Buddhism

Buddha's Life

• Gautama, the Buddha also known as Siddhartha, Sakyamuni and Tathagata.
• Born in 563 BC (widely accepted), on the vaisakha purnima day at Lumbini, near Kapilvastu, capital of the Sakya republic.
• Left home at the age of 29 and attained Nirvana at the age of 35 at Bodh Gaya.
• Delivered his first sermon at Sarnath.
• He attained Mahaparinirvana at Kusinara in 483 BC.

Buddhist Councils

• The first Council was held in 483 BC at Sattapanni cave near Rajagriha to compile the Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka.
• The second council was held at Vaisali in 383 BC. The monks of Vaisali wanted some change in the rites. Schism into Sthaviravadins and Mahasan-ghikas.
• The third council was held at Pataliputra during the reign of Ashoka. 236 years after the death of Buddha. It was held under the Presidentship of Moggliputta Tissa to revise the
  scriptures.
• The fourth council was held during the reign of Kanishka in Kashmir under the President ship of Vasumitra and Asvaghosha and resulted in the division of Buddhists into Mahayanists and Hinayanists
  

  Buddhist Scripture

  • The Vinaya Pitaka: (a) mainly deals with rules and regulations, which the Buddha promulgated, (b) it describes in detail the gradual development of the Sangha. © Anaccount of the life and leaching of the Buddha is also given.
    
    • The Sutra Pitaka: (a) Consists chiefly of discourses delivered by Buddha himself on different occasions, (b) Few discourses delivered by Sariputta, Ananda. Moggalana and others are also included in it. © It lays down the principles of Buddhism.
    • The Abhidhamma Pitaka: Contains the profound philosophy of the Buddha’s teachings, (b) It investigates mind and matter, to help the understanding of things as they truly are.
    • The Khandhakas: contain regulations on the course or life in the monastic order and have two sections - the Mahavagga and the Cullavagga. The thud part - the Parivara is an insignificant composition by a Ceylonese monk.
    • Among the non-canonical literature Milindapanho, Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa are important. The later two are the great chronicles of Ceylon.

  Know The Important Facts

  • Asvaghosha—Contemporary of Kanishka. lie was poet, dramatist. musician, scholar
  and debator.
• Nagarjuna—He was a friend and contemporary of Satavahana king Yajnasri Gautamiputra of Andhra. He propounded the Madhyamika School of Buddhist philosophy
  popularly known as Sunyavada.
• Asanga and Vasubandhu—Two brothers who flourished in the Punjab region in fourth
  century AD. Asanga was the most important teacher of the Yogachara or Vijnanavada School
  founded by his guru, Maitreyanatha. Vasubandhu’s greatest work, Abhidharmakosa is still
  considered an important encyclopaedia of Buddhism.
• Buddhaghosha — Who lived in the fifth century AD was a great Pali scholar. The
  commentaries and the Visuddhimaga written by him are a great achievement in the Post-
  Tripitaka literature.
• Dinnaga—The last mighty intellectual of the fifth century, is well known as the founder of the
  Buddhist logic.
• Dharmakirti—lived in the seventh century AD was anther great Buddhist logician. He
  was a subtle philosophical thinker and dialectician.
  

  Buddhist Philosophy

  • Idealism: Two source of valid knowledge: (a) Perception and (b) Inference.
  • Doctrineof dependent origination (Pratisamutpada): Central theory of Buddhist Philosophy. It tells us that in the empirical worid dominated by the intellect, everything is relative, conditional. dependent, subject to birth and death and therefore impermanent.
  • Theory of momentariness {Kshanabhanga or Impermanence): It tells that everything ,in this world is merely a conglomeration of perishable qualities. According to it. Things that can produce effect exist and whatever can not produce effect has no existence.

  Five Great Events of Buddha’s

  Life and their Symbols

  • Birth: Lotus and Bull
  • Great Renunciation: Horse
  • Nirvana: Bodhi tree
  • First Sermon: Dharmachakra or wheel
  • Parinirvana or Death: Stupa