A conscious rejection of Hinduist beliefs developed by a 5th-century B.C. Indian prince, Buddhism’s central tenet is that everything in the universe is linked in a cosmic web of cause and effect.
Most humans are caught in an interminable cycle of reincarnation in which life is suffering, and — depending on which school of Buddhism you consult — the path to enlightenment and liberation from reincarnation (and thus suffering) is through meditation and the abandonment of worldly concerns.
The CIA estimates that 7.13 percent of the world can be called Buddhist.
(see more — World’s Biggest Religions)
