The Buddha and Buddhism

The essentials

Siddhartha, also known as Gautama, was the son of a chief of the Sakya clan. He was shielded from the harsh realities of life, but on seeing an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a renouncer, he decided to take up renunciation himself. After a period of meditation he attained enlightenment and became known as the Buddha, the Enlightened One. He spent the rest of his life teaching dhamma, the path of righteous living.

The Buddha's teachings have been reconstructed from stories, mainly in the Sutta Pitaka. The Tipitaka ("three baskets") has three parts: the Vinaya Pitaka (rules for monks and nuns of the sangha), the Sutta Pitaka (teachings of the Buddha) and the Abhidhamma Pitaka (philosophy).

Key points

• The world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing; it is soulless (anatta), as there is nothing permanent; sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence.
• By following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence, one can rise above worldly troubles.
• The Buddha regarded the social world as created by humans, and advised kings to be humane and ethical.
• Emphasis on individual effort and right action to escape rebirth and attain nibbana — the extinguishing of ego and desire.
• The sangha was an organisation of monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkhunis) who lived simply, possessing only essentials. Mahapajapati Gotami, the Buddha's foster mother, was the first woman ordained as a bhikkhuni.
• Some bhikkhunis became respected teachers; the Therigatha is a collection of verses composed by bhikkhunis.
• Internal life of the sangha was based on the traditions of ganas and sanghas, with decisions by consensus or vote.
• Later, Mahayana Buddhism developed, with the Buddha seen as a saviour and the idea of the bodhisattva; older tradition was called Hinayana (or Theravada).

Common mistakes

• Mixing the three Pitakas: Vinaya means rules; Sutta means teachings.