BUDDHISM
Buddhism is one of the world’s largest religions and originated 2,500 years ago in India. Buddhists believe that human life is one of suffering, and that meditation, spiritual and physical labor, and good behavior are the ways to achieve enlightenment, or nirvana.
Founder of Buddhism
The historical Buddha was a prince named Siddhartha Gautama who lived in what is today northern India and Nepal.
Shortly after Siddhartha’s birth, a wise man prophesied that the child would grow up to be either a powerful king or a great spiritual leader. His father, the king, did everything in his power to ensure that his son and heir would have no reason to pursue religious life.
At the age of 29, dissatisfied with palace life, the prince ventured beyond the palace walls on a journey that would change the course of his life. His first encounters taught him of life’s inevitable suffering. In his search, Siddhartha encountered a spiritual seeker that seeded a revelation: there might be a way out of suffering, and the possibility seemed to lie in a religious life.
After six years of searching, Buddhists believe Gautama found enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree. He spent the rest of his life teaching others about how to achieve this spiritual state. His teachings are known as “dharma”.
Brief History of Buddhism
When Gautama passed away around 483 B.C., his followers began to organize a religious movement. Buddha’s teachings became the foundation for what would develop into Buddhism.
In the 3rd century B.C., Ashoka the Great, the Mauryan Indian emperor, made Buddhism the state religion of India. Buddhist monasteries were built, and missionary work was encouraged.
Over the next few centuries, Buddhism began to spread beyond India. The thoughts and philosophies of Buddhists became diverse, with some followers interpreting ideas differently than others.
In the 6th century, the Huns invaded India and destroyed hundreds of Buddhist monasteries, but the intruders were eventually driven out of the country.
Islam began to spread quickly in the region during the Middle Ages, forcing Buddhism into the background.
Types of Buddhism
In contemporary Buddhist studies, modern Buddhism is often divided into three major branches, traditions or categories.
Vajrayana Buddhism (Tibetan) - Vajrayana is the major school of Buddhism that offers followers a faster path to enlightenment than Mahayana or Theravada. Prevalent in Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Bhutan, and parts of Russia and northern India
Theravada Buddhism - Emphasizes a monastic lifestyle and meditation as the way to enlightenment. Prevalent in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Burma (Myanmar).
Mahayana Buddhism - Emphasizes the role models of bodhisattvas (beings that have achieved enlightenment but return to teach humans). Prevalent in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Vietnam.
Dharma
Buddha’s teachings are known as “dharma.” He taught that wisdom, kindness, patience, generosity and compassion were important virtues.
The Four Noble Truths provide a thorough explanation of human suffering, as well as a method and path that leads to happiness, inner peace, and compassion. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. The Four Noble Truths are a contingency plan for dealing with the suffering humanity faces.
The Buddha is often compared to a physician. In the first Truth, he diagnoses suffering as the illness. In the second Truth he recognized that attachment is the cause. The third Truth is the understanding that there is a remedy, a cure to that suffering. In the fourth Truth, the Buddha gives us the prescription, the antidote to achieve relief from suffering. That remedy is the Eightfold Path.
Tibetan Tradition of Recognizing Reincarnate Lamas
The process of recognizing a tulku (incarnate lama) begins by consulting a high lama or oracle for indications as to where to look. If they see that the tulku has already been reincarnated, they may indicate the place, age of the child, and sometimes his home or family. The blossoming of trees, earth tremors, and omens or significant dreams experienced by the parents must be confirmed. Only those candidates who survive this preliminary assessment continue to the more detailed and intensive tests. As the ultimate aim is to recognize the correct reincarnation, great care is taken throughout to ensure that the real reincarnate is among the remaining candidates. This is confirmed primarily through divinations and directives from reliable lamas and oracles.
Most reincarnations of high lamas clearly remember and speak about their past lives, correctly recognize persons and objects closely related to their previous incarnations, and clearly reflect, through natural behavior, their deep familiarity with the Buddhist teachings. For instance, the present Dalai Lama when four years old directly recognized two members of the search party, and correctly distinguished objects that had belonged to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama.
1959 Tibetan Uprising
The 1959 Tibetan uprising began on March 10, 1959, when a revolt erupted in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which had been under the effective control of the People’s Republic of China since the Seventeen Point Agreement was reached in 1951. The initial uprising occurred amid general Chinese-Tibetan tensions and a context of confusion, because Tibetan protesters feared that the Chinese government might arrest the 14th Dalai Lama.
The protests were also fueled by anti-Chinese sentiment and separatism. At first, the uprising mostly consisted of peaceful protests, but clashes quickly erupted and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) eventually used force to quell the protests. The last stages of the uprising included heavy fighting, with high civilian and military losses. The 14th Dalai Lama escaped from Lhasa, while the city was fully retaken by Chinese security forces later that same March of 1959. Thousands of Tibetans were killed during the 1959 uprising, but the exact number of deaths is disputed.
14th Dalai Lama
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. He is the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on July 6 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two, the child, then named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.
In 1950, after China’s invasion of Tibet, His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power. In 1954, he went to Beijing and met with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Chou Enlai. Finally, in 1959, following the brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops, His Holiness was forced to escape into exile. Since then he has been living in Dharamsala, northern India.
Throughout his life, the Dalai Lama has fulfilled his traditional roles for the Tibetan community. He is revered by Tibetans both in Tibet and in exile as the human incarnation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and as the protector of the Tibetan people.