Experience is analyzed into five aggregates (skandhas). The first, form (rupa), refers to material existence; the following four, sensations (vedana), perceptions (samjna), psychic constructs (samskara), and consciousness (vijnana), refer to psychological processes. The central Buddhist teaching of non-self (anatman) asserts that in the five aggregates no independently existent, immutable self, or soul, can be found. All phenomena arise interrelation and in dependence on causes and conditions, and thus are subject to inevitable decay and cessation. The casual conditions are defined in a 12-membered chain called dependent origination (pratityasamutpada) whose links are: ignorance, predisposition, consciousness, name-form, the senses, contact, craving, grasping, becoming, birth, old age, and death, whence again ignorance.

Noble Eightfold Path:

1. Right KnowledgeUnderstand the Four Noble Truths 

2. Right ThinkingDecide to set a life on the correct path 

3. Right SpeechDon't lieDon't criticize others unjustlyDon't use harsh languageDon't gossip 

4. Right ConductFollow the Five Precepts 

5. Right LivelihoodEarn a living that does not harm living things 

6. Right EffortConquer all evil thoughtsStrive to maintain good thoughts 

7. Right MindfulnessBecome intensely aware of all the states in body, feeling, and mind. 

8. Right ConcentrationDeep meditation to lead to a higher state of consciousness (enlightenment)

Buddhism is the fourth largest religion of the world.

Founded by Gautam Buddha, it is a path of spiritual development that helps a person in finding the true nature of life. Buddhism emphasizes on experiencing, rather than teaching or learning. It considers meditation as the means to enlightenment and is based on a number of principles. The followers of Buddhism do not worship any God and follow the noble eightfold path to lead a meaningful existence. 

Date founded:c. 520 BCE

Place founded: Northeastern India

Adherents:360 million 

Main locations:

China Japan Korea Southeast Asia

Major divisions:

Theravada means "The Way of the Elders" in Pali, reflecting the Theravadins' belief that they most closely follow the original beliefs and practices of the Buddha and the early monastic Elders.

"One thing I teach: suffering and the end of suffering. It is just ill and the ceasing of ill that I proclaim." 

-- The Buddha -- 

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Mahayana Buddhism emerged in the first century CE as a more liberal, accessible interpretation of Buddhism. As the "Greater Vehicle" (literally, the "Greater Ox-Cart"), Mahayana is a path available to people from all walks of life - not just monks and ascetics.

Vajrayana Buddhism is based, to a certain extent, on the tantras, tantric techniques written in Indian scriptures. It prescribes the technique of 'use the result as the Path'. It means that a person should try to identify with the enlightened body, speech and mind of a Buddha. The form of Buddha one can best relate to is known as yidam (in Tibetan) or ishtadevata (in Sanskrit). For the purpose of self-identification with a Buddha-form, Buddhist tantric techniques make use of symbolism and visualization.

Sacred texts:

Pali canon , sacred literature of Buddhism . The texts in the Pali canon are the earliest Buddhist sources, and for Theravada Buddhists, who claim to conserve the original teachings of the Buddha, they are still the most authoritative sacred texts. Pali, the language in which the canon is written, is a Prakrit (vernacular dialect) of classical Sanskrit

Original language:Since the Buddha felt his teachings were for everyone, not just scholars, he spoke in a language many people in India understood, Pali. (Hindu texts were written in Sanskrit, which few people could read or understand.) In a country with a system of segregation based on caste, the Buddha's democratic views were a novelty and won him many followers.

Spiritual leader:

Monk (lama in Tibetan Buddhism)

Place of ritual:

Temple meditation hall

Theism:Varies: Theravada is atheistic; Mahayana is more polytheistic.

Ultimate reality:None. Nothing is permanent.

Human nature:There is no self or soul. Human existence is nothing more than a combination of five impermanent components (khandas).

Purpose of life:Theravada - Become an arhat, escape the cycle of rebirth, and attain nirvana. Mahayana - Become a boddhisatva then help others attain enlightenment.

Afterlife:

Rebirth or nirvana. Nirvana is seen simply as the cessation of suffering by some and as a heavenly paradise by others.

Holidays:

Vary by region, but often include Buddha's birthday, Buddha's enlightenment, lunar quarters

Buddhist Symbol:The lotus (Sanskrit and Tibetan padma) is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols and one of the most poignant representations of Buddhist teaching. According to another scholar, "in esoteric Buddhism, the heart of the beings is like an unopened lotus: when the virtues of the Buddha develop therein, the lotus blossoms; that is why the Buddha sits on a lotus bloom."

White Lotus This represents the state of spiritual perfection and total mental purity (bodhi). It is associated with the White Tara and proclaims her perfect nature, a quality which is reinforced by the color of her body.

Pink Lotus This the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity. Thus naturally it is associated with the Great Buddha himself.

Red Lotus This signifies the original nature and purity of the heart (hrdya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It is the flower of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.

Blue Lotus This is a symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, and signifies the wisdom of knowledge. Not surprisingly, it is the preferred flower of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom.

Basic Beliefs and Practices

The basic doctrines of early Buddhism, which remain common to all Buddhism, include the "four noble truths" : existence is suffering (dukhka); suffering has a cause, namely craving and attachment (trishna); there is a cessation of suffering, which is nirvana; and there is a path to the cessation of suffering, the "eightfold path" of right views, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Buddhism characteristically describes reality in terms of process and relation rather than entity or substance.

Young Burmese monks on their morning alms rounds.

Prayer wheels at a temple in Nepal

The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism

Buddhist flag in Wellington, New Zealand