Buddhism

Indian religious and philosophical tradition founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha — c. 5th century BCE) — centered on the Four Noble Truths (suffering, its cause in craving, its cessation, the path) and the Eightfold Path — the third-largest world religion and the most psychologically sophisticated of the major traditions.

Creates the most psychologically rigorous pre-modern analysis of mind and suffering — Buddhism's central claims (the self is not a fixed entity — anatta; all conditioned phenomena are impermanent — anicca; craving produces suffering — dukkha) anticipate contemporary cognitive science, neuroscience of meditation, and philosophy of no-self; its practices (meditation, mindfulness, ethical training) are the most extensively scientifically studied contemplative tradition.