Young Wrexham

Buddhism

Buddhism is a very spiritual religion that concentrates on the attainment of a deep personal spiritual understanding - known as enlightenment or Nirvana - rather than the relationship between humans and God.

This makes Buddhism completely different from many of the main religions. In Buddhism there is no sense of a god as a saviour, or of heaven and hell as they are commonly understood.

Nirvana is a state of true enlightenment that Buddhists believe it is possible to reach through meditation. It is not the same as heaven, but refers to the end of the earthly struggle for existence.

There are several main forms of Buddhism, these are:

• Theravada - the main form of Buddhism in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India
• Mahayana - found in most of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam
• Vajrayana - is practised in Tibet and the surrounding area of India, Mongolia, Nepal, and China

Beliefs

Buddha was a man called Siddhartha Gautama who lived around the year 850 BC in the modern country of Nepal.

• He was a rich prince, who lived a very sheltered life
• When he went into the real world for the first time he experienced suffering and death, and decided to leave his home to seek a better way of life
• He eventually achieved Enlightenment, and his journey to that state is what makes up the basic ideas of Buddhism

The Four Noble Truths make up the basic teaching of Buddhism, which are:

• Life means suffering
• Suffering is caused by attachment to material things
• The end of suffering is possible
• The Eightfold Path is the way to end suffering

The Eightfold Path to Enlightenment are the ways Buddhists try to live their lives, which are:

• Right View
• Right Intention
• Right Speech
• Right Livelihood
• Right Effort
• Right Mindfulness
• Right Contemplation

Buddhists believe in reincarnation, and that each new life can be a step towards enlightenment.

Karma is the idea that the consequence of good actions in one life may result in being reborn closer to Enlightenment in the next life.

There are six realms or areas into which you might be reborn. The human realm is considered the best of these states because, as a human, you can follow the path to Nirvana. The states are:

• The three fortunate states - gods realm, demi-god realm, human realm
• The three unfortunate states - animal realm, ghost realm, hell realm

Customs

• Venerating the Buddha is the main way of worshiping for Buddhists. They may meditate in front of an image or statute of the Buddha, or make offerings. Many Buddhists have shrines in their homes with incense and candles where they worship
• Buddhists do not believe in having excessive material possessions, and Buddhist monks own only the minimum of possessions. However Buddha himself said that people should not live without material possessions, but achieve a balance between luxury and poverty
• Unlike some religions, Buddhism does not call on its followers to follow strict rules of worship. Rather it encourages people to test its teachings through personal experience. It is also tolerant of other religions
• Buddhists believe that all life is connected, and so to harm anything living is wrong, however small. Many Buddhists are vegetarians
• Festivals play a big part in Buddhist life. The most important is Wesak, which celebrates the birthday of Buddha. Buddhist houses are decorated with bright colours and models of animals and birds. Gifts are offered to Buddha as a sign of thanks for his teachings