佛教

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佛教(Buddhism)

於西元前6世纪末至西元前4世纪初创立於印度北部、以悉达多--也就是佛陀--的教诲为基础的宗教和哲学，为世界主要宗教之一。佛教的目的在於助人摆脱生死轮回之苦和证得涅盘，并强调冥想与奉行道德戒。佛陀的指示都是由弟子口传，在有生之年建立了佛教僧团（参阅sangha）。他采用同时代的印度教某些思想，特别是业的教义，但也不苟同印度教的许多教义及其所供奉的神。佛教主要的教义可简述为「四谛」与「八正道」。佛教分为两大宗派：大乘和小乘，已各自发展成不同的习规。在印度，西元前3世纪时阿育王大力提倡佛教，但在接下来的几个世纪开始衰落，到13世纪几近灭绝。但佛教已往南散播到斯里兰卡和东南亚，再经中亚、西藏（参阅Tibetan Buddhism）传到中国、韩国和日本（参阅Pure Land Buddhism和Zen）。现在各种不同传统的佛教信众约有四亿人。

English version：

Buddhism

Religion and philosophy founded in northeastern India in the 5th century BC based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. One of the major world religions, Buddhism takes as its goal the escape from suffering and the cycle of rebirth and the attainment of nirvana, and it emphasizes meditation and the observance of moral precepts. The Buddha's teachings were transmitted orally by his disciples; during his lifetime he established the Buddhist monastic order (sangha). He adopted some ideas from the Hinduism of his time, notably the doctrine of karma, but also rejected many of its doctrines and all of its gods. Buddhism's main teachings are summarized in the Four Noble Truths, of which the fourth is the Eightfold Path. Buddhism's two major branches, Mahayana and Theravada, have developed distinctive practices. In India, the emperor Ashoka promoted Buddhism during the 3rd century BC, but it declined in succeeding centuries and was nearly extinct there by the 13th century. It spread south and flourished in Sri Lanka and S.East Asia, as well as moving through Central Asia and Tibet (see Tibetan Buddhism) to China, Korea, and Japan (see Pure Land Buddhism and Zen). Today the various traditions of Buddhism together have about 400 million followers.

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