If you are interested in knowing more about Buddhism, but have little to no experience with it.  We highly recommend reading this introduction to Buddhism.  We have compiled many frequently asked questions, and provided answers to help you better understand some of these topics.Some of the topics discussed are:

WHO FOUNDED BUDDHISM? WHO AND/OR WHAT DO BUDDHISTS WORSHIP?WHO IS A BUDDHA? IS BUDDHISM A RELIGION? HOW CAN BUDDHISM HELP ME? WAS THE BUDDHA A GOD? ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BUDDHISM? IS BUDDHISM SCIENTIFIC? WHAT DID THE BUDDHA TEACH? DO BUDDHISTS BELIEVE IN HEAVEN AND HELL? WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING VEGETARIAN? WHAT IS BUDDHISM’S VIEW ON DEATH?WHY OBSERVE PRECEPTS? THE FIVE PRECEPTS THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS WHAT IS THE NOBLE 8-FOLD PATH? 

Who founded Buddhism?Buddhism originated approximately 2,500 years ago in northern India (now Nepal with the supreme enlightenment of and subsequent teachings by Sakyamuni Buddha. Born around 600 B.C. to King Suddodhana ruler of the Sakya clan, Saykyamuni Buddha was originally named Prince Siddhartha Gautama.  In childhood he led a pampered life of royal wealth sheltered from the world’s miseries. But, when as a young man he was at last allowed to venture from the palace, he saw four sights: A decrepit old man, a person wracked with disease, a corpse, and a monk.  He thus learned of life’s inevitable sufferings (old age, sickness, and death) and the transience of all worldly pleasure.  He also saw that the wise monastic had found peace in spite of life’s ills.Determined to find a way to be free from these troubles, Prince Siddhartha renounced his crown and family, and embarked on his journey to seek the truth.  After years of cultivation, he attained supreme enlightenment and was thence known as Sakyamuni (meaning “sage of the Sakya clan”) Buddha.  Out of endless compassion, Sakyamuni Buddha shared his teachings so that others could also discover the Middle Path to end all suffering. 

Who and/or what do Buddhists worship?Buddhists trust in:

• The Buddha as a great teacher and exemplar;
• The Dharma, i.e. the Buddha’s teachings as a guide to enlightenment and essential truth; and 
• The Sangha, i.e. the Buddhist community, particularly monastic who teaches the Dharma and guide one along the path to enlightenment.  Veneration of this “Triple Gem” is central to Buddhist life.

Who is a Buddha?A Buddha is not a god, but rather one who, through complete wisdom and compassion, has attained full enlightenment and is thus beyond the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.  A Buddha exemplifies the highest form of morality and is the supreme teacher showing people the way to relieve suffering.  The word “Buddha” is derived from the root budh meaning “to awaken and be aware or completely conscious of.  Buddhists believe that all beings have the Buddha nature, i.e. the potential to become a Buddha.Cultivating and awakening this potential is what Buddhism is all about.  According to the Mahayana thoughts, there are many Buddhas.  When Buddhists speak of “the” Buddha, however, they are usually referring to Saykyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

Who is a Bodhisattva? “Bodhi” means “enlightenment”; “sattva” means “sentient being.”  A Bodhisattva is one who is following the path to enlightenment.  In so doing, a Bodhisattva altruistically chooses to put off his/her own final stage of enlightenment in order to complete alleviate the suffering of others.  He/She practices the virtues of generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness, and even-mindedness to perfection and without self-interest.  There are said to be an infinite number of Bodhisattvas.  Mahayana Buddhists place particular em0phasis on the importance of the Bodhisattva and the Bodhisattva Path as the way to realize one’s Buddha nature.

Is Buddhism a Religion?To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or ‘way of life’.  It is a philosophy because philosophy means ‘love of wisdom’ and the Buddhist path can be summed up as:

1. to lead a moral life
2. to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and
3. to develop wisdom and understanding.

How Can Buddhism Help Me? Buddhism explains a purpose to life, it explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world and it provides a code of practice or way of life that leads to true happiness.Was the Buddha a God?He was not, nor did he claim to be.  He was a man who taught a path to enlightenment from his own experience. 

Do Buddhists Worship Idols?Buddhists sometimes pay respect to images of the Buddha, not in worship, nor to ask for favors.  A statue of the Buddha with hands rested gently in its lap and a compassionate smile reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves.  Bowing to the statue is an expression of gratitude for the teaching.

Why are so Many Buddhist Counties Poor?One of the Buddhist teachings is that wealth does not guarantee happiness and also wealth is impermanent.  The people of every country suffer whether rich or poor, but those who understand Buddhist teachings can find true happiness.

Are There Different Types of Buddhism?There are many different types of Buddhism, because the emphasis changes from country to country due to customs and culture.  What does not vary is the essence of the teaching – the Dharma or truth.

Is Buddhism Scientific? Science is knowledge which can be made into a system, which depends upon seeing and testing facts and stating general natural laws.  The core of Buddhism fit into this definition, because the Four Noble Truths (see below) can be tested and proven by anyone in fact the Buddha himself asked his followers to test the teaching rather than accept his word as true.  Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith.

What did the Buddha Teach?The Buddha taught man things, but the basic concepts in Buddhism can be summed up by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

Do Buddhists believe in heaven and hell?Buddhists cosmology includes a variety of heavens and hells into which a being may be born.  Existence in any of them, however long, is not forever.  Thus, one can “fall” from a heaven or “rise” from a hell.  Buddhist texts contain vivid descriptions of different heavens and hells which, from one perspective, make them appear as actual locations.  On another level, because heavens and hells arise due to the relative presence or absence of the Three Poisons (ignorance, anger, and greed), they are also part of the human world.Heavens should not be confused with what Buddhist call Nirvana.  While heavens may be enjoyable, they are not complete liberation from ignorance, anger, and greed, and are thus still part of the life-death cycle.  Nirvana, however, is perfectly free from the Three Poisons, and is therefore outside of the realms of existence.  It is often said that Nirvana is the ultimate goal of Buddhists.

What is the Buddhist concept of rebirth?Buddhists views death as exiting one realm of existence and entering another.  The cycle of rebirth into countless lives continues until final enlightenment and Nirvana occur.  Rebirth is not the same as reincarnation, as Buddhists do not perceive an eternal soul which migrates to a new physical form. Rather, the body and mind are continually changing; death is merely another change.  While body and mind are impermanent, they are also interrelated throughout time and space.  Every voluntary action produced by one’s body, speech, and mind will have consequences, either in the current life or a future one.   This is the principle of karma and it incorporates what Buddhists know as the Law of Cause and Effect.  Karma is thus a system of ethics which maintains that good deeds result in positive effects, while bad deeds produce negative results.  If a voluntary action is said to be a seed, then the outcome is the fruit. 

Why do Buddhists chant?Chanting gives the opportunity to learn, reinforce, and reflect upon various Buddhist teachings, as well as venerate Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the virtues they embody.  There are many different chants, the texts of which are usually either entire sutras (teachings of the Buddha), Dharanis (essences of sutras), mantras (short symbolic phrases), or the names of particular Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.  Times for chanting vary, but monastics generally chant each morning and evening.  Chanting is often and evening.  Chanting is often an integral part of Buddhist ceremonies. Special chanting services provide participants with an extended period of spiritual cultivation through chanting.

What is the importance of being vegetarian? Out of sincere respect for all life and the First Precept to refrain from killing, many Chinese Buddhists are vegetarian.  In other words, being a vegetarian is a way to practice compassion.  Vegetarianism is also consistent with the Buddhist concepts of universal interrelationship and rebirth.  With the concepts of rebirth, humans may be other forms of life in their past and/or future live, thus it follows that an animal could be seen as synonymous with destroying one’s own relatives.  While the traditional Buddhist scriptures do no mandate vegetarianism, Fo Guang (Chinese pronunciation, means Buddha’s Light) monastics must take a vow to not eat meat.  Lay followers, however, are not required to do so.  If not daily vegetarians, however, many Buddhists observe a vegetarian diet during retreats, Dharma functions, and holidays.  A vegetarian luncheon buffet is available for all visitors at Guang Ming Temple’s dining hall.

What Buddhist festivals are celebrated? When and how?There are a number of Buddhist festivals celebrated throughout the year, of which the most important is the commemoration of Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.  There are three days to be honored:     April 8th – Buddha’s Birthday     December 8th – Dharma Day (celebration of     Sakyamuni Buddha’s Enlightenment Day)     July 15th – Sangha Day Sakyamuni Buddha’s Birthday is also called the Bathing Buddha Festival.  According to legend, there were many auspicious signs on the day he was born.  One of the miraculous phenomena was he walded seven steps forward and at each step, a lotus flower sprang up from the ground.  With one arm raised upward and one finger pointed downward, he then declared: ‘Above heaven and on earth, I’m the supreme; and unique.’  Two dragons appeared in the sky, gently spurting two streams of purified water down, one warm and one cool, to bathe the prince.  Thereafter, when people celebrate the Buddha’s birthday, they use fragrant water to bathe the Buddha statue.  This ritual symbolizes the purification of our mind, signifying that it is easy to wash away our external impurities, however it is difficult to remove which is in our mind.Sakyamuni Buddha’s Enlightenment Day is commemorated in a Dharma function and is usually celebrated by participating in the “December 8th Congee,” which is prepared with eight vegetarian ingredients.  Before his enlightenment, price Siddhartha practiced a variety of asceticism, and reduced his diet until he was eating nothing at all, but still he could not succeed.  He then realized neither self mortification nor self-indulgence was the way; the only way to enlightenment should be the “Middle Path” between the two extremes.  Finally, he accepted the milk offered by a shepherdess to regain his energy.At the age of 35, while sitting under a bodhi tree in deep contemplation, he became enlightened.  In celebrating this day, the eating of the congee is to symbolize the nourishing of the physical body which is important in our practice of cultivation on the path to awakening.

What is Buddhism’s view on death? Death is the beginning of life; life is a preparation for death.  Life is a gathering of right conditions, and death is the dissolution of these conditions.  If there is no life there will be no death.  If there is no death there will be no life.  Life and death is a natural process.  There is rebirth after death, so there is no need to fear death.  Death is like a  flowing river; like matches burning out one after one.  However, the spark of fire (life)  is still there, so death does not mean total extinction.  When faced with death, one should feel the joy of going home after a long journey; facing death, one should feel the freedom of a prisoner released from jail; facing death, one should feel as natural as the autumn leaves returning to the earth; facing death, one should be as calm and serene as the bright moon hanging in the sky. 

Why observe Precepts?Taking refuge in the Triple Gem is the initial step to learning Buddhism while observing the precepts is implementing those learning into practice.  All Buddhists should observe the precepts after they have taken refuge in the Triple Gem as the precepts represent the foundation of all virtuous actions as well as the moral standard for the human race.  Taking precepts is very similar to students following the rules of their school or the people abiding by the common law in society.  The only difference is that the school rules and the law are external restrictions while Buddhist precepts are a form of self –discipline and are thus internal regulations.  If a person driving on a smooth expressway fails to obey the traffic laws accidents may be caused.  In the same way, if a person does not observe the precepts, then he will face the risk of breaking the rules and attracting troubles during his life.  Thus, it is essential for a Buddhist to observe the precepts.Precepts are divided into monastic precepts and lay precepts, or Mahayana Precepts and Hinayana Precepts.  The lay precepts include: the Five Precepts, Eight Abstentious Precepts and the Bodhisattva Precepts.

The Five PreceptsThe Five Precepts involve:

• No Killing
• No stealing
• No Sexual Misconduct
• No Lying (Dishonesty)
• No Intoxicants

The moral code within Buddhism is the precepts, of which the main five are: not to take the life of anything living, not to take anything not freely given, to abstain from sexual misconduct and sensual overindulgence, to refrain from untrue speech, and to avoid intoxication, that is, losing mindfulness. Contents of the Five Precepts.1. Not killing means not harming or terminating others’ lives.  This includes not killing any human beings, cockroaches, mouse or any insects, etc.  As Buddhism is an anthropocentric religion, this precept is manly aimed at not killing another human being as it is an unforgivable and major violation (Prarajika), and even repentance will not decrease the severity of the consequence of this violation.  While killing insects is still a violation (Duskrta), it is less severe compared to killing a person.Wasting time or destroying any form of resource is also considered a form of killing because Buddhism teaches that life is an accumulation of time.  The formation of materials or substances requires the dedication of time and effort, therefore wasting time wastes shared resources and thus is also considered to be a form of killing.The major goal of not killing is to develop our compassion.  The Nirvana Sutra stated: “Eating meat destroys the seed of compassion and a meat eater’s every action will terrify all beings due to their bodily scent of meat. “Therefore, the main reason Buddhists observe vegetarianism is to develop their sense of compassion and loving-kindness.  One may think that plants also have a life but a plant only has biological reactions while animals are conscious, thus eating plants is not considered to be killing.2.  No stealing means not encroaching upon other’s property and wealth.  To put it simply, taking anything that does not belong to oneself (either privately or publicly owned) without permission constitutes stealing, and to rob others in broad daylight is also a form of theft.  Stealing is a violation of a basic and important precept.  Taking public utensils and stationery for personal use or borrowing without returning may not be a violation of the precept but is considered as an impure act in Buddhism and inevitably, one will have to face the consequences of cause and effect.  Out of all the precepts, not stealing is one of the most difficult precepts to observe.3. No sexual misconduct means never having any sexual activities that occur outside a husband-wife relationship.  Thus, rape, prostitution, bigamy, seducing any other person who is not your marital partner, trading human beings, obstructing the happiness of other’s family life, and any other immoral sexual affairs are all violations of this precepts.  One who secretly loves a person but never takes any actions may not have violated this precept, however, if the mind is thinking impure thoughts then she/he will not be living a free life, because the purpose of taking precepts is to purify one’s body and mind.Sexual misconduct is the fuse to an unsettled society.  If a married couple does not commit any sexual misconduct, their family will be happy and harmonious and the moral standard of society will be maintained.    4. No lying means not speaking any frivolous words such as lying, slandering, harsh language, andwords which stir up trouble between other people.  Exaggeration is also a violation of this precept in   Buddhism.  In general, lying can be divided into Major Lies, Minor Lies, and Lies of Convenience.i. Major Lies – people who claim to have achieved enlightenment or supernatural powers but in fact   have not done so will have severely violated this precept.  Another serious infringement of this precept is criticizing the four categories of Buddhist disciples, in particular, the bhiksusand bhiksunis.ii. Minor Lies – to bear false witness, to misrepresent, to conceal the truth, or to fabricate are all called minor lying.iii. Lies of Convenience – this is called good intentioned misrepresentation.  For example, a   doctor may hide the true from a patient who is diagnosed with terminal illness in order to protect the patient’s emotional well-being.  All lies told for the benefit of other people are call lies of convenience.5. No intoxicants means mainly not drinking alcohol, but it also involves not taking any stimulus or  anything that causes one to lose conscience or conduct immoral behavior.  For example, Marijuana,  opium, amphetamine, sniffing glue, morphine, etc. must not be taken. The first four of the Five Precepts are ones that constrain behaviors that may cause sins or transgressions, thus, they are rules against evil deeds.  Not drinking alcohol is a feature of the Buddhist’s Five Precepts, because even though alcohol by itself is not a sin, it is still a major cause of loss in self-discipline and the commitment of crime, thus this final precept is a rule against acts that may obstruct the well-being of others.According to the Mahavibhasa  Sutra, there was layman in India who, after drinking alcohol, stole a chicken from his neighbor (a violation of the no stealing precept ) and then killed it for food to go with the alcohol (a violation of the no killing precept).  When his neighbor started to look for her chicken, the main lied to her by saying that he had not seen it (a violation of the no lying precept), at the same time, he saw how beautiful this neighbor was so he sexually harassed her ( a violation of the no sexual misconduct precept).  Drinking dulls one’s awareness of shame and conscience, and because of drinking, the precepts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and lying are violated.  Therefore, it is important to abstain from drinking.Buddhism is a religion that emphasizes wisdom and it is by not drinking that one remains sober, clear minded and wise.

The Four Noble TruthsAfter the Buddha gained enlightenment, the first sermon he preached was the Four Noble Truths.  The Four Noble Truths are:1. Suffering exists2. The cause of suffering3. The ending of suffering4. There is a way to stop the suffering The 1st Noble Truth – Suffering, dukkha existsThe first truth is that life is suffering i.e., life includes pain, getting old, disease, and ultimately death, We   also endure psychological suffering like loneliness frustration, fear, embarrassment, disappointment and anger.  This is an irrefutable fact that cannot be denied.  It is realistic rather than pessimistic because pessimism is expecting things to be bad. Instead, Buddhism explains how suffering can be avoided and how we can be truly happyThe Second Noble Truth – The cause of sufferingThe second truth is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion.  We will suffer if we expect other      people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want, etc.  In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness.  Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting.  Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness.  A lifetime of wanting and craving and especially the craving to cont8inue to exits, creates a powerful energy which causes the individual to be born.  So craving leads to physical suffering because it causes us to be reborn.The Third Noble Truth – The ending of sufferingThe third truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained; that true happiness and contentment are possible.  If we give up useless craving  and learn to live each day at a time (not dwelling in the past or the imagined future) then we can become happy and free.  We then have more time and energy to help others.  This is Nirvana.The Fourth Noble Truth – There is a way to stop the suffering    The fourth truth is that the Noble 8- fold Paths is the path which leads to the end of suffering.

What is the Noble 8-Fold Path?In summary, the Noble 8-fold Path is being moral (through what we say, do and our livelihood) focusing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts are actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others.