikkhus (monks), and bhikkhunis (nuns). These people are called the sons and
daughters of the Buddha. The laypeople support monks and nuns with gifts of
food, shelter, and clothing. In return the monks and nuns give to the laypeople
the example of lives lived close to the example of the Buddha. Monks and nuns
also have a special task to preserve and pass on the dharma. Often the word sangha
is used to mean just the monastic community. In most Buddhist countries, monks
are expected to live a life of poverty, meditation, and study. Some Buddhists
become monks for life. Others serve in the sangha for short periods of time.
The monks wear special orange or red robes, and are a common sight in Buddhist
countries.
The Four Noble Truths. The starting point for Buddhists is dukkha,
the realization that life is unsatisfactory.
This is summarized in the first of the Four Noble Truths— that all is suffering. Gautama's encounter with old
age, sickness, and death started his quest for enlightenment. He then
discovered the teaching that is expressed in the second Noble Truth—that
suffering originates in people's desire, greed, or attachment to things.
Greed, hatred, and ignorance are like three fires which must be blown out.
Buddhism is not, however, pessimistic.
Having stated the problem of suffering and its cause, the third Noble Truth
says that suffering can be stopped. The Buddhist greeting "May all beings
be happy" is optimistic. Happiness, in this sense, is a permanent state
of peace and calm, which Buddhists say is too profound to be described. It is
usually called nirvana, a Sanskrit word that conveys the image of stopping,
or "blowing out." What needs to be blown out in this case are the
flames of greed, hatred, and ignorance. A Buddhist believes that trying to
describe this state to anyone is as difficult as describing to a fish what it
is like to live on dry land, or describing the colours of the rainbow to
someone who is colour-blind.
The fourth Noble Truth is that there is a
path to the happiness of nirvana. This path involves morality, meditation, and
wisdom. The eight stages on the path are spelled out in more detail in the Noble Eightfold Path, which starts with two stages of wisdom, goes on to
four essential types of morality, and ends with two stages of meditation.
The Noble Eightfold Path. A person can start anywhere on the Noble Eightfold
Path, and progress to different stages at different times.
The eight stages of the Noble Eightfold
Path are: (1) right knowledge
and understanding,
seeing the world and life as it really is; (2) right intention and thoughts, resisting evil, thinking with kindness and
compassion; (3) right speech, saying nothing to hurt others; (4) right action, not harming living things, not taking what is not
given, not having harmful sexual relationships, not taking drugs or drink
which cloud the mind; (5) right livelihood,
earning a living in a fair and honest way that does not injure others; (6) right effort, using what energy you have in the right way; (7) right mindfulness, being attentive to what is going on inside you and
around you; (8) right
concentration, applying the mind
to meditation and concentrating on what you are doing. The word right
means what is appropriate to help a person progress toward enlightenment.
For a Buddhist, this analysis of the way
the world is starts from the experience of dukkha. It develops into a practical
path for leaving dukkha behind. Another possible starting point for Buddhists
is also based on the experience of the Buddha. This is the truth that
everything is changing all the time, that all that we experience here in the
world is impermanent (anitya in Sanskrit).
The Buddha saw old age, illness, and
death. This experience made him realize that nothing in the world is
permanent. Buddhists believe that a person is a chain of life, a continuity
from baby to child, to young adult, to old adult. Every part of each individual
changes physically and mentally in one lifetime. This realization led the
Buddha to teach anatman (not-self). This is the belief that there is no
ultimate, unchanging essence in anyone or anything.
According to anatman, human beings are part
of an ever-changing pattern that runs through all life.
When a person no longer grasps after a
sense of self, there is no feeling of separateness from others, no fear for
the self, no fear of dying. People become selfless persons. They experience a
mental state of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity (calmness of mind).
The wheel of life. The Three Marks of Existence
are suffering, impermanence and not-self. They are the distinctive features of
what Buddhists call samsara. Samsara is the
endless round of birth, change, death, and rebirth. The changes that occur in
one lifetime continue through many lives, in human and animal forms. These
truths are often represented in Buddhist art by a wheel, of life. This wheel has at its centre symbols of greed, hatred,
and ignorance. Next come representations of the different realms in which
beings live. On the outside is the Twelve-Linked Chain of Dependent Origination. This shows how one thing leads to another, or how one
state comes into existence as result of another. For example bad habits may
depend on ignorance, or desire may lead to clinging. Two points where the chain
can be broken most effectively are at the links that concern desire and
ignorance. Then samsara is transformed into nirvana and the endless round of
suffering is changed into happiness. See Nirvana.
Buddhism in practice
The middle way. The Buddhist way of life is one of moderation.
Buddhists believe in the middle way.
This based on the Buddha's discovery that happiness is found neither in
self-indulgence nor extreme self-denial.
There is a strong belief in karma
(see Karma). Karma means deeds, but the teaching of karma is a law
of cause and effect. Karma influences how people behave. However unfair life
seems at any given moment, nothing is ever wasted. The present is the fruit of
the past, and the seed of the future. Thoughts and actions bear fruit in our
lives, according to the intentions behind them, though this is not always
obvious to other people.
The five precepts. The basis of all Buddhist practice is morality. The
Buddha recommended certain ways of living as helpful on the path toward
nirvana. Buddhists undertake these as rules of training, and follow five precepts as a part of their daily lives. These are listed
under right speech and right action
in the Eightfold Path. At many Buddhist ceremonies and meetings, people
recite the three refuges and five precepts. Members of the monastic sangha
undertake a further five precepts, making ten in all. They undertake rules of
training to refrain from: (1) harming any living thing; (2) taking what is not
given; (3) misuse of the senses, such as unchastity; (4) wrong speech; (5)
taking drugs or drink which cloud the mind; (6) taking food at unseasonable
times, such as after midday; (7) dancing, music, singing, and unseemly shows;
(8) the use of garlands, perfumes, unguents, and things that tend to beautify
and adorn the person; (9) using high and luxurious seats and beds; (10)
accepting gold or silver.
Members of the monastic sangha add to
these ten rules another 227 rules of life. These rules are intended to make
their community life work as it should.
Buddhist images. Buddhists have images of Gautama and other Buddhas in
their homes and temples, as a reminder of these teachers' lives and teachings.
They show their respect by making offerings such as flowers, incense, and light
in front of the image. These offerings remind Buddhists of impermanence (the
delicacy and fragility of flowers), the way in which the dharma can penetrate
the whole world (like incense pervading the air), and the illumination of the
Buddha's life and teaching in the world (a lighted candle).
Meditation. Buddhists meditate in ways that are appropriate to
their character and stage along the path.
The aim of Buddhist meditation is to
understand the truth about the way things are. Different Buddhist groups use
slightly different methods, but all emphasize that it is important for a person
to have a meditation teacher. One important kind of meditation is samatha,
or calming, which relaxes and calms the mind. It may also depend on the body
being relaxed, which is why Buddhists often meditate sitting in a lotus
posture.
Another kind of meditation, which is
possible once the mind is calm, develops clear insight into inner thoughts and
emotions. This is called vipassana,
which means insight or clarity. There is also an emphasis on mindfulness, a total awareness of the present moment, with no
distractions. The aim is to be totally alert at all times and in all
activities, not just in a quiet room during a meditation session. Another
meditation emphasizes loving kindness, or metta,
first of all in a person's own heart, and then flowing outward toward the whole
world.
Pilgrimage. Buddhists go on pilgrimages to sites associated with
Gautama Buddha, such as Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India, the place where he became
enlightened.
They also visit living Buddhist teachers
such as the Dalai Lama (see Dalai Lama).
Festivals. Buddhists celebrate festivals linked with the Buddha's
life, or with some great event in Buddhist history. Perhaps the most famous
Buddhist festival is Wesak, or Vesakha-puja. In Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand
this is an important annual festival during April and May. It celebrates the
birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha. Its name is taken from the
name of the Sri Lankan month in which it takes place.
Buddhists also mark rites of passage, such as coming of age. They remember the pattern of
the Buddhas's life, and so boys and girls reenact his leaving home to renounce
the world. When people die, their friends and family remind themselves of the
Buddha's teaching about impermanence at the cremation ceremony and on
anniversaries afterward.
Buddhist schools of philosophy
There are two main schools of Buddhism,
the Theravada and the Mahayana.
Theravada Buddhism. The word Theravada in the Pali
language means the way or vehicle (vada) of the elders (thera). It is the only surviving school of pre-
Mahayana, or old Buddhism. Theravada is sometimes called southern Buddhism,
because it was traditionally found in southern Asian countries such as Sri
Lanka, Thailand, and Burma.
It is also known as Pali Buddhism, because its scriptures, or holy writings, are in the
Pali language. These sacred writing are called the Pali Canon or Tripitaka. Tri means
three and pitaka means baskets. There are three parts to the scriptures.
The scriptures were written sometime between 100 B.C and 1 B.C. They were
written on palm leaves and stored in baskets.
The Tripitaka. The first part of the Tripitaka is the Vinaya Pitaka, or Basket of Discipline. This a collection of the
rules of discipline for monks and nuns. The second part is the Sutra Pitaka, or Basket of Discourses, the collection of the
sayings of Gautama Buddha. The third part is the Abhidharma Pitaka, or Basket of the Higher Dharma, the collection of
further, more systematic, teachings. Theravada Buddhists believe that the
material in these scriptures originated with Gautama himself, and was preserved
very accurately in an oral (spoken) form for
many years before it was written in the Pali language. They believe that Pali
is the language most like that which the Buddha himself spoke. In fact, they
often say that it was the language of the Buddha.
Theravada Buddhists believe that Gautama
Buddha was only a human being, whose example and teachings help his followers
become enlightened. They emphasize his teaching that "You yourself must
make the effort. The Buddhas are only teachers'
Theravada society. There are two main groups in traditional Theravada
society. These are the monks and the laypeople. There were once Theravada nuns,
but they died out and are now being reestablished in Western countries. These
monks and the laypeople are religiously dependent on one another. The
laypeople earn merits, which will help them toward a better rebirth, by offering
food, shelter, and clothes to the monks, listening to the dharma, and trying
to follow the five precepts. The most important virtue for lay Buddhists is
generosity. The great example for lay Buddhists is the Indian emperor Asoka,
who allowed the dharma to be taught and followed throughout his Indian empire
in the 200's B.C. (see Asoka). Although Theravada Buddhists are taught that
laypeople can become enlightened, they think that it is unlikely. Monks and
nuns are much closer to nirvana because they are free from the practical
responsibilities of lay life, and can spend their time meditating, studying
religious texts, and teaching others.
Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana
means great vehicle. Mahayana Buddhism is sometimes called northern
Buddhism because it was traditionally found in northern Asia, in countries such
as Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan. It is also called Sanskrit Buddhism because its key texts were originally in the Sanskrit
language. These writings are now usually in local languages, such as Tibetan or
Japanese.
The key texts that Mahayana Buddhists use,
in addition to their own versions of the Tripitaka, are the Prajnaparamita
(perfection of wisdom); the Lotus Sutra
(true doctrine); the Vimalakirti
(the name of a person); and the Sukhavati (land of purity or
happiness). These texts date from between 100 B.C and A.D. 200. Mahayana Buddhists
believe these are the Buddha's teachings regardless of whether or not they
originated during the lifetime of the historical Buddha.
Scholars have argued about the origins of
the Mahayana traditions. In the centuries after Gautama's death, some monks
claimed they could offer more possibility of enlightenment than others, whom
they called the Hi- nayana (little vehicle). This was the term they used for
those who followed the way modern Buddhists call Theravada. These monks saw
themselves as representing Mahayana. They emphasize certain important ideas,
which they think are also taught in the Pali Canon.
Cosmic Buddhas andbodhisattvas. Accordingly to Mahayana Buddhists, people do not have
to rely on their own efforts to become enlightened. Nor do they have to become
monks and nuns. They can be helped toward nirvana by cosmic Buddhas (Buddhas from other worlds), and bodhisattvas. A bodhisattva is a person who strives to become a
Buddha by leading a life of virtue and wisdom.
A bodhisattva vows that he or she will
take all beings to nirvana with them. He or she may even postpone attaining
nirvana in order to relieve suffering through acts of love and compassion. The
bodhisattva Avalokitesh- vara is particularly compassionate toward all beings.
The ideal in Mahayana Buddhism is to be a bodhisattva, and care more about the
enlightenment of others than about your own. Faith in a cosmic Buddha like
Amitabha can help people to become reborn in the cosmic Buddhas pure land. From
there, the cosmic Buddha will assist them to nirvana.
Bodhisattvas and cosmic Buddhas teach in
many different contexts and to people of all levels of ability. Mahayana
Buddhists use many kinds of practices, from the use of mantras
(sacred formulas repeated frequently) to koans
(puzzling sayings or riddles which startle people into reflection).
Other schools of Buddhism. There are many different schools in the Mahayana
tradition. One of the best- known is Zen.
Zen is the Japanese form of ch'an, a Chinese word
meaning meditation. The Zen schools of
Buddhism originated in China, but are now
very strong in Japan and in Western countries. Zen Buddhists believe that
everyday activities are right material for meditation. This is seen
particularly in the Zen emphasis
on the religious use of gardens, flower
arrangements caligraphy, and archery. Zen also emphasizes a close relationship
between a teacher, or master, and his followers. (See Zen).
Followers of the Pure Land school repeat the name of Amitabha (Amida in Japanese) with
faith. They believe that their subsequent rebirth in his pure land will enable
them to attain nirvana because his teaching is so good.
Tibetan Buddhism developed alongside many
of the north Indian religious traditions known as the tantra. The
tantra is a secret set of teachings linked closely to a guru,
a spiritual leader or teacher. In the Tibetan tradition, there are three types,
or levels, of Buddhist practice. The Hinayana
is based on morality and self- sufficiency. The Mahayana
emphasizes the bodhisattva vow to help all other beings to attain enlightenment
out of compassion. The Vajrayana,
like the tantra, puts-great emphasis in a living lama,
or guru, a teacher who can lead a person through the quickest way to enlightenment.
Related articles
Bodhisattva
Nirvana
Buddha
Religion
India, Arts of
Religious life (Buddhism)
Karma
Sculpture
Lamaism
Zen
Outline
The three jewels of Buddhism
The Buddha
Dharma
The sangha
The Four Noble Truths
The wheel of life
Buddhism in practice
The middle way
The five precepts
C Buddhist images
Meditation
Pilgrimage
Festivals
Buddhist schools of philosophy
Theravada Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism
Other schools of Buddhism
Questions
In what do Buddhists "take
refuge?"
What are the four groups that make up the
sangha?
How many Noble Truths are there?
What lies at the centre of the wheel of
life?
What do Buddhists mean by the middle way?
What are the five precepts?
Why do Buddhist pilgrims visit Bodh Gaya?
Which are the two main schools of
Buddhism?
Why is the Tripitaka also known as the
Three Baskets?
What is a bodhisattva?
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