Brief history of Buddhism
 
        Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world. It 
was founded by Siddhartha Guatama (Buddha) in Northeastern 
India. It arose as a monastic movement during a time of 
Brahman tradition. Buddhism rejected important views of 
Hinduism. It did not recognize the validity of the Vedic 
Scriptures, nor the sacrificial cult which arose from it. It 
also questioned the authority of the priesthood. Also, the 
Buddhist movement was open to people of all castes, denying 
that a person's worth could be judged by their blood. 
 
        The religion of Buddhism has 150 to 350 million 
followers around the world. The wide range is due to two 
reasons. The tendency for religious affiliation to be 
nonexclusive is one. The other is the difficulty in getting 
information from Communist countries such as China. It's 
followers have divided into two main branches: Theravada and 
Mahayana. Theravada, the way of the elders, is dominant in 
India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. 
Mahayana, the greater vehicle, refers to the Theravada as 
Hinayana, the lesser vehicle. It is dominant in India, 
Tibet, Japan, Nepal, Taiwan, China, Korea, Vietnam, and 
Mongolia. 
 
        Siddhartha Guatama was born in Kapilivastu. His father 
was the ruler of the small kingdom near the Indian/Nepal 
border. As a child, his future was foretold by sages. 
They believed that he would someday be a fellow sage or 
leader of a great empire. He led a very pampered and 
sheltered life until the age of twenty-nine.  It was at that 
time that he realized that he had led an empty life. He  
renounced his wealth and embarked on a journey to seek 
truth, enlightenment, and the cycle of rebirths. 
 
        In the first years of his journey, Siddhartha Guatama 
practiced yoga and became involved in radical asceticism. 
After a short time, he gave up that life for one of a middle 
path between indulgence and self-denial.  He meditated under 
a bo tree until he reached true enlightenment by rising 
through a series of higher states of consciousness. After 
realizing this religious inner truth, he went through a time 
of inner struggle. Renaming himself Buddha (meaning 
enlightened one), he wandered from place to place, 
preaching, spreading his teachings by word of mouth. He also 
gained disciples, who were grouped into a monastic community 
known as a sangha. 
 
        As he neared his death, Buddha refused a successor. He 
told his followers to work hard to find their salvation. 
After his death, it was decided that a new way to keep the 
community's unity and purity was needed, since the teachings 
of Buddha were spoken only. To maintain peace, the monastic 
order met to decide on matters of Buddhist doctrines and 
practice. Four of these meetings are considered to be the 
Four Major Councils. 
 
        The first major council was presided over by 
Mahakasyapa, a Buddhist monk. The purpose of the first 
council was to preach and agree on Buddha's teachings 
and monastic discipline. 
 
        The second major council supposedly met at Vaisali, 
one hundred years after the first. The purpose of this 
council was to answer the ten questionable acts of the monks 
of the Vajjian Confederacy. The use of money, drinking wine, 
and other irregularities were among the acts. It was decided 
that the practices were unlawful. This decision has been 
found to be the cause of the division of the Buddhists. The 
accounts of the meeting describe a quarrel between the 
Mahasanghikas (Great Assembly) and the Sthaviras 
(Elders). Tensions had grown within the sangha over 
discipline, the role of laity, and the nature of arhat. 
 
        Pataliputra, now Patna, was the sight of the third 
council. It was called by King Asoka in the 3rd century BC, 
and was convened by Moggaliptta. The purpose was the purify 
the sangha of the false monks and heretics who had joined 
the order because of its royal associations.  During the 
council, the compilations of the Buddhist scriptures 
(Tipitaka) and the body of subtle philosophy (abhidharma) to 
the dharma and monastic discipline were completed. 
Missionaries were sent forth to many countries as a result 
of the council. 
 
        King Kanishka patronized the fourth council in 100 AD. 
Historians are not sure if it was held at either Kasmir or 
Jalanhar. Both divisions of Buddhism are said to have 
participated in the council. The council tried to establish 
peace between them. However, neither side was willing to 
give in.  Because of this, the religion divided into many 
sects, including the traditional eighteen schools. 
 
        The traditional eighteen schools of Buddhism were a 
result of different interpretations of Buddhist teachings. 
Together, these divisions were seen as too conservative and 
literal towards the teachings of Buddha. Theravada was 
considered too individualistic and unconcerned with the 
needs of the laity. It caused a liberal wing of the sangha 
to break away from the rest of the monks during the second 
council. Original group of monks continued their honoring of 
Buddha as a perfectly enlightened human teacher.  However, 
the liberal Mahasanghikas developed a new interpretation. 
They began to think of Buddha as an eternal, all powerful 
being. Believing the human Buddha was an apparition sent 
down for human benefit, the Mahasanghikas began Mahayana. 
 
        Not even the names of Mahayana's founders are known. 
Historians argue whether or not the new sect began in 
southern or northwestern India.  However, they have narrowed 
the date to in between the 2nd century BC and the 1st 
century AD. Beliefs in a godlike Buddha continued well past 
the era of Christianity and came together in the Mahayana 
doctrine of threefold nature. 
 
        Buddhism spread throughout Asia after the two divisions 
came about. King Asoka's children, Mahinda and Sanghamitta, 
are responsible for the Buddhist conversion of Sri Lanka. 
During the reign of Asoka, it is said that Theravada was 
introduced to Burma by Sri Lanka, around 5th century AD. 
Burma spread Theravada to Thailand in the 6th century. 
Cambodia was influenced by Mahayana and Hinduism at the 
end of the 2nd century. Nearly one-thousand two- hundred 
years later, Theravada became the primary religion. 
 
        At the beginning of the Christian era, Buddhism was 
introduced to Central Asia. From there, it entered China 
through trade routes. It influenced and adapted to Chinese 
culture. It was opposed by many, though, and its followers 
were persecuted at times. Buddhism's major Chinese influence 
ended after a great persecution in 845 AD. However, the 
meditative Zen sect and the Pure Land sect continued to 
thrive. 
 
        Despite disagreement from Confucian authorities, 
Mahayana's influence was seen in Vietnam by 189.  China 
introduced Buddhism to Korea in 372 AD. From that point on, 
it was gradually converted through Chinese influence for 
many centuries. Korea introduced Buddhism to Japan in 552 
AD. Prince Shotoku made it the official state religion 
of Japan forty-one years later. 
 
        Tibet was introduced to Buddhism by foreign wives of 
the king starting in the 7th century AD. By the next  
century, it had become an important aspect of Tibetan 
culture. It was spread by the Indian monk, Padmasambhava, 
who had arrived there in 747 AD to spread Tantric Buddhism. 
Several centuries later, Tibetan Buddhists began to believed 
that the abbots of its great monastaries were reincarnated 
bodhisattvas, individuals who have attained perfect 
enlightenment but delay entry into final nirvana in order 
to make possible the salvation of others who had not reached 
enlightenment.  The chief abbots became known as the Dalai 
Lama, the ruler of Tibet. They ruled as a theocracy from the 
17th century until the Chinese takeover in 1950. 
 
        One of Buddhism's greatest strengths is its ability to 
adapt to many conditions under a variety of cultures. It is 
opposed to materialism. It does not recognize a conflict 
between itself and modern science. On the contrary, it holds 
that the Buddha applied the experimental approach to the 
questions of ultimate truth. 
 
        Growing interest in Asian culture and spiritual values 
in the West has led to the development of a number of 
studies and practice of Buddhism. Zen has grown in the 
United States to create more than a dozen meditation centers 
and a number of monastaries. Interest in Vajrayana has also 
increased. As its influence in the west slowly grows, 
Buddhism is once again changing and adapting to the new 
environment. Although its influence in the United States 
is still small, it seems that if Buddhism repeats its 
history, new forms and sects of Buddhism may develop.