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P:BUDDHAP:BUDDHA

Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya (transl. "doctrines and disciplines"), is an Indian religion and philosophy based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a śramaṇa and religious teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with about 320 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise 4.1% of the global population. It originated in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. Buddhism has since played a significant role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to the West in the 20th century.

According to tradition, the Buddha taught a path of cultivation that leads to awakening and liberation from dukkha (often translated as 'suffering'; 'unsatisfactoriness') by attaining nirvana, the 'blowing out' (extinguishing) of the passions. He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extreme asceticism and sensory indulgence, and also between the extremes of eternalism and nihilism. Teaching that dukkha arises alongside attachment or clinging, the Buddha advised meditation practices and ethical precepts rooted in non-harming. Widely observed teachings include the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the doctrines of dependent origination, karma, and the three marks of existence. Other commonly observed elements include the Triple Gem, the taking of monastic vows, and the cultivation of perfections (pāramitā). (Full article...)

Selected Articles

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Shin in 2025

Irene Shin is an American politician and former non-profit executive serving as a delegate of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2022. Shin represents the 8th district, encompassing parts of Chantilly, Herndon, Oak Hill, and Reston. A Democrat, she defeated incumbent Ibraheem Samirah in the Democratic primary in 2021. On June 3, 2025, Shin announced her candidacy for the special election in Virginia's 11th congressional district to replace deceased incumbent Gerry Connolly. However, she lost the primary, placing second behind fellow Democrat James Walkinshaw. (Full article...)
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Guy Michael Webster (September 14, 1939 – February 5, 2019)) was one of the early innovators of rock ‘n’ roll photography. His fifty-year career spanned the worlds not only of music but film and politics. While shooting album covers and magazine layouts for numerous groups – the Rolling Stones, the Mamas & the Papas, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, the Doors, Simon & Garfunkel among many others – he also photographed film legends like Rita Hayworth, Dean Martin, and Natalie Wood. As the primary celebrity photographer for dozens of magazines worldwide, Webster captured entertainers including Igor Stravinsky, Barbra Streisand, Jack Nicholson and American presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Webster's work was collected in the award-winning book, Big Shots: The Photography of Guy Webster, published by Insight Editions. His passion for photography was matched by his love of Italian motorcycles; his personal collection of bikes considered among the world's finest. He spent the later part of his life in Ojai, California, where he volunteered and taught photography at the Oak Grove School (Ojai, California). He died there on February 5, 2019, as a result of complications arising from diabetes and liver cancer. (Full article...)
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The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple (Devanagari: कंदारिया महादेव मंदिर, Kandāriyā Mahādeva Mandir), meaning "the Great God of the Cave", is the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered as one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India. Because of its outstanding preservation and testimony to the Chandela culture, the temple was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. (Full article...)
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71-metre tall Leshan Giant Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Sichuan, China

Buddhism is followed by more than 40 million people in China, accounting for around 4% of the country's population. There are three main Buddhist branches there; Han or Chinese Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Theravada Buddhism. There is no definitive answer to the time when Buddhism was first introduced to China, but it is generally believed that this occurred around the time of the Han dynasty. (Full article...)
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Chade-Meng Tan, speaking at a Buddhist organization in Singapore, July 2017

Chade-Meng Tan (Chinese: 陳一鳴), known informally as Meng, is an author, philanthropist, motivator, and former software engineer. He was previously employed at Google and greeted celebrities who visited the Google campus. He retired from Google as its "Jolly Good Fellow" at the age of 45. He co-founded the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, along with Marc Lesser, and is co-chair of One Billion Acts of Peace, which was nominated eight times for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is also an adjunct professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in the National University of Singapore, and a graduate from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. (Full article...)
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Overview of the temple (2017)

Haeinsa (Korean: 해인사) is a Buddhist temple in Gayasan National Park, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Seon Buddhism. Haeinsa is most notable for being the home of the Tripitaka Koreana, the whole of the Buddhist Scriptures carved onto 81,350 wooden printing blocks, which it has housed since 1398.

Haeinsa is one of the Three Jewels Temples, and represents Dharma or the Buddha's teachings. It is still an active Seon practice center in modern times, and was the home temple of the influential Seon master Seongcheol, who died in 1993. (Full article...)
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Scobey with the Seattle Seahawks in 2006

Joshua Payne Scobey (born December 11, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and kick returner for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kansas State Wildcats and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL draft. (Full article...)

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Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini

Selected Quote

“Buddhism has exerted a greater influence on the modern mind than any other religion.”

— Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)

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Selected Biographies

Image 1

The Statue of Kumārajīva in front of the Kizil Caves in Kuqa County, Xinjiang, China

Kumārajīva (Sanskrit: कुमारजीव; traditional Chinese: 鳩摩羅什; simplified Chinese: 鸠摩罗什; pinyin: Jiūmóluóshí; Wade–Giles: Chiu¹ mo² lo² shih², 344–413 CE) was a Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator. from the Kingdom of Kucha (present-day Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China). Kumārajīva is seen as one of the greatest translators of Chinese Buddhism and a pivotal figure in the development of literary Buddhist Chinese. According to Lu Cheng, Kumarajiva's translations are "unparalleled either in terms of translation technique or degree of fidelity".

Kumārajīva first studied teachings of the Sarvastivadin schools, later studied under Buddhasvāmin, and finally became an adherent of Mahayana Buddhism, studying the Mādhyamaka doctrine of Nāgārjuna. After mastering the Chinese language, Kumārajīva settled as a translator and scholar in Chang'an (c. 401 CE) under the patronage of the Later Qin dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was the head of a team of translators which included his amanuensis Sengrui. This team was responsible for the translation of many Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Chinese.

Kumārajīva also introduced the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy into China which would later be called Sanlun (the "Three Treatise school"). (Full article...)
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Shaila Catherine is an American Buddhist meditation teacher and author in the Theravādin tradition, known for her expertise in insight meditation (vipassanā) and jhāna practices. She has authored three books on jhāna practice and has introduced many American practitioners to this concentration practice through her writings and focused retreats.

Catherine is the founder of Insight Meditation South Bay in Mountain View, California, and the primary teacher for Bodhi Courses, an online Buddhist classroom. She conducts retreats locally, nationally and internationally in mindfulness (satī), concentration (samādhi and jhāna), lovingkindness (mettā), and insight meditation (vipassanā). (Full article...)
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Nyanatiloka Mahathera

Ven. Nyanatiloka (Ñāṇatiloka) Mahathera (19 February 1878 – 28 May 1957) born as Anton Walther Florus Gueth, was one of the earliest Westerners in modern times to become a Bhikkhu, a fully ordained Buddhist monk. (Full article...)
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Kalinga II (Odia: ଦ୍ୱିତୀୟ କଳିଙ୍ଗ) was a powerful monarch and possibly an emperor from around the speculated era towards the end of 7th century BCE. He was the son of Chullakalinga, the youngest son of Kalinga I who had married a virtuous princess from Sagala (Madra). Kalinga II ascended the throne of the ancient state of Kalinga after the death of his paternal uncle Mahakalinga. Kalinga II finds mention in early Buddhist Jataka records of Chullakalinga Jataka (named after his father) and Kalingabodhi Jataka. He had spent most of his young life in the forests of Himavat where his father lived in exile. Trained with qualities of a king by his father and maternal grandfather, he was asked by Chullakalinga to go back to take the charge of his ancestral kingdom. (Full article...)
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Painting of Nāgārjuna (18th century)

Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit, from Nāga + Arjuna; Chn. Lóngshù 龍樹; Tib. Klu sgrub; c. 150 – c. 250 CE) was an Indian scholar-monk, philosopher, and teacher (acharya) of Mahayana Buddhism from south India. He is considered the founder of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school.

Nāgārjuna is widely considered to be the most important Buddhist philosopher after the Buddha himself. Indeed, in Tibetan Buddhism, he is even called the "second Buddha". He was a well known defender of the Mahāyāna movement and his treatises (śāstras) are the foundational texts of a school of Buddhist philosophy known as the view of emptiness (Śūnyatāvāda) or Madhyamaka. Nāgārjuna remains a key figure in all contemporary traditions of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and his philosophical writings on the doctrine of “emptiness” (śūnyatā) influenced Indian philosophy for a millennium, as well as being an indispensable doctrinal source for Mahāyāna doctrine in East Asian Buddhism and Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.

Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on Madhyamaka, MMK) is the most important text on the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness. The MMK inspired a large number of commentaries in Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean and Japanese and continues to be studied today. (Full article...)
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Samatha (Pāli samatha Sanskrit: śamatha शमथ; Chinese: 止; pinyin: zhǐ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquility of awareness," and vipassanā (Pāli vipassanā; Sanskrit: vipaśyanā विपश्यना; Sinhala: විදර්ශනා), literally "special, super (vi-), seeing (-passanā)", are two qualities of the mind developed in tandem in Buddhist practice.

In the Pāli Canon and the Āgama these qualities are not specific practices, but elements of "a single path," and are "fulfilled" with the development (bhāvanā) of mindfulness (sati) and meditation (jhāna) and other path-factors. While jhāna has a central role in the Buddhist path, vipassanā is rarely mentioned separately, but is usually described along with samatha.

The Abhidhamma Pitaka and the commentaries describe samatha and vipassanā as two separate techniques, taking samatha to mean concentration-meditation, and vipassanā as a practice to gain insight. In the Theravāda tradition, vipassanā is a practice that seeks "insight into the true nature of reality", which is defined as anicca ("impermanence"), dukkha ("suffering, unsatisfactoriness"), and anattā ("non-self"): the three marks of existence. In the Mahayana traditions vipassanā is defined as insight into śūnyatā ("emptiness") and Buddha-nature. (Full article...)
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A famous statue of Milarepa self made by Milerapa's root student Bhu Rechungpa which later belonged to Nyanang Phelgyeling Monastery, Tibet and now is in Phelgyeling Monastery, Nepal.

Jetsun Milarepa (Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན་མི་ལ་རས་པ་, Wylie: rje btsun mi la ras pa, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan siddha, who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and spiritual poets, whose teachings are known among several schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also famous for the feat of climbing Mount Kailash. (Full article...)

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Images from various Buddhism-related articles on Wikipedia

Image 1The Goryeo era Gyeongcheonsa Pagoda sits on the first floor of the National Museum of Korea. (from Buddhist art)
Image 2At Bharhut, the gateways were made by northern (probably Gandharan) masons using Kharosthi marks, while the railings were made by masons exclusively using marks in the local Brahmi script, now in Indian Museum. 150-100 BC. (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 3The Mani Hall of the Longxing Temple, Hebei, China. (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 4Wine-drinking and music (Detail from Chakhil-i-Ghoundi stupa, Hadda, 1st–2nd century AD). (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 5The Kamakura Daibutsu, a 13th-century bronze statue of the Buddha Amitābha in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan (from Buddhism)
Image 6Bodhisattva, Asuka period, 7th century. Tokyo National Museum. (from Buddhist art in Japan)
Image 7The main hall of a Japanese Buddhist temple with flags depicting the sect emblem (mon) of the Honganji sect of Jōdo Shinshū. The emblem is the Nishi Rokujō Fuji (Western Rokujō Wisteria). (from Buddhist flag)
Image 8An Ichthyo-Centaur, 2nd century Gandhara, Victoria and Albert Museum. (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 9Vajrayana adopted deities such as Bhairava, known as Yamantaka in Tibetan Buddhism. (from Buddhism)
Image 10Shakyamuni Triad by Tori Busshi depicts the Buddha Shakyamuni in the traditional sixth-century Chinese style with an elongated head and in front of a flaming mandorla – a lotus petal shaped cloud. (from Buddhist art in Japan)
Image 11Reclining Buddha statue, this is the largest Buddha statue in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 12Minar-i Chakri in 1836, Afghanistan (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 13 Mahabodhi temple, Gaya. (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 14Left panel of the Pine Trees screen (松林図屏風, Shōrin-zu byōbu) by Hasegawa Tōhaku, c.1595 (from Buddhist art in Japan)
Image 15Tile with seated Buddha (from Buddhist art in Japan)
Image 16The Buddha teaching the Four Noble Truths. Sanskrit manuscript. Nalanda, Bihar, India (from Buddhism)
Image 17Tibetan Buddhist flag (from Buddhist flag)
Image 18A Buddhist triad depicting, left to right, a Kushan, the future buddha Maitreya, Gautama Buddha, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and a monk. Second–third century. Guimet Museum. (from Buddhism)
Image 19Shaolin Monastery complex and bell tower, Mount Song, Henan, China. (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 20Yama, 18th century, Tibet (from Buddhist art)
Image 21An ordination ceremony at Wat Yannawa in Bangkok. The Vinaya codes regulate the various sangha acts, including ordination. (from Buddhism)
Image 22Greek scroll supported by Indian Yaksas, Amaravati, 3rd century AD (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 23The Bodhisattva Maitreya, 2nd century, Mathura, 2nd-century AD. (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 24 Candi Gumpung, a Buddhist temple at Muaro Jambi of Malayu Kingdom. (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 25Great Stupa at Drala Mountain Center, United States (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 26Seokguram Grotto is a World Heritage Site and dates to the Unified Silla era. (from Buddhist art)
Image 27Buddhist monks collect alms in Si Phan Don, Laos. Giving is a key virtue in Buddhism. (from Buddhism)
Image 28Living at the root of a tree (trukkhamulik'anga) is one of the dhutaṅgas, a series of optional ascetic practices for Buddhist monastics. (from Buddhism)
Image 29Wall Painting on South door of Byōdō-in (from Buddhist art in Japan)
Image 30A painting by G.B. Hooijer (c. 1916–1919) reconstructing the scene of Borobudur during its heyday (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 31Head of a Bodhisattva, 6th-7th century terracotta, Tumshuq (Xinjiang). (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 32Poseidon with attendants. Ancient Orient Museum. (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 33Jetavanaramaya stupa is an example of brick-clad Buddhist architecture in Sri Lanka. (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 34India's Mahabodhi Temple, built under the Gupta Empire, 6th century CE (from Buddhism)
Image 35Ajanta Caves, Cave 10, a first period type chaitya worship hall with stupa but no idols (from Buddhism)
Image 36Site of Nalanda University, a great centre of Mahāyāna thought (from Buddhism)
Image 37Flag depicted on a sky lantern in Bangladesh (from Buddhist flag)
Image 38Kannon(Avalokitesvara) or Guze Kannon, wood plated with gold, crown: bronze openwork gilt. Early CE 7th century, Horyu-ji, Nara (from Buddhist art in Japan)
Image 39Percentage of Buddhists by country in 2010, according to the Pew Research Center (from Buddhism)
Image 40Female triton, Tokyo National Museum (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 41Bodhisattva Lokesvara, Cambodia 12th century. (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 42Thikse Monastery is the largest gompa in Ladakh, built in the 1500s. (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 43Golden Temple of Shakyamuni Buddha, Kalmykia, Russia (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 44Avalokiteshvara on the wall of Plaosan temple (Indonesia), Javanese Sailendran art, 9th century. (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 45Bodhi tree temple depicted in Sanchi, Stupa 1, Southern gateway (from Buddhist temple)
Image 46Man with cup in hand, riding a Ketos sea-monster. (from Greco-Buddhist art)
Image 47The Sewu temple compound, second largest Buddhist temple complex in Indonesia. (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 48Phra Atchana Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai Province, Thailand (from Buddhist art)
Image 49The Relic Stupa of Vaishali in Bihar, India which is likely the earliest archaeologically known stupa (from Buddhist architecture)
Image 50Buddha figure, Japan, Asuka period, 7th century (from Greco-Buddhist art)

Did You Know?

... that Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Armenia's mother church, previously had a Tibetan Buddhist bell?
... that the Ming dynasty fantasy novel Journey to the South – whose protagonist accidentally amputates his right leg and converts to Buddhism – alludes to popular one-legged spirits?
... that the DJ NewJeansNim has been credited with reviving interest in Buddhism among South Korean youths?
... that the Burmese Buddhist monk Sagyo Thu-Myat successfully lobbied for the recalibration of the Burmese calendar?

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