If you have ever walked past a Buddhist temple, seen a Buddha statue, watched monks in their robes, or perhaps tried meditation, you may already have some idea of what Buddhism looks like.

But what exactly is Buddhism?

Is it a religion? A philosophy? A way of life? A method of meditation? Is Buddha a god? And what do Buddhists actually believe?

These are simple questions, but the answers are not always as simple as we might expect.

Welcome to the first chapter of Buddhism for Beginners.

In this course, we will gradually explore the life of the Buddha and his teachings to see how they can help us understand ourselves, our relationships, our suffering, and how we experience life.

But before we get into the teachings themselves, let’s start at the beginning.

A Question About Life

More than 2,000 years ago, a man named Siddhartha Gautama began asking some very uncomfortable questions.

Why do we suffer from illness, aging, and death?

What is the meaning of life if everyone has to die?

Is there a way out of these miseries?

These questions eventually led Siddhartha on a remarkable journey. Eventually, he became known as the Buddha — the “Awakened One” — and the teachings that grew from his teachings became what we now call Buddhism.

At its heart, Buddhism is therefore not simply a collection of religious beliefs.

It begins with an investigation into a very human problem:

Why do we suffer, and is freedom from suffering possible?

That question remains just as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.

Where Did Buddhism Begin?

Buddhism began in ancient India, in the region of the Indian subcontinent that today includes parts of India and Nepal.

The historical Buddha lived more than 2,500 years ago, probably around the 5th century BCE, although the exact dates of his life are still debated by historians.

From its beginnings in India, Buddhism gradually spread across Asia.

Over the centuries, it became an important part of the cultures of countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia.

Eventually, Buddhism travelled much further.

Today, Buddhist communities can be found throughout Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and many other parts of the world.

According to recent estimates by the Pew Research Center, around 324 million people formally identified as Buddhist in 2020, representing about 4% of the world’s population.

But even this number does not tell the whole story. In parts of East Asia, many people participate in Buddhist traditions, visit temples, make offerings or observe Buddhist practices without formally describing themselves as “Buddhist.” So the cultural influence of Buddhism is considerably larger than membership figures alone might suggest.

Who Was the Buddha?

The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama, although calling him simply the “founder” can sometimes give the wrong impression. The Buddha did not claim to have invented Buddhism.

Instead, according to Buddhist tradition, he discovered a path to awakening and then taught what he had discovered to others. The word Buddha is a title rather than a personal name. It means “Awakened One.”

Siddhartha Gautama was therefore not born a Buddha. He became a Buddha.

In Buddhism, becoming a Buddha is regarded as the attainment of complete awakening. While different Buddhist traditions place different emphasis on the possibility and path to Buddhahood, Buddhist practitioners can aspire to become Buddhas.

Traditional accounts tell us that Siddhartha was born into a privileged family. He was protected from many of the unpleasant realities of life and enjoyed a comfortable existence. But eventually he encountered something that could not be kept outside the palace walls:

old age, sickness and death.

He also encountered a person who had left ordinary worldly life in search of spiritual understanding.

These encounters deeply affected him. Siddhartha began to realise that no amount of wealth, comfort or privilege could protect a human being from the fundamental realities of existence.

So he left his former life and began a spiritual quest for an answer.

After years of spiritual practice and contemplation, Siddhartha attained awakening.

From then on, he was known as the Buddha.

He spent the remainder of his life teaching others what he had discovered.

Is the Buddha a God?

This is one of the first questions many people ask.

The short answer is:

No — not in the sense of a supreme creator God.

The Buddha did not claim to be the creator of the universe.

Buddhism does not revolve around belief in an all-powerful creator who created the world and decides the fate of human beings.

At the same time, Buddhist traditions do contain teachings about gods, heavenly beings and different realms of existence.

But these beings are not understood as an eternal creator God who stands outside the universe and controls everything.

This is one reason Buddhism is often described as non-theistic.

So when Buddhists bow before a Buddha image, this does not necessarily mean that they believe the statue itself is a god. Depending on the tradition and practice, bowing may express respect, gratitude, devotion or a reminder of the qualities represented by the Buddha.

The important point is that the Buddha is primarily understood as an awakened teacher.

He showed a path.

He did not ask people to worship him as the creator of existence.

Is Buddhism a Religion or a Philosophy?

This is another question without a simple one-word answer.

Buddhism is commonly recognised as one of the world’s major religions.

It has:

• temples and monasteries
• monks and nuns
• ceremonies and festivals
• sacred texts
• devotional practices
• ethical teachings
• meditation traditions
• communities of practitioners
• beliefs about karma and rebirth
• rich philosophical traditions

At the same time, Buddhism also involves a deep investigation into questions such as:

• What causes suffering?
• What is the nature of the self?
• Why do we cling to things?
• Why are we dissatisfied even when life seems to be going well?
• How does the mind shape our experience?
• Can we change the way we respond to life?

For this reason, some people encounter Buddhism primarily as a religion, while others are attracted to its philosophical or contemplative aspects. Perhaps the most useful way to think about it is this:

Buddhism is a path of understanding and practice that developed into a rich family of religious, philosophical and cultural traditions.

Trying to squeeze it into only one category can sometimes hide more than it reveals.

What Is Buddhism Trying to Achieve?

At the centre of the Buddha’s teaching is the problem of dukkha, often translated as suffering, dissatisfaction or unsatisfactoriness.

The word is often translated simply as “suffering,” but that translation can be misleading. Dukkha includes obvious suffering such as illness, grief, fear and pain. But it also refers to a deeper sense of dissatisfaction with the way life unfolds. We will explore the meaning of dukkha in much greater detail in a later chapter.

For now, it is enough to understand that Buddhism teaches that dukkha can cease and that there is a path leading towards liberation.

Understanding that path will become one of the central themes of this course.

The Three Jewels

As Buddhism developed, three things became central to Buddhist practice:

The Buddha – The awakened teacher who discovered and taught the path.

The Dhamma/Dharma – The Buddha’s teachings, as well as the truth and reality that those teachings point towards.

The Sangha – The Buddhist community. Traditionally, this particularly refers to the community of ordained monks and nuns, although the word can have broader meanings in different Buddhist traditions.

Together, these are known as the Three Jewels or Three Refuges.

They provide a simple way of understanding what it means to orient oneself towards Buddhism:

Look to the Buddha as the teacher.

Study and practise the Dhamma.

Walk the path with a community of practitioners.

We will return to these ideas later in the course.

Buddhism Is Not One Single Thing

When someone says, “Buddhism teaches…” we should sometimes pause and ask:

Which Buddhism?

Over more than two thousand years, Buddhism developed into many different traditions and schools.

The three broad traditions most commonly discussed are:

Theravāda – Theravāda Buddhism is particularly prominent in countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

Mahāyāna – Mahāyāna Buddhism developed into numerous traditions and became particularly influential in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

Vajrayāna – Vajrayāna traditions developed within the broader Mahāyāna world and are particularly associated with Tibetan Buddhism and Himalayan regions. Some Japanese Buddhist traditions, such as Shingon, also contain strong esoteric practices associated with Vajrayāna Buddhism, while Tendai incorporates elements of esoteric Buddhism.

Within these broad categories are many different schools and practices.

Zen, Pure Land and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, for example, can look quite different from one another.

They may use different scriptures, rituals, meditation methods and forms of practice.

Yet they share important roots in the Buddha’s teachings.

This is something worth remembering throughout this course:

There is no single way that all Buddhists practise Buddhism. Buddhism is a large and diverse family of traditions.

Buddhism Today

It can be easy to think of Buddhism as something belonging to the distant past. But Buddhism is very much alive.

Millions of people around the world identify as Buddhist, while many more engage with Buddhist practices, teachings or cultural traditions. Buddhist meditation has also entered mainstream culture in many countries. Words such as mindfulness, karma, Zen and meditation have become familiar even to people who have never entered a Buddhist temple. But something important can get lost when Buddhist ideas are removed from their original context.

For example, mindfulness is sometimes presented simply as a technique for becoming more productive or less stressed. Meditation may be marketed as a way to relax. Karma may be treated as a simple version of “what goes around comes around.”

These ideas have some connection with Buddhism, but they are much more complicated than their popular versions suggest. To understand Buddhism, we need to look beyond the slogans.

Common Misunderstandings About Buddhism

Before we continue, it is worth clearing up a few common misunderstandings.

“Buddhists worship Buddha.”

Not necessarily. The Buddha is traditionally regarded as an awakened teacher rather than a creator God. Buddhist traditions do contain devotional practices, but these should not automatically be understood as worship of a supreme deity.

“Buddhism says life is suffering.”

This is an oversimplification. Buddhism recognises suffering and dissatisfaction, but it also teaches the possibility of liberation from dukkha. The teaching does not end with suffering. It begins there.

“Buddhism is just meditation.”

Meditation is important, but Buddhism is much broader. Ethics, wisdom, compassion, mental cultivation and understanding are all important parts of the Buddhist path.

“Karma means you get what you deserve.”

This is a common modern interpretation, but it is far too simplistic. Buddhist teachings on karma are concerned particularly with intentional action and its consequences. Karma is not simply a cosmic system of rewards and punishments.

“All Buddhists believe the same thing.”

Definitely not. Buddhism has developed across different cultures for more than two thousand years. There are important similarities between Buddhist traditions, but also significant differences.

Where Do We Go From Here?

This chapter has only scratched the surface.

We have looked briefly at where Buddhism began, who the Buddha was, what Buddhism is trying to achieve, and how Buddhism developed into many different traditions.

In the chapters ahead, we will learn more about who the Buddha was, his family and disciples, and some of the important events in his life.

We will explore some of his well-known teachings and sermons and consider how they might be applied to our lives today.

We will also follow the journey of Buddhism beyond ancient India and see how it spread across Asia, interacting with different cultures, traditions and beliefs along the way.

The purpose of this course is not simply to memorise Buddhist terms or historical facts.

It is to gradually build an understanding of the Buddha’s teachings and to consider why they have remained meaningful to so many people for more than two thousand years.

So, if you are completely new to Buddhism, don’t worry about remembering everything in this first chapter.

For now, perhaps just remember this:

The Buddha was a teacher who awakened.

Buddhism is a path concerned with understanding and overcoming suffering.

And the best way to understand Buddhism is to explore its teachings, rather than relying only on what we have heard about it.

In the next chapter, we will go back to the beginning and look more closely at the remarkable life of the person who became the Buddha. Meanwhile, try the quizzes below.