According to Buddha's teachings, everyone can aspire to Enlightenment. However, becoming a Buddhist practitioner involves a particular life discipline. Conclusion of our introduction to Buddhism.

Becoming Buddhist: A Life Choice and a Discipline to Follow

As Buddha affirmed, every human being can aspire to Enlightenment, so anyone who wishes can commit to the Path of Buddhism. Nevertheless, the journey is long and can prove challenging for some.

While there is no baptism as among Christians, entry into Buddhism can be formalized through a ritual often called "taking refuge." The new practitioner then decides to rely on (a more appropriate translation than "take refuge in") the "Three Jewels": Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. This means entering the community of disciples (Sangha) and following the teaching (the Dharma) of the example to follow, the Awakened One (Buddha). While meditation is one of the most well-known aspects of Buddhist discipline, the practitioner must also follow essential moral precepts (sîla).

The five most common are:

• Do not harm living beings or take life
• Do not take what is not given
• Do not lead a dissolute sexual life
• Do not use useless, harmful, or false speech
• Do not consume harmful substances or those that suppress self-mastery, such as alcohol and drugs

These precepts, which are explicitly prohibitions, aim to develop essential human qualities in the disciple: kindness and compassion, generosity and detachment, contentment, love of truth and its constant pursuit, maximum attention and lucid awareness.

In Buddhism, it is not a superior God who brings suffering or salvation—it is man himself who inflicts or brings them upon himself. Buddha is not a God but rather an example to follow. Ceremonies in his honor are not meant to gain his favor but simply to show him respect. Thus, it is difficult to consider Buddhism a religion in the Western sense. In its original aspect (Buddha-dharma), it resembles more a philosophy in the ancient sense: a theory is present, but what matters most is direct practical experience.

The ultimate objective is twofold: to reach the state of consciousness called "Nirvana" (Enlightenment) and to escape the cycle of earthly reincarnations (Samsara).

Nirvana

Nirvana is the highest state of contemplation: it is the absence of suffering and knowledge of truth. It is reached through detachment from the material world, particularly from desire.

The Spread of Buddhism Throughout the World

One of many Buddhas on Qianfoshan Mountain At his death, around the age of eighty, Buddha had many disciples. His final message was simple: "Do your best." It was his "students" who would spread his teachings. Diffusion occurred in successive waves, and through the different interpretations of each disciple and their successors, the original doctrine of Siddhartha Gautama took new forms depending on the regions where it took root.

Originating in India, where it developed rapidly in the north from the 5th century BC, Buddhism spread widely throughout the Far East between the 3rd century BC and the 12th century AD.

The three major schools—Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana—were born in India but each established itself in a large geographical area: Theravada in Southeast Asia, Mahayana in the Far East, and Vajrayana in Central and Himalayan Asia.

Outside India, Buddhism underwent adaptations born from its contact with indigenous traditions and cultures. Thus in Chine, Mahayana took the form of Chan Buddhism (or Zen in Japanese) following its contact with Taoist and Confucian thought. Japanese thought also greatly influenced Buddhism when it arrived in the Japanese Archipelago.

Tibetan Buddhism, for its part, is the fruit of the encounter between Vajrayana, Tantrism (syncretism between Buddhism and Hinduism), and Tibetan culture. This explains the presence of magical rituals and numerous deities. The Dalai Lama is thus perceived as an incarnate Buddha who, instead of taking advantage of his Enlightenment to escape the cycle of Rebirths, chose to remain among humans to help them.

Buddhism is believed to have entered Chine between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Chinese missionaries subsequently introduced it, in Mahayana form, to neighboring Korea in the 4th century. It was then Korean monks who exported it to Japan, where it became the state religion in 587. Tibet was reached later, in the 7th century, by Vajrayana Buddhism. Many sacred texts in Sanskrit were translated into the Tibetan language there, which explains the importance taken by Lamaism (a form of Vajrayana) on the high plateau.

In India, its birthplace, Buddhism declined from the 8th century onward in the face of competition from Hinduism and Islam, disappearing by the 13th century. Nevertheless, it remains the most widely practiced religion in Asia and in the world to this day.