Introduction
A comprehensive study of a religion may help one obtain valuable insights into its history and beliefs. Buddhism is a prominent religion in the world and is practiced by approximately 488 people worldwide. This paper will critically evaluate the history and beliefs of Buddhism and perform a statistical analysis of the religious followers in order to understand the current and future relevance of Buddhist views in the US and the rest of the world.
Etymology: Define and describe the religion
Buddhism can be defined as a path leading to enlightenment. The term ‘Buddha’ refers to an enlightened person. Simply, Buddhism is a religion established by Gautama Buddha and those who follow his teachings are called Buddhists. While analyzing the etymology of the term ‘Buddhism’, it seems that the term is formed by merging Buddha + ism.
History of the Religion and its Founder
Buddhism is one of the world’s ancient religions and its history can be dated back to 6th century BC when Siddhartha Gautama born. Buddhism managed to survive all challenges of the world for centuries when many of its counterparts failed to do so. Being the prince of the Sakya tribe (currently in Nepal), Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, left his palace and other royal facilities when he turned 29. He left the palace in an attempt to explore the meaning of suffering that he witnessed in the society. In fact, the royal comfort he enjoyed at home provided him no satisfaction. He travelled across the Northeastern parts of India and delivered sermons on the values of Dharma and Karma that he had achieved through his great enlightenment. His teachings were strong and authentic enough to attract people, thus leading to the formation of a new community of monks and nuns. People who believed in his teachings were later called Buddhists.
Beliefs
The fundamental belief of Buddhism is that humans are reborn or they undergo numerous cycle of birth, living, death, and rebirth. Buddhists believe in the concept of reincarnation also, which is to be differentiated from the concept of rebirth. Rebirth is a concept which is centered on the birth and death of a person and it states that ‘karmic tendencies’ of a person will continue from one life to another. In contrast, reincarnation is a voluntary action resulting from “the most esoteric meditative practice which brings about the ultimate evolution of the mind” (“What is the difference between Rebirth and Reincarnation?”).Three Jewels, Four Noble Truths, Noble Eightfold Path, and Five Percepts constitute the core beliefs of Buddhism. Buddhism states that once an individual is able to release his attachment and to attain the values of desire and self, he can achieve Nirvana which is a conceptual state of liberation from suffering. Another key belief of this religion is that “the mind is neither physical, nor a by-product of purely physical processes, but a formless continuum that is a separate entity from the body” (cited in Gyatso, 2011, p.na).
Salvation
For a follower of the Buddhist faith, salvation is nothing but attaining Nirvana. Buddhism teaches that one must strictly follow the Nobel Eightfold Path to attain Nirvana. According to a saying of the Buddha, just as the sea water has only taste of salt, Buddhist teachings have only the flavor of salvation (Dumoulin, 1954, p.98). Hence, anyone who strictly follows the Buddhist teachings can attain Nirvana or salvation.
Scriptures
The major scriptures of Buddhism are The Dhammapada, The Tripitaka, The Sutta-Nipata, The Anguttara-Nikaya, and The Samyutta-Nikaya (Sinha, 2014, p.115). In addition to these, the Buddhists followers adhere to many other scriptures and Buddhist writings. It is important to note that the scriptures of Buddhism are organized under three heads such as the scriptures on monastics, the scriptures of discourses, and the scriptures of higher knowledge. In addition, many important Buddhist scriptures are written in local or regional languages. Most of the early Buddhist sculptures are written in the Pali language. Although Buddhist sculptures were actually written in a simple language, it became difficult to understand Buddhist writings when they were translated into other languages.
Afterlife
While analyzing the Buddhist views on afterlife, the religion teaches that one has to achieve Nirvana so as to avoid the continuing cycle of birth, living, death, and rebirth. In Buddhism, afterlife is described from two different from perspectives. An individual is either reincarnated into another body or achieves the state of Nirvana after his death. The Buddhist teaching on afterlife indicates that only Buddhas (those who managed to attain the enlightenment) will be able to achieve Nirvana. Buddha says that people go through many cycles of death and rebirth because they have an extreme desire for this cyclical process. Hence, individuals cannot get off this cyclical process and achieve Nirvana unless they free their desire for rebirth.
Demographics/ Number of Believers
When it comes to the demographics of Buddhist believers, over 90 percent people are Buddha followers in Cambodia (96.9%) and Thailand (93.2%). Other countries with largest proportions of Buddhists are Burma (80.1%), Bhutan (74.7%), Sri Lanka (69.3%), Laos (66%), and Mongolia (55.1%) (“Bdddhists”, 2012. Pew Research Center). While analyzing the demographic trend in a global perspective, it is identified that China has a Buddhist population 244,130,000 (18.2% of the country’s total population), which is nearly 50.1% of the world’s total Buddhist population ((“Bdddhists”, 2012, Pew Research Center). Based on the demographic data of Buddhist distribution worldwide, one can undoubtedly say that Buddhism has a stronger presence in Asia than the rest of the world.
World
According to a report published by the Pew Research Center, the size of the world’s Buddhist population is likely to increase from 488 million in 2010 to 511 million in 2030; and the report also says that the number of Buddhists around the world is expected to decline after 2030 and to drop to 486 million by 2050 (“The future of world religions” 2015. Pew Research Center). The major cause of this decline is that the Buddhist population in the world is aging and this community has a low fertility rate compared to other religions. It is important to note that the Buddhist community has a weak presence in the Western world.
United States
Buddhism is a major religion in the United States after Christianity and Judaism, and the size of the Buddhist population in the country is roughly equal to that of Islam and Hinduism. It is to be noted that Asian Americans constitute a significant percent of Buddhist population in America. In a report released by the U-T San Diego in 2012, it was estimated that there were 1.2 million Buddhist followers in the country and 40 percent of them were living in Southern California. When it comes to a statistical evaluation, it is identified that the state of Hawaii has the highest percent of Buddhist population (8%) as it is home to a large Asian American community.
Population
As mentioned already, in terms of size of the population, China has the highest number of Buddhist practitioners (244,130,000). The largest Buddhist population is residing in Cambodia on the ground of the percent of population.
Conclusion
References
Bdddhists. (Dec 18, 2012). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-buddhist/
Dumoulin, (1954). Studies in the History of Religions. US: Brill Archive.
The future of world religions. (April 2, 2015). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/buddhists/
Gyatso, G. K. (2011). Eight Steps to Happiness: The Buddhist Way of Loving Kindness. US: Tharpa Publications.
Sinha, A. K. (2014). Glimpses of the Scriptures of Major World Religions. Xlibris Corporation.
What is the difference between Rebirth and Reincarnation? Pathgate Institute of Buddhist Studies. Retrieved from http://www.pathgate.org/index.php/gateway-to-dharma/41-what-is-the-difference-between-rebirth-and-reincarnation
