Buddhism
Siddharta (480-400BC)
The Buddha was born in modern day Nepal, son of the rulers of the land, he was named Siddharta, meaning "he whose aim is accomplished".
A hermit called Asita said that if he lived in the palace he would become a great ruler, but if he left he would become the religious leader of the world, so the king imprisoned him and kept away all things that aged or decayed from him.
At 16, Buddha married Yashodara and had a son, Rahula, but eventually a musician told him of the wonders of the world, so at age 29 he left the palace.
He went to live in the woods with the 5 ascetics, where he sought to reach enlightenment through extreme deprivation for 5 years, but it didn’t work, teaching him the idea of moderance (The Middle Path).
After meditating below a ficus tree (The Bodhi Tree) for 49 days, he reached enlightenment at age 35.
He then taught the universal truth (Dharma) to the 5 ascetics, revealing the 4 noble truths for the first time and for the next 45 taught anyone, without distinction of sex or class, and then died at age 80.
Tibet
In 618, Songtsen Gampo (569–649), 33rd Tibetan King, founded the Tibetan Empire (618-842), by taking Nepal through marriage and the kingdom of Zhang Zhung through conquest. He also introduced Buddhism to the country.
The empire reached its peak around 780, having about the same size as India and Pakistan combined. However, such land was soon taken by the Chinese and Turks to the East, and the Arabs to the West.
In 1642, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617-1682), the 5th Dalai Lama, declared himself ruler of Tibet, a tradition that persisted until 1951;
China
In 1951, the 17 Point agreement was signed with the now communist China, making Tibet an autonomous region of China to this day.
In what critics call Sinicization of Tibet, China has restricted religious freedom in Tibet and destroyed thousands of monasteries, trying to assimilate the region.
Nowadays, Tibet is valuable for China as a natural barrier against India, the source of their rivers and as a large source of minerals.
The Dalai Lama was banned from Tibet soon after the 17 point agreement, and nowadays lives in India.
Teachings
The 4 noble truths
According to Dukkha life is full of suffering.
According to Samudaya we suffer because of our cravings and attachment to temporary things.
According to Nirodha we can escape suffering and find Nirvana
Accordin to Magga the Noble Eightfold (Middle Path) path will help us find Nirvana and become Buddha.
The Noble Eightfold Path
Compassion
Right intent when doing things will help stop suffering.
Right speech, i.e. not lying, gossiping and insulting, will help you.
Right understanding of the Middle Path will help us stop suffering.
Mindfulness
Wisdom
You should earn your living in an ethical way, not stealing or trading slaves or hurting life in order to have a right living.
With right effort you should aproach life with enthusiasm and always seek to improve.
With right action you should always strive to do good with your actions, by following the 5 precepts.
With right mindfulness you should live in the present and worry less about the past and future.
With right concentration you should focus your attention on a single thing at a time.
The 5 precepts are: do not harm any living creature; do not steal; do not lie or harm with words; do not take intoxicating substances and do not engage in sexual misconduct.
Branches of Buddhism
Theravada
Older and more orthodox, they see the Buddha as human.
Mahayana
More accessible to normal people, it contains many schools, such as Zen, Tantra and Pure Land.
More religious, with emphasis on idols and god-like beings, such as Bodhisattvas, those who have reached enlightenment but delay Nirvana to help others.
Believe enlightenment doesn't require multiple incarnations.
Only monks can find Nirvana and become Arhats.
According to Anatta nothing is permanent, thus there's nothing we can define as self or soul
The most important Bodhisattvas and what they represent are: Guanyin (compassion), Puxian (practice), Wenshu (wisdom) and Dizang (great vow)
The number 108 is a significant number in the Dharmic religions, as tt represents the number of temptations that humans face.
There are many religious elements related to this number; for example, a bell is rung 108 times to bring in the New Year in Japan, it is the number of beads on a Buddhist o-juzu or rosary, and a classic pilgrimage in Japan visits 108 temples.
Sthaviravada
Hinayana
This is the cause of the divide of the 2 branches, as they disagree on what this implies.