Posted by SIDHARTH on Dec. 30, 2012, 8:51 p.m.
Buddhism (Pali/Sanskrit: ????? ???? Buddha Dharma) is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha (meaning "the awakened one" in Sanskrit and P?li). The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.[1] He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (dukkha) through eliminating ignorance (avidy?) by way of understanding and seeing dependent origination (prat?tyasamutp?da) and eliminating craving (ta?h?), and thus attain the highest happiness, nirv??a (nirvana).[2]