NATI+Buddhism-Carlie

=What is Buddhism?=

**Who was the founder of this religion, and in what year was it founded?**
Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world. The founder of Buddhism is Siddharta Gautama, an indian prince. Over 2,000 years ago, Siddharta reached a spiritual enlightenment, and began teaching others how to reach the goal of Buddhists. Originally, his teachings were passed on orally, and this manner spread throughout parts of Asia.

**Who are the religious leaders of Buddhism?**
There aren't any religious leaders.

====**What is the place of worship of this religion? The Buddhists practice their religion in temples. **====

====**Where did this religion begin, and where is it practiced today?** The religion began in Northeast India. It is mainly practiced in China, Japan, and Korea (South Eastern Asia.) About 1.2 billion people are Buddhists today. ==== ====**What is the main belief of this religion?** The main belief or goal for the Buddhists is to reach enlightenment and leave the cycle of reincarnaion-(birth, death, rebirth) ==== ====**Does this religion have a god? if so, describe them. The Buddhists don't have a god that they worship like most other religions do. **====

**What are the sacred writings of this religion, and what do they contain?**
The sacred writings are found in the Pali Canon. The traditional Pali Canon is divided into three parts called //pikatas. There are three sections, the Pali Canon is also referred to as thetipitaka, or three baskets // The three sections are;

__Vinaya Pitaka__
The Vinaya Pitaka is the first section of the Pali Canon and is mainly focused on the code of beliefs to be followed by monks and nuns of the Buddhist faith. The rules in this section are often introduced by stories of each rule’s creator and the meaning of Buddha’s creation. According to the stories in the Vinaya Pitaka, the rules were developed as needed by Buddha concerned to the needs and behaviors of his followers.

__Sutta Pitaka__
The term Sutta Pitaka translates as a basket of threads, and contains accounts of Buddha’s teachings. This section of the Pali Canon is considered accurate by all people of the Buddhism religion, although other branches might call the section by a different name. The Sutta Pitaka is arranged in five groups, and the first four are easily understood writings of stories with a common code. The fifth section is a combination of different writings.

__Abhidhamma Pitaka__
The third, and final, category is the Abhidhamma Pitaka. This section focuses the basic elements of the Sutta Pitaka rewriten into a more complicated description of the nature and of the mind and matter. There are seven books in this section focusing only on the basic leader drawn from the previous pitaka.

**Describe the religious practices. How do they worship? How do they practice their beliefs?**
The buddhists don't really worship, they meditate, which consists of clearing the mind. Buddhists do not worhip anyone or anything. The Buddha himself said that he was not a god nor should he be worshipped. However, you may see people bowing to a statue of the Buddha; this is only showing respect in the same way that someone would bow to a King or Queen or salute the flag. The buddhists practice their religion by following the middle way, or the eight fold path, to do this, Buddhists have strict rules of moderation to follow.

**What are the religious festivals? How, when, and why o they celebrate these festivals?**
Buddhists mainly celebrate "vesak." This falls on the full moon day in the month of May. They believe the lord Buddha was born, enlightened and attained nirvana on the same day. Other than that they celebrate the day monks retire to their temples for rainy season, although this is done typicaly in the modern days.

**What are the main symbols of this religion, and what do they represent?**
The main buddhism symbols are the Buddhist wheel, which represents reincarnation. The Lotus flower which symbolizes the purity of body, speech and mind in every form. A lotus has roots in mud, the stem grows above the water and the flower blooms above the water. An open blossom stands for full enlightenment, and a close blossom indicates a scope for enlightenment. Also the Buddahs footprint symbolizes the bodily occurence of the lord.