gave birth to him when standing up and holding on to th

1
Buddhism Its Indian Origin

• Buddhism one of two major Indian philosophical
  systems
• Hinduism Hindu philosophy has exerted more
  powerful impression throughout Indian history
• Its the root of the Buddhist tradition

Buddha, Gupta Period (c.400 CE.), India
2

• Indian thought unfolds in two directions
• Hindu the Veda is its source
• Accepted as the authority of the sacred teaching
  and viewed as orthodox
• Texts associated
• Rg-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Atharva-Veda, Upanishads
  (sk. Upanisads)

Standing Buddha, Museum of Archaeology, Mathura.
5th C.
3

• Non-Hindu
• Viewed as heterodox
• Buddhism, Jainism, Karvaka
• Vedic teachings influenced the development of
  Buddhism
• Specialized priests handled specific elements of
  ritual
• Truth of transmigration and repeated death
• Notion of atman (self/soul)
• Meditation on some sacred utterances of
  Upanishads
• Contemplative techniques used to search freedom

4
Seated Buddha, 2nd Century, BCE
Standing Bodhisattva, Mathura sculpture, 3rd C.
5
Buddhism Its History in India (I)

• Three periods
• Early, Sectarian, Mahayana
• 1st Period Early Buddhism
• The Three Jewels is the core
• The Buddha prescribed the refuge formula
• Two refuges expanded to three refuges

Early Sculpture of Buddha in India
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• 2nd Period Sectarian Buddhism
• Characterized by councils and schism
• First council, occurred in ca. 534 BCE
• After the death of the Buddha
• Mahakashapa, one of the Buddhas closest
  disciples, called for an assembly meeting to
  establish some consensus about the core of the
  Buddhas teachings

Kushinagar, Buddhas Mahaparinirvana
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• Subsequent councils (2nd3rd)
• were assembled to deal with interpretation of
  certain ideas and Vinaya, resulting first major
  split among Buddhists because of disagreements
  (referred to as Great Schism)
• Two schools emerged
• The Great Assembly (Mahasanghika)
• Teaching of the Elders (Sthaviravada, or
  Theravada)

8

• Third Period Mahayana Buddhism
• Originated in the 2nd and 3rd council
• The Great Assembly (Mahasanghika) proposed a
  theory that the Buddha, superior to arhants,
  transcended the life of an ordinary man
• Disputed the notion issue of atman (soul) in
  favor of that of anatman (no soul)
• The initiation of the Buddhist canon, or official
  works
• Ideas in these works were put together into
  Pitaka (baskets)

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Three Jewels (aka. Three Refuges)

• The Buddha
• The Buddha the Awakened One (or one who has
  awakened)
• Sakaymuni the sage of the Sakyas
• Sakyas--his peoples name
• Gautama--his clan name
• Siddhartha--personal name, one who has achieved
  his aim
• The Dharma
• Law, doctrines
• The Sangha
• Communities

10
The Buddha

• Dates and Place of Birth
• Dates (566-486 BCE), (563-483BCE) (440-360BCE)
  (d. ca.410BCE)
• Lumbini, Nipal
• The Great Departure
• Enlightenment Bodh Gaya (the birthplace of
  Buddhism)
• Sermons Dear Park in Sarnath
• Parinirvana Kushinaga

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The Great Departure and the Temptation of the
Buddha (by Maras Daughters) Ikshvaku period, ca.
first half of 3rd centuryIndia (Andra Pradesh,
Nagarjunakonda)
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The Great Departure poster
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Birth and Family

• Father Suddhodhana, aunt (Maha)pajapati
• Mother Maya
• conceived him when dreaming a white baby elephant
  entering her side
• gave birth to him when standing up and holding on
  to the trunk of a sal tree
• The earth shook and gods bathed him in a
  miraculous shower of water
• The Buddha (Sakyamuni Buddha)
• After birth Immediately stood up, took seven
  steps and declared that this was to be his last
  rebirth
• I am chief in the world. I am best in the world.
  I am first in the world.
• Wife Yasodhara
• Son Rahura

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Super Body

• The Buddhas characteristics
• Remarkable in mind and body
• Endowed physically with the 32 major marks and 80
  secondary marks of a superman
• His voice has 64 kinds of euphony
• The Buddha was a great storyteller
• Jataka stories his previous lives
• Avadana stories explain present situation by
  recounting events from the past
• King Padmaka and the fish allegory

15
The Great Departure

• Four signs the reasons for his departure
• old, sick, dead, religious mendicants
• accounts questionable and should be treated as
  parables
• Renunciation and Austerities (6 years)
• left home and family in search of spiritual
  knowledge
• renounced the world and embraced asceticism
• began to learn meditation, quickly mastered high
  level of meditative skills
• further practiced extreme austerities
• subdued the appetites, and passions
• breathing exercise
• reduced intake of food,
• engaged in self-mortification
• found middle way

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Enlightenment

• Attained enlightenment when sitting and
  meditating under a Bodhi tree
• Three stages
• 1st watch acquired power to review previous
  existence
• 2nd watch attained the clairvoyant power and saw
  cycles of birth and karma
• 3rd watch awakened to the four noble truths and
  enlightened
• sat in the lotus posture, touched the earth with
  his right hand to call
• upon its witness of his achievement
• Set out for Barnes to begin his teaching career

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Sermons

• First Sermon Setting in Motion the Wheel of the
  Dharma
• Content The Four Noble Truths
• Audience the group of five mendicants
• became stream-enterer--one who has attained the
  preliminary degree of spiritual understanding
• Second Sermon
• all five became his disciples and were ordained
  as monks
• they were Arhats (Arhants)
• Teaching spread and the order of monks
  established
• the formation of Sangha
• attracted followers including powerful and
  wealthy patrons
• viharas formed, turned into monasteries

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Parinirvana

• Death
• age 80, died of natural causes at Kusinara when
  lying on right side between two Sal trees
• passed through several levels of trance before
  entering nirvana
• Will
• no successor needed, no authority on doctrines
• Vinaya the code of rules
• body cremated and enshrined stupa
• last words Decay is inherent in all things be
  sure to strive with clarity of mind (for
  nirvana).