Life of Gautama Buddha:
- The founder of Buddhism was Gautam Buddha, was
born as Siddhartha.
- Siddhartha was born in 566 BC
at Lumbini (now falls in territory
of Nepal) in the Sakya clan of Kshatriya.
- That is why Buddha is also known as Sakyamuni.
- He died at 80 years of age in
486 BC at Kushinagar (near
Gorakhpur in uttar Pradesh).
- The mother of Siddhartha was ‘Mahamaya’
who died after giving birth to him.
- Thereafter, he was brought
up by ‘Prajapati
Gautami’ his maternal aunt.
Therefore, he was also called
Gautam.
- The name of
his father was Sidhdhodhana.
- He was the only son of his
father.
- Siddhartha was married to Yashodhara.
- He also had a son named Rahul.
- But neither his wife nor his
son were able to tie him to the worldly life.
- He then left his home and
became an ascetic at the
age of 29 in search of truth and end of sorrows .
- This event in Buddha’s life is
known as “Mahabhishkramana”.
- Buddha’s teachers were – Alara and
Udarak.
- After seven years of roaming
around, at the as of 35, Siddhartha got enlightenment at Uruvela while
meditating on the bank of river
Niranjana under a Peepal(Banyan) tree.
- This tree is called the Bodhi Tree.
- The place is known as Bodh gaya.
- Buddha attained the knowledge
on the Poornima of Vaishakha month.
- He then gave his first sermon
at Sarnath(Varanasi).
- This historic event in buddha’s
life is known as “Dhammachakra Parivartan”.
- As mentioned above, Buddha passed away in 486 BC under a Sal tree
in Kushinagar (Kushinagar was under Licchhavi Kingdom).
- Various notable rulers of his
time were Buddha’s disciples such as Prasenjit, Bimbisara, and
Ajatsatru.
- Vardhman Mahavir(Jainism) was a
contemporary of Gautam Buddha(Buddhism).
- The events in Buddha’s life are
depicted by various symbols in Buddhism:
Event in Life of Buddha
|
Symbolized
by:
|
Buddha’s Birth
|
Lotus & Bull
|
The Great Departure (Mahabhinishkramana)
|
Horse
|
Enlightment (Nirvana )
|
Bodhi Tree
|
First Sermon (Dhammachakraparivartan)
|
Wheel
|
Death (Parinirvana)
|
Stupa
|
Buddhist Philosophy:
- The Buddhist philosophy is
based on Madhyama marga or the middle path.
- According to madhyam marga
philosophy, both the extremes of the world- indulgence and strict
abstinence both are avoided and a middle path between them is followed.
- The main teachings of Buddha
are summerised in four noble truths(Arya satya) of Buddhism:
- The world is full of sorrow(Dukkha)
- Desire is the cause of sorrow(Dukha samudya)
- If desire is conquered all
sorrow is won over(Dukha nirodha)
- Desire can be conquered by
following eight fold paths (Ashtangirka Marg)
- To conquer the desire, Eight
Fold Path has to be followed:
- Samyak Drist: Right Understanding
- Samyak Sankalpa:
Right Resolve
- Samyak Vani: Right Speech
- Samyak Karma: Right Action
- Samyak Ajiv: Right Living
- Samyak Vyayam: Right Efforts
- Samyak Smriti: Right Mindfulness/thought
- Samyak Samadhi:
Right Self-Concentration
- There are three base Pillars
known as Tri-ratnas in Buddhism: Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha.
- Buddha means the highest spiritual potential in every
human being.
- Dhamma refers to the teachings of Buddha.
- Sangha is the organization of
the monks practicing Buddhism.
- China adopted Buddhism in 1st century AD
Buddhist Works:
- One of the reasons of spread of
Buddhism across the subcontinent was its use of Pali.
- Pali was the language of common
people, unlike sanskrit which had become restricted to the elite
Brahamans.
- The literary sources of
Buddhism are the three “Tripitaka”
written in Pali – Sutta Pitak , VinayaPitak, and AbhidhammaPitak.
- Dhammapad is known as the Gita of Buddhism.
It is basically canonical text of
Buddhism.
- Aswaghosa, the buddhist monk was the writer of Buddhacharita.
- MilindaPanho is a Buddhist Treatise about a dialogue between the
Indo-greek king Menander and
Buddhist monkNagasena.
- Sunyavada or the theory of void is propagted by a south Indian
Buddhism Philosopher, Nagarjuna.
- he wrote Mulamadhyamakarika, where he wrote that sunyata is the
nature of all things.
Buddhist Councils:
There were four
councils/Sangeethis of Buddhism organised under different regimes:
I. First
Council :
- It was held under the patronage
of Ajatshatru(Haryanka
Dynasty) in 486BC.
- Monk Mahakassapa Upali presided over the first council.
- It was held at Sattapani
caves in RajGriha just after the death of
Buddha.
- Compilation of
VinayPitaka and SuttaPitaka was accomplished here.
II. Second
Council :
- In 383 BC. under the patronage
of Kalashoka (Shishunaga Dynasty).
- It was held at Vaishali after
one century of Buddha’s death(parinirvana).
- The second council was presided over by Sarvakamini.
- First division in Sangha took
place. Theravedin and Mahasanghika split up here.
III. Third
Council :
- In 250 BC under the patronage
of King Ashoka.
- It was held at Pataliputra.
- It was presided by Mogaliputta Tissa.
- Compilation of AbhidhamPitaka was
done.
IV. Fourth
Council :
- In the 1st century AD, under
patronage of King Kanishka(Kushan dynasty).
- It was held in Kundalvana of Kashmir.
- Under the presidency of Vasumitra along with Asvaghosha.
- Buddhism was divided into two
sects namely, Hinayana and Mahayana.
THE SCHOOLS OF BUDDHISM
1.Theravada Buddhism (HINAYANA)
- Oldest surviving school of
Buddhism.
- Considered closest to early Buddhism.
- Emerged from the Third Buddhist Council held under
Asoka at Pataliputra (c. 250 BCE).
- Introduced to Sri Lanka by Mahinda,
the son of Asoka, during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa.
- Based on the Pali Canon.
- Practiced today in Sri Lanka, Burma,
Laos, Cambodia, Thailand.
2.Mahayana Buddhism
- Flourished from the 5th century CE onwards.
- Patronized by the Gupta dynasty.
- Nalanda University was a
centre of Mahayana learning.
- Practiced today in Japan, China, Korea,
Singapore and Vietnam.
3. Vajrayana Buddhism
- Involves
tantric practices.
- Became prominent after the fall of the Gupta dynasty.
- Tibetan Buddhism belongs to
this tradition.
THE TEXTS OF BUDDHISM
1.Pali Tipitaka (Pali
Canon)
- Refers to three main books
- Vinaya Pitaka: contains
disciplinary rules for Buddhist monks
- Sutta Pitaka:
contains
disclosures ascribed to the Buddha .
- Abhidhamma Pitaka: systematic
explanations of the Buddha’s teachings.
- The Pali Tipitaka is the only one to survive in its
original language.
- Originated from the First Buddhist Council (c 400 BCE) under
the leadership of monk Mahakasyapa.
- Used primarily by the Theravada tradition.
2.Mahayana Sutras
- Composed from the 1st century CE onwards.
- Claim to articulate the Buddha’s more advanced doctrines
for followers of the bodhisattva path.
- Used
by the Mahayana tradition .
- IMPORTANT BUDDHIST SITES IN INDIABuddhism’s four holiest sites are Lumbini(Buddha’s birth), Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (first sermon) and Kusinagara (death).1. Lumbini (Nepal)· Site of the Buddha’s birth .· In the present-day region of Terai (southern Nepal) .· Houses the Mayadevi Temple and Pusakarini or Holy Pond (where the Buddha had his first bath) .· It Is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1997) .2. Bodh Gaya (Bihar)· Site of the Buddha’s enlightenment .· Home of the Mahabodhi Temple (constructed 6th century CE by the Guptas) .· It Is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2002) .3. Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh)· Site of the Buddha’s first sermon .· Place where the first Sangha came into existence .· Home of Asoka’s famous Sarnath Pillar .· Contains the Dhamek Stupa, Chaukhandi Stupa, Dharmarajika Stupa, Mulagandhakuti Vihara .· Presently on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List .4. Kusinagara (Uttar Pradesh)· Site of the Buddha’s death .· Contains the Mahipariniravana Stupa .· Houses the Makutabandhana, cremation site of the Buddha .· Current plans: Maitreya Project to build a 500 ft statue of the Buddha .5. Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh)· Houses several Buddhist monuments from 3rd century BCE to 12th century CE .· The Great Stupa at Sanchi was commissioned by Asoka in the 3rd century BCE .· Is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1989).
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