NEW

QUESTIONS AND
IDEAS
PREPARED BY-
KRISHNA KUMAR SRIVASTAVA
 CONTENTS:
➢WHO WAS BUDDHA?
➢LESSONS OF BUDDHA
➢DHAMEK STUPA
➢THE STORY OF KISAGOTAMI
➢WHAT DOES UPANISHAD MEAN?
➢ICONS RELATED TO UPANISHAD
➢SIX SCHOOLS OF INDIAN
PHILOSOPHY
➢THE WISE BEGGER
➢PANINI THE GRAMMARIAN
➢WHO WAS MAHAVIRA?
➢LESSONS OF MAHAVIRA
➢RULES OF THE SANGHA
➢MONASTERY: VIHARA
➢MONASTERY: CHAITYA
➢THE SYSTEM OF ASHRAMAS
 WHO WAS BUDDHA?
 Siddhartha, also known as Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was born
about 2500 years ago.
 The Buddha belonged to a small gana known as the Sakya gana, and
he was a kshatriya.
 When he was a young man, he left the comforts of his home in search
of knowledge. He wandered for several years, meeting and holding
discussions with other thinkers. He finally decided to find his own path to
realisation, and meditated for days on end under a peepal tree at Bodh
Gaya in Bihar, where he attained enlightenment.
 After that, he was known as the Buddha or the Wise One. He then went
to Sarnath, near Varanasi, where he taught for the first time.
 He spent the rest of his life travelling on foot, going from place to place,
teaching people, till he passed away at Kusinara.
LESSONS OF BUDDHA:
• The buddha used to think that life is full of sufferings and unhappiness which
is because people have desires or we can say cravings. The Buddha
described this as thirst or Tanha.
• He told that the constant craving can be removed by following moderation
in everything and noble eightfold paths- (1) Right View. (2) Right Thought. (3)
Right Speech. (4) Right Action. (5) Right Livelihood. (6) Right Effort (7) Right
Mindfulness. (8) Right Concentration
• He also taught to be kind, and to respect the lives of others, including
animals.
• He believed that the results of our actions which is known as Karma, whether
good or bad affect us both in this life and the next. The Buddha taught in the
language of the ordinary people.
• He also encouraged people to think for themselves rather than to simply
accept what he said.
THE FOLLOWERS OF BUDDHISM STATUE OF BUDDHA IN BODH
MEDITATING WITH BUDDHA GAYA WHERE HE ATTAINED
ENLIGHTENMENT
THIS BUILDING, KNOWN
AS A STUPA IS LOCATED
AT SARNATH IN
VARANASI AND WAS
BUILT BY GREAT
EMPEROR OF MAGADH,
ASHOKA TO MARK THE
PLACE WHERE BUDDHA
FIRST TAUGHT HIS
MESSAGE. IT IS KNOWN
AS DHAMEK STUPA.
KISAGOTAMI
BEGGING BUDDHA
TO BRING HIS SON
BACK TO LIFE
 WHAT DOES UPANISHAD MEAN?
❑Upanishad means 'approaching and sitting near' and the texts
contain conversations between teachers and students.
❑ The thinkers of the time of the Buddha tried to find answers to
difficult questions like what is the life after death or why sacrifices
should be performed etc.
❑ Many of these thinkers felt that there is something permanent in
the universe that would last even after death. This was described
as Atman or the indivisual soul and the Brahman or the universal
soul. They believed that ultimately, both the Atman and the
Brahman were one.
❑Most Upanishadic thinkers were men such as rajas and brahmins
 ICONS RELATED TO UPANISHAD:
❖Most thinkers were men. Occasionally, there is a mention of women
thinkers, such as Gargi along with Maitreyi who were famous for
their learning, and participated in debates held in royal courts.
❖One famous exception was Satyakama Jabala, who was named
after his mother, the slave woman Jabali. He had a deep desire to
learn about reality and true life, was accepted as a student by a
great brahmin teacher Gautama, and became one of the best
thinkers of the time
❖Many of the ideas were later developed by the famous thinker
Shankaracharya.
 SHANKARACHARYA

SATYAKAMA JABALA GARGI

SIX SCHOOLS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
Six systems of Philosophy Sages who founded
1. Vaishesika • Konada
2. Nyaya • Gotama
3. Samkhya • Kapil
4. Yoga • Patanjali
5. Purva Mimansa • Jaimini
6. Vedanta or Uttar • vyasa
Mimansa
 WHO WAS MAHAVIRA
• First jain trinthkar was Rishabhdev. The last and 24th tirthankara of the Jainas,
Vardhamana Mahavira, also spread his message around this time, i.e. 2500
years ago.
• He was a kshatriya prince of the Lichchhavis, a group that was part of the
Vajji sangha.
• At the age of thirty, he left home and went to live in a forest. For twelve
years he led a hard and lonely life and travelled widely in the country
preaching Jainism for thirty years ,at the end of which he attained
enlightenment.
• He was able to control and conquer indriyas (senses). He was thus called
jina.
• He believed in peace and non- violence.
• Followers of Mahavira were know as Jainas. Some of his famous disciples
were Surdev and Ananda.
 LESSONS OF MAHAVIRA:
• He taught a simple doctrine: men and women who wished to know the truth
must leave their homes. And men had to give up everything including their
clothes.
• Since he believed in peace and non-violence, therefore he said all must
follow the rules of ahimsa which means not to hurt or kill living beings.
• He taught five doctrines: not to injure life, not to speak lie, not to steal, not
to posses property and vow chastity. This could be achieved through right
path, right knowledge and right action.
• Ordinary people could easily understand the teachings of the Mahavira as
he used Prakrit.
• Over hundred of years, Jainism spread to North India, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu
and Karnataka. The teachings of Mahavira and his followers
transmitted orally for several centuries. They were written down in the form in
which they are presently available at a place called Valabhi, in Gujarat,
about 1500 years ago.
MAHAVIRA MEDITATING AND STATUE OF VARDHAMANA
CONTROLLING HIS INDRIYAS MAHAVIRA AT GOMATESHWARA,
SHRAVANABELAGOLA
 RULES OF THE SANGHA:
• Both the Mahavira and the Buddha felt that only those who left their homes
could gain true knowledge. They arranged for them to stay in an association
of those who left their homes, called Sangha.
• The rules made for the Buddhist sangha were written down in a book called
the Vinaya Pitaka.
• All men could join the sangha. However, children had to take the permission
of their parents and slaves that of their masters. Those who worked for the
king had to take his permission. Debtors that of creditors. Women had to take
their husband's permission.
• Men and women who joined the sangha led simple lives. They meditated for
most of the time, and went to cities and villages to beg for food during fixed
hours. That is why they were known as bhikkhus (the Prakrit word for
renouncer — beggar) and bhikkhunis. They taught others, and helped one
another.
MONASTERY: VIHARA
• Monasteries were constructed for
permanent shelter of monks and
nuns.
• The monastery quickly became
important and had a three-fold
purpose: as a residence for monks, as
a center for religious work and as a
center for Buddhist learning.
• These were known as Viharas.
• Viharas were made of wood, and
then of brick. Some were even in
CAVE IN KARLE, MAHARASHTA WHERE
caves that were dug out in hills,
BUDDHIST MONKS AND NUNS LIVED AND
especially in western India.
MEDITATED
MONASTERY: CHAITYA
• Chaitya refers to a temple, sanctuary
or any sacred monument.
• The halls are high and long, but rather
narrow. At the far end stands the
stupa, which is the focus of
devotion. Parikrama, the act of
circulambulating or walking around
the stupa, was an important ritual and
devotional practice, and there is
always clear space to allow this
CHAITYA IN BHAJA CAVES NEAR
LONAWALA, MAHARASHTRA
 THE SYSTEM OF ASHRAMAS:
• Around the time when Jainism and Buddhism were becoming
popular, brahmins developed the system of ashramas.
• Here, the word ashrama does not mean a place where people
live and meditate. It is used instead for a stage of life. Four
ashramas were recognised: Brahmcharya, Grihastha,
Vanaprastha and Samnyasa.
• Brahmin, kshatriya and vaishya men were expected to lead
simple lives ad study the Vedas during early years of their life
(brahmcharya). Then they had to marry and live as householders
(grihastha). Then they had to live in the forest and meditate
(vanaprastha). Finally, they had to give up evrything and
become samnyasis (samnyasa).
THANK YOU
PRESENTATION MADE BY-
KRISHNA KUMAR SRIVASTAVA