- Five things you might not know about Buddhism

There are around 488 million Buddhists in the world - or about 7 per cent of the global population - making it the fourth largest religion in the world, according to the Pew Research Center (2012). Buddhism began in Asia, and the vast majority of all Buddhists (nearly 99 per cent) still live in the Asia Pacific region. Only two other regions – North America (3.9 million) and Europe (1.3 million) – have more than 1 million Buddhists.

Here are five things you may not know about one of the world's oldest religions:

1. There are three forms of Buddhism

The early teachings of the Buddha that formed the Dharma  - spiritual law or guiding principle of Buddhism - were not written down but spread orally. As the religion became more widespread geographically, disagreements formed and escalated to form two main branches, and a third smaller one.

a) Mahāyāna:  The great vehicle

This is the largest branch, comprising of around 60 per cent of all Buddhists and mostly found in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Mongolia. It's often referred to as the most authentic form of Buddhism, having originated in northern India in 5th century BCE.

To Mahāyāna Buddhists, the Buddha is a projection of an unchanging, omnipresent being. The most distinctive teaching of the Mahāyāna is the principle of Nirvana and attaining the 'great compassion'.

b) Theravada: School of elder monks

A majority of the rest of the Buddhist population are Theravada Buddhist. They are predominately (predominantly?) in Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.
Some scholars argue that this is the ‘original’ form of Buddhism after being formed in 3rd century BCE. “Scholars have noted that many key Mahāyāna  ideas are closely connected to the earliest texts of Buddhism," says David Kalupahana in his book 'Mulamadhyamakakarika of Nagarjuna'.

For Theravada Buddhists, Buddha was an ordinary man who attained enlightenment by discovering the Four Noble Truths.

c) Vajarayana

Sometimes referred to as Tibetan Buddhism, the religion is concentrated Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Mongolia. It subscribes to Buddhist tantric literature and it’s believed it originated in Bengal or in modern-day Swat valley in Pakistan around the 4th century BCE.

2. It was an emperor who spread Buddhism across the Indian continent into China

The Indian Emperor Ashoka Maurya who reigned from 265–238 BCE conquered the Kalinga country on the east coast in a bloody war that claimed up to 100,000 lives. He subsequently renounced armed conquest and adopted a policy he called “conquest by Dharma”. He then made Buddhism the state religion of the empire and went out preaching to rural people and ordered his officials to do the same. He build (built?) a number of stupas around the region and sent his own son and daughter as missionaries to Sri Lanka  (formerly known as Ceylon) to spread Buddhist teachings.

3. The 4 Noble Truths

It’s believed that Buddha meditated for 49 days and then revealed these four noble truths.

i) Existence is suffering: Suffering is part of life in birth, aging, disease and death.

ii) Suffering is about craving and attachment to things worldly, which Buddhists need to let go of in order to find Nirvana. This attachment is called dukka.

iii) Suffering ceases at some point and turns to Nirvana, meaning we can escape dukka by rising above it.

iv) Noble Eightfold Path to Nirvana:  Buddhists believe that in order to be reincarnated, you must stop the cycle of rebirth as a suffering, selfish individual. In order to do that you need to go through the eight steps or 'Eightfold Path'.

To reach Nirvana - which literally means ‘unbound’ - you must be independent of things and be 'right in: sight, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. These things aren't completed in a strict sequence, rather in a continuous path.

4.  Tripitaka

Tripitaka (Sanskrit word meaning three baskets) is considered the most important text of Buddhism. It originally referred to three receptacles containing the palm-leaf manuscripts on which the Buddhist scriptures were originally preserved. It has three volumes:

i) Sutta Pitaka
It’s the first of the three collections of Buddhist writings. It contains more than 100,000 Suttas (teachings). The Buddha’s sermons were collected during the first assembly just after his death and translated into Sanskrit.

ii) Vinaya Pitaka
The second collection is about rules and regulations of monastic life for nuns and monks, including dress code and dietary rules to prohibitions of certain personal conducts such as sex or owning possessions.

iii) Abhidhamma Pitaka
The final book is a philosophical and psychological discourse and interpretation of Buddhist doctrine written by Upagupta.

5. The three Jewels of Buddhism

There are three ideals at the heart of Buddhism, forming the true foundation of beliefs:

1)  The Buddha and his teachings (yellow jewel)
2)  The Dharma (the blue jewel)
3)  The community of Buddhists — the Sangha (the red jewel)

When you make these three principles the centre of your life you become a true Buddhist.