Buddhism and the Buddha (a brief overview)

Buddhism
Buddhism developed in India during the late 500's B.C. Buddha probably was born sometime during the 500's or 400's B.C. in southern Nepal. His real name was Siddhartha Gautama. According to later Buddhist accounts, he was a member of a rich and powerful family. At the age of about 29, Gautama became overwhelmed with the conviction that life was filled with suffering. This conviction led Gautama to abandon his life as a prince and to seek religious enlightenment as a wandering monk.

After traveling throughout northeastern India for about six years, Gautama experienced enlightenment. He believed he had discovered why life was filled with suffering and how people could escape from cyclic existence. After others learned of his discovery, they called him Buddha, which means Enlightened One.

Buddha taught that people should devote themselves to finding release from the suffering of cyclic existence. Through this release, people would gain nirvana, a state of perfect peace and happiness. To achieve nirvana, they had to free themselves from all worldly desires and attachments to worldly things. Buddha taught that nirvana could be gained by following the Middle Way between the extremes of severe self-denial and uncontrolled passion. As Buddha preached, he attracted a growing number of followers. By the time of his death, about 483 B.C., Buddhism was firmly established in India.

Buddhism spread into central Asia. By the end of the A.D. 100's, it had been introduced into China. In the 500's, Chinese Buddhism spread to Korea and Japan. Buddhism became the chief Japanese religion for the next 1,000 years.
Early in its history, Buddhism divided into two forms, Theravada and Mahayana. Today, Theravada Buddhism is strongest in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Most Mahayana Buddhists live in Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Tibet, Vietnam, and scattered parts of India and Russia.

The beliefs of Buddhism
All Buddhists have faith in (1) Buddha; (2) his teachings, called the Dharma; and (3) the religious community he founded, called the Sangha. Buddhists call Buddha, the dharma, and the Sangha the Three Refuges or Three Jewels.