Buddhism in Five Minutes; Harris

University of Birmingham

Outlines the structure and purpose of the book.

Buddhism as a Religion

1. Is Buddhism a Religion? [+–] 6-9

Denise Cush

Bath Spa University

Denise Cush was Professor of Religion and Education and Head of Department of Study of Religions at Bath Spa University.

Discussion of the terms “Buddhism” and “religion” and whether Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy.

2. What is the Role and Focus of Faith in Buddhism? [+–] 10-13

Asanga Tilakaratne

University of Colombo

Asanga Tilakaratne graduated from Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka, specializing in Buddhist Philosophy. He has published, both in Sinhala and English, more than one hundred papers on Buddhist studies. Of his more recent academic works, Theravada Buddhism: the View of the Elders (2012) was published by University of Hawaii Press. He co-edited with Prof. Oliver Abenayaka 2600 Years of Sambuddhatva: Global Journey of Awakening (2012), a work covering the history and the current status of global Buddhism of all three traditions. Prof. Tilakaratne founded Sri Lanka Association of Buddhist Studies (SLABS), an academic and professional organization of Buddhist scholars in Sri Lanka, and continues to serve as its joint secretary.

In Buddhism, faith is a prerequisite for the practice of the path taught by the Buddha. Buddhists see it as meaning trust and a sense of admiration. So faith is the trust a Buddhist has in the Buddha, as the teacher, in his teaching (Dharma), the path capable of leading its practitioner to the goal, and in the monastic community (Sangha), those who are following the path fruitfully. Without this trust in the Triple Gem, to use the traditional mode of reference, religious life is not possible for Buddhists. Accordingly, faith is the most precious treasure a Buddhist can have, and the foremost motivating factor behind his or her religious life. Although faith is not the sufficient condition for final awakening or enlightenment, it is certainly a necessary condition that is present all the way through the path. To understand the role and focus of faith in Buddhism, we need to know why and how Buddhists should generate faith in the Triple Gem.

3. What is the Role of Ritual in Buddhism? [+–] 14-18

Asanga Tilakaratne

University of Colombo

In order to answer this question, we need to make a distinction between two types of followers of Buddhism: those whose sole aim is to make an end to suffering by realizing nirvana and those who are happy to enjoy being in the round of birth and rebirth, which is saṃsāra, until they reach nirvana some day in the future. For the former, the path is quite straightforward. They would be satisfied with a bare minimum of possessions and be singularly motivated by the goal of nirvana. Rituals would not be necessary. For the members of the monastic Sangha in this category, ordination ceremonies and recital of disciplinary rules would be part of their lives—from a Theravada perspective, they would be considered legal requirements of the Vinaya (their code of disciplinary conduct) and not ritual. The second type comprises householders who have their families to look after, wealth to enjoy, and social duties to perform. The need for ritual basically came from this group.

4. Are Relics Important to Buddhists? [+–] 19-23

Kevin Trainor

University of Vermont

TRAINOR KEVIN specializes in South Asian religious traditions. His area of research includes Theravada Buddhist traditions, especially Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Other research interests include gender analysis and ritual studies. He completed an M. Div. degree in Church History at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and a Ph.D. in Religion at Columbia University; his B.A. in Religion is from Colgate University. His publications include: Embodying the Dharma: Buddhist Relic Veneration in Asia, edited with David Germano (SUNY Press, 2004), Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide (Oxford University Press, 2004), Relics, Ritual , and Representation in Buddhism: Rematerializing the Sri Lankan Theravada Tradition (Cambridge University Press, 1997), “Constructing a Buddhist Ritual Site: Stupa and Monastery Architecture”, in Unseen Presence: The Buddha and Sanchi , edited by Vidya Dehejia (Marg Publications, 1996), “In the Eye of the Beholder: Nonattachment and the Body in Subha’s Verse (Therigatha 71)”, Journal of the American Academy of Religion 61 (1993): 57-79, and “When Is a Theft Not a Theft? Relic Theft and the Cult of the Buddha’s Relics in Sri Lanka”, Numen 39, (1992): 1-26.

Given the great diversity of Buddhist traditions, it’s not surprising that the relative importance of relics has varied over time and within different communities of Buddhists. And the term “relic” itself has a range of meanings and associations, both in English usage and in the words to which it most closely corresponds in the diversity of languages used by Buddhists. What is a relic? Put simply, Buddhist relics refer to material objects that connect Buddhists with departed buddhas and other awakened beings. Relics “re-present” these powerful figures, in both a temporal and physical sense, overcoming their “past-ness” and making them tangibly present to those who physically interact with them for the purposes of spiritual transformation. Such ritualized interactions have, from the earliest centuries of Buddhist tradition, been regarded as “skillful” deeds whose karmic effects advance Buddhist practitioners toward their religious goals.

5. What are the Holy Texts of Buddhism? [+–] 24-28

Asanga Tilakaratne

University of Colombo

Buddhism has a variety of collections of holy texts. They differ depending on the school or tradition. In this discussion we will look at holy texts belonging to three traditions of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana, referred to here according to their chronological order.

6. What is the Place of Images in Buddhism? [+–] 29-34

Sarah Shaw

University of Oxford

Sarah Shaw is a Member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford and Honorary Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies.

Images of all kinds are found in the Buddhist tradition. Often with precise meditative or ritual purpose, they are celebratory, too—artistic outflowings expressing through material objects a sense of the Buddhist path.

7. What is the Role of Narrative in Buddhism? [+–] 35-39

Brian Black

University of Lancaster

BRIAN BLACK is Senior Teaching Associate in the Department of Religious
Studies at Lancaster University. His research and teaching interests include
Indian religions, comparative philosophy, and gender and religion. He is
author of the book The Character of the Self in Ancient India: Priests, Kings, and
Women in the Early Upaniṣads.

Narrative is an integral part of Buddhism. Although many textbooks focus on core teachings, such as the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination, emptiness, or the ideal of the bodhisattva, stories are one of the main ways that Buddhists through the centuries have communicated and explored their ideas, beliefs, and values. Narratives create a shared Buddhist world among its followers and ground otherwise abstract teachings in the relatable experiences of everyday life. They also demand an engagement from their audiences and remain open to a variety of different readings and interpretations. Additionally, stories are memorable, often engaging audiences on an emotional as well as an intellectual level.

8. Is Buddhism Atheistic, Non-theistic or Theistic? [+–] 40-44

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

Peter Harvey is Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Sunderland. He co-founded with Ian Harris the UK Association for Buddhist Studies and edits its journal Buddhist Studies Review. His research has been on early Buddhist thought and practice, Buddhist ethics and making accessible the rich history of Buddhist thought.

Buddhism is not focused on the idea of an eternal creator God, but from its beginning has included belief in a range of mortal gods (devas), who are seen as part of the round of rebirths along with humans, animals, ghosts, and beings in hell. None of these rebirths is seen as lasting forever, although some are seen as very long-lasting. The Buddha did not see himself as an incarnation of a god, but as a human who had been radically transformed by becoming enlightened, and as a “teacher of humans and devas.” Although Buddhists do not believe in a creator God, they do believe in an ultimate, transcendent reality: nirvana. Nirvana is beyond time, change, and death—a transcendent reality the peace of which is beyond that of even the subtlest heaven. Like the God of theistic religions, it is eternal, at least in the sense of being beyond time, rather than lasting forever in time. It is not seen as creating the world, and is a seen as a state to be experienced rather than a being.

The Buddha

9. What do we Know about the Historical Buddha? [+–] 46-49

University of Chester

Dhivan Thomas Jones is a Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies
at the University of Chester. His research is mainly in the area of early
Buddhist philosophy.

The question is more difficult than it appears, and I propose to answer it by analyzing three of its component terms—know, historical, and buddha—before attempting an answer to the what. It would seem that traditional Buddhists of Asian lands were not concerned with this kind of question. For them, as indeed for many modern Western Buddhists, the term “buddha” did not primarily refer to a particular historical personage but rather to the discoverer of the way to awakening, the founder and teacher of what has become known as Buddhism, a guide and exemplar, the first of the Three Jewels or precious things (the Triple Gem), to which Buddhists go for refuge. In short, for Buddhists, the Buddha is an object of faith and devotion.

10. How is the Nature of Buddhahood to be Understood? [+–] 50-54

University of Cambridge

Christopher V. Jones is a Bye-Fellow of Selwyn College, and affiliated lecturer and research associate at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. A primary focus of his research is the history of Mahayana Buddhist thought in the early centuries of the Common Era, preserved in Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan literature.

Asking about the nature of “buddhahood” is no small matter. Just as traditions of Abrahamic theology have not necessarily agreed regarding the nature of God, so too “Buddhology”—confessional or academic interest in buddhas and their nature—cannot provide one definitive account of what it is to be a buddha. The question invites an overview of how the Buddha (or buddhas) have been understood across roughly two-and-a-half thousand years of history.

11. How does one “Read” a Buddha-image? [+–] 55-59

Ronit Wang

SOAS, University of London

Ronit Wang is a PhD candidate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Focusing on contemporary Thai Buddhism, her research looks at Buddhist cosmological parks in Thailand.

How do we respond to a Buddha-image? While it is impossible to ignore the artistry of Buddha-images, and the craftsmanship involved in their creation, it is vital to look beyond the physical form of the figure, approaching it not as art but rather as an instrument through which the qualities and attributes of the Buddha himself are embodied.

12. Who is the Fat Buddha Figure? [+–] 60-62

Paulina Kolata

University of Chester

Dr. Paulina Kolata is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Lund University, Sweden, and an Early Career Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, UK. Her work focuses primarily on contemporary Japanese Buddhism, depopulation, economy, death, social networks, belonging, and materiality in Buddhism.

Surprising as it may be, the fat Buddha is not a more rotund version of Gautama Buddha himself, although he has earned his nickname because of this misconception, and hence his name is often capitalized. The “fat Buddha” figure, also known as the “laughing Buddha,” represents a semi-historical, popular, non-canonical figure, derived from Chinese folklore, who became incorporated into the Chan (Zen in Japan) Buddhist tradition. Known as Budai in China, Hōtei in Japan, and Podae in Korea, the “fat Buddha” appeared in Chinese iconography during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and was allegedly modeled on Qici (–916), an eccentric Chinese Buddhist monk from the Chan tradition who lived around the tenth century during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–60) in the Wuyue kingdom.

13. What is a Bodhisattva? [+–] 63-67

Ven Jianchengshi

Lancaster University

Jiancheng Shi received her PhD degree from Lancaster University, UK in 2021. Her PhD dissertation examines mindfulness in contemporary Chan monastic life.

In Sanskrit, bodhi means “awakening” and sattva refers to a sentient being. In a narrow sense, the term “bodhisattva” is primarily restricted to the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, in his numerous previous lives before accomplishing buddhahood. Broadly speaking, a bodhisattva can refer to any sentient being who has vowed to pursue the path to buddhahood, which is called the bodhisattva path.

14. How do Buddhists Show their Devotion to the Buddha? [+–] 68-73

Paulina Kolata

University of Chester

Be it through receiving blessings, merit-making practices, prostrating, offerings, chanting, pilgrimage, and various incarnations of meditation practice, devotional expression is part of contemporary Buddhism and Buddhism in the past, with primary focus on the Three Jewels of the Buddha, the Dharma, and his community, the Sangha. The most important symbols of Buddhist devotion include the Buddha-image, the Wheel of the Dharma, the lotus flower, and the Bodhi tree, all symbolizing the path to enlightenment. Devotion to the Buddha and other holy beings is thus a common practice across the Buddhist world, through which Buddhists aim to accumulate good karmic fruits for themselves and others, including the living and the dead.

What the Buddha Taught (1)

15. Can we Know what the Historical Buddha Taught? [+–] 76-80

Rupert Gethin

University of Bristol

Rupert Gethin is Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol. His primary research interest is the history and development of Buddhist thought in the Nikayas and Abhidhamma. He is the author of The Fountains of Buddhism (OUP 1998), The Buddhist Path to Awakening (Oneworld 2001), Summary of the Topics of Abhidhamma and Exposition of the Topics of Abhidhamma with R.P. Wijeratne (Pali Text Society 2002) and Sayings of the Buddha: A Selection of Suttas from the Pali Nikayas (OUP 2008).

To ask this question is to ask how the teachings of the Buddha presented in ancient Buddhist texts relate to what the historical Buddha taught. It is clear that the collections of texts regarded by Buddhists today as “the word of the Buddha” are very diverse and date from various periods. If we assume that the oldest texts—those closest in time to the historical Buddha (c. fifth century bce)—are the texts most likely to contain what the historical Buddha taught, then we must ask whether we can reliably identify a set of texts relatively close in time to the historical Buddha. The answer to this question is, in broad terms, yes, we can do this, by paying attention to ancient disputes about the authenticity of the texts, and by considering their contents.

16. What Part does Belief in Rebirth Play in Buddhism? [+–] 81-85

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

In Buddhism, various aspects of practice can be done without reference to the idea of rebirth, such as generosity, kindness, helpfulness, chanting, and meditation. While some modern, secularized forms of Buddhism avoid reference to rebirth, seeing it as an inessential hangover from ancient Indian belief, this can itself be seen as an importation into Buddhism of certain modern, mainly Western attitudes and beliefs. In the Buddha’s day, some kind of belief in repeated lives had already been developed within Brahmanism (which later developed into Hinduism), and another version of it existed in Jainism, one of the renunciant traditions that critiqued Brahmanism. Buddhism itself originated as such a non-Brahmanical renunciant tradition, and others included materialists, who denied rebirth, skeptics, who saw knowledge of such things as impossible, and fatalists, who believed in rebirth driven forward by blind fate, rather than by individual action (karma).

17. Does Buddhism See the Mind as Separate from the Body? [+–] 86-90

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

A key Buddhist belief concerns rebirth: that a person does not fully come to an end at death, but goes on to another rebirth. So the Buddha saw the view of materialists as mistaken, characterizing them as “annihilationists.” A person is more than the material body, then. The most common Buddhist analysis of a person is in terms of the five khandhas (Pali; Sanskrit: skandhas): “aggregates” or “bundles.” These are: • material form (rūpa): four primary elemental processes termed “earth”, “water,” “fire,” and “wind,” plus other processes dependent on these; • pleasant, unpleasant or neutral feeling tone (vedanā); • perception (Pali: saññā; Sanskrit: saṃjñā), which labels, classifies, and recognizes/misrecognizes sense-objects; • volitional activities (Pali: saṅkhāra; Sanskrit: saṃskāra), in the form of tendencies, emotions, attitudes, and volitional responses; • consciousness (Pali: viññāṇa; Sanskrit: vijñāna), the awareness of any object of the physical senses or mind.

18. Do Buddhists See All that Happens to One as Due to Karma? [+–] 91-95

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

Buddhism does not say that everything that happens to one is due to one’s past karma. The Buddha criticized theories which saw all experiences and associated actions as due either to past karma, the diktat of a god, or pure chance. These views, according to the Buddha, imply a form of fatalism that strips one of responsibility for one’s present actions and gives one no motivation to improve what one does. So, Buddhism stresses that present action is not fixed by past action. Rather, present action can bring about liberating change in a person.

19. What is Seen as Reborn, According to Buddhism? [+–] 96-98

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

For Buddhism, a person is not completely destroyed at death, but it is not an eternal, unchanging soul or self that carries on to another life. Rather, there is a stream of “conditions” that flows on beyond this life, becoming a key factor in the arising of a new life in the next rebirth.

20. To what Extent does Buddhism “Deny the Self”? The Non-Self Teaching [+–] 99-103

University of Cambridge

Buddhism has long been associated with the claim that it “denies the self,” and that this distinguishes it from all other religious traditions. The applicability of non-self teaching to contemporary ideas about human identity in the West—informed, for example, by comparisons to the findings of cognitive science—is an evolving field. In early Buddhism, the notion that things are non-self is a subtle one, very much born out of Buddhism’s Indian heritage, and is easily misconstrued. To understand the original context of nonself teaching, we must locate it in Indian literature, where we first find it expressed, in which the context is the Buddha’s attempts to explain experience, suffering, and also rebirth in a setting quite different from any twenty-first-century culture, Buddhist or otherwise.

21. What are the “Four Noble Truths” About? [+–] 104-107

University of Sunderland

Arjuna Ranatunga holds an MA in Buddhist Studies from the University of Sunderland.

The Four Noble Truths form the crux of the Buddha’s teachings. They are the focus of his first (formal) sermon, given shortly after his enlightenment, and they recur as a subject throughout his discourses, as recorded in the texts of Buddhism. When they were first taught, a light was said to appear in the world. “The Wheel of the Dhamma” was set in motion; a movement was begun. Essentially, they encompass the subject of suffering (or the unsatisfactoriness of life) and the release from it. Expanded upon, however, they form the basis of what came to be popularly known as the Buddha’s 84,000 teachings. One important text reveals that to see one of the four truths is to see them all. So they all actually interpenetrate and coalesce. In this sense, looking at them is like looking at different facets of a cut diamond. We can look at them from different sides, but they are ultimately the same gem.

22. What is Non-attachment in Buddhism? [+–] 108-111

University of Chester

Dhivan Thomas Jones is a Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies
at the University of Chester. His research is mainly in the area of early
Buddhist philosophy.

whatever non-attachment means in Buddhism, it is not a refusal of deep and lasting relationship. This needs to be borne in mind as I turn to three ways in which non-attachment is presented in Buddhism.

23. What is Nirvana? [+–] 112-115

University of Sunderland

Arjuna Ranatunga holds an MA in Buddhist Studies from the University of Sunderland.

Nirvana (Pali: nibbāna) is the “good goal” of which the Buddha spoke; and to work toward this provides ultimate meaning to the life of a Buddhist. It is attained by those who, through purification in ethics, meditation, and liberating wisdom, have become “noble disciples.” These have seen it as a timeless reality beyond any form or suffering (Pali: dukkha) and any type of rebirth; and the highest noble disciple, the arhat, has fully experienced it and gone beyond rebirths

24. What is it to be “Enlightened” or “Awakened”? [+–] 116-119

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

The term bodhi means “enlightenment” or “awakening.” At bodhi, according to one Pali text, there arises “vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light.” “Bodhi” is related to the verb meaning “understand,” so it is an awakening from ignorance. As an “awakening,” bodhi does not mean the awakening of something, i.e., a beginning of something, but a final awakening from delusion, etc. and to deep insight into the nature of reality. To be enlightened, in a Buddhist sense, is to be completely free of any attachment, hatred, or delusion; to have experienced the complete destruction of greed, craving, grasping, and clinging, whether in attachment to certain things or aversion to them, and the destruction of spiritual ignorance in the sense of an ingrained blindness to, and misperception of, the nature of reality.

25. What Kinds of “Saints” does Buddhism have? [+–] 120-124

University of Sunderland

Arjuna Ranatunga holds an MA in Buddhist Studies from the University of Sunderland.

According to every school of Buddhism, people can be divided into different categories and, between schools, there is some overlap. Generally speaking, there are ordinary people, noble disciples, bodhisattvas, and buddhas. People who are following the Buddhist path can move upwards through these categories, to some extent.

What the Buddha Taught (2) Meditation

26. Why do Buddhists Meditate? [+–] 126-129

Sarah Shaw

University of Oxford

Sarah Shaw is a Member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford and Honorary Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies.

Why would anyone want to practice meditation? The best answer comes from the life stories of the Buddha and his awakened followers. It is sometimes said that wisdom is more important than meditation in Buddhism. But wisdom, the Buddha said, needs meditation, just as meditation needs wisdom (Dhammapada verse 282). And if we look at the stories of the Buddha and his followers after their awakening, we find they all still like to practice meditation. It was not just a necessary chore on the way to enlightenment. They clearly enjoyed it, and found it was where their minds felt most at home. Perhaps that is the reason why most other Buddhists meditate too and find it so helpful for daily life.

27. What is “Mindfulness” in Buddhism, and does it Differ from Modern Secular “Mindfulness”? [+–] 130-135

Tse-fu Kuan

Yuan Ze University

Tse-fu Kuan is Associate Professor at Yuan Ze University, Taiwan. He works on early Buddhist literature in Pali and Chinese.

The quasi-term “mindfulness” is an English translation of sati in Pali or smṛti in Sanskrit. This Indic word originally meant “memory,” but the Buddha assigned the word new meanings consonant with his own system of thought. “Mindfulness” has become the most popular English translation or even the only possible translation of sati. What does “mindfulness” mean in the context of early Buddhism? How does it differ from modern secular “mindfulness”? These are the questions I attempt to address.

28. What Kinds of Meditation are there in Buddhism? [+–] 136-140

University of Chester

Dhivan Thomas Jones is a Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies
at the University of Chester. His research is mainly in the area of early
Buddhist philosophy.

Meditation in Buddhism is too diverse to be systematized, but this diversity is deceptive. Borrowing words from the Buddha, the many kinds of meditation in Buddhism have one taste: the taste of liberation. I will summarize the range under six headings, which are also some of the various words in Buddhism for what we call “meditation,” including the word bhāvanā or “development,” the most important term for the cultivation of positive states.

29. What is the Role of Chanting in Buddhism? [+–] 141-145

Ven Renru Tang

Lancaster University

Xiaoqi Tang is a PhD student of Religious Studies at Lancaster University, UK. Her research interests are Buddhist women, Buddhist chaplains, and the professionalization of Chinese Buddhist monastics.

Chanting enables Buddhists to understand and follow the Buddhist path. It can help people come close to the virtues of the Buddha, as well as improving their health and reducing their nervousness.

Monasticism and Lay People in Buddhism

30. What is the Role of Monasticism in Buddhism? [+–] 148-152

Ann Heirman

University of Ghent

Ann Heirman is Professor of Chinese Language and Culture and head of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at Ghent University in Belgium.

Buddhist monasticism has played a highly influential role in the study, dissemination, and impact of Buddhism. Indeed, monastics may be seen as both the guardians and the transmitters of Buddhist culture, particularly in Asia. Consequently, it is safe to say that Buddhist history—and, by extension, Asian history—would have developed very differently in their absence.

31. How does One become Ordained? [+–] 153-156

Ann Heirman

University of Ghent

Ann Heirman is Professor of Chinese Language and Culture and head of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at Ghent University in Belgium.

There are a number of significant differences in ordination practice across the Buddhist world. That said, at the very least, most regions continue to observe the traditional ordination stages of novice followed by full ordination.

32. What Rules do Monastics Follow? [+–] 157-162

Alice Collett

University of St Andrews

Alice Collett received her Ph.D. from Cardiff University (UK) in 2004. Since then, she has worked in several universities in Europe, North America and Asia. Her research specialism is women in early Indian Buddhism, a subject on which she has published many journal articles, books and book chapters. Her most recent book is I Hear Her Words: An Introduction to Women in Buddhism. She has also received several grants and awards to develop her research, including awards from the Arts and Humanities Council of Great Britain, Numata, and The Spalding Trust. Prof. Collett has delivered many academic papers and public lectures on her research, having been invited to various countries around the world to lecture on the topic, including, for example, a public lecture at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, a conference paper for the Buddhism and Orientalism conference at the University of Toronto and a public lecture on women in early Buddhist inscriptions as part of an ancient world lecture series for the York Festival of Ideas (UK). As well as her role as General Editor for Buddhist Studies Review, she also serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Buddhist Ethics, and the Academic Advisory Board for Asian Languages and Literatures.

The monastic code of Buddhism is called the Vinaya. These rules govern all aspects of a monastic life, and both individual and communal behavior. For the individual monk and nun, the rules range from those concerned with the most serious types of immoral, dangerous, or illegal behavior, such as murder and other sorts of violence, to simple and minor matters of decorum or etiquette, such as how to behave courteously when visiting the home of lay followers.

33. What is the Position of Nuns in Buddhism? [+–] 163-167

Ann Heirman

University of Ghent

Ann Heirman is Professor of Chinese Language and Culture and head of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at Ghent University in Belgium.

Notwithstanding their typically subordinate status, throughout history and in every Buddhist region, charismatic female teachers have emerged and female monastics have played significant social roles. Indeed, this is increasingly true today, with nuns playing leading roles in numerous social activities in Taiwan, for instance. Finally, it should be remembered that female lay Buddhist devotees have had a significant impact throughout the religion’s history, and they continue to be actively engaged in countless institutions, societies, and movements, many of which help to give Buddhism a distinctly feminine face.

34. What is the Role of Lay Buddhists? [+–] 168-171

Alice Collett

University of St Andrews

While there is disagreement within and between Buddhist traditions about what may or may not constitute genuine ordination, the variety of roles for laity are not usually problematic, especially as they generally continue to center around the prescribed roles of supporting the monastic community and ethical practice.

35. Does Buddhism Support Gender Equality? [+–] 172-175

Alice Collett

University of St Andrews

Historically, many Buddhist traditions around the world have treated women as inferior to men. There is, however, nothing in basic Buddhist ethical principles or foundational Buddhist doctrine that supports such a view. Quite the opposite, in fact. The basic answer to the question, therefore, is that Buddhism supports gender equality in principle, but Buddhist traditions have not always done so in practice. The reason for this is likely ingestion of social norms and cultural values from traditional societies, which considered women to be inferior to men, as these are the types of societies within which Buddhism first arose and existed for centuries.

36. What is the Role of Preaching in Buddhism? [+–] 176-179

Mahinda Deegalle

Bath Spa University

Mahinda Deegalle is Professor of Religions, Philosophies and Ethics, Bath Spa University, UK. He publishes primarily on Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and his research concentrates on Buddhism, Conflict, Violence, and the Ethics of War.

Preaching was an ancient method of teaching within Buddhism. The Buddha himself used and displayed abundant skill in preaching his message effectively. Yet, after two and a half millennia, preaching remains vital in Buddhism, making Buddhism one of the most significant Asian contributions to human civilization, holding the attention of large gatherings, influencing their thought and practice, and taking a prominent place in ritual and festivals.

Development of Buddhism: Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism

37. How did Buddhism Relate to the Brahmanism of the Buddha’s Day, and Later Hinduism? [+–] 182-187

University of Cambridge

The relationship between Buddhism at its origins and Brahmanism is a still much-debated topic. Although nineteenth- and some early-twentieth-century discussions of Buddhism represented the Buddha as something like a reformist who learned from but corrected teachings of his day, most scholarship has now retired the simplistic hypothesis that Buddhism “emerged from Brahmanism,” let alone from something that we can accurately call “Hinduism.”

38. What Splits were there in Buddhism in the Early Centuries? [+–] 188-192

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

Just after the Buddha’s passing away (c. 404 bce), a “communal recitation” (council) of 500 enlightened monks was held to agree the contents of the Buddha’s teachings and the monastic discipline (Vinaya) he had developed. Perhaps seventy years later, another council was held to guard against laxity among some monks, and, a further sixteen year later, the first schism in the previously unified monastic community (Sangha) occurred; other such schisms followed.

39. What are the Main Contemporary Divisions in Buddhism: Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna? [+–] 193-198

University of Cambridge

It is frequently said that in the world today there are three types of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. This is certainly true, although it is wrong to think of these as monolithic entities, or as three “schools” or “sects” that differ from each other in simple matters of belief. Each of these labels has a complex history, and refers to families of still very diverse modes of Buddhist thought and practice across different regions and periods of Asian and, more recently, global religious history.

40. What is the ‘Hīnayāna’? [+–] 199-201

University of Birmingham

The term “Hinayana” has been used in three broad ways, one of which can be seen as a misrepresentation that has caused hurt to Theravada Buddhists. The term literally means lesser or lower (hina) vehicle or way (yāna). It was first used by Mahayana Buddhists to denote the early Buddhist schools that they were breaking away from. They used it together with the term śrāvakayāna, or vehicle of the hearers/listeners. It is found, for instance, in some ancient Chinese sources. In this setting, the term expressed the conviction of Mahayana Buddhists that their ways of seeing the Buddhist path and its goal were superior to the early schools of those who “heard” the Buddha’s teaching and became enlightened as arhats.

41. What is Zen Buddhism? [+–] 202-206

Hiroko Kawanami

Lancaster University

Hiroko Kawanami is a Professor in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University, UK. She is known as a specialist in Myanmar Buddhism but has also conducted fieldwork in several Buddhist countries.

The term “zen” originated from the pronunciation of djan which became chan in Chinese, deriving from dhyāna in Sanskrit or jhāna in Pali, meaning a state of “absorption” in the practice of Buddhist meditation. Chan is a school of Mahayana Buddhism, the roots of which lie in sixth-century China, and which spread to other countries in East Asia after the eighth century. It was introduced to Japan as Zen Buddhism in the twelfth to thirteenth centuries by two Japanese monks, Eisai and Dogen, who traveled to China to study the Buddhist scriptures and methods of practice.

42. What is Pure Land Buddhism? [+–] 207-211

Wendy Dossett

University of Chester

Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies
Department of Theology and Religious Studies

Pure Land Buddhism is an umbrella term for a variety of schools of Mahayana Buddhism which draw on the three Pure Land Sutras. It is characterized by gratitude and devotion to the Buddha Amitābha, more commonly known by his Japanese name, Amida. There is evidence of Pure Land thought in Northern India/Central Asia in the first century of the Common Era, and it was to become dominant among a variety of traditions practiced in East Asia, and particularly in Japan.

43. What is the Role of the Dalai Lama? [+–] 212-216

Cathy Cantwell

University of Oxford and University of Kent

The Dalai Lama is sometimes described in Western sources as a “god-king,” or sometimes depicted as a kind of Buddhist Pope. These presentations indicate something of the Dalai Lama’s significance in Tibet—his spiritually advanced status, his political centrality, and the religious institution associated with him—yet, in many ways, they are misleading.

44. What is the Bodhisattva Vow? [+–] 217-219

Nick Swann

University of South Wales

Nick Swann is a Senior Lecturer in Buddhist Studies at University of South Wales, UK. His research interests include Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Tantra, and Anthropology and Religion.

The bodhisattva vow concerns (a) a commitment to cultivate the perfections of a buddha and (b) the aspiration to achieve buddhahood in order to benefit all sentient beings. This is in contrast to the kinds of awakened beings who enter final nirvana upon physical death, individually escaping saṃsāra’s round of birth and rebirth and leaving others behind. The bodhisattva vow is overwhelmingly associated with Mahayana and Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, but bodhisattvas are identified in contemporary Southern (Theravada) traditions too.

45. What is Buddha-Nature? [+–] 220-222

University of Cambridge

Mahayana Buddhism was responsible for a great many doctrinal innovations that mainstream Buddhism in India rejected. Among these was the controversial but ultimately influential idea that all sentient beings, across their successive lives, possess at all times the nature of a buddha already, but that this is somehow hidden about them, obscured by afflictions or negative characteristics such as ignorance, desire, hatred, pride, and so forth. Forms of Buddhanature teaching pervade prominent types of Buddhism that developed in Tibet and in East Asia. But, in its original Indian context, Buddha-nature teaching was very radical, in essence because it at least seems to reimagine the purpose of Buddhist practice from the transformation or development of oneself—from a state of affliction to a state of being liberated or “awakened”—to the discovery or disclosure of a nature that is already there, a perspective reminiscent of what is found in other Indian religious traditions such as Brahmanism or Jainism.

46. What are the Meanings of “Emptiness” in Mahāyāna Buddhism? [+–] 223-227

University of Cambridge

Few aspects of Mahayana Buddhism have attracted as much attention as teachings about emptiness (Sanskrit: śūnyatā), or otherwise the claim that all phenomena that we experience are somehow empty (śūnya). Most traditions of Mahayana Buddhism accept in some fashion the assertion that “all things are empty,” even though there are many ways, in India and elsewhere, in which this claim has been developed and expounded. The Yogacara (or Vijñānavāda) school of philosophy understands emptiness in terms of the non-duality of “perceiving subject” and “perceived object,” and teaches a mental continuum that only imagines these to be separate realities. Some types of Mahayana literature, such as those concerned with Buddha-nature, attempt to square emptiness teachings with their own affirmative claims about what does, ultimately, exist; the true nature of the mind is adorned with positive qualities, but is fundamentally “empty” of any number of unwholesome characteristics that accrue and are “other” to it. The discussion that follows privileges a particularly influential understanding of teachings about emptiness associated with the Madhyamaka school of thought, which interprets emptiness as a “middle” (madhyama) between the erroneous view that things exist as we commonly perceive them, and that they are complete fictions that do not exist at all.

47. Is Tantric Buddhism Just about Sex? [+–] 228-231

Nick Swann

University of South Wales

Nick Swann is a Senior Lecturer in Buddhist Studies at University of South Wales, UK. His research interests include Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Tantra, and Anthropology and Religion.

The short answer is “no.” Tantric sex—or more correctly “sexual yoga”—is a real phenomenon but that does not mean that it is practiced extensively, or by all tantric practitioners, or in a literal sense (in contrast to a visualized, imagined, sense in a meditational context), or all of the time.

48. Why are There so Many Different Celestial Beings in Tibetan Buddhism? [+–] 232-236

Cathy Cantwell

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Why so many deities? There are Mahayana buddha and bodhisattva figures, as well as tantric deities. There are numerous different lineages for transmission of different tantric deity practices, with the possibility of further creative transformations of the practices in each generation. Furthermore, the many deities have qualities suitable for different practitioners and occasions.

Buddhist Art and Material Culture

49. What are the Main Buildings and Symbols of Buddhism? [+–] 238-247

University of Sunderland

Arjuna Ranatunga holds an MA in Buddhist Studies from the University of Sunderland.

Buddhism began as a religion of simplicity and modesty, but as it grew and spread over the centuries its expression became increasingly ornate and elaborate in terms of both buildings and symbols.

50. Why do Buddhists Make Art? [+–] 248-253

Christian Luczanits

SOAS

Christian Luczanits is David L. Snellgrove Senior Lecturer in Tibetan and Buddhist Art at the Department of the History of Art and Archaeology, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

There is no term for “art” in Buddhist literature. Instead, the terms used make clear that what we understand as art today was made for a purpose. Buddhist texts also rarely explain this purpose, so the information has to be pieced together from scant references and the visual evidence itself. In the following, I focus on the Buddhist art of India and Tibet and consider the purpose of art parallel to the historical development of Buddhism.

51. What is a Mandala? [+–] 254-258

Christian Luczanits

SOAS

The mandala is first and foremost a ritual tool. In its simplest form, it consists of a square space marked by protective features and a circle of deities within it. The ground marks a purified space to which deities can be invited during the ritual.

52. How is Buddhism Influencing Contemporary Art? [+–] 259-263

Tim Stephens

University of the Arts, London

Tim Stephens is an Education Developer, with a specialism in Curriculum, at University of the Arts London and a photographic artist. His research interests include embodiment, the relationship between cognitive and non-cognitive experience, equality, and organizational change.

Buddhist-inspired, Buddhist-influenced artists, some from Buddhist heritage countries, influenced international contemporary art, not least in the disappearance of the art “object,” from the mid-twentieth century onwards. Contemporary art merged with everyday life, using a vast variety of ephemeral materials, performances, actions, words, and events, no longer confined to drawing, painting, sculpture, or film, but including light, sound, energy, “time-motion.” This is, generally speaking, an art of immanence.

Buddhism and Other Religions

53. How has Buddhism been Influenced by Other Religious Traditions? [+–] 266-271

Sophie Barker

Lancaster University

Sophie Barker is reading for a PhD in Religious Studies at Lancaster University. Her research explores the role of narrative in the transmission of the Dhamma in the Pali Tipiṭaka.

Although the questions I am addressing use the term “religion” to refer to Buddhism and those it has encountered, its use is problematic. With this in mind, what I intend to convey through these questions is twofold: (1) that Buddhism itself is a diverse tradition that has encountered a kaleidoscope of influential individuals and groups, advocating competing views and ways of life; and (2) that Buddhism has been shaped and influenced by its interactions with others, while also shaping and influencing those it has encountered.

54. How do Buddhists View Other Religious Traditions and What Kind of Interreligious Encounters are Buddhists Involved in Now? [+–] 272-277

University of Birmingham

Buddhists today are not united in their attitude to other religions. Generally, though, Buddhists prefer coexistence to confrontation with people of other religions and have only turned to defensive action when they have seen a threat to Buddhism. They have also relished rigorous, but respectful, interreligious debate.

Buddhism and Ethics

55. What Vows do Buddhists Take? [+–] 280-283

Nick Swann

University of South Wales

Nick Swann is a Senior Lecturer in Buddhist Studies at University of South Wales, UK. His research interests include Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Tantra, and Anthropology and Religion.

It is not necessary to take any precepts in order to be a Buddhist (“taking refuge” in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha is enough for this) but many Buddhists do, voluntarily. The number of precepts and the attitude toward them varies across different Buddhist cultures and also depends on whether one is a lay Buddhist or a monk or nun. The focus of this “answer” is on lay precepts. The five basic precepts for lay people are: • avoid killing (onslaught on living beings); • avoid taking what is not given; • avoid sexual misconduct; • avoid wrong speech; • avoid intoxication.

56. Are Buddhists Pacifists? [+–] 284-288

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

In line with the key Buddhist ideal of loving-kindness and compassion for all beings, including those who might be seen as “enemies,” one of the four most serious rules that Buddhist monks and nuns are required to follow is to avoid intentional killing of a human being. To break this rule entails permanent exclusion from the monastic order, apart from any legal repercussions. There have, though, been some examples of going against the rule, as I will explain.

57. Are Buddhists Vegetarian? [+–] 289-292

University of Chester

Dhivan Thomas Jones is a Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies
at the University of Chester. His research is mainly in the area of early
Buddhist philosophy.

As a matter of fact, many Buddhists are not vegetarian, and neither was the Buddha a vegetarian. But, as an ethical principle, vegetarianism does follow from the Buddhist principle of non-harming (ahiṃsā), and many Asian and Western Buddhists forego meat eating out of compassion for farmed animals.

58. Does Buddhism have Rules for Marriage and Family Life? [+–] 293-296

Alice Collett

University of St Andrews

Buddhist ethics are based on the principle of ahiṃsā, or nonharm, and this is the governing principle for all aspects of both monastic and lay life, thus equally for marriage and family life.

59. How do Buddhist View Suicide and Self-immolation? [+–] 297-301

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

Buddhism sees being born as a human as a rare and precious opportunity for spiritual development, as well as for the pleasures that are also part of human life. Suicide both wastes this opportunity for oneself and also deprives others of benefits that one may bring to them. Moreover, suicide is an act that will bring grief to friends and relatives, and so, if for no other reason, is to be avoided.

60. What is Engaged Buddhism? [+–] 302-306

Tim Stephens

University of the Arts, London

The Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926) coined the term “engaged Buddhism” in the 1960s to stress the necessity of an active involvement with social suffering in the context of the Vietnam War. The notion of engaged Buddhism focused the awareness and compassion of Buddhist practice on the conflict, organized monastic and lay Buddhists in networks of peace activism and welfare aid, and proposed concrete ways for ending the war.

61. What is the Relationship between Buddhism and Politics? [+–] 307-312

Brian Black

University of Lancaster

On the one hand, many Buddhist teachings tend to discourage engagement with politics in favor of a monastic life. On the other hand, throughout its history, Buddhist institutions have relied on government support for its survival and have actively sought the patronage of politicians, aristocrats, and merchants.

62. How Important is Compassion in Buddhism? [+–] 313-317

Pyi Phyo Kyaw

Shan State Buddhist University, Taunggyi, Myanmar

Pyi Phyo Kyaw is Dean of Academic Affairs and Lecturer in Theravada Studies at Shan State Buddhist University, Taunggyi, Myanmar. She is also a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College, London, UK. She specializes in Burmese Buddhism, Abhidhamma (Theravada analytical philosophy), Theravada meditation, Buddhist business practices, and Buddhist ethics.

Compassion (Pali and Sanskrit: karuṇā) is central to Buddhism, even to its very existence. Buddhism was founded when the Buddha decided to teach the Dharma, the truth that he had realized, out of compassion for all sentient beings caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of rebirth and inevitable suffering. Because understanding the Dharma is key to liberation from saṃsāra, the Buddhist tradition, which extols generosity, regards the gift of the Dharma as the highest gift of all.

63. Is Non-attachment Compatible with Compassion? [+–] 318-320

University of Birmingham

Both non-attachment and compassion are important qualities in Buddhism; but, to the outsider, they can seem to pull in opposite directions. “Non-attachment” seems to point toward indifference to the world or withdrawal from life. Compassion, on the other hand, seems to speak of active engagement with the sufferings and pain of humanity. In the Buddhist world view, however, the two are utterly compatible with each other. Not only this, both are essential on the Buddhist path toward awakening/enlightenment.

Buddhism and Contemporary Issues

64. What do Buddhists Think about Sex? [+–] 322-326

Amy Langenberg

Eckerd College

Amy Langenberg is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Eckerd College in Florida.

What do Buddhists think about sex? The historical and living Buddhist traditions scholars have studied demonstrate that Buddhists inevitably think (and do) many things about sex. They are ascetics but they are also libertines. They are straight but they are also queer. They are ethical but they are also abusers. The thoughts and experiences of less-studied Buddhists—especially the sexually and racially minoritized and the abused—have been far less legible to scholarly observers. But that doesn’t make them less Buddhist.

65. What do Buddhists Think about Those who are LGBTQI? [+–] 327-331

Sal Campbell

Birkbeck College, University of London

Sal Campbell is an academic writing specialist at Birkbeck College, University of London. As a nonbinary queer Buddhist, they are concerned with understanding sexuality and gender in the context of Buddhist ethics and practice.

Overall, Buddhism is not centrally concerned with control of non-normative sexuality or gender identity, and primarily focuses on the mitigation of sexual desire in general, in order to help practicing Buddhists avoid distraction.

66. Should Buddhism be Taught in Schools? [+–] 332-336

Denise Cush

Bath Spa University

Denise Cush was Professor of Religion and Education and Head of Department of Study of Religions at Bath Spa University.

Yes! However, it does depend on what sort of school, which country the schools are in, whether the pupils are Buddhist, what you mean by “teaching” and what you understand by “Buddhism”.

67. Are Alcohol and Drugs ever Acceptable to Buddhists? [+–] 337-340

Wendy Dossett

University of Chester

Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies
Department of Theology and Religious Studies

The answer to this question depends in part on whether Buddhism is understood as a lived and changing tradition or whether it is understood through apparently timeless ethical principles. If the former, then there is plenty of evidence that drugs and alcohol have been and are acceptable to Buddhists in different settings around the globe. Tempting though it may be to respond with “it didn’t ought to be,” thus giving the role of judge to certain written and oral texts, namely the five precepts, it is more productive to explore the role, function, and interpretation of those texts in diverse Buddhist communities over time.

68. Are Human Rights Compatible with Buddhism? [+–] 341-345

Damien Vincent Keown

Goldsmiths College

Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Ethics
History Department
Goldsmiths College
University of London

Globalization has accelerated the exchange of ideas to such a point that it is hard to imagine there are many Buddhists who would reject the idea of human rights outright. Indeed, the concept is now so central to contemporary ethical, social, and political discourse that it is doubtful we could do without it. Accordingly, we can give a generally affirmative answer to the question posed at the start. It may be helpful, however, when reflecting on this topic, to keep in mind a distinction between the substantive aims of human rights and the conceptual nature of the vehicle chosen to deliver them.

69. What does Buddhism have to Say about Race? [+–] 346-351

Tim Stephens

University of the Arts, London

If American Independence emphasized “individual” rights and freedoms, the French revolution, “collective” rights and freedoms, a type of Buddhist-informed international, anti-racist pluralism would emphasize both acts of individual self-awareness and “external mindfulness.”

70. Are Buddhists Active in Ecological Movements and Protecting the Environment to Mitigate Climate Change? [+–] 352-355

Alex Owens

Lancaster University

Alex Owens is a PhD student based at Lancaster University, UK. His work is on Buddhism’s engagement with the West, religion, and the environment, and his recent thesis focused on the genealogy of the Indra’s Net metaphor.

The climate crisis is something that affects each and every one of us today. Although environmental concern was present in early Buddhist texts, this concern meant something different when the texts were compiled. It was more localized in scale and far removed from today’s global crisis. So, modern Buddhist ecological activists have had to innovate, engaging with debates outside of their tradition in order to create new Buddhist models. To answer the question, then: yes, Buddhists are active in ecological movements, and, through figures such as the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, the tradition as a whole is increasingly seen as “green”.

71. How do Buddhists Relate to the Methods of Science? [+–] 356-359

Tim Stephens

University of the Arts, London

Some might see science as providing a type of modern common sense, or set of facts, and religion as offering traditional, commonly held beliefs, or sets of practices, with neither having much to say about the other. After all, the first seems to obtain its authority from math, the second from faith. Yet Buddhists seem to be seen as, and open to seeing themselves as, both religious and scientific. How has this come about?

72. What is the Buddhist Attitude to Modern Technology? [+–] 360-363

Nick Swann

University of South Wales

Nick Swann is a Senior Lecturer in Buddhist Studies at University of South Wales, UK. His research interests include Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Tantra, and Anthropology and Religion.

Historically, Buddhists have been comfortable taking available technology and domesticating it to help them be better Buddhists and/or to help preserve and spread Buddhist teachings.

Emergent Buddhism

73. What is Secular Buddhism? [+–] 366-369

Tim Stephens

University of the Arts, London

Secular Buddhism attempts to be neither colonial nor paternalistic. Secular Buddhism finds in the life of the historical Buddha insights into the potential for freedom in a contemporary, egalitarian culture, including less dogmatic forms of both science and spirituality.

74. How do Buddhists View Artificial Intelligence? [+–] 370-373

Ralph Quinlan

Ralph Quinlan Forde has an honors degree in Biotechnology from the University of Reading and an MA in Buddhist Studies from the University of South Wales. His research interests include artificial intelligence.

Buddhism can help humanity and world leaders to deal with the existential crisis and ethical debate attached to our journey toward The Singularity. By 2045, we will be living as post-humans alongside cyborgs, mind clones, and digital humans. The guidance Buddhist ethics can bring to the various ethical boards that are being created will be relevant to 520 million Buddhists globally and other world religions, too, as they try to integrate the paradigm shifts emerging from AI advances.

75. Is Western Buddhism a New Form of Buddhism? [+–] 374-378

Sarah Shaw

University of Oxford

Sarah Shaw is a Member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford and Honorary Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies.

There is an increased emphasis on secularism, on rationalism even, and on a Buddhism that is perceived as less devotional than earlier kinds. Lay meditative practice is also becoming more prominent as well as a sense of the individualist search that might not align itself with any particular group.

End Matter

Index 379-390