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Gautama Buddha’s teachings were recollected by his followers and transmitted orally as Buddhism and Buddhist teachings. It was not until many years after his death in 483 B.C. that the Buddhic principles were written down. The Pali dialogues or Sutras are believed to be the closest approximation to what Gautama Buddha actually taught. Unique in religious history, no blood has ever been shed to convert others to Buddhism. Buddhism disappeared from India around the end of the thirteenth century, due to the take-over of India by Islamic conquerors. By this time, however, Buddhism had spread out from India to become a dominant faith in many Himalayan areas (Nepal, Tibet which remains a great repository of a vast body of important literature, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Ladak), and through Central and East Asia (China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Tibet, and Mongolia); and into Southeast Asia (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, and Laos). Buddhism is practiced today by over 500 million people worldwide. In recent years, many Americans and Europeans have also embraced the teachings of the Buddha or "The Middle Way", being moderate, and avoiding the extremes of asceticism and of hedonism.
The practical teachings of
Buddhism are meant to carry us to safety, peace, happiness, tranquility and the
attainment of Nirvana - to salvation and individual emancipation through
diligently developing wholesome, virtuous qualities and eliminating unwholesome,
non-virtuous qualities from the personality.
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