Buddhism is one of the world's leading religions. Yet, not many people who are not buddist know the basics. A reason for that is they don't know why they should learn the basics. Learning the fundamentals of others religions helps people connect and get along. Truthfully it's not to strenuous, you only need to know three simple things. What is the origin, what countries is it primarily practiced in today, and what are the foundational beliefs?
The origin of Buddhism is one of the most important parts of understanding Buddhism. Buddhism was founded around the sixth century B.C. in India by a man named Siddhartha Gautama. This man later became know as The Buddha.

While Buddhism was founded in India it did not stay there primarily. Most of the buddhists are now located in china. China is The world's leading buddhist population with japan in third place. Most Buddhist nations are located in southern and eastern Asia. Since Buddhism originated in India it stayed in nearby countries and although it has spread to the western hemisphere, the religion stays mainly where it started. Most of the buddhist population is located in China, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

Foundational beliefs is the belief in a basic teaching in a religion. Unlike many other religions, the followers of Buddhism do not believe in a god but rather in the teachings of Buddha. They recall these teachings from Buddha by reading the Tripitaka commonly known as the Buddhist holy book. This teaches them what they should do and what they should not do. They live by the four noble truths set by Buddha, although they are not to important if you're just learning the essentials.

That wasn't to hard to learn! Buddhism has laid out teaching and its organized making it easier for other people to learn. Now understanding buddhists lives may be easier for you and you can get along with them much better by knowing a little bit about them. Just three simple questions lead you to all this knowledge, and understanding. What is the origin, what countries is it practiced in and, what are the foundational beliefs?