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Buddhism or Buddhadharma is a religion that originated in Northern India over 2,500 years ago that split off from Brahmanism as its own religious ideology and philosophy. It is in essence the goal of personal self development and attainment of enlightenment. It is based on the teachings of Siddharta Gautama or Buddha, with it being estimated that there are 320 million followers of Buddhism, though it’s in a decline as between 2010 and 2020 the number of Buddhists dropped by 20 million. [1]
Buddhism has three major sects or branches: Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism, with the Theravada being mainly practiced in South-East Asia i.e (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia), Mahayana in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea) and Vajrayana in the Himalayas (Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan)[2]
There’s also a modern sect of Buddhism called Navayana or Neo-Buddhism. It's a version of Buddhism that emphasizes social equality, justice and morality and this was created mainly by the Dalit caste (Untouchables) in India as an escape from the Hindu caste system. They reject traditional Buddhist concepts like karma, rebirth, and monasticism. Navayana reinterprets Buddhist principles to focus on social struggle and the eradication of inequality. [3]
Origin of Buddhism
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References
- ↑ Rupert Gethin (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism.
- ↑ "The Spread of Buddhism". Cornell University Library.
- ↑ Pradeep P. Gokhale (2021). Classical Buddhism, Neo-Buddhism and the Question of Caste.