http://www.buddhanet.net/elearning/history/bstats_b.

htm

Buddhismispracticedby488millionpeople,whichtranslatesintoaboutsevenpercentofthe
worldspopulation.Asauniversalreligion,itsadherentsarepeopleofallethnicitiesandraces.
Asevidentbythechart,therearetwomajorbranchesofBuddhism(MahayanaandTheravada),
VajrayanaisapartofMahayanaBuddhism.
MythriP.

Mahayanavs.Theravada
MahayanaBuddhismfollowsaverydifferentpaththanTheravadaBuddhism.Mahayana
BuddhismstartedwiththeoriginalteachingsofTheBuddha,andbythe9thcentury,ithas
spreadtoEastandCentralAsia.KeyideasuniquetoMahayanaBuddhismisA)Bodhisattva,
whichistheideathatanyonecanaspiretohaveaspiritualawakening.Bodhisattvastryto
understandtheworldwithwisdomandcompassion,andtheyknowthatsincethereisnoideaas
self,thenthereisnodifferencebetweenthemselvesandothers.Bodhisattvasareselflessin
thesensethattheyareabsentofself,andalsobecausetheyunderstandthateveryoneisequal,
andactwithoutdiscrimination.AnotherdifferenceisthatinMahayanaBuddhism,peopletend
lesstofocusonNirvanaandmoreontheprocessofacquiringknowledgeandwisdom,which
thenallowthepersontobeawoken.
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Mahayana

TheravadaBuddhism
TheravadaBuddhismalsostartedinIndiaveryearlyduringthebirthofBuddhism,however,
insteadofspreadingnorth,itmovedtothesouth,andthus,TheravadaBuddhismispracticedin

SriLankaandSoutheastAsia.TheravadaBuddhismhasaspecialsetofwritingswrittenina
languagecalledPali(MiddleIndoAryan),andthesewritingshaveBuddhassayings,monastic
rules,andthedeeperphilosophicalmeaningofBuddhaswords.TheravadafocusesonSamsara
(cycleofsuffering)andNirvana(releasefromsuffering)thanMahayanaBuddhism,and
TheravadaBuddhistsbelievethatNirvanacanbeachievedbyacquiringthestatusofanArhat,
whoisaperfectsaintthathasacquiredgoodkarmaandhasdonesomanygoodactionsthatthey
donothavetobereborn,andsocanachieveNirvana.
http://www.patheos.com/Library/TheravadaBuddhism
MythriP

BuddhismstartedinmoderndayNepal,anditfromthereithasspreadrapidlytootherpartsof
Asiaandbeyond.WhenAshokabecametheruleroftheMauryanEmpire(~200CE)he
convertedtoBuddhism,andforawhile,BuddhismbecamethedominantreligioninIndia.But
aftertheendof
theMauryan
Dynasty,
Hinduism
reasserteditself,
andBuddhism
spreadeastand
south.Buddhism
rapidgrowthis
partlythanksto
thetraderoutes
thatexistedinthe
region(i.e.Silk
Road,etc.).These
routes,alongwith
goods,alsospread
ideas,andthus
Buddhismwas
abletospreadto
distantlands.
Buddhismalso
primarilyspread
viaexpansion
diffusion.Thefact
thatitappealedto
manypeopleof
allethnicitiesis
partofthereason
thatitisa
universalreligion,
andmanypeoplereadilyadoptedit,duetoitsideasofequality,peace,andwisdom.Althoughfor
awhileinChina,BuddhismwasoftenshowninanegativelightbyConfucianscholarsduring
theHanDynasty(~200400CE),itwasstillverypopularamongstthemajority,againduetoits
ideaofequalityforall(unlikeConfucianism,whichwasverypatriarchal).Buddhismdidnot
spreadviamilitaryconquestorforcedconversions,itprimarilyspreadviamonasteries(likethe
largeonesinTibet,whichhaveandarecontinuingtoattractthousandseveryyear).

MythriP.

BuddhismwasfoundedinIndia2,500yearsagoandisstillthemainworldreligionintheEast.
Accordingtoreligionfacts.com,BuddhismisbasedontheteachingsofanIndianprincenamed
SiddharthaGautamawholivedaround500BCE.AccordingtoBuddhisttradition,thesheltered
youngprincewasshockedbythesufferinghesawoutsidehispalacewalls,sohelefthislifeof
luxurytoseekanswers.Eventuallyhesucceeded,becomingtheBuddhathe"EnlightenedOne."
Hespenttheremaining45yearsofhislifeteachingthedharma(thepathtoliberationfrom
suffering)andestablishingthesangha(acommunityofmonks).
EmilyW.

ThekeyfigureofBuddhismisSiddharthaGautama.HeisthefounderofBuddhism,andthegoal
ofBuddhistsistoachieveNirvana.Accordingtoscientificpsychic.com,Nirvanaisapeaceful
statethatisfreefromcraving,angerandsuffering.Thefundamentalteachingsofthisphilosophy
acknowledgethatthereissufferingintheworld,andthatmuchofthissufferingiscausedbyour
desiresandexpectationsofhowlifeshouldbe.Thepathtoenlightenment,whichleadstothe
cessationofsuffering(nirvana),requiresthatweunderstandourrelationshiptothenaturalworld
andaccepttheconsequencesofbeingconsciousmortalbeings.Wemustunderstandthe
cognitiveandemotionalcausesofsufferingandattempttochangeourpatternsofthoughtand
behaviorsothatourmindandourmoodisnotcontrolledbyourdesiresforfulfillment.The
traditionalstepsforachievingnirvanarequirewisdom,ethicalconduct,andmentaldiscipline.

TheFigtreeisimportantinBuddhismbecauseBuddhawasenlightenedunderone.
TheTripitakathemostimportanttextofBuddhism,andithas3volumes:SuttaPitaka,
VinayaPitakaandAbhidhammaPitaka.
Buddhaisonewhoispurifiedandhasnomorecravingsandthusnomorebirths.
ThedayofaFullmoonisasacredday,especiallytheBuddhaPoornima,thebirthdayof
Buddha
Candlesandincensesticksarelitduringworship,andtheysymbolizeknowledge
ThePurposeofLifeistoattainliberationfromthecycleofbirthanddeathwhichisthe
causeofsuffering.
EmilyW.

Buddhismisauniversalizingreligion.Thereareover360millionBuddhistsworldwide.Certain
conceptsofBuddhismhaveinfluencedWesterncultureaswell,especiallytheconceptsofpeace
andmeditation.TherearemanytypesofBuddhism,sincethereligionbecomesabitwarped
movingfromsocietytosociety,buttheprimaryteachingsremainthesame.Forexample,
MahayanaBuddhisminChinaandJapan,incorporatesseveraldeities,celestialbeings,andother
traditionalreligiouselementsdespiteBuddhismoriginallyhavinganygods,astheBuddha,the
EnlightenedOne,ismoreofarolemodelthanagod.Buddhistsacceptpeopleofallkinds,as
Buddhismdealswithhumannatureandfindingonesownwaywithoneself,withBuddhism
actingasaguide.
http://aumamen.com/topic/buddhisminterestingfacts
EmilyW.

Buddhistsacredtexts:

TherearecountlessofBuddhisttextsandscriptures.Theyareusuallydividedintocanonicaland
noncanonicalcategories.TheSutras(Sanskrit)orSuttas(Pali)areeitherliterallyorfigurativelyderived
fromtheactualwordsoftheBuddha.TheothertextsofBuddhismcanconsistofcommentariesonthe
genuinetexts.However,therearetextsthatareacombinationofcanonicalandnoncanonical.Thetexts
belowaresomeofthesignificantBuddhisttexts.

Tripitaka(PaliCanon)istheonlytextviewedascanonicalbyTheravadaBuddhistsandisone
oftheearliestcollectionofBuddhistteachings.Tripitakameansthreebaskets,whichisaway
toreferonhowitwasrecorded.Thetextwasrecordedonlongandnarrowleavesthatweresewn
attheedgesthengatheredintoagroupsandstoredinbaskets.PaliCanonreferstothelanguage
thatitwaswrittenin.
MahayanaSutrasisasacredtextthatMahayanaBuddhistsrevereto.Theyhaveadded
MahayanaconceptstotheSutrasinordertocreatethedistinctdifferencebetweenothertypesof
Buddhism.ManyofMahayanaSutraswerewrittenalongthetimeperiodMahayanaBuddhism
developedbetween200BCEand200CE.TherearedifferentsectionsoftheMahayana
BuddhismthatemphasizedifferentSutrasbuttextslikeLotusSutraandHeartSutraareimportant
tomostdivisionsofMahayana.
TibetanBookoftheDeadisaTibetantextwrittenbyaTibetanmonk.Thisbookdescribethe
stagesofdeathfromTibetanpointofview.Itexplainsthereligiousexperienceapersonwould
faceateverystagesuchas:whiledying,momentofdeath,duringthe49dayintervalbetween
deathandrebirthandatrebirth.