Buddhism

Brief Introduction

The Manner that Buddhism Spread

- The expansion of Buddhism throughout most of Asia was

peaceful and occured in several ways.- Did not asks others to denounce and give up

their own religion and convert tto a new one.- Not seeking to establish his own religion.

- Trying to help others overcome the happiness and suffering.

History of Buddhism

- emerged in 6th century B.C.

- marked a profound break with some Hindu Beliefs, - denies the aouthority of Vedas.

- founded by Siddhartha Gautama

- began in India 500 years ago,

Early Biography

* Siddhartha Gautama

` Gautama – his family name.

- Born about 560 B.C in northern India, Kapilavastu / Nepal

- the prince of India, and the founder

` Siddhartha – his given name.

+ Family

Background:

` Sakyamuni – his clan name.

` Yasodhara – his wife, whom he was married at an age of 16.

- the leader and founder of a sect of wonderer ascetics (Sramanas)

` Rahula – his son’s name.

` Queen Maya – his mother

- (also known as the Buddha “the awakened one” or enlightened one)

` Suddhodana – his father, as a king of Shakya tribe in

India.

- who seek enlightenment or “wisdom”.

Enlightenment

- realized after he attended the 4 Stage of trance.

- the realization of spiritual or religious understanding

*Buddhism Explanations:

- the awakened one.

- all of the answers he had been seeking became clear, and achieved full awareness, there by becoming Buddha.

Buddha’s Enlightment - ‘ One day, he informed his father that he wish to see the world ( at an age of 29).

- the excursion that would forever change his life, for it was during his journey:1st, Saw a decrepit man.

2nd, Met a sick man.

3rd, Saw a funeral procession with a corpse.

4th, Saw a monk begging for his food.

- A former prince , now a beggar.

- Spent his time wandering from place to place.

* 4 Passing Sights- also known as Great Renunciation

2 Branches

of Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

- its doctrines are taken from the Tripitaka ,

- its basic teachings begin with the Four Noble Truths

- emphasizing critical analysis and personal experience rather than blind faith,- considers anatman to mean that an individual's ego or personality is a fetter and delusion- dominant form in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar)

- the oldest surviving branch of Buddhism.

- derived from the Sanskrit; sthaviravada, and literally means "the Teaching of the Elders".

- its own origins exist were under the patronage of the Indian Emperor Ashoka, around 250 BCE. - These teachings were known as the Vibhajjavada,

- Vibhajjavādins in turn split into four groups: the Mahīśāsaka, Kāśyapīya,’ Dharmaguptaka, and the Tāmraparṇīya.

- The name Theravāda comes from the ancestral Sthaviravada, from which the Theravadins claim descentl

- a small group of "elderly members", i.e. sthaviras, broke away from the majority Mahāsāṃghika during the Second Buddhist council, giving rise to the Sthaviravada,

- According to its own accounts: Theravāda school is fundamentally derived from the Vibhajjavāda (or "doctrine of analysis"),was a division of the Sthaviravada.

Origin:

Mahayana Buddhism- considers all physical forms to be void and individual autonomy to be a delusion.

- "individual enlightenment" is an oxymoron.

- to enable all beings to be enlightened together.

- considers all physical forms to be void of intrinsic self (a teaching called shunyata- which means "emptiness") and individual autonomy ‘to be a delusion’.

- dominant in China, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Korea and Vietnam, and recently India.

- Major Schools: Nichiren Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism.

- (Sanskrit: महा�या�न , literally the "Great Vehicle")

- one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism as a classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. - originated in India, and associated with one of the oldest historical branches of Buddhism, the Mahāsāṃghika- spread from India to various other Asian countries such as: Bangladesh, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Malaysia, and Mongolia.

- earliest textual evidence comes from sūtras , originating around the beginning of the common era.

Origin:

Tibet

India

Gaya

Thailand

Korea Japan

Cambodia

Vietnam

China

Sri Lanka

Burma

Afghanistan

Mahayana

Theravada

Spread of Buddhism

Mongolia

560 B.C.E –14th Century

7th Century

13th Century

13th Century

1st Century C.E

305 BCE

560 B.C.E

12th Century

5th Century

B.C.E.

1st

Century C.E

3rd century

BCE

Laos

14th Century

6th Century

C.E

4th Century

C.E

2nd Century

C.E

Veneration of Buddha 1. The countenance of the Buddha is like the clear full moon,

Or again. Like at thousand suns releasing their splendor. His eyes are pure, as large and as broad as a blue lotus. His teeth are white, even and close, as snowy white jade.

2. The Buddha's virtue resemble the boundless great ocean. Infinite wonderful jewels are amassed within it. The calm, virtues of water always fills it. Hundreds and thousand of supreme concentrations throng it.

5. His marks and signs are as unfathomable as the sky. And they surpass a thousand suns releasing their splendor. All like a flame or a phantom are inconceivable. Thus I bow my head to him hose mind has no attachment.

3. The of the wheel beneath his feet are all elegant- The hub, the rim, and the thousand spokes which are all even. The webs on his hands and his feet are splendid in all parts. He is fully endowed with markings like the king of geese.

4. The Buddha-body’s radiance is like a golden mountains, It is clear, pure, peculiar without equal or likeness. And it too has the virtues of beauty and loftiness. Therefore I bow my head to the Buddha, king of mountain.

End Of

History

Introduction of BuddhismAccording to traditional Sri Lankan chronicles (such as the Dipavamsa), Buddhism was introduced into Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE by Venerable Mahinda, the son of the Emperor Ashoka, during the reign of Sri Lanka's King Devanampiya Tissa. During this time, a sapling of the Bodhi Tree was brought to Sri Lanka and the first monasteries and Buddhist monuments were established. Among these, the Isurumuni-vihaara and the Vessagiri-vihaara remain important centers of worship. He is also credited with the construction of the Pathamaka-cetiya, the Jambukola-vihaara and the Hatthaalhaka-vihaara, and the refectory. The Pali Canon, having previously been preserved as an oral tradition, was first committed to writing in Sri Lanka around 30 BCE

Buddhism was one of the major religions in Afghanistan during pre-Islamic era. The religion was wide spread south of the Hindu Kush mountains. Buddhism first arrived in Afghanistan in 305 BCE when the Seleucid Empire made an alliance with the Indian Maurya Empire. The religion started fading with the arrival of Islam in the 7th century but finally ended during the Ghaznavids in the 11th century.[1]