-From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Buddhism is a set of teachings described as a religion or way of life. One point of view says it is a body of philosophies influenced by the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Gautama Buddha. Another point of view says it is teachings to guide one to directly experiencing reality. Many scholars regard it as a plurality rather than a single entity. Buddhism is also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means roughly the "teachings of the Awakened One" in Sanskrit and Pali, languages of ancient Buddhist texts. Buddhism began around the 5th century BCE with the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, hereafter referred to as "the Buddha".
Divisions of Buddhism
The most frequently used classification of present-day Buddhism among scholars[15] divides present-day adherents into the following three traditions or geographical or cultural areas: Theravada, East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism.
An alternative scheme used by some scholars has two divisions, Theravada and Mahayana. In this classification, Mahayana includes both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism. This scheme is the one ordinarily used in the English language.Some scholars use other schemes. Buddhists themselves have a variety of other schemes.
