Library: Religion by Credo Reference: Buddhism

People and Places

Buddha: Topic Page
Religion and philosophy founded in India c.525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. There are over 300 million Buddhists worldwide.
Tibet: Topic Page
Tibetan Bodyul, Mandarin Xizang, autonomous region (1994 est. pop. 2,300,000), c.471,700 sq mi (1,221,700 sq km), SW China.
Dalai Lama: Topic Page
Dalai Lama is the title given to the one who enjoys the highest spiritual rank in Lamaism, a Tibetan form of Buddhism introduced into Tibet in the seventh century A.D.
India: Topic Page
Country in southern Asia, bounded to the north by China, Nepal, and Bhutan; east by Myanmar and Bangladesh; northwest by Pakistan and Afghanistan; and southeast, south, and southwest by the Indian Ocean.

Pali Canon
In The Columbia Encyclopedia
The sacred literature of Buddhism. The texts in the Pali canon are the earliest Buddhist sources, and for Theravada Buddhists, who claim to conserve the original teachings of the Buddha, they are still the most authoritative sacred texts.
Mahāyāna
In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism
In Sanskrit, “great vehicle”; a term, originally of self-appellation, which is used historically to refer to a movement that began some four centuries after the Buddha’s death, marked by the composition of texts that purported to be his words.
Tibetan Book of the Dead
In Milestone Documents of World Religions
Bardo Thodol (“Liberation through Hearing”), often known in the West as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, is a funerary text, a guide for the dead and dying, and a source of inspiration and support to many interested people around the world.

Meditation: Topic Page
Act of spiritual contemplation, practised by members of many religions or as a secular exercise.
Reincarnation: Topic Page
Belief that after death the human soul or the spirit of a plant or animal may live again.
Tantra: Topic Page
Tantric practices use both ritual and meditation to unify the devotee with the chosen deity.
Buddhist Ethics: Topic Page
Buddhist beliefs are governed by the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Five Moral Precepts (or Eight or Ten Moral Precepts).
Dharma
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In Buddhism, teaching and scriptures of the Buddha, whose words and principles lead to enlightenment.

Zen Buddhism: Topic Page
Buddhist sect of China and Japan. The name of the sect (Chin. Ch'an, Jap. Zen) derives from the Sanskrit dhyana [meditation].
Tibetan Buddhism: Topic Page
Form of Buddhism prevailing in the Tibet region of China, Bhutan, the state of Sikkim in India, Mongolia, and parts of Siberia and SW China.
Pure Land Buddhism: Topic Page
A devotional sect of Mahayana Buddhism in China and Japan, centering on worship of the Buddha Amitabha.
Lamaism: Topic Page
Buddhism of Tibet, Mongolia, and parts of Nepal and northern India; a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Mahāyāna
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
One of the two major forms of Buddhism, found in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet.