While many consider Buddhism to be simply a faith, such as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, Buddhists (the followers of Buddhism) affirm it to be the principles by which they live.”Buddhism is not so much a religion as it is a way of life,” said sophomore Terry Kommany, who practices the Theravada form of Buddhism.
According to Wikipedia’s article on the subject of Buddhism, the movement encompasses both religion and philosophy and is based on the teachings of Siddhrtha Gautama, known simply as “the Buddha,” or “the awakened one.” Guatama lived in the northern part of India from 563-483 BC. The mission of Buddhism is to end the cycle of rebirth known as samsara, by enlightening a believer to the realization of life in its true essence. The person attains this achieves the freedom and end of the cycle of Nirvana. Gautama taught ideas such as this, and within centuries his teachings were passed on and spread throughout the region of the Indian sub-continent. The main texts of Buddhism are the Suttas (or Pali) and
the Sutras (or Sanskrit).
There are two main types of Buddhism: Theravada sect and Mahayana sect. The Theravada considers itself the oldest practiced version of Buddhism, while the Mahayana considers the Theravada as the Hinayana, or “The Lesser Vehicle.” The term is Hinayana is now seen as an alicious name for the Theravada. Kommany explained more differences between the two. “Theravada is the oldest practiced of the two religions. They believe in the Buddha as a man of enlightenment who helps you to find peace and serenity to others. “The Mahayana believes that the Buddha was a god. They reformed because the Theravada didn’t help people understand the Pali. They also split, because they viewed Buddha as a god. We [Theravada] see Buddha as a man, not a god.”
Overall, Kommany felt it was important to note that it is not hard to be a Buddhist and that your personal attitude is the most important thing in Buddhism. “It is not hard to be a Buddhist. The hardest part is understanding what the words mean, such as Karma, the principle of ‘what goes around comes around.’ “The most important thing in Buddhism is yourself. You have to know what’s right and wrong and follow your heart. You trust yourself in doing that, take your own responsibilities in whatever you do and that determines your outcome in life.”
Wikpedia’s article on “Buddhism” goes more in depth on the subject and can be accessed at http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism.