Buddhism

Also called

Dharma

Origin

North India, about the fifth century BCE, from the awakening of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.

Texts

The Tripitaka (Pali Canon) in the Theravada tradition, and the Mahayana and Vajrayana sutras and texts; the Dhammapada is a short well-known collection.

Place of worship

A vihara, temple or monastery; monks and nuns are respected teachers.

Main beliefs

• The Four Noble Truths: suffering, its cause (craving), its end (Nirvana) and the Eightfold Path to its end.
• Impermanence, and no fixed self (anatta); karma and rebirth.
• The Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (teaching) and the Sangha (community).

Practice

Meditation, chanting, offerings at shrines, observing the five precepts, and for monks and nuns the monastic rules; many Buddhists are vegetarian.

Holy days and festivals

Vesak (Buddha Purnima), the Uposatha days, Dhamma Day, Losar (Tibetan new year) and local festivals.

Visiting a place of worship

Take off your shoes, dress modestly, do not point your feet at a Buddha image, and do not touch a monk if you are a woman, in some traditions.

A note

There are three main schools (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana) with many forms. Our Dhammapada section has the text.

The other eleven faiths · Comparison table

Questions people ask

This is a short, neutral introduction written from widely agreed facts. Every faith has many traditions and its members may describe it differently; for a true account, ask a member of that faith. We state no figures and no dates of moveable festivals.