Buddhism is the world’s oldest missionary religion. Since its beginnings some 2,500 years ago in northern India, it has spread to nearly every region of the world. There are now more than 350 million Buddhists in the world, most of whom belong to one or the other of the 2 major schools: the Mahayana and the Theravada. Buddhist core philosophical tenets and beliefs include Karma, Nirvāna, and
Category: PHILOSOPHY
Theravada Buddhism comes from the teachings of the Buddha, who lived in the 5th century B.C.E. The Theravada (School of the Elders, in the Pali language) is the sole
Category: SUTRAS, Zen Sūtras
1. Introduction This text, the Bequeathed Teaching Sūtra , was translated into Chinese around 400 C.E. by Kumārajīva and became an influential text often cited and
Category: SCRIPTURES, Zen Sūtras
1. Introduction The Sūtra of Forty-two Sections (also called the Sūtra of Forty-two Chapters is often regarded as the first Indian Buddhist Sūtra translated into Chinese
BUDDHISM
Theravada Buddhism comes from the teachings of the Buddha, who lived in the 5th century B.C.E. The Theravada (School of the Elders, in the Pali language) is the sole surviving branch of the earliest Buddhism. Its primary emphasis was on monastic life, with the single goal of
1. Introduction This text, the Bequeathed Teaching Sūtra , was translated into Chinese around 400 C.E. by Kumārajīva and became an influential text often cited and commented on among Chinese Buddhists. In Chan ( Zen ) communities in particular, it was considered a basic
1. Introduction The Sūtra of Forty-two Sections (also called the Sūtra of Forty-two Chapters is often regarded as the first Indian Buddhist Sūtra translated into Chinese . However, according to some opinions, this collection of aphorisms may have appeared some time after the
1. Introduction The Diamond Sūtra is the popular shortened name of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra , a Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra from the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras or 'Perfection of Wisdom ' genre. Translated into a variety of languages over a broad geographic range, the
Shandao | Biography Shandao (613–681) was an eminent Buddhist scholar and major figure in the Chinese Pure Land ( Jingtu ) movement. His writings had a strong influence on later Pure Land masters including Hōnen and Shinran in Japan. Shandao ( Shan-tao , 613-681) was born at