• 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.
• Some famous Bikshuks of Budhdhism were Sariputra, Ananda, Mahakassapa, Annuradha, Upali, and Rahul.
• 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 Symbolised by:
Buddha’s Birth Lotus & Bull
The Great Departure (Mahabhinishkramana) Horse
Enlightment (Nirvana ) Bodhi Tree
First Sermon (Dhammachakraparivartan) Wheel
Death (Parinirvana) Stupa
Teachings of Buddha
• 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:
o The world is full of sorrow(Dukkha)
o Desire is the cause of sorrow(Dukha samudya)
o If desire is conquered all sorrow is won over(Dukha nirodha)
o Desire can be conquered by following eight fold paths (Ashtangirka Marg)
• To conquer the desire, Eight Fold Path has to be followed:
o Samyak Drist: Right Understanding
o Samyak Sankalpa: Right Resolve
o Samyak Vani: Right Speech
o Samyak Karma: Right Action
o Samyak Ajiv: Right Living
o Samyak Vyayam: Right Efforts
o Samyak Smriti: Right Mindfulness/thought
o 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
• The ultimate aim of life is to attain Nirvana, which means freedom, from further birth and death.
• Nirvana is the eternal state of peace and bliss or liberation from the cycle of birth and death
• Buddha had summarized the whole process in three words viz.
o Seela (Right conduct),
o Samadhi (Right concentration), and
o Prajna (Right knowledge).
• According to Buddha, Seela and Samadhi lead to Prajna, which is the direct cause of nirvana.
• Buddha advocated “The Middle Path” in which extremes are avoided.
• Buddha visited to the Deer Park (modern Sarnath), Kasi after his enlightenment and gave his first Sermon (lecture).
• His first sermon was known as “Set in Motion, the Wheel of Law”.
• The followers of the Buddha fell into two categories −
o Upasakas i.e. the lay followers who lived with family; and
o Bhikshus i.e. monks who renounced the world and led the life of an ascetic.
• Bhikshus lived as a commune called ‘Sangha’ founded by Buddha himself. In Buddhism, all the followers enjoyed equal rights irrespective of their Varna and Jati.
• Women were also allowed to join the Sangha and were known as ‘Bhikshunis.’
• Buddha debated in the language of the common people.
• Buddha and his followers used to travel from place to place, and preach for eight months in a year; and, four months, during the rainy season, they stayed at one place.
• Buddha died in the year 486 B.C. at Kushinagar at the age of 80.
• The ashes of Buddha after cremation were distributed among his followers.
• The followers kept these ashes in caskets and built ‘Stupas’ over them. One example of such Stupa is Sanchi Stupa.
Maitreya, Future Buddha
• According to Buddhism, Maitreya is the future Buddha. He will be a bodhisattva, whose primary work will be to achieve absolute enlightenment and spread the knowledge of pure Dhamma.
• According to the Buddhist texts, Maitreya will be the successor of Gautama Buddha. In the entire Buddhist canonical texts reference to the prophecy about Maitreya is to be found.
• Almost all the Buddhist followers believe that this prediction will definitely come true. In the Sanskrit canon, Maitreyavyakara, it is said that humans and even gods will worship Maitreya as a teacher of tantra.
• The name, Maitreya, literally means loving kindness. It can also mean a friend. It is said that the coming of Maitreya will be marked by a number of events.
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 monk Nagasena.
• 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.
Jainism vs. Buddhism
Following are the key similarities in the philosophies of Jainism and Buddhism −
• Both the philosophies recognize the fact that the world is full of sorrows and the salvation of a man means his deliverance from the eternal chain of birth and death.
• Both the philosophies derived their basic principles from the Upanishads.
• Both the philosophies did not accept the idea of God.
• Both the philosophies laid great stress upon a pure and moral life, especially non-injury to living beings.
• Both the philosophies emphasized the effects of good and bad deeds upon a man’s future births and ultimate salvation.
• Both the philosophies criticized caste.
• Both the philosophies preached their religions in the common language of the people.
• Both the philosophies encouraged the idea of giving up the world, and organized a church of monks and nuns. Following are the key differences between Jainism and Buddhism −
• Both the philosophies have distinct historic origins.
• Both the philosophies differ in fundamental conceptions about salvation.
• Jainism laid great stress upon asceticism and practiced it in a very rigorous manner, but Buddha criticized it and suggested his disciples to follow the middle path between a life of ease and luxury on one hand, and rigorous asceticism on the other.
• Buddha condemned the practice of going out naked.
• Jainism‘s view of non-injury even to animals was carried to far greater excesses.
• Buddhism spread far and wide in different parts of the world within five hundred years whereas Jainism never spread beyond the boundaries of India.
• Buddhism declined considerably in the land of its birth while Jainism is still a living force in India, and has got a stronghold upon a large and influential section of the people.
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