Portal:Buddhism

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

Template:/box-header

Great Statue of Buddha Amitabha

Great Statue of Buddha Amitabha

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (Pāli/Sanskrit "the awakened one"). Buddha who was born as a prince in Kapilvastu, in modern day Nepal, lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by adherents as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering, achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth. Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada—the oldest surviving branch—has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tendai and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications Vajrayana, a subcategory of Mahayana, is recognized as a third branch. While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia, both branches are now found throughout the world. Various sources put the number of Buddhists in the world at between 230 million and 500 million, making it the world's fourth-largest religion.

More about Buddhism...

Template:/box-footer

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

The main entrance to the temple proper
Angkor Wat is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. The largest and best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center—first Hindu, then Buddhist—since its foundation. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temples. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the gods in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 km (2.2 miles) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the center of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unusually, Angkor Wat faces the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. As well as for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, the temple is admired for its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Vatadage Temple, in Polonnaruwa
Credit: Lankapic

The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 CE to reunite the country once more under a local leader.

Template:/box-header Template:/Selected anniversaries/May

Template:/box-footer


Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Steven Seagal
Steven F. Seagal (born April 10, 1952) is an American action movie actor, producer, writer, director, martial artist and singer-songwriter. He belongs to a generation of movie action hero actors (including Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme) who were featured in many of the Hollywood blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and 1990s. A 6' 4" (193 cm) 7th-dan black belt in aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an aikido instructor in Japan. He became the first foreigner to operate an aikido dojo in Osaka, Japan. He later moved to the Los Angeles, California area where he made his film debut in 1988 in Above the Law. Since then, Seagal has become a well recognized action star, mainly due to his action films of the 1990s such as Under Siege (1992) and Under Siege 2 (1995) where he played Navy SEALs counter-terrorist expert Casey Ryback. In total his movies have earned in excess of $850 million worldwide. Seagal is also a recording artist and guitarist and the founder of Steven Seagal Enterprises. In addition to his professional achievements, he is also known as an environmentalist, an animal rights activist and, like other actors such as Richard Gere, is a supporter of Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama and the cause of Tibetan independence. Spiritualism and Buddhism play an important role in Seagal's life and he has been recognized by Tibetan lama Penor Rinpoche as a reincarnated Tulku.

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Avukana Buddha Statue

Template:/box-header

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

Parent project

Wikipedia:WikiProject Religion

WikiProjects
Main project

Wikipedia:WikiProject Buddhism

Descendant projects

WikiProject Tibetan Buddhism

What are WikiProjects?

Template:/box-footer

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Joe Scarborough
Since 1950, the communist government of China has actively controlled Tibet and has repressed the Tibetan people. During the 1966 to 1976 Cultural Revolution, most monasteries, palaces, and other aspects of Tibetan Buddhism were damaged and destroyed. The Dalai Lama, the highest and most revered leader within Tibet's former government, has been exiled in India since 1959. Today, Tibet's unique cultural fabric is irreparably being torn by the oppressive practices of old guard communists in Beijing.

Template:/box-header

Buddhism (book)

Outline of Buddhism

History of Buddhism: TimelineBuddhist councils

Buddhism topics

Major Figures: Gautama BuddhaDisciplesLater Buddhists

Dharma or Concepts: Four Noble TruthsNoble Eightfold PathThree marks of existenceDependent OriginationSaṃsāraNirvanaSkandhaCosmologyKarmaRebirth

Practices and Attainment: BuddhahoodBodhisattva4 Stages of EnlightenmentWisdomMeditationPreceptsPāramitāsThree JewelsMonasticsLaity

Countries and Regions

Schools: TheravādaMahāyānaVajrayāna

Texts: Pali CanonTibetan CanonChinese CanonSanskrit texts


Related topics: CriticismComparative StudiesCultural elements

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

Featured article star.png

User:JL-Bot/Project content

Featured articles

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>
2

Featured lists

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>
2

Good articles

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>
2


Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

Things you can do

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

Hinduism Shinto Taoism Jainism Theosophy Religion Spirituality Asia
Hinduism Shinto Taoism Jainism Theosophy Religion Spirituality Asia



Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

Buddhism on  Wikinews  Buddhism on  Wikiquote  Buddhism on  Wikibooks  Buddhism on  Wikisource  Buddhism on  Wiktionary  Buddhism on  Wikiversity  Buddhism on Wikimedia Commons
News Quotations Manuals & Texts Texts Definitions Learning resources Images & Media
Wikinews-logo.svg
Wikiquote-logo.svg
Wikibooks-logo.svg
Wikisource-logo.svg
Wiktionary-logo-en.svg
Wikiversity-logo.svg
Commons-logo.svg

Template:/box-footer