Buddhism

What is Buddhism?

Buddhism is the wisdom tradition that grew from the teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama, the historical Buddha§, in northern India around the 5th century BCE. Its core is the Four Noble Truths§ and the Eightfold Path§: a diagnosis of suffering, its cause, its cessation, and the way to that cessation. It now splits into three main branches: Theravāda§, Mahāyāna§, and Vajrayāna§.

The core teaching, in one paragraph

The Buddha taught that suffering, *dukkha*§, is intrinsic to ordinary life. It is caused by craving and aversion driven by a misperception of the self. It can end, and that cessation is nirvāṇa. The way to that end is a path of practice covering ethics, meditation and wisdom. That is it. Everything else in the tradition — the schools, the rituals, the pure-land cosmology, the bodhisattva vow — is commentary, expansion, or skilful means.

Buddhism vs adjacent concepts

Buddhism shares the Indian inheritance of *karma*§ and *saṃsāra*§ with Hinduism§. The decisive split is the doctrine of *anatta*§, no-self: the Buddha denied the existence of the permanent self (*ātman*§) that Hindu thought affirms.

Modern mindfulness is one practice extracted from one branch. It descends from the *satipaṭṭhāna*§ of Theravāda meditation, stripped of its ethical context, its goal of liberation, and its cosmology. Useful, but not the same thing as Buddhism.

Taoism§ is sometimes lumped with Buddhism as 'Eastern philosophy'. The two met in China and exchanged vocabulary, and Chan§ is partly the result. But their starting points differ. Taoism begins with the *Tao*§, an impersonal cosmic order. Buddhism begins with the problem of suffering.

The three vehicles

*Theravāda is the oldest surviving form. It focuses on the original suttas, the figure of the arhat (the one who reaches liberation through their own effort), and [vipassanā*](lexicon:vipassana) meditation. Predominant in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

*Mahāyāna is the second wave (1st century BCE onwards). It is wider in scope and centres on the [bodhisattva*](lexicon:bodhisattva), who postpones their own liberation to help all beings. Its meditative offspring include Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen§. Predominant in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. The Western Mahāyāna teachers most present in the index are Thich Nhat Hanh↗ and Pema Chödrön↗, both rooted in the bodhisattva tradition.

*Vajrayāna*, the diamond or thunderbolt vehicle, adds tantric methods, mantra practice, and visualisation. Predominant in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia and parts of India. The Tibetan teacher most familiar to Western audiences via popular media is the Dalai Lama. In the index, Pema Chödrön↗ was trained in this lineage by Chögyam Trungpa§.

Where to begin

For practice, Jon Kabat-Zinn's MBSR course↗ is the secularised entry point. For a Theravāda taste, try Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield's *Power of Awareness*↗. For Mahāyāna, see Thich Nhat Hanh on emptiness, signlessness and aimlessness↗ or Br. Troi Duc Niem's reflection from Plum Village↗. For working with difficulty, Pema Chödrön's *When Things Fall Apart*↗ and her course on awakening compassion↗.

Ram Dass↗ was shaped more directly by Hindu bhakti than by Buddhism, but he became one of the most beloved Western voices on the bodhisattva impulse. His Maharaji story about *only God*↗ is a Buddhist-compatible non-dual moment by another name.