History UsefulNotes / Buddhism

* No forms of Buddhism explicitly teach the existence of a ''creator'' god. Some reject the existence of all godlike beings, but not all.

* Buddhism is not necessarily a form of atheism. Some variations are perfectly compatible with atheism, but not all (as noted above).

Fast forward 29 years. Siddhartha is now married and is in the prime of his life. But he wonders how he can be an effective king if he has never even left the palace to see his kingdom. So his father relents and allows Siddhartha a single day outside the palace. But King Suddhodana secretly sends his ministers to pre-arrange every sight that Siddhartha will see, removing from public view all of the beggars, lepers, and dying subjects. His plan, however, [[BrokenMasquerade fails]].

As Siddhartha walks the street greeted by his subjects, he catches sight of an old man. Having been sequestered in a false, but perfect world up until this point, he is forced to ask his chariot-driver what is wrong with the elderly individual. He is told that it is an old man, and all men will someday grow old like him. Siddhartha is shocked, and continues looking into the crowd in earnest.

The second sight that Siddhartha sees is a leper. Again, he is shocked by the unhappiness that is visited upon humanity, and embarrassed by his naivety. The third sight that he sees is a decaying corpse, and is told by his driver that it is the fate of all human beings to die. At last, he comes upon the fourth sight - a Hindu ascetic monk. Siddhartha casts off his kingdom and family in order to follow this monk, who he hopes will lead him out of the cycle of misery that afflicts all humankind.

* Siddhartha Gautama was the original Buddha (perfectly enlightened one) but there have been many others since.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Zen and Tibetan Buddhism are the best known in the West, although they're not the most influential or popular forms.

* HumansAreSpecial: ZigZaggingTrope. We are not any more special than any other lifeform. But because we live balance life, we have best chance to attain enlightenment and being only race that can become Buddha. Pretas and dwellers of [[{{Hell}} Naraka]] suffer too much to better themselves. Animals are dominated by instinct and can't fully understand dharma. Asuras are DrunkWithPower and Devas's life are too comfort that most of them do not care about future at all.

* HumansAreSpecial: ZigZaggingTrope. We are not any more special than any other lifeforms. But because we live balance life, we have best chance to attain enlightenment and being only race that can become Buddha. Pretas and dwellers of [[{{Hell}} Naraka]] suffer too much to better themselves. Animals are dominated by instinct and can't fully understand dharma. Asuras are DrunkWithPower and Devas's life are too comfort that most of them do not care about future at all.

* HumansAreSpecial: ZigZaggingTrope. We are not special, TheMario among all lifeforms. But because we live balance life, we have best chance to attain enlightenment and being only race that can become Buddha. Pretas and dwellers of [[{{Hell}} Naraka]] suffer too much to better themselves. Animals are dominated by instinct and can't fully understand dharma. Asuras are DrunkWithPower and Devas's life are too comfort that most of them do not care about future at all.

* OmazingPowerup: Tranquility leads to enlightened asskicking -- The legendary Shaolin Monastery is a Chan (Also known as Zen in Japan and the US) Buddhist Monastery that uses martial arts as a form of meditation. In a broader view, Zazen and other forms of meditation allow for impressive feats of concentration, which allow for other, equally impressive, feats.

* OmazingPowerup: Tranquility leads to enlightened asskicking.

* Siddhartha Guatama was the original Buddha (perfectly enlightened one) but there have been many others since.

The story of Buddhism begins with the birth of Siddhartha Guatama in modern-day Nepal around the year 500BCE. As was the fashion of the time, his father, King of Shakya, took his newborn son to an oracle to have his future read. The oracle told the King that Buddha would grow up to either be a great spiritual teacher, or a mighty king. King Suddhodana preferred that his son follow in his own footsteps, and so young Siddhartha was raised [[{{Gilded Cage}} with every desire fulfilled but without being allowed to leave his father's palace]].

* [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Asians Love Siddhartha Guatama]]: Buddhism was founded in India, Got VERY popular in Japan, China, and other parts of Asia, yet in India there are very few Buddhists left. This was due to Indian sages convincing much of the Indian subcontinent that Buddha was an avatar of Vishnu.

Unlike many religions, the denominations coexist together quite peaceably, since non-violence is one of the foremost strictures of Buddhism.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Buddhism was founded in India, Got VERY popular in Japan, China, and other parts of Asia, yet in India there are very few Buddhists left. This was due to Indian sages convincing much of the Indian subcontinent that Buddha was an avatar of Vishnu.

* OlderThanFeudalism: Budda lived approximately 563 BCE to 483 BCE.

*** Buddhism is even bigger in Australia, where it is the second largest religion, having edged ahead of Islam over the past decade or so by an increasing margin. It is also the fastest-growing religion by percentage in Australia.

The story of Buddhism begins with the birth of Siddhartha Guatama in modern-day Nepal around the year 500BCE. As was the fashion of the time, his father, King of Shakya, took his newborn son to an oracle to have his future read. The oracle told the King that Buddha would grow up to either be a great spiritual teacher, or a mighty king. King Suddhodana preferred that his son follow in his own footsteps, and so young Siddhartha was raised [[TheWhitePrince with every desire fulfilled but without being allowed to leave his father's palace]].

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buddha.jpg

Two more important concepts key to Buddhism are those of reincarnation and karma. In Buddhist theology, there is no fixed soul, so there is nothing that could actually be reborn. Instead what we perceive as a person's soul or a person's self is rather a continous stream of thoughts which continues even after a body has died and will continue in another newly born body. For a great number of lay Buddhists this is mostly a technicality though, and not given much thought, if any. The body which the person is reborn in is determined mostly by karma (although skilled practitioners can control to a certain extent which realm they are reborn in, as can higher beings).

Also, the only force in the Universe, at least according to Theravada Buddhism, is NOT just karma, but also (loosely translated to English), the climate/weather, the nature of things to pass on their charcteristics to their offspring, the nature of things to age/ change, and the nature of the mind to rush around and not stay on one subject/ point.

* AboveGoodAndEvil: Some schools take dharma as not strictly good or evil. But since your act will add to karma, being nice will be benefical. For example, being lazy isn't evil but it will make you less likely to be a successful person.

* HumansAreSpecial: ZigZaggingTrope. We are not special, TheMario amongs all lifeform. But because we live balance life, we have best chance to attain enlightenment and being only race that can become Buddha. Pretas and dwellers of [[{{Hell}} Naraka]] suffer too much to better themselves. Animals are dominated by instinct and can't fully undertsand dharma. Asuras are DrunkWithPower and Devas's life are too comfort that most of them do not care about future at all.
* {{Karma}}: See above. When flanderized and simplified for dramatic effect, you get CallItKarma.

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* HumansAreSpecial: ZigZaggingTrope. We are not special, TheMario amongs all lifeform. But because we live balance life, we have best chance to attain enlightenment and being only race that can become Buddha. Pretas and dwellers of [[{{Hell}} Naraka]] suffer too much to better themselves. Animals are dominated by instinct and can't fully undertsand dharma. Asuras are DrunkWithPower and Devas's life is too comfort that most of them are care about future.

*** Probably even more importantly, bings can also Descend to a Lower Plane of Existance and be reincarnated as an animal, a demon, a ghost, or in {{Hell}}. Which is the reason that becoming a god is only a temporary freedom from suffering that will come to an end.

* TheUnfettered: Litteraly, as the ten fetters are what keep people from Nirvana!

* NoSwastikas: Inverted as it's a religious symbol! It has also led to some problems with several things exported from Asia (NoExportForYou)! Look at the picture (YouShouldKnowThisAlready)!
** For what it's worth, the Buddhist "swastika" is a descending spiral (the pointy bits point in a counter-clockwise progression), whereas the Nazi swastika is invariably an ascending spiral (pointy bits go clockwise). They are considered by most to be entirely separate symbols with separate usages and lineages.

For 49 days, Siddhartha struggled with his ignorance under the tree. Tempted by the goddess of illusion Mara, assaulted by flies, distracted by all of the drama that comes with being human, he refused to give in to any illusion and continued seeking absolute enlightenment. At age 35, under a Bodhi tree, Siddhartha reached enlightenment and became the "Buddha," a Sanskrit word meaning "One who is awake."

Two more important concepts key to Buddhism are those of reincarnation and karma. In buddhist theology, there is no fixed soul, so there is nothing that could actually be reborn. Instead what we percieve as a persons soul or a persons self is rather a continous stream of thoughts which continues even after a body has died and will continue in another newly born body. For a great number of lay Buddhists this is mostly a technicality though, and not given much thought, if any. The body which the person is reborn in is determined mostly by karma (although skilled practitioners can control to a certain extent which realm they are reborn in, as can higher beings).

Karma is an action or energy created through action that drives a person's life, death and rebirth. The concept of karma is like that of cause and effect - Buddhists believe that whatever actions are taken by the individual will have an impact on the individuals future. Buddhism makes special emphasis on the mental intent behind an action - it is possible to accrue positive or negative karma through emotions and thoughts. Karma can be both short term, which arises as the near immediate consequences of one's actions in the physical world (for example, anger at another person can lead to hate from that person); and long term, which will decide a person's future circumstances and rebirth.

The extent to which reincarnation and karma are taken literally or viewed as extended metaphor varies wildly from school to school. In Asia these are more likely to be accepted parts of Buddhist theology; in the West they're generally dismissed as illustrative. As with the Buddha's other teachings, which viewpoint is literally true is not supposed to be remotely important.

* Mahayana: The vehicle with the largest following, Mahayana is also known as "The Greater Vehicle". It teaches the concept of "Bodhicitta", an all-encompassing compassion and altruism which drives a being to seek Nirvana not for their own self, but in the hopes of eliminating suffering for all human beings. Bodhisattvas are beings who hold off full enlightenment so as to help other beings achieve lasting happiness is considered to be hold this in its purest form. Often "adopts" local deities into a pantheon of Boddhisattvas and gods (note that gods are simply higher beings, but are still prone to desire, ignorance and suffering).

* AboveGoodAndEvil: Some schools take darma as no strictly good or evil. But since your act will add to karma, being NiceGuy will be benefical. For example, being lazy isn't evil but it will made you less likely to be success person.

* No forms of Buddhism explicitly teach the existence of a ''creator'' god. Some reject the existence of all godlike beings, but not all. Buddha is not a god, he is a teacher.

As Siddhartha walks the street greeted by his subjects, he catches sight of an old man. Having been sequestered in a false, but perfect world up until this point, he is forced to ask his chariot-driver what is wrong with the elderly individual. He is told that it is an old man, and all men will someday grow old like him. Siddhartha is shocked, and continues looking into the crowd in ernest.

The second sight that Siddhartha sees is a leper. Again, he is shocked by the unhappiness that is visited upon mankind, and embarrassed by his naivety. The third sight that he sees is a decaying corpse, and is told by his driver that it is the fate of all human beings to die. At last, he comes upon the fourth sight - a Hindu ascetic monk. Siddhartha casts off his kingdom and family in order to follow this monk, who he hopes will lead him out of the cycle of misery that afflicts all humankind.

*{{Karma}}: See above. When flanderized and simplified for dramatic effect, you get CallItKarma.