Buddhism, a Dharmic faith, is one of the world's major religions, with between 230 to 500 million followers, most of them living in Asia. Buddhism is divided into two main branches, Mahayana and Theravada, with the former further subdivided into East Asian (including Pure Land, Chan/Zen and others) and Tibetan (Vajrayana) branches. These branches are distinguished from each other by a combination of doctrinal differences and regional syncretisms.

The Pali honorific "Buddha," from which the name Buddhism derives, translates literally as "awakened", or more colloquially as "enlightened". Gautama Buddha was the first to teach the buddha-dharma, the doctrine of Buddhism. He lived in or around the fifth century BCE in parts of present-day northeast India and Nepal.

According to Buddhism, dukkha - often translated as 'suffering' in English, though 'disquiet' or 'dissatisfaction' are closer to the root meaning - can be ceased by a correct understanding of its root causes and continued practice of the dharma. Buddhists maintain that existence is largely dictated by karma (literally 'action' or 'deed'), and most believe in rebirth (strictly speaking, re-conception), where the rebirths one experiences are for the most part determined by karma. However, the majority of Buddhists also hold that those who are sufficiently advanced spiritually are not bound by karma in this way; they can determine their own rebirth, and a very few can determine the rebirth of others. While Buddhists do believe that meditation is necessary at some stage, most do not believe they have reached that stage. Most practice devotion to one or more Buddhas and sometimes other beings. Buddhism presents a strong ethical code that encourages generosity - particularly in the support of monks - and the Five Precepts - refraining from killing living beings, stealing, sexual immorality, lying, and taking intoxicants.

Nearly all Buddhists recognize some version of a common text, called the Tipitaka (Pāli, Tripitaka in Sanskrit; literally "Three Baskets", found in the Pāli Canon and the Agamas). Other texts exist, however. In particular, a majority of Buddhists recognize a set of texts called the Mahayana Sutras, and this difference marks off the most commonly noted division in Buddhism: Mahayana (Great Vehicle) and Theravada (Teaching of the Elders). Theravada is a relatively unified school or denomination, though different Theravadan groups use doctrinal frameworks of differing degrees of complexity. Mahayana, however, includes a number of different schools or denominations, with a wide variety of doctrines and practices.