Religion and philosophy founded in North Eastern India in the 5th century BC based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha.

One of the major world religions, Buddhism takes as its goal the escape from suffering and the cycle of rebirth and the attainment of nirvana, and it emphasizes meditation and the observance of moral precepts. The Buddha's teachings were transmitted orally by his disciples; during his lifetime he established the Buddhist monastic order (sangha). He adopted some ideas from the Hinduism of his time, notably the doctrine of karma, but also rejected many of its doctrines and all of its gods.

Buddhism's main teachings are summarized in the Four Noble Truths, of which the fourth is the Eightfold Path. Buddhism's two major branches, Mahayana and Theravada, have developed distinctive practices.

In India, the emperor Ashoka promoted Buddhism during the 3rd century BC, but it declined in succeeding centuries and was nearly extinct there by the 13th century It spread south and flourished in Sri Lanka and S.E. Asia, as well as moving through Central Asia and Tibet (see Tibetan Buddhism) to China, Korea, and Japan (see Pure Land Buddhism and Zen).

Today the various traditions of Buddhism together have about 400 million followers.