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The Globalization of Buddhism

The document provides an overview of Buddhism including its origins, key beliefs, and spread globally. It began in India with Siddhartha Gautama achieving enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. The religion spread from India to many parts of Asia through missionary work and the conversion of King Ashoka, who helped promote Buddhist teachings. Today, there are approximately 350 million Buddhists worldwide following branches of Buddhism like Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana that developed distinctive regional practices and philosophies as the religion globalized over centuries.

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Jhelian Adil Aticaldo
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61 views6 pages

The Globalization of Buddhism

The document provides an overview of Buddhism including its origins, key beliefs, and spread globally. It began in India with Siddhartha Gautama achieving enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. The religion spread from India to many parts of Asia through missionary work and the conversion of King Ashoka, who helped promote Buddhist teachings. Today, there are approximately 350 million Buddhists worldwide following branches of Buddhism like Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana that developed distinctive regional practices and philosophies as the religion globalized over centuries.

Uploaded by

Jhelian Adil Aticaldo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Written Report

in
Introduction to World Religion and
Belief System

Topic: The Globalization of Buddhism

Reporters:
Jheliane Adil P. Aticaldo
Khyle Christoffe Aseo

Subject Teacher:
Sir. Mhico Camposano

The Globalization of Buddhism


According to Stanford Buddhist scholar Paul Harrison, Buddhism is
more than finding zen: It is a religious tradition with a complicated
history that has expanded and evolved over centuries.

Informations about Buddhism


Buddhism is one of the world’s major religions. It originated in South
Asia around the 5th century B.C.E. with Siddhartha Gautama, and over
the next millennia it spread across Asia and the rest of the world.
Buddhists believe that human life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, but
that if one achieves a state of enlightenment (nirvana), it is possible to
escape this cycle forever. Siddhartha Gautama was the first person to
reach this state of enlightenment and was, and is still today, known as
the Buddha. Buddhists do not believe in any kind of deity or god,
although there are supernatural figures who can help or hinder people on
the path towards enlightenment.

Born on the Nepali side of the present day Nepal-India border,


Siddhartha Gautama was a prince around the fifth century B.C.E. who,
upon seeing people poor and dying, realized that human life is suffering.
He renounced his wealth and spent time as a poor beggar, meditating
and traveling but ultimately, remaining unsatisfied, settling on
something called “the Middle Way.” This idea meant that neither
extreme asceticism nor extreme wealth was the path to enlightenment,
but rather, a way of life between the two extremes was. Eventually, in a
state of deep meditation, he achieved enlightenment, or nirvana,
underneath the Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening). The Mahabodhi
Temple in Bihar, India—the site of his enlightenment—is now a major
Buddhist pilgrimage site.

The Buddha taught about Four Noble Truths. The first truth is called
“Suffering (dukkha),” which teaches that everyone in life is suffering in
some way. The second truth is “Origin of suffering (samudāya).” This
states that all suffering comes from desire (tanhā). The third truth is
“Cessation of suffering (nirodha),” and it says that it is possible to stop
suffering and achieve enlightenment. The fourth truth, “Path to the
cessation of suffering (magga)” is about the Middle Way, which is the
steps to achieve enlightenment.

Buddhists believe in a wheel of rebirth into different bodies. This is


connected to “karma,” which refers to how a person’s good or bad
actions in the past or in their past lives can impact them in the future.

There are three main schools of Buddhism: Mahayana, Theravada, and


Vajrayana. Mahayana Buddhism is common in China, Taiwan, Japan,
and South Korea. It emphasizes the role models of bodhisattvas (beings
that have achieved enlightenment but return to teach humans).
Theravada Buddhism is common in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand,
Laos, and Burma (Myanmar). It emphasizes a monastic lifestyle and
meditation as the way to enlightenment. Vajrayana is the major school
of Buddhism in the region of Tibet and in Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia.
It offers followers a faster path to enlightenment than Mahayana or
Theravada.
The head of the Tibetan school of Buddhism and traditional leader of
Tibet, the Dalai Lama, fled from China-controlled Tibet in 1959 to India
in fear of his life. Many Tibetan Buddhists actively resist Chinese
control of the region. Recently, the current Dalai Lama, who is
understood to be the 14th reincarnation of the first Dalai Lama, has
raised questions over whether and where he will choose to reincarnate.

Buddhism Beliefs and Practices


Buddhism is a faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama—also
known as “the Buddha”—more than 2,500 years ago in India. With an
estimated 500 million to one billion followers, scholars consider
Buddhism one of the major world religions. As a non-theistic faith with
no god or deity to worship, some scholars describe Buddhism as a
philosophy or a moral code rather than an organized religion.

Many of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism revolve around the


concept of suffering and its causes. Buddhism has historically been most
prominent in East and Southeast Asia, but its influence is growing
throughout the West. Many Buddhist ideas and philosophies overlap
with those of other faiths.

Buddhism: Spiritual Revolution


Small communities of monks and nuns, known as bhikkus, sprung up
along the roads that Buddha traveled. Devoted to his teachings, they
dressed in yellow robes and wandered the countryside to meditate
quietly. F
oralm
ost200 ye a r s , t he s e humbl e di s c i pl e s we r e
overshadowed by the dominant Hindu believers. But the rise of a great
empire changed all that.

In the 3rd century B.C.E., several ambitious leaders built the expansive
Mauryan empire and fought many bloody battles were fought to extend
its boundaries of control. One king, named Ashoka, was so troubled by
the effects of the conquests on humanity that he converted to Buddhism.
Adopting a code of nonviolence, he renounced all warfare and
incorporated principles of Buddhism in his ruling practices.

Ashoka promoted Buddhist expansion by sending monks to surrounding


territories to share the teachings of the Buddha. A wave of conversion
began, and Buddhism spread not only through India, but also
internationally. Ceylon, Burma, Nepal, Tibet, central Asia, China, and
Japan are just some of the regions where the Middle Path was widely
accepted.

With the great spread of Buddhism, it traditional practices and


philosophies became redefined and regionally distinct. Only a small
minority practiced the earliest forms of Buddhism, and Buddhist
influence as a whole began to fade within India. Some scholars believe
that many Buddhist practices were simply absorbed into the tolerant
indufaith. T
H odaythera r e a ppr oxi ma t e l y 350 mi l l i on Buddhi s t s i n t he
world.
To conclude our topic, Globalization has spread Buddhism worldwide,
connecting people from different cultures and societies. This has led to
the exchange of teachings, practices, and ideas, making Buddhism more
accessible and influential across the globe.

Reference/s:
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/buddhism/
https://news.stanford.edu/2018/08/20/stanford-scholar-discusses-
buddhism-origins/
https://www.history.com/topics/religion/buddhism

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