BuddhisminIndia

AbouttheBuddha
BorninLumbini(Kapilavastu)in563BC BelongedtoaShakyaKshatriyaclan Father: Suddhodhana, Mother: Mahamaya (a princess from Kosala). He was broughtupbyhisauntGoutami MarriedtoYasodhara,hadasonRahul Lefthomewhen29yearsold PerformedMahabiniskaramanatobecomeawanderingascetic He joined five ascetics Kondana, Vappa, Bhadiya, Mahanama and Assagi and becametheirleader Achieved enlightenment at 35 at Uruvela(bodh Gaya) on the banks of Niranjana (528BCE) HisfirstsermoniscalledDharmachakrapravartana Died(Parinirvana)atKusinagarin483BCatage80

THECOUNCILSOFBUDDHISM
FirstBuddhistCouncil(400BCE) HeldsoonafterthedeathoftheBuddha

PresidedbymonkMahakasyapa HeldbyMagadhakingAjatasatruinRajagriha Objective was to preserve the Buddhas sayings (suttas) and monastic rules(Vinaya) SecondBuddhistCouncil(4thcenturyBCE) Heldabout100yearsaftertheBuddhasdemise Held at Vaisali under the presidentship of Sabakami, convened by King Kalasoka Objective was to settle a debate on certain practices of Buddhist monks, esp.inwesternIndia ThirdBuddhistCouncil(250BCE) HeldatPataliputraunderthepatronageofAsoka ChiefmonkwasMogaliputtaTissa SentBuddhistmissionariestoothercountries Objective was to purify the Buddhist movement from opportunistic factions OriginofTheravadaschool FourthBuddhistCouncils(1stcenturyBCEorCE) Possibly held underTheravadaschoolinTambapanni(SriLanka)inthe1st centuryBCE CommittedthePaliCanontowriting Another possibly held under Saravastivada tradition, convened by Kanishka around 100 CE in Kashmir under the leadership of monk Vasumitra KanishkascounciltranslatedAbhidharnatextsfromPrakrittoSanskrit

THESCHOOLSOFBUDDHISM

1. TheravadaBuddhism a. OldestsurvivingschoolofBuddhism b. ConsideredclosesttoearlyBuddhism c. Emerged from the Third Buddhist Council held under Asoka atPataliputra

(c.250BCE) d. Introduced to Sri Lanka by Mahinda, the son of Asoka, during the reign of DevanampiyaTissa e. BasedonthePaliCanon f. PracticedtodayinSriLanka,Burma,Laos,Cambodia,Thailand 2. MahayanaBuddhism a. Flourishedfromthe5thcenturyCEonwards b. PatronizedbytheGuptadynasty c. NalandaUniversitywasacentreofMahayanalearning d. PracticedtodayinJapan,China,Korea,SingaporeandVietnam 3. VajrayanaBuddhism a. Involvestantricpractices b. BecameprominentafterthefalloftheGuptadynasty c. TibetanBuddhismbelongstothistradition

THETEXTSOFBUDDHISM
1. PaliTipitaka(PaliCanon) a. Referstothreemainbooks i. VinayaPitaka:containsdisciplinaryrulesforBuddhistmonks ii. SuttaPitaka:containsdisclosuresascribedtotheBuddha iii. Abhidhamma Pitaka: systematic explanations of the Buddhas teachings b. ThePaliTipitakaistheonlyonetosurviveinitsoriginallanguage c. Originated from the First Buddhist Council (c 400 BCE) under the leadershipofmonkMahakasyapa d. UsedprimarilybytheTheravadatradition 2. MahayanaSutras a. Composedfromthe1stcenturyCEonwards b. Claim to articulate the Buddhas more advanced doctrines forfollowersof thebodhisattvapath c. UsedbytheMahayanatradition

TIMELINEOFBUDDHISM

IMPORTANTBUDDHISTSITESININDIA Buddhisms four holiest sites are Lumbini(Buddhas birth), Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath(firstsermon)andKusinagara(death) 1. Lumbini(Nepal) a. SiteoftheBuddhasbirth b. InthepresentdayregionofTerai(southernNepal) c. Houses the Mayadevi Temple and Pusakarini or Holy Pond (where the Buddhahadhisfirstbath) d. IsaUNESCOWorldHeritageSite(1997) 2. BodhGaya(Bihar) a. SiteoftheBuddhasenlightenment b. Home of the Mahabodhi Temple (constructed 6th century CE by the Guptas) c. IsaUNESCOWorldHeritageSite(2002) 3. Sarnath(UttarPradesh) a. SiteoftheBuddhasfirstsermon b. PlacewherethefirstSanghacameintoexistence c. HomeofAsokasfamousSarnathPillar d. Contains the Dhamek Stupa, Chaukhandi Stupa, Dharmarajika Stupa, MulagandhakutiVihara e. PresentlyontheUNESCOWorldHeritageTentativeList 4. Kusinagara(UttarPradesh) a. SiteoftheBuddhasdeath b. ContainstheMahipariniravanaStupa c. HousestheMakutabandhana,cremationsiteoftheBuddha d. Currentplans:MaitreyaProjecttobuilda500ftstatueoftheBuddha 5. Sanchi(MadhyaPradesh) a. Houses several Buddhist monuments from 3rd century BCE to 12th centuryCE b. The Great Stupa at Sanchi was commissioned by Asoka in the 3rd century BCE c. IsaUNESCOWorldHeritageSite(1989)

IMPORTANTBUDDHISTMONASTERIESININDIA
Monastery DhankarGompa GandholaMonastery KardangMonastery KeyMonastery LhalungMonastery TaboMonastery Location HimachalPradesh HimachalPradesh HimachalPradesh HimachalPradesh HimachalPradesh HimachalPradesh Largest monastery in Spiti Valley One of the earliest in Spiti Valley Listed by the ASI as a nationalhistorictreasure OldestmonasteryinIndia Notes IntheSpitiValley Chenabriver

TangyudMonastery Dharmasala NamdrolingMonastery

HimachalPradesh HimachalPradesh Karnataka(nearMysore) Seat of the Tibetan GovernmentinExile Largest centre of Nyingmapasect Established by Penor Rinpochein1963 Seat of the Karmapainexile Tibetan

RumtekMonastery TawangMonastery

Sikkim ArunachalPradesh

LargestmonasteryinIndia