The Perfect One is free from any concept, for he has comprehended what his body is, where it comes from and where it disappears. He understood the meaning of feelings, how they arise and how they disappear. He understood samkhara (mental structures), how they arise and how they disappear. He understood the nature of consciousness, how it arises and how it disappears.

Literally these words contain the whole meaning of Buddhist teaching, at least in its original form. The founder and main object of worship in Buddhism is Prince Gautama Siddhartha, who lived in 563 - 483 BC, which suggests that this religion is one of the oldest in the world.

According to legend, at the age of 35, Gautama achieved enlightenment, after which he changed his life and the lives of many people who followed him. One could easily argue that this is still happening today. He was called “Buddha” by his followers (from the Sanskrit “buddha” - enlightened, awakened). His preaching lasted 40 years, Siddhartha died at the age of 80, without leaving a single written work about himself. Before and after him there were other enlightened personalities - Buddhas, who contributed to the spiritual development of civilization. Followers of some areas of Buddhism also consider preachers of other religions - Christ, Mohammed and others - to be Buddha teachers.

The concept of God in Buddhism

Some individual sects revere Buddha as God, but other Buddhists see him as their founder, mentor and enlightener. Buddhists believe that enlightenment can only be achieved through the infinite energy of the Universe. Thus, the Buddhist world does not recognize a creator God, omniscient and omnipotent. Every person is a part of the deity. Buddhists do not have one permanent God; every enlightened person can achieve the title of “Buddha”. This understanding of God makes Buddhism different from most Western religions.

The essence of Buddhist practice

Buddhists strive to purify the clouded states of mind that distort reality. These are anger, fear, ignorance, selfishness, laziness, jealousy, envy, greed, irritation and others. Buddhism cultivates and develops such pure and beneficial qualities of consciousness as kindness, generosity, gratitude, compassion, hard work, wisdom and others. All this allows you to gradually learn and clear your mind, which leads to a lasting sense of well-being. By making the mind strong and bright, Buddhists reduce anxiety and irritation, which lead to adversity and depression. Ultimately, Buddhism is a necessary condition for the deepest insights that lead to the ultimate liberation of the mind.

Buddhism is a religion not so much of a mystical as of a philosophical nature. Buddhist doctrine contains 4 main “noble truths” about human suffering:

On the nature of suffering;
about the origin and causes of suffering;
about ending suffering and eliminating its sources;
about ways to end suffering.

The last, fourth truth, points to the path to the destruction of suffering and pain, otherwise called the eightfold path to achieving inner peace. This state of mind allows you to immerse yourself in transcendental meditation and achieve wisdom and enlightenment.

Morals and ethics of Buddhism

Buddhist morals and ethics are built on the principles of non-harm and moderation. At the same time, a person’s sense of morality, concentration and wisdom is nurtured and developed. And with the help of meditation, Buddhists learn the mechanisms of the mind and the cause-and-effect relationships between bodily, spiritual and psychological processes. The teachings of Buddhism have become the basis of a number of schools, which are united by the fact that each, at its own level of understanding of the life and teachings of the Buddha, is aimed at the comprehensive development of man - the meaningful use of body, speech and mind.

But since Buddhist teachings is multifaceted and based not on faith, but on experience, it is not enough to limit ourselves to only describing its content. The features of this spiritual path become visible only in comparison with other worldviews and religions. And one should approach the teachings of the Buddha only after freeing the energy of the mind from strict moral standards.

Development of Buddhism in the world

The call for freedom from suffering and belief in the energy of the Universe led to the emergence of Western mentalist doctrines of the 19th and 20th centuries. The first adherents of Buddhism in the West were mainly immigrants from Asia and the East, who were tormented by internal anxiety, and then they were joined by agnostics and atheists of all affiliations.

In Tibet, Buddhism was the state religion and before the capture of Tibet by China, the main Buddhist of the country, the Dalai Lama, was also the head of the state. After the Chinese invasion in the 50s of the last century, the 14th Dalai Lama was forced to leave the country and go to India from there to bring the light of teaching to his followers. He is a laureate Nobel Prize world 1989. Worship of the Dalai Lama is prohibited in Tibet, and even for possessing a photograph of the Dalai Lama, Tibetans face serious punishment.

In the USA and Europe, Buddhism received its large-scale spread in the form of Zen Buddhism, a movement that arose in the 12th century in Japan. The Buddhist monk Shaku Soen, a representative of this trend, gave a stormy speech at the World Congress of Religions in Chicago (1893) about the “divinity of mind” of Zen Buddhism. After this day, Zen and yoga are the most popular eastern teachings in the West, where control of the mind over the body is considered a priority. Zen practices an emphasis on individual meditation and a lack of authority on scriptures, prayers and teachings. As in Buddhism, in Zen wisdom is comprehended through experience, and its highest hypostasis is enlightenment (awakening). It is possible that such interest in Zen Buddhism in the West arose due to the simplicity of this teaching. After all, according to the teachings of the Buddha, every person himself is capable of becoming a Buddha, which means that everyone is part of the earthly deity. And you need to look for answers only in yourself.

Many people have heard about one of the world religions - Buddhism. Its basics are taught even in schools, but in order to know the true meaning and philosophy of this teaching, it is necessary to go deeper.

The main leader and spiritual mentor of all Buddhists in the world, the Dalai Lama, says that there are three paths to happiness: knowledge, humility or creation. Everyone is free to choose what is closest to them. The great Lama himself chose a symbiosis of two paths: knowledge and creation. He is the greatest diplomat on this planet, who fights for the rights of people and proposes to negotiate to achieve understanding throughout the entire Earth.

Philosophy of Buddhism

Buddha - in the original translation means "enlightened one." This religion is based on real story one common man who was able to achieve enlightenment. Initially, Buddhism was a doctrine and philosophy, and only then it became a religion. Buddhism appeared about 2500-3000 years ago.

Siddhartha Gautama - that was the name of one happy person, who lived comfortably and idly, but soon felt that he was missing something. He knew that people like him shouldn't have problems, but they still caught up with him. He began to look for the causes of disappointment and came to the conclusion that a person’s whole life is struggle and suffering - deep, spiritual and higher suffering.

After spending a lot of time with the sages and living alone for a long time, he began to tell people that he had learned the truth. He shared his knowledge with people, and they accepted it. So the idea grew into a teaching, and the teaching into a mass religion. There are now almost half a billion Buddhists in the world. This religion is considered the most humane.

Ideas of Buddhism

The Dalai Lama says that Buddhism helps a person to live in harmony with himself. This is the shortest path to understanding one’s existence, despite the fact that not everyone in this world can achieve this knowledge. Success awaits only those who can find out the reason for their failures, as well as those who try to understand the highest plan of the Universe. Trying to figure out who we are and where we come from gives people strength to move forward. The philosophy of Buddhism does not overlap with the philosophies of other religions, because it is multifaceted and absolutely transparent.

Main ideas of Buddhism read:

the world is an ocean of sorrow and suffering that will always be around us;
the cause of all suffering is the selfish desires of each individual person;
In order to achieve enlightenment and get rid of suffering, we must first get rid of the desires and selfishness within us. Many skeptics say that this condition is equivalent to death. In Buddhism it is called nirvana and represents bliss, freedom of thought, liberation;
you need to monitor your thoughts, which are the root cause of any troubles, your words, which lead to actions, and deeds.

Everyone can do simple rules leading to happiness. It's quite difficult in modern world, because there are too many temptations that weaken our will. Each of us can do this, but not everyone tries one hundred percent. Many Buddhists go to monasteries to rid themselves of thoughts of temptation. This is a difficult but true path to understanding the meaning of life and achieving nirvana.

Buddhists live according to the laws of the Universe, which tell about the energy of thoughts and actions. This is very simple to understand, but, again, difficult to implement, because control of thoughts in the information world is almost impossible. All that remains is to use the help of meditation and strengthen your willpower. This is the essence of Buddhism - it consists of finding the path and knowing the truths. Be happy and don't forget to press the buttons and

11.10.2016 05:33

Everyone wants to be rich, because money gives us freedom. You can do whatever you want...

The article is about Buddhism - a philosophical teaching that is often mistaken for a religion. This is probably not a coincidence. After reading a short article about Buddhism, you will decide for yourself to what extent Buddhism can be classified as religious teaching, or rather, it is a philosophical concept.

Buddhism: briefly about religion

First of all, let's state from the outset that while Buddhism is a religion for most people, including its followers, Buddhism has never actually been a religion and never should be. Why? Because one of the first enlightened ones, Buddha Shakyamuni, despite the fact that Brahma himself charged him with the responsibility of transmitting the teaching to others (which Buddhists prefer to remain silent about for obvious reasons), never wanted to make a cult, much less a cult of worship, out of the fact of his enlightenment, which nevertheless subsequently led to the fact that Buddhism began to be understood more and more as one of the religions, and yet Buddhism is not one.

Buddhism is primarily a philosophical teaching, the purpose of which is to direct a person to search for truth, a way out of samsara, awareness and vision of things as they are (one of the key aspects of Buddhism). Also, in Buddhism there is no concept of God, i.e. it is atheism, but in the sense of “non-theism”, therefore, if Buddhism is classified as a religion, then it is a non-theistic religion, just like Jainism.

Another concept that testifies in favor of Buddhism as a philosophical school is the absence of any attempts to “link” man and the Absolute, while the very concept of religion (“linking”) is an attempt to “link” man with God .

As a counter-argument, defenders of the concept of Buddhism as a religion present that in modern societies people professing Buddhism worship Buddha and make offerings, and also read prayers, etc. To this, we can say that the trends followed by the majority in no way reflect the essence of Buddhism, but only show how much modern Buddhism and its understanding have deviated from the original Buddhism concepts.

Thus, having understood for ourselves that Buddhism is not a religion, we can finally begin to describe the main ideas and concepts on which this school of philosophical thought is based.

Briefly about Buddhism

If we talk about Buddhism briefly and clearly, then it could be characterized in two words - “deafening silence” - because the concept of shunyata, or emptiness, is fundamental to all schools and branches of Buddhism.

We know that, firstly, during the entire existence of Buddhism as a philosophical school, many of its branches have been formed, the largest of which are considered to be the Buddhism of the “great vehicle” (Mahayana) and the “small vehicle” (Hinayana), as well as the Buddhism of “diamond paths" (Vajrayana). Zen Buddhism and the teachings of Advaita also gained great importance. Tibetan Buddhism is much more distinct from the main branches than other schools, and is considered by some to be the only true path.

However, in our time it is quite difficult to say which of the many schools is really closest to the original teachings of the Buddha about the dharma, because, for example, in modern Korea even newer approaches to the interpretation of Buddhism have appeared, and, of course, each of them claims to be the right truth.

The Mahayana and Hinayana schools rely mainly on the Pali canon, and in the Mahayana they also add the Mahayana sutras. But we must always remember that Shakyamuni Buddha himself did not write anything down and transmitted his knowledge exclusively orally, and sometimes simply through “noble silence.” Only much later did the Buddha's disciples begin to write down this knowledge, and thus it has come down to us in the form of a canon in the Pali language and Mahayana sutras.

Secondly, due to man’s pathological craving for worship, temples, schools, centers for the study of Buddhism, etc. were built, which naturally deprives Buddhism of its pristine purity, and each time innovations and new formations again and again alienate us from fundamental concepts. People, obviously, much prefer the concept of not cutting off what is unnecessary in order to see “what is”, but, on the contrary, endowing what already is with new qualities, embellishment, which only leads away from the original truth to new interpretations and unjustified hobbies ritualism and, as a result, to the oblivion of the origins under the weight of external decor.

This is not the fate of Buddhism alone, but rather a general tendency that is characteristic of people: instead of understanding simplicity, we burden it with more and more new conclusions, while it was necessary to do the opposite and get rid of them. This is what Buddha spoke about, this is what his teaching is about, and the ultimate goal of Buddhism is precisely for a person to realize himself, his Self, the emptiness and non-duality of existence, in order to ultimately understand that even the “I” is not really exists, and it is nothing more than a construct of the mind.

This is the essence of the concept of shunyata (emptiness). To make it easier for a person to realize the “deafening simplicity” of Buddhist teachings, Shakyamuni Buddha taught how to properly perform meditation. The ordinary mind accesses knowledge through the process of logical discourse, or rather, it reasons and draws conclusions, thereby arriving at new knowledge. But how new they are can be understood from the very prerequisites for their appearance. Such knowledge can never be truly new if a person came to it by a logical path from point A to point B. It is clear that he used starting and passing points in order to come to a “new” conclusion.

Conventional thinking does not see any obstacles in this; in general, this is a generally accepted method of obtaining knowledge. However, it is not the only one, not the most faithful and far from the most effective. Revelations, through which the knowledge of the Vedas was obtained, is a different and fundamentally different way of accessing knowledge, when knowledge itself reveals itself to man.

Features of Buddhism in brief: meditation and 4 types of emptiness

It was not by chance that we drew a parallel between two opposite ways of accessing knowledge, since meditation is the method that allows, over time, to obtain knowledge directly in the form of revelations, direct vision and knowledge, which is fundamentally impossible to do using this method. called scientific methods.

Of course, Buddha would not give meditation so that a person learns to relax. Relaxation is one of the conditions for entering a state of meditation, therefore it would be wrong to say that meditation itself promotes relaxation, but this is how the meditation process is often presented to ignorant people, beginners, which is why they get the wrong first impression, with which people continue live.

Meditation is the key that reveals to a person the greatness of emptiness, that same shunyata that we talked about above. Meditation is a central component of the teachings of Buddhism, because only through it can we experience emptiness. Again, we are talking about philosophical concepts, not physical-spatial characteristics.

Meditation in the broad sense of the word, including meditation-reflection, also bears fruit, because a person already in the process of meditative reflection understands that life and everything that exists is conditioned - this is the first emptiness, Sanskrit shunyata - the emptiness of the conditioned, which means that the conditioned lacks the qualities of the unconditioned: happiness, constancy (regardless of duration) and truth.

The second emptiness, asanskrita shunyata, or the emptiness of the unconditioned, can also be understood through meditation-reflection. The emptiness of the unconditioned is free from everything conditioned. Thanks to Asanskrit shunyata, vision becomes available to us - seeing things as they really are. They cease to be things, and we observe only their dharmas (in this sense, dharma is understood as a kind of flow, not in the generally accepted sense of the word “dharma”). However, the path does not end here either, because Mahayana believes that the dharmas themselves have a certain substance, and therefore emptiness must be found in them.

From here we come to the third type of emptiness - Mahashunyata. In it, as well as in the following form the emptiness of shunyate shunyata, lies the difference between the Buddhism of the Mahayana tradition and the Hinayana. In the two previous types of emptiness, we still recognize the duality of all things, duality (this is what our civilization is based on, the confrontation of two principles - bad and good, evil and good, small and great, etc.). But this is where the error is rooted, because you need to free yourself from accepting the differences between the conditioned and unconditioned existence, and even more - you need to come to understand that emptiness and non-emptiness are just another creation of the mind.

These are speculative concepts. Of course, they help us better understand the concept of Buddhism, but the longer we cling to the dual nature of existence, the further we are from the truth. In this case, truth again does not mean some idea, because it would also be material and belong, like any other idea, to the world of the conditioned, and therefore could not be true. By truth we should understand the very emptiness of mahashunyata, which brings us closer to true vision. Vision does not judge, does not divide, that is why it is called vision, this is its fundamental difference and an advantage over thinking, because seeing makes it possible to see what is.

But mahashunyata itself is another concept, and therefore cannot be complete emptiness, therefore the fourth emptiness, or shunyata, is called freedom from any concepts. Freedom from thought, but pure vision. Freedom from theories themselves. Only a mind free of theories can see the truth, the emptiness of emptiness, the great silence.

This is the greatness of Buddhism as a philosophy and its inaccessibility compared to other concepts. Buddhism is great because it does not try to prove or convince anything. There are no authorities in it. If they tell you that there is, don’t believe it. Bodhisattvas do not come to force anything on you. Always remember the Buddha's saying that if you meet Buddha, kill Buddha. You need to open up to the emptiness, hear the silence - this is the truth of Buddhism. His appeal is solely to personal experience, the discovery of a vision of the essence of things, and subsequently of their emptiness: this briefly contains the concept of Buddhism.

The wisdom of Buddhism and the teaching of the “Four Noble Truths”

Here we deliberately did not mention the “Four Noble Truths,” which talk about dukkha, suffering, one of the cornerstones of the Buddha’s teachings. If you learn to observe yourself and the world, you yourself will come to this conclusion, and also to how you can get rid of suffering - the same way you discovered it: you need to continue to observe, to see things without “slipping.” into judgment. Only then can they be seen as they are. The philosophical concept of Buddhism, incredible in its simplicity, is nevertheless accessible for its practical applicability in life. She doesn't set conditions or make promises.

The doctrine of reincarnation is also not the essence of this philosophy. The explanation of the process of rebirth is perhaps what makes it suitable for use as a religion. By this she explains why a person appears in our world over and over again, and it also acts as a reconciliation of a person with reality, with the life and embodiment that he lives at this moment. But this is only an explanation already given to us.

The pearl of wisdom in the philosophy of Buddhism lies precisely in the ability and possibility of a person to see what is, and to penetrate behind the veil of secrecy, into the void, without any outside intervention, in the absence of an intermediary. This is exactly what makes Buddhism a much more religious philosophical teaching than all other theistic religions, since Buddhism provides a person with the opportunity to find what is, and not what is needed or someone has prescribed to look for. There is no goal in it, and therefore, it gives a chance for a real search, or, more correctly, for a vision, a discovery, because, no matter how paradoxical it may sound, you cannot find what you are striving for, what you are looking for, what you are expecting, i.e. Because what you are looking for becomes just a goal, and it is planned. You can truly find only that which you do not expect and do not look for - only then does it become a real discovery.

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Introduction

buddhism religion philosophy sacred

The philosophy of Buddhism is a system of rationally based views on the world, man and knowledge, which has developed within the framework of different directions and schools of Buddhism.

A characteristic feature of Buddhism is its ethical and practical orientation. From the very beginning, Buddhism opposed not only the meaning of external forms religious life and above all ritualism, but also against abstract dogmatic quests characteristic, in particular, of the Brahmanic-Vedic tradition. The problem of the existence of the individual was put forward as a central problem in Buddhism.

The core of Buddhism is the Buddha's preaching of the Four Noble Truths. All the constructions of Buddhism are devoted to the explanation and development of these provisions and, in particular, to the idea of personal autonomy contained in them.

The moral ideal of Buddhism appears as absolute non-harm to others (ahinsa), resulting from general gentleness, kindness, and a sense of complete contentment. In the intellectual sphere of Buddhism, the distinction between the sensory and rational forms of knowledge is eliminated and the practice of so-called contemplative reflection (meditation) is established, the result of which is the experience of the integrity of being and complete self-absorption.

The question of the perception of Buddhism in Russia is also of undoubted relevance. This is due to the increased interest in the problem of dialogue of cultures in recent decades. Globalizations modern life and culture, awareness of other values forces us to take a different look at the interaction of cultures and civilizations.

1. The emergence of Buddhism

Buddhism originated in the middle of the first millennium BC in northern India as a movement in opposition to Brahmanism, which was dominant at that time. In the middle of the 6th century. BC. Indian society was experiencing a socio-economic and cultural crisis. The clan organization and traditional ties were disintegrating, and class relations were emerging. At this time, there were a large number of wandering ascetics in India, they offered their vision of the world. Their opposition to the existing order aroused the sympathy of the people. Among the teachings of this kind was Buddhism, which acquired the greatest influence in society.

Most researchers believe that the founder of Buddhism was a real person. He was the son of the head of the Shakya tribe, born in 560. BC. in northeast India. Legend has it that the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, after a carefree and happy youth, acutely felt the frailty and hopelessness of life, the horror of the idea of an endless series of reincarnations. He left home in order to communicate with the sages to find the answer to the question: how can a person be freed from suffering. The prince traveled for seven years and one day, while he was sitting under the Bodhi tree, an insight descended on him. He found the answer to his question. The name Buddha means "enlightened one." Shocked by his discovery, he sat under this tree for several days, and then went down to the valley, to the people to whom he began to preach a new teaching. He preached his first sermon in Benares. At first, five of his former students joined him, who left him when he abandoned asceticism. Subsequently, he gained many followers. His ideas were close to many. For 40 years he preached in North and Central India.

2. Fundamentals of Buddhist philosophy

· The doctrine of universal change and impermanence

Buddhism affirms the principle of “anitya”, according to which everything that exists is dynamic and subject to change, including man. Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta in their work “Ancient Indian Philosophy” write:

The theory of the transitory nature of things also follows from the doctrine of the dependence of the origin of all things. All things, the Buddha tirelessly taught, are subject to change and decay. Since everything that exists is generated certain conditions, it is eliminated with the disappearance of these conditions. Everything that has a beginning also has an end.

· Theory of interdependent emergence

Variability, which is inherent in everything that exists, does not mean chaos, since it is subject to the law of the dependent arising of dharmas (pratitya-samutpada). Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Dutta in Ancient Indian Philosophy write:

There is a spontaneous and universal law of causality, which determines all phenomena of the spiritual and material world. This law (dharma or dhamma) operates spontaneously, without the help of a conscious leader.

According to this law, the occurrence of one particular phenomenon (cause) is accompanied by another particular phenomenon (effect). “If there is a cause, there is an effect.” The existence of everything is conditioned, that is, it has its own reason. Nothing happens by chance, without a reason.

· Theory of non-existence of the soul

The theory of the non-existence of the soul, or anatmavamda, is one of the main provisions of Buddhist philosophy and its central point is the negation of the absolute, imperishable “I”, the negation of Atman. This position was one of the main disagreements between Buddhism and Brahmanism and was disputed in numerous philosophical debates held at the courts of Indian kings. Nagarjuna and his followers were considered the recognized master of debate.

2.1 Buddha's teachings

Like other religions, Buddhism promises people deliverance from the most painful aspects of human existence - suffering, adversity, passions, fear of death.

Buddhism teaches that under the influence of a person's actions, his existence gradually changes. By doing badly, he reaps illness, poverty, humiliation. By doing well one tastes joy and peace. This is the law of karma (modal giving), which determines a person’s fate in samsara (cyclical existence, the “cycle” of births, deaths and rebirths).

This law constitutes the mechanism of samsara, which is called bhavacakra - “wheel of life”. Any living being is locked inside the “wheel of life” with its endless chain of rebirths. Anger, ignorance and lust do not give him the opportunity to escape from the “wheel of life.” Bhavacakra consists of 12 nidanas - links, interconnected causes that give rise to a continuous stream of lives: ignorance causes the appearance of karmic impulses; they form individual consciousness; consciousness determines the nature of a person’s physical and mental appearance: this in turn contributes to the formation of the six senses - vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste and the perceiving mind. The perception of the surrounding world gives rise to feeling itself; then desire, in turn, gives rise to attachment to what a person feels and thinks about. Attachment leads to entry into existence, the consequence of which is birth. And every birth inevitably leads to old age and death.

This is the cycle of existence in the world of samsara: every thought, every word and deed leaves its own karmic trace, which leads a person to the next incarnation. The goal of a Buddhist is to live in such a way as to leave as few karmic traces as possible. This means that he should not depend on desires and attachment to objects of desire.

“Those who have no pleasant and unpleasant have no bonds”; “From attachment comes sadness, from attachment comes fear, whoever frees himself from attachment has no sadness, where does fear come from?”

Buddhism sees the highest goal of life in liberation from karma and exit from the circle of samsara. This state of a person who has achieved liberation is called nirvana in Buddhism.

Nirvana is the extinction of ordinary desires and passions. This is not death, but life, only in a different quality, the life of a completely liberated spirit.

Buddhism is neither a monotheistic nor a polytheistic religion. Buddha does not deny the existence of gods and other supernatural beings (demons, spirits, creatures of hell, etc.), but believes that they are also subject to the action of karma and, despite their supernatural powers, cannot go beyond the boundaries of the continuous circle. rebirths. Only a person is able to “take the path” and, by consistently changing himself, eradicate the cause of rebirth and achieve nirvana. To be freed from rebirth, gods and other beings will have to be born in human form. Only among people can the highest spiritual beings appear: Buddhas - people who have achieved Enlightenment, and bodhisattvas - those who postpone going to nirvana in order to help other beings.

But Buddhas cannot, like the gods of other religions, create the world or control the elements; they generally cannot punish sinners or reward the righteous. Buddhism emphasizes that a person's destiny depends only on his own efforts in tireless conscious work on himself. Therefore, the Dhammapada says: “Canal builders release water, archers subjugate an arrow, carpenters subjugate wood, sages humble themselves.

2.2 Truths of Buddhism

The fundamental truths revealed by the Buddha were as follows:

· The whole life of a person- suffering. This truth is based on the recognition of the impermanence and transitory nature of all things. Everything arises to be destroyed. Existence is devoid of substance, it devours itself, which is why in Buddhism it is designated as a flame. And only sorrow and suffering can be taken out of the flame.

· Cause of suffering- our desire. Suffering arises because man is attached to life, he craves existence. Since existence is filled with sorrow, suffering will exist as long as a person craves life.

To get rid of suffering, you need to get rid of desire. This is possible only as a result of achieving nirvana, which in Buddhism is understood as the extinction of passions, the cessation of thirst. Isn't this at the same time the cessation of life? Buddhism avoids answering this question directly. Only negative judgments are made about nirvana: it is neither desire nor consciousness, neither life nor death. This is a state in which one is freed from the transmigration of souls. In later Buddhism, nirvana is understood as bliss consisting of freedom and spirituality.

· To get rid of desire, one must follow the eightfold path of salvation. It is the definition of these steps on the path to nirvana that is fundamental in the teachings of the Buddha, which is called the middle path, which allows one to avoid two extremes: indulging in sensual pleasures and torturing the flesh. This teaching is called the eightfold path of salvation because it indicates eight states, mastering which a person can achieve purification of the mind, tranquility and intuition.

These are the states:

1. correct understanding: one should believe the Buddha that the world is full of sorrow and suffering;

2. correct intentions: you should firmly determine your path, limit your passions and aspirations;

3. correct speech: you should watch your words so that they do not lead to evil - speech should be truthful and benevolent;

4. right actions: one should avoid unvirtuous actions, restrain oneself and do good deeds;

5. correct lifestyle: one should lead a worthy life, without causing harm to living things;

6. correct efforts: you should monitor the direction of your thoughts, drive away everything evil and tune in to the good;

7. correct thoughts: it should be understood that evil comes from our flesh;

8. correct concentration: one should constantly and patiently train, achieve the ability to concentrate, contemplate, go deeper in search of truth.

The first two steps mean the achievement of wisdom or prajna. The next three are moral behavior - sewed And finally, the last three are mental discipline or samadha.

However, these states cannot be understood as steps on a ladder that a person masters gradually. Everything is interconnected here. Moral behavior is necessary to achieve wisdom, and without mental discipline we cannot develop moral behavior. He who acts compassionately is wise; he who acts wisely is compassionate. Such behavior is impossible without mental discipline.

In general, we can say that Buddhism brought a personal aspect to religion that was not previously present in the Eastern worldview: the assertion that salvation is possible only through personal determination and willingness to act in a certain direction. In addition, Buddhism quite clearly shows the idea of the need for compassion for all living beings - an idea that is most fully embodied in Mahayana Buddhism.

2.3 Sacred literature

The teachings of Buddhism are set out in a number of canonical collections, the central place among which is occupied by the Pali canon “Ti-Pitaka” or “Tripitaka”, which means “three baskets”. Buddhist texts were originally written on palm leaves, which were placed in baskets. The canon is written in Pali. In pronunciation, Pali is related to Sanskrit as Italian is to Latin. The canon consists of three parts.

Vinaya Pitaka, contains ethical teaching, as well as information about discipline and ceremonial; this includes 227 rules by which monks must live;

The Sutta Pitaka contains the teachings of the Buddha and popular Buddhist literature, including the Dhammapada, which means "the path of truth" (an anthology of Buddhist parables), and the Jataka, a collection of stories about the previous lives of the Buddha;

Abidhamma Pitaka contains metaphysical ideas of Buddhism, philosophical texts that set out the Buddhist understanding of life.

The listed books from all areas of Buddhism are especially recognized as Hinayana. Other branches of Buddhism have their own sacred sources.

Mahayana followers consider the Prajnaparalshta Sutra (teachings on perfect wisdom) to be their sacred book. It is considered a revelation of the Buddha himself. Because of its extreme difficulty in understanding, the Buddha's contemporaries deposited it in the Palace of the Serpents in the middle world, and when the time was right to reveal these teachings to the people, the great Buddhist thinker Nagarajuna brought them back to the world of men.

The Mahayana sacred books are written in Sanskrit. They include mythological and philosophical subjects. The individual parts of these books are the Diamond Sutra, the Heart Sutra and the Lotus Sutra.

An important feature of the Mahayana sacred books is that Siddharha Gautama is not considered the only Buddha: there were others before him and there will be others after him. Great importance has a doctrine developed in these books about bodisattva (body - enlightened, sattva - essence) - a being who is ready to transition to nirvana, but delays this transition in order to help others. The most revered body is Avalokiteshvara.

2.4 Buddhist view of the world

“An important feature of the Buddhist concept of the world is the indissoluble fusion in it of the features of the real, that is, prompted by direct observation, correctly recorded human creation, with ideas, attitudes, beings and processes generated by religious fantasy. This merging is so complete that one could speak here of the identity of the natural and the supernatural, if the latter were not always the main and determining factor for a Buddhist.”

The world of samsara in Buddhism is a continuous flow of births, deaths and rebirths, arising, destruction and re-emergence. It involves everything living and nonliving at all levels of existence.

Unlike other world religions, the number of worlds in Buddhism is almost infinite. Buddhist texts say that there are more than drops in the ocean and grains of sand in the Ganges. Each world has its own land, ocean, air, many heavens where gods live, and levels of hell inhabited by demons, evil spirits and other creatures. At the center of the world stands the enormous Mount Meru, surrounded by seven mountain ranges. Above it are the heavens of the three spheres, Gods, people and other beings who act solely to satisfy own desires, live in kamadhatu - the “sphere of desires”, divided into 11 levels. All beings inhabiting this sphere are subject to the law of karma and therefore, when their merits are exhausted, they can lose their nature in subsequent incarnations. Being in the form of a god or a person is just as temporary as being in any other form. In the realm of rupadhatu - the “world of form” - there are those who practice meditation on 16 levels. Above it is placed arupa - dhatu - “the world without form”, the sphere of pure consciousness that cannot be described. However, according to this ancient cosmological scheme, there are three main levels - the world of Brahma, the world of gods and demigods subject to the law of karma, and the world of the god Mara, who personifies death and various temptations to which man is exposed. Mara's influence extends to the earth and many underground worlds, hellish regions.

Marys are not eternal. Each of them arises, develops and collapses during one mahakalpa: its duration is billions of earthly years. It, in turn, is divided into 4 periods (kalpas). Not every kalpa becomes happy, but only the one in which the Buddha appears. According to Buddhist legends, a thousand Buddhas will appear in the current kalpa. Buddhist texts also name the six Buddhas who lived in the human world before Shanyamuni. However, the most popular among Buddhists is Maitreya - the Buddha whose coming is expected in the future.

It is also very important that from the Buddhist position (especially clearly formed in the writings of the Yogagars) “the entire sensory world, the world of continuous changes, suffering, is invented by the sick consciousness of each individual, a consciousness burdened with the sins of previous existences. Those. the entire amount of suffering experienced by an individual is only a product of his own actions committed in previous rebirths, that is, an illusion. However, the very experience of suffering is so acutely felt that it forces Buddhists to consider this “illusion” with all attention and care, because without this it is impossible to reveal the causes of suffering, to find ways to eliminate the causes, and thereby get rid of suffering, from all types of existence.”

3. Buddhism in Russia

The sociocultural space of Russia has historically been formed as a multi-confessional, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural formation with a Eurasian character. Eurasianism can be considered not only as a geopolitical project, but also as a certain paradigm for understanding Russia, as a conceptual image of its socio-cultural space, suggesting that Russia is a synthesis of Western and Eastern principles. An important property of the cultural space of Russia is dialogicality, which presupposes not only the peaceful coexistence of different peoples, religions and civilizations, but also the possibility of their dialogical interaction.

Buddhism, along with other traditional religions, contributed to the emergence of Russia as Eurasian in character. Understanding the place of Buddhism in the cultural space of our country undoubtedly contributes to self-understanding of the dual civilizational status of Russia and Eurasia. The very presence of Buddhism in Russia as a kind of third force is important factor unity Russian state, since a bipolar state is more dangerous for unity than a polycentric state.

In the course of historical development, three main and independent centers of Buddhist culture emerged in Russia: Kalmyk in the Lower Volga region, Buryat in Transbaikalia and Tuvan in the Sayan Mountains. The last two centers, due to their geographical proximity, can be combined into one - the South Siberian area of Buddhism, to which, with reservations, can be attributed the confessional space of the Altai Mountains, where Buddhism is gradually beginning to be perceived as a traditional religion.

In Buddhism, as in pragmatism, every demand for truth is necessarily associated with specific circumstances, and the theoretical significance of an idea is measured by its practical use: its real application. At the same time, Buddhist pragmatism is most clearly manifested in crisis, transitional periods of development: society (during the spread of Buddhism; at the beginning of the 20th century, in the era of globalization). This feature of Buddhism contributed to the fact that it quite easily and harmoniously fit into the sociocultural space of Russia, even going beyond its limits; its traditional existence.

Another essential feature Mahayana Buddhism, which has become widespread in Russia, is recognized; ideas of unity of absolute and relative (nirvana and samsara, singular and plural, relative and absolute truths). Moreover, the understanding that everything conceptual and expressible in words belongs to the realm of relative truth, which is plural in nature, contributed to both the pragmatism and tolerance of Buddhism.

One of the reasons for the harmonious inclusion of Buddhism in Russia was its proximity to Orthodoxy. Similarities between the two religions can be found both on the external (institutional-cult) and internal (religious-philosophical, esoteric) levels. At the religious and philosophical level, similarities can be found in the principle of the trinity of deity, the absence of an insurmountable barrier between man and the absolute, the presence of a negative approach to the definition of the absolute, and the existence of similar practices of contemplation. In addition, the Mongolian peoples had the experience of peaceful coexistence of Buddhism with Nestorian Christianity, which left its mark on their culture and mentality. Buddhism became widespread among Kalmyks, Buryats and Tuvans because it turned out to be spiritually and socially in demand. The establishment of Buddhism here happened almost painlessly, since Buddhism, due to its inherent pragmatism and tolerance, did not destroy, but adapted the previous cult system for its own purposes. In these regions, a kind of syncretism has developed, characterized by relatively peaceful coexistence within the framework of the Buddhist tradition of cults of Buddhist and pre-Buddhist origin. Buddhism contributed to ethnic consolidation and played an important role in the formation of a common national identity.

Buddhist peoples, being part of Russia, actively became involved in the achievements of Russian and Western culture, primarily in the Russian language, literature, and art. An important role in the formation of the Eurasian substrate in the Kalmyk and Buryat cultures was played by the attribution of part of the Kalmyks and Buryats to the Cossacks. Buddhist themes have found quite a noticeable reflection in Russian philosophy, which, of course, contributed to the creation of prerequisites for a full dialogue of cultures, an understanding of the idea of the plurality of civilizations, and increased interest in Eastern philosophy.

The long existence of peoples professing Buddhism in Russia could not but stimulate interest in Buddhism and the desire to comprehend its religious, philosophical and sociocultural aspects. Depending on the attitude towards Buddhism in Russian philosophical thought, three traditions can be distinguished: critical, liberal and complementary.

Characteristic of the critical tendency was that its representatives assessed the Buddhist religion clearly negatively. This tradition consisted of two opposing directions public life Russia - revolutionary socialist and orthodox Orthodox.

Representatives of the liberal tradition, despite criticism of Buddhism, recognized its historical role in world history and saw positive aspects in Buddhism.

The complementary tendency united those thinkers whose attitude towards Buddhism was generally positive. A special role in the history of the complementary tradition was played by Russian cosmists, who highly valued Buddhist wisdom. In general, Buddhism had a significant influence on the formation of the worldview of a number of famous Russian thinkers, who made a significant contribution to overcoming Eurocentrism in the public consciousness; which contributed to strengthening the Eurasian character of the sociocultural space of Russia.

An important trend in the development of the modern sociocultural space of Russia is the mobility of the population. As a result of this, the number of Buddhists who have left the areas of traditional distribution of Buddhism is growing, i.e. settled “in the diaspora”. The reason for population migration is both the difficult socio-economic situation in Buddhist regions and the global process of globalization. At the same time, such large cities as Moscow and St. Petersburg became the main centers of migration of Buddhists. IN difficult conditions in a foreign cultural environment, Buddhism acts as an important consolidating factor. Therefore, it is quite natural that the Buddhist associations of the “diaspora” are closely connected with ethnic communities. The cohesion and activity of ethnic Buddhist communities makes them quite noticeable subjects of the confessional space. The uniqueness of the situation is given by their contact and interaction with neophyte communities, which is actively spreading modern form Buddhism.

Conclusion

To summarize, we must say about the enormous importance of studying this topic. After all, Buddhism is a religion that covers about a quarter of the world's population, and also occupies the minds of a large number of Westerners.

Buddhism provides quite reasonable answers to questions that other world religions have not bothered to answer. He gives the common man hope that his fate is in his hands. And most importantly, it not only gives hope, but explains in accessible language, lays out step by step the path to salvation, difficult but true.

Buddhism justifies the inevitability of the death of all things and thereby denies its value for humans. The possibility of improvement in the field of human consciousness is affirmed; Buddhism views this process as overcoming all human desires, passions, and feelings. It uses widely emotional means impact on consciousness, skillfully applies especially tenacious folk legends and traditions, resorts to life examples and comparisons, putting them at the service of his teaching artistic creativity and creating an impressive cult following.

And of course we must not forget about the enormous contribution of Buddhism to culture, science, history, medicine and spiritual world of people.

Kochetov believes that “the peacefulness of many supporters of Buddhism......can play a certain role in the modern world in the fight against the threat of a new super-destructive war”

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The main Buddhist ones. Four classical principles