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5. Buddhism

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Type: Non-theistic philosophical and religious tradition founded ~500 BCE by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) in northern India
Central teachings: Four Noble Truths (life involves suffering; suffering is caused by desire; suffering can end; the path to ending suffering is the Eightfold Path) and the Eightfold Path (right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration)
Key concepts: Nirvana (liberation from suffering), Middle Way (between asceticism and indulgence), karma, reincarnation, no caste distinctions
Two major branches: Theravada (more conservative, dominant in Southeast Asia) and Mahayana (more devotional, dominant in East Asia, includes Zen and Pure Land variants)
Geography in 1750: Spread along Silk Road from India to Central Asia, China, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Largely displaced in India by Hinduism and Islam by 1750.