Buddhist teaching

The ancient sacred collection of Buddhism, the Tripitaka (“Three Baskets”), has three parts: the Vinaya-pitaka (rules for the monastic community and discipline), the Sutta-pitaka (discourses and conversations attributed to the Buddha) and the Abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophical analysis of the teaching). At the centre of the teaching are the Four Noble Truths: life contains suffering (dukkha); suffering has a cause – craving and attachment; suffering can cease; and the path to its end is the Eightfold Path (right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration). Buddhists also believe in karma (the consequences of actions) and samsara (the cycle of rebirths); the state of release from samsara is nirvana. As an ethical basis most Buddhists try to follow five precepts: not harming living beings, not stealing, avoiding sexual misconduct, not lying, and refraining from intoxicants. The “Three Jewels” are the Buddha, the Dharma (teaching) and the Sangha (community). The main branches are Theravada (mainly Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia), Mahayana (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam) and Vajrayana (Tibet and Mongolia). Within Mahayana, the Zen (Chinese Chan) school gives special attention to meditation. The textbook uses the terms “Hinayana” and “Lamaism”; today “Theravada” and “Tibetan Buddhism” are generally preferred, as some Buddhists regard the older terms as inappropriate. In Tibetan Buddhism the Dalai Lama is the traditional leader.