The founder of Buddhism is believed to be Siddharta Gautama, called Buddha ("the enlightened one") by his later followers. Siddharta came from the dynasty of Sakyas that ruled a small principality at the foot of Himalayas. He was born around 563 BC at Lumbini, on the border between today's India and Nepal.

Course of Buddha's life

In his 20s after pursuing knowledge with many private teachers and having learned thoroughly the Hindi tradition, he left his wife and son to look for his own intellectual path. At the age of 35 he placed himself under the Bo tree (present day Bodhgaya in India) and spent 49 days in meditation.

Having spent there 49 days, he became the 'enlightened one' by perceiving the world as a lotus flower; some flowers are beneath the water, some close to its surface, and some above it, but they are all firmly connected to the mud at the bottom and can only touch upon the world above but never become a part of it. The lotus flower is still compared to the human beings connected to this world like flowers to the mud.

He perceived the world as the world of hardships; all the things and beings are selfless and ego-less, and everything exists due to the causation and everything depends upon a cause.

Everything is changeable and dependable upon time and space conditions - to reach the state of NIRVANA, enlightenment, the time and space conditions should be overcame.

He understood that time is not the straight line and it does not progress - it is a circle with no beginning or end and it is relative. The death of the living been is not the end, it is just the beginning of another life where all the lives are connected in the wheel of life called samsara.

He understood the Four Noble Truths:
Sorrow is the universal experience of mankind;
The cause of sorrow is desire;
Sorrow can be overcome by removal of desire;
That desire can be systematically abandoned by following the Noble Eightfold Path -eight steps that should be taken in the everyday practice. The path consists of:
· Right Understanding
· Right Thought
· Right Speech
· Right Action
· Right Livelihood
· Right Effort
· Right Mindfulness
· Right Concentration

After reaching the state of Nirvana, Buddha continued his teachings until the age of 80 when he died. Approximately 140 years after his death, Buddhist community split into 2 schools - Hinayana ('small vehicle') and Mahayana ('big vehicle'); Hinayana supported salvation of individuals whereas Mahayana salvation of entire mankind. Hinayana prospered in South India, Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia, and Mahayana in Inner Asia, Siberia, Japan, China and Mongolia

The Chinese Way

Buddhism bridged 2500 years in time and a couple of diverse cultures. Flexible enough, Buddhism adopted itself to the specific conditions and the cultural infrastructure found in different places, influenced and being influenced until today by the variety of cultures and traditions.

Buddhism came to China along the Silk Road in the first century AD at the beginning of the Eastern Han dynasty. However, it was unknown to anybody apart from the members of the ruling class until the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties when it started spreading among the ordinary people.

After a couple of centuries Buddhism molded into its Chinese shape tailored towards the Chinese cultural heritage and mentality. The teachings developed mainly in two directions - two schools known as the Jing Tu (Pure Land Buddhism), established in 420, and Chan ('School of Meditation) from 502 ad, both remaining popular in Japan up to-date.

Over the period of 2000 years, Buddhist religion in China have been spreading and adopting itself to the Chinese culture conditions, influencing it in the same time, particularly literature, sculpture and architecture.

Buddhism was spreading in China particularly during the long wars in the unstable period from IV-VIII AD, and the teachings of the 'promised peace' achieved through the Buddhist practice were attractive more than ever.

Already by the end of the 2nd century there were several Buddhist centers in China. In 260 AD the first Chinese pilgrim went to a kingdom in central Asia, paving the way for many to come after him. Unfortunately, many of them never made it back home - the trip from India could take over 2 years and their safe arrival depended on the actual safety of the trade routes and the wars along the Silk Road.

For the first couple of centuries, Chinese engaged mostly in translating the Buddhist scriptures and adopting the terminology to the Chinese culture milieu. One of the main points of interest was what was offered for the first time to the existing cultural traditions in China - the ideas of karma, rebirth, hell or purgatory, meditation, monks and monasteries. Prior to arrival of Buddhism, these ideas were alien to the Chinese culture.

By the 6th century Buddhist philosophy and practice were well crafted towards the Chinese culture and mentality. The most popular form was the Pure Land Buddhism established in 402 AD, remaining to this day both in China and Japan. The school worships Amitabha, Buddha of compassion (E mi-tuo Fo) with the celestial Buddha that helps reinforcing the original teachings and presides over a paradise, the 'Pure Land. Those who believe in Amitabha and pray for his aid will end up in paradise where 'heavenly music and food' are there for taking, and what's more important, Buddha's teachings are everywhere and it is easy to attain enlightenment and never be reborn on the Earth again. There was no need to practice meditation and study philosophy - pure faith was enough to get to the Buddhist paradise.

In the unstable dynastic periods Pure Land became mass teaching, with thousands of monasteries among which many of them were wealthy with lands and donations; they were the islands in the sea of the never- ending wars and turmoil from the 3rd to 8th centuries.

However, many intellectuals never responded to this mass movement and they remained concerned about the concept of enlightenment in this life, feeling threatened by the success of the Pure Land movement. By the 6th century few monks began a movement that was going back to the meditation as the main focus of the Buddhist practice. The new school, Chan (translated to Japanese as Zen) was born in 502 AD and its routes are associated to Bodhidarma, Indian teacher that come to China as pilgrim. It become quite popular in the intellectual circles, but never got the mass appeal like the Pure Land School.

The path to salvation proposed by Chen school was long and hard; it required a certain way of life and was in a way, returning to the original Buddhist preaching from the 6th BC. The main motto of the followers was "realizing ones own inner potential and becoming a Buddha" (jian xing cheng fo"). Enlightenment could be reached by causing the 'spiritual crisis' with the help of meditation and special learning systems still practiced up to day…