BUDDHISM

Buddhism is a major world religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is the historical founder of Buddhism and known as the Buddha or "awakened one." Siddhartha was born a prince around twenty-five hundred years ago in India, around the time of the flourishing of ancient Greece. At around the age of nineteen, perplexed by the inevitable suffering that every human being must face, he renounced the luxurious life he had known as the son of a ruler. He set out as a seeker of truth and eventually adopted a middle path between the life of indulgence and that of self-denial. After years of strenuous effort he experienced a profound enlightenment to the essential nature of reality, the cause of suffering (that is to say the four basic sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death) and how to replace the suffering inherent in our lives with happiness. Shakyamuni Buddha, as he was called after his enlightenment, spent the rest of his life traveling throughout India to teach others what he had learned.

Shakyamuni Buddha organized his disciples into a monastic community known as the sangha. He opened his movement to members of all castes, establishing one of the first lay movements in India. He maintained that all life possesses the potential to attain a state of enlightenment. His disciples later recorded their teacher's beliefs in written collections called sutras or teachings. Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings spread throughout Asia, giving rise to a number of distinct schools of Buddhism.

Almost two thousand years after the historical Buddha's death, a Buddhist monk named Nichiren Daishonin also sought an answer to human suffering. He lived in 13^th century Japan during a time of social unrest and natural calamities. After an intensive study of the sutras of Shakyamuni Buddha, Nichiren was convinced that the Lotus Sutra alone made Buddhahood accessible to all people. He distilled the Lotus Sutra into a practice to enable any person to achieve the ultimate goal of happiness. The Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism laid the foundation for a new Buddhist movement to arise, notably that of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Society for the Creation of Value) in 1937 in Japan.

FAQ's on Buddhism:

What is the practice of Buddhism?

Nichiren Daishonin, a 13^th century Buddhist monk in Japan, left a practical method that enables ordinary people to develop their Buddhahood. There are three basic elements to our practice: faith, practice and study.

• Faith refers to the unquestioning belief that because we all possess the Buddha nature, we will achieve enlightenment in this lifetime. All people can attain Buddhahood through faith in the Gohonzon.
• Practice also involves our enlightenment to the fact that we all possess the Buddha nature. Practice refers to our individual human revolution, that is, our personal struggle to conquer our negative aspects and to cultivate our more positive aspects of wisdom and compassion.
• Study refers to our study of the Buddhist sutras or teachings.

Buddhist terms and concepts:

Bodhisattvas of the Earth: "the innumerable bodhisattvas entrusted by Shakyamuni with the task of propagating the Law after his passing." (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin 1206)

Buddha: means the Enlightened One, an ordinary person awakened to the nature or reality of all life who dedicates his or her life to the enlightenment of all.

Buddhahood: "Also referred to by the word enlightenment. The supreme state of life in Buddhism, characterized by boundless wisdom and compassion. Buddhahood is regarded as the goal of Buddhist practice." (1207)

Buddhism: founded in the 6^th century B.C by Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni Buddha, it refers to his teachings or sutras.

daimoku: Japanese for 'title,' it refers to the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (which is Sanskrit for the Lotus Sutra).

Nichiren Daishonin (1222-82): a 13th Century Japanese monk whose Buddhist philosophy, which is based on the Lotus Sutra, laid the foundation for the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Buddhist movement.

Siddhartha Gautama: also known as Shakyamuni Buddha, he is the historical founder of Buddhism. Born in India about twenty-five hundred years ago, he expounded various sutras or teachings (the Lotus Sutra is his ultimate teaching).

Gohonzon: Japanese for 'object of devotion,' in Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism it is the embodiment of the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in the form of a scroll. 

gongyo: Japanese for 'assiduous practice,' it consists of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and reciting  excerpts from the second and the sixteenth chapters of the Lotus Sutra morning and evening in front of the Gohonzon.

Daisaku Ikeda (1928- ): currently the third President of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), he established the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) in 1975 which today claims the adherence of 12 million members. 

karma: a Sanskrit word that means 'action,' karma is created by our actions - our thoughts, words and deeds - and manifests itself in our daily lives.

kosen-rufu: means to 'widely declare and spread [Buddhism],' in other words, it is a World Peace movement in which its practitioners propagate Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism.

Lotus Sutra: one of the Mahayana sutras, it is the supreme Buddhist teaching which leads all people directly to enlightenment.

Mahayana: translates as "Great Vehicle" and is one of the principle branches of Buddhist philosophy. Its teachings enable all beings to attain Buddhahood. One of two main branches of Buddhism (along with Theravada Buddhism).

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944): first President of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai established in 1937.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo: this prayer is the fundamental component of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, it is defined as the ultimate Law permeating all life and the universe. When chanted it allows people to directly reveal their enlightened nature. The literal meaning is; Nam (devotion) or the action of practicing Buddhism, Myoho (Mystic Law) or the entity of the universe and its phenomenal manifestations, Renge (lotus) or the simultaneity of cause and effect, and Kyo (Buddha's teaching) or all phenomena. 

Soka Gakkai International (SGI): literally means "Value-creation society." Founded in 1975, it currently claims an adherence of 12 million members in 177 countries and territories worldwide. The organization is derived from the Buddhism taught by Nichiren Daishonin.

Theravada: translates as the "Teaching of the Elders" and is one of the principal branches of Buddhist philosophy. Mahayana practitioners refer to it as Hinayana or �gLesser Vehicle�h because it teaches that it is almost impossible to attain Buddhahood.

Josei Toda (1900-1958): the disciple of first President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, after WWII he became the second President of the newly reestablished and renamed Soka Gakkai.

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