Buddhism
n. the nontheistic religion and philosophy founded in India by Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563–c. 483 bce), known as the Buddha (Sanskrit, Pali, literally: “awakened one”). Buddhism holds that the end toward which one ought to strive is enlightenment, a transformation of consciousness that offers the only escape from the cycle of rebirth. Enlightenment involves the overcoming of desire or craving and is achieved by following an eightfold path: right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right views, and right intentions. The escape from the cycle of rebirth involves the dissolution of individual consciousness into a larger whole, a state referred to as nirvana, which represents an end of striving. Sigmund Freud attempted to capture this sense of quiescence in his nirvana principle. See also Zen Buddhism. —Buddhist
adj., n.