Geography of Buddhism in the modern world. The relevance of Buddhism in the modern world
Basic ideas and directions of Buddhism
Buddha statue (India)
The teaching of Buddhism is set out in the form of special collections. The central place occupies the canon recorded in the Language of Pali (therefore, even called Paliysky) - "Tietitive" (which means "three baskets"):
"Wine Power Support" ("Cart Discipline")
"Sutra Passage" ("Basket Conversations")
Abhidhamma Passage "(" Basket ", which contains the foundations of the exercise mentioned in the second" basket ")
The basis of the creed is "four great truths":
1. Life is suffering.
2. Cause of all suffering - desire.
3. Suffering can be discontinued, refusing all wishes.
4. For this, it is necessary to conduct a virtuous life according to the laws of "correct behavior" and the right knowledge "(do not kill and not harm anyone, do not steal, do not lie, do not commit adultery and do not use the disorders of beverages, engage in internal contemplation (meditate)).
Buddhism belongs to polytestic religions in which there is no single God-Creator. Buddhists believe that there are many worlds and spaces in which life is developing from the origin to death and new revival.
By the beginning of our era, two directions were formed in Buddhism:
"Narrow" path of salvation (Cryana) - escape (i.e., to achieve Nirvana) only monks can only;
"Wide" way of salvation (Mahayana) - all believers can escape. In III - i centuries. BC. Buddhism was distributed to the south and southeast of India in the form of Caenna. Since the beginning of our era, the promotion of Buddhism north and northeast in the form of Mahayana begins.
In India itself, at the beginning of the second millennium, N.E. Buddhism practically disappeared, the surviving monks assieved in Nepal and Tibet.
Buddhism in Russia
Historical reference
The first evidence of the existence of Buddhism in modern Russia belongs to the VIII century AD. and are associated with the state of Bhakhai, which in 698-926. It took part of today's Primorye and Amur. Bohaians whose culture experienced a great influence of China's neighboring, Korea and Manchuria, confessed Buddhism of one of the directions of Mahayana.
The second penetration of Buddhism to Russia occurred in the XVI-XVII centuries, when the nomads of the nomads from Western Mongolia are called Orats themselves, and others known as Kalmyks came in the Volga region through Siberia. The Ohrats took Tibetan Buddhism in the XIII century, and they received initial initiations from the lame of "red-haired" schools of Sakya and Kagyu. By the time of arrival in the Volga region, due to the characteristics of the political situation in Tibet, they mostly moved to Gelug - School of Dalai Lam.
Since the XVII century, Tibetan Buddhism has spread in Buryatia - he came here thanks to local devotees who studied in Tibet, mainly in Gelug monasteries, and then brought the Buddha's teachings to their country.
In 1741, the decree of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna Buddhism was recognized as one of the Russian religions.
For centuries, Buddhist culture developed in Russia. The presence of two Buddhist regions as part of the Empire and the immediate proximity of other countries with Buddhist culture has largely contributed to the fact that in the XIX early XX century, one of the most powerful oriental schools in the world has been formed in Russia. At the universities of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Kharkov, as well as other major scientific centers, the Department of Sunskritology, Tibetology, Synologicals were opened, the most important Buddhist treatises were translated, expeditions to Asia were equipped. Trudy V.P. Vasilyeva (1818-1900), F.I. Shcherbat (1866-1942), E.E. Obermiller (1901-1935) and other outstanding domestic orientalists serve as a model for scientists around the world. With the active assistance of leading buddhogs and the support of the Tsarist Government, Buryat Lama Agvan Dordzhiev built Datsan in 1915 (Buddhist temple) in St. Petersburg.
In the difficult 30s of the 20th century, the period of persecution of Buddhism and Buddhology as a science has occurred. Many lamas and monks died in camps, most temples and monasteries were closed or destroyed. Almost two decades in Russia completely stopped any buddudological studies.
Partial revival of Buddhism and Buddudological tradition began in the 50s-60s, but at the official level they were rehabilitated only at the turn of the 80s and 90s. In 1989, a group of buddhology of the St. Petersburg branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences under the leadership of V.I. Ore - the first since the time of the Shcherbatsky officially executed buddudological direction. Since then, other branches and departments of Buddhology have also appeared in several universities, and the process of restoring oriental science as a whole goes faster. At the same time in Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva recovered surviving Buddhist temples and open new ones, educational institutions are being created during the monasters, Tibetan teachers are invited. Currently, many Buddhist schools are represented in Russia: Tharavada, Japanese and Korean Zen, several directions of Mahayana and almost all of the world of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. According to the last census, about 900 thousand Russians call themselves Buddhists.
Today, the Russian Association of Buddhists of the Diamond Way of the Tradition of Karma Kagyu is the largest Buddhist organization in the Russian Federation for representation in the subjects of the Federation.
Modern Buddhism
Modern Buddhism: Main features
At the moment, Buddhism, despite the shocks that he underwent in the XX century, is one of three world religions, numbering about 800 million followers, most of which live in Eastern and Southeast Asia. The end of the existence of an independent Buddhist state came in 1959, when China captured Lhasa, after which the Dalai Lama XIV was forced to leave the sacred city and continue his missionary activities to spread Buddhist dogma already outside of his homeland. Currently, the conflict between the Chinese government and Buddhist hierarchs led by the Dalai Lama remains unresolved, so numerous Buddhists living in China are forced to do without the spiritual leadership of their mentor and chapter, although in the supply of the Chinese Communist Party of China, a separate Buddhist church of China was organized having your own chapter. The Dalai Lama XIV conducts active educational activities, visiting with official or unofficial visits almost all countries of the world, where Buddhist communities exist (in 2004 he visited Russia's territory).
German religious officer G. Rothgermundt allocates the following directions for the activation of Buddhism in the XX century.
1. Strengthening the role of Buddhism both in a purely religious and political aspect in Southeast Asia. Already in 1950, the World Brotherhood of Buddhists was organized on Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the residence of which was postponed in Thailand in a few years. The manifestations of this Buddhist "Renaissance" were especially noticeable in the 1960s., What was the active speeches of Buddhist monks against the use of Nalalm from the United States during the war with Vietnam. Several monks in 1963 and 1970. Commerce public self-immolation in protest against such an inhuman way of conducting hostilities.
2. The emergence of new religious directions and sects, in the creed of which the principles of Buddhist religion dominate. This process is especially active in Japan, where traditional Buddhist views is reorienting in the light of modern problems and issues that ordinary people require a response from religion. So, by the mid-1960s. The number of Buddhist sects in Japan exceeded 165, although this number does not mean a qualitative learning of the Buddhist teaching. Most of these sect focuses on not on Dogmatic questions, but, simplified by the main provisions of Buddhist religion, appeals to the decision of current social issues, for example, are trying to solve the issue of the justification of the widespread use of technical innovations.
3. Revival of the Buddhist movement in India. Practically disappeared on the Industan Peninsula in the Middle Ages under pressure from orthodox inductors and Muslims, Buddhism gradually returns to his homeland. This is obviously explained by the change in the Indian society itself, which is gradually exempt from custom and varnovy fixed ™, which requires relevant changes in the religious system. Buddhism turns out to be more convenient and demanded wide segments of the population. The first steps on the return of Buddhism were associated with the decision of the Indian government to allocate the territory in the north of the country under the location of the residence from the Dalai Lama Tibet. It is on the territory of this residence in 1976. The first Buddhist Cathedral was held, the delegates to which came across almost from all over the world.
4. The desire for a gradual association of various Buddhist sects. This process is parallel to the formation of new sects, but it is aimed at reaching an agreement between the traditional directions of Buddhism, primarily between the representatives of Mahayana and Khainany. Despite those discrepancies that exist between representatives of various directions of Buddhist teaching, Dalai Lama in recent years has been trying to intensify the process of centralizing various sects and schools under the auspices of Tibetan Buddhism.
5. Activation of missionary activities and the penetration of Buddhism to the countries of Western Europe and the United States. A special role in this process should be recognized as Dr. Suzuki (1870-1960), a representative of Japanese Zen Buddhism. Numerous books and brochures written by him in a scientific-popular style, which in a simple and accessible form set out the postulates of Zen-Buddhist teachings, became particularly popular in the second half of the XX century. Of course, such an interpretation of a Buddhist canon leads to almost a complete abandonment of rituals and rites, but much attention is paid to Koisam - mysteries, not soluble with the help of logic, but able to combine person to instantaneous insight. Buddhism confession in such a simplified form led to a fashion and other Eastern teachings - Feng Shui, fortune telling according to the book I-Jing, etc.
The specified five directions intensify Buddhism can also be added to the sixth - restoration and rapid development of Buddhism in Russia. The history of Russian Buddhism originates in the XVIII century, when peoples were included in the Russian Empire, traditionally confessing Buddhist religion, Kalmyki, Buryats (at the beginning of the XX century. Tuvintsy joined them). Before the revolution of 1917, Buddhism was under the auspices of the Russian government: under Dacahn, according to the decree of the Empress of Elizabeth I of 1741, schools opened in which the indigenous population was studied. One of the mentors of the future Dalai Lama XIII was the Buryat Lama Agvan Dorzhiev.
After the October Revolution, struggle both against shamanists began in Russia and against Buddhists. In 1931, Mongolian and Kalmyk-Oiratskiy in writing were replaced by Latin, in 1939 - Cyrillic. From 1927 to 1938, all 47 datsans and dugs that existed earlier in Baikalia and Buryatia were closed and destroyed. From 1938 to 1946, no Datsan acted, only in 1947, two monastery were renewed - Ivolginsky and Aginsky. The next increase in the number of Datsanov occurred only in 1991, but it was significant - immediately at 10. At present, it is in the Ivolginsky datsan that the residence of the head of Russian Buddhists and the governor of the Dalai Lama HSU, which is the title of Bandidido Hambo Lama.
Conclusion
Buddhism in the modern world
Any cult, every trust and any religion is a sociocultural project. And most of them are implemented - if implemented - in a purely local scale, both geographical and social. Only three such projects managed to overcome the local framework and turn into world, global religions.
Of these three projects, the most wide coverage has a project of Judeo-Christian. The Islamic project is inferior to the first in scale - however, given the current trends, it can be assumed that this situation will change relatively soon (according to the recent Vatican statement, the number of Muslims in the world exceeded the number of Catholics). As for the Buddhist project, he, despite a persistent interest in Buddhism in the Euro-Atlantic zone, still remains largely a local project; On the other hand, Buddhism profess primarily in countries with the most numerous population, therefore, contrary to the relative geographical limitations of Buddhism, this creed is rightfully considered world.
In Motherland, in India, Buddhism actually ceased to exist, crowded with Hinduism and Islam. Outside India, several "reserves" of Buddhism, preserving, to one degree or another, the initial purity of the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni - Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma); In Tibet was "canned" late Buddhism. In other Asian countries, primarily in China and Japan, Indian Buddhism has undergone transformation, in some respects, which allowed researchers to consider the national forms of Buddhism, primarily Chinese Chan Buddhism and Japanese Zen, as independent directions along with Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.
The status of the global religion implies the exit of a particular creed over the boundaries of the initial territory: it was exactly that Christianity and Islam found their current situation and it was why the global religion of Hinduism could not be considered, although the number of his adherents is 13 percent of the world's population (Buddhists in total, by different estimates, from 6 to 8 percent). Buddhism went beyond the boundaries of Asia and spread throughout the world through the penetration of Europeans to Asia and due to the fact that the West was seriously interested in Asian cultures and Asian mentality; This interest led to the fact that the Western man began to comprehend "Eastern Wisdom" and tried to enter it into a global context. As a result, from the cree by the advantage of Asian (even East Asian) Buddhism turned into a religion of universal properties, and this transformation gave a reason to the American researcher M. Baumann to offer the term "global Buddhism"; Thus, the current "global", global Buddhism is separated from Buddhism canonical (with the emergence of Tsar Ashoki, III century BC), historical (with Ashoki until the end of the XIX century) and reviving (since the end of the XIX century). Of course, this periodization looks too common and therefore controversial, but it is impossible not to recognize that in relation to the modern, transnational stage of the development of Buddhism, it seems quite reasonable. Buddhism "Globalization" is a natural consequence of globalization as such affecting all areas of life and activities of the current human community; Unlike Christianity, let us recall the history of the Middle Ages and the New Time - Buddhism is not planted, but is accepted on other soils, like a plant, the seeds of which, being transferred to the wind far beyond the limits of the usual range, sprout and gave shoots in alien land.
Of course, the "globalization" of Buddhism does not mean that modern Buddhism refuses traditional values: only "adjustment" of these values, doctrines and practices for a wide, "non-love" (and eastern, however, too) perception. An example of such a "adjustment" can serve as meditation technique. Domestically researcher Buddhism A. Agajanyan writes: "Meditation has always been the central part of Buddhist esoteric, but exclusively monastic and" virtuoso ". In the 20th century, everything changes: meditation becomes the property of laity, and not only in the West, but also in Asia: Mass world meditation becomes the reality of urban Asian Buddhism since 1950-1960s. (The exception is China, where meditation remained, on the contrary, the destruction of conservative "clerical" groups of Chan Buddhism). This community and democratization of the virtuoso monastic practice is very reminded by a classic Protestant tendency. Naturally, meditation forms are simplified. Further, meditation becomes an extraction to such an extent that not only mixed with other practices, but also can completely break away from the Buddhist root itself (for example, in non-religious meditation centers or within New Age syncretism). It changes to a large extent and the purpose of meditation: it becomes a psychotherapeutic agent of the esoteric form of deep mystical experience, more oriented to healing and affordable masries. "
Like other spiritual and religious doctrines, Buddhism exists in two "hypostasses" - there are more rigorous, more formalized monastic Buddhism and there is a public buddhism, popular, often absorbing local traditions and elements of other religions. In addition, in recent years, especially in the West, there has been a tendency to embed the Buddhist communities on Buddhists of the "nee" and "converts". This campaign was gradually agreed so obvious that some researchers began to argue about the presence of "two Buddhisms" - traditional, characteristic of ethnic communities, and "dynamic", characteristic of neophytes. The first of these two Buddhisms can be called a worldly version of Monastic Buddhism, while the second is less formulated and often seeks to combine Buddhist concepts with doctrines and methods of other religious systems: especially often to Buddhism "apply" a variety of yogic practices, and Buddhist ideas themselves are interpreted in the theosophical Speach, following such Western Guru, like R. Steiner, A. Besant, etc.
For the modern "global" Buddhism, another phenomenon is characterized by another phenomenon, almost unknown Buddhism classical - this is the emergence of the Institute of Missionary as a social phenomenon. Another Buddha Shakyamuni urged to spread the Dharma, but missionary in the Western understanding of this phenomenon in Buddhism did not exist. The emergence of Buddhist missionaries is an obvious result of the interaction of the East and West; Moreover, this missionaryness, first of all, of course, in the West, acquired such a scope that sociologists proposed the term "Evangelical Buddhism".
It was within the framework of the "Evangelical Buddhism" such a phenomenon arose as Network Buddhism: transnational spiritual networks scattered around the world. According to A. Aghajanian, "the growth of such forms was facilitated by the fact that in Buddhism, as in Protestantia (in contrast to Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism), there is no pronounced management or even Sacred symbolic center. Global "networks" are usually created around charismatic teachers, as a rule practitioners in the West, and sometimes having a western origin, however, identifying themselves with a certain tradition or school: most often these are different substrates of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, less often the tradition "clean land "Both Theravada".
The most striking example of network Buddhism is "Society of Illusion through Meditation" (USA), established after World War II on the basis of Theravadin tradition around Burmese teachers from Ba Khina and Mahasi; Today, this society has more than 50 permanent centers around the world. Another example is the English organization "Friends of Western Buddhism." Numerous groups of Zen jeques and followers of Tibetan Buddhism (in particular, a network organized by the Danish Adept of the School of Karma-Kagyu Lama Ole Nidal) and the Japanese organization "Juice Gakkay International", and in Russia - a variety of Dharma Centers, as well as Society "Mandzushri", promoting Tibetan Buddhism of Gelug-PA.
As for Buddhism on its "original" territory, in Southeast Asia, in recent decades of the XX century, it has largely abandoned traditional apoliticality and asocialism. In this region (and then around the world), "Anghazhded Buddhism" is distributed - Buddhism, which is interested in the life of the "illusory" society, committed by charity and allowing active participation in political activities.
So, in Sri Lanka in the 1980s, they tried to introduce the "Buddhist economic model" (in the spirit of the natural "Buddhist economy" E. Schumacher). On the same Sri Lanka and in other countries, Tharavada Buddhist Sangha is actively involved in political activities and even from time to time resorts to radical methods of exposure to society (it is enough to mention the recent monastic performances in Myanmar). In Japan, the Buddhist political party Comateito, which has a sustainable influence. The most visual example of "Buddhist" is the activity of the Dalai Lama XIV. Forced to leave Tibet after the Chinese aggression, this man, the laureate of the Nobel Prize of the world, by the end of the 20th century, acquired the symbolic status of the "Allbuddy Father", such a Buddhist Pope. He is a public figure, personification of freedom, non-violence and Eastern "spirituality"; Among other things, the splash of the popularity of Tibetan Buddhism in the West is largely related to the activities of this Dalai Lama.
As A. Aghajanyan writes, "Buddhism in the global era seems to be constructed again and interpreted, based on a particular context and specific interests. Traditional, archaic Buddhism does not comply with the requirements of globality, and therefore it turns on purely reform installation on "Return to True Teaching", "Cleansing the kernel". For example, Buddhism is "cleaned" from traditional syncretism, from "historical layers", from the sky beliefs and practices. This tendency led to the folding of some intellectual, rational, and the "scientific" Buddhism based on such, somewhat exaggerated and grateed from the context of the defendant "true Buddhism", as a support for experience, critical thinking, the knowledge of the internal connections of the world, the absence of " monotheistic god. " Although institutionally similar rational buddhism in pure form was never a noticeable phenomenon, this image had a huge impact on the perception of Buddhism as a whole and on the flexibility with which its individual elements acquired global distribution. It is such simple, rational blocks and included in a dialogue with other ideas and practitioners. Clearing from the "archaic", historically spontaneous syncretism, the so-called "pure Buddhism" became part of the new, intentional syncretism. "
However, at the end of the 20th century, there was again - again, first of all in the West - interest in the so-called "Buddhism of the flesh". Under this term is understood as the combination of Buddhist psychopractors, mostly Vajrayan, tantric, chopping the unity of the body and soul, as well as all sorts of recipes and the rules of Eastern Medicine. The growing popularity of such Buddhism causes concerns from representatives of other denominations: So, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI once called this Buddhism a dangerous form of autoerotic spirituality.
In general, the position of Buddhism in the modern world is steadily and stable, especially compared with the situation of Christianity. Probably the reason for this is that, as M. Mallb wrote, "Buddhism, and in this its specificity, maintains viable all the forms of spirituality, which he gave rise to a long history of its development." Buddhism is extremely tolenen - a story, for example, does not know Buddhist religious wars - and is perfectly consistent with the Western concept of "Universal Values". Moreover, Buddhism willingly adopt other religions and cults or coexists with them. Dalai Lama XIV in one of the interviews to the question whether he sees any possibility of integrating Christianity and Buddhism in the West, answered as follows:
"It depends on what you understand under integration. If you mean the possibility of integrating Buddhism and Christianity within society, their coexistence, then my answer will be affirmative. However, if you see integration as the creation of a certain integrated religion, which is essentially not a clean Buddhism, neither pure Christianity, then this form of integration I consider it impossible.
Of course, it is realistic that Christianity is in the country where the dominant religion is, someone decided to follow the Buddhist path. I think very likely that a person, in general, confess Christianity, who takes the idea of \u200b\u200bthe existence of God and believing to him, decided at some stage to include some ideas and techniques of Buddhism in his practice. The doctrine of love, compassion and kindness is present both in Christianity and in Buddhism. In particular, a lot of techniques aimed at developing compassion, kindness and such qualities can be found in the chariot of Bodhisattv. These technicians can be practiced both Buddhists and Christians. It is quite acceptable that a person, remaining a commitment to Christianity, decided to undergo training techniques of meditation, concentration and unidirectional concentration of the mind. Staying a Christian, a person can practice some provisions of Buddhism. This is another permissible and very viable variation of integration. "
Perhaps that is why, despite its very steady age, Buddhism remains relevant and in demand to this day.
Lecture No. 11. Buddhism: Fundamentals of the Creation and Cult
1. The history of Buddhism
2. The teachings of Buddhism
3. The flows of Buddhism
4. Buddhism in the modern world
Buddhism history
Buddhism is a religious and philosophical teaching (Dharma) about spiritual awakening (Bodhi), which emerged in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. In ancient India. Siddhartha Gautama is considered the founder of the teaching, afterwards the name of Buddha Shakyamuni.
The followers of this teaching themselves called him "Dharma" (law, teaching) or "Buddhadharma" (Buddha's teachings). The term "Buddhism" was created by Europeans in the XIX century. Various researchers were determined by Buddhism in different ways, as religion, philosophy, ethical teachings, cultural tradition, civilization, education, as "science of consciousness".
Buddhism is the oldest of world religions recognized by numerous peoples with different traditions. According to E. A. Torchinov, "without understanding Buddhism it is impossible to understand the great cultures of the East - Indian, Chinese, not to mention the cultures of Tibet and Mongolia, penetrated by the spirit of Buddhism before their recent grounds."
Buddhism originated in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. in India. According to the decision of UNESCO, which influenced the celebration of the 2500th anniversary of Buddhism in 1956, the conditional date of the appearance of Buddhism is 543 BC. E. When Buddha joined Parinirvana. Most modern researchers believe that Buddha died in 486 BC. e. The question is also raised about the adhesion of the Buddha's life period in such a way that the year of his death refers to the period of 430-350 BC. e.
Buddhism originated in the middle of the first millennium BC in the north of India as a course, the opposition to the prevailing brachmine at that time. In the middle of the VI century. BC. Indian society experienced a socio-economic and cultural crisis. The generic organization and traditional ties disintegrated, the formation of class relations occurred. At this time in India there were a large number of stray ascets, they offered their vision of the world. Their opposition to the existing procedures caused the sympathy of the people. Among the exercises of this kind, Buddhism, who acquired the greatest influence in society.
Most researchers believe that the founder of Buddhism was a real person. He was the son of the head of the tribe shakyev,born in B. 560 BC In the north-east of India. Legend says that Indian Tsarevich Siddhartha Gautama After careless and happy youth, I strongly felt the beaches and hopelessness of life, horror before the idea of \u200b\u200ban infinite turn of reincarnation. He left the house in order to communicate with the wise men, to find an answer to the question: how can a man get rid of suffering. Seven years traveled Tsarevich and once when he was sitting under the tree Bodhi His illuminated appeared on it. He found the answer to his question. Name Buddha means "enlightened". Shocked by his discovery, he sat under this tree for several days, and then descended into the valley, to people who began to preach the new teaching. He read her first sermon in Benares. At first, five of his former students were joined to him, who moved away from him when he refused asceticism. Subsequently, he had many followers. His ideas were close to many. For 40 years he preached in North and Central India.
Currently, Buddhism is distributed in the countries of South, Southeast, Central Asia and the Far East and has hundreds of millions of followers.
Tradition binds the emergence of Buddhism with the name of Prince Siddharthi Gautama. Father hid from Gautama bad, he lived in luxury, married his beloved girl who gave him his son.
The impetus for the spiritual coup for Tsarevich, as the legend says, served four meetings. Initially, he saw a squabble old man, then suffering from leprosy and funeral procession. So Gautama recognized old age, the disease and death - the lot of all people. Then he saw a peaceful beggar wanderer who had nothing needed from life. All this shocked Tsarevich, forced him to think about the fate of people. He secretly left the palace and family, in 29 years he became a hermit and tried to find the meaning of life. As a result of deep reflections at 35, he became a Buddha - enlightened, awakened. 45 years old Buddha preached his teachings, which can briefly be reduced to the teachings about the four noble truths.
In 781 by Decree of Tsenpo (king), Tingon Deta Buddhism was declared the state religion of Tibet.
Teaching Buddhism
After several years of observation of his consciousness, Buddha Shakyamuni came to the conclusion that the reason for the suffering of people is themselves, their attachment to life, material values, faith in a constant soul, which is an attempt to create an illusion opposing universal variability. Stop suffering (enter into nirvana) and achieve awakening, in which life seems "such as it is," you can destroy the attachments and illusions of stability through the practice of self-restraint (following the five commandments) and meditation.
Buddha argued that his doctrine is not a divine revelation, but they received them through the meditative contemplation of their own spirit and all things. The doctrine is not a dogma, and the results depend on the person himself. Buddha indicated that it was necessary to accept his teachings only by checking through his own experience: "Do not take my teaching simply from faith or from respect to me. Just as the merchant in the bazaar when buying gold checks it: heats up, melts, cuts - to make sure of its authenticity, also check and my teachings, and only make sure of his truth, take it! ".
For two and a half thousand years, in the process of distribution, Buddhism absorbed many different beliefs and ritual practices. Some followers of Buddhism make focus on self-knowledge through meditation, others - on the good acts, the third - to worship the Buddha. Differences in ideas and rules in various Buddhist schools are forced to "recognize" Buddhism "any teaching considered by the Buddhist tradition." But all of them, as E. A. Torchinov notes, are based on the following doctrines:
1. Four noble truths:
1) There is a Dukkha ("Everything is Dukkha") - suffering (not quite an accurate translation in the spirit of Christian understanding). More accurately under Dukkha understand: dissatisfaction, anxiety, anxiety, concern, fear, deep dissatisfaction with impermanence, "incompleteness", frustration.
2) Dukkha has a reason (Triskhen or thirst: sensual pleasures, existence or non-existence, changes, as well as a desire based on a false representation of a person about the immutability of its "I").
3) There is an opportunity to free themselves from Dukkchi (to discontinue its cause.
4) There is a path that leads to getting rid of Dukkhi (octal path leading to nirvana).
2. The doctrine of causal-dependent origin and karma,
5. Buddhist cosmology.
Followers of Buddhist teachings believe that these principles indicated the Buddha himself, but the interpretations of doctrines in different schools can be very different. So followers of Theravada consider the doctrine data final, and followers of Mahayana indicate their convention and consider them an intermediate stage in the knowledge of the teaching.
Doctor of Philosophical Sciences V. G. Lysenko allocates another list of the main elements of the exercise, which are common to all schools:
The history of the life of Shakyamuni,
Recognition of karma and rebirths (Sansara),
Four noble truths and an octal path,
The doctrines of Anatmavada and interdependent origin.
The interpretation of this list of elements in different schools is also ambiguous. So in separate texts of Mahayana, these elements are characterized only as a skilled agent to attract attention to Buddhism "People with conventional spiritual possibilities."
All the teachings of the Buddha is inextricably linked with the middle way, which the follower needs to be reinstalled in each new situation. According to this path, the Buddha did not receive asceticism or the opposite, hedonism, expressed in excessive consequences of pleasures. And in the doctrine of interdependent origin, with the help of this path, the Buddha indicated both the fallacy of faith in karmic determinism (Kriivada) and the erroneousness of faith in the accident of all events (nucleicchavada). The doctrine of the median path in the form of "removal of all oppositions and their dissolution in the voids of all things" was further developed by Nagardun, founding the Madhyamaki school (letters. "Middle").
In the Buddhist "sutra of the unleashing node of the deepest mystery" (Sandhinirmochny) proclaims the well-known doctrine about the three turns of the wheel of the Dharma, according to which:
1. During the first turn of the Buddha preached the doctrine of the four noble truths and cause-dependent origin (this turn is associated with the teachings of Cryana);
2. During the second turn, Buddha preached the doctrine of the emptiness and the harshness of all Dharma (this turn is associated with the teachings of Prajna-Paramite of the Madhyamak School, who considered the Prachna-Paramita sutra, and the sutras of the third turn only intermediate);
3. During the third turn of the Buddha preached the doctrine of the nature of the Buddha and the doctrine of "only consciousness", according to which "all three of the world is only consciousness" (this turn, which sutra characterizes as the most complete and final, is associated with the teaching of the Yogachar school ).
It is impossible to become a follower of the teachings "by birth", it is possible to become a Buddhist only through the informed adoption of the "refuge" under which three jewels understand:
Buddha (under the Buddha at different times they understood both Buddha Shakyamuni and any Buddha or Enlightened);
Dharma (Buddha's teachings, including the experience of such "as it is" or the experience of Buddhashots and methods leading to this experience, various for different people. A brief statement of Dharma is four noble truths);
Sanghu (Buddhist community, under which they understand both a small group of Buddhists and all Buddhists in general).
The most important jewel of Buddhist teachers consider Dharma. Not all Buddhist mentors unequivocally interpreted the adoption of refuge. For example, the sixth Chang Patriarch Huainen recommended: "I advise those who understand, find a refuge in the triple jewel of our nature." After taking the refuge, the layman was also recommended to observe the five Buddhist commandments (Pancha Shila): abstinence from murder, theft, crucification, lies and intoxication. When preaching the Buddha did not focus on the punishment for non-compliance with the commandments, relying not to fear or conscience of his followers, and for common sense, according to which, when performing these commandments, it will become more possible "personal and social harmony". In general, the methods of struggle with passions created by the Buddha differ from the methods of earlier ascetic schools. Buddha pointed out the need for no sense suppression, but on the need to develop unaccounted to things and phenomena, the need for conscious control and self-surveillance practice (Sati, Sanskr. Smparti).
To obtain the ability to help living beings in the termination of their suffering, which is the main goal of Buddhism, Buddhists are primarily trying to destroy "three poison":
Nebornia regarding true nature, which is, according to the twelveth of the formula of being, the "Sansary root";
Passion and egoistic desires;
Anger and intolerance.
In the teachings of the early period and at the subsequent time, Buddhist meditation was occupied. In a broad sense, it represents a combination of methods of physical and spiritual self-improvement related to the three groups of the practice of the octal path. In a narrow sense under the Buddhist meditation, Bhavan or "cultivation" is understood, consisting of the practice of self-surveillancery, concentrations of attention (samadhi and dhyana) and intuitive inspection (Prajni) of the truth of the foundations of Buddhist teaching.
Life, according to Buddhism, is a manifestation of combinations or "streams" of Dharmas, which are intangible particles or "individualized atomic events constituting the experience of living beings." This applies equally to both a person and, for example, to stone. In the case when the combination of Dharrmians decays, it is believed that death comes. After that, the dharma are formed into a new combination, thereby launching the process of reincarnation, which affects the karma obtained in the past life. Discarding any "unchanged spiritual substance" that exists when reborn, Buddhists often explained the process of rebirth using the following "procedural" model: when the burning candle comes into contact with the non-neutic, the flame is not transmitted, but is the reason why the second candle begins to burn . The infinite process of rebirths, during which the individual is experiencing suffering, it is possible to stop with the achievement of Nirvana - "the state of peace, bliss, merging with a buddha as a cosmic absolute."
A man in Buddhism is a dynamic psychosomatic system of interacting Dharmas, which are divided into five groups (Skandh): Rupa - body and senses; Vedana - feeling (pleasant, unpleasant and neutral); Sanjna - perception, recognition, identification of objects (vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch and thoughts); Sanskara - intention, favorable and unfavorable karmic or volitional impulses, expressed in speech, deeds, thoughts and affecting the formation of new karma; Vijnaya is six sensual consciousness or types of perceptions (the consciousness of the audible, visible, tangible, applied, knuckled and mental). Skandhi are combined into a single series of Dharmas with the help of fallen or attachment to "I" and thereby create the illusion of individual and conditions for further births and deaths. To stop the series of births and deaths, you can only eliminate the commitment to "understand everything in the terms" I "," My "and learning to consider my psyche as an objective process of alternating Dharma." To assist in eliminating commitment, a special system of exercises was created, to which meditation belongs over 32 body elements, during which the practitioner contemplates each element and says "This is not me, it's not mine, this is not mine, I am not contained in this, it is Not contained in me. "
Buddhism concentrates on consciousness, psychology and liberation. For other issues that are not related to the search for liberation and enlightenment, Buddhism, according to Torchinov, "refers to very cool." Buddha considered useless questions Metaphysical questions of the form "Is the universe ever?" Or "Is there Tathagata after death?" And refused to answer them, keeping "noble silence".
The flows of Buddhism
Based on the Mahayan ideas, Buddhism is often divided into Hinano ("small chariot") and Mahayan ("Great Chariot"), and the latter also often distinguished Vajrayan ("diamond chariot"). Khainana can also be divided into the shravak chariot and the pratecabudd chariot, forming in such a way with Mahayana three chariots on another principle.
The designation of the term "Cryanna" of modern Theravada insults followers of this school, for this reason some of the modern buddhists refused to use the word "Cryana" in his writings. Also, those followers of Buddhism, whose representatives arrived at the sixth Buddhist Cathedral held in the middle of the 20th century were refused to use this concept, and concluded an agreement on the non-use of the term for Theravada. In view of the fact that the followers themselves do not refer themselves to this tradition, modern Buddhologists use a number of neutral names for the designation of this nonachayan direction: "Southern Buddhism", "Traditional Buddhism", "Classic Buddhism", Mainstrim-Buddhism, Abhidharma, Nikina , Tharavada. Thus, modern Buddhism is sometimes divided into Mahayan ("Great Chariot"), which includes Tibetan and Far Eastern Schools, and Tharavad ("the" Teaching of the Oldest ") - the only preserved school of NO Early Buddhism.
Part of Buddhists, especially Buddhists of Tharavada, who consider themselves adherents of the initial teachings, as well as the first Buddhists consider the development of Buddhism as the process of degradation of the Buddha teaching. At the same time, V. G. Lysenko notes that all Buddhist directions and schools retain the foundations of the exercise, and the extension of the exercise is fully consistent with the principle of dropping caustia, according to which the Buddha's doctrine is not truth, but only the tool for finding truth, which is above all exercises " . Buddha explained this by comparing his teaching with a raft, which can transport those who need a stormy river, but after the crossing it must be left.
The entire period of the existence of Buddhism between the chariots continued the process of interpenetration. The decent separation of Buddhism on the chariot began during the spread of Buddhism from India to other countries and continued after the disappearance of Buddhism in India.
Buddhism, common among some part of the laity and significantly different from Buddhism, preached in the monastic medium, the presence of various superstitions and diploma local beliefs, is called common.
The flows "include elements of Buddhist creed and practices", but not part of traditional Buddhism, denote as non-edidism.
Hynina ("Small Chariot") - a chariot, followers of which strive for personal release. It is called a "small chariot", because it is capable of exempting only the follower itself. The name was introduced by Mahayan schools to denote all Nahoyan directions of Buddhism. Nama Nahayan schools refused to attach themselves to Khainin and pointed out themselves through self-saming of each school separately. Modern Buddhologists often denote school data as "traditional Buddhism" or "Southern Buddhism".
Hynina is divided into thruster chariot (listeners) and Pratecabudd, reaching Nirvana without Sangha's support. South Buddhism contained, according to modern research, from 23 to 30 schools, including the preserved school of Tharavada, as well as schools such as Sarvastivad (Waibhashik), Southranta, Vatsiputria, Sammatia, etc.
Tharavada positions itself as the "only orthodox broadcast of the Buddha teaching" and sees its task in the fight against any innovations of other schools and criticized the slightest segments from their own monastic rules and interpretations of the lifestyle of the Buddha. Modern Theravada declares its origin from Vibhajavad, existing on Sri Lanka. In another value, Tharavada also mean the direction of Sthataviravada, which included 18 schools and formed after the initial separation of Sangha on Sthataviravadu and Mahasanghik. Currently, Theravada was distributed in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
The preserved School of Rissu, who had 50-60 thousand followers and more than twenty temples for 1992, is also associated with the quain. At the same time, this school is not a "purely crowning school" due to the use of Mahayan philosophy.
Hynyana relies on the Pali Canon, the sacred language of the Krynyna is fallen. In the schools of Waibhashik and Southrantics, which were the main schools who have formed the chinese philosophy, the text of Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu "Abhidharmakosa" occupied an important place.
In Krynyan, the structure in the form of a Sangha from the monks, which exists due to the laity. Hynina also began to build stupas for the first time.
Hynina followed Buddhist cosmology, which divides being into several levels. The land, according to this cosmology, was flat, with a mountain summers towering in the center. According to cosmology, there are three layers of being in Sansara: "The world of desires" (Kama Loca), where most creatures live, "the world of forms" (Rupa-Loka), where the highest gods who do not have "gross sensual desires", and " The world of non-forms "(Arupa-Loka), where they live" creatures, completely relieved of sensuality. " These worlds also relate to the eight stages of Dhyana.
Hynina very negatively applies to Sansara's surrounding man, considering it complete suffering, impurities and impermanence. Hynyana believes that the most effective method of achieving Nirvana is meditation. Ancient Kynyana takes psycho-methods extremely significant role. The external practice consisting mainly from the reverence of the STEP was attached less important. The follower of Kharyany was to gradually improve attentiveness, concentration and wisdom. As a result, the crownist is alternately becoming one of the "four noble personalities": "Entered into the stream" (shrotapan), "those who return one more time" (sacridagamine), "irrevocable" (anal) and "perfect" (arhant). All Buddhist monks can be achieved and become arhat, according to Krynyne and Tharavad, and there is also a large amount of rebirth. The laity should improve their karma by committing good actions in order to become a monk in one of the following lives. The highest achievement of Mierjanin without becoming a monk can only be "hitting heaven."
The Hynyana Teachings includes all earlybuddy elements: three jewels, the doctrine of Anatmavada about "non-me", four noble truths, the doctrine of causal-dependent origin and other elements. Additionally, Krynyna forms the doctrine of dharma or "elementary particles of psychophysical experience", the combination of which, according to Krynyne, and form all reality. In total, there are 75 species of Dharmas belonging to one of the five scanders or five components from which a person is created. The crownist can with the help of special practices to implement Prajna in himself, allowing to distinguish the flow of Dharmas.
In the process of development, Hynyana did not agree with the position of Mahayana and argued with her, but gradually she absorbed "a number of Mahayan ideas." Most Western Buddhas before the beginning of the 1930s were considered to be Khainanu "True Buddhism", and Mahayan is a distorted option, but after studying the texts of Mahayana Buddhologists revised their point of view.
Mahayana.
At the beginning of our era, Mahayana began to denote the new Buddhist teaching, ideologically opposing Khainin. There are several versions of Mahayana's origin. Early versions of origin from laity and origin from the Mahasanghik school are currently considered disproved. The version of the origin of Mahayana is continuing to exist from the places of reading and storing the sutr and the version of the origin from the part of the Ascetic Buddhists who have chosen their lives in the forest. Recently, a version of "text motion" has appeared, associated with the spread of Mahayan Sutras and the practices of their copying, memorization and recording.
According to one of the versions, Mahayana finally formed in southern India, according to another, in the north-west of India. In the future, Mahayana is actively applied during the reign of Kushan kings (beginning of the first century - Ser. III century). At the fourth Buddhist Cathedral, organized by the king of Caniska I, the preclusion of the Mahayan doctrines. Since the 6th century, Mahayana is actively distributed in Tibet, China, Japan and gradually ceases to exist in India. Currently, Makhyana Buddhists live in the Far East and Central Asia, and their significant number live in the West.
The main "supports" of the Mahayan tradition are Prajna (intuitive wisdom) and Karuna or compassion. With the help of karuna and skillful agents or fall, the doctrine of Bodhichitte is being implemented, which implies the desire for his own awakening "for the benefit of all living beings." Rescue of all without exception of living creatures implies endless love and compassion for them or Mahakarun, which is embodied in Bodhisattva - a creature that gave a vow to abandon the individual achievement of Nirvana until he helps all beings to free themselves from suffering. Bodhisattva goes through six paralims, a special place among which is occupied by Prajna Paramita. Sutras PrajnnyAparamites, describing the latest "proven wisdom," indicate the void and the habitantness of all reality phenomena or Dharmas. The entire existing world, according to Prajnapara, is dharma or Buddha, and the fact that "a person distinguishes in it, and much more is an illusion (Maya)." Thus, Sansara or the "world of distinction" is characterized as a dream].
Most sutras in Buddhism are Mahayan Sutra. Mahayana believes that in the Mahayan Sutra, and in the Pali Canon contains the words of the Buddha, unlike Tharavada, recognizing only the Pali Canon. The earliest Soutray of Mahayana is considered "Ashtasakhasika-Prajnnyaparamita-Sutra", which appeared in the first century to our era. The period of active creation of the Mahayan Sutra in India is considered the II-IV century. The most famous Mahayan sutra is Lancavatara-Sutra, Lotus Sutra, Vimalakirti-Nirdesha-Sutra, Avamamsaka-Sutra.
The goal of Mahayan schools, in contrast to the schools of Krynyna, is not the achievement of Nirvana, but a complete and final enlightenment (Annutara Self-Sambodhi). Nirvana Krynyna followers of Mahayana are considered an intermediate stage, indicating that even destroying the mite or droopy of consciousness, "obstacles of a gnoseological nature (JNIA Austra)", under which "wrong knowledge" is understood. Thus, a fully awakened Sambuddha samambuddha is experiencing the state of "much higher than Nirvana Krynyan Arkhat."
Mahayan tradition checks the Buddhist philosophy mainly through the following "four supports":
Support for the doctrine, and not on the teacher;
Support for meaning, and not on words, expressing it;
Support for final meaning, and not for intermediate;
Support on perfect wisdom of deep experience, and not on a simple knowledge.
The main religious practice of Mahayan schools is considered to be meditation, reverence of various buddhas and bodhisattvas in Mahayan, a secondary role is given.
For Mahayan schools, the Buddha is considered not just a historical personality, but "the true nature of all Dharma." According to Mahayan, the Buddha is three interrelated "body" (trick), and the highest "dumpan body" of the Buddha corresponds to the "true nature of all phenomena". The nature of the Buddha, according to Mahayana, is also the "true nature of all phenomena" or Dharma. Based on this output, Mahayan schools indicate the absolute identity of Sansary and Nirvana, which are, according to teachings, only by different aspects of each other. Also from the fact that "all Dharma is the essence of Dharma Buddha", followers of Mahayana conclude that any creature is a Buddha, but "just did not awaken to understanding this."
Another difference of Mahayana from Krynyna has become a smaller value of monastic. The follower in Mahayana is not necessarily becoming a monk to realize its nature of the Buddha. Some texts also indicate that the layers of the laity found "higher levels of spiritual comprehension than most monks."
The followers of Mahayana also showed greater flexibility and adaptability using a variety of skilled agents, but without changing the foundations of their teachings, and a much greater desire to preach in other countries compared to the crown. For these reasons, it was Mahayan tradition transformed Buddhism from regional religion to the world.
One of the ways of dividing Mahayana is its division to Tibeto-Mongolian Mahayan, the main in which the texts are considered in Tibetan and Far Eastern Mahayan, based on the most part of the texts in Chinese.
Vajrayana.
Vajrayana is the tantric direction of Buddhism, formed inside Mahayana in the V century of our era. Practice in the Vajrayana system involves the receipt of special abhiecia and the instructions associated with it from the teacher reached. The main means of achieving enlightenment in Vajrayan is considered a secret mantra. Other methods are yogic meditation, visualization of meditative deities, wise and veneration of the Guru.
Vajrayana is common in Nepal, Tibet and partly in Japan. From Tibeta came to Mongolia, from there - in Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia.
Major schools:
Tibetan schools
Nyingma
Johnang
Singon (Japanese School)
The Dalai Lama also adds to the Tibetan traditions of the Dobddian tradition of Bon, indicating that in this case it does not matter whether Bon is considered as a Buddhist tradition or not. Estimates of modern Bon Buddhanologists vary from tradition, which "a lot borrowed from Buddhism without turning into a Buddhist system", to "one of the non-completely" orthodox "directions of Buddhism," with difficulty distinguished from Buddhism.
As Tibetologist A. Berzin notes, common to the four Tibetan Buddhist traditions and Bon is that there are monks and laity in these traditions, the study of sutr and tantatr, similar meditative and ritual practices, Institute Tulku and Mixed Lines. The differences are to terminology and the interpretation of terms, point of view (Gelug explains the teaching from the point of view of the usual creature, Sakya from the point of view of advanced on the way, Kague, Nyingma and Bonskaya Dzogchen from the point of view of the Buddha), the form of practitioners (Gelug and Sakya are focused on moving gradually , and Kagyu, Nyingma and Bon basically for instant comprehension), accents when meditating, views on the uncomplicated perception and the possibility of expressing emptiness by means of words (only Gelug admits such an opportunity) and other features.
Buddhism in the modern world
For 2010, the number of Buddhists was estimated at 450-500 million people (according to Encyclopedia Britannica - 463 million people, on the encyclopedia of the "Religions of the World" J. Melton - 469 million, according to the report of the American Research Center, Pew Research Center - 488 million). However, there are also larger estimates of the number of Buddhists, so, Buddhologist A. A. Terentyev pointed out for 2008 an estimate of the number of Buddhists from 600 to 1,300 million people. According to one of the estimates, 360 million Buddhists are adherents of Mahayana, 150 million are represented by Tharavad and about 18 million belong to Tibetan Buddhism. At the same time, the number of Buddhists living outside of Asia is estimated at 7 million people. The number of monks among all Buddhists is about 1 million people.
The main number of Buddhists lives in the countries of South, Southeast and East Asia: Bhutan, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, China (as well as the Chinese population of Singapore and Malaysia), Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Japan.
Kazakhstan is a secular country in which world religions are officially resolved, and since Buddhism is one of the three world religions, it is allowed by the official authorities of Kazakhstan. According to the US Embassy in Kazakhstan, Buddhism in the country is represented by 4 official organizations, 1 of which are the Korean Buddhism of the Sleep tradition (in Kazakhstan, the most numerous diaspora of Koreans in the CIS) and 1 official line of Tibetan Buddhism Mahayana (this became possible thanks to Kazakhstan's cooperation with India and Mongolia).
Currently, Buddhism in Kazakhstan represents such Buddhist schools and directions:
Followers of School Vonbulgyu (Vaughn Buddhism).
Followers of Tibetan Buddhism (Nyingma, Kagyu, Galug).
Followers of Zen-Buddhism.
Buddhism in Kazakhstan is almost not developed. Basically, he is confessed by the few part of the Korean diaspora, Buryats and Kalmyks.
In the official educational literature of Kazakhstan, an ancient Turkic religion is described in a separate graph - Tengrianism, there is a similarity to this national religion of the Kazakhs and Buddhism and Islam.
As Christianity and Islam, the number of followers of Buddhism is one of the most common monotheistic religions. But unlike them, Buddhism has other cultural and historical roots and a place of development. As the religious and philosophical teaching of Buddhism ( buddhad- harma () Aged in Northern India in the VI century. BC. The founder of the teaching was the prince of one of the Indian principalities in the Ganges Valley, Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha Shakyamuni. The basis of the doctrine of Buddhism is the so-called four noble truths that all his schools are adhered. These principles formulated the Buddha himself and briefly shall be set forth like this: there is suffering; There is a reason for suffering - desire; There is a termination of suffering - nirvana; There is a way leading to the termination of suffering.
The assessment of the number of followers of Buddhism around the world will significantly fluctuate depending on the method of counting, since in some countries of East Asia Buddhism closely intertwined with local traditional beliefs ( shinto in Japan) and philosophical teachings ( taoism, confucianism - In China and Korea). For minimal estimates, the number of Buddhists in the world is 500-600 million people, most of which are ethnic Chinese and the Japanese. Laos (more than 95%), Cambodia (95), Thailand (94), Mongolia (more than 90), Tibet (90), Myanmar (89), Tibet (90), Myanmar (89), Japan (90), Sri Lanka (73), Sri Lanka (73) 70), Bhutan (70). Buddhists constitute a significant part of the population of Singapore (43), Vietnam, China, South Korea (23), Malaysia (20), Nepal (11%) (Fig. 11.6). In India, the birthplace of Buddhism - at present, the share of followers of the Buddha teaching does not exceed 1% (about 12 million people). In Russia, Buddhism professing most of the ethnic buryat, kalmykov and tuvintsev.
Fig. 11.6. The proportion of Buddhists in the total population of the countries of the world, 2015,%
Buddhism has become a state religion in India in the middle of the III century. BC. During the reign of Tsar Ashoki from the Maurev dynasty. From the same time, Buddhism began to spread beyond the limits of India, becoming soon dominant religion in Bactria 1, Burma, on Sri Lanka, in Tharicistan. In i century AD Buddhism penetrated China, in IV century. - in Korea, and in the VI century. - to Japan, in VII century. - in Tibet. In Southeast Asia, Buddhism became the dominant religion in the VIII-IX centuries. In the XIV-XVI centuries. On the islands of the Zonda Archipelago and Peninsula, Malacca (the modern territory of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei), Buddhism was ousted by Islam. In India, after the fall of the Gupta dynasty in the VI century. N.E., Buddhism also began to persecute and by the end of the XII century. It was completely authorized by the revived Hinduism and Islam, who came from the West. In the XIV century Buddhism has become a dominant religion in Mongolia.
Traditionally, Buddhism shall be divided into Krynyanu ("Small Chariot") and Mahai, well ("Great Chariot"), separately from the latter also distinguished Vajrayan ("diamond chariot").
Khainna He is a teaching, the followers of which are striving for personal release. It is called a "small chariot" because it is capable of freeing only the follower itself. According to modern research, Initially Hynina contained more than 20 different directions (schools), of which so far the most followers have the greatest number of followers theravada. According to the Dogmatam, the Buddhist monks can reach Nirvana (Theravada). The laity should improve their karma by committing good actions in order to become a monk in one of the following lives.
Fasting as a holistic creed in the middle of the III century. BC. At the board of Emperor Ashoki, thanks to the active missionary activity, Khainan was widely distributed outside of India. Currently, Khainana is the main school of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and the countries of Southeast Asia (Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos). Tharavada traditionally practiced some ethnic minorities of Southeast China (Province of Yunnan, Guizhou), Vietnam, the Chinese population of Malaysia and Singapore. In the modern world there are about 200 million followers of Theravada.
Mahayana As the direction of Buddhism, I took shape in I c. BC. And, unlike Krynyna, gained more distribution in Central and East Asia. The goal of Mahayan schools, in contrast to the schools of Krynyna, is not the achievement of nirvana, but a complete and final enlightenment. The basic principles of the doctrine of Mahayana are based on the possibility of universal liberation from suffering for all creatures. Today, Mahayana Buddhism got the greatest distribution in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam.
Vajrayana. It is a tantric direction of Buddhism formed inside Mahayana in V c. AD The main means of achieving enlightenment in Vajrayan are considered to use mantras and logical meditation. For professing Mahayan, the honors of spiritual mentors (Guru) has great importance. Currently, Vajrayan is common in Nepal, Tibet and partly in Japan. From Tibet Vajrayan penetrated Mongolia, and from there - in Buryatia, Kalmykia and Tyv.
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
International Solomon University
by religious science
Performed:
Student II Course
Faculty of Computer Science
Maleeva Tatiana
Kharkov 2010.
Introduction 4.
Buddhism flows 5.
Mahayana 5.
Vajrayana 6.
Scriptures 7.
Buddhism Creation 8.
Buddhism in the modern world 10
Conclusion 12.
List of references 13.
IN 
maintenance
Buddhism is a religious-philosophical teaching that arose in India in 6-5 centuries BC. It is included in San Jiao - one of the three main religions of China. Buddhism founder - Indian Prince Siddhartha Gautam, who subsequently obtained the name of the Buddha, i.e. awakened or enlightened.
Buddhism originated in the northeast of India in the areas of the Prophanchmanist culture. Buddhism quickly spread throughout India and reached the maximum heyday at the end of the I millennium BC - early I millennium AD. Buddhism has a great influence on the Hinduism revived from brahmanism, but it was omitted by Hinduism and to the XII century AD. Practically disappeared from India. The main reason for this was the opposition of Buddhism ideas consecrated by brahmanism caste. At the same time, starting from the III century BC, he covered southeast and Central Asia and partly Central Asia and Siberia.
Already in the first centuries, Buddhism was divided into 18 sects, the differences between which caused the convening of cathedrals in Rajagrich in 447 to AD, in Vaishavi in \u200b\u200b367 G. BC, in Patalian in 3 century BC. And led at the beginning of our era to the division of Buddhism into two branches: Krynyanu and Mahayan.
Hynyana was established mainly in southeastern countries and received the name of southern Buddhism, and Mahayana - in the Nordic countries, having received the name of Northern Buddhism.
The spread of Buddhism contributed to the creation of cultural syncretic complexes, the totality of which forms the so-called Buddhist culture.
A characteristic feature of Buddhism is its ethical and practical orientation. From the very beginning, Buddhism spoke not only against the meaning of the external forms of religious life and, above all, ritualism, but also against abstract-dogmatic search, in particular, in particular, the Brahmania-Vedic tradition. The problem of being a personality was put forward as a central problem in Buddhism.
Today Buddhism exists in two basic forms. Cryanna is common in Sri Lanka and in the countries of Southeast Asia - in Myanmar (former Burma), Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Mahayana prevails in China, including Tibet, Vietnam, in Japan, Korea and Mongolia. A significant number of Buddhists lives in the Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, as well as in Sikkim in the north of India. Much less than Buddhists (less than 1%) lives in India itself, in Pakistan, in the Philippines and in Indonesia. Outside Asia, several thousand Buddhists live in the United States (600 thousand), in South America (160 thousand) and in Europe (20 thousand). Data on the total buddhist in the world (from 200 million to 500 million) differ depending on the methodology and calculation criteria. In many countries, Buddhism was mixed with elements of other oriental religions, such as Sintoism or Taoism.
The flows of Buddhism
Currently, Buddhism is represented by a number of various trends and schools, which significantly disagree among themselves in consension and practice and, as a rule, quite far away from the teachings of the initial Buddhism. Some researchers believe that the closest to the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni is the tradition of Tharavada (see Cynaya), but this statement is controversial.
Differences between separate Buddhist currents are much more than between the directions of Islam or Christian denominations.
The first major separation in Buddhism arose at the beginning of a new era, when this religion was widespread and began to experience the influence of local teachings and cults. During this period, two main Buddhist traditions occurred: Mahayana ("Great Chariot") and Khainna ("Small Chariot"). In each of these areas, there are many independent currents under the influence of local religious traditions.
Mahayana
Direction of Buddhism
Mahayana translated from Sanskrit means "Great Chariot". This direction of Buddhism began to form at the turn of n. e. In parallel with the design of another tradition - Buddhism of Fryana. In the main features, the process of becoming Mahayana as an independent Buddhist direction ended to V c. n. e.
The founder of Mahayana is the Indian philosopher Nagarjuna (II century), which became the author of the texts of one of the first religious and philosophical schools of Buddhism Mahayana - Madhyamiki. After death, he was declared Bodhisattva.
Many elements of the initial Buddhism are radically revised in Mahayana. In particular, Nirvana is understood not as absolute non-existence, the cessation of existence, but as a state of bliss, "due to being". Buddha is perceived not just as a person who has achieved enlightenment, but as a certain highest creature, forever staying in Nirvana, "The Body of Dharma" - Absolute, infinite in space and time. The historic Buddha (Prince Siddhartha Gautama), like other numerous Buddhas, are "transformed bodies", manifestations of the "Dharma Body". Buddhism Mahayana recognizes the existence in every man "Buddha Nature", which can be comprehended by meditation.
The feature of Buddhism, Mahayana, was the recognition of a wide path of salvation - not only in monastic, but also to the world. The characteristic element of Mahayana is also the presence of a cult of Bodhisattvas - Buddhist saints who have achieved liberation from the wheel of rebirths, but voluntarily refused from Nirvana for the sake of assistance to other living beings in the acquisition of salvation. The most revered of them is Bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara. (In Krynyna, there is also a concept of bodhisattva, but it is interpreted differently).
Vajrayana.
Esoteric flow in Buddhism Mahayana
Vajrayana translated from Sanskrit means "diamond chariot". This name has received due to the teachings of perfect wisdom, which is compared with the diamond. Its grain are five types of wisdom, which are the carriers of which are five Buddhas - the Buddha-Abostasi-Buddha.
The foundations of Vajrayan's teachings were formed in India in the VII - VIII centuries. From India, the doctrine has spread to Tibet, where it became the dominant form of Buddhism. Vajrayan also penetrated Japan, having received the name "Secret Teaching Singon".
The sacred texts for the followers of Vajrayana are tantras in which the innermost truths are captured by the Buddha. Therefore, this course is sometimes also called tantrans.
Over time, Mahayana has arisen in Buddhism, many independent schools and flows, the most significant of which is Vajrayan.
Mahayana is currently the most common direction of Buddhism. This direction adheres to Buddhists of Central Asia, China, Tibet, Mongolia and Japan.
Scriptures
Pali Canon - In accordance with the tradition of Theravada, a collection of teachings of Buddha Gautama in the Pali language, recorded on palm leaves on the fourth Buddhist Cathedral in Sri Lanka on the basis of orally transmitted legend in the first century BC. e.
The tradition claims that soon after Nirvana Buddha occurred the so-called first Buddhist "Cathedral", when all students of Buddha Gautama and two of them Ananda gathered and fell to memory reproduced everything that Buddha taught - norms and rules of the monastic hostel, "Disciplinary Charter" of Sangha (Vina), sermons and teaching Buddha (Sutra) and his philosophical teachings, "super-dharma" (Abhidhamma). So the Buddhist canon appeared - Titrificent (on Sanskrit - trucade), that is, "three baskets" of teachings. The earliest of the Kanon's options known to us - the Pali Tipic - for several centuries was transferred to the oral tradition, and was first recorded on Lanka about 80 g bd. er, that is, more than four hundred years after Nirvana Buddha.
Tibetan canon - Multi-volume archway of Buddhist writings (Ganjur Tib. BKA "" GYUR), to which the arch comment is attached (Dunjur Tib. BSTAN "GYUR).
The names of Gangesur and Dunjur to the Russian language came indirectly through Mongolian and are used traditionally from the XIX century. When the transfer of Tibetan words through the Western languages, the canons are called Kanjur and Tanguir, there are also writing Canjur and Tenjore.
Gangersur
Canon Gangesur (Tibetsk. "The translation of the words [Buddha]") is compiled in the first third of the XIV century. Creating texts Tradition attributes Shakyamuni Buddha. It consists of 7 sections, 108 volumes containing 84,000 teachings ... Gangesur performs in two qualities: as a matter of cult and as a source of dogmatic. The term Ganjur also has the meaning of the "direct word Buddha".
Sutras related to the sayings of the blessed form all three sections of this Scripture, which are compiled in accordance with the subject of consideration: the section of discipline (Vina) is dedicated to ethics (sewn); Script section (SUP) - meditative concentration (samadhi); and the knowledge section (Abhidharma) - wisdom (Prajna).
Dudjur
Dunjur contains comments to Gandzhura have in a complete version of 254 volumes, about three and half of thousands of texts.
Creation of Buddhism
The most important position of the creed of Buddhism is the idea of \u200b\u200bidentity between Being and suffering. Buddhism did not refute the development developed by brahmanism about the resettlement of souls, i.e., faith in the fact that after death, any living creature is again reborn in the form of a new living creature (man, animal, deity, spirit, etc.). However, Buddhism introduced significant changes to the teaching of Brahmanism if Brahmans argued that by various for each class ("Varna") rites, victims and spells can be achieved "good rebirths", i.e. to become a rjberry, brahman, a rich merchant, king and etc., then Buddhism announced any reincarnation, all types of extent inevitable misfortune and evil. Therefore, the highest goal of the Buddhist should be a complete cessation of rebirth and the achievement of nirvana, that is, non-existence.
For most people, it is impossible to achieve nirvana in this reincarnation. Following the path of salvation, the specified Buddha, the living being of the audio must reincarnate again. But it will be the way to climb the "higher wisdom", which reached which the creature can exit the "cycle of being", to complete the chain of their rebirths. The most significant in the teaching of the Buddha, his followers believe that he has known the cause and essence of being - suffering, revealed them to people, as well as the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, to salvation, to non-existence.
Buddhists recognize the published Buddha "four noble truths". The first of them claims that any existence is suffering. The second thing is that the cause of suffering is laid in the man itself: this is his thirst for life, pleasures, power, wealth, is affection for life in any form. The third truth announces that it is possible to stop suffering: for this it is necessary to free themselves from the thirst for life, to achieve a state, in which any strong feeling is absent, every desire is suppressed. Finally, the "fourth noble truth" is to indicate the so-called "noble average octal path", consisting of "righteous reference, the righteous desire, righteous speech, righteous behavior, righteous life, righteous teaching, righteous contemplation, righteous self-driving", commonly called meditation .
In the teaching about the "four noble truths" the essence of Buddhism is presented. All religions oppose the real terrestrial life of the intangible, heavenly, the one that allegedly begins behind the coffin. At the same time, the first is always drawn by gloomy paints, declared a sinful, interfering with God, the second one is declared the goal of man's aspirations, award for the patient transfer of earthly torment. Buddhism in this regard does not differ in principle from other religions, but it brings to a logical completion of a critical assessment of the world in which we live. Puting the sign of equality between being and suffering, Buddhism draws a particularly dark picture of the world, in which not only everything is doomed to torment and destruction, but even any joy, the strengthening of the living being to this existence, pays the terrible danger of new infinite rebirths, filled not Less terrible evil.
The man himself creates his fate, the form of each of his new rebirth, teaches Buddhism. The force that determines the specific features of the new rebirth is called karma. Karma Buddhism is the sum of all the actions and thoughts of the creature in all its previous rebirths. The doctrine of karma existed in brahmine. Brahmans also taught that Karma - the law of retaliation is the driving force of the resettlement of souls. Making or not committing a victim prescribed for this Varna, honored or not honored by Brahmins, breaking or not disturbing numerous prohibitions, a person creates a new form of resettlement of his soul - ranging from the most vile and disgusting animals and ending with the kings and gods.
Buddhism took the "law of retaliation" (karma), but gave him a new content. Although everything in this life of a person is defined by his karma, he has a well-known freedom of choice in his actions, thoughts, words, actions. In this partial freedom of will and laid, according to Buddhism, the path to salvation. And the case is not at all victims, rites and prohibitions, but in the behavior of the person himself. It was his actions and thoughts in this life that determine his further karma, the form of its new "reincarnation", that is, new suffering. But this is not enough. Buddhism, especially in the teachings of a number of his schools and trends, said that the sensual world itself does not exist at all. He is only our illusion, the result of our patient, lost consciousness. This consciousness is the only real being, according to Buddhism, - obeying the immutable law of karma, draws us a tragic picture of the full suffering of the sensory world. Consciousness This consists of a plurality of smallest particles - Dharma, that is, the elements of consciousness, which, folding under the action of karma in a certain complex, create an individual consciousness of this rebirth and, as its function surrounding us, the sensual world. While Dharma is not calmed down, the new revival of this individual consciousness after the death of this being is inevitable, the Wheel of Genesis continues its rotation.
Buddhism in the modern world
Since the occurrence of Buddhism, there were three main stages: he began as a monastic community, preaching the flight from reality (Escapism), then turned into a kind of religion of civilization, united by various cultures and traditions of many Asia countries, and finally became a cultural religion, t. e. Religion forming culture, differently entered the cultural traditions of many countries and peoples. At the present stage, in Buddhism, it is possible to distinguish the features of a sectarian religion (for example, in countries where Buddhists are forced to hide their religion, as it was in the USSR), and the features of civilization religion (new international buddhist associations of different countries, such as the World Buddhist Brotherhood), and , of course, the features of cultural religion (new Buddhist societies in the West).
Perhaps none of the eastern religions caused such complex and contradictory feelings from Europeans as Buddhism. And this is quite understandable - Buddhism, as it were, challenged all the basic values \u200b\u200bof the Christian European civilization. It did not have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe God-Creator and the Almighty of the Universe, he refused the concept of the soul, there was no religious organization, such a Christian church. And most importantly, instead of paradise bliss and salvation, he offered a believer Nirvana, which takes for full non-existence, nothing. It is not surprising that a man of the West, brought up in Christian traditions, such a religion seemed paradoxical, strange. He saw in it a deviation from the very concept of religion, the sample of which was considered naturally Christianity.
For some Western thinkers, the idea of \u200b\u200bBuddhism as a religion opposite to Christianity, but as common and revered in the world, have become an important weapon of criticism of Western culture, the western system of values \u200b\u200band the most Christianity.
These thinkers include primarily Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche and their followers. It is thanks to them, as well as the founders of new synthetic religious flows, in many respects opposing themselves to Christianity (for example, Elena Blavatskaya and its associate to Colonel Olkottu, the founders of the theosophical society), at the end of the XIX - early XX centuries. Buddhism began to spread in the West and in Russia.
By the end of the 20th century, the West has already experienced a lot of waves of passionate buddhism in different forms, and they all left a noticeable trace in Western culture.
If at the beginning of the XX century. The Europeans were read on the texts of the Pali Canon in the translations of the prominent Buddhas, then after World War II, thanks to Translation E. Konze, the European world met Mahayan Sutra. Approximately at the same time, the famous Japanese buddhist Suzuki discovered for the West Zen, who did not pass the passion and so far.
Buddhism was distributed in most European countries: Buddhist organizations, centers and small groups are available in almost all countries of Western Europe, as well as in individual countries of Eastern Europe. Almost all Western European countries are branches of the International Buddhist Organization "International Juice Gakkay". The oldest in Europe are Buddhist organizations in Germany (since 1903), Great Britain (since 1907), France (since 1929). In Hamburg in 1955, the German Buddhist Union was formed, i.e. Center, uniting Buddhist organizations of the FRG. In France, the society "Friends of Buddhism" was founded. Buddhist Society of Great Britain is considered the largest and most influential organization in Europe. In the UK there are also a Buddhist mission (since 1926), London Buddhist Vihara, Temple of Buddhaladina, Tibetan Center and other societies (only about forty). Many members of Buddhist societies in Europe were famous buddhist, Buddhism preachers.
Nowadays, Tibetan Buddhism is growing. The high authority of the current Dalai Lama, which, because of the persecution of the Chinese authorities, lives in exile - in India, a lot has contributed to the fame of the teachings of the Gelukpa school. All this allows you to say that Buddhism, which has influenced the movement of the hipsters and hippies, on the work of American writers, such as Jerome Sallinger, Jack Keruac and others, has become an integral part of modern Western culture.
In Russia, the influence of Buddhism for a long time practically did not feel, although peoples who confess Buddhism in the Mongolian version (Buryats, Kalmyks, Tuvintsy) live on its territory. Now on the wave of general religious revival there is a revival of Buddhists. Buddhist society, the Buddhist University, are created, the old and new Buddhist temples and monasteries (datsans) are revealed, and a large number of Buddhist literature is published. In both Russian capitals and in a number of other cities, there are centers of several Buddhist traditions at once.
The most influential Buddhist organization - the World Brotherhood of Buddhists established in 1950. Buddhism literature is extensive and includes writings on Pali, Sanskrit, Hybrid Sanskrit, Singalez, Burmese, Khmer, Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan languages.
Conclusion
The emergence of Buddhism and its difficult fate is a legitarious result of the existence of such a society in which suffering was indeed for the overwhelming majority of people a constant satellite of life. Buddhism mystified this suffering, turned the real human misfortunes in the "illusion of consciousness" and thereby sent the efforts of people to liberate from suffering in their own direction. Moreover, the way to get rid of the suffering proposed by Buddhism, objectively turned out to be a support of the company in which compassion is inevitable.
Religion is a tool for calm carefree life, work, happiness. A magnificent tool for thousands of years, which allows a person to renounce atheistic views on such complex and depressing concepts as, for example, death. Believe, a person deprives himself an extra doubt and torment, the unknown of the future, thereby having the opportunity to become a full-fledged member of society, i.e. Having relevant aesthetic and moral principles. Buddhism can be said is one of the best tools for the peace of mind.
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