What is Buddhism?

INTRO:
What is Buddhism? Buddhism is the 4th largest religion in the world. Most people know Buddhism as "Buddha" a guy with a big belly. But most people don't know that Buddha was actually very skinny.

FOUNDER:
The founder of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama. His nickname is "The Buddha" as most people know him. Buddha was an Indian prince, his father was the king of Sayka. One night Siddhartha left his home to meditate and think about who he was and wanted to become. While meditating he came up with the idea of Buddhism, he used a lot of the Hindu beliefs but changed them a little.

ADHERENTS:
Buddhism has around 360 million followers. Buddhism is all over the world, and anyone can be a Buddhist. The four major locations of Buddhism are China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.

HOLY BOOKS:
There are 3 different sacred texts. The main one is Tripitaka, also called Pali Canon. The other 2 are Mahayana Sutras, and Tibetan Book of the Dead. The Tripitaka is the earliest collection of the Buddhist teachings. Tripitaka means "three baskets". Many things have been added over the years, there are 50 volumes and cost $2000 in modern sets. The Mahayana Sutras reflect on Mahayana concepts. Lastly the Tibetan Book of the Dead describes in detail all the stages of death.

RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS:
There are many holidays/festivals celebrated by the Buddhist around the world every year. A Buddhist festival usually starts by visiting a local temple(Picture on the left). Vesak (Buddha Day) is Buddha's birthday and is the most important festival in Buddhism. This holiday is celebrated on the day of the first full moon in May. Buddhist celebrate the birth, enlightenment, and death of Buddha in just one day. Some other Buddhist holidays are the Buddhist new year, Sangha Day, Dhamma Day, Observance, Kathina Ceremony(Robe Offering Ceremony), Festival of Floating Bowls(Loy Krathong), Elephant Festival, The Festival of the Tooth, and lastly Ancestor Day(Ulambana).

Rituals and Customs:
One of the most known rituals for Buddhism is meditation. The statues of Buddha himself are usually of him in his meditation pose. Meditation is meant to transform the mind and so it can explore itself, and other phenomena. Siddhartha Gautama was said to have achieved enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree. Most Buddha's use meditation to make spiritual progress. Enlightenment is another word for Buddhahood or Nirvana these words all mean a perfect peace. The state of mind that is free from craving, anger and other affective states.(Picture on the right is a picture of Siddhartha Gautama meditating under the Bodhi tree). Another Custom is exchanging gifts with one another.

Particular Clothing:
Some of the ceremonial clothing are Zen(Robe), Prayer Shawls, Meditation Skirts, and Puja Blouses, there is many different types of Zens for example Pashmina Zen, Raw Silk Zen, Silk/Cotton Zentra, Cotton Blend Zen, and Viscose Zentra. There are men and women's meditation skirts.

Hierarchy/Organization:
The monks are the hierarchy. The goal of a monk is to reach the state of Nirvana.