Buddhism is the oldest world religion. She was the first to cross the ethnic, estate and confessional partitions between people, as she perceived a person as a person, and not a member of any group. Buddhism offers a path of spiritual development, the purpose of which is to penetrate into the true nature of all things. Many believe that this is a science or psycho-training.
Instruction manual
1
In general terms, Buddhism is a religious and philosophical teaching based on spiritual awakening. This trend is based on the ideas of Buddha or Gautama Shakyamuni, who lived two and a half thousand years ago, during the heyday of Indian civilization. With the help of gifted students, he spread his theory, which is still practiced by a large number of people. The collection of words of the teacher in 108 volumes ("Kangyur") and another 254 volumes written by students have survived. The Buddha himself best characterized his teachings: "I teach that everyone strives to become happy and get rid of suffering. I teach the truth of all things." Buddhism differs from other religions in that it is based on experience, not faith.
2
Buddhism is based on the concept of “four noble truths”: suffering, the origin and causes of suffering, their cessation and the path to deliverance from them. Having discovered precisely these principles of human life, Gautama became enlightened. The first truth is that everything brings suffering - birth, old age, illness, failure to achieve the desired
Pleasure is short-lived, and happiness is imaginary. All human life takes place in torment - mental and physical.
3
According to Buddhism, the cause of human suffering is in the attachment of life, in the thirst for being. To stop suffering, you need to have no desires, to suppress your passions and affections. A practical way of deliverance is offered by the fourth truth, which is the “eightfold path”: righteous faith, determination, words, deeds, lifestyle, aspirations, thoughts and contemplation. Following these orders, a person can achieve perfection, the top of which is nirvana.
4
Nirvana is the transition to another being, the cessation of life accessible to consciousness, and its qualitative change. Buddhists adopted Indian views on samsara, which attracts every living creature through a chain of rebirths and causes suffering. Death is not deliverance, because after it a new life begins. But nirvana stops reincarnation and allows the enlightened one to break out of the wheel of samsara.
5
Buddhism is divided into two main teachings: Mahayana and Hinayana. The first says the need for unlimited love for all beings on earth, on which the concept of a Bodhisattva is based. This is a willingness to abandon nirvana in order to save the lives of other beings. Hinayana adherents seek only individual salvation.
