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Buddhist monasticism is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism and one of the fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns, called bhikkhu ( Pali , Skt. bhikshu ) and bhikkhuni (Skt. bhikshuni ), are responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the Buddha's teaching and the guidance of Buddhist lay people.
Buddhist Jack Maguire has suggested that in the 4th century, Christian monasticism developed in Egypt, and it emerged with a corresponding structure comparable to the Buddhist monasticism of its time and place. [40] In Alexandria, Indian gravestones dating from the Ptolemaic period (c. 305 BC – 30 BC) have been discovered in Alexandria. [42]
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek μοναχός (monakhós) 'solitary, monastic'; from μόνος (mónos) 'alone'), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities.
' the awakened one '), [4] [f] [g] was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia [h] during the 6th or 5th century BCE [5] [6] [7] [c] and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, [b] to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a ...
The religion evolved as it spread from the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent throughout Central, East, and Southeast Asia. At one time or another, it influenced most of Asia. The history of Buddhism is also characterized by the development of numerous movements, schisms, and philosophical schools.
Buddhism was known in the pre-Christian Greek world through the campaigns of Alexander the Great (see Greco-Buddhism and Greco-Buddhist monasticism), and several prominent early Christian fathers, including Clement of Alexandria and St. Jerome, were aware of the Buddha, even mentioning him in their works.
[30] [31] Religion scholars specialized in the academic study of Western esotericism recognize that Theravada Buddhism had been influential on the philosophical and religious thought of the English occultist and ceremonial magician Aleister Crowley, [32] although he eventually distanced himself from Theravada Buddhist teachings and founded his ...
India Early Sangha Early Buddhist schools Mahāyāna Vajrayāna Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia Theravāda Tibetan Buddhism Nyingma Kadam Kagyu Dagpo Sakya Jonang East Asia Early Buddhist schools and Mahāyāna (via the silk road to China, and ocean contact from India to Vietnam) Tangmi Nara (Rokushū) Shingon Chan Thiền, Seon Zen Tiantai / Jìngtǔ Tendai Nichiren Jōdo-shū Central Asia & Tarim ...