Category: Buddhism

Buddhist music is music created for or inspired by Buddhism and part of Buddhist art. Chant is, of course, the best-known aspect of Buddhist music in the Western world. The perusal of any music store will reveal at least a dozen different CDs of chant, and particularly Tibetan Buddhist chant. In Tibetan monastic communities, learning to chant is so important...

Buddhist meditation used in the practice of Buddhism, “includes any method of meditation that has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim”. The closest word for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism is bhavana or “mental development”. Buddhist meditation is a form of mental concentration that leads ultimately to enlightenment and spiritual freedom. Meditation occupies a central place in all forms...

Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) is a modern linguistic category applied to a number of languages used in some of the Mahāyāna Buddhist sutras, such as the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit languages are composite works assembled from elements of Classical Sanskrit and local Prakrit languages. BHS is classified as a Middle Indo-Aryan language. It is sometimes called “Mixed...

The Buddhist flag is a flag designed to symbolise Buddhism. It was designed in 1880 by the Colombo Committee, comprised of Ven Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera (Chairman), Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera, Don Carolis Hewavitharana (father of Anagarika Dharmapala), Andiris Perera Dharmagunawardhana (maternal grandfather of Anagarika Dharmapala), William de Abrew, Charles A. de Silva, Peter de Abrew, H. William Fernando, N....

Buddhist cuisine is a kind of cuisine mainly for the believers of Buddhism. It is known as zhāi cài (zhāi means “purification” or “discipline”, cai means “cuisine” or “vegetable”) in China, and shōjin ryōri (shōjin means “devotion”, ryōri means “cuisine” ) in Japan, and by many other names in other countries. Contents Three types of restrictions Only for some Buddhists...

The Buddhist Churches of America is the United States branch of the Hongwanji-ha Hongwanji (a.k.a. Honpa Hongwanji / Nishi-Hongwanji) sub-sect of Jōdo Shinshū (淨土眞宗 “True Pure Land School”) Buddhism. The term ‘Churches’ in the name of the sect derives historically from the desire of Japanese immigrant Buddhists to be accepted into North American society and to avoid attracting discrimination, especially...

A Buddhist chant is a form of musical verse or incantation, in some ways analogous to Hindu or Christian religious recitations. They exist in just about every part of the Buddhist world, from the Wats in Thailand to the Lamaist temples of India (re: Tibetan Government in Exile). Almost every Buddhist school has some tradition of chanting associated with it,...

Buddhist art originated in the Indian subcontinent in the centuries following the life of the historical Gautama Buddha in the 6th to 5th century BCE, before evolving through its contact with other cultures and its diffusion through the rest of Asia and the world. A first, essentially Indian, aniconic phase (avoiding direct representations of the Buddha), was followed from around...

Buddhism in Vietnam is Buddhism that had been localized to Vietnam from India and later from China. Vietnamese Buddhism has many characteristics different from Buddhism practiced in other countries. Buddhism is the most influential religion in Vietnam, with about 50 percent of Vietnamese being Buddhists. The number of practicing Buddhists numbers about three million, those who frequently visit Buddhist temples...

Buddhism arrived in the Philippines during the existence of Srivijaya empire from the 7th to the 13th centuries. This was followed by the arrival of Chinese immigrants and traders from the 14th to the 20th centuries who brought also with them Buddhism. The country has one of the world’s 20 largest Buddhist populations, with two percent of national population. Buddhism...

Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school. As much as 94% of Thailand’s population is Buddhist of the Theravada school, though Buddhism in this country has become integrated with folk beliefs such as ancestor worship as well as Chinese religions from the large Thai-Chinese population. Buddhist temples in Thailand are characterized by tall golden stupas, and the Buddhist...

About 0.33 percent of Switzerland’s population are Buddhists. In 1978 the Swiss Buddhist Union (Schweizerische Buddhistische Union / Union Suisse des Bouddhistes / Unione Buddhista Svizzera) was founded by the Czech Buddhist Mirko Fryba (Bhikku Kusalananda). The SBU sees itself as an umbrella organization of the various Buddhist communities in Switzerland and does not represent a specific Buddhist school. It...

Sri Lankan Buddhism belongs to the Theravada tradition. About 69% of the country adheres to Buddhism. Sri Lanka is the country with longest continuous history of Buddhism. Theravada has been the major religion in the island since soon after its introduction in the 2nd century BC by Venerable Mahinda, the son of the Emperor Ashoka of India during the reign...

Buddhism is not officially recognized as a religion in Slovakia. The 2001 census findings included Buddhism under “other religions, ” so the total number of Buddhists is not known. Various Buddhist schools, including all three traditional vehicles (Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana), are active as either informal groups or civil associations. Theravada is represented by groups of vipassana practitioners. Several Zen...