Contribution of Buddhism to Contemporary Society

Introduction of Buddhism:

Buddhism originated in ancient India Sarmana(the one who labor or toil) tradition between the 6th and 7th centuries BCE. The founder of Buddhism was Gautam Buddha or Siddhartha, he was born in a noble family of Kapilvastu situated in Lumbini in  Nepal. From early childhood, Gautama showed a meditative bent of mind. At the age of 29, he left his wife Yashodhara and son Rahula. He went place to place in search of liberation. About seven years later he attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya under a Pipal tree. From this time onwards he was known as Buddha or enlightened one. Gautam Buddha spread his teaching to monks, kings, children, youngers, and elders. He suggested the eightfold path for the elimination of human misery. It concludes the right observation, right determination, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right awareness,  and right concerns. If a person should follow these paths he would easily reach his destination. Buddha taught a five principal of tenets for his followers:

 i) do not commit violence

 ii) do not covet the property of others

 iii)  do not use intoxicants

iv) do not tell a lie

v) do not indulge in sexual misconduct and adultery.

Buddhism does not recognize the existence of the soul and god due to this revolution held in history. It comprised of lower caste people Shudra and women.

The Spread of Buddhism:

Buddha organized the sangha or religion, whose doors open for all caste, breed, and gender of a person except slaves, soldiers, and debtors. The monks were head of the sangha, they maintained the rules and regulation of the sangha. Buddhism based on three principal: Buddha, dhamma(law of nature or truth), and sangha. After the death of Buddha, about 200 years later Ashoka(The Maurya empire) embraced Buddhism. He spread  Buddhism into Central Asia, West Asia, Srilanka, Burma(Myanmar), Tibet, a part of China, and Japan and thus transformed it into a world religion.

Significance of Buddhism:

Buddhism contributed to eradicate poverty into the world by advised people to not accumulate wealth. Buddha taught that farmers should be provided with grains, traders with wealth, and the unemployed with employment. Buddha tried to diminish the evils that came from material life and he also enhances the social and economic life of the people. The aim of Buddhism was to secure the salvation of an individual, sometimes it was difficult for a new follower to break-up with an egalitarian society. One of the famous Buddhist text, "Suttanipata", declares that cattle were the givers of food, beauty, strength, and happiness, so it teaches the non-violence of animals which were used for food in Aryans time. Early Pali literature divided into three categories first contains the teaching of Buddha, the second comprised the rules observed by a member of the sangha and the third deals with the present philosophical explanation of dharma. 

Challenges and Opportunities:

There are several countries who faced challenges over Buddhism, for example, previously well established Buddhist communities have suffered the different problems that reduce their influence and life.  This type of situation occurred in those countries where the communist government was in power like North Korea, Mongol areas of Central Asia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. But at the end of the 20th-century theses setbacks were eased. In Cambodia, Buddhism reinstated as a state religion. Srilanka and Myanmar counted as Buddhist majority where 90 percent population was Buddhist. But after the Civil war(1983-2009) between the Sinhalese(majority people of Srilanka)Government and the Tamil Tigers(Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) Buddhists separated. There was an interesting story with regard to Myanmar, a political division between military junta and dictatorship in traditional Buddhist terms, although it was protested by a democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu a Nobel prize winner for peace. In 2007 Buddhist monks were prominent in Myanmar's Saffron Revolution against the dictatorship and hence in 2011 democratic government came in power. In Bhutan, Buddhism is "spiritual heritage", a traditionally Vajrayana Buddhist kingdom converted into a parliamentary government in 2008. 

Buddhism is practiced as a significant number of large Chinese Minorities and also made a great influence in Japan. In India Buddhism established by Dr.B.R.Ambedkar led the Mahar community, although Buddhism was disappeared many centuries ago from India in the 20th century it came back. The new Buddhism has its own teaching and style it integrates religious elements drawn from the pre-existing Mahar tradition.

School of Buddhism:

 Mahayana: The word Mahayana refers to "Great Vehicle" it originated from Northern India, Kashmir and spread into Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. It believes in the Idol worship of Buddha and the heavenliness of Buddha. 

 For more than two millennia Buddhism has been a powerful religious, societal, and political, first in India its homeland and in other lands.