The regular practice of meditation as a central focus is also a common feature of most modern Western Buddhist groups. Much of contemporary Buddhism in the West is influenced by the spread of lay practice centers, where laypersons meet for meditation practice and also may stay for meditation retreats.

Buddhist influence on western culture is strong in the arts, social action, environmentalism, psychotherapy and practitioners’ lives. 8. Westerners can meditate and maybe even get enlightened. Numerous Buddhists I know who have been practising for several decades have made the teachings their own.

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism are the following: 1) existence is suffering, 2) the cause of suffering is craving and attachment, 3) suffering stops at some point and turns into Nirvana, and 4) the path to Nirvana consists of eight steps, which is called the Eightfold Path.

For Buddhists, the life of the Buddha and his teachings are an important source of wisdom and authority, informing their beliefs and ways of life. It is believed that the Buddha lived some 2,500 years ago at a time when the religious traditions in India promoted faith in God and devotional worship to that God.

The art and the teachings spread westward to Afghanistan and through Central Asia eastward to the Pacific — to China, Korea, Japan, and what we now call Viet Nam. In Tang dynasty China (A.D. 618 to 907) Buddhism produced a brilliant culture that greatly influenced all nearby countries in East Asia.

Beginning in the mid-19th century, Buddhism was introduced into the United States and other Western countries by large numbers of immigrants, first from China and Japan and later from other countries, especially those of Southeast Asia.

General Facts about Buddhism

• There are more than 500 million Buddhists in the world.
• Buddhists don’t kill animals, and they eat a vegetarian diet.
• All living beings are being treated with equal respect.
• Mahayana is the most practiced branch of Buddhism, and it’s most common in China.

Buddha, born with the name Siddhartha Gautama, was a teacher, philosopher and spiritual leader who is considered the founder of Buddhism. He lived and taught in the region around the border of modern-day Nepal and India sometime between the 6th to 4th century B.C.

When he was 29 years old, legend dictates, he was jolted out of his idleness by the “Four Signs”: he saw in succession an old man, a sick person, a corpse being carried to cremation, and a monk in meditation beneath a tree.

Chinese immigrants
HOW DID BUDDHISM COME TO THE WEST? Buddhism first came to North America through Chinese immigrants who settled in the western parts of the United States beginning in the 1840s, as well as by North Americans and Europeans who visited Asia and brought back with them Buddhist texts.

Ashoka promoted Buddhist expansion by sending monks to surrounding territories to share the teachings of the Buddha. A wave of conversion began, and Buddhism spread not only through India, but also internationally. Today there are approximately 350 million Buddhists in the world.

But, unless you’re following the noble onefold path, there’s more to Buddhism than mindfulness. Buddhist influence on western culture is strong in the arts, social action, environmentalism, psychotherapy and practitioners’ lives. 8. Westerners can meditate and maybe even get enlightened.

1 Some Buddhist monks in Japan used to practice self-mummification by adhering to a special diet, then sealing themselves alive into burial chambers. 2 Many people think that Buddha is a person, but that’s a misinterpretation. 3 The three major branches of Buddhism are Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.

15 Key Facts about Buddhism ☸️. 1 1. Buddhists don’t believe in a god or supreme being. The followers of Buddhism don’t acknowledge a god or supreme being, unlike many religions. 2 2. Buddhism has no central text. 3 3. Anyone can be a Buddha. 4 4. Buddhism has three major branches. 5 5. Buddhists believe in the noble eightfold path.

Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years. The first Westerners to become Buddhists were Greeks who settled in Bactria and India during the Hellenistic period.