
The historical Buddha Sakyamuni in the Spituk Gompa near Leh in Ladakh
Photo: Copyright: Klaus Dierks
A SHORT HISTORY OF BUDDHISM
Klaus Dierks
(Based on: John Snelling: The Buddhist Handbook)
1.0 THE ROOTS OF BUDDHISM
1.1 Basic Principles
1. Freedom from dogma and finding the truth for oneself. Buddhism is not an
authoritarian religion with a centralised authority that grants or with-holds approval. It
is for the individual to test the ground, guided by common sense and Buddha's teaching;
2. Tolerance;
3. A liberal tradition of free inquiry;
4. Practical methods;
5. Healing and transformation.
In a nutshell: Buddhism is an atheistic salvation philosophy. |