Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha (c. 563 BCE/480 BCE c. 483 BCE/400 BCE), also known as Siddhrtha Gautama
Gautama Buddha
[sid rt gut m], Shakyamuni Buddha [kjmun i bud ],[4] or simply the Buddha, after the title of
Buddha, was an ascetic (ramaa) and sage,[4] on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.[5] He is believed to have
lived and taught mostly in the eastern part of ancient India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries
BCE.[6][note 3]

Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the ramaa
movement[7] common in his region. He later taught throughout other regions of eastern India such as Magadha and
Kosala.[6][8]

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism. He is recognized by Buddhists as an enlightened teacher who attained
full Buddhahood, and shared his insights to help sentient beings end rebirth and suffering. Accounts of his life,
discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by
his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first
committed to writing about 400 years later.

A statue of the Buddha from Sarnath,

Contents Uttar Pradesh, India, 4th century CE

1 Historical Siddhrtha Gautama Religion Buddhism

2 Traditional biographies Known for Founder of Buddhism
2.1 Biographical sources
Other names Siddhartha Gautama,
2.2 Nature of traditional depictions
3 Biography Shakyamuni
3.1 Conception and birth Personal
3.2 Early life and marriage
Born c. 563 BCE or c. 480
3.3 Renunciation and ascetic life
3.4 Awakening BCE[1][2]
3.5 Formation of the sangha Lumbini, Shakya
3.6 Travels and teaching Republic (according to
3.7 Mahaparinirvana Buddhist
3.8 Relics tradition)[note 1]
4 Physical characteristics
5 Nine virtues Died c. 483 BCE or c. 400
6 Teachings BCE (aged 80)
6.1 Use of Brahmanical motifs Kushinagar, Malla
6.2 Tracing the oldest teachings Republic (according to
6.3 Dhyana and insight
Buddhist
6.4 Earliest Buddhism
6.5 Later developments tradition)[note 2]
7 Other religions Parents uddhodana
8 Depiction in arts and media (father)
9 See also
Maya Devi
10 Notes
11 References (mother)
11.1 Citations Senior posting
11.2 Bibliography
Predecessor Kassapa Buddha
12 Further reading
13 External links Successor Maitreya

Historical Siddhrtha Gautama

Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most accept that
he lived, taught and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era during the reign of Bimbisara
(c. 558 c. 491 BCE, or c. 400 BCE),[9][10][11] the ruler of the Magadha empire, and died during the early years
of the reign of Ajatasatru, who was the successor of Bimbisara, thus making him a younger contemporary of
Mahavira, the Jain tirthankara.[12][13] Apart from the Vedic Brahmins, the Buddha's lifetime coincided with the
flourishing of influential ramaa schools of thought like jvika, Crvka, Jainism, and Ajana.[14] Brahmajala
Sutta records sixty-two such schools of thought. It was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahavira (referred
to as 'Nigantha Nataputta' in Pali Canon),[15] Praa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosla, Ajita Kesakambal, Pakudha
Kaccyana, and Sajaya Belahaputta, as recorded in Samaaphala Sutta, whose viewpoints the Buddha most
certainly must have been acquainted with.[16][17][note 4] Indeed, Sariputta and Moggallna, two of the foremost
disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sajaya Belahaputta, the skeptic;[19] and the Maya devi Temple
Pali canon frequently depicts Buddha engaging in debate with the adherents of rival schools of thought. There is
also philological evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, were indeed
historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques.[20] Thus, Buddha was just one of the many ramaa
philosophers of that time.[21] In an era where holiness of person was judged by their level of asceticism[22], Buddha was a reformist within the ramaa
movement, rather than a reactionary against Vedic Brahminism.[23] While the general sequence of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and
liberation, teaching, death" is widely accepted,[24] there is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies.[25][26]

The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE.[1][27] More
recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988,[28][29][30] the majority of those who
presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death.[1][31][note 3] These alternative chronologies, however,

have not yet been accepted by all historians.[36][37][note 5]

have not yet been accepted by all historians.[36][37][note 5]

The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhrtha Gautama was born into the Shakya clan, a community
that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th
century BCE.[42] It was either a small republic, or an oligarchy, and his father was an elected chieftain, or
oligarch.[42] According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini, now in modern-day Nepal, and
raised in the Shakya capital of Kapilvastu, which may have been either in what is present day Tilaurakot, Nepal
or Piprahwa, India.[note 1] He obtained his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath, and
died in Kushinagar.

No written records about Gautama were found from his lifetime or some centuries thereafter. One Edict of
Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during
Asoka, who reigned from circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE, commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to the Buddha's
the time of the Buddha.
birthplace in Lumbini. Another one of his edicts mentions the titles of several Dhamma texts, establishing the
existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the Maurya era. These texts may be the precursor
of the Pli Canon.[59][60] [note 7] The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhran Buddhist texts,
reported to have been found in or around Haa near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan and now preserved in the British Library. They are written in the
Gndhr language using the Kharosthi script on twenty-seven birch bark manuscripts and date from the first century BCE to the third century CE.[61]

Traditional biographies
Biographical sour ces

The sources for the life of Siddhrtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional
biographies. These include the Buddhacarita, Lalitavistara Stra, Mahvastu, and the Nidnakath.[62] Of these, the
Buddhacarita[63][64][65] is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Avaghoa in the first century
CE.[66] The Lalitavistara Stra is the next oldest biography, a Mahyna/Sarvstivda biography dating to the 3rd
century CE.[67] The Mahvastu from the Mahsghika Lokottaravda tradition is another major biography,
composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE.[67] The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the
most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhinikramaa Stra,[68] and various Chinese translations of this date between
the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidnakath is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the
5th century by Buddhaghoa.[69]

From canonical sources come the Jataka tales, the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN
123), which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jtakas retell previous lives
of Gautama as a bodhisattva, and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts.[70] The
Mahpadna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the
bodhisattva's descent from the Tuita Heaven into his mother's womb. Buddha by Otgonbayar Ershuu

Nature of traditional depictions

In the earliest Buddhist texts, the nikyas and gamas, the Buddha is not depicted as possessing omniscience
(sabbau)[71] nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent (lokottara) being. According to Bhikkhu Analayo,
ideas of the Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only
later, in the Mahayana sutras and later Pali commentaries or texts such as the Mahvastu.[71] In the Sandaka Sutta, the
Buddha's disciple Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing [72] while
in the Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta the Buddha himself states that he has never made a claim to being omniscient, instead
he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" (abhij).[73] The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas
focuses on the Buddha's life as a ramaa, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as Alara Kalama
My miraculously giving birth to
and his forty-five-year career as a teacher.[74] Siddhrtha. Sanskrit, palm-leaf
manuscript. Nland, Bihar, India. Pla
Traditional biographies of Gautama generally include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The period
character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara) and
perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the Mahvastu, over the course of many lives,
Gautama is said to have developed supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or
bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma".[75] Nevertheless, some of the more
ordinary details of his life have been gathered from these traditional sources. In modern times there has been an attempt to form a secular understanding of
Siddhrtha Gautama's life by omitting the traditional supernatural elements of his early biographies.

Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by Buddhist traditions as being merely human:

It is important to stress that, despite modern Theravada teachings to the contrary (often a sop to skeptical Western pupils), he was never seen as
being merely human. For instance, he is often described as having the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks or signs of a mahpurua,
"superman"; the Buddha himself denied that he was either a man or a god; and in the Mahparinibbna Sutta he states that he could live for an
aeon were he asked to do so.[76]

The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a
clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of
ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant
accounts exist.[77] British author Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be
reasonably confident that Siddhrtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure.[78] Michael Carrithers goes a bit further by stating that the most general outline
of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.[24]

Biography
Conception and birth

The Buddhist tradition regards Lumbini, in present-day Nepal to be the birthplace of the Buddha.[80][note 1] He grew
up in Kapilavastu.[note 1] The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown.[81] It may have been either Piprahwa,
Uttar Pradesh, in present-day India,[54] or Tilaurakot, in present-day Nepal.[82] Both places belonged to the Sakya
territory, and are located only 15 miles apart.[82]

Gautama was born as a Kshatriya,[83][note 9] the son of uddhodana, "an elected chief of the Shakya clan",[6] whose
capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's
lifetime. Gautama was the family name. His mother, Maya (Mydev), Suddhodana's wife, was a Koliyan princess.
Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white
Maya's dream of the Birth of Gautama
tusks entered her right side,[85][86] and ten months later[87] Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when
Siddharta
his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilavastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. However, her
son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree.

The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak.[88] Buddha's Birthday is called
Buddha Purnima in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India as he is believed to have been born on a full moon day. Various
sources hold that the Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days later. The infant was given the name
Siddhartha (Pli: Siddhattha), meaning "he who achieves his aim". During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita
journeyed from his mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king (chakravartin) or a
great sadhu.[89] By traditional account, this occurred after Siddhartha placed his feet in Asita's hair and Asita
examined the birthmarks. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day, and invited eight Brahmin scholars to
read the future. All gave a dual prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy man.[89]
Kondaa, the youngest, and later to be the first arhat other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who
unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha.[90]

While later tradition and legend characterized uddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the descendant of the
Birthplace of Gautama Buddha in
Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) of Ikvku (Pli: Okkka), many scholars think that uddhodana was the elected chief
Lumbini, Nepal,[note 1] [79] a holy shrine
of a tribal confederacy.
also for many non-Buddhists.[note 8]
Early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings of his time until he left on his
religious quest, which is said to have been motivated by existential concern for the human condition.[91] The state of
the Shakya clan was not a monarchy and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of republic.[92] The more egalitarian gana-sangha
form of government, as a political alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development of the ramanic Jain and Buddhist
sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism.[93]

Birth and childhood of the Buddha

Maya's dream, Maya's dream, Gandhara, 2nd Birth of the Buddha. The Infant Buddha Taking A The infant Buddha taking the
Bharhut, circa 150 century CE. Bath, Gandhara 2nd Century CE. Seven Steps. Greco-Buddhist art
BCE. of Gandhara.

Early life and marriage

Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati.[94] By tradition, he is said to have been destined by
birth to the life of a prince and had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) built for him. His father, said to be King
uddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge
of human suffering. While uddhodana has traditionally been depicted as a king, and Siddhartha as his prince, more recent
scholarship suggests the Shakya were in-fact organized as a semi-republican oligarchy rather than a monarchy. [95]

When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of the same age named Yaodhar (Pli:
Yasodhar). According to the traditional account, she gave birth to a son, named Rhula. Siddhartha is said to have spent 29
years as a prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or
need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that material wealth was not life's ultimate goal.[94]

Renunciation and ascetic life

At the age of 29, Siddhartha left his palace to meet his subjects. Despite his father's efforts to hide from him the sick, aged
and suffering, Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man. When his charioteer Channa explained to him that all people Departure of Prince Siddhartha
grew old, the prince went on further trips beyond the palace. On these he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and
an ascetic. These depressed him, and he initially strove to overcome ageing, sickness, and death by living the life of an
ascetic.[96]

Accompanied by Channa and riding his horse Kanthaka, Gautama quit his palace for the life of a mendicant. It's said that "the horse's hooves were muffled by
the gods"[97] to prevent guards from knowing of his departure.

Gautama initially went to Rajagaha and began his ascetic life by begging for alms in the street. After King Bimbisara's men recognised Siddhartha and the
king learned of his quest, Bimbisara offered Siddhartha the throne. Siddhartha rejected the offer but promised to visit his kingdom of Magadha first, upon
attaining enlightenment.

He left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers of yogic meditation.[98][99][100] After mastering the
He left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers of yogic meditation.[98][99][100] After mastering the
teachings of Alara Kalama (Skr. ra Klma), he was asked by Kalama to succeed him. However, Gautama felt
unsatisfied by the practice, and moved on to become a student of yoga with Udaka Ramaputta (Skr. Udraka
Rmaputra).[101] With him he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness and was again asked to succeed his
teacher. But, once more, he was not satisfied, and again moved on.[102]

Awakening

According to the early Buddhist texts,[103] after realizing that meditative dhyana was the right path to awakening, but
that extreme asceticism didn't work, Gautama discovered what Buddhists know as being, the Middle Way[103]a
path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, or the Noble Eightfold Path, as
described in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, which is regarded as the first discourse of the Buddha.[103] In a
famous incident, after becoming starved and weakened, he is said to have accepted milk and rice pudding from a
village girl named Sujata.[104] Such was his emaciated appearance that she wrongly believed him to be a spirit that
had granted her a wish.[104]

Following this incident, Gautama was famously seated under a pipal treenow known as the Bodhi treein Bodh
Gaya, India, when he vowed never to arise until he had found the truth.[105] Kaundinya and four other companions, The Victory of Buddha
believing that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined, ceased to stay with him, and went to
somewhere else. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the age of 35, he is said to have attained
Enlightenment,[105][106] and became known as the Buddha or "Awakened One" ("Buddha" is also sometimes
translated as "The Enlightened One").

According to some sutras of the Pali canon, at the time of his awakening he realized complete insight into the Four The "Great Departure" of Siddhartha
Noble Truths, thereby attaining liberation from samsara, the endless cycle of rebirth, suffering and dying Gautama, surrounded by ahalo, he is
again.[107][108][109] According to scholars, this story of the awakening and the stress on "liberating insight" is a later accompanied by numerous guards,
development in the Buddhist tradition, where the Buddha may have regarded the practice of dhyana as leading to maithuna loving couples, and devata who
Nirvana and moksha.[110][111][107][note 10] have come to pay homage;Gandhara,
Kushan period
Nirvana is the extinguishing of the "fires" of desire, hatred, and ignorance, that keep the cycle of suffering and rebirth
going.[112] Nirvana is also regarded as the "end of the world", in that no personal identity or boundaries of the mind
remain. In such a state, a being is said to possess the Ten Characteristics, belonging to every Buddha.

According to a story in the ycana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1) a scripture found in the Pli and other
canons immediately after his awakening, the Buddha debated whether or not he should teach the Dharma to
others. He was concerned that humans were so overpowered by ignorance, greed and hatred that they could never
recognise the path, which is subtle, deep and hard to grasp. However, in the story, Brahm Sahampati convinced him,
arguing that at least some will understand it. The Buddha relented, and agreed to teach.
Prince Siddhartha shaves his hair and
Formation of the sangha becomes an ascetic. Borobudur, 8th
century
After his awakening, the Buddha met Taphussa and Bhallika two merchant brothers from the city of Balkh in what
is currently Afghanistan who became his first lay disciples. It is said that each was given hairs from his head,
which are now claimed to be enshrined as relics in the Shwe Dagon Temple in Rangoon, Burma. The Buddha
intended to visit Asita, and his former teachers, Alara Kalama and Udaka Ramaputta, to explain his findings, but they
had already died.

He then travelled to the Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares) in northern India, where he set in motion what Buddhists
call the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the five companions with whom he had sought
enlightenment. Together with him, they formed the first sagha: the company of Buddhist monks.
The Buddha surrounded by the demons
All five become arahants, and within the first two months, with the conversion of Yasa and fifty-four of his friends, of Mra. Sanskrit palm leaf manuscript.
the number of such arahants is said to have grown to 60. The conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, Nland, Bihar, India. Pla period
with their reputed 200, 300 and 500 disciples, respectively. This swelled the sangha to more than 1,000.

Travels and teaching

For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic Plain, in what is now Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range of people: from nobles to servants, murderers such as
Angulimala, and cannibals such as Alavaka.[114] Although the Buddha's language remains unknown, it's likely that he
taught in one or more of a variety of closely related Middle Indo-Aryan dialects, of which Pali may be a
standardization.

The sangha traveled through the subcontinent, expounding the dharma. This continued throughout the year, except
during the four months of the Vassa rainy season when ascetics of all religions rarely traveled. One reason was that it
was more difficult to do so without causing harm to animal life. At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to
monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.

The first vassana was spent at Varanasi when the sangha was formed. After this, the Buddha kept a promise to travel
to Rajagaha, capital of Magadha, to visit King Bimbisara. During this visit, Sariputta and Maudgalyayana were
converted by Assaji, one of the first five disciples, after which they were to become the Buddha's two foremost
followers. The Buddha spent the next three seasons at Veluvana Bamboo Grove monastery in Rajagaha, the capital of Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, India,
Magadha. where Gautama Buddha attainednirvana
under the Bodhi Tree (left)
Upon hearing of his son's awakening, Suddhodana sent, over a period, ten delegations to ask him to return to
Kapilavastu. On the first nine occasions, the delegates failed to deliver the message and instead joined the sangha to
become arahants. The tenth delegation, led by Kaludayi, a childhood friend of Gautama's (who also became an arahant), however, delivered the message.
Now two years after his awakening, the Buddha agreed to return, and made a two-month journey by foot to
Kapilavastu, teaching the dharma as he went. At his return, the royal palace prepared a midday meal, but the sangha
was making an alms round in Kapilavastu. Hearing this, Suddhodana approached his son, the Buddha, saying:

"Ours is the warrior lineage of Mahamassata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking alms."

The Buddha is said to have replied:

Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, India, site of
the first teaching of the Buddha in which
"That is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage. Several he taught the Four Noble Truths to his
thousands of Buddhas have gone by seeking alms." first five disciples

Buddhist texts say that Suddhodana invited the sangha into the palace for the meal, followed by a dharma talk. After
this he is said to have become a sotapanna. During the visit, many members of the royal family joined the sangha. The
Buddha's cousins Ananda and Anuruddha became two of his five chief disciples. At the age of seven, his son Rahula
also joined, and became one of his ten chief disciples. His half-brother Nanda also joined and became an arahant.

Of the Buddha's disciples, Sariputta, Maudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa, Ananda and Anuruddha are believed to have
been the five closest to him. His ten foremost disciples were reputedly completed by the quintet of Upali, Subhoti,
Rahula, Mahakaccana and Punna.

In the fifth vassana, the Buddha was staying at Mahavana near Vesali when he heard news of the impending death of
his father. He is said to have gone to Suddhodana and taught the dharma, after which his father became an arahant. Mulagandhakuti, Remains of Buddha's
hut in Jetavana Monastery, Shravasti,
The king's death and cremation was to inspire the creation of an order of nuns. Buddhist texts record that the Buddha India, Where the Buddha delivered
was reluctant to ordain women. His foster mother Maha Pajapati, for example, approached him, asking to join the majority of his discourses[113]
sangha, but he refused. Maha Pajapati, however, was so intent on the path of awakening that she led a group of royal
Sakyan and Koliyan ladies, which followed the sangha on a long journey to
Rajagaha. In time, after Ananda championed their cause, the Buddha is said to have
reconsidered and, five years after the formation of the sangha, agreed to the ordination
of women as nuns. He reasoned that males and females had an equal capacity for
awakening. But he gave women additional rules (Vinaya) to follow.

Mahaparinirvana

According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the
Buddha announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana, or the final deathless state,
A view of Vulture Peak, Rajgir, India and abandon his earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had
where the Atanatiya Sutta was held received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha
instructed his attendant nanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place
had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest
merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha.[115] Mettanando and von Hinber argue that the Buddha died of mesenteric
Buddha with his protector
infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning.[116][117] Vajrapani, Gandhra, 2nd
century CE, Ostasiatische
The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the Kunst Museum
translation of certain significant terms; the Theravada tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of
pork, while the Mahayana tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom. These
may reflect the different traditional views on Buddhist vegetarianism and the precepts for monks and nuns.

Waley suggests that Theravadins would take suukaramaddava (the contents of the Buddha's last meal), which can
translate literally as pig-soft, to mean "soft flesh of a pig" or "pig's soft-food", that is, after Neumann, a soft food
favoured by pigs, assumed to be a truffle. He argues (also after Neumann) that as "(p)lant names tend to be local and
dialectical", as there are several plants known to have suukara- (pig) as part of their names,[note 11] and as Pali
Buddhism developed in an area remote from the Buddha's death, suukaramaddava could easily have been a type of
plant whose local name was unknown to those in Pali regions. Specifically, local writers writing soon after the
Buddha's death knew more about their flora than Theravadin commentator Buddhaghosa who lived hundreds of years The last days of buddha teachings
and hundreds of kilometres remote in time and space from the events described. Unaware that it may have been a
local plant name and with no Theravadin prohibition against eating animal
flesh, Theravadins would not have questioned the Buddha eating meat and
interpreted the term accordingly.[118]

According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha died at Kuinra (present-day

Kushinagar, India), which became a pilgrimage center.[119] Ananda protested
the Buddha's decision to enter Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of
Kuinra of the Malla kingdom. The Buddha, however, is said to have
reminded Ananda how Kushinara was a land once ruled by a righteous wheel-
turning king and the appropriate place for him to die.[120] The Buddha's entry intoParinirvana.
Buddha's cremation stupa,Kushinagar Sanskrit palm leaf manuscript. Nland,
(Kushinara).
The Buddha then asked all the attendant Bhikkhus to clarify any doubts or Bihar, India. Pla period
questions they had and cleared them all in a way which others could not do.
They had none. According to Buddhist scriptures, he then finally entered
Parinirvana. The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All composite things (Sakhra) are perishable. Strive for your own liberation with
diligence" (Pali: 'vayadhamm sakhr appamdena sampdeth'). His body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments or stupas, some of
which are believed to have survived until the present. For example, the Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is the place where what some
believe to be the relic of the right tooth of Buddha is kept at present.

Life scenes of Buddha, sand stone: Birth,
Enlightenment, Descent from Heaven,
First Sermon, Passing Away, c. 2nd
Century CE, Government Museum,
Mathura.
At his death, the Buddha is famously believed to have told his disciples to follow no leader. Mahakasyapa was chosen
by the sangha to be the chairman of the First Buddhist Council, with the two chief disciples Maudgalyayana and
Sariputta having died before the Buddha.
According to the Pli historical chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Dpavasa and
Mahvasa, the coronation of Emperor Aoka (Pli: Asoka) is 218 years
after the death of the Buddha. According to two textual records in Chinese (
and ), the coronation of Emperor Aoka is 116 years after
the death of the Buddha. Therefore, the time of Buddha's passing is either 486
BCE according to Theravda record or 383 BCE according to Mahayana
record. However, the actual date traditionally accepted as the date of the
Buddha's death in Theravda countries is 544 or 545 BCE, because the reign
The sharing of the relics of the Buddha,
of Emperor Aoka was traditionally reckoned to be about 60 years earlier than
Zenymitsu-Temple Museum, Tokyo
current estimates. In Burmese Buddhist tradition, the date of the Buddha's
death is 13 May 544 BCE.[121] whereas in Thai tradition it is 11 March 545
BCE.[122]

While in the Buddha's days he was addressed by the very respected titles Buddha, Shkyamuni, Shkyasimha, Bhante
and Bho, he was known after his parinirvana nirvana as Arihant, Bhagav/Bhagavat/Bhagwn, Mahvira,[123]
Jina/Jinendra, Sstr, Sugata, and most popularly in scriptures as Tathgata.

Relics

After his death, Buddha's cremation relics were divided amongst 8 royal families and his disciples; centuries later
they would be enshrined by King Ashoka into 84,000 stupas.[124][125] Many supernatural legends surround the
history of alleged relics as they accompanied the spread of Buddhism and gave legitimacy to rulers. Hair Relics of Buddha on display at
Gangaramaya Temple (Colombo).

War over the Buddha's Relics held by the city ofKushinagar, South Gate, Stupa no.1,Sanchi.[126]

Physical characteristics
An extensive and colorful physical description of the Buddha has been laid down in scriptures. A kshatriya by birth, he had
military training in his upbringing, and by Shakyan tradition was required to pass tests to demonstrate his worthiness as a
warrior in order to marry. He had a strong enough body to be noticed by one of the kings and was asked to join his army as a
general. He is also believed by Buddhists to have "the 32 Signs of the Great Man".

The Brahmin Sonadanda described him as "handsome, good-looking, and pleasing to the eye, with a most beautiful
complexion. He has a godlike form and countenance, he is by no means unattractive." (D, I:115)

"It is wonderful, truly marvellous, how serene is the good Gotama's appearance, how clear and radiant his complexion, just as
the golden jujube in autumn is clear and radiant, just as a palm-tree fruit just loosened from the stalk is clear and radiant, just
as an adornment of red gold wrought in a crucible by a skilled goldsmith, deftly beaten and laid on a yellow-cloth shines,
blazes and glitters, even so, the good Gotama's senses are calmed, his complexion is clear and radiant." (A, I:181)

A disciple named Vakkali, who later became an arahant, was so obsessed by the Buddha's physical presence that the Buddha
is said to have felt impelled to tell him to desist, and to have reminded him that he should know the Buddha through the
Gandhran depiction of the
Dhamma and not through physical appearances.
Buddha from Hadda,
Although there are no extant representations of the Buddha in human form until around the 1st century CE (see Buddhist art), Afghanistan; Victoria and
Albert Museum, London.
descriptions of the physical characteristics of fully enlightened buddhas are attributed to the Buddha in the Digha Nikaya's
Lakkhaa Sutta (D, I:142).[127] In addition, the Buddha's physical appearance is described by Yasodhara to their son Rahula
upon the Buddha's first post-Enlightenment return to his former princely palace in the non-canonical Pali devotional hymn,
Narasha Gth ("The Lion of Men").[128]

Among the 32 main characteristics it is mentioned that Buddha has blue eyes.[129]

Nine virtues
Recollection of nine virtues attributed to the Buddha is a common Buddhist meditation and devotional practice called Buddhnusmti. The nine virtues are
also among the 40 Buddhist meditation subjects. The nine virtues of the Buddha appear throughout the Tipitaka,[130] and include:

Buddho Awakened
Sammasambuddho Perfectly self-awakened
Vijja-carana-sampano Endowed with higher knowledge and ideal conduct.
Sugato Well-gone or Well-spoken.
Lokavidu Wise in the knowledge of the many worlds.
Anuttaro Purisa-damma-sarathi Unexcelled trainer of untrained people.
Satthadeva-Manussanam Teacher of gods and humans.
Bhagavathi The Blessed one
Araham Worthy of homage. An Arahant is "one with taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden,
reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge."

Teachings
Use of Brahmanical motifs

In the Pali Canon, the Buddha uses many Brahmanical devices. For example, in Samyutta Nikaya 111, Majjhima Nikaya 92 and
Vinaya i 246 of the Pali Canon, the Buddha praises the Agnihotra as the foremost sacrifice and the Gayatri mantra as the
foremost meter:

Lord Buddha at Pandavleni

aggihuttamukh ya svitt chandaso mukham. Caves, Nashik.

Sacrifices have the Agnihotra as foremost; of meter, the foremost is the Svitr.[131]

Tracing the oldest teachings

Information of the oldest teachings may be obtained by analysis of the oldest texts. One method to obtain
information on the oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pali
Canon and other texts.[note 12] The reliability of these sources, and the possibility of drawing out a core of oldest
teachings, is a matter of dispute.[134][135][136][137] According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other
methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies.[132][note 13]

According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished:[140]

1. "Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a considerable part of the
Nikayic materials;"[note 14][note 15] , from the oldest extant texts a common kernel can be drawn out.[141]
According to Warder, c.q. his publisher: "This kernel of doctrine is presumably common Buddhism of the
period before the great schisms of the fourth and third centuries BC. It may be substantially the Buddhism
of the Buddha himself, although this cannot be proved: at any rate it is a Buddhism presupposed by the
schools as existing about a hundred years after the parinirvana of the Buddha, and there is no evidence to
suggest that it was formulated by anyone else than the Buddha and his immediate followers"[141] and
Richard Gombrich.[142] Richard Gombrich: "I have the greatest difficulty in accepting that the main
edifice is not the work of a single genius. By "the main edifice" I mean the collections of the main body of
sermons, the four Nikyas, and of the main body of monastic rules."[137]
2. "Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism;"[note 16][note 17]
3. "Cautious optimism in this respect."[note 18]
Replica of Buddha
Dhyana and insight

A core problem in the study of early Buddhism is the relation between dhyana and insight.[135][134][137]
Schmithausen notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained
after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36.[138][134][135]

Earliest Buddhism

According to Tilmann Vetter, the core of earliest Buddhism is the practice of dhyna,[146] as a workable alternative to
painful ascetic practices.[147][note 19] Bronkhorst agrees that Dhyna was a Buddhist invention,[134] whereas Norman
notes that "the Buddha's way to release [...] was by means of meditative practices."[149] Discriminating insight into
transiency as a separate path to liberation was a later development.[150][151]

According to the Mahsaccakasutta,[note 20] from the fourth jhana the Buddha gained bodhi. Yet, it is not clear what
he was awakened to.[149][134] According to Schmithausen and Bronkhorst, "liberating insight" is a later addition to
this text, and reflects a later development and understanding in early Buddhism.[138][134] The mentioning of the four
truths as constituting "liberating insight" introduces a logical problem, since the four truths depict a linear path of
practice, the knowledge of which is in itself not depicted as being liberating:[152]

[T]hey do not teach that one is released by knowing the four noble truths, but by practicing the fourth
noble truth, the eightfold path, which culminates in right samadhi.[152] The Buddha on a coin ofKanishka I,
circa 130 CE.
Although "Nibbna" (Sanskrit: Nirvna) is the common term for the desired goal of this practice, many other terms
can be found throughout the Nikayas, which are not specified.[153][note 21]

According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way".[154] In time, this short description
According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way".[154] In time, this short description
was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path.[154]

According to both Bronkhorst and Anderson, the four truths became a substitution for prajna, or "liberating insight", in the suttas[111][107] in those texts
where "liberating insight" was preceded by the four jhanas.[155] According to Bronkhorst, the four truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism,
and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight".[156] Gotama's teachings may have been personal, "adjusted to the need of each
person."[155]

The three marks of existence[note 22] may reflect Upanishadic or other influences. K.R. Norman supposes that these terms were already in use at the Buddha's
time, and were familiar to his listeners.[157]

The Brahma-vihara was in origin probably a brahmanic term;[158] but its usage may have been common to the Sramana traditions.[134]

Later developments

In time, "liberating insight" became an essential feature of the Buddhist tradition. The following teachings, which are commonly seen as essential to
Buddhism, are later formulations which form part of the explanatory framework of this "liberating insight":[135][134]

The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an ingrained part of existence; that the origin of suffering is craving for sensuality, acquisition of identity, and
fear of annihilation; that suffering can be ended; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path is the means to accomplish this;
The Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration;
Dependent origination: the mind creates suffering as a natural product of a complex process.

Other religions
Some Hindus regard Gautama as the 9th avatar of Vishnu.[note 8][159] However, Buddha's teachings deny the
authority of the Vedas and the concepts of Brahman-Atman.[160][161][162] Consequently Buddhism is generally
classified as a nstika school (heterodox, literally "It is not so"[note 23] ) in contrast to the six orthodox schools of
Hinduism.[165][166][167]

The Buddha is regarded as a prophet by the minority Ahmadiyya[168] sect of Muslims a sect considered a deviant
and rejected as apostate by mainstream Islam.[169][170] Some early Chinese Taoist-Buddhists thought the Buddha to
be a reincarnation of Laozi.[171]
Buddha depicted as the 9thavatar of god
Disciples of the Cao i religion worship the Buddha as a major religious teacher.[172] His image can be found in
Vishnu in a traditional Hindu
both their Holy See and on the home altar. He is revealed during communication with Divine Beings as son of their
representation
Supreme Being (God the Father) together with other major religious teachers and founders like Jesus, Laozi, and
Confucius.[173]

The Christian Saint Josaphat is based on the Buddha. The name comes from the Sanskrit Bodhisattva via Arabic Bdhasaf and Georgian Iodasaph.[174] The
only story in which St. Josaphat appears, Barlaam and Josaphat, is based on the life of the Buddha.[175] Josaphat was included in earlier editions of the
Roman Martyrology (feast day 27 November) though not in the Roman Missal and in the Eastern Orthodox Church liturgical calendar (26 August).

In the ancient Gnostic sect of Manichaeism, the Buddha is listed among the prophets who preached the word of God before Mani.[176]

Depiction in arts and media

Films

Little Buddha, a 1994 film by Bernardo Bertolucci

Prem Sanyas, a 1925 silent film, directed by Franz Osten and Himansu Rai

Television

Buddha, a 2013 mythological drama on Zee TV

Literature

The Light of Asia, an 1879 epic poem by Edwin Arnold

Buddha, a manga series that ran from 1972 to 1983 by Osamu Tezuka
Siddhartha novel by Hermann Hesse, written in German in 1922
Lord of Light, a novel by Roger Zelazny depicts a man in a far future Earth Colony who takes on the name and teachings of the Budda

Music

Karuna Nadee, a 2010 oratorio by Dinesh Subasinghe

The Light of Asia, an 1886 oratorio by Dudley Buck
A panorama of scenes from the Buddha's life, from a Burmeseparabaik or picture book
See also
Comparison of the founders of religious traditions
Notes
1. According to the Buddhist tradition, following the Nidanakatha,[43] the
introductory to the Jataka tales, the stories of the former lives of the
Buddha, Gautama was born in Lumbini, present-day Nepal.[44][45] In
the mid-3rd century BCE the Emperor Ashoka determined that
Lumbini was Gautama's birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with
the inscription: "...this is where the Buddha, sage of the kyas
(kyamuni), was born."[46]
Based on stone inscriptions, there is also speculation that Lumbei,
Kapileswar village, Odisha, at the east coast of India, was the site of
ancient Lumbini.[47][48][49] Hartmann discusses the hypothesis and
states, "The inscription has generally been considered spurious (...)"[50]
He quotes Sircar: "There can hardly be any doubt that the people
responsible for the Kapilesvara inscription copied it from the said
facsimile not much earlier than 1928."
Kapilavastu was the place where he grew up:[51][note 6]
Warder: "The Buddha [...] was born in the Sakya Republic,
which was the city state of Kapilavastu, a very small state just
inside the modern state boundary of Nepal against the Northern
Indian frontier.[6]
Walsh: "He belonged to the Sakya clan dwelling on the edge of
the Himalayas, his actual birthplace being a few miles north of
the present-day Northern Indian border, in Nepal. His father was,
in fact, an elected chief of the clan rather than the king he was
later made out to be, though his title was raja a term which
only partly corresponds to our word 'king'. Some of the states of
North India at that time were kingdoms and others republics, and
the Sakyan republic was subject to the powerful king of
neighbouring Kosala, which lay to the south".[53]
The exact location of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown.[51] It may
have been either Piprahwa in Uttar Pradesh, northern
India,[54][55][56] or Tilaurakot,[57] present-day Nepal.[58][51] The
two cities are located only fifteen miles from each other.[58]
See also Conception and birth and Birthplace Sources
2. According to Mahaparinibbana Sutta,[3] Gautama died in Kushinagar,
which is located in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India.
3. 411400: Dundas 2002, p. 24: "...as is now almost universally
accepted by informed Indological scholarship, a re-examination
of early Buddhist historical material, [...], necessitates a redating
of the Buddha's death to between 411 and 400 BCE..."
405: Richard Gombrich[32][33][34][35]
Around 400: See the consensus in the essays by leading scholars
in Narain, Awadh Kishore, ed. (2003), The Date of the Historical
kyamuni Buddha, New Delhi: BR Publishing, ISBN 81-7646-
353-1.
According to Pali scholar K. R. Norman, a life span for the
Buddha of c. 480 to 400 BCE (and his teaching period roughly
from c. 445 to 400 BCE) "fits the archaeological evidence
better".[2] See also Notes on the Dates of the Buddha kyamuni
(http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic138396.files/Buddha-D
ates.pdf).
4. According to Alexander Berzin, "Buddhism developed as a shramana
school that accepted rebirth under the force of karma, while rejecting
the existence of the type of soul that other schools asserted. In addition,
the Buddha accepted as parts of the path to liberation the use of logic
and reasoning, as well as ethical behavior, but not to the degree of Jain
asceticism. In this way, Buddhism avoided the extremes of the
previous four shramana schools."[18]
5. In 2013, archaeologist Robert Coningham found the remains of a
Bodhigara, a tree shrine, dated to 550 BCE at the Maya Devi Temple,
Lumbini, speculating that it may possible be a Buddhist shrine. If so,
this may push back the Buddha's birth date.[38] Archaeologists caution
that the shrine may represent pre-Buddhist tree worship, and that
further research is needed.[38]
Richard Gombrich has dismissed Coningham's speculations as "a
fantasy", noting that Coningham lacks the necessary expertise on the
history of early Buddhism.[39]
Geoffrey Samuels notes that several locations of both early Buddhism
and Jainism are closely related to Yaksha-worship, that several Yakshas
were "converted" to Buddhism, a well-known example being
Vajrapani,[40] and that several Yaksha-shrines, where trees were
worshipped, were converted into Buddhist holy places.[41]
6. Some sources mention Kapilavastu as the birthplace of the Buddha.
Gethin states: "The earliest Buddhist sources state that the future
Buddha was born Siddhrtha Gautama (Pali Siddhattha Gotama), the
son of a local chieftain a rjan in Kapilavastu (Pali
Kapilavatthu) what is now the IndianNepalese border."[52] Gethin
does not give references for this statement.
7. Minor Rock Edict Nb3: "These Dhamma texts Extracts from the
Discipline, the Noble Way of Life, the Fears to Come, the Poem on the
Silent Sage, the Discourse on the Pure Life, Upatisa's Questions, and
the Advice to Rahula which was spoken by the Buddha concerning
false speech these Dhamma texts, reverend sirs, I desire that all the
monks and nuns may constantly listen to and remember. Likewise the
laymen and laywomen."[59]
Dhammika:"There is disagreement amongst scholars concerning which
Pali suttas correspond to some of the text. Vinaya samukose: probably
the Atthavasa Vagga, Anguttara Nikaya, 1:98-100. Aliya vasani: either
the Ariyavasa Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya, V:29, or the Ariyavamsa Sutta,
Anguttara Nikaya, II: 27-28. Anagata bhayani: probably the Anagata
Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya, III:100. Muni gatha: Muni Sutta, Sutta Nipata
207-221. Upatisa pasine: Sariputta Sutta, Sutta Nipata 955-975.
Laghulavade: Rahulavada Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya, I:421."[59]
8. Kumar Singh, Nagendra (1997). "Buddha as depicted in the Puras".
Encyclopaedia of Hinduism (https://books.google.com/?id=UG9-HZ5i
cQ4C&pg=PA260). 7. Anmol Publications. pp. 26075. ISBN 978-81-
7488-168-7. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
9. According to Geoffrey Samuel, the Buddha was born as a
Kshatriya,[83] in a moderate Vedic culture at the central Ganges Plain
area, where the shramana-traditions developed. This area had a
moderate Vedic culture, where the Kshatriyas were the highest varna,
in contrast to the Brahmanic ideology of Kuru-Panchala, where the
Brahmins had become the highest varna.[83] Both the Vedic culture and
the shramana tradition contributed to the emergence of the so-called
"Hindu-synthesis" around the start of the Common Era.[84][83]
 10. Scholars have noted inconsistencies in the presentations of the
Buddha's enlightenment, and the Buddhist path to liberation, in the
oldest sutras. These inconsistencies show that the Buddhist teachings
evolved, either during the lifetime of the Buddha, or thereafter. See:
* Andre Bareau (1963), Recherches sur la biographie du Buddha dans
les Sutrapitaka et les Vinayapitaka anciens, Ecole Francaise
d'Extreme-Orient
* Schmithausen, On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of
'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism
* K.R. Norman, Four Noble Truths (http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/d
ocuments/Articles/The%20Four%20Noble%20Truths_Norman_PTS_2
003.pdf)
* Tilman Vetter, The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism
(http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/The%20Ideas%20and%2
0Meditative%20Practices%20of%20Early%20Buddhism_Vetter.pdf)
* Richard F. Gombrich (2006). How Buddhism Began: The
Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings (https://books.google.com/
books?id=hQOAAgAAQBAJ). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-19639-5.,
chapter four
* Bronkhorst, Johannes (1993), The Two Traditions Of Meditation In
Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, chapter 7
* Anderson, Carol (1999), Pain and Its Ending: The Four Noble Truths
in the Theravada Buddhist Canon, Routledge
11. Waley notes: suukara-kanda, "pig-bulb"; suukara-paadika, "pig's foot"
and sukaresh.ta "sought-out by pigs". He cites Neumann's suggestion
that if a plant called "sought-out by pigs" exists then suukaramaddava
can mean "pig's delight".
12. The surviving portions of the scriptures of Sarvastivada,
Mulasarvastivada, Mahisasaka, Dharmaguptaka and other
schools,[132][133] and the Chinese Agamas and other surviving portions
of other early canons.
13. Exemplary studies are the study on descriptions of "liberating insight"
by Lambert Schmithausen,[138] the overview of early Buddhism by
Tilmann Vetter,[135] the philological work on the four truths by K.R.
Norman,[139] the textual studies by Richard Gombrich,[137] and the
research on early meditation methods by Johannes Bronkhorst.[134]
14. A well-known proponent of the first position is A.K. Warder
15. According to A.K. Warder, in his 1970 publication "Indian Buddhism"
16. A proponent of the second position is Ronald Davidson.
17. Ronald Davidson: "While most scholars agree that there was a rough
body of sacred literature (disputed)(sic) that a relatively early
community (disputed)(sic) maintained and transmitted, we have little
confidence that much, if any, of surviving Buddhist scripture is
actually the word of the historic Buddha."[143]
References
Citations
1. Cousins 1996, pp. 5763.
2. Norman 1997, p. 33.
3. "Maha-parinibbana Sutta" (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/
dn.16.1-6.vaji.html), Digha Nikaya (16), Access insight, part 5
4. Baroni 2002, p. 230.
5. Boeree, C George. "An Introduction to Buddhism" (http://webspace.shi
p.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro.html). Shippensburg University. Retrieved
10 September 2011.
6. Warder 2000, p. 45.
7. Laumakis 2008, p. 4.
8. Skilton 2004, p. 41.
9. Rawlinson, Hugh George. (1950) A Concise History of the Indian
People, Oxford University Press. p. 46.
10. Muller, F. Max. (2001) The Dhammapada And Sutta-nipata, Routledge
(UK). p. xlvii. ISBN 0-7007-1548-7.
11. India: A History. Revised and Updated (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=0IquM4BrJ4YC&pg=PT87&dq=bimbisara), by John Keay: "The
date [of Buddha's meeting with Bimbisara] (given the Buddhist 'short
chronology') must have been around 400 BCE."
12. Smith 1924, pp. 34, 48.
13. Schumann 2003, pp. 1-5.
14. Jayatilleke 1963, chpt. 1-3.
15. Clasquin-Johnson, Michel. "Will the real Nigantha Ntaputta please
stand up? Reflections on the Buddha and his contemporaries" (http://w
ww.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1011-76012015
000100006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en). Journal for the Study of
Religion. 28 (1): 100114. ISSN 1011-7601 (https://www.worldcat.org/
issn/1011-7601).
16. Walshe 1995, p. 268.
17. Collins 2009, pp. 199200.
18. Well-known proponents of the third position are:
* J.W. de Jong: "It would be hypocritical to assert that nothing can be
said about the doctrine of earliest Buddhism [...] the basic ideas of
Buddhism found in the canonical writings could very well have been
proclaimed by him [the Buddha], transmitted and developed by his
disciples and, finally, codified in fixed formulas."[144]
* Johannes Bronkhorst: "This position is to be preferred to (ii) for
purely methodological reasons: only those who seek may find, even if
no success is guaranteed."[140]
* Donald Lopez: "The original teachings of the historical Buddha are
extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover or reconstruct."[145]
19. Vetter: "However, if we look at the last, and in my opinion the most
important, component of this list [the noble eightfold path], we are still
dealing with what according to me is the real content of the middle
way, dhyana-meditation, at least the stages two to four, which are said
to be free of contemplation and reflection. Everything preceding the
eighth part, i.e. right samadhi, apparently has the function of preparing
for the right samadhi."[148]
20. Majjhima Nikaya 36
21. Vetter: "I am especially thinking here of MN 26 (I p.163,32;
165,15;166,35) kimkusalagavesi anuttaram santivarapadam
pariyesamano (searching for that which is beneficial, seeking the
unsurpassable, best place of peace) and again MN 26 (passim),
anuttaramyagakkhemam nibbiinam pariyesati (he seeks the
unsurpassable safe place, the nirvana). Anuppatta-sadattho (one who
has reached the right goal) is also a vague positive expression in the
Arhatformula in MN 35 (I p, 235), see chapter 2, footnote 3,
Furthermore, satthi (welfare) is important in e.g. SN 2.12 or 2.17 or Sn
269; and sukha and rati (happiness), in contrast to other places, as used
in Sn 439 and 956. The oldest term was perhaps amata (immortal,
immortality) [...] but one could say here that it is a negative term."[153]
22. Understanding of these marks helps in the development of detachment:
Anicca (Sanskrit: anitya): That all things that come to have an
end;
Dukkha (Sanskrit: dukha): That nothing which comes to be is
ultimately satisfying;
Anatt (Sanskrit: antman): That nothing in the realm of
experience can really be said to be "I" or "mine".
23. "in Sanskrit philosophical literature, 'stika' means 'one who believes in
the authority of the Vedas', 'soul', 'Brahman'. ('nstika' means the
opposite of these).[163][164]
18. Berzin, Alexander (April 2007). "Indian Society and Thought before
and at the Time of Buddha" (http://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-st
udies/history-culture/buddhism-in-india/indian-society-and-thought-at-
the-time-of-buddha). Study Buddhism. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
19. Nakamura 1980, p. 20.
20. Wynne 2007, pp. 823, ch. 2.
21. Warder 1998, p. 45.
22. Roy 1984, p. 1.
23. Roy 1984, p. 7.
24. Carrithers 2001.
25. Buswell 2003, p. 352.
26. Lopez 1995, p. 16.
27. Schumann 2003, pp. 1013.
28. Bechert & 1991-1997.
29. Ruegg 1999, pp. 82-87.
30. Narain 1993, pp. 187-201.
31. Prebish 2008, p. 2.
32. Gombrich 1992.
33. Narain 1993, pp. 187201.
34. Hartmann 1991.
35. Gombrich 2000.
36. Schumann 2003, p. xv.
37. Wayman 1993, pp. 3758.
38. Vergano, Dan (25 November 2013). "Oldest Buddhist Shrine
Uncovered In Nepal May Push Back the Buddha's Birth Date" (http://n
ews.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/11/131125-buddha-birth-nepal
-archaeology-science-lumbini-religion-history/). National Geographic.
Retrieved 26 November 2013.
39. Gombrich, Richard (2013), Recent discovery of "earliest Buddhist
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Further reading
The Buddha

Bechert, Heinz, ed. (1996). When Did the Buddha Live? The Controversy on the Dating of the Historical Buddha. Delhi: Sri Satguru.
amoli, Bhikku (1992). The Life of the Buddha According to the Pali Canon (3rd ed.). Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society.
Wagle, Narendra K (1995). Society at the Time of the Buddha (2nd ed.). Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-817154553-7.
Weise, Kai (2013). The Sacred Garden of Lumbini: Perceptions of Buddhas birthplace. UNESCO. ISBN 978-92-3-001208-3.

Early Buddhism

Rahula, Walpola (1974). What the Buddha Taught (2nd ed.). New York: Grove Press.
Vetter, Tilmann (1988), The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism, Brill

Buddhism general

Kalupahana, David J. (1994), A history of Buddhist philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass

Robinson, Richard H.; Johnson, Willard L; Wawrytko, Sandra A; DeGraff, Geoffrey (1996). The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
External links
Works by Buddha at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Buddha at Internet Archive
Works by or about Siddhrtha Gautama at Internet Archive
Works by or about Shakyamuni at Internet Archive
Works by Gautama Buddha at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

Buddha on In Our Time at the BBC.

A sketch of the Buddha's Life
What Was The Buddha Like? by Ven S. Dhammika

Buddhist titles

Succeeded by
Preceded by
Buddhist Patriarch Maitreya
Kassapa Buddha
Buddha

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