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Buddhism
The Buddha’s path of wisdom, ethics and meditation
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In one minute
Buddhism is the path taught by Gautama Buddha, who lived and taught in the Ganga plains of north India about 2,500 years ago. Buddhists take refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dhamma (his teaching) and the Sangha (the community). Buddhists believe that suffering arises from craving and ignorance, and that it can end through ethical living, meditation and wisdom. Today Buddhism is practised across Asia and the world, and in India it is followed in Maharashtra, the Himalayan regions, the Northeast and beyond.
In India (Census 2011): 84.4 lakh (0.7%)
Origins
As the tradition tells it
Buddhist tradition tells that Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born at Lumbini into the Shakya clan and grew up in comfort at Kapilavastu. After seeing an old man, a sick man, a dead body and a wandering ascetic, he left home to seek the end of suffering. After years of searching he sat in meditation under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya and attained enlightenment, becoming the Buddha, the Awakened One. He gave his first teaching at Sarnath and taught for about 45 years before his parinirvana, his final passing, at Kushinagar.
As historians describe it
Historians agree that the Buddha was a real teacher of the Ganga plains, but his exact dates are debated. Older estimates place his life about 563 to 483 BCE, while many scholars today place his death closer to 400 BCE. His teachings were passed down orally for several centuries before being written. The Pali Canon was put in writing in Sri Lanka in about the 1st century BCE, and Emperor Ashoka's inscriptions of the 3rd century BCE are among the earliest firm evidence for Buddhism in India.
Timeline
- c. 5th century BCE (dates debated)Siddhartha Gautama attains enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and gives his first teaching at Sarnath.
- Soon after the parinirvanaBy tradition, the First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha (Rajgir) recites the teachings and monastic rules.
- c. 268 to 232 BCEEmperor Ashoka supports the Dhamma, builds stupas and has edicts carved on rocks and pillars across his empire.
- 3rd century BCEAccording to Sri Lankan tradition, Ashoka's son Mahinda takes Buddhism to Sri Lanka.
- c. 1st century BCEThe Pali Tipitaka is written down in Sri Lanka; around this period Mahayana sutras begin to appear.
- c. 2nd century BCE to 6th century CEThe Buddhist caves of Ajanta in Maharashtra are carved and painted in two main phases.
- c. 5th to 12th century CENalanda in Bihar flourishes as a great centre of Buddhist learning, drawing students from across Asia.
- c. 7th to 8th century CEBuddhism reaches Tibet; Tibetan tradition honours Padmasambhava as a teacher who came from India.
- 1891 CEAnagarika Dharmapala founds the Maha Bodhi Society, which works to restore Buddhist sites in India.
- 14 October 1956Dr B. R. Ambedkar takes diksha at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, together with a very large gathering of followers.
- 1959 CEThe 14th Dalai Lama comes to India; Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh later becomes a major centre of Tibetan Buddhism.
Core teachings
The Four Noble Truths
Buddhists believe the Buddha taught four truths: life involves suffering (dukkha), suffering has a cause in craving, suffering can end, and there is a path to its end. These four truths are often called the heart of his first teaching at Sarnath.
The Noble Eightfold Path
The path to the end of suffering has eight parts: right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration. Buddhists often group them into three trainings: ethics (sila), meditation (samadhi) and wisdom (prajna).
The Middle Way
Buddhist tradition says the Buddha tried both a life of luxury and a life of harsh self-denial before finding a path between the two. This Middle Way avoids extremes and is a theme across Buddhist ethics and thought.
Impermanence and not-self
Buddhists teach three marks of existence: all conditioned things are impermanent (anicca), unsatisfactory (dukkha) and without a fixed, unchanging self (anatta). Seeing these clearly is understood as a key to letting go of craving.
Karma, rebirth and nirvana
Most Buddhist traditions teach that intentional actions (karma) shape future experience across a cycle of rebirth (samsara). Nirvana, the goal, is described as the ending of craving, hatred and delusion and freedom from that cycle. Navayana Buddhists following Dr B. R. Ambedkar interpret karma and rebirth in a more this-worldly, ethical way.
The Five Precepts
Lay Buddhists commonly undertake five precepts: to refrain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech and intoxicants. They are understood as training rules taken on willingly, rooted in compassion (karuna) and loving-kindness (metta).
Sacred books
📖 Tipitaka (Pali Canon)
The 'three baskets' of the Theravada scriptures in Pali: the Vinaya (monastic rules), the Sutta (discourses of the Buddha) and the Abhidhamma (systematic analysis).
Reader coming📖 Dhammapada ›
A short collection of verses on the Dhamma, part of the Pali Canon, and one of the most widely read Buddhist texts.
Read now📖 Jataka tales
Stories of the Buddha's previous lives as a bodhisattva, often teaching virtues such as generosity and patience; many are painted at Ajanta and carved at Sanchi and Bharhut.
Reader coming📖 Mahayana sutras
Scriptures honoured in Mahayana traditions, such as the Lotus Sutra, the Heart Sutra and the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) sutras, which stress the bodhisattva ideal and emptiness (shunyata).
Reader coming📖 Kangyur and Tengyur
The two great collections of the Tibetan Buddhist canon: the Kangyur holds texts regarded as the Buddha's words, and the Tengyur holds commentaries and treatises, many translated from Sanskrit.
Reader coming📖 The Buddha and His Dhamma
Dr B. R. Ambedkar's account of the Buddha's life and teaching, published in 1957, which is central to Navayana Buddhists.
Reader comingKey figures
| Gautama Buddha | Born Siddhartha Gautama; Buddhists revere him as the Awakened One who rediscovered and taught the path to liberation. |
|---|---|
| Ananda | The Buddha's cousin and close attendant; tradition says he recited the discourses at the First Council. |
| Mahapajapati Gotami | The Buddha's foster mother; tradition remembers her as the first woman ordained as a bhikkhuni (nun). |
| Emperor Ashoka | Mauryan emperor of the 3rd century BCE who embraced the Dhamma, built stupas and spread its message through his edicts. |
| Acharya Nagarjuna | Indian philosopher of about the 2nd century CE, founder of the Madhyamaka school and a key thinker of Mahayana. |
| Guru Padmasambhava | Honoured in Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism as Guru Rinpoche, the teacher who helped establish Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th century. |
| Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar | Jurist and chief architect of India's Constitution, who took diksha in 1956 at Nagpur and gave Navayana Buddhism its foundation, including 22 vows. |
| His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama | Tenzin Gyatso, spiritual leader in the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, living in Dharamshala since 1960. |
Schools and communities
Where traditions within this faith differ. Described side by side, with no verdict.
Theravada
The 'teaching of the elders', based on the Pali Canon and centred on the monastic Sangha and the path of the arahant. It is the main tradition in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
Mahayana
The 'great vehicle', which stresses the bodhisattva who seeks awakening for the benefit of all beings, and honours sutras such as the Lotus and Heart Sutras. It includes Zen and Pure Land and is widespread in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
Vajrayana
A tradition within the Mahayana family that adds tantric practices such as mantra, mandala and guru devotion. It is the form practised in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia and India's Himalayan regions such as Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Navayana
The 'new vehicle' shaped by Dr B. R. Ambedkar, who took diksha at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, in 1956. It reads the Dhamma as a path of reason, equality and social ethics, and is followed by millions, especially in Maharashtra.
Holy places
📍 Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya
Gaya district, Bihar
Where Buddhists believe the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree; a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most important Buddhist pilgrimage place.
📍 Sarnath
Near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
The deer park where the Buddha gave his first teaching; Ashoka's lion capital found here is now India's national emblem.
📍 Kushinagar
Kushinagar district, Uttar Pradesh
Where Buddhists believe the Buddha passed into parinirvana; the Mahaparinirvana Temple holds a large reclining Buddha image.
📍 Deekshabhoomi
Nagpur, Maharashtra
Where Dr B. R. Ambedkar took diksha on 14 October 1956; its large stupa draws vast gatherings every year on Dhammachakra Pravartan Din.
📍 Ajanta Caves
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra
Rock-cut Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls with famous paintings of Jataka tales; a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
📍 Sanchi Stupa
Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh
One of the oldest stone structures in India, first built in Ashoka's time, with carved gateways showing scenes from the Buddha's life.
📍 Lumbini
Rupandehi district, Nepal
The birthplace of the Buddha according to tradition, marked by an Ashokan pillar; a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Festivals
- Buddha Purnima (Vesak): The full moon of Vaishakha, when many Buddhists remember the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and parinirvana together, with visits to viharas, offerings and lamps.
- Dhammachakra Pravartan Din: Marks Dr B. R. Ambedkar's diksha of 1956; large gatherings meet at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, on Ashoka Vijayadashami and on 14 October.
- Asalha Puja (Dhamma Day): The full moon of Ashadha, remembered as the day of the Buddha's first teaching at Sarnath; the monastic rains retreat (vassa) begins soon after.
- Losar: The Tibetan and Himalayan New Year, celebrated in Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Tibetan settlements with prayers, cleaning and family visits.
- Kathina: At the end of the rains retreat, lay Buddhists in Theravada communities offer robes and gifts to monks in a festive ceremony.
In India today
Buddhism began in India and flourished for many centuries, leaving great sites such as Sanchi, Ajanta, Nalanda and Bodh Gaya, before declining in most of the country by about the 13th century. It continued in the Himalayan regions, where Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Lahaul and Spiti keep strong Vajrayana traditions, and among communities such as the Barua of Bengal and the Chakma of the Northeast. In 1956 Dr B. R. Ambedkar's diksha at Nagpur began the Navayana movement, and today Maharashtra is home to the largest number of India's Buddhists. Tibetan communities, centred on Dharamshala and settlements such as Bylakuppe in Karnataka, have also made India a major centre of Tibetan Buddhist learning.
Visiting and learning with respect
- Remove your shoes before entering a vihara, temple or shrine room, and dress modestly.
- Walk around stupas and shrines clockwise, keeping them on your right.
- Do not climb on, sit against or point your feet at Buddha images, and ask before taking photographs.
- Greet monks and nuns with folded hands; in some traditions monastics avoid physical contact, so do not offer a handshake unless they do.
Test what you learned
Where do Buddhists believe the Buddha attained enlightenment?
What are the 'three baskets' of the Tipitaka?
In which year did Dr B. R. Ambedkar take diksha at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur?
Which branch of Buddhism is mainly followed in Ladakh and Sikkim?
What do the Jataka tales describe?
Which of these is one of the Three Jewels in Buddhism?
Score: 0 / 6
Sources: Census of India 2011, religion data (Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India) · Encyclopaedia Britannica: Buddhism · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: The Buddha · Encyclopaedia Britannica: B. R. Ambedkar · UNESCO World Heritage: Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya
Corrections from members of every tradition are welcome at support@indiadigital.org. Last checked: .