Buddhism

Abstract

In this study Buddhism is presented from a point of view of the Buddha's own experience of freedom from the fundamental unsatisfactoriness of existence, namely, the realization of nirvāṇa , which the Buddha described as overcoming of death. The soteriological scheme as found in the Four Noble Truths is described with reference to the doctrine of dependent origination, the philosophical basis of the teaching of the Buddha, and its corollary, the absence of everlasting and unchanging soul, and the three aspects of the training – virtue, concentration, and understanding. Moving on to the historical development of the system, the origin and evolution of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions in India and the subsequent developments of these two traditions in East Asia and the Tibetan region respectively are studied from both historical and doctrinal perspectives. The entry concludes on a futuristic note with some general observations on the contemporary state of the religion.