I. The core foundation (බුද්ධාගම මූලික සංරචනය)
The Buddha (බුද්ධ)
Siddhartha Gautama (සිද්ධාර්ථ ගෞතම) was born in Lumbini, attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, and passed into Parinirvana at Kushinagar. The title “Buddha” (බුද්ධ) means “Awakened One.”
The Three Jewels (තිරතණය – Triratna)
- Buddha (බුද්ධ) — The Teacher.
- Dharma (ධර්මය) — The Teachings/Truth.
- Sangha (සංඝය) — The Community of practitioners.
The Four Noble Truths (චතුර් ආර්ය සත්ය)
- Dukkha (දුක්ඛය) — The Truth of Suffering.
- Samudaya (සමුදය) — The Origin of Suffering (craving/attachment).
- Nirodha (නිරෝධය) — The Cessation of Suffering (Nirvana).
- Magga (මාර්ගය) — The Path to cessation (Noble Eightfold Path).
The Noble Eightfold Path (අරිය අෂ්ටාංගික මාර්ගය)
Wisdom (ප්රඥා)
- Right Understanding (සම්මා දිට්ඨි)
- Right Thought (සම්මා සංකප්ප)
Moral Conduct (ශීල)
- Right Speech (සම්මා වාචා)
- Right Action (සම්මා කම්මන්ත)
- Right Livelihood (සම්මා ආජීව)
Mental Discipline (සමාධි)
- Right Effort (සම්මා වායම)
- Right Mindfulness (සම්මා සති)
- Right Concentration (සම්මා සමාධි)
II. Key philosophical concepts (ප්රධාන දර්ශනීය සංකල්ප)
The Three Marks of Existence (තිලක්ඛණ)
- Anicca (අනිච්ච) — Impermanence.
- Dukkha (දුක්ඛ) — Unsatisfactoriness.
- Anatta (අනත්ත) — Non‑Self.
Karma and Rebirth (කර්මය සහ punarbhava)
Karma (කර්මය) means intentional action leading to results. Rebirth (punarbhava – punarjanma) is continuity of consciousness, not transmigration of a soul.
Dependent Origination (පටිච්ච සමුප්පාදය)
All phenomena arise in dependence upon causes and conditions: “When this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises.”
III. Ethical and practical teachings (ශීල හා ප්රායෝගික භාවනා)
The Five Precepts (පඤ්ච ශීල)
- Not killing/harming (පාණාතිපාත විරති).
- Not stealing (අදත්තදාන විරති).
- Not engaging in sexual misconduct (කාමමිථ්යාචාර විරති).
- Not lying (මුසාවාද විරති).
- Not taking intoxicants (සුරා මද්ය මජ්ජ පමාදට්ඨාන විරති).
Meditation (භාවනා)
- Samatha (සමථ) — Calmness/Tranquility meditation.
- Vipassanā (විපස්සනා) — Insight meditation.
Compassion and Loving‑Kindness
- Mettā (මෙට්ට) — Loving‑kindness.
- Karuṇā (කරුණා) — Compassion.
IV. Schools and traditions (පාඨශාලා හා පාරම්පරික ආදර්ශ)
Theravāda (ශ්රාවකයන්ගේ පාසල)
- Prominent in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos.
- Preserves the earliest teachings in the Pāli Canon (Tipitaka – තිපිටකය).
- Emphasizes the arahant ideal (අරහන්ත භාවය) and monastic discipline (Vinaya).
Mahāyāna (මහයාන)
- Flourished in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam.
- Bodhisattva ideal (බෝධිසත්ව ආදර්ශය): compassionately postponing Nirvana for all beings.
- Key schools: Madhyamaka (මධ්යමකය; emptiness—śūnyatā), Yogācāra (යෝගාචාරය; mind‑only).
Vajrayāna (වජ්රයාන)
- Prominent in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, parts of Nepal.
- Esoteric methods: mantras, mudras, mandalas; rapid paths to realization.
- Lineage masters include Padmasambhava and Tibetan teachers.
V. Sacred texts and figures (පූජ්යනීය ග්රන්ථ හා ඉතිහාස ප්රතිභා)
Pāli Canon (Tipitaka – තිපිටකය)
- Vinaya Pitaka (විනය පිටකය) — monastic discipline.
- Sutta Pitaka (සුත්ත පිටකය) — discourses of the Buddha.
- Abhidhamma Pitaka (අභිධම්ම පිටකය) — philosophical/psychological analysis.
Sūtras/Suttas (සුත්ර/සුත්ත)
- Dhammapada (ධම්මපදය) — verses on ethics and wisdom.
- Lotus Sutra (ධර්ම පුණ්ඩරීක සුත්රය) — Mahāyāna teaching of universal Buddhahood.
- Heart Sutra (ප්රඥා පාරමිත්රා හෘදය සුත්රය) — concise teaching on emptiness.
Notable historical figures
- Ashoka (අශෝක) — emperor who spread Buddhism through edicts and stupas.
- Nāgārjuna (නාගාර්ජුන) — Middle Way philosophy; emptiness.
- Xuanzang — pilgrim‑translator enriching Mahāyāna in East Asia.
- Ananda (ආනන්ද) — attendant who preserved many discourses.
- Bodhidharma (බෝධිධර්ම) — catalyst of Chan/Zen traditions.
VI. Conclusion — Nirvana (නිවන්)
- Cessation of suffering (දුක්ඛ නිරෝධය).
- Liberation from rebirth (සංසාරයෙන් මිදීම).
- Ultimate peace and wisdom (අතීව සන්සුන් සහ ප්රඥාව).
May these teachings serve as a living Chronicle, guiding reflection, ethical practice, and compassionate action.