What is the origin and development of Buddhism?

The Origin and Development of Buddhism

Buddhism is the earliest religion among the three major religions in the world today. Buddhism is the only religion in the world that does not participate in politics and military affairs, and it is also the only religion in the world that does not have conflicts, disputes and wars with regions and countries with other religious beliefs. Buddhism is the only religion that advocates equality, compassion and puts forward that karma comes first. Buddhism is the only religion that advocates that all beings have Buddha nature and can practice Buddhism. Buddhism teaches people to be good, how to get rid of inner distress and reach the realm of "enlightenment". Therefore, in my opinion, Buddhism is also a "university question" that teaches people how to get happiness in life.

The background of the origin of Buddhism and Brahmanism;

Speaking of the origin of Buddhism, I have to mention India. According to the data, when Aryans developed from the Indus Valley to the Ganges Valley in BC 1500, the main mode of production changed from animal husbandry to agricultural production. Due to the favorable climatic conditions, people have learned to grow rice with high yield, and the productivity has been greatly improved by using iron tools. The social structure entered the slave society. At that time, the social crowd was divided into four grades: ① Brahmins (religious priests, who mastered theocracy and educational rights, religious classics and cultural knowledge), ② Khshatriya (warrior class, later including kings and military nobles, who held military and political power. (3) Vedas (farmers, craftsmen, and later industrial and commercial owners and usurers). ), (4) sudra (composed of civilians from non-Aryan indigenous tribes, with low status). In addition, there are slaves with no social status and no caste. They are called "untouchables" and "untouchables".

At that time, the "orthodox" religion in Indian society was Brahmanism, which was a polytheism, worshiping natural gods and ancestor gods, believing in gods such as Raytheon, Justice God, Sun God, Vulcan God, Fengshen God and Rain God. Brahmanism was the religion that maintained the slave society at that time. It advocates the idea of reincarnation of karma, and believes that the good and evil of human behavior (karma) in this life will bring different karma in the afterlife; If you don't believe in the Vedic classics of Brahmanism, or violate the rules of caste, or kill animals, you will be reincarnated as an inferior caste untouchable or animal after death, while if you study the Vedic classics and do good deeds, you can be reincarnated as an upper caste after death, or even become a god and become one with Brahma. Brahmanism preaches the supremacy of the Brahmin caste, saying that Brahmins build Brahmans with their mouths, Kashatri with their hands, Vedas with their legs, and sudra with their feet, and stipulate social occupations for them, which will never change. Brahmanism emphasizes offering sacrifices to gods, and many sacrificial ceremonies are held every year, including horse sacrifice, ancestor sacrifice, Tenjin Matsuri, Brahman sacrifice and elf sacrifice. During the sacrifice, a large number of livestock were slaughtered, believers spent a lot of property, and even the land was sacrificed to God-actually belonging to Brahmins.

In the 5th-6th century BC, with the development of economy and the rise of city-states, the wealth and power of industrial and commercial owners and usurers with large population in Khrushchev caste and Vedic caste increased. They are dissatisfied with the old caste system of Brahmanism, and the tyranny and corruption of Brahmanism are also opposed by all walks of life. In this case, a new religious trend of thought-shaman trend of thought has emerged to confront and criticize Brahmanism. Among them, among the Sakyamuni people in southern Nepal, there is a young Gautama Siddhartha (Sakyamuni), who also accepted the Samoan trend of thought.

The origin of Buddhism and Gautama Siddharta;

Speaking of Siddhartha Gautama as a child, there are many fairy tales. It is said that when he was born, his father, King Su Fan, asked someone to tell his fortune. After the calculation, the man cried. He regrets that he failed to listen to Gautama Siddharta's teaching as an adult ... A short story profoundly reflects the importance of his consciousness. Although his father wanted him to inherit the throne instead of saving all beings, which created a very harmonious and beautiful living environment for him, he was confused when he saw the painful appearance of people when they died, the lonely appearance of the elderly, orphans and the ugly sleep of their parents who sang and danced during the day ... So at the age of 29, he abandoned the throne, left his wife and children and chose to become a monk at the peak of his happiness, just to seek a kind of practice. He is determined to establish a new religion-Buddhism, which absorbs the idea of reincarnation and karma of primitive Brahmanism, but it opposes people deciding their own destiny according to their birth caste, but thinks that everyone can achieve Buddhism-meaning enlightened person through their own cultivation.

In this way, according to legend, Siddhartha Gautama first practiced meditation near Shecheng, King of Mojeto, then spent six years in the Nilian Zen River, and then meditated under the Biboro tree in Gaya (Bodhgaya). After seven days and seven nights, he finally became a Buddha. This year, he was 35 years old. Later, at the request of people and subjects around him, he taught in the Ganges River valley in northern and central India, explaining the true meaning of life, the truth of the universe and the ways to get rid of the pain of birth, aging, illness and death. It lasted for 45 years and was followed by many people. Later, it was recorded by his disciples and spread to this day. This is the so-called Buddhism.

In this way, Buddhism was born, and Sakyamuni was honored as a Buddha, meaning awakened one. (Buddha means Buddha in Sanskrit, meaning "enlightenment", and Chinese translation is "Buddha". )

Buddhist collections are neither gods nor "ghosts". He himself has said many times: "I am the same person as you." He told people, "I am not the savior to save the world and people. I'm just a teacher. I can only show you the path and method of enlightenment. To truly achieve enlightenment, you have to rely on your own heart. " (See "Fa Sentence Jing", the Buddha said, "You should work hard and be a teacher." It can be seen that the original purpose of Buddhism is to pursue the happiness of life and the truth of the universe, which is essentially different from other religions. Not only the great religions in the world, but almost all religions are born with the same purpose-that is, to educate their subjects and stabilize their dominant position. Therefore, Buddhism is a pure religion, and his belief means that the Buddha has complete compassion and wisdom; We firmly believe that the monk group can adhere to the Buddha's teaching method as a guide and basis for our practice; We firmly believe that our life has infinite hope. As long as we make persistent efforts to practice the truth of Buddhism, we will certainly help ourselves and others to improve and understand life. Believing in Buddhism, Buddhism and Buddhism is the core of Buddhism. From belief to life form, the relationship between body and mind, the relationship between three generations, the relationship between people and so on.

The development of Buddhism:

The development of Buddhism is bumpy.

Buddhism is one of the five major religions in the world, and its beliefs have an immeasurable positive effect on global stability and harmony. In Asia, Buddhist belief has become the main body of people's belief. According to statistics, more than half of people in Asia believe in Guanyin. Since China's reform and opening up more than 20 years ago, with the rapid development of material civilization, people are more eager for spiritual enrichment, and Buddhist beliefs will become more common. Buddhism will help more people get out of the misunderstanding of life, establish a healthy attitude towards life, get out of the failure of life, move towards real success, get out of the confusion of life and find the right direction of life. Nowadays, most Buddhists in various countries have changed the past style of standing still in the mountains and forests, turned to promoting life Buddhism, and actively engaged in culture, education, charity and other undertakings, so as to facilitate believers to get close to Buddhism. In addition, it also emphasizes international exchanges, such as the establishment of international Buddhist academic conferences, the World Buddhist Friendship Association, and the World Buddhist Youth Association. Combine the strength of international monks and customs, experts and scholars, or hold networking activities or publish papers to promote the integration of Buddhism around the world.

Therefore, Buddhism pays more attention to self-cultivation than other religions in cultivating people's sociality, and is more suitable for the philosophy that orientals live in harmony with nature, so it has been widely spread in the eastern world. Of course, the restrictive effect of Buddhism, which originated and spread in feudal society, on human sociality also needs to be realized by preaching the reincarnation and karma that conform to Buddhist moral rules.

Note: Reference 1[ Wikipedia]

2 Baidu Library

Bibliography 3 Buddhism and China Culture in Wang Tuo

4 Aru old monk [Sri Lanka] "Slow Motion"