What is Buddhism?

The so-called Buddhism is actually the teachings of the whole Buddhism. Every religion has its own unique doctrine, which shows its own truth value and holds that it is eternal and not limited by time and space. The teachings of Buddhism are profound, profound and mysterious, including the true meaning of life in the universe. It lasted for more than 2,5 years, spread in a vast area, spread all over the world, and had far-reaching influence. The number of believers exceeded 1 million, ranking first among the three major religions in the world. Because the teachings of Buddhism have a systematic theoretical system, which has been confirmed by the history of practitioners for more than 2, years, the academic circles regard Buddhist classics as a philosophy to study, so it is generally called "Buddhism". Regarding the correct understanding of Buddhism, the views and understandings of the Buddhist community are different from those of the ideological and academic circles. Here, I will make some analysis for those who are interested in it.

From a cultural point of view, Buddhism is an important part of China's traditional culture. In terms of philosophical theory, it has original and incisive views on the universe and outlook on life, including ontology, epistemology and methodology. His philosophical interaction with pre-Qin philosophers promoted the further development of China culture, which is recognized by the intellectual community. In the view of Marxist-Leninist philosophy, Buddhism is a metaphysical speculative philosophy, and atheists hold a negative attitude. However, Buddhism is a very important social phenomenon in human history. Although its performance is only a kind of ideological belief, it has actually become a great social force that cannot be ignored. Therefore, Buddhism's teachings are included in the category of social science, and criticism is studied by the so-called "dialectical materialism" method: from the standpoint of history, Buddhism is an abstruse mystery. It has a complete theoretical system, a long history of argumentation, dialectical and unique logical thinking, rich literary value and exquisite philosophical theory. It is an excellent historical and cultural heritage and one of the precious spiritual wealth of mankind, which should be valued and explored; From the point of view of religious scholars, Buddhism is a teaching principle to promote Sakyamuni's thought, which has a profound meaning and is a compulsory course for Buddhists. From the standpoint of Buddhism itself, Buddhism is the teaching principle of getting rid of the suffering of life spirit and getting quiet and happy. If you practice it according to this, you will be arrogant. Different positions, different opinions, and different reasons, this is called a matter of opinion.

So what exactly is the most specific "Buddhism"? In short, it is the "classics, laws and theories". Classic is the teaching method of size multiplication proclaimed by the Buddha when he lived in the world. Law is a variety of religious rules formulated by the Buddha for the monks at that time and those studying Buddhism at home, which must be observed. The purpose is to stop evil and prevent disciples from escaping physically and mentally, creating bad karma and feeling bitter retribution. Later, it became a precept for Buddhist disciples, and there are specific provisions. After the extinction of Buddhism, the theory of Buddhism was written by eminent monks in India and China (should be called teachers), mainly clarifying the Confucian classics and giving full play to the Buddha's thought of saving things and benefiting life. Later, the disciples of the Buddha were divided into twelve categories according to the content and style of the collected scriptures, and the so-called "Sanzang Twelve Points Teaching" was passed down to later generations. Its content is vast and its righteousness is exquisite, which is unmatched by any religion in the world. Therefore, the academic circles believe that Buddhist classics are profound philosophical theories, including the truth of universal life, and are both religious and academic, which is beyond the reach of other religions, so they are called "Buddhism", which is also lacking in other religions. This is the most specific meaning of "Buddhism".