Buddhism - Buddhist Concepts

Buddhist Concepts

As writing was uncommon in India at the time Gautama lived, the constructs of his life and teachings were passed on orally until they were written down, probably during the first century BCE.

The English word "Buddhism" is relatively new. It was first used in the Oxford English Dictionary of 1801 (spelled "Boudhism") and its spelling changed to the present one in 1816, in a comment published in the Asiatic Journal ("The name and peculiarities of Buddhism have a good deal fixed my attention").

"The Three Jewels", Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, as well as the concepts of karma, rebirth (and reincarnation) and the practice of yoga existed before Gautama lived but they later became associated with Buddhism.

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Famous quotes containing the word concepts:

    It is impossible to dissociate language from science or science from language, because every natural science always involves three things: the sequence of phenomena on which the science is based; the abstract concepts which call these phenomena to mind; and the words in which the concepts are expressed. To call forth a concept, a word is needed; to portray a phenomenon, a concept is needed. All three mirror one and the same reality.
    Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794)