Buddhism Intro
Summary
TLDRThe video introduces Buddhism, starting with common perceptions and images associated with it, such as the 'fat Buddha' and the Dalai Lama. It discusses the origins of Buddhism, its ties to Siddhartha Gautama, and the two main traditions: Theravada and Mahayana. The adaptability of Buddhism to local cultures is highlighted, as well as its presence in Asia and the U.S., including Grand Rapids. Local Buddhist centers and practices in Grand Rapids are mentioned, emphasizing their growth and openness to newcomers. The video serves as an introduction to Buddhism’s history, beliefs, and modern expressions.
Takeaways
- 😊 Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and has evolved into various streams, all claiming a connection to the Buddha.
- 📜 Buddhism originated in the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, emerging from the Hindu culture.
- 🌏 There are around 500 million Buddhists worldwide, primarily in countries like Bhutan, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Burma, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam.
- 🎭 Buddhism is highly adaptable to local beliefs and customs, with variations of practice depending on the region.
- 🚣♂️ Two major Buddhist traditions exist: Theravada (School of Elders, prevalent in Southeast Asia) and Mahayana (Great Vehicle, more common in East Asia).
- 🏯 Examples of famous Buddhist temples include the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok and temples in Japan, showcasing distinctive architecture and ornamentation.
- 🔮 Other forms of Buddhism include Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism), Pure Land Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and Nichiren Buddhism.
- 🌍 Buddhism's population density is concentrated in Asia, and it's projected to remain stable or shrink by 2050.
- 🏫 In Grand Rapids, there are several Buddhist centers, including the Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple (Mahayana from the Korean Zen tradition) and the So Kuji Buddhist Monastery (Japanese Zen).
- ☕ Buddhist services in Grand Rapids often include chanting, meditation, and socializing, and they are open to anyone interested in learning more about Buddhism.
Q & A
What is the origin of Buddhism?
-Buddhism originated from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, on the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.
Why is the 'fat Buddha' image often associated with Buddhism in America?
-The 'fat Buddha' image is often mistakenly associated with Buddhism in America because it was commonly seen in Chinese restaurants. However, this figure is actually a Zen Buddhist monk named Budai, who is linked to prosperity.
Who is the Dalai Lama, and what is his significance in Buddhism?
-The Dalai Lama is the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism. He is one of the most recognized figures in Buddhism worldwide.
What are the two major traditions in Buddhism?
-The two major traditions in Buddhism are Theravada, which is the 'School of Elders' and is considered the oldest form of Buddhism, and Mahayana, which is known as the 'Great Vehicle' and is more prevalent in East Asia.
How has Buddhism adapted to local beliefs and customs?
-Buddhism has shown a high degree of adaptability, blending with local traditions and practices in different regions, such as ancestor worship in countries like Laos and Thailand.
What is Vajrayana Buddhism, and how does it relate to other traditions?
-Vajrayana Buddhism, also known as Tibetan Buddhism or esoteric Buddhism, is considered a distinct branch by some and is known for its tantric practices. It is often grouped within the Mahayana tradition.
Where are the major centers of Buddhist population globally?
-Buddhism is primarily practiced in countries like Bhutan, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Burma, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam. It also has adherents in other parts of the world, including the U.S.
How is Buddhism projected to grow in the future?
-Buddhism is not projected to grow significantly worldwide by 2050, with its population remaining relatively stable or even slightly declining.
What is unique about the Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple?
-The Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple, founded in 2011, practices the Korean Zen tradition of Mahayana Buddhism and is mainly comprised of members who did not grow up in a Buddhist tradition.
What services are offered at the Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple?
-The Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple holds services on Sundays, where attendees recite Refuge Vows, perform chants, listen to a teaching by a Dharma council member, and engage in silent meditation for 15-20 minutes.
Outlines
🌟 Introduction to Buddhism and Common Misconceptions
The speaker introduces Buddhism and discusses common misconceptions Americans may have about it. One notable misconception is the association of a 'fat Buddha,' which is actually a Zen Buddhist monk named Budai, often seen in Chinese restaurants. Another common image of Buddhism is the Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The speaker also references iconic Buddhist temples, including ones in Japan and Bangkok, showing how Buddhism is visually represented across different cultures. Overall, Buddhism is introduced as a belief system based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, evolving into diverse streams over time.
🛤️ Major Traditions in Buddhism: Theravada and Mahayana
This section explores the two main traditions of Buddhism: Theravada, which is prevalent in Southeast Asia and considered the oldest form of Buddhism, and Mahayana, also known as the 'Great Vehicle,' which is widespread in East Asia. Theravada is known as the 'Way of the Elders,' while Mahayana encompasses several forms like Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren Buddhism. Additionally, Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism) is mentioned as a potential third tradition. The speaker explains how these traditions have spread and become prevalent in different parts of the world, showing the diversity within Buddhism.
🌍 Global Distribution of Buddhism and Its Projected Growth
Here, the global distribution of Buddhists is explored, with most followers concentrated in Asia, including countries like Bhutan, Cambodia, Japan, and Thailand. There is also a significant population in the U.S. Despite its large following, Buddhism is projected to remain stagnant or even shrink in the coming years. The speaker highlights this with visual data from 2020 and projections for 2050, showing little change in the religion’s global presence. The adaptability of Buddhism to local cultures, such as its incorporation with ancestor worship, is also noted.
🏯 Buddhism in Grand Rapids: Local Temples and Centers
This section shifts focus to the practice of Buddhism in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple, founded in 2011, is introduced as an American Mahayana temple rooted in the Korean Zen tradition. It is described as a growing community, primarily made up of people who did not grow up in Buddhist cultures. Their Sunday service rituals include chanting, meditation, and a Dharma teaching. The speaker also mentions another center, the So Kuji Buddhist Monastery, which has locations throughout Michigan. These local centers allow residents to explore and engage with Buddhism directly.
🔍 Conclusion: Exploring Buddhism in Grand Rapids
The final paragraph summarizes the introduction to Buddhism and encourages viewers to explore local Buddhist centers in Grand Rapids if they are interested in learning more. The speaker reiterates the core of Buddhism, rooted in the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, while acknowledging its evolution into various forms over time. The mention of two local Buddhist expressions further emphasizes the accessibility of the religion in the Grand Rapids area, providing viewers with opportunities to engage in person.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Buddhism
💡Siddhartha Gautama
💡Theravada
💡Mahayana
💡Zen Buddhism
💡Dalai Lama
💡Vajrayana
💡Temple
💡Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple
💡Pure Land Buddhism
Highlights
Introduction to Buddhism, covering history, beliefs, and practices, similar to the approach taken with Hinduism.
Common misconceptions about Buddhism in America, such as the 'fat Buddha,' who is actually a Zen Buddhist monk from the 10th century known as Budai.
Introduction of the Dalai Lama as the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism, a branch of Buddhism from Tibet.
Buddhism is a system of beliefs based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and has evolved into diverse streams of beliefs over time.
Buddhism originated as a religious movement in the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, emerging from Hindu culture.
Buddhism has around 500 million adherents worldwide, mainly in Asia, including Bhutan, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Laos, and other countries.
Buddhism is highly adaptable to local beliefs and customs, integrating elements like ancestor worship in places such as Laos.
The two major traditions of Buddhism: Theravada (the oldest form, found mainly in Southeast Asia) and Mahayana (the 'Great Vehicle,' prevalent in East Asia).
Vajrayana or esoteric Tibetan Buddhism is sometimes considered a third tradition of Buddhism, branching from Mahayana.
Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, and Nichiren Buddhism are other forms of Mahayana Buddhism.
Buddhism is projected to remain stable or even shrink globally, with no significant growth expected by 2050.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, hosts Buddhist temples, including the Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple, founded in 2011, an American Mahayana temple with a Korean Zen tradition.
The Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple mainly serves non-Buddhists, offering Sunday services that include meditation, chanting, and social activities.
The Sokoji Buddhist Monastery, another temple in the Grand Rapids area, was founded in 2007, following the Japanese Zen tradition.
The Buddhist community in Grand Rapids includes numerous temples and centers open to the public for exploration and learning about Buddhism.
Transcripts
the Buddhism and I will be talking in
this block starting today with an
introduction to Buddhism and then we'll
cover the history of the Buddhism and
we'll talk about beliefs and practices
as well very similar to what we did with
Hinduism
and so in this video we're talking about
an introduction to
and so I don't know what you think of
when you think of Buddhism maybe you
think of something like this because for
a long time this is what Americans
thought of when they thought of Buddhism
and any guesses why take a minute and
think about it any guesses why somebody
thought of this
well
the real answer is because this is
something that was in Chinese
restaurants for a long time and this
became associated with the Buddha but
um the thing is this actually isn't the
Buddha at all this is a Zen Buddhist
monk from the 10th Century known as Bude
often associated with things like
prosperity and stuff like that and so
they would be in Chinese restaurants but
this is one image that Americans have of
because known as like the fat Buddha or
something like that this um a larger
image
as you can see here is one of the common
perceptions people have
maybe you think of this guy when you
think of Buddha Buddhism this is the
Dalai Lama he's the religious leader of
Tibet a branch of Buddhism known as
Tibetan Buddhism
and we'll talk a little bit more about
that but that's what some people think
of when they think of Buddhism
maybe you have an image of a temple in
mind this is a temple from Japan and so
you can kind of see the distinctive
architecture there or maybe you think of
a temple like this one this is the
Temple of the emerald Buddha in Bangkok
and you can see the ornateness and the
kind of the gold on the outside edges
as well a lot of gold
used throughout inlay used throughout to
decorate it
and this is actually the emerald Buddha
that is inside of that Temple and
honestly after when I was there you're
walking around the ground seeing those
magnificent temples and palaces and then
you step in here and you see that Buddha
kinda up at the top
and you're like well that's the largest
emerald Buddha and it's kind of
underwhelming but then you have to
remind yourself that it is fully emerald
and so it is pretty amazing
um but just a tail look inside of that
Temple
and so um I don't know what you think of
when you think of Buddhism maybe it's
something from your experience maybe
it's something from a movie or maybe
it's like a high school religion class
but
um we talk about what Buddhism is or
isn't Buddhism is a system of beliefs
based on the teaching of Siddhartha
gutama that has grown and evolved over
time to diverse streams of beliefs
claiming some connection to Buddha so
think of it as kind of like a family
religions that came out of the teachings
of Buddha but now claim some kind of tie
to the Buddha and so it started as a
religious movement on the Indian
subcontinent
and Scholars place the life of
Siddhartha gutama sometime in the 6th to
4th Century BCE
and so that's when this is popping out
of Hinduism in the Hindu culture there
and the Buddha
um is we'll talk about in the history of
the Buddha kind of starts a new movement
so we talk about the current state of
Buddhism
um there are around 500 million
adherents to Buddhism in the world most
of those are in Bhutan Cambodia Japan
Korea Laos Burma Nepal Sri Lanka
Thailand Tibet and Vietnam
but
we found that Buddhism seems to be very
adaptable to local beliefs and customs
I was at that trip to Thailand did you
see it there but also
spent some time in Laos and heard about
how it really Buddhism is
been tied into ancestor worship and
different things like that and just
really adaptable to those local beliefs
and customs
as many religions are
so we're gonna unpack some of the
beliefs of this two major Traditions
later on in our videos but there are two
major Traditions there's a taravada
tradition which is also known as the
school of Elders and that's primarily
found in Southeast Asia and it's
considered the oldest form of Buddhism
and this Mahayana Buddhism which is
called the Great vehicle or the large
raft
and that's more prevalent in East Asia
places like China Korea and Japan
and so you have the theravada which is
like the way of the elders and Mahayana
which is like the
great vehicle with a large raft
and um
those are the kind of the two major
traditions and then other Traditions
typically split off from there
there are different forms of Mahayana
vajrayana
which is
tantric or esoteric Tibetan Buddhism
which
we'll talk about later as well and some
consider that to maybe be a third
tradition then you have pure land
Buddhism Zen Buddhism and nashir and
Buddhism as well
when you look at a map I kind of
mentioned where they were already where
are the Buddhists in the world this is
from as you can see here 2020
and you can see kind of the population
densities are in that Asia area you do
see um you know dots all over the world
within a large population also inside of
the U.S
and then we've also typically look at
kind of 2050 what are we projecting out
and so it's very similar no real um
no real change in location over those 30
30 years but what is interesting is they
how they've kind of changed the key on
this map and I'll go back here I guess I
can't but um
this one has a 400 million where the
last one was 420 million in the largest
Circle
and so on Buddhism is projected to be
pretty stagnant or perhaps even
shrinking it's not a religion that's
growing significantly around the world
when we talk about Buddhism in Grand
Rapids that's something we've been
looking at as well in our intro videos
here's the Grand Rapids Buddhist temple
this was founded in 2011. it's um
American it's an American Mahayana
Temple from the Korean Zen tradition and
so it's out of the two ranges taravada
Mayana it's Mahayana and inside of
Mahayana it's in from the Zen tradition
and of the Korean said tradition and it
claims to be one of the fastest growing
Buddhist centers in the U.S
and um
what makes it interesting is that it's
mainly comprised of those who didn't
grow up Buddhist and so
um it's not a center that caters toward
someone who maybe is an immigrant or you
know comes from a culture that's
predominantly Buddhist
um the typical Sunday service there and
they do meet on Sundays is this is from
their website they re they recite the
Refuge vows and select a chance
the chance
the morning Bell chant that you bull
chant the heart Sutra and there's a
teaching delivered by someone a Dharma
council member and some silent
meditation for 15-20 minutes
several gothos or verses are recited and
they have tea and socialize after the
service
and again if like we've said before if
this is something you're interested in
checking out I'm sure you can just swing
by there check them out on their website
and swing by on a Sunday
then you have the so kuji Buddhist
Monastery this started as a study group
in 1975 and
Battle Creek it became Soko kuje in 2007
and this is from the school of Japanese
Zen and there are different locations in
Battle Creek Grand Rapids Kalamazoo
Muskegon and Traverse City
and these aren't the only
Buddhist temples or centers in the Grand
Rapids area there are numerous other
ones around
free to check out if you're interested
in going there and finding out more
about Buddhism from people who practice
it themselves
and so that really is kind of an
introduction to Buddhism
we've talked about you know it really is
found based upon a Founder the Buddha
and his teachings even though it kind of
has gone in different directions in some
some forms it shapes and forms what they
all tie their
teachings in some way shape or form back
to the Buddha
and we have
we looked at where it's located
primarily in Asia and looked at where
the two major Traditions are located as
well that we looked at where two
different expressions of it in the Grand
Rapids area
so like I said feel free to reach out to
some of those places in Grand Rapids if
you want to go visit and get uh a view
of what it would look like in the Grand
Rapids area
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