BUDDHISM

BUDDHISM

Buddhism may seem strange to Christians or Muslims. For in this belief there is no paradise and no almighty God. Today, some 360 ​​million people profess to be peaceful doctrines, whose history goes back 2,500 years

IN THIS ARTICLE

Buddhism: faith of 360 million people

Buddha, also known as Siddartha

Under a fig tree Siddartha becomes enlightened

LIFE: NO BEGINNING AND NO END

Yoshi is a bit excited. What question will his master be asking? Ah, there it comes: In Tokyo stands a large Buddha statue. Why is a bird sitting on it?

Hmm. Yoshi frowns. Quite tricky, thinks the Japanese boy. By the time he finds an answer, he'll have to think for a long time.

At the same time in China: thinking? No, Wong does not need that. Zack! His leg leaps forward - it's as automatic as a breath. The boy jumps around whirling his hands through the air. If there were an opponent in front of him, he would have been beaten like a wind. Wong trains Kung Fu daily until he falls over.

One more trip, to the south, to Thailand: A gentle gift - ask Biaw - and keep his bowl humbly. Today he is back with collecting alms. The people in the area are very poor. But generous. Donations, you know, make you happy. One small coin after the other lands in Biaw's vessel.

BUDDHİSM: FAITH OF 360 MILLION PEOPLE

Hard to believe: As different as your day looks - Yoshi, Wong and Biaw have a lot in common. All three are Buddhist monks. They profess Buddhism, one of the great religions of the world, to which some 360 ​​million people today believe. Yoshi learns in a Zen monastery where masters like to puzzle their students with puzzles. Wong lives in the famed Shaolin Monastery, where monks from ancient martial arts developed their kung-fu style 1500 years ago. And Biaw lives in one of the 40000 monasteries in Thailand. For the monks there, fundraising is one of their normal tasks.

BUDDHA, ALSO KNOWN AS SİDDARTHA

Buddhism takes its name from the walking preacher Buddha, who lived long before the birth of Christ at the foot of the Himalayas. Who was this Buddha? The experts do not know too much today. Because in more than 2000 years, facts about the life of the founder of religion have mixed with floral legends.

It seems certain that he was born the son of a prince in the city of Lumbini, around 560 BC, and Siddhartha Gautama was called. By the time he was 29, Siddhartha is said to have led a life of unbelievable luxury: by day, servants hold white umbrellas over him to protect his noble head from the sun's rays. He spends his time in a harem with beautiful dancers. "I had a palace for the summer, one for the winter and one for the rainy season," says the prince later.

UNDER A FİG TREE SİDDARTHA BECOMES ENLIGHTENED

A paradise - but Siddhartha's life takes a surprising turn: on excursions he sees an old man, a sick man and a dead man. The pampered person realizes how transient his happiness is: a few more years, then he too will die! And all his gold will not help him!

Siddhartha considers how he can escape the disaster. He leaves his palace and wanders around, as many holy men in northern India do at that time. He lives on alms for seven years. Fasting until he looks almost like a skeleton.

Then Siddhartha suddenly recognizes the way to salvation under a fig tree! In the future, people reverently call him Buddha - that is, "the enlightened one."

What Buddha tells his listeners sounds strange to many Europeans to this day. Because some things that are self-evident in Christianity or Islam are missing: there is no paradise. Yes, there is not even an almighty God! Suffering plays an important role in Buddhas doctrine: All life is suffering, he teaches - because it consists of illness, unhappiness and pain.

LIFE: NO BEGINNING AND NO END

Worse, man is bound to his suffering forever. Buddhists believe in rebirth. For them life has no beginning and end. It is more like a wheel that turns constantly. After death, man comes back to the world in a new form: as a human being, as an animal, as a spirit - everything is possible. He lives and dies. Live and die again ... and so on.

Is it possible to escape from the painful prison? Buddha shows the way to salvation: the "Eightfold Path" (see box). To improve their fate, people should follow certain rules - for example, act peacefully. Then in the next life they can be born as something "better".

For example, as a child of rich parents. Anyone who is religious enough can even escape the eternal cycle and enter into nirvana. By this Buddhists understand a state in which all suffering ceases.

After Buddha's death, his gentle teachings spread almost throughout Asia: monks bring the religion to Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka. In the north, the doctrine reaches the vast China in the 1st century AD and jumps from there to Korea and Japan.

Everywhere, monasteries are created, which are usually supplied by the population. Donating to monks is a good deed - and brings blessings for the next life.

THE EIGHTFOLD PATH OF BUDDHISM

Christians have received ten commandments from God, and Jews even 613. Even Buddhists must observe eight rules if they want to be redeemed step by step. Buddha called these steps the Eightfold Path. The first step is the right thinking: the believers must realize that they improve their fate by good deeds and worsen by evil deeds. Secondly, the right attitude is important: people must not be greedy, other people hate or deceive.

Instead, they should be kind and gentle - and talk right, so do not lie. That's the third step. The fourth step is the right action. This is peaceful for Buddhists: killing and stealing are serious sins. Fifth, the believer must live properly.

This also includes the profession: Disrespectful are all activities that harm people - to act with weapons or alcohol. Through the right striving, the sixth step, people should fight their evil thoughts and awaken noble thoughts in themselves.

The seventh step is right attentiveness: by consciously perceiving the moment, for example, a breath, Buddhists can see how transient their body is; this is a way to overcome greed, pain and tribulation. Very important for Buddha is the meditation. This is an exercise where people sit quietly and concentrate. Thus, the eighth step can succeed, the right sinking.

BUDDHISTS DO NOT FORCE ANYONE TO BELIEVE

In contrast to many followers of other religions, the Buddhists are peaceful: they do not persuade "infidels" with the sword to the "right faith" - as was often the case with Christians.

Instead, they let the cults of the local population apply: When they come to Japan, the people worship their ancient nature gods there. What are the Buddhist monks doing? They promptly explain that these Shinto deities are in fact Buddha - he just took a different form. And already Japanese can convert to the new faith, without having to change.

Because Buddhism adapts to every country, countless forms of its teachings have emerged to this day. In Thailand or Myanmar, believers are attached to Theravada Buddhism, which follows the words of the Buddha. There is Tantra Buddhism, in which believers speak magic formulas.

And there are forms like Zen Buddhism, whose followers seek enlightenment by sitting still for days or painting with ink.