Religion by Credo Reference: Buddhism

Religion and philosophy founded in India c.525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. There are over 300 million Buddhists worldwide.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Act of spiritual contemplation, practised by members of many religions or as a secular exercise.

Belief that after death the human soul or the spirit of a plant or animal may live again.

Tantric practices use both ritual and meditation to unify the devotee with the chosen deity.

Buddhist beliefs are governed by the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Five Moral Precepts (or Eight or Ten Moral Precepts).

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.

Buddhist sect of China and Japan. The name of the sect (Chin. Ch'an, Jap. Zen) derives from the Sanskrit dhyana [meditation].

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.

A devotional sect of Mahayana Buddhism in China and Japan, centering on worship of the Buddha Amitabha.

Buddhism of Tibet, Mongolia, and parts of Nepal and northern India; a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
One of the two major forms of Buddhism, found in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet.