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Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Iron Age India around the middle of the first millennium BCE. [5] This was a period of great intellectual ferment and socio-cultural change known as the Second Urbanisation, marked by the growth of towns and trade, the composition of the Upanishads and the historical emergence of the Śramaṇa traditions.
Buddhism is an Indian religion [5] and dhārma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices based on teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha (5th century BCE), but diversified since then in a wide variety of schools and traditions. Buddhism originated in ancient India, from where it spread through much of Eurasia.
The belief that there is an afterlife and not everything ends with death, that Buddha taught and followed a successful path to nirvana; [215] according to Peter Harvey, the right view is held in Buddhism as a belief in the Buddhist principles of karma and rebirth, and the importance of the Four Noble Truths and the True Realities.
The main schools of Buddhism are divided into Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. [9] In academic circles, Mahayana is further divided into East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhism teaches that life is duḥkha or suffering and the primary goal of Buddhism is the liberation of the practitioner from samsara or the endless cycle of death and rebirth.
These belief systems have not historically been seen as mutually exclusive and have blended over time into different beliefs such as Pure Land Buddhism. This shows a marked difference from Western conceptions of religions, which see adherence to one religion as precluding membership of another faith.
Dharma (/ ˈ d ɑːr m ə /; Sanskrit: धर्म, pronounced ⓘ) is a key concept in the Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. [7] The term dharma is understood to refer to behaviours which are in harmony with the "order and custom" that sustains life; "virtue", righteousness or "religious and moral duties".
Buddhism relies on the continual analysis of the self, rather than being defined by a ritualistic system, or singular set of beliefs. [2] The intersections of Buddhism with other Eastern religions , such as Taoism , Shinto , Hinduism , and Bon illustrate the interconnected ideologies that interplay along the path of enlightenment .
Nontheistic religions (not to be confused with atheism) are traditions of thought within a religious context—some otherwise aligned with theism, others not—in which nontheism informs religious beliefs or practices. [1] Nontheism has been applied and plays significant roles in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.