The history of the emergence of Buddhism - how old is the religion? How Buddhism appeared - the history of the birth of the first world religion

Buddhism

BUDDHISM-A; m. One of the world's religions, based on the doctrine of the "four noble truths": suffering, its cause, liberation from it (nirvana) and the path to such liberation. ● Buddhism arose at the end of the 6th century. BC. in India and is named after its founder, Sidhartha Gautama (about 623 - 544 BC), nicknamed the Buddha, i.e. enlightened; widespread in the countries of the East.

◁ Buddhist, th, th. B-th doctrine. B. temple.

one of the three (along with Christianity and Islam) world religions. Originated in ancient india in the VI-V centuries. BC e. The founder is considered to be Siddhartha Gautama (see Buddha). Main directions: Hinayana and Mahayana. The rise of Buddhism in India in the 5th century BC e. - the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e.; spread in Southeast and Central Asia, partly in Central Asia and Siberia, having assimilated elements of Brahminism, Taoism, etc. In India, by the 12th century. dissolved in Hinduism, greatly influencing it. He spoke out against the inherent predominance of Brahmanism external forms religious life (including ritualism). At the center of Buddhism is the doctrine of the "4 noble truths": there is suffering, its cause, the state of liberation and the path to it. Suffering and liberation are subjective states and at the same time a certain cosmic reality: suffering is a state of anxiety, tension, equivalent to desire, and at the same time a pulsation of dharmas; liberation (nirvana) - a state of unbound personality by the outside world and at the same time the cessation of the excitement of dharmas. Buddhism denies the otherworldliness of liberation; in Buddhism there is no soul as an immutable substance - the human "I" is identified with the cumulative functioning of a certain set of dharmas, there is no opposition between subject and object, spirit and matter, there is no God as the creator and certainly the highest being. In the course of the development of Buddhism, the cult of the Buddha and bodhisattvas, ritual, sanghas (monastic communities), etc., gradually took shape in it.

Buddhism is one of the three (along with Christianity and Islam) world religions. Originated in Dr. India in the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. The founder is considered to be Siddhartha Gautama (see Buddha (cm. BUDDHA)). Main directions: Hinayana and Mahayana. The Rise of Buddhism in India in the 5th c. BC e. - early 1st millennium AD e.; spread to the Southeast. and Center. Asia, partly in Wed. Asia and Siberia, having assimilated elements of Brahminism, Taoism, etc. In India, by the 12th century. dissolved in Hinduism, greatly influencing it. He spoke out against the predominance of external forms of religious life (including ritualism) characteristic of Brahmanism. At the center of Buddhism is the doctrine of the "4 noble truths": there is suffering, its cause, the state of liberation and the path to it. Suffering and liberation are subjective states and at the same time a certain cosmic reality: suffering is a state of anxiety, tension, equivalent to desire, and at the same time a pulsation of dharmas (cm. DHARMA); liberation (nirvana (cm. NIRVANA)) - the state of unconnectedness of the individual with the outside world and at the same time the cessation of the excitement of dharmas. Buddhism denies the otherworldliness of liberation; in Buddhism there is no soul as an unchanging substance - the human "I" is identified with the cumulative functioning of a certain set of dharmas, there is no opposition between subject and object, spirit and matter, there is no god as a creator and certainly a higher being. In the course of the development of Buddhism, the cult of Buddha and bodhisattvas gradually developed in it. (cm. BODHISATTVA), ritual, sanghas appeared (cm. SANGHA)(monastic communities), etc.
* * *
BUDDHISM, ancient world religion, the origins of which date back to the activities of the Indian sage Buddha (cm. BUDDHA) Shakyamuni, who preached in the cities of the Ganges valley (cm. GANGES) around the 5th c. BC e.
Buddhism has never known a single church organization (even within the framework of one state), or other centralizing social institutions. The only common rule for all Buddhists is the right to keep three Jewels (tri-ratna): Buddha, Dharma (cm. DHARMA) and sangha (cm. SANGHA), - which was passed down from generation to generation in almost all countries of South, East and Central Asia, and in the 20th century. - North America, Europe, Russia. According to this rule,
1) There is a Buddha - an enlightened, omniscient being who has reached spiritual peaks in a natural way through the development of the mind and heart in a long sequence of rebirths (samsara (cm. SAMSARA)). Chief among these peaks are Enlightenment (bodhi (cm. BODHI)) and Tranquility (nirvana (cm. NIRVANA)), which mark the final liberation (moksha (cm. MOKSHA (in Hinduism))) and the achievement of the highest goal of spiritual aspirations in Indian and other Eastern cultures, which is inaccessible to either the gods or the saints of other religions.
2) There is Dharma - the Law discovered by the Enlightened One, the semantic core of the Universe, which determines all the processes taking place in the world, the interconnection and interdependence of everything. The Buddha comprehended this Law and communicated it to his disciples in the form of the Word, the text of the sutras (sermons, conversations). The texts of the Buddha Fa have been transmitted orally for several centuries. In 80 BC e. they were first recorded in Pali, a language of the Indo-European group specially created by Buddhist monks (close to Sanskrit). These writings constituted the canon of the Theravadin (elders) school and were called the Three Baskets (Tripitaka (cm. TRIPITAKA), in Pali - Tipitaka): Basket of charter, rules of conduct (Vinaya-pitaka), Basket of conversations, sermons (Sutra-pitaka, in Pali - Sutta-pitaka) and Basket of teachings of the Law (Abhidharma-pitaka (cm. ABHIDHARMA-PITAKA), in Pali - Abhidhamma-pitaka). It was in baskets, wicker boxes that palm sheets of records of texts were stored, distributed by departments.
3) There is a sangha - a community of equals, who do not have any property, beggars (bhikhu, in Pali: bhikkhu), a community of bearers of the Law, keepers of knowledge and skill, who from generation to generation follow the path of the Buddha.
Buddhism began as a movement of the poor and outcasts in the conditions of the collapse of tribal relations and the formation of an early civil society. For people who did not find a place for themselves in the emerging social structures, the Buddha offered his Law (Dharma) and the way of salvation from suffering in a communal brotherhood that is outside of civil life and state institutions but also not breaking with them, nourishing the citizens spiritually and feeding off them financially. Thus, life on the margins of society, in a community (sangha), a monastery became the most suitable place for improving the mind and psyche of a person.
Distribution history
Already the first documentary information about Buddhism, which was the decrees of Emperor Ashoka carved in stone (cm. ASHOKA)(268-231 BC), which united northeastern, northern and central India, testified to the enormous influence of the Buddha Law on state policy. Ashoka also sought to influence neighboring countries by sending Buddhist missions there, including to distant Sri Lanka. (cm. SRI LANKA). The earliest monuments of religious architecture in Buddhism date from the same time, primarily stupas - mounds over the remains of Buddha Shakyamuni, which were excavated in the territory from the Ganges valley to the northern outskirts of the empire in Gandhara. (cm. Gandhara) (East End modern Afghanistan (cm. AFGHANISTAN)) and which have been preserved due to the fact that from about the 2nd c. were decorated with stone pedestals, bas-reliefs, fences and became centers for the construction of temple and monastery complexes.
Obviously, the surviving material monuments were created much later than the arrival of Buddhist missionaries in the emerging states. Yes, in the countries South-East Asia from Myanmar (cm. MYANMAR (state))(Burma) to Vietnam (cm. VIETNAM) Buddhism gained a foothold gradually in the 1st-3rd centuries. (in Laos only in the 16th century). The islands of the Malay Archipelago (cm. MALAY ARCHIPELAGO)(primarily Java (cm. JAVA) and Sumatra (cm. SUMATRA)) Buddhism penetrated at the end of the 7th century.
Buddhists came to the countries of Central Asia in the 1st century. n. e. at the time great empire Kushan (cm. KUSHAN KINGDOM) who patronized Buddhism. From here, in the same century, along the two main caravan routes of the Great Silk Road, Buddhists arrived in the city-states on the territory of modern Xinjiang. (cm. XINJIANG UYGUR AUTONOMOUS REGION)(East Turkestan) and to the Chinese capital Luoyang (cm. LUOYAN). Buddhism penetrated from China in the second half of the 4th century. to the Korean Peninsula, and from there in the middle of the 6th century. to Japan.
In Tibet, Buddhism spread mainly from India from the middle of the 7th century. It became the state religion in Tibet from the second half of the 8th century, in the Tangut (cm. XI WESTERN) state 9-13 centuries. (the northwestern part of modern China) - in the 10th century, in Mongolia in the second half of the 16th century; since that time, the Oirats (Western Mongols), who formed in the 17-18 centuries. the huge Dzungar Khanate (stretched from Semipalatinsk and the Altai steppes to Tibet in the south and Tuva in the east), as well as the Kalmyk Khanate, which entered the mid-17th century. to the Moscow kingdom. At the same time, Transbaikalia entered it, which, simultaneously with the Russians, was settled by the Buryats, who already professed Tibetan Buddhism. In 1741 Empress Elizaveta Petrovna legalized Buddhism and its monasteries in Russia (in 1991 its 250th anniversary was celebrated in our country).
Simultaneously with the spread of Buddhism to the North and East from the 8th c. the gradual decline of Buddhism begins in the west and south of the Indian subcontinent, as well as the expulsion of monks by the warriors of Islam from the lands of modern Afghanistan, the republics of Central Asia, and Pakistan.
Directions in Buddhism and features of their teachings
Numerous forms of modern Buddhism can be divided into three main areas, differing in the codes of canonical literature, cult, behavioral and other features - Hinayana (cm. HINAYANA), Mahayana (cm. MAHAYANA) and vajrayana (cm. VAJRAYANA).
(1) Hinayana (Small vehicle)
Buddhism in the countries of South Asia is represented by the Theravada school (the teaching of the elders), which in ancient times was one of the 18 schools of the Lesser Vehicle (Hinayana), some canonical and post-canonical texts of which have been preserved in Sanskrit, as well as in Chinese and Tibetan translations. The Theravada Tripitaka is historically the most authoritative record of Shakyamuni Buddha's Law. Already in the First Sermon of the Enlightened One (Dharma-chakra-pravartana-sutra), the role of the Law is defined: it is intended for those who intend to follow the highest spiritual goals, liberation from the circle of rebirths, the Middle Way (madhyama-pratipat), which lies between the two extremes of religious life . One is to satisfy worldly desires (for the sake of this, the clergy perform rituals, sacrifices, etc.), the other is to renounce desires, to mortify the flesh, asceticism, self-flagellation for the sake of the freedom of one's own Self (atman (cm. ATMAN)) and identification of I with the Absolute (Brahman or God). The Buddha advised avoiding both extremes, striving for balance, or equanimity (upeksha), in actions, words, thoughts, for love (maitri) and compassion (karuna) for all beings, as well as for joy (mudita) from purity of intentions. An important condition for such a way of life, which promotes “true knowledge, peace, Enlightenment, non-rebirth in the world of sorrow”, is non-attachment, denial of one’s own Self (anatman) and, therefore, Mine.
One of the forms of presentation of the Law in Theravada and the Lesser Vehicle is the doctrine of the "four noble truths": 1) existence, consisting in birth, aging, illness, death, failure to achieve the desired, etc., is suffering (duhkha); 2) the cause of suffering is the thirst for sensual pleasures, existence and disastrous rebirth; 3) suffering can only be ended by the eradication of this thirst, for which it is proposed; 4) The Eightfold Path (also known as the Middle Path), which includes contemplation of the Law, reflection on it, speech, behavior, way of maintaining life, exertion of strength, memory and concentration as steps.
These four truths and their various aspects (commonly referred to as 16) act as objects of deep reflection and meditation. (cm. MEDITATION), which in Buddhism play a major role in cognition and spiritual improvement. A state of absolute rest, nirvana (cm. NIRVANA)- the ultimate goal of the religious path, which, following the example of the Buddha, involves leaving all worldly worries and duties, forgetting attachments and inclinations, breaking family ties and becoming monks (in the Small Vehicle, only they were considered members of the sangha, the community).
The Buddha taught that there are no eternal beings, immortal gods, imperishable souls in the world, there is no constancy at all, but there is only an unceasing alternation of emergence and development, destruction and death, being in an unmanifested state and a new manifestation. This reversible process of samsara (cm. SAMSARA) beginningless. Behind each of the beings stretches a heavy chain of karma (cm. KARMA) as a result of his deeds in countless rebirths, in which he has already been a god, and a king, and an animal, and a creature of hell. But the most favorable for the improvement and achievement of nirvana is the fate of man.
Unlike other religions of India, Buddhism denied the existence of an eternal bearer of karma, i.e. the soul, atman. According to the Hinayana schools, only independent moral and spiritual efforts can favorably affect the fate of an individual, because neither other people, nor gods, nor supernatural forces have power over the law of karma: “Purity and impurity are connected only with oneself, one cannot purify the other” ( Dhammapada, 165). Karmic causality is revealed in the teaching on the 12 links of the chain of dependent origination (pratitya-samutpada), which characterizes the past, present and future life of an individual.
Among the largest representatives of the Hinayana are thinkers of the 5th century. Buddhaghosa (cm. BUDDHAGHOSHA) and Vasubandhu (cm. VASUBANDHU).
(2) Mahayana (Great Vehicle)
The earliest Mahayana texts are the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras (Prajna (cm. PRAGNYA)- paramites, 1 c. BC e. - 1 in. n. e.; from the second half of the 2nd c. translated into Chinese). According to legend, they were also spoken by Shakyamuni Buddha, but their meaning was not understood by people, and therefore these sutras were kept by nagas (dragon snakes) and gods for 500 years, until Nagarjuna came. (cm. NAGARJUNA)(historians date his life to the 2nd-3rd centuries), whom the Mahayanists call the Second Buddha, and did not announce them again, giving detailed comments. The same happened with the second generation Mahayana sutras, which were explained to the people by Maitreya (or Maitreyanatha) and Asanga. (cm. ASANGA) in the 4th-5th centuries. Mahayana texts were written in Sanskrit; 2nd to 11th centuries they were actively translated into Chinese and collected into a single colossal Tripitaka; from the 8th c. translated into Tibetan and in the 14th century. were ordered in a single canon, consisting of two collections: Kanjur (The Word of the Buddha in 108 volumes of encyclopedic format) and Danjur (Interpretations of the Law by Indian masters in 225 volumes). The Chinese and Tibetan canons do not coincide and include the Hinayana sutras and Vajrayana tantras as well. (cm. VAJRAYANA) because the Mahayana recognizes an infinite variety of ways and means of liberation.
At the heart of the Mahayana doctrine is the doctrine of heavenly and earthly bodhisattvas (cm. BODHISATTVA). The first are beings who have already gained Enlightenment (bodhi), but who have vowed to remain in the circle of rebirths in order to help other beings achieve this state and nirvana. Earthly bodhisattvas are Mahayana monks and laymen, striving for Enlightenment out of compassion for the torment of their neighbor. This must be done with love, but without attachment, which can be learned with the help of 10 (in the early Mahayana - 6) types of improvement: giving, morality, tolerance, determination, concentrated contemplation (meditation), penetrating wisdom, method, prayer, strength and knowledge . The acquired perfection is characterized, in particular, by the supernatural abilities of the adept: clairvoyance, clairaudience, reading other people's thoughts, memory of past rebirths, miraculous power. The Bodhisattva is constantly on the road, accumulating virtues and knowledge, comprehending the mystery of "emptiness" (shunyata).
This great Void (shunya (cm. SHUNYA)), which can be contemplated, is the only true reality. Buddha resides in it - the absolute unity of existence, indistinguishable from the Void and beyond thought (acintya). Everything else, starting from samsara and nirvana, is an Illusion (maya (cm. MAYA (in Indian philosophy))), deceit, a game of consciousness. Getting rid of the Illusion is the achievement of the state of Buddhahood, which is always, everywhere and in everything, including us. The entire universe can be likened to the Body (kaya) of the Buddha. Dharma-kaya - The body of the Law, which is the Buddha and the Void.
The main schools of the Mahayana were the school of middlemen (Madhyamika (cm. MADHYAMIKA)) and the yoga school of consciousness (yogachara (cm. YOGACHARA), Vijnanavada), which had several sub-schools in India, and now exist among the Tibetans, Chinese, Japanese, and other Mahayana Buddhists.
(3) Vajrayana (Diamond Chariot, Buddhist Tantrism)
The earliest texts (tantras) of the Diamond Chariot are attributed by scientists to the 5th-6th centuries. The Tantras teach only initiates (great importance here is given to ritual) innumerable ways of yogic practice. In its teaching, the Vajrayana is almost identical to the Mahayana, but it considers it possible to attain Enlightenment in this very life; developed a multi-level system of yoga. There are three external systems tantrism: 1) Kriya tantra, or tantra of action, ritualism of body and speech, 2) Charya tantra, or tantra of simple yoga of the mind, 3) Yoga tantra, or tantra of complex yoga of the mind, and three internal systems of tantrism: 1) Maha -yoga, or great paternal yoga contemplating the Illusory body, 2) Anu-yoga, or maternal yoga contemplating the Void, 3) Ati-yoga, or yoga of the Great Fullness (dzogchen) as the state of perfection of the Primordial Buddha.
Earlier external systems of Tantrism spread to China and Japan. Both systems of Tantrism were practiced only in India, the Himalayas, Tibet and among the Mongolian peoples, now this Tantrism (especially Dzogchen) is popular in the West and in Russia.
Cosmology
Already the earliest Pali texts presented the universe as a constantly changing cyclical process. In each cycle (kalpa), four consecutive time stages (yuga) are distinguished: the creation of the world, its formation, decline and decay (pralaya), lasting many thousands of earth years, and then repeating in the next cycle. The universe is described as a vertical of 32 worlds, or levels of consciousness of beings living on them: from the creatures of hell (naraka) to some inaccessible nirvanic dwellings of enlightened minds in nirvana. All 32 levels of existence of consciousness are divided into three spheres (dhatu or avachara).
The lower sphere of passions (kama-dhatu) consists of 10 levels (in some schools - 11): hell, animal level, pretas (hungry spirits), human level, and also 6 types of the divine. Each of them has its own sub-levels, for example, at the hell level there are at least 8 cold and 8 hot hells; The classifications of the human level of consciousness are based on the ability to study and practice the Buddha Fa.
The middle sphere - the sphere of forms and colors (rupa-dhatu), is represented by 18 heavenly worlds inhabited by gods, saints, bodhisattvas and even buddhas. These heavens are the objects of meditation (dhyana), during which adepts can spiritually visit them and receive instructions from their inhabitants.
Upper - sphere - beyond forms and colors (arupa-dhatu (cm. ARUPA DHATU)), consists of 4 nirvanic "stays of consciousness" available to those who have gained Enlightenment and can dwell in infinite space, in infinite consciousness, in absolute nothingness and in a state of consciousness and beyond its absence. These four levels are also the four types of highest meditation that Shakyamuni Buddha mastered in the state of Enlightenment.
Cycles of cosmic cataclysms cover only 16 lower worlds (10 from the sphere of passions and 6 from rupa-dhatu). Each of them during the period of death disintegrates down to the chaos of the primary elements (earth, water, wind, fire), while the inhabitants of these worlds with their inherent level of consciousness and karma in the form of "self-shining and self-moving" smallest "fireflies" move to the sky of light Abhasvara. (the 17th world, not subject to universal decay) and remain there until the restoration of cosmic and earthly conditions suitable for returning to their level. When they return, they go through a long biological and socio-historical evolution before they become what they were before moving to Abhaswara. The driving cause of these changes (as well as of the entire cosmic cycle) is the total karma of beings.
Buddhism, especially the Mahayana, develops a tradition of refuting the idea of ​​a creator God (nirishvara-vada) by logical means; this idea itself is considered admissible only at the ordinary level of consciousness. The Buddhists accepted and "settled" in the lower heavens of their universe all the gods of Hinduism, as well as other religions, in particular, in the 20th century. - Christianity: Jesus Christ was called the great heavenly bodhisattva who incarnated on earth. Some national schools of Buddhism identify the higher Buddhas of the late Mahayana and Vajrayana with the main local gods. For example, in the Japanese school of Shingon Buddha Vairochana (cm. VAIROCHANA) identified with the main progenitor goddess of Shinto Amaterasu (cm. Amaterasu). Thus, both religious systems are preserved and discord between religious communities is eliminated.
Buddhist ideas about the earthly world (horizontal cosmology of the 6 lower levels of the sphere of passions) are very mythological. In the center of the earth rises a huge tetrahedral Mount Meru (Sumeru), surrounded by oceans, mountain ranges with four continents (to the cardinal points) and islands behind them. The southern mainland is Jambudvipa, or Hindustan, with adjacent lands known to the ancient Indians. Below the surface of the oceans, there were 7 underground-underwater worlds, the lowest of which is hell. Above the surface, deities live on Mount Meru, on its top are the heavenly palaces of the 33 Vedic gods, led by Indra (cm. INDRA).
The duration of life at each level of the universe is different: people and animals have the shortest life, and above and below it lengthens, time, as it were, slows down its run. For example, 50 human years is one day of the gods of the sphere of passions, while hungry spirits (preta (cm. PRETA)) live 500 Earth years.
Buddhism in modern Asian countries
In Bhutan, about a millennium ago, the Vajrayana was established in the Tibetan version: the Dalai Lama (cm. DALAI LAMA) is recognized as a spiritual head, but in cult terms, the features of the more ancient schools of Tibet - the Nyingma and Kagyu - are obvious.
Buddhist preachers appeared in Vietnam in the 3rd century BC. in the northern part of the country, which was part of the Han Empire. They translated Mahayana sutras into local languages. In 580, the Indian Vinitaruchi founded the first school of Thien (Sanskrit - dhyana, Chinese - Chan), which existed in Vietnam until 1213. In the 9th and 11th centuries. The Chinese created here 2 more sub-schools of southern Chan Buddhism, which became the main religion of the independent state of the Viet since the 10th century. In 1299, by decree of the emperor of the Chan dynasty, a unified school of thien was approved, which, however, lost by the end of the 14th century. after the fall of Chan, his supremacy, which gradually passes to Amidism (cm. AMIDAISM) and Vajrayana Tantrism. These directions spread in the countryside, the thien monasteries remained the centers of culture and education, which were patronized by wealthy families and which restored their positions by the 17th-18th centuries. throughout the country. Since 1981, there has been a Vietnamese Buddhist church, unity in which is achieved by a skillful combination of elite Thien monasticism and folk syncretism of Amidism, Tantrism and local beliefs (eg, in the god of the earth and in the god of animals). According to statistics, approximately 75% of the population of Vietnam are Buddhists, in addition to the Mahayana, there are also Theravada supporters (3-4%), especially among the Khmers.
In India (including Pakistan, Bangladesh, and eastern Afghanistan), Buddhism has existed since about the 3rd century BC. BC e. by 8 c. n. e. in the Indus Valley and from the 5th c. BC e. by 13th c. n. e. in the valley of the Ganges; in the Himalayas did not cease to exist. In India, the main trends and schools were formed, all the texts that were included in the canons of Buddhists in other countries were created. Buddhism spread especially widely with the support of the central government in the empires of Ashoka. (cm. ASHOKA)(268-231 BC), Kushan (cm. Kushans) in the north and Satavahans in the south of Hindustan in the 2nd-3rd centuries, Guptas (cm. GUPTOV STATE)(5th century), Harshi (cm. HARSHA)(7th century) and Palov (8th-11th centuries). The last Buddhist monastery in the plains of India was destroyed by Muslims in 1203. The ideological heritage of Buddhism was partly absorbed by Hinduism. (cm. HINDUISM), in which the Buddha was declared one of the avatars (cm. avatar)(earth incarnations) of the god Vishnu (cm. VISHNU).
Buddhists in India make up over 0.5% (more than 4 million). These are the Himalayan peoples of Ladakh and Sikkim, Tibetan refugees, hundreds of thousands of whom have moved to India since the early 1960s. led by the 14th Dalai Lama. Particular merit in the revival of Indian Buddhism belongs to the Maha Bodhi Society, founded by the Sri Lankan monk Dharmapala. (cm. Dharmapala (ruler)(1864-1933) and restored the ancient shrines of Buddhism (primarily associated with the activities of Buddha Shakyamuni). In the year of the celebration of the 2500th anniversary of Buddhism (1956), the former Minister of Justice of the central government B. R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) issued an appeal to the Indians of the untouchable caste to convert to Buddhism as a non-caste religion; in just one day he managed to convert more than 500 thousand people. After his death, Ambedkar was declared a bodhisattva. The conversion process continued for several more years, the new Buddhists are classified as the Theravada school, although there are almost no monasticism among them. The Government of India subsidizes the work of numerous institutes of Buddhology and faculties at universities.
Indonesia. In 671 Chinese Buddhist Traveler I Ching (cm. I Ching)(635-713) on his way to India by sea, he stopped on the island of Sumatra in the kingdom of Srivijaya, where he discovered an already developed form of monastic Hinayana Buddhism and counted 1 thousand monks. Archaeological inscriptions show that both Mahayana and Vajrayana existed there. It was these directions, with the strong influence of Shaivism, that received a powerful development in Java during the Shailendra dynasty in the 8th-9th centuries. One of the most majestic stupas, Borobudur, was erected here. (cm. BOROBUDUR). In the 11th century students from other countries came to the monasteries of Indonesia, for example, the famous Atisha (cm. ATISHA) studied the books of Sarvastivada, the Hinayana school, in Sumatra. At the end of the 14th century Muslims gradually replaced Buddhists and Hindus; now there are approximately 2% of Buddhists in the country (about 4 million).
To Cambodia (cm. CAMBODIA) Buddhism penetrated along with the formation of the first Khmer state in the 2nd-6th centuries. It was dominated by the Mahayana with significant elements of Hinduism; in the era of the Anggor Empire (9th-14th centuries), this was especially evident in the cult of the god-king and the bodhisattva in one person of the emperor. From the 13th century All greater value acquires Theravada, which eventually supplanted both Hinduism and Mahayana. In the 50s and 60s of the 20th century. in Cambodia, there were about 3 thousand monasteries, temples and 55 thousand Theravada monks, most of whom were killed or expelled from the country during the reign of the Khmer Rouge in 1975-1979. In 1989 Buddhism was declared the state religion of Cambodia, 93% of the population are Buddhists. The monasteries are divided into two sub-schools: the Mahanikaya and the Dhammayutika Nikaya. The Vietnamese ethnic group of Cambodia (9% of the Buddhist population) mainly follows the Mahayana.
In China from the 2nd to the 9th c. Buddhist missionaries translated sutras and treatises into Chinese. Already in the 4th c. the first schools of Buddhism, hundreds of monasteries and temples appeared. In the 9th century the authorities imposed the first property and economic restrictions on the monasteries, which turned into the richest feudal owners of the country. Since then, Buddhism has not played a leading role in China, except for periods of mass peasant uprisings. In China, a single ideological and cult complex of three faiths (Buddhism, Confucianism, (cm. Confucianism) and Taoism (cm. Taoism)), each of which had its own purpose both in ritual (for example, Buddhists were engaged in funeral rituals), and in religious philosophy(preference was given to the Mahayana). Scientists divide Chinese Buddhist schools into 3 types: 1) schools of Indian treatises that studied texts related to Indian Madhyamika, Yogachara and others (for example, Sanlun Zong - the School of Three Treatises - is a Chinese version of the Madhyamika, founded by Kumarajiva in the early 5th century for studying the writings of Nagarjuna and Aryadeva (cm. ARYADEVA); 2) sutra schools - a sinicized version of the worship of the Buddha's Word, while Tiantai-zong relies on the Lotus Sutra (Saddharma-pundarika), the Pure Land school - on the sutras of the Sukhavati-vyuha cycle; 3) schools of meditation taught the practices of contemplation (dhyana), yoga, tantra and other ways of developing the latent abilities of the individual (Chan Buddhism). Chinese Buddhism is characterized by the strong influence of Taoism, the emphasis on the idea of ​​emptiness as the true nature of things, the teaching that the absolute Buddha (emptiness) can be worshiped in the forms of the conventional world, the idea of ​​instant Enlightenment in addition to the Indian teachings of gradual Enlightenment.
In the 30s of the 20th century. In China, there were over 700 thousand Buddhist monks and thousands of monasteries and temples. In the 1950s, the Chinese Buddhist Association was created, bringing together more than 100 million lay believers and 500,000 monks. In 1966, during the "cultural revolution", all religious institutions were closed, and the monks were sent for "re-education" by physical labor. The activity of the association resumed in 1980.
In Korea, from 372 to 527, Chinese Buddhism spread, officially recognized on the Korean Peninsula in all three states that existed at that time; after their unification in the second half of the 7th c. Buddhism received strong support, Buddhist schools are being formed (most of them are the Mahayana analogues of the Chinese, with the exception of the Nalban school, which relied on the Nirvana Sutra). At the center of Korean Buddhism is the cult of bodhisattvas, especially Maitreya (cm. Maitreya) and Avalokitesvara (cm. AVALOKITESHVARA), as well as Buddhas Shakyamuni and Amitabha (cm. AMITABHA). Buddhism in Korea flourished in the 10th-14th centuries, when the monks were included in a single system of officialdom, and the monasteries became institutions of the state, actively participating in political life countries.
In the 15th century the new Confucian dynasty curtailed monastic property, limited the number of monks, and then banned the building of monasteries altogether. In the 20th century Buddhism began to revive under the colonial rule of Japan. In 1908, Korean monks were allowed to marry. In South Korea in the 1960s and 1990s, Buddhism experienced a new rise: half of the population considers themselves Buddhists, there are 19 Buddhist schools and their branches, thousands of monasteries, publishing houses, and universities; administrative leadership is carried out by the Central Council, consisting of 50 monks and nuns. The most authoritative is the monastery school of Chogye, formed in 1935 by combining two schools of meditation and teaching monks at Dongguk University (Seoul).
In Laos, during its independence in the 16th-17th centuries, the king banned the local religion and officially introduced Buddhism, which represented two peacefully coexisting communities: the Mahayana (from Vietnam, China) and the Hinayana (from Cambodia, Thailand). The influence of Buddhism (especially Theravada) intensified during the colonial period of the 18th-20th centuries. In 1928, with the participation of the French authorities, it was declared the state religion, which remains to this day: about 80% of the 4 million Laotians are Buddhists, 2.5 thousand monasteries, temples and over 10 thousand monks.
Mongolia. During the formation in the 13th century. The Mongol Empire included states whose peoples professed Buddhism - the Chinese, Khitans, Tanguts, Uighurs and Tibetans. In the courts of the Mongol khans, Buddhist teachers who competed with shamans, Muslims, Christians and Confucians won the victory. Founder of the Yuan Dynasty (cm. Yuan (dynasty)(ruled China until 1368) Khubilai in the 70s of the 13th century. tried to declare Buddhism the religion of the Mongols, and Lodoy Gyaltsen (1235-1280) - the abbot of the monastery of the Tibetan Sakya school - the head of the Buddhists of Tibet, Mongolia and China. However, the massive and widespread adoption of Buddhism by the Mongols occurred in the 16th century, primarily due to the Tibetan teachers of the Gelug school: in 1576, the powerful Mongol ruler Altan Khan met with the Dalai Lama III (1543-1588) and handed him a golden seal - a sign of recognition and support . In 1589, the grandson of Altan Khan was declared by the Dalai Lama IV (1589-1616) - the spiritual head of the Buddhists of Mongolia and Tibet.
The first monastery was erected in the Mongolian steppes in 1586. In the 17-18 centuries. Mongolian Buddhism (the former name was “Lamaism”) was formed, which included most of the autochthonous shamanistic beliefs and cults. Zaya Pandit (cm. ZAYA-PANDITA) Namkhai jamtso (1599-1662) and others translated sutras from Tibetan into Mongolian, Jebtsun-damba-khutukhta (1635-1723, in 1691 was proclaimed the spiritual head - Bogdo-gegen (cm. BOGDO-GEGEN) Eastern Mongols) with followers created new forms of ritualism. The Dalai Lama was recognized as the spiritual head of the Dzungar Khanate, formed by the Oirats and existing in 1635-1758.
At the beginning of the 20th century in sparsely populated Mongolia there were 747 monasteries and temples and about 100 thousand monks. In independent Mongolia, under the communists, almost all churches were closed, the monks were dispersed. In the 1990s, a revival of Buddhism began, a graduate School lamas (monk-priests), monasteries are being restored.
The first Theravadin Buddhist missionaries from India arrived in Myanmar (Burma) at the beginning of our era. In the 5th c. Sarvastivada and Mahayana monasteries are being built in the Irrawaddy valley. By the 9th c. Burmese Buddhism was formed, combining the features of local beliefs, Hinduism, the Mahayana cults of the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya, Buddhist Tantrism, as well as the monastic Theravada, which received generous support in the Pagan Empire (9-14 centuries), built huge temple and monastery complexes. In the 18-19 centuries. monasteries became part of the administrative structure new empire. Under English colonial rule (19th-20th centuries), the Buddhist sangha broke up into separate communities; with independence in 1948, a centralized Buddhist hierarchy and a rigid Theravada monastic discipline were revived. In the 1990s, there were 9 Theravada sub-schools in Myanmar (the largest are Thudhamma and Sweden), 25,000 monasteries and temples, and more than 250,000 monks. The practice of temporary monasticism has been developed, when lay people join the sangha for several months, performing all the rites and spiritual practices; by doing this, they “earn” merit (moon, moon), which should outweigh their sins and create “bright karma” that ensures a favorable reincarnation. Approximately 82% of the population are Buddhists.
Nepal. The south of modern Nepal is the birthplace of the Buddha and his Shakya people. The proximity of the Indian centers of the Mahayana and Vajrayana, as well as Tibet, determined the nature of Nepalese Buddhism, which prevailed from the 7th century. The sacred texts were Sanskrit sutras, the cults of the Buddhas were popular (the Nepalese believe that they were all born in their country), bodhisattvas, especially Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri. The strong influence of Hinduism affected the development of the cult of a single Buddha - Adi-Buddha. By the 20th century Buddhism ceded spiritual leadership to Hinduism, partly due to the migration of peoples, and partly due to the fact that since the 14th century. Buddhist monks were declared the highest Hindu caste (banra), they began to marry, but continued to live and serve in monasteries, as if included in Hinduism.
In the 1960s of the 20th century. in Nepal, monk refugees from Tibet appeared, contributing to the revival of interest in Buddhism, the construction of new monasteries and temples. Newars, one of the indigenous peoples of Nepal, profess the so-called. "Newar Buddhism", in which the Mahayana and Vajrayana are closely intertwined with the cults and ideas of Hinduism. Newars hold worship in one of the largest stupas in the world, Bodhnath.
In Thailand, the earliest Buddhist stupas are dated by archaeologists to the 2nd-3rd centuries. (erected during Indian colonization). Up to the 13th c. the country was part of the various empires of Indo-China, which were Buddhist (from the 7th century, the Mahayana prevailed). In the middle of the 15th century in the kingdom of Ayutthaya (Siam), the Hinduized cult of the “god-king” (deva-raja), borrowed from the Khmers, was established, included in the Buddhist concept of a single Law (Dharma) of the universe. In 1782, the Chakri dynasty came to power, under which Theravada Buddhism became the state religion. The monasteries turned into centers of education and culture, the monks performed the functions of priests, teachers, and often officials. In the 19th century many schools are reduced to two - Mahanikaya (popular, numerous) and Dhammayutika-nikaya (elitist, but influential).
At present, the monastery is the smallest administrative unit in the country, which includes from 2 to 5 villages. In the 1980s, there were 32,000 monasteries and 400,000 "permanent" monks (approximately 3% of the male population of the country; sometimes from 40 to 60% of men are temporarily tonsured as monks), there are a number of Buddhist universities that train the highest cadres of the clergy. The World Fellowship of Buddhists is headquartered in Bangkok.
Buddhism arrived in Taiwan with Chinese settlers in the 17th century. A local variety of folk Buddhism, chai hao, was established here, in which Confucianism and Taoism were assimilated. In the 1990s, out of 11 million believers in the country, 44% (about 5 million) were Buddhists of the Chinese Mahayana schools. There are 4020 temples, dominated by the Tiantai, Huayan, Chan and Pure Land schools, which have ties with the Buddhist Association of Mainland China.
In Tibet, the adoption of Indian Buddhism was a conscious policy of the Tibetan kings of the 7th-8th centuries: prominent missionaries were invited (Shantarakshita, Padmasambhava, Kamalashila, etc.), sutras and Buddhist treatises were translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan (Tibetan writing was created on the basis of Indian writing in Ser. 7th c.), temples were built. In 791, the first monastery of Samye opened, and King Trisong Detsen declared Buddhism the state religion. In the first centuries, the Vajrayana Nyingma school, created by Padmasambhava, dominated. After the successful missionary work of Atisha (cm. ATISHA) in 1042-1054 the monks began to follow the charter more strictly. Three new schools arose: Kagyutpa, Kadampa and Sakyapa (called the schools of "new translations"), which alternately dominated the spiritual life of Tibet. In the rivalry of schools, the Gelugpa, who grew up in kadampa, won; its creator Tsongkaba (cm. Zongkaba)(1357-1419, Mong. - Tsongkhava) strengthened monastic discipline according to the Hinayana charter, introduced strict celibacy, established the cult of the Buddha of the future - Maitreya. The institute of rebirths was developed in detail at the school - the living gods of the Tibetan religion, who were the incarnations of Buddhas, heavenly bodhisattvas, great teachers and saints of past times: after the death of each of them, candidates (children 4-6 years old) were found and selected from them (with the participation of the oracle) the next representative of this line of spiritual succession. From the 16th century so they began to appoint the highest hierarchs of the Gelugpas - the Dalai Lamas - as reincarnations of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara; with the support of the Mongol khans, then - the Chinese-Manchu authorities, they became the de facto rulers of autonomous Tibet. Until the 50s of the 20th century. every family in Tibet sent at least one son as a monk, the ratio of monks to laity was approximately 1: 7. Since 1959, the XIV Dalai Lama, the government and parliament of Tibet have been in exile, in India, with part of the people and the majority of monks. In China, the second spiritual hierarch of the Gelugpa Panchen Lama school (the incarnation of Buddha Amitabha) remained and several monasteries of unique Tibetan Buddhism operate - a synthesis of Mahayana, Vajrayana and Bon (local shamanism).
The first missionaries of the Indian king Ashoka, among whom were his son and daughter, arrived in Sri Lanka in the second half of the 3rd century. BC e. For the offspring of the Bodhi tree they brought (cm. BODHI WOOD) and other relics erected several temples and stupas. At a council held under King Vatagamani (29-17 BC), the first Buddhist canon of the Tipitaka of the Theravada school that dominated here was written down in Pali. In 3-12 centuries. the influence of the Mahayana, which was adhered to by the Abhayagiri-vihara monastery, was noticeable, although from the 5th century. Sinhalese kings supported only Theravada. At the end of the 5th c. Buddhaghosa worked on the island, completing editing and commenting on the Tipitaka (the day of his arrival in Lanka is a public holiday). At present, Buddhism is predominantly practiced by the Sinhalese (60% of the population), there are 7,000 monasteries and temples, 20,000 Theravada monks, and, unlike the Theravada of the countries of Indochina, there is no practice of temporary monasticism and an emphasis on the idea of ​​accumulating "merits". There are Buddhist universities, publishing houses, the headquarters of the world Mahabodhi society (founded by Anagarika Dharmapala (cm. Dharmapala (ruler)), Buddhist youth associations, etc.
The first Buddhist preachers from Korea arrived in Japan in the middle of the 6th century. They received the support of the imperial court, built temples. Under Emperor Semu (724-749), Buddhism was proclaimed the state religion, a monastery was founded in every administrative region of the country, a majestic Todaiji temple with a giant gilded Buddha statue was erected in the capital, young men went to study Buddhist sciences in China.
Most of the schools of Japanese Buddhism are descended from the Chinese. They are divided into three categories: 1) Indian - this is the name of those Chinese schools that have analogues in India, for example, the earliest Japanese school Sanron-shu (625) is largely identical to the Chinese Sanlun-zong, which, in turn, can be consider it a sub-school of Indian Madhyamika; 2) analogues of Chinese schools of sutras and meditation, for example, Tendai-shu (from Tiantai-zong), Zen (cm. Zen)(from Chan), etc.; 3) actually Japanese, which have no direct predecessors in China, for example, Shingon-shu or Nichiren-shu; in these schools, Buddhist ideas and practices were combined with the mythology and rituals of the local Shinto religion (cm. SHINTO)(spirit cult). Relations between it and Buddhism sometimes escalated, but for the most part they coexisted peacefully, even after 1868, when Shinto was declared the state religion. Today, Shinto temples coexist with Buddhist ones, and lay believers participate in the rituals of both religions; according to statistics, the majority of Japanese consider themselves, however, Buddhists. All schools and organizations are members of the All Japan Buddhist Association, the largest are the Soto-shu Zen school (14.7 thousand temples and 17 thousand monks) and the Amidaist Jodo-shinshu (10.4 thousand temples and 27 thousand priests). In general, Japanese Buddhism is characterized by an emphasis on the ritual and cult side of religion. Created in the 20th century In Japan, scientific Buddhology made a great contribution to the textology of ancient Buddhism. Since the 1960s, neo-Buddhist organizations (the Nichiren school) have been actively involved in political life.
Buddhism in Russia
Earlier than others, Buddhism was adopted by the Kalmyks, whose clans (related to the Western Mongolian, Oirat, union of tribes) migrated in the 17th century. in the Lower Volga region and the steppes of the Caspian Sea, which were part of the Moscow kingdom. In 1661, the Kalmyk Khan Puntsuk took an oath of allegiance to the Muscovite Tsar for himself and all the people and at the same time kissed the image of the Buddha (Mong. - Burkhan) and the book of Buddhist prayers. Even before the official recognition of Buddhism by the Mongols, the Kalmyks were well acquainted with it, since for about four centuries they were in close contact with the Buddhist peoples - the Khitans, Tanguts, Uighurs and Tibetans. Zaya Pandit was also a Kalmyk (cm. ZAYA-PANDITA)(1599-1662) - the creator of the Oirat literature and writing "todo bichig" ("clear writing") based on the old Mongolian, translator of sutras and other texts. New Russian subjects arrived with their nomadic Buddhist temples on wagons - khuruls; elements of ancient shamanism were preserved both in everyday rituals and in Buddhist ritual holidays of Tsagan Sar, Zul, Uryus, and others. there were 14 khuruls, in 1836 - 30 large and 46 small ones, in 1917 - 92, in 1936 - 13. Some of the khuruls turned into monastic complexes inhabited by lama monasticism of three degrees: manji (novice students), getsul and gelyung. The Kalmyk clergy studied in Tibetan monasteries, in the 19th century. in Kalmykia, local higher theological schools - tsannit choore - were created. The largest khurul and Buddhist university was Tyumenevsky. Followers of the Tibetan Gelug school, the Kalmyks considered the Dalai Lama to be their spiritual head. In December 1943, the entire Kalmyk people was forcibly evicted to Kazakhstan, and all the churches were destroyed. In 1956, he was allowed to return, but Buddhist communities were not registered until 1988. In the 1990s, Buddhism was actively revived, Buddhist schools for the laity were opened, books and translations into the Novokalmyk language were published, temples and monasteries were built.
The Buryats (northern Mongolian clans), who roamed the valleys of the rivers of Transbaikalia, already professed Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism, when in the first half of the 17th century. Russian Cossacks and peasants arrived here. The formation of Buddhism in Transbaikalia was facilitated by 150 Mongol-Tibetan lamas who fled in 1712 from Khalkha-Mongolia, which was captured by the Manchu Qing dynasty. In 1741, by decree of Elizabeth Petrovna (cm. ELIZAVETA Petrovna) lama Nawak-Puntsuk is declared chief, lamas are exempted from taxes and taxes and receive permission to preach Buddhism. In the 50s of the 18th century. the oldest Buryat monastery, the Tsongolsky datsan, consisting of seven temples, was being built; this title is retained to this day, although the high priesthood passed in 1809 to the rector of the Gusinoozersky datsan, the largest in Russia (founded in 1758). By 1917, 46 datsans had been built in Transbaikalia (their abbots, shiretui, were approved by the governor); Aginsky datsan (cm. AGINSKY DATSAN) became the center of Buddhist education, learning, culture. In 1893 there were 15,000 lamas of various degrees (10% of the Buryat population).
Buddhism in Buryatia is practiced in the Mongolian version of the Tibetan Gelug school. For the promotion of monastic Buddhism, Catherine II was included in the host of rebirths of the White Tara (“Saviour”) (cm. EKATERINA II), thus becoming the northernmost "living deity" of the Buddhist religion. A Buryat was one of the most educated figures of Tibetan Buddhism, Agvan Dorzhiev (1853-1938), who taught the 13th Dalai Lama (1876-1933) and led the renovation movement in Buryatia and Tuva in the 1920s and 1930s; he was subsequently repressed. In the late 1930s, the datsans were closed, and lamas were sent to the Gulag. In 1946, only Ivolginsky and Aginsky datsans were allowed to open in Transbaikalia. In the 1990s, the revival of Buddhism began: about 20 datsans were restored, 6 great khurals are solemnly celebrated - Buddhist holidays: Saagalgan ( New Year according to the Tibetan calendar), Duinhor (the first sermon of the Buddha of the teachings of Kalachakra, the Wheel of Time, and the Vajrayana), Gandan-Shunserme (the birth, Enlightenment and nirvana of the Buddha), Maidari (the day of joy for the future Buddha - Maitreya), Lhabab-Duisen (the conception of the Buddha, who descended from the sky Tushita into the womb of mother Maya), Zula (commemoration day of Tsongkhapa - the founder of the Gelug).
Tuvans were familiar with Buddhism long before its adoption from the Dzungars in the 18th century. (Mongol-Tibetan version of the Gelug school, but without the institute of rebirth). In 1770 the first monastery was erected - the Samagaltai Khure, which consisted of 8 temples. By the 20th century 22 monasteries were built, in which more than 3 thousand lamas of various degrees lived; along with this, there were about 2 thousand "Buddhist" worldly shamans (the functions of shamans and lamas were often combined in one person). The head of the clergy was the Chamza Khambo Lama, who was subordinate to the Bogdo Gegen of Mongolia. By the end of the 1940s, all the khure (monasteries) were closed, but the shamans continued to operate (sometimes in secret). In 1992, the 14th Dalai Lama visited Tuva, attended the Buddhist renaissance festival and ordained several young people as monks.
At present, several centers for the study of various forms of world Buddhism have been opened in Russia. Japanese schools are popular, especially the secular version of Zen Buddhism; Terasawa in 1992-1993 and belonging to the Nichiren school. In St. Petersburg, the Fo Guang (Buddha Light) Society of Chinese Buddhism is actively engaged in educational and publishing activities; a Tibetan temple dedicated to the deity Kalachakra has been operating since 1991 (it was opened in 1913-1915, closed in 1933). The activities of the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists are coordinated.

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

• Collier Encyclopedia
• 
  

Hello, dear readers - seekers of knowledge and truth!

Buddhism is so widespread in our time that, probably, in any corner of our planet there is a person who, if not professing it, then at least clearly interested in it. This article will tell you in which countries Buddhism is practiced, as well as tell about its features depending on the location on the map and the national mentality.

Buddhism on the world map

The oldest of the world religions appeared in the middle of the first millennium BC. During this time, she managed to take root at her origins - in India, weaken due to the appearance of Hinduism there, "spread" throughout Asia and convey her knowledge, like streams, to many states in the world.

As early as the 4th century, it reached Korea. By the 6th century it reached Japan, and in the 7th century it broke into Tibet, where it turned into a special direction of philosophical thought. Buddhism conquered the islands of Southeast Asia gradually - from about the 2nd century, and by the beginning of the second millennium it became widespread.

The "capture" of Mongolia by this religion lasted for many centuries - from the 8th to the 16th centuries, and from there by the 18th century it reached the border of Russia in the person of Buryatia and Tuva. In the last two centuries, Buddhist teachings have traveled tens of thousands of kilometers and have interested the inhabitants of Europe and America.

Today Buddhism has become the state religion of Thailand, Cambodia, Bhutan and Laos. It has affected the lives of people from most Asian countries in many ways. By the number of followers, you can rank countries:

1. China
2. Thailand
3. Vietnam
4. Myanmar
5. Tibet
6. Sri Lanka
7. South Korea
8. Taiwan
9. Cambodia
10. Japan
11. India

In addition, there are many followers of the Buddha in Bhutan, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia.

Curiously, in each country Buddhism took on its own, unlike the others, outlines, new forms of this philosophy, directions of thought appeared. This was explained by folk characteristics, religions that existed there earlier, and cultural traditions.

In Europe, Buddhism spread in the largest and most powerful countries. Here at the beginning of the 20th century. the first Buddhist organizations appeared: Germany (1903), Great Britain (1907), France (1929). And today in the United States, Buddhism boasts an honorable fourth place in terms of the number of followers, following Christianity, Judaism and atheism.

There is a World Fellowship of Buddhists whose purpose is to spread and support Buddhist thought in the world. It includes 98 centers from 37 countries. Thailand has been chosen as the headquarters of this organization.

Top Buddhist Countries

Even scientists find it difficult to say how many Buddhists live on the planet. Someone calls "modest" figures of 500 million, and someone says that their number ranges from 600 million to 1.3 billion. All these people come from dozens of different countries. It was difficult, but we have compiled a list of the most interesting "Buddhist" countries.

India

India opens this list due to its status as the birthplace of Buddhism. Two and a half millennia ago, Prince Siddhartha Gautama appeared in the northeast of this country, and now these places are shrines in themselves. Many Buddhists make pilgrimages here and seem to be returning to the past.

Here, in a place called Bodh Gai with its Mahabodhi temple, Siddhartha understood what enlightenment is. Here is the city of Sarnath - Buddha read the first sermon. Further - Kushinagar - and the saint reached full nirvana. Today, however, among the believing population of India, the proportion of Buddhists is less than one percent.

Thailand

Everyone who has been to Thailand knows which religion is the most widespread in the country and how much the Thais love it. Buddhist, statues and other paraphernalia in this exotic country do not count.

Buddhism is accepted as the state religion here. According to the Constitution, the king is required to be a Buddhist.

The Thai direction of this philosophical thought is also referred to as "southern Buddhism". The way of life of people is greatly influenced by a strong belief in the laws of karma. Men are required to go through monasticism. In the capital, Bangkok, special Buddhist universities have been established.

Sri Lanka

Legends say that the Buddha personally sailed to the former Ceylon to exorcise evil spirits. So he gave birth to a new religion here, which is now practiced by more than 60% of the population. Even the current sights and cultural monuments have religious overtones.

Vietnam

Vietnam is ruled by socialism, and formally the main religion in the country is its absence - atheism. But among religions, Buddhism is in first place: about one tenth of the 94 million population somehow recognizes the teachings of the Mahayana. Supporters meet in the south and number in the tens of thousands.

Taiwan

The main religion in Taiwan is Buddhism, which is practiced by about 90% of the island's population. But this teaching is more like a symbiosis with Taoism. If we talk about strict Buddhism, then 7-15% of people adhere to it. The most interesting feature Taiwanese line of thought is the attitude towards nutrition, namely vegetarianism.

Cambodia

The history of Buddhism in Cambodia can be called truly tragic. But, looking ahead, we can say that everything ended well.

There were more than three thousand Buddhist temples in the country until political figure Pol Pot did not stage a "cultural revolution". Its result was the reckoning of the monks to the lower class and their subsequent repression and destruction. Few of them were destined to be saved.

After the Republic of Kampuchea was created, all the forces of the authorities were thrown into the restoration of Buddhist religious thought among the population. In 1989 it was recognized as the state religion.

China

In China, it is one of the components, along with Confucianism and Taoism, of the so-called San Jiao - "three religions" - on which the religious views of the Chinese are based.

In the early 90s of the last century, there was a conflict of power with Tibetan Buddhism, which she wanted to suppress by engaging in the "patriotic education" of the monks. Today, Chinese government structures tightly control the activities of religious organizations including Buddhist ones.

Myanmar

The vast majority, namely 90% of the inhabitants of Myanmar consider themselves Buddhists. These are such nationalities as the Burmese, Mons, Arakanese, and they can be attributed to several schools of Theravada.

The Buddhist ideas of the Burmese - the followers of these schools - are mixed with the pre-existing spirit cult. Mahayana is supported mainly by the Chinese living in Myanmar.

Tibet

Buddhism came to Tibet from India, and, having absorbed the ideas and traditions of the ancient Tibetan Bon religion, took root here, becoming the main religion of the country. The three main schools - Gelug, Kagyu and Nyingma - are considered the most influential.

In the middle of the 20th century, China seized the country, persecution of monks began, many temples and monasteries were devastated by the invaders, and the Dalai Lama XIV with his supporters was forced to flee to India.

Nevertheless, Tibetans, both living in their homeland and those who fled from the Chinese authorities abroad, carefully preserve and maintain Buddhist traditions and way of life.

Japan

Japanese Buddhism covers most of the inhabitants, but it is divided into a huge number of directions and currents. Some of them took Buddhist philosophy as a basis, the second - the reading of mantras, and the third - meditative practices.

Intertwined with each other, they formed more and more new schools that are successful among different segments of the population. All of them can be conditionally divided into two groups: classical schools and neo-Buddhism.

It is Japanese preachers who study Buddhist teachings who most actively bring this knowledge to the "non-Buddhist" world, primarily to Europe and America.

Russia

Even in Russia, the ideas of Buddhism are well known, and in such national republics as Kalmykia, Buryatia, Tuva, they almost completely captured the minds of people.

Most belong to the Tibetan Gelug and Karma Kagyu schools. In the largest cities - in Moscow, St. Petersburg - Buddhist communities have long existed.

Conclusion

The Buddhist teaching over the long centuries of its existence has completely changed the consciousness of the Eurasian society. And every day this philosophy expands its boundaries, primarily in the minds of people.

Thank you very much for your attention, dear readers! Join us on social networks, let's search for the truth together.

It originated in the middle of the first millennium BC in the north of India as a current that was opposed to the prevailing Brahmanism at that time. In the middle of the VI century. BC. Indian society was going through a socio-economic and cultural crisis. The tribal organization and traditional ties disintegrated, and class relations were formed. At that time, there were a large number of wandering ascetics in India, they offered their vision of the world. Their opposition to the existing order aroused the sympathy of the people. Among the teachings of this kind was Buddhism, which gained the greatest influence in.

Most researchers believe that the founder of Buddhism was real. He was the son of the head of the tribe Shakiev, born in 560g. BC. in northeast India. Tradition says that the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama after a carefree and happy youth, he acutely felt the frailty and hopelessness of life, the horror of the idea of ​​​​an endless series of reincarnations. He left home in order to communicate with the sages to find the answer to the question: how can a person be freed from suffering. The prince traveled for seven years, and one day, when he was sitting under a tree bodhi, illumination dawned on him. He found the answer to his question. Name Buddha means "enlightened". Shocked by his discovery, he sat under this tree for several days, and then went down to the valley to the people to whom he began to preach a new doctrine. He delivered his first sermon in Benares. At first, he was joined by five of his former students, who left him when he abandoned asceticism. Subsequently, he had many followers. His ideas were close to many. For 40 years he preached in North and Central India.

Truths of Buddhism

The basic truths discovered by the Buddha were as follows.

The whole life of man is suffering. This truth is based on the recognition of the impermanence and transience of all things. Everything arises to be annihilated. Existence is devoid of substance, it devours itself, which is why in Buddhism it is designated as a flame. And only grief and suffering can be endured from the flame.

The cause of suffering is our desire. Suffering arises because man is attached to life, he craves existence. Because existence is filled with sorrow, suffering will exist as long as one lusts for life.

To get rid of suffering, you have to get rid of desire. This is possible only as a result of achieving nirvana, which in Buddhism is understood as the extinction of passions, the cessation of thirst. Is it not at the same time the cessation of life? Buddhism avoids a direct answer to this question. Only negative judgments are expressed about nirvana: it is not desire and not consciousness, not life and not death. This is the state in which one is freed from transmigration of souls. In later Buddhism, nirvana is understood as bliss, consisting in freedom and spiritualization.

To get rid of desire, one must follow the eightfold path of salvation. It is the definition of these steps on the path to nirvana that is the main one in the teachings of the Buddha, which is called middle way that avoids the two extremes of indulgence in sensual pleasures and the torture of the flesh. This teaching is called the Eightfold Path of Salvation because it indicates eight states by mastering which a person can achieve purification of the mind, tranquility and intuition.

These are the states:

• correct understanding: one should believe the Buddha that the world is full of sorrow and suffering;
• right intentions: you should firmly determine your path, limit your passions and aspirations;
• correct speech: you should watch your words so that they do not lead to evil - speech should be truthful and benevolent;
• right actions: one should avoid non-virtuous deeds, restrain oneself and do good deeds;
• right way of life: one should lead a worthy life, without harming the living;
• right effort: you should follow the direction of your thoughts, drive away all evil and tune in to good;
• right thoughts: it should be understood that evil is from our flesh;
• proper focus: one should constantly and patiently train, achieve the ability to concentrate, contemplate, go deep in search of truth.

The first two steps signify the attainment of wisdom or prajna. The next three are moral behavior - sewed. And finally, the last three are the discipline of the mind or samadha.

However, these states cannot be understood as rungs of a ladder that a person masters gradually. Everything is connected here. Moral conduct is necessary to achieve wisdom, and without mental discipline we cannot develop moral conduct. Wise is he who acts compassionately; compassionate is he who acts wisely. Such behavior is impossible without the discipline of the mind.

On the whole, it can be said that Buddhism brought to personal aspect, which was not previously in the Eastern worldview: the assertion that salvation is possible only through personal determination and willingness to act in a certain direction. In addition, Buddhism clearly shows idea of ​​the need for compassion to all living beings - an idea most fully embodied in Mahayana Buddhism.

Main branches of Buddhism

The early Buddhists were only one of many heterodox sects competing at the time, but their influence increased over time. Buddhism was supported primarily by the urban population: rulers, warriors, who saw in it an opportunity to get rid of the supremacy of the Brahmins.

The first followers of the Buddha gathered in some secluded place during the rainy season and, waiting for this period, formed a small community. Those who joined the community usually renounced all property. They were called bhikshu which means "beggar". They shaved their heads, dressed in rags, mostly yellow, and had only the bare necessities with them: three pieces of clothing (top, bottom and cassock), a razor, a needle, a belt, a sieve to filter water, choosing insects from it (ahimsa) , toothpick, begging cup. Most of the time they spent wandering, collecting alms. They could only eat until noon and only vegetarian. In the cave, in an abandoned building, the bhikkhus lived through the rainy season, conversing on pious topics and practicing self-improvement. Near their habitats, the dead bhikkhus were usually buried. Subsequently, monuments-stupas (dome-shaped structures-crypts with a tightly walled entrance) were erected at their burial sites. Various structures were built around these stupas. Later, monasteries arose near these places. The charter of monastic life was formed. When the Buddha was alive, he himself explained all the complex issues of the teaching. After his death, the oral tradition continued for a long time.

Shortly after the death of the Buddha, his followers convened the first Buddhist council to canonize the teachings. The purpose of this cathedral, which took place in the city Rajagrih, was to work out the text of the message of the Buddha. However, not everyone agreed with the decisions taken at this council. In 380 BC a second council was called in Vaishali in order to resolve any disagreements.

Buddhism flourished during the reign of the emperor Ashoka(III century BC), thanks to the efforts of which Buddhism became the official state ideology and went beyond the borders of India. Ashoka did a lot for the Buddhist faith. He erected 84 thousand stupas. During his reign, the third council was held in the city Pataliputra, which approved the text of the sacred books of Buddhism, which amounted to tipitaka(or Tripitaka), and a decision was made to send missionaries to all parts of the country, up to Ceylon. Ashoka sent his son to Ceylon, where he became an apostle, converting many thousands of people to Buddhism and building many monasteries. It is here that the southern canon of the Buddhist church is affirmed - Hinayana, which is also called Theravada(the teaching of the elders). Hinayana means "small vehicle or narrow path of salvation."

In the middle of the last century BC. in the north-west of India, the Scythian rulers created the Kushan kingdom, the ruler of which was Kanishka, an ardent Buddhist and patron of Buddhism. Kanishka convened a fourth council towards the end of the 1st century. AD in the city Kashmir. The Council formulated and approved the main provisions of a new trend in Buddhism, called mahayana -"great chariot or wide circle of salvation." Mahayana Buddhism developed by famous Indian Buddhist Nagarajuna, made many changes to the classical doctrine.

Features of the main directions of Buddhism are as follows (see table).

Main branches of Buddhism

Buddhism originated and flourished in India, but by the end of the 1st millennium AD. it loses its positions here and is supplanted by Hinduism, which is more familiar to the inhabitants of India. There are several reasons that led to this outcome:

• the development of Hinduism, which inherited the traditional values ​​of Brahmanism and modernized it;
• enmity between different branches of Buddhism, which often led to open struggle;
• a decisive blow to Buddhism was dealt by the Arabs, who conquered many Indian territories in the 7th-8th centuries. and brought Islam with them.

Buddhism, having spread in many countries of East Asia, has become a world religion that retains its influence to this day.

Sacred literature and ideas about the structure of the world

The teachings of Buddhism are expounded in a number of canonical collections, the central place among which is occupied by the Pali canon "Tipitaka" or "Tripitaka", which means "three baskets". Buddhist texts were originally written on palm leaves, which were placed in baskets. The canon is written in the language Pali. In terms of pronunciation, Pali is related to Sanskrit in the same way that Italian is related to Latin. The canon is in three parts.

1. Vinaya Pitaka, contains ethical teaching, as well as information about discipline and ceremonial; this includes 227 rules by which monks must live;
2. Sutta Pitaka, contains the teachings of the Buddha and popular Buddhist literature including " Dhammapada", which means "the path of truth" (an anthology of Buddhist parables), and " Jataku» - a collection of stories about the previous lives of the Buddha;
3. Abidhamma Pitaka, contains the metaphysical representations of Buddhism, philosophical texts that outline the Buddhist understanding of life.

The listed books from all branches of Buddhism are especially recognized by the Hinayana. Other branches of Buddhism have their own sacred sources.

Mahayana followers consider their sacred book "Prajnaparalshta Sutra(teachings on perfect wisdom). It is considered the revelation of the Buddha himself. Due to the extreme difficulty of understanding, the Buddha's contemporaries deposited it in the Serpent Palace in the middle world, and when the time was right to reveal these teachings to people, the great Buddhist thinker Nagarajuna brought them back to the world of people.

The sacred books of the Mahayana are written in Sanskrit. They include mythological and philosophical subjects. Parts of these books are Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra And Lotus Sutra.

An important feature of the Mahayana sacred books is that Siddtarha Gautama is not considered the only Buddha: there were others before him and there will be others after him. Great importance has developed in these books the doctrine of the bodisatva (body - enlightened, sattva - essence) - a being who is already ready to move into nirvana, but delays this transition in order to help others. The most revered is the bodysattva Avalokitesvara.

Of great interest is the cosmology of Buddhism, since it underlies all views of life. According to the basic provisions of Buddhism, the universe has a multi-layered structure. In the center of the earthly world, which is cylindrical disc, there is a mountain Meru. She is surrounded seven concentric ring-shaped seas and as many circles of mountains dividing the seas. Outside the last mountain range is sea which is visible to people. On it lie four world islands. In the bowels of the earth are hell caves. They rise above the earth six heavens, on which 100,000 thousand gods live (the pantheon of Buddhism includes all the gods of Brahmanism, as well as the gods of other peoples). The gods have conference hall where they gather on the eighth day lunar month, and amusement park. Buddha is considered the main god, but he is not the creator of the world, the world exists next to him, he is as eternal as Buddha. Gods are born and die at will.

Above these six heavens - 20 heavens of Brahma; the higher the celestial sphere, the easier and more spiritual life in it. The last four, which are called brahmaloka, there are no more images and no rebirths, here the blessed already taste nirvana. The rest of the world is called kamaloka. All together form the totality of the universe. There are an infinite number of such universes.

The infinite set of universes is understood not only in the geographical, but also in the historical sense. Universes are born and die. The lifetime of the universe is called kalpa. Against this backdrop of endless creation and destruction, the drama of life is played out.

However, the teaching of Buddhism deviates from any metaphysical assertion, it does not speak of infinity, nor of finiteness, nor of eternity, nor of non-eternity, nor of being, nor of non-being. Buddhism speaks of forms, causes, images - all this is united by the concept samsara, cycle of incarnations. Samsara includes all objects that arise and disappear; it is the result of former states and the cause of future actions that arise according to the law of dhamma. Dhamma- this is a moral law, a norm according to which images are created; samsara is the form in which the law is realized. Dhamma is not physical principle causality, but the moral world order, the principle of retribution. Dhamma and samsara are closely related, but they can be understood only in conjunction with the basic concept of Buddhism and the Indian worldview in general - the concept of karma. Karma means concrete the embodiment of the law, retribution or reward for concrete affairs.

An important concept in Buddhism is the concept "apshan". It is usually translated into Russian as "individual soul". But Buddhism does not know the soul in the European sense. Atman means the totality of states of consciousness. There are many states of consciousness called scandas or dharma, but it is impossible to find the carrier of these states, which would exist by itself. The combination of skandhas leads to a certain act, from which karma grows. Skandas disintegrate at death, but karma continues to live and leads to new existences. Karma does not die and leads to the transmigration of the soul. continues to exist not because of the immortality of the soul, but because of the indestructibility of his deeds. Karma is thus understood as something material from which everything living and moving arises. At the same time, karma is understood as something subjective, since it is created by the individuals themselves. So, samsara is a form, an embodiment of karma; dhamma is a law that comes to light by itself through karma. Conversely, karma is formed from samsara, which then affects subsequent samsara. This is where dhamma comes into play. To get rid of karma, to avoid further incarnations is possible only by achieving nirvana, about which Buddhism also does not say anything definite. It is not life, but not death, not desire and not consciousness. Nirvana can be understood as a state of desirelessness, as complete peace. From this understanding of the world and human existence flow the four truths discovered by the Buddha.

Buddhist community. Holidays and rituals

The followers of Buddhism call their teaching Triratnaya or Tiratnaya(triple treasure), referring to the Buddha, dhamma (teaching) and sangha (community). Initially, the Buddhist community was a group of mendicant monks, bhikkhus. After the death of the Buddha, there was no head of the community. The unification of monks is carried out only on the basis of the word of the Buddha, his teachings. There is no centralization of the hierarchy in Buddhism, with the exception of a natural hierarchy - by seniority. Communities living in the neighborhood could unite, the monks acted together, but not on command. Gradually, the formation of monasteries took place. The community united within the monastery was called sangha. Sometimes the word "sangha" denoted the Buddhists of one region or an entire country.

At first, everyone was accepted into the sangha, then some restrictions were introduced, they stopped accepting criminals, slaves, minors without the consent of their parents. Teenagers often became novices, they learned to read and write, studied sacred texts, and received a considerable education for that time. Those who entered the sangha for the duration of their stay in the monastery had to renounce everything that connected them with the world - family, caste, property - and take five vows: don't kill, don't steal, don't lie, don't commit adultery, don't get drunk; he was also required to shave off his hair and put on monastic robes. However, at any moment the monk could leave the monastery, he was not condemned for this, and he could be on friendly terms with the community.

Those monks who decided to devote their entire lives to religion underwent the rite of passage. The novice was subjected to a severe test, testing his spirit and will. Acceptance into the sangha as a monk imposed additional obligations and vows: do not sing or dance; do not sleep in comfortable beds; do not eat at the wrong time; do not acquire; do not use things that have a strong smell or intense color. In addition, there were a large number of minor prohibitions and restrictions. Twice a month - on the new moon and on the full moon - the monks gathered for mutual confessions. The uninitiated, women and laity were not allowed to these meetings. Depending on the severity of the sin, sanctions were also applied, most often expressed in the form of voluntary repentance. Four major sins entailed exile forever: carnal copulation; murder; stealing and falsely claiming that someone has superhuman strength and the dignity of an arhat.

Arhat - this is the ideal of Buddhism. This is the name of those saints or sages who have freed themselves from samsara and after death will go to nirvana. An Arhat is one who has done everything he had to do: destroyed desire, the desire for self-fulfillment, ignorance, wrong views in himself.

There were also women's monasteries. They were organized in the same way as the men's, but all the main ceremonies were performed by monks from the nearest monastery.

The monk's attire is extremely simple. He had three garments: an undergarment, an outer garment, and a cassock, the color of which is yellow in the south and red in the north. He could not take money in any case, he did not even have to ask for food, and the laity themselves had to serve it only to the monk who appeared on the threshold. The monks, who had renounced the world, every day went into the homes of ordinary people, for whom the appearance of a monk was a living sermon and an invitation to higher life. For insulting the monks, the laity was punished by not accepting alms from them by overturning the alms bowl. If in this way a rejected layman was reconciled with the community, then his gifts were again accepted. The layman has always remained for the monk a being of a lower nature.

The monks had no real manifestations of the cult. They did not serve the gods; on the contrary, they believed that the gods should serve them, since they are saints. The monks were not engaged in any work, except for daily going for alms. Their occupations consisted of spiritual exercises, meditation, reading and copying of sacred books, performing or participating in rituals.

The Buddhist rites include the penitential assemblies already described, to which only monks are allowed. However, there are many rites in which the laity also participate. Buddhists adopted the custom of celebrating the day of rest four times a month. This holiday is called uposatha, something like Saturday for Jews, Sunday for Christians. These days the monks taught the laity and explained the scripture.

In Buddhism, there are a large number of holidays and rituals, the central theme of which is the figure of Buddha - the most important events of his life, his teachings and the monastic community organized by him. In each country, these holidays are celebrated in different ways, depending on the characteristics of the national culture. All Buddhist holidays are celebrated according to the lunar calendar, and most of the most important holidays fall on the days of the full moon, since it was believed that the full moon has a magical property to indicate to a person the need for diligence and promise liberation.

Vesok

This holiday is dedicated to three important events in the life of the Buddha: the birthday, the day of enlightenment and the day of passing into nirvana - and is the most important of all Buddhist holidays. It is celebrated on the full moon day of the second month of the Indian calendar, which falls at the end of May - beginning of June of the Gregorian calendar.

On the days of the holiday, solemn prayers are held in all monasteries and processions and processions are arranged. The temples are decorated with flower garlands and paper lanterns - they symbolize the enlightenment that came to the world with the teachings of the Buddha. On the territory of temples, oil lamps are also placed around sacred trees and stupas. The monks read prayers all night and tell believers stories from the life of the Buddha and his disciples. Lay people also meditate in the temple and listen to the instructions of the monks throughout the night. The ban on agricultural work and other activities that can harm small living creatures is especially carefully observed. After the end of the festive prayer service, the laity arrange a plentiful meal for the members of the monastic community and present them with gifts. A characteristic rite of the holiday is the washing of Buddha statues with sweetened water or tea and showering them with flowers.

In Lamaism, this holiday is the most strict ritual day of the calendar, when you can not eat meat and lamps are lit everywhere. On this day, it is customary to circumambulate stupas, temples and other Buddhist shrines clockwise, spreading out on the ground. Many vow to keep a strict fast and remain silent for seven days.

Vassa

Vassa(from the name of the month in the Pali language) - seclusion during the rainy season. The preaching activity and the whole life of the Buddha and his disciples was associated with constant wanderings and wanderings. During the rainy season, which began at the end of June and ended at the beginning of September, travel was not possible. According to legend, it was during the rainy season that the Buddha first retired with his disciples in Deer Grove (Sarnath). Therefore, already at the time of the first monastic communities, the custom was established to stop during the rainy season in some solitary place and spend this time in prayer and meditation. Soon this custom became an obligatory rule of monastic life and was observed by all branches of Buddhism. During this period, the monks do not leave their monastery and engage in a deeper practice of meditation and comprehension of Buddhist teachings. During this period, the usual communication of monks with the laity is reduced.

In the countries of Southeast Asia, the laity themselves often take monastic vows during the rainy season and for three months lead the same way of life as the monks. During this period, marriages are prohibited. At the end of the period of seclusion, the monks confess their sins to each other and ask for forgiveness from their brothers in the community. Over the next month, contacts and communication between the monks and the laity are gradually restored.

Festival of Lights

This holiday marks the end of monastic seclusion and is celebrated on the full moon of the ninth month of the lunar calendar (October - Gregorian calendar). The holiday continues for a month. In temples and monasteries, rituals are held to mark the holiday, as well as the exit from the community of those who joined it during the rainy season. On the night of the full moon, everything is illuminated by lights, for which candles are used, paper lanterns, electric lamps. It is said that the lights are lit to light the way for Budce, inviting him to descend from heaven after he delivered a sermon to his mother. In some monasteries, the statue of Buddha is removed from the pedestal and carried through the streets, symbolizing the descent of the Buddha to earth.

These days it is customary to visit relatives, visit each other to pay their respects and make small gifts. The celebration ends with a ceremony kathina(from Sanskrit - clothes), which consists in the fact that the laity give clothes to members of the community. One robe is solemnly presented to the head of the monastery, who then passes it on to the monk who is recognized as the most virtuous in the monastery. The name of the ceremony comes from the way the clothes were made. Pieces of fabric were stretched over the frame, and then sewn together. This frame was called kathina. Another meaning of the word kathina is "difficult", meaning the difficulty of being a disciple of the Buddha.

The rite of kathina has become the only ceremony in which the laity are involved.

There are many sacred places of worship in Buddhism. It is believed that the Buddha himself identified cities as places of pilgrimage: where he was born - Capilawatta; where he reached the highest enlightenment - Gaia; where he first preached Benares; where he entered nirvana - Kushinagara.

Buddhism appeared around the 6th-5th centuries. BC. in the territory of northeastern India as a result of gaining Awakening ( bodhi) and preaching his teachings by the ascetic Gotama Buddha, a prince from the Shakya clan. Bodh Gaya (modern state of Bihar in India) is believed to be the site of Gotama's Enlightenment. The first preaching of the Buddha took place in the town of Sarnath, not far from the city of Benares (the modern city of Varanasi, the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh).

Stupa at the site of the awakening of Gotama in Bodh Gaya	Stupa at the site of the first sermon Buddhas in Sarnath

A couple of centuries later, thanks to the support of the Mauryan king Ashoka, the Buddha's teachings spread to most of India, and then throughout the Asian continent. Buddhism reached Greece, and even Egypt.

For a number of historical reasons, Buddhism by the 12th century A.D. e. As a separate religion, it lost its influence in India, but in terms of philosophy, it continued to exert its influence on a number of religious and philosophical teachings in India.

Buddhism has taken a wide variety of forms over its long history. Due to its calm and non-dogmatic nature, it has always easily adapted to the previous culture and religious practices of the people among whom it spread, in turn becoming the main source of a new culture and worldview. Buddhism has successfully merged with the local culture, and it is often difficult to find something in common that connects different currents of Buddhism into one and the same religion. The exteriors are so varied, ranging from the softness of the ceremonial Theravada Buddhism of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, the contemplative and devotional practices of the Mahayana Buddhism of the Far East, to the mysterious ritualism of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. Although the exteriors can vary greatly, they all share the same common source- The life and teachings of the man known to us as the Buddha.
~ Bhikkhu Bodhi, "Some Fundamentals of Buddhism."

One of the most widespread religions (along with Christianity and Islam). It arose in slave-owning India in the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. The founder of B. is considered to be Siddhartha from the Gautama family, nicknamed the Buddha - the enlightened one. B. preaches humility, humility, reconciliation with reality, non-resistance to evil. It is also distributed in Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, China, Japan and other countries. One of the varieties of B. is Lamaism.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

BUDDHISM

the oldest (more than 25 centuries old) world religion.

There are at least 1 billion Buddhists in the world. Buddhism became widespread not only in the traditional area - Southeast and Central Asia, in the Far East, but, starting from the second half of the 19th century, in Europe, first among intellectuals, and then in wider sections of the population.

The founder of the doctrine, which became the basis of the Buddhist religious doctrine, was an Indian prince from the Shakya dynasty, ruling in Kapilavasta (modern Southern Nepal) - Siddhartha Gautama, nicknamed Buddha ("enlightened").

The life of the Buddha is known from numerous written sources recorded centuries after his life. According to one source, the years of his life are 623-544 BC. e., others believe that he was born a century later. According to the Buddhist canon, at the age of 29, Prince Siddhartha left his family, spent several years in hardship, subjecting himself to a severe bodily fast, and finally achieved "spiritual awakening" as a result of prolonged meditation.

He realized that the world around him is just an illusion, and all things in the world are just combinations of dharmas - instantaneous entities. These combinations are not free, they are predetermined by a special law - karma. Man is the only being who can, to a certain extent, control his karma, in his case, the sum of his own actions and thoughts. Their quality determines what the combination of dharmas that make up us will be like after our death. In a series of rebirths, we can become a stone, a spirit, a plant, an animal, and, with the least probability, a person. That is why human existence must be especially valued: only in it can we achieve salvation.

There can be only one way to salvation - the exit from the "wheel of samsara" - a karmically conditioned series of rebirths. Only by embarking on the path of calming dharmas, we will destroy our karma and be able to reach a state in which a new birth becomes impossible - nirvana. It is the final deliverance from suffering.

The center of Buddhist doctrine is the so-called. "four noble truths":

1) suffering determines a person's life and all its events - birth, illness, old age, love, meeting with the unpleasant and the loss of the pleasant, the inability to achieve the desired, death;

2) suffering is generated by thirst, leading through joys and passions to rebirth;

3) to get rid of suffering, you need to eliminate thirst;

4) a means for this - the so-called. the wholesome "eightfold path", which includes right judgment, right decision, right speech, right living, right aspiration, right attention, right concentration.

The observance of these principles presupposes a way of life that is equally remote from both sensual pleasures and ascetic practices that exhaust the flesh and self-torture.

The Buddhist canon was subsequently developed in detail and commented on in extensive religious literature, and sections of the "eightfold path" of self-improvement were thoroughly developed in sacred texts and became normative for the daily activities of millions of Buddhists - both monks and ordinary followers of the teaching. The practice of spiritual self-improvement, including meditative practice, has been developed in detail in the Buddhist canon.

Buddhism least of all resembles the classical monotheistic (Abrahamic) religions that arose in the Middle East - Judaism, Christianity, Islam. In Buddhism, there is no concept of the Creator, Buddhism does not know history and, accordingly, cannot think of either its beginning - the act of creation, or its completion associated with the Last Judgment. This is the most "atheistic" religion of all the world.

But it would be wrong to reduce Buddhism only to a set of ethical norms and descriptions of various meditative practices. Over hundreds of years of existence, the ideas set forth by the Buddha in his sermons have become the basis of dozens of schools and movements, many of which have turned into powerful spiritual and religious communities with their clergy, an extensive hierarchy, and parishioners.

In its homeland, India, the new religion experienced its greatest flowering in the first centuries of our era. By the XII century. Buddhism almost completely disappears from India, giving way to Hinduism. However, by this time Buddhism had already become a world religion, penetrating into many countries.

The two main branches of modern Buddhism are Hinayana ("small vehicle", "narrow path") and Mahayana ("great vehicle").

Hinayana has over 100 million followers in Sri Lanka and most of Southeast Asia - Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The term "Hinayana" was introduced by supporters of the Mahayana, while his followers themselves call their course "Theravada" ("teaching of the elders").

In Hinayana, there is no deification of the Buddha, and salvation through moral perfection and the attainment of nirvana is possible only for monks. A perfect personality - an arhat - achieves spiritual harmony individually, not caring about the welfare of others. Therefore, in the Hinayana, the Buddha is mainly a teacher and a perfect person, an object for imitation, but not a deity.

In the Hinayana for many centuries, as in any teaching, elements of a religious cult have developed, but it did not and does not have a total character that leaves an imprint on all spheres of society, as in the case of the predominance of monotheistic religions.

The carriers of religious consciousness in countries where the population professes Buddhism in the form of Hinayana are monks. The mass consciousness of citizens of states where this form of Buddhism is dominant is characterized by polytheistic views that coexist with the teachings of the Buddha - remnants of pagan ideas, Hinduism in all its diverse manifestations, from ancient Brahmanism to Krishnaism.

Mahayana ("great vehicle", "broad path") is the most widespread movement in Buddhism. Hundreds of millions of his supporters live in Nepal, Bhutan, China, Japan, Mongolia, as well as in Buryatia and Kalmykia (in Russia).

Unlike the Hinayana, the Mahayana is a developed religious system with an extensive clerical hierarchy. Until the middle of the XX century. the religious leader of the Buddhists of Tibet - the Dalai Lama - was also the secular head of state. In Mongolia, until 1921, the head of the local lamaists, the Bogdo Gegen, also served as a secular ruler.

In the Mahayana doctrine, an important role is played by the cult of bodhisattvas - saints who have achieved the ability to enter nirvana, but do not do this in order to help others achieve perfection. They will voluntarily suffer until all people are free from suffering.

For followers of the Mahayana, the Buddha is not a historical figure, the founder of the doctrine, but a divine being embodying the absolute. The essence of the Buddha manifests itself in three bodies, of which only one of his manifestations - in the form of a man - fills all living things. Unlike the Hinayana, the Mahayana implies the possibility of attaining nirvana by any lay person.

A variation of the Mahayana is Lamaism, which its adherents prefer to call "traditional Buddhism." Mongols, Buryats, Tuvans, Kalmyks profess it. Lamaism is characterized by a simplified nature of rituals: for the illiterate population, unable to learn prayers and mantras, they made special khurde wheels with fragments of religious texts. By turning these wheels, the believer "communicates" with the deity.

Lamaists also retain pagan beliefs: they include in the Buddhist pantheon national heroes such as Genghis Khan.

Vajrayana ("Diamond Chariot"), which originated in the bowels of the Mahayana, is commonly called the "third way" of Buddhism, although the adherents of its schools themselves emphasize their loyalty to the Mahayana.

Vajrayana is widespread in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva, Kalmykia. It is practiced in some schools of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, as well as in the West.

Vajrayana differs from other Buddhist trends in a special mystical practice that is different from the traditional monastic one. It involves receiving a special initiation from a teacher who has reached spiritual perfection and achieving the so-called. "expanded consciousness". It is believed that only those who have studied the spiritual experience of the Mahayana are able to enter this path.

The special role of a teacher, mentor in achieving the highest truth is also common in the practice of Zen Buddhism. Founded in China in the 5th century. Indian monk Bodhidharma, this Buddhist sect pays great attention to self-discipline and mental training.

Within the framework of the latter, an important role is played by logical exercises based on paradoxes (koans), which, according to the teachers, should liberate the student's thinking and contribute to the achievement of the ultimate goal. spiritual path- enlightenment, insight (satori).

Chan Buddhism (in Japanese transcription - Zen Buddhism) in the 1960s. has become one of the main components of the eclectic ideology of non-conformists in the West and, more broadly, of the radical left intelligentsia. Western followers of Zen - beatniks, hippies - saw in this Buddhist school a means to achieve complete spiritual, social, intellectual liberation without a targeted political struggle through "expansion of consciousness" through drugs, psychedelic music, deliberately outrageous forms of art - poppy op art, emphasized asocial image life (see Escapism).

"Pilgrimage to the East" has become an obligatory sign of belonging to the "thinking people", a fashion that has had and continues to have a significant impact on the spiritual life of basically spiritually unspiritual Western society. But much more thoroughly and deeply this Buddhist school influenced the mentality of the whole nation.

In its homeland, in China, Chan Buddhism did not take root and remained one of the many sects, clearly manifesting itself, perhaps, only in the sophisticated art of martial arts practiced in the Chinese Shaolin monastery.

In Japan, which turned out to be immune to Confucian norms brought from China, the theory and practice of Zen did not just take root, in fact becoming part of national religion- Shinto, but in many ways shaped the character of the Japanese, determined the development of national art and the principles of the world-famous specific aesthetics of the Land of the Rising Sun.

The paradoxes of Zen eccentrics turned into the principles of spiritual organization not only of the tribal aristocracy and samurai, but of the entire Japanese society. After all, they determined for many years the leading role of Japan in the system of the modern capitalist system and the configuration of the model called the "Japanese economic miracle."

IN Russian Empire official recognition Buddhism as a religion of the Buryats took place in 1741. In 1763

The institution of the Khambo Lama, the head of the lamaist church, was approved. The Russian queens who established Buddhism in Russia - Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II - entered the pantheon of Russian lamaists as goddesses. In 1913, the first Buddhist temple in Europe was built in St. Petersburg.

In the late 1920s Russian Buddhists were persecuted. More than 15,000 lamas were killed on suspicion of organizing anti-Soviet rebellions. In 1944, the attitude of the Soviet authorities towards Buddhist organizations became warmer, a decree was signed on the opening of the Ivolginsky and Aginsky datsans (monasteries).

The residence of the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists of Russia is located in Ivolginsky Datsan (Buryatia).

Buddhism plays an important role in the political life of many countries, primarily in Asia. In many of them, national liberation movements unfolded under the slogans of this religion, and even a trend of "Buddhist socialism" arose.

Buddhism is becoming important factor in the ideological and political struggle and is actively used by various political forces to achieve their goals. A vivid example of the politicization of Buddhism is the involvement of the spiritual leader of the Buddhists, the Dalai Lama XIV, in the struggle for the independence of Tibet, occupied by China in the 1950s. In 2008, anti-Chinese forces organized around the world to disrupt the 2008 Beijing Olympics. mass actions protest for a free Tibet.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓