Buddhism by Numbersassembled by Vladimir K
Over time Buddhism grew, as greater numbers of people became aware of its teachings, including those in western nations, eventually becoming one of the major religions practiced around the world. Today, Buddhism is practiced by an estimated 488 million people. China is the nation with the ...
50.4. But one similarity which is rather striking is the emphasis onDukkhasuffering and its eradication. That was the stated objective of both the systems. Buddhism however made that the central point of its doctrine. The Buddha’s second and the fourth postulates on the origination of sorrow a...
Leaving aside those which are misleading (frequently written by western people who have never thoroughly trained themselves in any Buddhist tradition) and if even the most authentic sources alone are studied, still the mind tends to be selective of the materials available so that it is possible to...
Because of the temporal expanse and wide range of phenomena that this bibliography on Chinese Buddhism covers, both the scope of topics and numbers of citations have been limited. The vast corpus of secondary literature in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean languages has also been largely omitted. It...
What do these stories and numbers mean for us? They remind us that life is a precious opportunity. Just as King Bharata learned, our actions and attachments have consequences that can last lifetimes. And the concept of a Kalpa shows us that the universe operates on a scale beyond our compr...
Successive kings ofBagancontinued to build large numbers of monuments, temples, and pagodas in honour of Buddhism, and there is inscriptional evidence of a Theravādin Vihāra forBhikkhunīsfrom1279. Burmese rule atBagancontinued until the firstMongol invasionof Burma in1287. Towards the end of the...
A look at the followers finds that nearly half of all Buddhists follow a vegetarian or near vegetarian diet and about half do not. Contrary to some popular beliefs, the Mahayana does not have any significantly higher numbers of vegetarians than the Theravada. Theravadins in the U.S., UK, ...
Literally “Flying Apsaras.” Heavenly beings invisible to the human eye, believed to fly with superhuman power and speed. Found in Middle-eastern, Indian, Chinese and Japanese art. Buddhist depictions show Apsaras flying over Buddha's pure land, praising Buddha by scattering flowers, playing inst...
Vihāras(MongolianDatsan) were built across Mongolia, often sited at the juncture of trade and migration routes or at summer pastures where large numbers of herders would congregate for shamanistic rituals and sacrifices. Buddhist monks carried out a protracted struggle with the indigenousshamansand su...