Tagged: Wisdom
Pages with this tag
Dhammananda - What Buddhists Believe (2002)
1What Buddhists Believe by Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda presents Buddhism as a rational and practical path to end suffering, founded by Gautama Buddha, a human teacher who achieved enlightenment through his own efforts. The core of his message lies in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, a 'Middle Way' that cultivates morality, mental discipline through meditation, and wisdom. Central doctrines include Karma, the natural law of cause and effect, and rebirth, which occurs without a permanent soul (Anatta). Rejecting blind faith and a creator god, Buddhism emphasises self-reliance, urging followers to verify truths for themselves and take personal responsibility for their salvation. The ultimate goal is Nirvana, a state of supreme peace and the cessation of all suffering, attainable not through prayer or rituals, but through the purification of one's own mind and the development of compassion and understanding for all beings.
Gombrich, Richard F. - Theravāda Buddhism (2006)
2Richard Gombrich's *Theravāda Buddhism* provides a social history of this conservative branch of Buddhism, which originated with the Buddha's teachings in 5th-century BCE India on achieving salvation (*nibbāna*) from suffering through a "Middle Way" of morality, meditation, and wisdom. Central to this path was the redefinition of *kamma* as intention and the denial of an eternal soul (*anattā*), doctrines preserved and spread by a monastic Order (the Sangha) governed by a detailed disciplinary code (*vinaya*). With the patronage of Emperor Asoka, Theravāda was established in Sri Lanka around 250 BCE, where it became fused with Sinhalese national identity and developed a devotional culture of pilgrimage and relic worship, while the Sangha adapted to its role as a land-owning elite, undergoing cycles of decline and revival. The 19th century brought a major transformation with the rise of "Protestant Buddhism," a lay-led movement reacting to Christian missionaries and colonial rule, which reinterpreted Buddhism as a rational, scientific philosophy and promoted lay activism. In the contemporary era, this legacy has been shaped by civil war and globalization, fostering a more intense nationalism and new forms of lay religiosity, from ecstatic god-worship to the re-establishment of the nuns' order, presenting new challenges and adaptations for the ancient tradition.