Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism was born 2,600 years ago in India from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Buddha Shakyamuni, the Sage of the Sakyas. A buddha is not a god or divinity, but neither is a buddha a normal human being. According to Buddhism, all beings have a Budda-nature, an essential nature of clarity and harmony, which has now been darkened by blinded, unhealthy attitudes and emotions such as attachment, selfishness and egocentricity, which are the cause of unhappiness and suffering. It is in recognising and liberating that nature that one becomes free from suffering -- a freedom known as nirvana -- eventually leading to the awakening or bodhi -- an absolute harmony of the being -- also known as enlightenment. Buddhas are therefore all those who have achieved the awakened state, a state all beings have the potential to achieve. In accordance with this teachingthe historical buddha Sakyamuni, in his inner determination to confront realities of life such as birth, old age, illness and death, taught a non-dogmatic path of personal and universal freedom based on his own experience that constitutes the basis of Buddhism. Buddha said:

Listen monks and scholars! As a goldsmith tests the purity of gold by cutting it, rubbing it and melting it, so you should analyse my words, and not accept them out of respect for me.

The Buddhist path can be summarised in three higher teachings: the integrated practice of ethics, meditation and wisdom. In the words of the Buddha himself:

Never commit any harmful action, amass wealth in virtue and completely control your mind. This is the Buddha's teaching.

The spread of Buddhism

When the Buddha died, his teachings and followers spread and Buddhism expanded throughout India. It reached its height during the 7th century AD, and remained popular until the 13th century, when it almost disappeared from the Indian subcontinent and was confined to the north. But this contributed to its expansion to other Eastern countries and cultures, where it combined with autochthonous cultures while maintaining its essential foundations.

In South-East Asia, Buddhism first spread to Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), whence it spread to Burma, then to Ireland, Laos, Kampuchea and Java. In these cultures, it was mainly the Theravada schools of Buddhism that were established and preserved. These schools practise a path of personal liberation.

In the North, Buddhism spread to present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia, then on to Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Ladakh and Tibet, from where it was taken to Mongolia and the Buryat culture of Russia, and China, from where it travelled to Japan and Korea, then to Vietnam. In all these cultures, it was mainly the Mahayana schools that were created, which practise a universalist Buddhism that aspires to achieve the well-being of all.

The first contact between Buddhism and Western culture took place 500 years after the Buddha's death in what is known as the Ghandara culture. This culture arose between present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the Bactrian Greeks, who descended from Alexander the Great, adopted Buddhism. This fusion of Buddhism with Hellenism led to a blossoming culture that, among other contributions, initiated the tradition of representing the Buddha in human form using the Hellenic artistic tradition.

Later contact between the West and Buddhism was isolated and sporadic, mainly through travellers and traders on the Silk Road, and later through Christian missionaries. But there was no contribution to an exchange of thought. More recently, it was the countries with colonies in East Asia, such as Great Britain, France and Russia, that maintained contact with Buddhist cultures, arousing the interest of renowned thinkers and artists in Buddhism. In the 19th century, there began to be Western Buddhists in many European countries, some of them ordained as monks, and by the 20th century, the philosophy and practice of Buddhism was already being studied at European universities.

In Spain, and more specifically in the Catalan-speaking areas, the first stable contact with Buddhism did not begin until well into the 20th century. This is perhaps because there was very little interest in Eastern cultures, and much greater interest in Africa and the Americas. In the 1970s, initial permanent contact was established with Buddhist teachers, leading to the birth of the first generation of autochthonous Buddhists and the opening of the first Buddhist centres in this country. Since those beginnings more than 30 years ago, there has been a growing interest in Buddhism as a philosophy or religion and as a way of life or a path of self-fulfilment. The number of Buddhist practitioners and supporters has grown, and Buddhist communities, organisations and centres of the different Buddhist schools and traditions have been created, continually increasing the presence of Buddhism in our society. The recent recognition of Buddhism by the Spanish government, which conferred it with the legal status of a relgion with a conspicuous presence (_notorio arraigo_), was testament to this.

Contributions by the Buddhist centres to Catalan society

We can summarise the contribution of Buddhism to our society in two aspects. On the one hand, there is a service to Buddhists, offering the necessary conditions for them to practise Buddhism correctly according to their values and lifestyles.

From their very beginnings, the primary objective of Buddhist groups and organisations, as is logical and coherent with the objectives set out in their bylaws, has been to facilitate the knowledge, study and practice of different forms of Buddhism, according to the schools and masters that inspired their creation. For this reason activities such as courses and meditation have been organised, for which Eastern and Western masters and teachers were invited, and libraries and retreat centres have been created for intensive practice.

Furthermore, since they were created Buddhist centres have contributed to society in general. This is coherent with Buddhist thought, since its location, especially in the Universalist tradition, is to relieve all beings -- including animals and other life forms -- of suffering and contribute to their well-being and happiness.

These contributions to society at large have included:

Contribution to culture by organising and participating in conferences, lectures and a wealth of cultural activities, such as exhibitions and debates on dialogue with science, education, economics and medicine. The translation, creation is and publication of books and texts, and the promotion of educational projects.

Contribution to social welfare through the defence and promotion of human and ethical values based on altruism and protection of the environment.
Participation in domestic social programs, such as support for prisoners or help for people with illnesses or disabilities and care for terminally ill and dying patients. And cooperation with NGOs and initiatives for helping and sponsoring children and old people in Buddhism's countries of origin.

A major contribution of the Buddhist centres -- thanks to the vast knowledge that Buddhism in parts on the mind, the mechanisms of Buddhism and its meditation techniques (it has often been considered a science of the mind) -- has been to help Buddhists and non-Buddhists by providing meditation and therapeutic techniques to relieve them of stress and to live a more tranquil, balanced life.

Buddhism is a tradition of peace: personal and universal peace. For this reason, Buddhists have individually and collectively participated, through the centres and associations that represent us, in initiatives that foster peace, harmony and dialogue in all areas, particularly dialogue and mutual respect between different cultures and religious traditions.