IWRABS

• Top 10 Countries with the Highest Proportion of Buddhists

  • Thailand (95%)
  • Cambodia (90%)
  • Myanmar (88%)
  • Bhutan (75%)
  • Sri Lanka (70%)
  • Tibet (65%)
  • Laos (60%)
  • Vietnam (55%)
  • Japan (50%)
  • Macau (45%)
  • Taiwan (43%)
• The Largest Buddhist Communities
• Approximately 376m Buddhists
• Buddhism is the 4th Largest religion
• Divisions of Buddhism


  • Theravada Buddhism
  • Mahayana Buddhism
  • Vajrayana Buddhism
  • Jodo Shin Buddhism or Pure Land Buddhism
  • Zen Buddhism
• Theravada Buddhism


  Found in Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar & in part, Indonesia, Vietnam & Malaysia
• Mahayana Buddhism


  Found in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam
• Vajrayana Buddhism


  Found in Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Mongolia
• Jodo Shin Buddhism or Pure Land Buddhism


  Mainly from India, Japan
• Zen Buddhism


  Mostly in Japan
• Hinduism was established in 1500 BCE
• Hinduism has Vedas texts
• Hinduism has a Caste system
• Teachings of the Upanishads

  • Samsara
  • Karma
  • Moksha
  • Yoga
• Shramanas were present in India prior to Buddhism
• Legendary Birth of Buddha

  Approx. 480 BCE
• Buddha had an immaculate conception and non-vaginal birth
• Siddhartha Gautama


  Buddha's birth name
• Siddhartha's Early Life


  1. Named by a seer

  2. Kept in the palace by his father

  3. Surrounded by youth, beauty, pleasure and wealth
• The Great Renunciation (The Four Sights)

  1. Siddhartha questioned life

  2. Convinced charioteer to take him outside

  3. Saw an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a holy man

  4. Decided to leave his family to become a wandering holy man
• Journey of Enlightenment


  1. Learned about his own past lives

  2. Learned about others' past lives

  3. Attained knowledge of omniscience

  4. Became the Buddha

  5. Began spreading his teachings
• Buddhism is non-theistic
• Buddhist Theism


  • There isn't a god or set of gods that govern the universe, but many gods living in an "unseen world"
  • This "unseen world" is associated with the hereafter
  • Buddha is often called "devatideva" as he fully understands the deities
  • He is often prayed to, but not as a god
• Is Buddhism a Religion?


  • By first definition, No, Buddhism is not a religion, but rather a philosophy
  • By second definition, Yes, Buddhism is a religion
  • It's open to interpretation - there is no right answer
• Buddhism is very much practice and works based, as opposed to faith based
• Many Buddhists do not believe in the same ideas on the hereafter
• The Four Noble Truths

  1. There is suffering in the world. To live is to suffer (Dukkha)

  2. The cause of suffering is self-centered desire and attachments (Tanha)

  3. The solution is to eliminate desire and attachments (Nirvana = "extinction")

  4. To reach nirvana, one must follow the Eightfold Path
• Dukkha


  Means 'unsatisfactoriness', caused by failure to understand anicca
• Samudaya


  The cause of dukkha (the actual illness) is tanha (craving)
• Nirodha


  There is a way to cure the illness of dukkha, by achieving enlightenment (nirvana)
• The Noble Eightfold Path

  • Right view
  • Right intention
  • Right speech
  • Right action
  • Right livelihood
  • Right effort
  • Right mindfulness
  • Right concentration
• Asceticism


  Denying oneself things in order to 'force' the mind to see clearly
• Enlightenment


  1. Siddhartha sat under a bodhi tree and meditated

  2. Eventually realised the truth about reality and became enlightened

  3. Spent the rest of his life travelling and teaching what he had learned
• Dhamma


  Teachings of the Buddha
• Buddhist scriptures were originally passed on orally
• Meetings of Buddhists at special places during rainy seasons were used to pass on recent teachings and reminders of others
• Objects of Worship


  • Bells
  • Prayer Wheels
  • Buddha Images
  • Incense
  • Flowers
  • Candles
• Temples (Wats)


  Places of Buddhist worship, can be simple or elaborate
• Buddhists take their shoes off when entering a temple
• Worship in Temples


  1. Led by monks

  2. Includes giving offerings

  3. Involves meditation and chanting mantras