Buddha in the context of "Third Buddhist council"

Buddhists (listen) are people who adhere to Buddhism, a religious and philosophical tradition founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) in the 5th–4th century BCE in India. Buddhist identity can be religious, cultural, or secular, encompassing monastic practitioners, lay followers, and individuals who adopt meditation and ethical practices without formal rituals.

The term originates from the Sanskrit word Bauddha (बौद्ध), meaning "follower of the Buddha", which itself is derived from Buddha (बुद्ध), meaning "the Awakened One." In ancient India, followers of the Buddha identified themselves as Sakyans (Sakyabhiksu), derived from the name of the Buddha's clan, the Sakyas. The English term Buddhist emerged in the early 19th century, combining Buddha with the suffix "-ist," denoting a follower or adherent. The first recorded use of Buddhist in English was in 1810. In descending order, the percentage of people who identify as Buddhists on each continental landmass stands at: the vast majority (about 98%) in Asia and the Pacific, around 1% in Europe, and less than 1% in Africa, Oceania, and the Americas collectively.

Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. In Buddhism, ethics or morality are understood by the term śīla (Sanskrit: शील) or sīla (Pāli). Śīla is one of three sections of the Noble Eightfold Path. It is a code of conduct that emulates a natural inborn nature that embraces a commitment to harmony, equanimity, and self-regulation, primarily motivated by nonviolence or freedom from causing harm. It has been variously described as virtue, moral discipline uprightness and precept, skillful conduct.

In contrast to the english word "morality" (i.e., obedience, a sense of obligation, and external constraint), Sīla is a resolve to connect with what is believed to be our innate ethical compass. It is an intentional ethical behaviour that is refined and clarified through walking the path toward liberation. Within some traditions, the true adversary is our ignorance, our clinging to beliefs, complexes and our misguided perceptions. As such, behavior is not viewed as good or evil but as skillful or unskillful.

In Buddhism, refuge or taking refuge refers to a religious practice which often includes a prayer or recitation performed at the beginning of the day or of a practice session. Its object is typically the Three Jewels (also known as the Triple Gem, Three Treasures, or Three Refuges, Pali: ti-ratana or ratana-ttaya; Sanskrit: tri-ratna or ratna-traya), which are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Taking refuge is a form of aspiration to lead a life with the Triple Gem at its core. In early Buddhist scriptures, taking refuge is an expression of determination to follow the Buddha's path, but not a relinquishing of responsibility. Refuge is common to all major schools of Buddhism.

Since the period of Early Buddhism, all Theravada and mainstream Mahayana schools only take refuge in the Triple Gem. However, the Vajrayana school includes an expanded refuge formula known as the Three Jewels and Three Roots.

Arsenical bronze is an alloy in which arsenic, as opposed to or in addition to tin or other constituent metals, is combined with copper to make bronze. The use of arsenic with copper, either as the secondary constituent or with another component such as tin, results in a stronger final product and better casting behavior.

Copper ore is often naturally contaminated with arsenic; hence, the term "arsenical bronze" when used in archaeology is typically only applied to alloys with an arsenic content higher than 1% by weight, in order to distinguish it from potentially accidental additions of arsenic.

The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC.

This century saw the establishment of Pataliputra as a capital of the Magadha Empire. This city would later become the ruling capital of different Indian kingdoms for about a thousand years. This period saw the rise of two great philosophical schools of the east, Jainism and Buddhism. This period saw Mahavira and Buddha spreading their respective teachings in the northern plains of India. This essentially changed the socio-cultural and political dynamics of the region of South Asia. Buddhism would later go on to become one of the major world religions.

The Buddhist traditions have created and maintained a vast body of mythological literature. The central myth of Buddhism revolves around the purported events of the life of the Buddha. This is told in relatively realistic terms in the earliest texts, and was soon elaborated into a complex literary mythology. The chief motif of this story, and the most distinctive feature of Buddhist myth, is the Buddha's renunciation: leaving his home and family for a spiritual quest. Alongside this central myth, the traditions contain large numbers of smaller stories, which are usually supposed to convey an ethical or Buddhist teaching. These include the popular Jātakas, folk tales or legends believed to be past lives of Gautama Buddha. Since these are regarded as episodes in the life of the Buddha, they are treated here as “myth”, rather than distinguishing between myth, legend, and folk-tale.

Buddhist mythology is maintained in texts, but these have always existed alongside oral traditions of storytelling, as well as creative retellings of myths as drama or artworks. This creative mythology continues to this day, and includes film, television, and musical adaptions of Buddhist myths.

There are various Buddhist flags used to represent Buddhism as a whole or specific schools of Buddhism.

One popular flag with six bands of colour was designed in late 19th century Sri Lanka as a universal symbol of Buddhism. This flag became popular throughout South East Asia, and was adopted by the World Fellowship of Buddhists as an official flag. The flag's five vertical bands represent the five colors of the aura which Buddhists believe emanated from the body of the Buddha when he attained enlightenment.