Introduction

Bored of reincarnation? Tired of the endless infinite cycle? Buddhism is the religion for you.

It all started with Gautama Siddharta, a guy with a restless soul and an enquiring mind. He sat under a tree one day and realized that life was just a never-ending treadmill of birth, death and reincarnation.

Maybe it’s not a bad thing to be reborn over and over again but it does get very boring after a few zillion years.

Luckily there is a way to break the cycle and achieve Nirvana. Just become a Buddha. All you need is a sense of humor, a healthy appetite and some loose-fitting pants. Along the way you can hobnob with some lovely Bodhisattvas and party your way to Enlightenment with a succession of jolly souls. Much more fun than the usual nine-to-five grind of universal tedium.

For centuries the major manufacturing industry of India was Buddhism. Buddhas were exported at a furious rate, with more names and aspects than you can tinkle a temple bell at. Tibetan Buddhists had so many prayers to get through that they have to put them on wheels.

Buddhism has temple after temple filled with Big Buddhas, Buddhas with Cycles, Bouncing Buddhas, Trouncing Buddhas, Buddhas for Meditation, Medication, Indoctrination, Information, Transcendation, Mystication, Dhyanification, Unification, Levitation and several million more things for your Enlightenment. The sheer amount of enlightening you may find rather heavy-going.

One of the great Virtues of Buddhism is Patience. The Buddhists already know that it’s only a few zillion reincarnations until they reach the state of Nirvana, where — according to the prayer-wheel’s worth of books we have scrutinized — nothing needs to happen anyway.

Race you to Nirvana, folks!

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Options

Introduction to Buddhist Mythology.

Use our Godbrowser™ to explore the Gods of Buddhism.

View the Buddhist pantheons. Family trees coming soon!

Consult Godchecker’s complete alphabetical list of Buddhist god and goddess names.