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Relig. philosophy a doctrine that arose in ancient India in the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. and turned in the course of its development into one of the three, along with Christianity and Islam, world religions. Founder B. ind. Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who received ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

BUDDHISM- religion founded by Gautama Buddha (6th century BC). All Buddhists revere the Buddha as the founder of the spiritual tradition that bears his name. In almost all areas of Buddhism there are monastic orders, whose members act as teachers for the laity and ... ... Collier Encyclopedia

Buddhism- In the second half of the 6th - first quarter of the 5th c. BC e. Another religious and philosophical doctrine arose, which entered into open confrontation with the Vedic religious mythological thinking and was so clearly manifested in the Vedas and the epic. It is connected… Encyclopedia of mythology

BUDDHISM- (from Buddha). Religious teaching founded by the Buddha; confession of this doctrine and worship of the Buddha as a deity. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. BUDDHISM [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Buddhism- - every year of the Үndіstanda b. VI Vғ.ғ. payda bulgan dіni filosofiyalyk іlіm. Negizin kalaushy Siddhartha Gautama (Gotama), keyin ol Buddha dep atalgan (magynasy - kozі ashylgan, oyangan, nurlangan). Ol oz uagyzdarynda brahmanizmdі bailyk pen sәn… … Philosophical terminderdin sozdigі

Buddhism- a, m. bouddhisme m. One of the world religions, which arose in the 6th century. BC e. in India and named after its legendary founder Gautami, who later received the name Buddha (enlightened one); Buddhism has become widespread in China, ... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Buddhism- Buddhism is now split into two different Churches: Southern and Northern. The former is said to be the purer form, as it more strictly preserved the original teachings of the Lord Buddha. This is the religion of Ceylon, Siam, Burma and other countries, at that time ... Religious terms

Buddhism- Cm … Synonym dictionary

Buddhism one of the three world religions. Originated in ancient India in the VI-V centuries. BC in India and named after its legendary founder Gautama, who later received the name Buddha (enlightened). The founder is Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism... ... Encyclopedia of cultural studies

BUDDHISM- now split into two different Churches: Southern and Northern. The former is said to be the purer form, as it more strictly preserved the original teachings of the Lord Buddha. This is the religion of Ceylon, Siam, Burma and other countries, while ... ... Theosophical Dictionary

BUDDHISM- BUDDHISM, one of the three world religions along with Christianity and Islam. B. arose in ancient India in the 6th and 5th centuries. BC e. and in the course of its development was divided into a number of religious and philosophical schools. The Indian prince Siddhartha is considered the founder of B. ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

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• Buddhism, Rhys-Davids. The book of Professor Rhys-Davids is a collection of six lectures given by him in the winter of 1894-1895 in various cities of America at the invitation of the American History Reading Committee ...

Buddhism is a religious and philosophical doctrine that arose in India in the 6th-5th centuries BC. Included in San Jiao - one of the three main religions of China. The founder of Buddhism is the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name of Buddha, i.e. awakened or enlightened.

Buddhism originated in northeastern India in areas of pre-Bahmin culture. Buddhism quickly spread throughout India and reached its peak at the end of the 1st millennium BC - the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. Buddhism had a great influence on Hinduism, which was reborn from Brahmanism, but was supplanted by Hinduism by the 12th century AD. virtually disappeared from India. The main reason for this was the opposition of the ideas of Buddhism to the caste system consecrated by Brahmanism. At the same time, starting from the 3rd century BC, it covered Southeast and Central Asia and partially Central Asia and Siberia.

Already in the first centuries of its existence, Buddhism was divided into 18 sects, disagreements between which caused the convocation of councils in Rajagriha in 447 BC, in Vaishavi in ​​367 BC, in Patalirutra in the 3rd century BC. and led at the beginning of our era to the division of Buddhism into two branches: Hinayana and Mahayana.

Hinayana established itself mainly in the southeastern countries and received the name of southern Buddhism, and Mahayana - in the northern countries, received the name of northern Buddhism.

The spread of Buddhism contributed to the creation of syncretic cultural 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 came out not only against the significance of external forms of religious life and, above all, ritualism, but also against abstract dogmatic quests, characteristic, in particular, of the Brahmanic-Vedic tradition. The problem of the existence of the individual was put forward as a central problem in Buddhism.

Suffering and liberation are presented in Buddhism as different states of a single being: suffering is a state of being of the manifested, liberation is of the unmanifested. Both, being inseparable, appear, however, in early Buddhism as a psychological reality, in developed forms of Buddhism - as a cosmic reality.

Buddhism imagines liberation primarily as the destruction of desires, more precisely, the quenching of their passion. The Buddhist principle of the so-called middle (middle) path recommends avoiding extremes - both attraction to sensual pleasure, and the complete suppression of this attraction. In the moral-emotional sphere, the dominant concept in Buddhism is the concept of tolerance, relativity, from the standpoint of which moral prescriptions are not mandatory and can be violated.

In Buddhism, there is no concept of responsibility and guilt as something absolute, a reflection of this is the absence in Buddhism of a clear line between the ideals of religious and secular morality and, in particular, the softening or rejection of asceticism in its usual form. The moral ideal of Buddhism appears as absolute non-harm to others (ahinsa), resulting from general softness, kindness, and a sense of perfect satisfaction. In the intellectual sphere of Buddhism, the distinction between sensual and rational forms of cognition is eliminated and the practice of so-called contemplative reflection (meditation) is established, the result of which is the experience of the integrity of being (non-distinguishing between internal and external), complete self-absorption. The practice of contemplative reflection thus serves not so much as a means of knowing the world, but as one of the main means of transforming the psyche and psychophysiology of the individual. As a specific method of contemplative reflection, dhyanas, which have been called Buddhist yoga, are especially popular. The state of perfect satisfaction and self-deepening, absolute independence of inner being - the positive equivalent of extinguishing desires - is liberation, or nirvana.

Buddhism is based on the assertion of the principle of personality, inseparable from the surrounding world, and the recognition of the existence of a kind of psychological process in which the world is also involved. The result of this is the absence in Buddhism of the opposition of subject and object, spirit and matter, a mixture of individual and cosmic, psychological and ontological, and at the same time emphasizing the special potential forces lurking in the integrity of this spiritual and material being. The creative principle, the ultimate cause of being, is the mental activity of a person, which determines both the formation of the universe and its disintegration: this is a volitional decision of the "I", understood as a kind of spiritual and bodily integrity. From the non-absolute significance for Buddhism of everything that exists, regardless of the subject, from the absence of creative aspirations in the individual in Buddhism, the conclusion follows, on the one hand, that God as the highest being is immanent to man and the world, on the other hand, that in Buddhism there is no need for God as creator and savior, that is, in general, as an unconditionally supreme being, transcendent to this community. From this follows also the absence in Buddhism of the dualism of the divine and the non-divine, God and the world.

Starting with the denial of external religiosity, Buddhism in the course of its development came to recognize it. At the same time, the highest reality of Buddhism - nirvana - was identified with the Buddha, who from the personification of the moral ideal turned into his personal embodiment, thus becoming the highest object of religious emotions. Simultaneously with the cosmic aspect of nirvana, the cosmic concept of the Buddha arose, formulated in the doctrine of trikaya. The Buddhist pantheon began to grow due to the introduction into it of all kinds of mythological creatures, one way or another assimilating with Buddhism. The cult, covering all aspects of Buddhist life, from family life to holidays, became especially complicated in some Mahayana movements, in particular in Lamaism. Very early in Buddhism, a sangha appeared - a monastic community, from which a kind of religious organization grew over time.

The most influential Buddhist organization is the worldwide brotherhood of Buddhists, founded in 1950. The Buddhist literature is extensive and includes writings in Pali, Sanskrit, hybrid Sanskrit, Sinhalese, Burmese, Khmer, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan.

Buddha Gautama, also known as Shakyamuni, lived 2500 years ago in the border region between India and Nepal. He was not the Creator or God. He was just a man who managed to understand life, which is the source of all kinds of external and internal problems. He was able to overcome all his own problems and limitations and use all his possibilities to help others most effectively. Thus he became known as the Buddha, i.e. one who is fully enlightened. He taught that everyone can achieve this, because everyone has the ability, capacity or factors that allow such a transformation to occur, i.e. everyone has "Buddha nature". Everyone has a mind, and therefore the ability to understand and know. Everyone has a heart, and therefore the ability to show feelings towards others. Everyone has the ability to communicate and a certain level of energy - the ability to act.

These abilities are the basic working material available to everyone, including animals and insects, and although they may be limited in individual individuals, nevertheless, everyone can develop his abilities and overcome limitations in order to realize his own potentialities to the fullest.

The Buddha understood that all people are not the same and have different characters and inclinations, and therefore he never put forward any one dogmatic system, but taught various systems and methods depending on the personality of the student. He always encouraged people to test them for themselves and take nothing for granted. Buddhism developed in India in the general context of Indian philosophy and religion, which also included Hinduism and Jainism. Although Buddhism shares some common features with these religions, there are fundamental differences nonetheless.

First of all, Buddhism, unlike Hinduism, does not contain the idea of ​​caste, but, as noted above, it contains the idea of ​​equality of all people in terms of having the same opportunities for them.

Like Hinduism, Buddhism talks about karma, but the idea of ​​karma is completely different here. It is not an idea of ​​fate or fate, like the Islamic idea of ​​qizmat, or God's will. This is neither in classical Hinduism nor in Buddhism, although c. in modern popular Hinduism, it sometimes acquires such a meaning due to the influence of Islam. In classical Hinduism, the idea of ​​karma is closer to the idea of ​​duty. People are born in different living and social conditions due to belonging to different castes (to the caste of warriors, rulers, servants) or are born as women. Their karma or duty is to follow the classical patterns of behavior described in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the great epics of Hindu India, in specific life situations. If one acts like a perfect wife or a perfect servant, for example, then in future lives his position is likely to be better.

The Buddhist idea of ​​karma is quite different from the Hindu one. In Buddhism, karma means "impulses" that cause us to do or think something. These impulses arise as a result of previous habitual actions or behavioral patterns. But since it is not necessary to follow every impulse, our behavior is not strictly deterministic. This is the Buddhist concept of karma.

Both Hinduism and Buddhism contain the idea of ​​rebirth, but it is understood differently. In Hinduism we speak of atman or "I", permanent, unchanging, separate from body and mind, always the same and passing from life to life; all these selves or atmans are one with the universe or Brahma. Therefore, the variety that we see around us is an illusion, because in reality we are all one.

Buddhism interprets this problem differently: there is no unchanging "I", or atman, passing from life to life: "I" exists, but not as a product of fantasy, not as something continuous and constant, passing from one life to another. In Buddhism, "I" can be likened to an image on a film strip, where there is a continuity of frames, and not a continuity of objects passing from frame to frame. Here the analogy of "I" with a statue moving, as if on a conveyor belt, from one life to another is unacceptable.

As has been said, all beings are equal in the sense that they all have the same opportunity to become a Buddha, but Buddhism does not proclaim that all are identical or one in the Absolute. Buddhism says that everyone is different. Even after becoming a Buddha, he retains his individuality. Buddhism does not say that everything is an illusion: everything is like an illusion. This is a major difference. Objects are like an illusion in the sense that they appear to be solid, permanent, and concrete, when in reality they are not. Objects are not an illusion, because illusory food will not fill our stomach, but real food will.

Another significant difference is that Hinduism and Buddhism emphasize different types of activities leading to liberation from problems and difficulties. In Hinduism, external physical aspects and techniques are usually emphasized, for example, various asanas in hatha yoga, in classical Hinduism, cleansing by bathing in the Ganges, as well as diet.

In Buddhism, great importance is attached not to external, but to internal techniques that affect the mind and heart. This can be seen in such expressions as "development of a good heart", "development of wisdom to see reality", etc. This difference also manifests itself in the approach to pronouncing mantras - special Sanskrit syllables and phrases. In the Hindu approach, the emphasis is on sound reproduction. Since the time of the Vedas, it has been believed that sound is eternal and has its own great power. In contrast, the Buddhist approach to mantra-based meditation emphasizes developing the ability to concentrate through mantras rather than sound per se.

During his lifetime, the Buddha taught various methods, but as with the teachings of Jesus Christ, nothing was written down during the lifetime of the Buddha. A few months after the Buddha's departure, 500 of his disciples (later known as the First Buddhist Council) gathered to verbally affirm what the Buddha taught. The disciples reproduced from memory various passages of the sacred texts they had heard. Although this collection of texts, known as the Tripitaka or Three Baskets, was reproduced from memory and officially approved already at this early period, it was written down much later. For example, the Pali konon was recorded at the beginning of the 1st c. AD in Sri Lanka. The reason for this was that the written language was used at that time only for commercial or administrative purposes and was never used for scientific or teaching purposes. These texts were preserved in memory, with certain groups of people in the monasteries being responsible for the preservation of the various texts.

Not all of the Buddha's teachings were orally transmitted so openly. Some of them were believed to be for the future, so they were passed down orally from generation to generation by teachers and students more secretly. Sometimes the teachings of the Buddha, promulgated at a much later time, are criticized.

Criticism of late Buddhist teachings as inauthentic on the basis of the argument that only early Buddhist sources contain the authentic words of the Buddha seems untenable. For if the "early" Buddhists claim that the later traditions are not authentic because they are based on oral tradition, then the same argument can be used in relation to the early teachings, since they too were not written down by the Buddha himself, but were transmitted by oral tradition. The fact that various texts of the Buddha were written in different languages ​​and in different styles does not cast doubt on their authenticity either, since the Buddha himself said that his teachings should be preserved in the language that is accepted in a given society, taking into account style characteristic of this society. Emphasis should always be given to the meaning and not to the words, the text should not need further interpretation.

This first group of teachings, which were transmitted orally and openly, were eventually written down and formed the basis of the direction known as the Hinayana. Various splits and less significant differences in the interpretation of the main provisions led to the division of the Hinayana into 18 schools, in which texts that differed slightly from each other were transmitted in various Indian dialects. The Theravada school, for example, having found itself in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, preserved its teachings in the Pali language, while the Sarvastivada school, which became widespread in Central Asia, used Sanskrit.

Hinayana, the common term for these 18 traditions, means "Humble Vehicle". Usually, Hinayana is translated as "Small vehicle", but there is no need to give this word a derogatory connotation. The chariot means "movement of the mind", that is, the path of thinking, feeling, acting, etc., which leads to a specific goal. It is modest in the sense that it suggests methods to achieve a modest, rather than a higher goal. It exists for those who are simply working to overcome their own problems, because it would be too much for them to work to overcome everyone's problems. Instead of aspiring to become a Buddha, they aspire to become liberated people (Sanskrit for "arhat").

The Buddha taught that 1,000 buddhas would appear in the current world age. The Hinayana system states that in order to become a Buddha, one must follow the path of the bodhisattva, i.e., fully dedicate oneself to helping others to improve themselves in order to do it in the best possible way; however, all 1,000 seats have already been filled. Therefore, there is no point in working to become a Buddha in this age, so one should strive for what is practically achievable, i.e. strive to become a liberated person.

Further, the Buddha taught that when a person reaches nirvana, or is freed from his own problems, then the stream of consciousness is interrupted or extinguished like a candle. This helps people who are not pursuing higher goals not to be overwhelmed by fear, and also gives them the opportunity to feel that their suffering will really end, and thus enter the path of Hinayana.

In the later recorded Mahayana teachings (The Spacious Vehicle*), the 1,000 Buddhas that the Buddha spoke of appearing as the founders of the Buddhist world religions. In addition to them, there will also be many other Buddhas who will not be the founders of the world Buddhist religions; it is possible to become one of these Buddhas. The Buddha taught more advanced students how to become a Buddha: this means not only overcoming one's own problems, but also one's own limitations, as well as the maximum realization of opportunities to help others.The Buddha taught that the cessation of the stream of consciousness after reaching parinirvana means the cessation of the existence of a stream of consciousness Thus, the stream of consciousness is eternal, as is life filled with helping others.

So the first recorded system of teachings was the Hinayana. It contains the fundamental teachings that are also recognized by the Mahayana, namely: all the teachings about karma (causation); all rules of ethical self-discipline, including the rules of monastic discipline for monks and nuns; analysis of the activities of the mental and emotional spheres; instructions on how to develop the ability to concentrate, as well as how to achieve wisdom in order to overcome delusions and see reality. The Hinayana teachings also include ways to develop feelings of love and compassion. Love is defined as wishing other people to be happy, while compassion is defined as wishing other people to be free from their problems. Mahayana develops these provisions, adding to them the acceptance of responsibility for effectively helping other people, not limited to wishing them well. Since, due to the limitations inherent in man, he is not able to provide maximum help to others, Mahayana pays special attention to opening the heart of the individual through bodhichitta. Bodhichitta means the attitude to become a Buddha, in other words, a heart that strives to overcome all the limitations inherent in the personality and to realize all possibilities in order to provide the greatest help to everyone.

As already mentioned, the teachings of Hinayana were transmitted by 18 different schools, which developed historically as a result of disagreements that arose during the church councils. The Theravada tradition, or "Teaching of the Elders", has been preserved in full to our time.

Today it is common in Southeast Asia, especially in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Kampuchea (Cambodia) and Laos. The teachings of this school came to Sri Lanka and Myanmar in the middle of the 3rd century. BC. with the help of the Indian king Ashoka. At a later period in both these countries, the influences of the Mahayana teachings, including tantra, were felt here from eastern India, but these influences were insignificant. In the middle of the 11th century, when the Buddhist city of Pagan was built, a revival of the Theravada tradition took place in Myanmar.

Until the beginning of the XIII century. Thailand consisted of several small kingdoms that experienced certain Buddhist influences from neighboring Myanmar and Kampuchea. After the unification of the country in the middle of the XIII century. The king invited representatives of the Theravada tradition from Sri Lanka. In the XVIII century. Sri Lanka turned to Thailand to revive the successive lines of monastic ordination that had weakened during the period of European colonial rule.

The first Hindu state of Southeast Asia in the 1st c. AD was the Khmer kingdom (Kampuchea). His power extended to Kampuchea, South Vietnam, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula. By the end of the IV century. Mahayana, Hinduism, and also, to some extent, Theravada were widely spread in this region. This was followed by a period of decline, after which Buddhism reached its peak in the ninth century. At the end of the XII century. and at the beginning of the thirteenth century. one of the Khmer kings who patronized the Mahayana built a huge complex of temples in Angkor. In the middle of the XIII century. Thailand took over Kampuchea and the Theravada tradition has prevailed there ever since.

In the middle of the XIV century. a member of the royal family ruling in Laos was in exile in Kampuchea. Returning to his homeland and becoming king, he spread the Theravada tradition there. Earlier, in the 1st and 2nd centuries. BC, Theravada came to northern Vietnam by sea directly from India, but was soon supplanted by the Chinese form of the Mahayana. In II - III centuries. Theravada from India came to Indonesia, and, as in Kampuchea, some elements of Mahayana and Hinduism were mixed here. Soon, however, Mahayana again became the predominant form of Buddhism in that country. A little later, I will elaborate on the history of Buddhism in Vietnam and Indonesia.

This is the general pattern of the spread of Theravada in Southeast Asia. It spread mainly from India to Sri Lanka and Myanmar, at a later time from Sri Lanka back to Myanmar and Thailand, and finally from Thailand to Kampuchea and from there to Laos.

As I have already mentioned, the Theravada teachings were written down in Pali, one of the Indian languages ​​more colloquial than Sanskrit. In each of these countries, the same texts are read in Pali, known as the Tripitaka, or Three Baskets. However, in each country, the local alphabet is used to write them.

In countries where the teachings of the Theravada school have become widespread, there is a unified system of monastic vows: the traditions of female obedience and monasticism have not been developed, despite the presence of texts of vows for nuns in the manuscripts.

A characteristic feature of Buddhism is its adaptability to the cultures of the various countries where it has spread. For example, while in all countries monastic vows are taken for life, in Thailand the custom of taking vows for a fixed period arose. At the beginning of the XIV century. King Lugai led a monastic life for three months in one of the male monasteries, which marked the beginning of a unique Thai custom, according to which men have the right to take monastic vows for a short time. There are people in Thailand who regularly take vows for a year or several months. We do not find anything like this in any Buddhist country. Moreover, Thai culture has a belief in spirits. In this context, Buddhism was used in the following way: the monks recited various sacred texts to protect people from evil spirits. The monks were considered chosen and highly respected people who received food in the form of alms, the population faithfully supported them with regular offerings. Since anyone could become a monk, even if only for a short time, it was never seen as an economic burden. On the other hand, in Sri Lanka the Theravada tradition is often scientific in nature.

Other Hinayana traditions written in Sanskrit rather than Pali flourished in India proper and then spread from India west, then north and east along the Silk Road through Central Asia to China. The most important of these traditions were the Sarvastivada and Dharmagupta.

Sarvastivada separated from Theravada at the end of the reign of King Ashoka in the middle of the 3rd century. BC, and flourished first in Kashmir and Gandhara, that is, in the territory of modern Pakistani Punjab and Central Afghanistan. At the end of III and beginning of II centuries. BC. these areas were captured by the descendants of the Greeks, who came here more than a century ago with Alexander the Great during his campaigns in Central Asia and northwestern India. Then Sarvastivada spread to the lands inhabited by them in Bactria and Sogdiana. Bactria was located in the area between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Oxus River (Amu Darya) and included Afghan Turkestan and part of the territory of modern Turkmenistan. Sogdiana was located mainly in the area between the rivers Oksus and Yaksartes (Syr-Darya) and covered some areas of modern Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and, probably, Kyrgyzstan. In the middle of the 1st c. BC. it extended from Kashmir north to Khotan in the southern part of the Tarim Basin in East Turkestan. At the end of the 1st c. AD most of these territories were part of the Kushan Empire, inhabited by Central Asian peoples of Hunnic origin, who concentrated in the north-west of India. The Kushan king Kanishka was the patron of Sarvastivada and during his reign great Buddhist cave monasteries and scientific centers were built at Bamiyan in Central Afghanistan, as well as at Ajina Tepe, Kara Tepe and some other places in southern Tajikistan near modern Termez. Also during his reign Sarvastivada from Kashmir came to Ladakh. From Khotan, it began to spread through the oasis cities of the deserts of East Turkestan towards the city of Kucha, located in the northern part of the Tarim Basin, and to Kashgar in the west. The recording of the Sanskrit texts of the Sarvastivada was completed and work began on their translation into Khotanese. However, in Central Asia, all Buddhist texts were written in Sanskrit.

The Hinayana school of Dharmagupta broke away from Thervada at the beginning of Iv. BC. and flourished in the territory of modern Balochistan in the southeast of Pakistan and in the Parthian kingdom, especially in the territory of modern eastern Iran and some regions of Turkmenistan. An analysis of the sacred texts shows that starting from the 2nd c. AD, in northern China, the main school of Hinayana was Sarvastivada, but the line of initiation of monks and nuns came to China from the school of Dharmagupta, from here it spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Mahayana texts began to be written down in Sanskrit, and they appeared openly shortly after the end of the reign of King Kanishka in the 2nd century BC. AD Initially, this took place in the Andhra region in southeastern India, and then these teachings quickly spread to northern India, Kashmir and, especially, Khotan, starting from the 4th century. in northern India, great monastic universities such as Nalanda and Vikramashila were built. Gradually, Mahayana also came to Western Turkestan, where Buddhism, as mentioned above, was practiced in the territories of modern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan until the Arab invasions in the 8th century, as a result of which these areas were subjected to Muslimization. As mentioned earlier, the early Indian Mahayana also came to Kampuchea, and through it to southern Vietnam.

In the middle of the II century. AD China's contacts with Buddhism began through Central Asia and the Silk Road. Monks from merchant families in India, Kashmir, Sogdiana, Parthia, Khotan and Kucha, many of whom were natives of China, began to translate Buddhist texts from Sanskrit into Chinese. At first these were Hinayana texts, but Mahayana sacred texts were soon translated as well. In the III-IV centuries. China was fragmented into various principalities divided into northern and southern. In southern China, where a more traditional Chinese culture continued, interest in Buddhism was purely philosophical, accompanied by much speculation, often confusing Mahayana teachings of emptiness or the absence of imagined ways of being with local ideas of nothingness. In the north, ruled for the most part by non-Chinese dynasties who were the distant ancestors of the Turks, Tibetans, Mongols, and Manchus, the focus was on meditation and the development and use of psychic and extraphysical powers.

Since the translated texts were not selected according to any system, and the terms were often borrowed from the Confucian tradition and were only partially equivalent to the translated terms, there was much confusion about the essence of the Buddha's teaching. As a result, many monks made journeys along the Silk Road to Central Asia or by sea in order to bring more texts and hoping to eliminate ambiguities with their help; for the same purpose they visited the great monastic universities. So many texts were collected and brought to China. When trying to bring all these texts together, they ran into serious problems. In India, the Mahayana teachings were not yet sufficiently unified, and each pilgrim who brought a bundle of texts with him had a different selection of material, as a result of which there was no consensus on which texts were considered the most important teachings of the Buddha. Thus, various schools of Chinese Buddhism arose, differing from each other most often in which text and which method of those taught by the Buddha was recognized as the main one.

Buddhism also came to China by sea from the south. One of the greatest Indian teachers who came to South China was Bodhidharma. From the master Bodhidharma, so-called Chan Buddhism developed. In this teaching, special attention is paid to simple and natural being in harmony with nature and the universe, which is also characteristic of the Chinese philosophy of Taoism.

As I have already noted, Buddhism always seeks to adapt to the culture in which it enters. In southern China, there is also an adaptation of Buddhist techniques. It also teaches that there is "instantaneous" enlightenment. This is in line with the Confucian idea that man is inherently virtuous and comes from the concept that everyone has Buddha nature, which I mentioned at the beginning of the lecture. Chan Buddhism teaches that if a person can calm all his "artificial" (vain) thoughts, then he will be able to overcome all his delusions and obstacles in the blink of an eye, and then enlightenment will immediately come. This is not in line with the Indian concept that the development of abilities is part of a gradual long process of building positive potential, developing compassion and so on through actively helping other people.

At that time, there were a huge number of warring principalities in China: chaos reigned in the country. For a long time Bodhidharma thought intently about what methods might be acceptable for that time and for those conditions; he developed what later became known as martial arts and began to teach these arts.

There was no tradition of martial arts in India; something similar did not develop later either in Tibet or in Mongolia, where Buddhism penetrated from India. The Buddha taught about the subtle energies of the body and working with them. Since the martial arts system developed for China also deals with the subtle energies of the body, it is consistent with Buddhism. However, in the martial arts, the energies of the body are described in terms of the Chinese traditional concept of these energies, which we find in Taoism.

Buddhism is characterized by the desire to develop ethical self-discipline and the ability to concentrate so that the individual is able to focus on reality, wisely penetrating into the essence of things and overcoming delusions; as well as solve their own problems and help others as much as possible. The martial arts are a technique that enables the development of personality traits that can be used to achieve the same goal.

In China and East Asia, the most popular Buddhist school is the Pure Land School, which emphasizes the rebirth in the Pure Land of Buddha Amitaba. Everything there contributes to becoming a Buddha faster and being able to benefit others sooner. Particular attention in India has always been given to meditative practices of concentration in order to achieve the same goal. In China they taught that all one had to do was chant Amitaba's name.

The popularity of this school in the region where Chinese culture is spread even today is probably explained by the fact that the idea of ​​the rebirth of Buddha Amitaba in the western Pure Land is consistent with the Taoist idea of ​​the immortals entering the "western paradise" after death. Thus, we have considered various aspects and modifications of classical Chinese Buddhism.

Due to the severe persecution of Buddhism in China in the middle of the ninth century. most philosophically oriented schools have died out. The main surviving forms of Buddhism were the Pure Land school and Chan Buddhism. In more recent times, Buddhism mixed with Confucian ancestor worship and Taoist practices of divination with sticks.

For centuries, Buddhist texts were translated into Chinese from Sanskrit and the Indo-European languages ​​of Central Asia. The Chinese canon is more extensive than the Pali canon because it also includes Mahayana texts. The rules of discipline and vows for monks and nuns are somewhat different from those accepted in the Theravada tradition, since the Chinese, as mentioned above, follow a different Hinayana school, namely the Dharmagupta school. Even though 85% of the vows of monks and nuns are the same as in the Theravada texts, minor differences exist. In Southeast Asia, monks wear orange or yellow shirtless robes. In China, long-sleeved black, gray and brown clothes are preferred in this country, which is caused by traditional Confucian ideas about modesty. Unlike Theravada and later Tibetan traditions, China has a tradition of fully ordained nuns2. This successive line of initiation continues today in Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

The Chinese Buddhist tradition proper exists today on a very limited scale in the People's Republic of China. It is most common in Taiwan and practiced in Hong Kong, overseas Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as in the United States and other countries where the Chinese have settled.

The early forms of Buddhism found in both Western and Eastern Turkestan, in addition to China, spread to other cultures of the countries of Central Asia, but often some elements of Chinese culture were mixed with them. Worthy of attention is the spread of Buddhism among the Turks, the first known people who spoke the Turkic language and received the same name. The Turkic Khaganate arose in the second half of the 6th century. and soon split into two parts. The northern Turks concentrated in the region of Lake Baikal, where Buryatia was later formed, and the southern ones - in the valley of the Yenisei River, on the territory of Tuva - in the East Siberian region of the USSR. The Turks also inhabited a significant part of Mongolia. The Western Turks had Urumqi and Tashkent as their centers.

Buddhism first came to the Turkic Khaganate from Sogdiana in the form of the Hinayana, which, starting from the end of the Kushan period (II-III centuries AD), also had some features of the Mahayana. Sogdian merchants, often encountered along the entire length of the Silk Road, carried their culture and religions. It was they who were the most famous translators of Sanskrit texts into Chinese and other languages ​​of Central Asia; they also translated texts from Sanskrit, and in a later period from Chinese into their own language, related to Persian. During the existence of the Northern and Western Khaganates, the Turks were dominated by Mahayan monks from the Turfan region in the northern part of the Tarim River. Some texts were translated into the old Turkic language by Indian, Sogdian and Chinese monks. This was the first known wave of the spread of Buddhism, reaching Mongolia, Buryatia and Tuva. In Western Turkestan, the Buddhist tradition that already existed there was preserved until, at the beginning of the 13th century. The Turks were not defeated by the Arabs, and these areas were not subjected to Muslimization.

The Uighurs, a Turkic people related to the Tuvans, conquered the northern Turks and ruled over the territory of Mongolia, Tuva and the surrounding areas from the middle of the 8th century. until the middle of the ninth century. The Uighurs also experienced the influence of Buddhism from Sogdiana and China, but their main religion was Manichaeism, which came from Persia. They adopted the Sogdian script that arose on the basis of Syriac; It was from the Uighurs that the Mongols got their own script. The Tuvan language also used the writing of the Uyghurs, Buddhist influence came to the Tuvans from the Uyghurs in the 9th century. along with images of Buddha Amitaba.

In the middle of the ninth century The Uighurs were defeated by the Kyrgyz Turks. Many of them left Mongolia and migrated southwest to the Turpan region in the northern part of eastern Turkestan, where the first Hinayana tradition of Sarvastivada and then Mahayana, which came here from the kingdom of Kucha, existed for a long time. The texts were translated into the Indo-European Kuchan language, which is also known as Tocharian. Part of the Uighurs migrated to the eastern regions of China (modern Kansu province), where Tibetans also lived. This part of the Uyghurs began to be called "yellow" Uyghurs, many of them are Buddhists to this day. It was at this time that the Uighurs began to widely translate Buddhist texts. At first they translated Sogdian texts, later the main part of the translations was made from Chinese. However, a significant part of the translations was made from Tibetan texts, and Tibetan influence became more and more dominant in Uyghur Buddhism over time. The first wave of the spread of Buddhism in Mongolia, Buryatia and Tuva, received from the Turks and Uighurs, was not very long.

Later, at the end of the X to the beginning of the XIII centuries. the Tanguts from Khara-Khoto, located in southwestern Mongolia, received both Chinese and Tibetan forms of Buddhism. They translated a large number of texts into the Tangut language, which is written similar to Chinese but much more complex.

Actually Chinese Buddhism, especially adopted in the north, attaching great importance to meditative practices, its form in the second half of the 4th century BC. from China to Korea. In the IV century. from Korea it spread to Japan. In Korea, it flourished until about the end of the 14th century, when the rule of the Mongols ended. Until the beginning of the 12th century, during the reign of the Yi dynasty, which had a Confucian orientation, Buddhism was significantly weakened. Buddhism revived during Japanese rule. The predominant form was Ch'an Buddhism, which was called "sleep" in Korea. This form of Buddhism has a strong monastic tradition that emphasizes intense meditation practice.

Having originally received Buddhism from Korea, the Japanese, starting from the 7th century. traveled to China for the purpose of training and ensuring the continuity of successive lines. The teachings they brought at first had a philosophical coloring, but later characteristic Japanese features began to predominate. As already mentioned, Buddhism always adapts to the local traditions way of thinking. In the XIII century. Shinran developed the teachings of the Jodo Shinei school on the basis of the Pure Land school. The Chinese at this time had already reduced the Indian practice of meditation to achieve rebirth in Amitaba's Pure Land to simply repeating Amitaba's name with sincere faith many times over. The Japanese went one step further and simplified the whole procedure to a single utterance with sincere faith of Amitaba's name, as a result of which a person should go to the Pure Land, no matter how many bad deeds he committed in the past. Further repetition of the Buddha's name is an expression of gratitude. The Japanese did not attach any importance to meditation and doing positive deeds, as this may suggest a lack of faith in the saving power of Amitaba. This is in line with the Japanese cultural tendency to avoid individual effort, and to act as part of a larger team under the auspices of a prominent individual.

Despite the fact that by this time in Japan there were only successive lines of ordination to the monastic order of men and women received from Korea and China, Shinran taught that celibacy and the monastic lifestyle were not mandatory. He founded a tradition that allowed the marriage of temple priests who kept a limited set of vows. In the second half of the XIX century. The Meiji government issued a decree according to which the clergy of all Japanese Buddhist sects could marry. After that, the tradition of monasticism gradually died out in Japan.

In the XIII century. The Nichiren school also took shape, its founder was the teacher Nichiren. Here, special attention was paid to the pronunciation in Japanese of the name of the "Lotus Sutra" - "Nam-m horen-ge k", accompanied by beats on the drum. Emphasizing the universality of the Buddha and his nature led to the fact that the historical figure of Buddha Shakyamuni receded into the background. The assertion that if every person in Japan repeats this formula, then Japan will turn into heaven on earth gives Buddhism a nationalistic connotation. The main focus is on the earth sphere. In the XX century. on the basis of this sect, the Japanese nationalist movement Soka Gakkai developed. The Chan tradition came to Japan and became known as Zen; it originally flourished in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It also acquired a pronounced character inherent in Japanese culture. In Zen Buddhism, there are certain influences from the martial tradition of Japan, which has a very severe discipline: the believer must sit in an impeccable posture, in violation of which he is beaten with a stick. In Japan, there is also the traditional religion of Shinto, which emphasizes the refined perception of the beauty of everything in all its manifestations. Through the influence of Shinto, Zen Buddhism has developed traditions of flower arranging, the tea ceremony, and others that are entirely Japanese in their cultural characteristics.

A Chinese form of Buddhism also spread to Vietnam. In the south, starting from the end of the II century. AD, Indian and Khmer forms of Buddhism predominated, with a mixture of Theravada, Mahayana and Hinduism to be noted. In the XV century. they were superseded by Chinese traditions. In the north, the Theravada tradition was originally spread, which came here by sea, as well as Buddhist influences from Central Asia, which were brought by merchants who settled here. In II-III centuries. there were various Chinese cultural influences. By the end of the VI century. refers to the emergence of Chan Buddhism, known in Vietnam as Tien. The Pure Land practitioners also became part of Tien, they were oriented towards social and political issues. The Tien tradition, to a much lesser extent than Chan, was aloof from worldly affairs.

In Korea, Japan and Vietnam, the Chinese Buddhist canon, written in Chinese characters, has been preserved, but in each of these countries it was pronounced in its own way. Despite the fact that many texts were translated into national languages, classical Chinese remained the main language.

At this time (4th century AD and beyond), oral development of the ideas of Buddhism continued in the monastic universities of India. The logic and philosophy of both the Sarvastivada and Mahayana schools have received significant development. The Buddha's teachings served as the basis for the development of various philosophical systems, for example, Vaibhashika and Sautrantika in Sarvastivada, Cittamatra, also known as Vijnanavada and Madhyamika, including Svatantrika and Prasangika, in Mahayana. The most important difference between them, in addition to many less significant ones, is that each of these systems gives a more subtle analysis of reality, since it is the ignorance of reality by the individual that causes the periodic uncontrolled repetition of his problems. Indian teachers from different points of view commented on many of the sacred texts of the Buddha. Among the most famous authors were Nagarjuna, who wrote a commentary on the Madhyamika, and Asanga, who wrote a commentary on the Cittamatra. Great discussions were not only between them, but also with the supporters of such great philosophical traditions as Hinduism and Jainism, which also developed during this period. Chittamatra and Madhyamika came to China and existed there as separate schools, but as a result of persecution in the middle of the 9th century. they suffocated.

Tantra texts relating to the Mahayana, and especially to the Madhyamika, were transmitted especially secretly from the time of the Buddha, they began to be written down, probably in the 2nd-3rd centuries. AD Tantra emphasizes the use of imagination, using techniques to visualize oneself in the form of the Buddha, in his various forms, with full awareness of the corresponding reality. By imagining ourselves already possessing the body and mind of a Buddha, we create the reasons for achieving this unifying state more quickly than with conventional Mahayana methods, and thus we can begin to help others more quickly. Many of the faces, arms and legs of some of the Buddha images have several levels, symbolically representing the various realizations on the path. Visualizing them helps to keep in mind all these insights that they symbolize at the same time in order to more effectively contribute to the re-creation of the omniscient mind of the Buddha.

Now regarding tantra. There are four classes of tantras. The first three classes and partly the fourth came to China and Japan. However, it was he who, over time, received the most complete development in India. In the fourth class of tantra, Anuttara Yoga, the emphasis is on working with various subtle energies of the body in order to gain access to the most subtle level of consciousness, in order to then use it as a tool for comprehending reality in order to solve one's own problems and gain the ability to help others most effectively.

During this time, Mahayana, along with Tantra, spread from India, especially from its eastern regions, to the countries of Southeast Asia. As noted earlier, these teachings came to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Myanmar (Burma), but they did not become dominant, since Theravada was established there earlier. In Kampuchea (Cambodia) and in the northern part of Thailand, starting from the 4th century, Mahayana was spread along with Theravada and Hinduism. Over time, it was also supplanted there by Theravada.

In Indonesia, contacts with Indian culture, including Buddhism in the form of Theravada and Mahayana, began in the 2nd-3rd centuries. AD in Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi (Celebes). At the end of the 5th century Mahayana, including tantra, came to Central Java and greatly intensified there: Buddhism was officially adopted by the queen. The area was previously dominated by Theravada. As in the Khmer Kingdom (Kampuchea), here, along with Buddhism, Hinduism flourished in the form of Shaivism, they often mixed. To gain power, some believers also used elements of local rituals and spiritualism. At the end of the 7th century Buddhism became the official religion in Sumatra. At the beginning of the ninth century Borobudur, a great complex of stupas, was built in Java. By the middle of the IX century. Javanese kings conquered Sumatra as well as the Malay Peninsula. Throughout this area the Mahayana flourished, including all four classes of tantras. At the end of the tenth century the great Indian master Atisha visited Survarnadvipa, which can be identified as Sumatra. He went there with the goal of bringing back the Mahayana lineage of teachings about Bodhichitta, about how to open everyone's heart and become a Buddha to help people. He returned these teachings not only to India, but also to Tibet, where he contributed to the revival of Buddhism after a period of persecution and decline. Atisha reported that the teachings of the Kalachakra Tantra were spreading in Indonesia at this time. At the end of the XIII century. Islam spread to Sumatra, Java and Malaysia, brought here by Arab and Indian merchants who founded trading centers on the coast. By the end of the XV century. Islam dominated here, and Buddhism was lost. Only in Bali did a mixed form of Hindu Shaivism and Mahayana Tantric Buddhism survive.

During this period, the Mahayana and all four classes of tantras also found their way into Nepal, where the early Hinayana existed from the time of King Ashoka. Mahayana not only supplanted Hinayana, but has survived in its Indian Sanskrit form to the present day among the Newars in Central Nepal.

The Chiang people were the first Tibetans to adopt Buddhism. This happened at the end of the 4th century. AD, when they ruled part of northern China, which, however, had no effect on Tibet proper. In the first half of the 7th c. the first contacts of Tibet with Buddhism (its Mahayana tradition) took place, which came from Khotan, located in the southern part of the Tarim River basin in East Turkestan. These events took place during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo, who ruled central and eastern Tibet, Shang Shun in Western Tibet, northern Myanmar (Burma) and, for some time, Nepal. He married Chinese and Nepalese princesses; both princesses brought with them images of the Buddha, as well as astrological and medical texts of the traditions they followed. The king sent a mission to Kashmir to develop a more perfect Tibetan writing system; the script that existed in Tibet was borrowed from Shang Shun, it also experienced some influence from the Khotanese script. At this time, Buddhist texts began to be translated from Sanskrit, but the work was not of a large scale.

Between this period and the famous dispute at Samye Monastery at the end of the 8th century, when it was decided during the reign of King Trizong-detzen that not the Chinese, but the Indian form of Buddhism would be adopted in Tibet, contacts with other Buddhist traditions took place. At that time, the dominion of Tibet extended to the oasis states of the deserts of East Turkestan, contacts with Buddhism in West Turkestan extended to Samarkand. It was King Trizong-detzen who conquered and for a short time held the Chinese capital of Changyan. Although Chinese Buddhism was rejected in this debate, some influence of the Chan tradition can be found in those schools of Tibetan Buddhism that speak of two types of believers: those who achieve everything at once, and those who progress gradually. The first school is reminiscent of the Chan teaching on swift enlightenment (which was discussed above), but in Tibet it is interpreted in a completely different way.

In Kyrgyzstan, the ruins of Buddhist monasteries dating back to the 6th-10th centuries were discovered. It is not clear whether they belong to the tradition of the Western Turks or the Uyghurs, and also how strong the influence of Tibet was here. In the valleys of the Ili and Chu rivers, located to the east or west of Lake Issyk-Kul, many Buddhist rock inscriptions in Tibetan dating from this and later periods were found, which indicates the presence of Tibetan Buddhist culture in these areas.

The pre-Buddhist Tibetan Bon tradition flourished in the Shan-Shun kingdom, the westernmost region of its distribution - Tazik. It is difficult to say whether the Tazik is located on the territory of modern Tajikistan. Researchers identify this tradition with shamanism widespread in Central Asia, although they have common features. There is some influence of shamanism in Tibetan Buddhism, mainly in such rituals as tying prayer flags to trees, performing all kinds of rituals to propitiate spirits, guardians of mountain passes, etc. The Bon tradition still exists today, but it has merged so closely with Buddhism, which is practically another line of it. This tradition uses different terminology and different names for sacred images, but the basic techniques have a lot in common with Tibetan Buddhist techniques that developed from the first wave of Buddhism in Tibet.

The first wave of Buddhism came to Tibet mainly through the efforts of Padmasambhava, or Guru Rinpoche as he became known among the Tibetans. He initiated the Nyingma tradition, or "old (translations)". In the middle of the ninth century there was intense persecution of Buddhism, and the Nyingma tradition continued to exist largely in secret, with many texts hidden in caves and rediscovered several centuries later.

After a more auspicious time, beginning around the tenth century, new teachers were brought in from India and another wave of Buddhism came to Tibet. It is known as the period of "new (translations)", when three main traditions developed: Sakya, Kagyu and Kadam. In the XIV century. the Kadam tradition was transformed into New Kadam, or Gelug. There are two main lineages in the Kagyu tradition. The Dagpo Kagyu developed from the lineage of Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa. It is subdivided into 12 different lineages, one of them is the Karma Kagyu, which is traditionally headed by the Karmapa. The most important of these 12 lineages are the Drukpa, Drikung and Tag-lung Kagyu. The second main Kagyu lineage, the Shangpa, traces its origins to the Indian master Khyungpo Naljor. The Sakya tradition comes from the great Indian master Virupa, and Kadam from the Indian master Atisha, who, before going to Tibet, traveled to Indonesia with the aim of reviving some of the Mahayana lineages that came there, as already mentioned, from India. The New Kadam or Gelug tradition was founded by Tzonkhapa.

One of the greatest figures in Tibetan Buddhism is the Dalai Lama; Dalai Lama 1 was a student of Tzonkhapa, when his 3rd "incarnation" arrived in Mongolia, he was given the name "Dalai", in Mongolian "ocean", and his previous incarnations after death were recognized as Dalai Lamas 1 and II. Dalai Lama IV was born in Mongolia; The 5th Dalai Lama united all of Tibet and became not only a spiritual but also a political leader. It is incorrect to believe that the Dalai Lama is the head of the Gelug tradition; it is headed by Ganden Tri Rinpoche. The Dalai Lama stands above any head of any of the traditions, being the patron of all Tibetan Buddhism. The 1st Panchen Lama was one of the teachers of the 5th Dalai Lama. Unlike the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama deals exclusively with spiritual matters. When the age of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama were suitable, then one of them could become the teacher of the other.

Analyzing the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, we come to the conclusion that they have approximately 85% in common. They all follow the teachings of India as their original basis. All of them study the philosophical tenets of the four Buddhist traditions of India, seeing this as a way to achieve an increasingly subtle understanding of reality. In this respect they all recognized that the Madhyamika is the most perfect. All of them observe the tradition of holding disputes, widespread in Indian monasteries, as well as the tradition of the great contemplatives of India, the mahasiddhas. They all follow the combined path of the sutras and tantras, which are the common Mahayana foundation of these teachings. Common to them is the tradition of monastic vows; this is the tradition of the Hinayana school of Mula-Sarvastivada, which developed from Sarvastivada and differs slightly from the Theravada tradition common in Southeast Asia and China. In Tibet, the tradition of fully ordained nuns did not spread, although there was an institution of novices in Tibetan monasteries. Approximately 85% of monastic vows do not differ from vows in other traditions. However, minor differences exist. The clothes of the monks are maroon, and the shirts do not have sleeves.

Buddhist texts were translated into Tibetan mainly from Sanskrit, only a few were translated from Chinese in the case when the Sanskrit original was lost. The texts are kept in two main collections: Kangyur, which combines the original words of the Buddha, and Tengyur, which contains Indian commentaries. This is the largest corpus of Buddhist canonical literature, containing the most complete exposition of the Indian Buddhist tradition, which is especially valuable, since starting from the 12th-13th centuries. Buddhism in India lost its influence as a result of the Turkic invasions from Afghanistan. Most of the lost Sanskrit originals have been preserved exclusively in Tibetan translations.

Thus, Tibet became the heir of Indian Buddhism at a time when it took shape in India itself in the form of a tradition that recognizes the gradual path. The great contribution of the Tibetans to Buddhism lies in the further development of its organization and teaching methods. The Tibetans have developed ways of revealing all the major texts and excellent systems of interpretation and teaching.

From Tibet, Buddhism spread to other parts of the Himalayas such as Ladakh, Lahul Spiti, Kinnuar, the Sherpa region of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal. However, the most widespread was the spread of Buddhism in Mongolia at the end of the 6th century. During the Turkic and then the Uyghur rule, the first wave of teachings of Mahayana Buddhism came to Mongolia from Central Asia. Later, in the XVII century. Mongolia was artificially divided by the Manchus into Outer and Inner. This happened before they conquered China, Buddhism spread throughout Mongolia. The second, larger wave came from Tibet in the 19th century. during the time of Kublai Khan, when the great master of the Sakya Phagpa Lama tradition arrived in Mongolia. To help translate Buddhist texts, he developed a new Mongolian script. At this time, teachers of the Karma Kagyu tradition also came to Mongolia.

Tibetan Buddhism was also adopted by some other heirs of Genghis Khan, namely the Chigitai khans who ruled in East and West Turkestan, and the Ili khans who ruled in Persia. in fact, for several decades, Tibetan Buddhism was the state religion of Persia, although it did not receive the support of the indigenous Muslim population. In the middle of the 14th century, with the fall of the Mongolian Yuan dynasty in China, the influence of Buddhism in Mongolia, supported mainly by the nobility, weakened.

The third wave of Buddhism came to Mongolia at the end of the 16th century. thanks to the efforts of the Dalai Lama III, when the Gelug tradition became the main form of Tibetan Buddhism spread among the Mongols. However, slight traces of the Sakya and Kagyu traditions have survived despite the fact that they were not officially recognized. In some small monasteries, the Nyingma tradition continued to be practiced, but its origins are not clear: it comes from the Tibetan traditions of the Nyingma school itself or from Nyingma practices dating back to the Pure Visions of the 5th Dalai Lama. The original style of building Tibetan monasteries arose at the end of the 16th century . during the construction of the Erdeni-Tzu monastery on the site of the ancient capital Karakorum.

Complete collections of Kangyur and Tengyur texts were translated from Tibetan into Mongolian. Eminent Mongolian scholars wrote commentaries on Buddhist texts, sometimes in Mongolian, but mostly in Tibetan. The tradition of the monastic life of monks passed to Mongolia from Tibet, but the tradition of novices did not find its way either to Mongolia or to areas with Buryat, Tuva, and Kalmyk populations. The line of reincarnations of the Tibetan master Taranatha became known as the line of the Bogdo-gegens, or Jebtsun-damba Khutukht, who became the traditional heads of Buddhism in Mongolia. Their residence was in Urga (now Ulaanbaatar). Over time, Tibetan Buddhism has somewhat adapted to the conditions of Mongolia. For example, the 1st Bogdo-gegen Zanabazar (second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries) created special clothes for Mongolian monks to be worn mainly in their free time from performing ceremonies. Based on the Uighur and Mongolian script, he also developed the Soyumbu alphabet, which was used to transliterate Tibetan and Sanskrit words.

In the 17th century Tibetan Buddhism, and primarily the Gelug tradition, came to the Manchus, and during their reign - to Manchuria and the northern regions of China. A Tibetan monastery was founded in Beijing, and exact replicas of the Lhasa Potala, as well as the Samye and Tashilhunpo monasteries, were built in Gehol, the summer capital of the Manchus, located northeast of Beijing. Kangyur was completely translated from Tibetan into Manchu, which is based on the Uighur script adapted by the Mongols.

At the beginning of the XVII century. Tibetan Buddhism from Mongolia penetrated north to the Buryat population of Transbaikalia. The second lineage came directly from Tibet from the Labrang Tashikyil monastery in the province of Amdo. In order to weaken the position of the Bogdo-gegens and the influence of the Mongols and Manchus in this part of Russia, the tsar gave the abbots of the Gusinoozersky datsan as the heads of Buryat Buddhism the title of Bandido Khambo-Lama. Thus the Buryat tradition became officially independent from the Mongolian church. In the 20s of our century, part of the Buryats moved from Transbaikalia to Inner Mongolia and there they continued their own Buddhist traditions in addition to those that already existed in this area.

In the XVIII century. Tibetan Buddhism from Mongolia also came to the Turkic population of Tuva, although, as noted earlier, the first wave of Buddhism came to Tuva in the 9th century. from the Uighurs. As in Transbaikalia, this was mainly the Gelug tradition; the Nyingma tradition also gained considerable currency. The abbots of the Chadan Khure, as the heads of Tuvan Buddhism, received the title of Khambu Lama. Since Tuva, like Mongolia, was under Manchu rule until 1912, the Tuvan Khambu Lamas reported directly to the Bogd Gegens in Urga: Tuvan Buddhism had much closer ties with Mongolia than Buryat Buddhism. In Tuva, Buddhism peacefully coexisted with the local tradition of shamanism: in some cases, people turned to shamans, and in others, to Buddhist priests.

Tibetan Buddhism first came to the Western Mongols, the Oirats, in the 13th century, but was not widely spread there. It took deeper roots at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, when the Gelug tradition, which came directly from Tibet and partly through Mongolia, became widespread. It was in Dzungaria in East Turkestan (now the northern province of Xin-Jian, in the PRC), in East Kazakhstan, and also, possibly, in Altai.

Shamanism in these areas was banned by the Council of Khans. When the ancestors of the Kalmyks separated from the Oirats of Dzungaria at the beginning of the 17th century. moved to the area between the Volga and the Don north of the Caspian Sea, they brought with them their own tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. They were greatly assisted by the Oirat of Zaya Pandit, Namkhai Giyatso, who developed the Kalmyk-Oirat alphabet based on the Mongolian script. The head of Kalmyk Buddhism was appointed by the king and was called the Lama of the Kalmyk people. His residence was located in Astrakhan, and, like the Buryat Bandido Khambo Lama, he was completely independent of the Mongols. Kalmyks received spiritual guidance directly from Tibet. Despite the fact that the Gelug tradition was most widespread among the Kalmyks, due to their inherent syncretism, they also adopted some rituals of the Sakya and Kagyu traditions.

In the XVIII century. the Manchus exterminated the Oirats in Dzungaria; in the second half of the same century, many Kalmyks returned to Dzungaria and joined the Oirats who still remained in the area, bringing with them a strong Buddhist tradition. This tradition continues to exist among the Oirats in the northern regions of East Turkestan. One branch of the Tuvans, also persecuted by the Manchus, reached the central part of East Turkestan, and apparently founded their own tradition of Tibetan Buddhism in the regions of Urumqi and Turfan.

In addition, one of the mentors of the 13th Dalai Lama was the Buryat lama Agvan Dorzhiev. Under his influence, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Gelug tradition was built in Petrograd in 1915.

So we see that the Buddhist teachings have spread widely in all the most important regions of Asia. In each of these regions, Buddhism adapted to local customs and traditions, and in turn, each culture contributed its own characteristics to its development. All this is in accordance with the basic Buddhist method of teaching by "skillful means". There are many techniques and methods that can be used to help people overcome their own problems and limitations, to realize opportunities in order to most effectively help others. Thus, although there are many different forms of Buddhism, all of them, based on the teachings of the Buddha, are consistent with each other.

- the valley of the Ganges River, one of the most developed parts of ancient India. In the IV century. BC. on the territory of ancient India, there were many scattered warring states. The most influential religion was Brahmanism, where the priests were the dominant force. Brahmanism did not contribute to the strengthening of the secular, on the contrary, was in conflict with it. According to the cult practice of Brahmanism, society was divided into estates. The priests belonged to the upper class. The rest of the estates (they included warriors, merchants and sudras) were much lower in status than the priests.

To strengthen and increase the authority of kings and warriors, a new one was chosen - Buddhism. This religion did not recognize the ritual sacrifices of the Brahmins, was in opposition to the faith of the priests. Buddhism was the first of the religions to recognize a person not as a member of a certain estate, but as a separate person. To achieve the highest spiritual perfection, only the merits of a person are important. In the middle of the 1st millennium, against the background of the state crisis in ancient India, a lot of people appeared without property. It was among these ascetics that a new religion was born, which promises deliverance from suffering by giving up desires and achieving nirvana.

Founder of Buddhism

It is generally accepted that the founder of this religious and philosophical teaching is Prince Gautama Siddharta. The prince had a cloudless childhood and youth. After meeting with a seriously ill person, a corpse and an ascetic, the shocked Gautama decided to go into seclusion and look for ways to save people from suffering. Gautama practiced asceticism for 6 years. But he failed to achieve insight in this way.

After regaining his strength, Gautama found a secluded spot under a tree. Gautama Siddharta plunged into contemplation, where the highest truth, Dharma, was revealed to him. At the age of 35, Gautama Siddhartha attained Enlightenment. It was after this that he began to be called Buddha, which means "Enlightened One". For the rest of his life, the Buddha traveled the Central Ganges, teaching his disciples. After the death of the Buddha, followers formed many different currents of early Buddhism.

Buddhism, along with Islam and Christianity, is considered a world religion. This means that she is not defined by the ethnicity of her followers. Anyone can profess it, regardless of race, nationality and place of residence. In the article we will briefly consider the main ideas of Buddhism.

Summary of the Ideas and Philosophy of Buddhism

Briefly about the history of the emergence of Buddhism

Buddhism is one of the most ancient religions in the world. Its origin took place in opposition to the then dominant Brahminism in the middle of the first millennium BC in the northern part of India. In the philosophy of ancient India, Buddhism occupied and occupies a key place, closely intertwined with it.

If we consider the emergence of Buddhism briefly, then, according to a separate category of scientists, certain changes in the life of the Indian people contributed to this phenomenon. Approximately in the middle of the VI century BC. Indian society was overtaken by a cultural and economic crisis. Those tribal and traditional ties that existed before that time began to gradually undergo changes. It is very important that it was during that period that the formation of class relations took place. There were many ascetics roaming the expanses of India, who formed their own vision of the world, which they shared with other people. So, in opposition to the foundations of that time, Buddhism appeared, which earned recognition among the people.

A large number of scholars believe that the founder of Buddhism was a real person named Siddhartha Gautama , known as Buddha Shakyamuni . He was born in 560 BC. in a wealthy family of the king of the Shakya tribe. From childhood, he knew neither disappointment nor need, he was surrounded by boundless luxury. And so Siddhartha lived his youth, being ignorant of the existence of disease, old age and death. The real shock for him was that he once encountered an old man, a sick man and a funeral procession while walking outside the palace. This influenced him so much that at the age of 29 he joins a group of wandering hermits. So he begins the search for the truth of being. Gautama tries to understand the nature of human troubles and tries to find ways to eliminate them. Realizing that an endless series of reincarnations is inevitable if one does not get rid of suffering, he tried to find answers to his questions from the sages.

After spending 6 years wandering, he tested different techniques, practiced yoga, but came to the conclusion that such methods of enlightenment cannot be achieved. He considered reflection and prayer as effective methods. It was while he was spending time meditating under the Bodhi tree that he experienced enlightenment through which he found the answer to his question. After his discovery, he spent a few more days at the site of a sudden insight, and then went to the valley. And they began to call him Buddha ("enlightened"). There he began to preach the doctrine to people. The very first sermon took place in Benares.

Basic concepts and ideas of Buddhism

One of the main goals of Buddhism is the path to nirvana. Nirvana is a state of awareness of one's soul, achieved through self-denial, rejection of the comfortable conditions of the external environment. The Buddha, after spending a long time in meditation and deep reflection, mastered the method of controlling his own consciousness. In the process, he came to the conclusion that people are very attached to worldly goods, overly worried about the opinions of other people. Because of this, the human soul not only does not develop, but also degrades. Having reached nirvana, you can lose this addiction.

The essential four truths underlying Buddhism are:

1. There is the concept of dukkha (suffering, anger, fear, self-flagellation and other negatively colored experiences). Everyone is affected by dukkha to a greater or lesser extent.
2. Dukkha always has a cause that contributes to the appearance of addiction - greed, vanity, lust, etc.
3. Addiction and suffering can be overcome.
4. It is possible to be completely free from dukkha through the path leading to nirvana.

The Buddha was of the opinion that it is necessary to adhere to the "middle way", that is, each person must find the "golden" mean between the well-to-do, satiated with luxury, and the ascetic, devoid of all the benefits of humanity, way of life.

There are three main treasures in Buddhism:

1. Buddha - he can be both the creator of the teaching himself, and his follower who has achieved enlightenment.
2. Dharma is the teaching itself, its foundations and principles, and what it can give to its followers.
3. Sangha is a community of Buddhists who adhere to the laws of this religious teaching.

In order to achieve all three jewels, Buddhists resort to fighting three poisons:

• removal from the truth of being and ignorance;
• desires and passions that contribute to the emergence of suffering;
• intemperance, anger, inability to accept anything here and now.

According to the ideas of Buddhism, every person experiences both bodily and mental suffering. Sickness, death and even birth are suffering. But such a state is unnatural, so you need to get rid of it.

Briefly about the philosophy of Buddhism

This doctrine cannot be called only a religion, in the center of which is God, who created the world. Buddhism is a philosophy, the principles of which we will briefly discuss below. The teaching involves assistance in directing a person to the path of self-development and self-awareness.

In Buddhism, there is no idea that there is an eternal soul that atones for sins. However, everything that a person does and how, finds its imprint - it will definitely return to him. This is not divine punishment. These are the consequences of all actions and thoughts that leave traces on one's own karma.

In Buddhism, there are basic truths revealed by the Buddha:

1. Human life is suffering. All things are impermanent and transitory. When it arises, everything must be destroyed. Existence itself is symbolized in Buddhism as a flame that devours itself, and fire can only bring suffering.
2. Suffering comes from desire. Man is so attached to the material aspects of existence that he craves life passionately. The more this desire is, the more he will suffer.
3. Getting rid of suffering is possible only with the help of getting rid of desires. Nirvana is a state upon reaching which a person experiences the extinction of passions and thirst. Thanks to nirvana, a feeling of bliss arises, freedom from the transmigration of souls.
4. To achieve the goal of getting rid of desire, one should resort to the eightfold path of salvation. It is this path that is called the "middle" one, which allows you to get rid of suffering by refusing to go to extremes, which is somewhere between the torture of the flesh and the indulgence of physical pleasures.

The Eightfold Path of Salvation suggests:

• right understanding - the most important thing to do is to realize that the world is full of suffering and sorrow;
• right intentions - you need to take the path of limiting your passions and aspirations, the fundamental basis of which is human egoism;
• correct speech - it should be good, so you should watch your words (so that they do not exude evil);
• right deeds - one should do good deeds, refrain from non-virtuous deeds;
• the right way of life - only a worthy way of life, not harming all living things, can bring a person closer to getting rid of suffering;
• right efforts - you need to tune in to good, drive away all evil from yourself, carefully following the course of your thoughts;
• right thoughts - the most important evil comes from our own flesh, getting rid of the desires of which you can get rid of suffering;
• correct concentration - the eightfold path requires constant training, concentration.

The first two stages are called prajna and suggest the stage of attaining wisdom. The next three are the regulation of morality and right conduct (sila). The remaining three steps represent the discipline of the mind (samadha).

Directions of Buddhism

The very first who supported the teachings of the Buddha began to gather in a secluded place for the period while it was raining. Since they renounced any property, they were called bhiksha - "beggars". They shaved their heads, dressed in rags (mostly yellow) and moved from place to place. Their life was unusually ascetic. When it rains, they hide in caves. They were usually buried where they lived, and on the site of their graves a stupa was built (structures-crypts of a domed shape). Their entrances were made blindly immured and buildings of various purposes were built around the stupas.

After the death of the Buddha, a convocation of his followers took place, who canonized the teaching. But the period of the greatest flourishing of Buddhism can be considered the reign of Emperor Ashoka - III century BC. BC.

Can be distinguished three main philosophical schools of Buddhism , formed in different periods of the existence of the doctrine:

1. Hinayana. The monk is considered the main ideal of the direction - only he can get rid of reincarnations. There is no pantheon of saints who could intercede for a person, there are no rituals, the concept of hell and paradise, cult sculptures, icons. Everything that happens to a person is the result of his actions, thoughts and lifestyle.
2. Mahayana. Even a layman (of course, if he is pious), along with a monk, can achieve salvation. There is an institution of bodhisattvas, who are saints who help people on the path to their salvation. The concept of paradise, the pantheon of saints, images of buddhas and bodhisattvas also appear.
3. Vajrayana. It is a tantric teaching based on the principles of self-control and meditation.

So, the main idea of ​​Buddhism is that human life is suffering and one should strive to get rid of it. This teaching continues to spread steadily around the planet, gaining more and more supporters.

Buddhism as a world religion is one of the oldest, and it is not in vain that there is an opinion that without understanding its foundations it is impossible to feel all the richness of the culture of the East. Under its influence, many historical events and the basic values ​​of the peoples of China, India, Mongolia and Tibet were formed. In the modern world, under the influence of globalization, Buddhism has found even a few Europeans as followers, spreading far beyond the locality where it originated.

Emergence of Buddhism

For the first time they learned about Buddhism in about the 6th century BC. Translated from Sanskrit, it means "teaching of the enlightened one", which really reflects its organization.

Once, a boy was born in the Raja's family, who, according to legend, immediately got to his feet and designated himself as a being that surpasses all gods and people. It was Siddhartha Gautama, who subsequently underwent a significant transformation and became the founder of one of the largest world religions that still exists. The biography of this person is the history of the emergence of Buddhism.

Gautama's parents once invited a seer to bless the newborn for a happy life. Asit (that was the name of the hermit) saw on the boy's body 32 marks of a great man. He said that this child would become either the greatest king or a saint. When his father heard this, he decided to protect his son from various religious movements and any knowledge of the suffering of people. However, living in 3 palaces with rich decoration, Siddhartha at the age of 29 felt that luxury was not the goal of life. And he set off on a journey beyond the castles, keeping it a secret.

Behind the walls of the palaces, he saw 4 spectacles that changed his life: a hermit, a beggar, a corpse and a sick person. This is how the future learned about suffering. After that, Siddhartha's personality underwent many metamorphoses: he hit various religious movements, searched for a path to self-knowledge, studied concentration and austerity, but this did not lead to the expected results, and those with whom he traveled left him. After that, Siddhartha stopped in a grove under a ficus and decided not to leave until he found the Truth. After 49 days, he gained knowledge of the Truth, having reached the state of nirvana, and learned the cause of human suffering. Since then, Gautama has become a Buddha, which means "enlightened" in Sanskrit.

Buddhism: philosophy

This religion carries the idea of ​​non-causing evil, which makes it one of the most humane. She teaches followers self-restraint and the achievement of a state of meditation, which ultimately lead to nirvana and the cessation of suffering. Buddhism as a world religion differs from the rest in that the Buddha did not consider the divine principle to be the basis of this teaching. He offered the only way - through the contemplation of one's own spirit. Its goal is to avoid suffering, which is achieved by following the 4 noble truths.

Buddhism as a world religion and its 4 main truths

• The truth about suffering. Here comes the statement that everything is suffering, all the key moments of the existence of the individual are accompanied by this feeling: birth, illness and death. Religion is closely intertwined with this concept, practically linking all of life with it.
• The truth about the cause of suffering. This means that any desire is the cause of suffering. In philosophical understanding - to life: it is finite, and this gives rise to suffering.
• The truth about the cessation of suffering. The state of nirvana is a sign of the cessation of suffering. Here a person must experience the extinction of his desires, attachments and achieve complete indifference. The Buddha himself never answered the question of what it was, like the Brahmin texts, which stated that the Absolute can only be spoken of in negative terms, since it cannot be put into words and mentally comprehended.
• The truth about the path. Here we are talking about which leads to nirvana. A Buddhist must overcome three stages, which have several stages: the stage of wisdom, morality and concentration.

Thus, Buddhism as a world religion is significantly different from others and offers its followers to adhere only to general directions without specific instructions and laws. This contributed to the emergence of different directions in Buddhism, which allows everyone to choose the closest path to their soul.