Buddhism

Buddhism
Links: Pages on Buddhism, Other Religions
God(s)	Atheist / Monotheist / Polytheist / Other
Adherent	Buddhist
Adherents	Buddhists
Texts	Multifaceted. Includes Pali Canon and the Mahayana sutras, depending.
Afterlife	Reincarnation until escape
Founding
Heritage	Hinduism
Area of Origin	India
When	1st millennium BCE
Founder	Traditions based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama
Numbers in the UK (Census results)
2001	144 453	2011	248 000
Buddhists Worldwide (Pew & WM)
World: 5.91%. Cambodia (96.9%), Thailand (93.2%), Myanmar (Burma) (80.1%), Bhutan (74.7%), Sri Lanka (69.3%), Laos (66%), Mongolia (55.1%), Japan (36.2%), Singapore (33.9%), Korea, South (22.9%) 1

The historical evidence does not make it easy to trace the beginnings of Buddhism except that it sprung out of, and shares many basic beliefs, with Hinduism. "During the reign of emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE) Buddhism became a major Indian religion and was subsequently established across the whole subcontinent and beyond"₂ and is now counted as one of the great world religions_3,4,5. It has grown so diverse that it is very hard to define its core nature - in 1913 one scholar pointed out that "in Japan alone it has differentiated itself into thirteen main sects and forty-four sub-sects". Buddhism is a well-liked and respected religion in the West; many attend Buddhist retreats, meditation centres and classes, and western Buddhist communities nearly all run such events for the general public. But in the West many who put "Buddhist" on census forms have merely attended some of these and who have an interest, but are not committed Buddhists, which artificially inflates the numbers.

1. Main Pages on Buddhism
2. Numbers of Buddhists Around the World, by Country
3. Karma
4. Links

1. Main Pages on Buddhism

• Buddhist Extremism (2018)

• The Evil One in Buddhism: Māra, the Buddhist Satan (2014)

• Criticisms of Buddhism: Its History, Doctrine and Common Practices (2011)

• Buddhism is an Atheist Religion (2003)

Minor pages:

• The Ethic of Reciprocity appears in many religions. Buddha said 'Let a man overcome anger by kindness, evil by good' - it is the same rule later adopted by Christians as their Golden Rule, by Pagans as the Wiccan Rede and by many others. "Ethics Of Reciprocity like the Golden Rule and the Wiccan Rede Do Not Work" by Vexen Crabtree (2015).

• The Buddhist Emperor Wang Mang was 'probably the first recorded ruler to abolish the slave trade' on "Traditional Religions and Abolition of the Slave Trade" by Vexen Crabtree (2003).

2. Numbers of Buddhists Around the World, by Country

The population of 7 countries are half (or mostly) Buddhist (2011)₁. Comparing those 7 country(ies) to the rest of the world:

• Buddhist countries' average life expectancy at birth (70.1yrs) is close to the global average (71.3yrs).₇

• Buddhist countries' average fertility rate is 2.22, compared with the global average of 2.81. Values above 2.1 cause population growth, putting further strain on the Earth's resources. See: The Overpopulation of the Earth.₈

• Buddhist countries' are much poorer than the global average with an average Gross National Income (GNI; per capita) of $7 989. This compares to the global average of $17 240.₉

• Buddhist countries' scoring on the UN's Gender Inequality Index (0.40) is worse than the global average (0.36).₁₀. See Religion Versus Womankind.

• When it comes to tolerance of homosexuality and LGBT rights, Buddhists' countries are even worse than the global average, scoring -6.1 on the Social and Moral Development Index LGBT component compared with the global average of 2.3.

3. Karma

#afterlife #buddhism #christianity #hinduism #india #jainism #karma #new_age #reincarnation #taoism

William James says that Buddhism, like Christianity, is more "complete" than many other religions because it has attempted complex explanations of why suffering exists. See "The Varieties of Religious Experience" by William James (1902) [Book Review] and The Problem of Evil: Why Would a Good God Create Suffering?.

“Karma is an important concept in a range of Vedic religions and cultures, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, all stemming from Indian beliefs. Karma is a universal principal and cosmic law, like the Tao of Taoism₁₁. Unlike Taoism, individual beings (and the entire universe) go through a large number of incarnations. It is closely linked to the concept of continual rebirth (reincarnation)₁₂. Original Jain beliefs had it that all actions had negative karma and only complete serenity and detachment could help the situation₁₃. Later Jain beliefs came closer Hindu and Buddhist ideas: Acts of merit such as pilgrimages and worship can improve your next fate₁₄. Eventually, beings can break free from the cycle. In Hinduism and Jainism this liberation is called moksha and in Buddhism the result is the attainment of enlightenment and nirvana. Western New Age movements have also taken on the concept "though sometimes with a degree of misunderstanding"₁₄. All in all, more people on Earth believe in Karma through a series of rebirths than in any other religious principle._{12,13,14,15,16}”

"How Does Karma Work in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism?" by Vexen Crabtree (2017)

“Karma. A volitional action which is either wholesome or unwholesome, and in consequence either rewarded or punished.”

"Buddhist Scriptures" by Edward Conze (1959)₁₇

In Buddhism, karma is not simple₁₈. There are many streams of cause and effect (niamas). Ken Jones in "The Social Face of Buddhism"₁₉ writes "all, however, are also expressions of a Universal Consciousness, alayavijnana. The 'law' of kamma and the 'law' of cause and effect are thus not synonymous in Buddhism. Kammaic 'law' is simply one kind of cause and effect relationship"₁₈. Buddhism "rejects a fatalstic view of karma"₁₄ which means that individuals can do something about it, by changing their behaviour, improving their outlook, avoiding bad deeds, and engaging in ethical behaviour₁₈. Karma isn't just about actions: a lot of it is about internal state of mind, internal desire and internal psychology₁₈. When it comes to Buddhism's multistreamed laws of cause and effect, thought crime has ramifications across multiple lifetimes.

“Buddhists believe that we are tied to the cycles of death and birth through desire and can be born again in many different forms. But they believe they can find a way to escape this cycle, to be finally released from reincarnation to reach nirvana.”

"Religions of the World" by Breuilly, O'Brien & Palmer (1997)₁₅

“Traditional and canonical Buddhism extends the span of kamma through successive rebirths. The succession, however, is that of a vital energy, not of a reincarnated personality.”

"The Social Face of Buddhism" by Ken Jones (1989)₁₈

“Karma was a pivotal concept in Indian thinking, around which turned the whole question of why life is as it is. ... It can act as an explanation of why misfortune happens when it is not recognisably the result of particular actions. [...] The importance of karma is that i[t] demonstrates the practicality of Buddhist teachings. Ethical considerations become paramount, because liberating oneself from the dis-ease of samsaric existence is a karmic matter.”

"Buddhism" by Clive Erricker (1995)₁₆

Bad karma resulting from previous bad decisions, in this life or in former lives, can cause suffering in the current incarnation. The Buddha said:

“Evil in the future is the fruit of bodily offence. Evil is the fruit of offence by word, by thought, in the future life. If I offend in deed, in word, in thought, should not I, when the body breaks up, after death be reborn in the Waste, the Way of Woe, the Downfall, the Purgatory?”

The Buddha
In Anguttara Nikaya Part 2, Chapter 1:1₂₀