Index of Buddhism-related articles22 Vows of Ambedkar Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery Abhayamudra Abhibhavayatana Abhidhajamahāraṭṭhaguru Abhidhamma Abhidhamma Pitaka Abhidharmakośa-bhāsya Abhijatabhivamsa Abhijna Acala Acariya Access to Insight Achar (Buddhism) Adam's Peak Adhiṭṭhāna Adi-Buddha Ādittapariyāya Sutta Adosa Āgama Agga Maha Pandita Aggañña Sutta Aggavamsa Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta Ahimsa Anne Hopkins Aitken Robert Baker Aitken Ajahn Ajahn Amaro Ajahn Brahm Ajahn Candasiri Ajahn Chah Ajahn Fuang Jotiko Ajahn Jayasāro Ajahn Khemadham
Buddhist textsBuddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli Canon of the Theravāda tradition, the Chinese Buddhist Canon used in East Asian Buddhist tradition, and the Tibetan Buddhist Canon used in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha.
ZenZen (; ; ; ) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (Chánzong 禪宗), and later developed into various sub-schools and branches. From China, Chán spread south to Vietnam and became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea to become Seon Buddhism, and east to Japan, becoming Japanese Zen. The term Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (chán), an abbreviation of 禪那 (chánnà), which is a Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word ध्यान dhyāna ("meditation").
Chan BuddhismChan (; () of ), from Sanskrit dhyāna (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. Chan is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism (the Japanese pronunciation of the same character, which is the most commonly used English name for the school). Chan Buddhism spread from China south to Vietnam as Thiền and north to Korea as Seon, and, in the 13th century, east to Japan as Japanese Zen.
Chinese BuddhismChinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism () is a Chinese form of Mahāyāna Buddhism which draws on the Chinese Buddhist Canon (大藏經, Dàzàngjīng, "Great Storage of Scriptures") as well as numerous Chinese traditions. Chinese Buddhism focuses on studying Mahayana sutras and Mahāyāna treatises and draws its main doctrines from these sources. Some of the most important scriptures in Chinese Buddhism include: Lotus Sutra, Flower Ornament Sutra, Vimalakirtī Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, and Amitābha Sutra.
Early Buddhist schoolsThe early Buddhist schools are those schools into which the Buddhist monastic saṅgha split early in the history of Buddhism. The divisions were originally due to differences in Vinaya and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separation of groups of monks. The original saṅgha split into the first early schools (generally believed to be the Sthavira nikāya and the Mahāsāṃghika) during or after the reign of Aśoka.
History of BuddhismThe history of Buddhism can be traced back to the 5th century BCE. Buddhism arose in Ancient India, in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha, and is based on the teachings of the renunciate Siddhārtha Gautama. The religion evolved as it spread from the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent throughout Central, East, and Southeast Asia. At one time or another, it influenced most of Asia.
BodhidharmaBodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th-century apocryphal story found in a manual called Yijin Jing, he began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kungfu. He is known as Dámó in China and as Daruma in Japan. His name means "dharma of awakening (bodhi)" in Sanskrit.
BhikkhunīA bhikkhunī (𑀪𑀺𑀓𑁆𑀔𑀼𑀦𑀻) or bhikṣuṇī (भिक्षुणी) is a fully ordained female in Buddhist monasticism. Bhikkhunis live by the Vinaya, a set of either 311 Theravada, 348 Dharmaguptaka, or 364 Mulasarvastivada school rules. Until recently, the lineages of female monastics only remained in Mahayana Buddhism and thus were prevalent in countries such as China, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while a few women have taken the full monastic vows in the Theravada and Vajrayana schools.
HuayanThe Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade-Giles: Hua-Yen, "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "Avataṃsaka") is Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based primarily on the Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra (, Flower Garland Sutra) as well as on the works of Huayan patriarchs, like Zhiyan (602–668), Fazang (643–712) and Zongmi (780–841). Another common name for this tradition is the Xianshou school (Xianshou being another name for patriach Fazang).
