Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religion. Buddhism is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" (the Awakened One), who lived in the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent and likely died around 400 BCE. Buddhists recognize him as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end their suffering by understanding the true nature of phenomena, thereby escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth (saṃsāra), that is, achieving Nirvana. Among the methods various schools of Buddhism apply towards this goal are: ethical conduct and altruistic behaviour, devotional practices, ceremonies and the invocation of bodhisattvas, renunciation of worldly matters, meditation, physical exercises, study, and the cultivation of wisdom. Buddhism is broadly recognized as being composed of two major branches: Theravada, which has a widespread following in Southeast Asia; and Mahayana (including Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren and Vajrayana), found throughout East Asia. While Buddhism remains most popular within these regions of Asia, both branches are now found throughout the world. Buddhist schools disagree on what the historical teachings of Gautama Buddha were, so much so that some scholars claim Buddhism does not have a clearly definable common core. Significant disagreement also exists over the importance and canonicity of various scriptures. Various sources put the number of Buddhists in the world between 230 million and 500 million. While formal conversion or membership varies between communities, basic lay adherence is often defined in terms of a traditional formula in which the practitioner takes refuge in The Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the Teaching of the Buddha), and the Sangha (the Community of Buddhists). In the Hue chemical attacks of June 3, 1963, soldiers belonging to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) poured chemicals on the heads of praying Buddhists in Huế, South Vietnam, who were protesting the religious discrimination of the regime of the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem. The use of the substance caused 67 people to be hospitalised and the United States threatened privately to withdraw support for Diem's government. The protests were part of the Buddhist crisis, a period during which the Buddhist majority campaigned for religious equality after eight people had been killed while protesting a ban against the Buddhist flag on Vesak. An inquiry determined that the substance was acid within old French tear gas grenades, which failed to vapourise, exonerating the ARVN from charges that it had used poison or mustard gas. However, the outcry over the attack did have the effect of prompting Diem to appoint a panel of three cabinet ministers to meet with Buddhist leaders. Shen Kuo was a polymath Chinese scientist and statesman of the Song Dynasty ( 960– 1279). Excelling in many fields of study and statecraft, he was a mathematician, astronomer, meteorologist, geologist, zoologist, botanist, pharmacologist, agronomist, ethnographer, encyclopedist, and poet. He was the head official for the Bureau of Astronomy in the Song court, as well as an Assistant Minister of Imperial Hospitality. In his Dream Pool Essays of 1088, Shen was the first to describe the magnetic needle compass, which would be used for navigation (first described in Europe by Alexander Neckam in 1187). Shen Kuo devised a geological theory of land formation, or geomorphology, based upon findings of inland marine fossils, knowledge of soil erosion, and the deposition of silt. He also advocated a theory for gradual climate change, after observing ancient petrified bamboos that were preserved underground in a dry northern habitat that did not support their growth in his time. Shen Kuo wrote extensively about movable type printing invented by Bi Sheng, and because of his written works the legacy of Bi Sheng and the modern understanding of the earliest movable type has been handed down to later generations. | If you live the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion. | |
