Buddhism, a Religion Beyond Religions

This chapter will examine how Buddhism together with Hebraism, Christianity and Islam is considered as one of the great religions. It spread during its 2500 years of life in large areas in Asia, differentiating in different traditional schools while becoming integrated into the new and widely different cultural contexts. In this process, it maintained a variety of unique characteristics, which puts it in a special perspective. Buddhism is non-theistic, and does not worship supernatural beings, sacred scriptures and revelations requiring formal adherence and faith from the believer. In a way, it has been defined as an existential and philosophical approach aiming to overcome the sufferings encountered in life. In this context, Buddhism can be seen as transcending the characteristics of the other creeds. On the one hand, it satisfies the universal needs of religiosity and spirituality which characterise human nature, while on the other it places the emphasis on the natural individual experience, together with the inter-connection of all the facets of reality and the cause-effect relationships binding them.