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BUDDHISM
ORIGIN
In the Pali canon, the Buddha is presented as a man, but an extraordinary one, whose
body bore the 32 signs of a mahapurusha (great man). He is the Tathagata, one who has
come thus (tatha) and gone (gata) thus, and has liberated himself from the cycle of
rebirth. Some elements of his hagiography (sacred biography) are contained in the Sutta
and Vinaya Pitakas, but more detailed and connected accounts are given in later texts
such as the Lalitavistara, Mahavastu, Buddhacharita, and Nidanakatha—all of which
belong to the early centuries CE. It is difficult to extract a historical life-story out of the
hagiographies because they have moulded the Buddha’s life into a narrative aimed at
conveying a series of significant meanings to his followers, designed to have a powerful
impact. While some of the episodes may have had a historical basis, others are
legendary, and still others may be of a semi-historical and semi-legendary nature.
● The Buddha was born as Siddhartha, son of Suddhodana, chief of the Sakya clan,
who ruled from Kapilavastu.
● His mother Maya gave birth to him in a grove at Lumbini, while travelling towards
her parents’ home, and died within a few days.
● The story goes that soon after he was born, certain Brahmanas saw the 32 marks
of a great man on his body.
● According to Buddhist tradition, a mahapurusha can be of two kinds—a world
conqueror or world renouncer. Suddhodana did not want his son to turn his back
on the world and hence took great pains to shield him from its sorrows, bringing
him up in a highly artificial atmosphere, surrounded by luxury and pleasant things.
● Siddhartha married a young woman named Yashodhara and they had a son
named Rahula.
● The hagiography tells us that when he was 29 years old, Siddhartha saw four
things that completely shattered his composure—an old man, a sick man, a
corpse, and a renunciant.
● The first three scenes brought home to him the harsh realities and inevitabilities
of old age, sickness, and death, while the fourth pointed to the way of dealing with
these inevitabilities.
● Siddhartha left his home and family and wandered around for six years, seeking
the truth.
● He attached himself to teachers, but was not satisfied by their instruction.
● Accompanied by five wandering ascetics, he practised severe austerities until his
body was emaciated.
● He then realized that he must nourish his body and try to attain peace of mind.
● His companions abandoned him, thinking he had compromised his ascetism.
● A young woman named Sujata offered him a bowl of milk-rice. Nourished with
food, he once again sat under the pipal tree, resolving not to get up until he had
attained enlightenment.
● Some texts describe his rising to progressively higher and higher states of
knowledge through meditation. Others describe how a wicked being, Mara, tried
to tempt and taunt him out of his meditative state, all in vain.
● Siddhartha ultimately attained enlightenment and became known as the Buddha,
the enlightened one.
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● He sat for seven weeks near this spot, tempted to keep his extraordinary
experience to himself.
● According to Buddhist tradition, the god Brahma had to implore him three times
to go forth and spread his insight.
● The Buddha gave his first sermon on deliverance from suffering to his five former
companions in a deer park near Benaras.
● This event is known as dhammachakka-pavattana (turning the wheel of dhamma).
His first five disciples soon themselves realized the truth and became arhats. The
Buddha wandered about teaching his doctrine for over four decades.
● He established an order of monks and nuns known as the sangha. He died at the
age of 80 at Kusinara (identified with modern Kasia).

THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS

The basic teachings of Buddha are contained in:
a) Four Noble Truths, and
b) Eight-Fold Path

The following are the Four Noble Truths:

i) The world is full of sufferings.
ii) All sufferings have a cause: desire, ignorance and attachment are the causes of
sufferings.
iii) The suffering could be removed by destroying its cause.
iv) In order to end sufferings, one must know the right path. This path is the Eight-Fold
Path (Ashtangika Marga).

The Eight-Fold Path consists of the following principles:

i) Finding the right view. It is to understand that the world is filled with sorrow generated
by desire. The ending of desire will lead to the liberation of the soul.
ii) Right aim. It seeks to avoid the enjoyment of the senses and luxury. It aims to love
humanity and increase the happiness of others.
iii) Right speech, which seeks to emphasise the speaking of truth always.
iv) Right action, which is understood to be unselfish action.
V) Right livelihood. It instructs that a man should live by honest means.
vi) Right effort. It is the proper way of controlling one's senses so as to prevent bad
thoughts. It is through correct mental exercises that one can destroy desire and
attachment.
vii) Right mindfulness. It is the understanding of the idea that the body is impermanent
and meditation is the means for the removal of worldly evils.
viii) Right concentration. The observation of it will lead to peace. Meditation will unravel
the real truth.

Basic Philosophies of Buddhism

● Buddhism laid great emphasis on the law of 'karma'. According to this law, the
present is determined by the past actions. The condition of a man in this life and
the next depends upon his own actions. Every individual is the maker of his own
destiny. We are born again and again to reap the fruits of our 'karma'. If an
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individual has no sins, he is not born again. Thus, the doctrine of karma is the
essential part of the teachings of Buddha. Buddha preached 'nirvana', the
ultimate goal in the life of a man. It means the shedding of all desires, and ending
of sufferings, which finally leads to freedom from rebirth. By a process of
elimination of desire, one can attain 'nirvana'. Therefore, Buddha preached that
annihilation of desire is the real problem. Prayers and sacrifices will not end the
desire. So, unlike the emphasis on rituals and ceremonies in Vedic religion he laid
emphasis on the moral life of an individual.
● Dukkha and its extinction are central to the Buddha’s doctrine. The Buddha taught
that everything is suffering (sabbam dukkham). This can be seen as either an
extremely pessimistic or an extremely realistic teaching. Suffering refers not only
to the actual pain and sorrow experienced by an individual, but also to the
potential to experience these things. States of happiness or pleasure are unstable
and temporary, as they are dependent on the gratification of the senses through
certain objects or experiences. The reasons for suffering include human
propensities such as desire, attachment, greed, pride, aversion, and ignorance.
● Desire (trishna) is central to the cause and removal of suffering. All this is
connected with another aspect of existence emphasized in the Buddha’s
teaching—impermanence (anichcha). Impermanence has many facets. In
relation to an individual’s life, there is no being or power in the universe that can
prevent old age, sickness, and death.
● The elements of conscious existence were divided into the two broad categories
of nama (mind, the mental factor) and rupa (form, body, the physical factor). The
former was further sub-divided into four—vedana (feelings) arising out of contact
with objects of the senses; sanna (percep- tion); the sankharas (a complex group
including knowledge arising out of feeling and perception, and chetana—will);
and vinnana (cognition or conscious awareness). These four elements of nama,
along with rupa, constituted the panchakhanda (five aggregates).
● Another important aspect of the Buddha’s teaching was patichcha-
samuppada—the law of dependent origination. This was both an explanation of
all phenomena as well as an explanation of dukkha. The elements of this law
were presented as a wheel consisting of 12 nidanas, one leading to the next:
ignorance (avijja), formations (sankhara), con- sciousness (vinnana), mind and
body (nama-rupa), the six senses (salayatana), sense con- tact (phassa), feeling
(vedana), craving (tanha), attachment (upadana), becoming (bhava), birth (jati),
and old age and death (jara-marana). The nidanas were later divided into three
groups pertaining to the past, present, and future lives, and patichcha-
samuppada therefore also became an explanation of how the origins of rebirth
lay in ignorance.
● The ultimate goal of the Buddha’s teaching was the attainment of nibbana. This
was not a place but an experience, and could be attained in this life. The Buddha
is sup- posed to have experienced nibbana, as did some of his disciples.
Nibbana literally means blowing out, dying out, or extinction—the dying out or
extinction of desire, attachment, greed, hatred, ignorance, and the sense of I-
ness. Other words such as vimokha, vimutti, and arahatta are sometimes also
used. They all have connotations of freedom, self-mas- tery, and emancipation,
and mean breaking out of the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Nibbana does not
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mean physical death. The term parinibbana (complete or final dying out) is used
for the death of an enlightened being such asthe Buddha.
● The Buddha’s teaching accepts the idea of transmigration (samsara) but rejects
the idea of the atman.
● The Buddhist emphasis on ahimsa involved a critique of Brahmanical animal
sacrifices. Monks and nuns were not to kill animals. They were not to drink water
in which small creatures lived.

Teachings of Buddha put forward a serious challenge to the existing Brahmanical ideas:
● Buddha's liberal and democratic approach quickly attracted the people of all
sections. His attack on the caste system and the supremacy of the Brahmins was
welcomed by the people of the lower orders. Irrespective of caste and sex people
were taken into the Buddhist order. In Buddhism salvation lay in one's good deals.
So, there was no need for a priest or middle man to achieve 'nirvana' the ultimate
goal of life.
● Buddha rejected the authority of the Vedas and condemned animal sacrifices. He
protested against the complicated and meaningless rituals.
● He said that neither a sacrifice to gods can wash away sin, nor any prayer or any
priest do any good to a sinner.
● Buddhism in a very short period emerged into an organised religion and Buddha's
teachings were codified.

The Buddhist canons (collection of teachings) are divided into three sections namely:
● The Sutta Pitaka consists of five sections (nikayas) of religious discourses and
sayings of Buddha. The fifth section contains the Jataka tales (birth stories of
Buddha).
● The Vinaya Pitaka contains the rules of monastic discipline.
● The Abhidhamma Pitaka contains the philosophical ideas of teachings of Buddha.
It is written in the form of questions and answers.

SPREAD OF BUDDHISM

Even during the lifetime of its founder, Buddhism was accepted by a large section of
people. For example, people of Magadha, Kosala and Kausambi had embraced
Buddhism.
● The republics of Sakyas, Vajjis and Mallas also followed the process.
● Later on, Asoka and Kanishka made Buddhism a state religion and it spread into
central Asia, West Asia and Sri Lanka.

This appeal of Buddhism to a large section of population was because of the following
factors:
● Emphasis on practical morality, an easily acceptable solution to the problems of
mankind and a simple philosophy, attracted the masses towards Buddhism.
● The ideas of social equality laid down in the codes of Buddhism made many lay
followers accept Buddhism.
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● Merchants, like Anathirpindika, and courtesans, like Amrapali, accepted the faith
because they got due respect in this religion.
● The use of popular language (Pali) to explain the doctrines also helped in the
spread of the religion. This was because the Brahmanical religion had limited
itself so the use of Sanskrit which was not the language of the masses.
● The patronage extended by kings was another important reason for the rapid
growth of Buddhism.
● For example, according to tradition Asoka sent his son Mahendra and his
daughter Sangamitra to Sri Lanka to preach Buddhism.
● He also established many monasteries and contributed liberally to the Sangha.
● The institution of Sangha had helped to organise the spread of Buddhism
effectively.

THE INSTITUTION OF THE SANGHA

● The Buddhist sangha became a core institution and a major factor in the
dissemination of the Buddha’s doctrine.
● The Vinaya Pitaka gives an account of the establishment of the sangha and the
rules that governed it.
● The Vinaya Pitaka has two main sections—the Sutta Vibhanga and Khandaka—
and an appendix known as the Parivara.
● The Sutta Vibhanga contains the Patimokkha, a set of monastic rules, 227 for
monks and 311 for nuns. The rules are framed by a narrative indicating when and
why a particular rule was promulgated by the Buddha and are accompanied by a
commentary.
● The Patimokkha was recited by congregations of monks in the fortnightly
uposatha ceremony held on the full moon and new moon days.
● The Khandaka consists of the Mahavagga and Chullavagga, which include
monastic rules and accounts of episodes in the Buddha’s life, the founding of the
order of nuns, and the two councils.
● The Vinaya rules deal with all kinds of details in the life of individual monks and
nuns—what and how they should eat, walk, talk, what they should wear, and how
they should behave. There are also rules governing the corporate life of the
sangha, including, for instance, ways in which disputes were to be settled. Taken
together, these rules aimed at regulating the conduct of a monk/nun, preserving
the unity and integrity of the sangha as a corporate body, and defining the
relations between the sangha and laity.
● The pravrajya ceremony marked a person’s going forth from home into
homeless- ness and his/her becoming a novice under a preceptor. It involved
shaving the head and donning ochre robes. The novice recited the formula of
taking refuge in the Buddha, dhamma, and sangha, and then took the 10 vows
(these were listed earlier).
● The upasam- pada was the ordination ceremony when the novice became a full-
fledged member of the monastic community. The eight personal possessions
allowed to a monk comprised three robes, an alms bowl, razor, needle, belt, and
water strainer.
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● Senior monks held authority within a monastic community. Members of the

sangha living in a locality were supposed to gather every fortnight on the new
moon and full moon (uposatha) days to recite the Patimokkha rules and confess
if they had broken any. The Patimokkha of the Vinaya Pitaka identifies more and
less serious breaches of monas- tic discipline. There are a number of other
offences which merit consequences ranging from confession of guilt to
expulsion. The four most serious offences (known as parajika, i.e., defeat)
involving expulsion from the sangha were: sexual intercourse, taking what is not
given, killing someone, and making false claims of spiritual attainment.
● According to tradition, the first lay followers of the Buddha were two merchants,
Tapassu and Bhallika. Thereafter, the ranks of the laity expanded swiftly. The
laity in- cluded male followers (upasakas) and female followers (upasikas). An
upasaka/upasika was a person who had declared that he/she had taken refuge
in the Buddha, dhamma, and sangha, but who had not taken monastic vows. For
the laity, good conduct consisted in taking the five vows—not to harm living
things, not to take that which has not been given, to avoid sexual misconduct,
not to indulge in false speech, and not to consume intoxicants.
● The duties for the laity were laid down in the Sigalavada Sutta.
Buddhism and Woman
● Buddhist tradition suggests that the Buddha was not initially keen to establish a
bhikkhuni sangha but ultimately gave in to the persistent pressure of his disciple
Ananda and his aunt and foster-mother Mahapajapati Gotami.
● The sangha was not open to pregnant women, mothers of unweaned children,
rebel- lious women who associated with young men, and those who did not have
their parents’ or husbands’ permission to join. The rules for nuns were basically
the same as those for monks, but there were more rules. The Buddha is also
described as having laid down eight special rules subordinating the order of
nuns to that of monks. However, it has been suggested that this was a later
interpolation. While women could attain salvation, their capability for attaining
Buddhahood directly (without first being born as a man) was not accepted.
● Buddhist texts contain several references to learned nuns. The Samyutta Nikaya
refers to Khema, whose discourse to king Pasenadi so impressed him that he
stood up and bowed before her when she had finished. The Anguttara Nikaya
tells us that when the Buddha heard the answers Dhammadinna Theri had given
to questions posed by the laywoman Visakha, he said, ‘Visakha, the nun
Dhammadinna is truly wise, she is very learned; if you had put these questions to
me, I would have given you the same answers.’
● The Therigatha (Verses of Elder Nuns) is a collection of 73 poems consisting of
522 verses, supposed to have been composed by 72 nuns who had reached a
high level of spiritual attainment. Many of these nuns are described as
possessing tevijja (the three kinds of knowlege), an attribute of arhats. Some of
the poems express the nuns’ ex- perience of nibbana. They also tell of the
experiences which preceded their joining the sangha .
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● In subsequent centuries, women—both bhikkhunis and upasikas—were very

visible as donors at Buddhist stupa-monastery sites.
BUDDHIST COUNCILS
According to tradition shortly after the death of Buddha the first Buddhist Council was
held in 483 B.C. in the Saptapmi cave near Rajagriha. Mahakassapa presided over the
assembly. All the teachings of Buddha were divided into two Pitakas, namely
a) Vinaya Pitaka, and
b) Sutta Pitaka.
The text of Vinaya Pitaka was established under the leadership of Upali and those of Sutta
Pitaka was settled under the leadership of Ananda.

The second Council was held at Vaisali in 383 B.C. The monks of Vaisali and Pataliputra
had accepted certain rules which were declared as contrary to the teaching of Buddha
by the monks of Kausambi and Avanti. The Council failed to bring about a compromise
between the two opposing groups; Hence the council ended in a permanent split of the
Buddhist order into Sthaviravadins and Mahasangikas. The former upheld the orthodox
Vinaya Pitaka while the latter favoured the new rules and their further relaxation.

The third Council was held at Pataliputra during the reign of Asoka under the
chairmanship of Moggaliputta Tissa. In this Council the philosophical interpretations of
the doctrines of Buddha were collected into the third Pitaka called Abhidhamma Pitaka.
An attempt was made in this Council to free the Buddhist order from the dissidents and
innovations. Heretical monks numbering sixty thousand were expelled from the order.
The true canonical literature was defamed and authoritatively settled to eliminate all
disruptive tendencies.

The fourth Council was held during the reign of Kanishka in Kashmir. This council was a
gathering of Hinayanists of North India. It compiled three commentaries (Vibhashas) of
the three Pitakas. It decided certain controversial questions of differences that arose
between the Sarvastivada teachers of Kashmir and Gandhara.

BUDDHIST SCHOOLS
In the second Council held at Vaisali, the Buddhist order was split into two schools
namely :
a) Sthaviravadins, and
b) Mahasangikas
The Sthaviravadins followed strict monastic life and rigid disciplinary laws as originally
prescribed.
The group which followed a modified disciplinary rule was called the Mahasangikas.
Mahayanism developed after the fourth Buddhist Council. In opposition to the group
(Hinayana sect) who believed in orthodox teaching of Buddha those who accepted the
new ideas were called the Mahayana sect. They made an image of Buddha and
worshipped it as god. In the first century A.D., during the period of Kanishka some
doctrinal changes were
made.
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THE EMERGENCE OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

In the history of Indian Buddhism, the period c. 200 BCE–300 CE is associated with the
emergence of Mahayana.
● The terms ‘Mahayana’ (the greater vehicle) and ‘Hinayana’ (the lesser vehicle)
were coined by the Mahayanists.
● Needless to say, non-Mahayanists would not have considered or described
themselves as the followers of a lesser, i.e., inferior path.
● The origins of Mahayana have often been traced to the older Mahasanghika
school. It is not clear in exactly which part of the subcontinent Mahayana ideas
first developed.
● Till recently, the emergence of Mahayana was thought of as leading to a major
schism (split) in the sangha.
● Recent writings have suggested that the issue has to be reconsidered. To begin
with, there is the question of what a schism means in the Buddhist tradition. Heinz
Bechert (1982) has argued that sangha-bheda (a split in the sangha) has
implications that are very different from the notion of schism in the history of
Christianity.
● In the Buddhist tradition, schism was associated with issues concerning
monastic discipline, not doctrinal issues.
● Further, it is evident that emergence of Mahayana did not in fact immediately lead
to a split in the sangha.
● Far from being a movement instigated by the devotional practices of the laity,
Mahayana seems to have been a set of ideas and teachings that originated among
a group of monks within the sangha (Gethin, 1998: 225).
● Given the centrality of the Vinaya rules, there was nothing to prevent monks who
had different views on matters of doctrine and practice from living together as part
of a monastic community.
● This is confirmed by Faxian and Xuanzang who visited India in the 4th/5th and 7th
century respectively, and described Mahayana and non-Mahayana monks living
together in the same monasteries.
● The difference was that the former venerated and worshipped images of the
bodhisattvas, whereas the latter did not.
● Thus seen, Mahayana was not initially a sectarian movement, nor did it cause a
schism in the sangha.

Several Mahayana Sutras were translated into Chinese in the late 2nd century CE. The
composition of the earliest Sutras can be placed in the 2nd century BCE. These Sutras
claim to contain the teaching of the Buddha and do not project themselves as
representing a radical break with the older tradition; in fact they directly draw on this
tradition.
For instance, the Lalitavistara contains many passages from the Pali canon. There was
an increasing use of Sanskrit in Mahayana texts. The important Mahayana Sutras include
the Prajnaparamita Sutras, of which the Ashtasahasrika seems to be the oldest.
Mahayana received its classic exposition in the writings of thinkers such as Nagarjuna,
Aryadeva, Asanga, and Vasubandhu. The accounts of the Chinese pilgrims also throw
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light on the history of Mahayana in India. Further evidence is provided by inscriptions and
archaeological evidence from Buddhist monastic sites.

BUDDHIST PILGRIMAGE SITES IN INDIA

● Mahabodhi temple, Bodh Gaya (Bihar)
● The Mahaviharas of Nalanda, Vikramshila, Sompura,
● Odantapuri, Pushpagiri and Jagaddala
● Sirpur in Chhattisgarh.
● Lalitagiri, Vajragiri and Ratnagiri in Odisha
● Sarnath, near Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Site of first sermon of Buddha.
● Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh
● Piprahwa, (UP) on the Nepal border.
● Sanchi and Bharhut in Madhya Pradesh
● Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu
● Bhaja & Karla caves, Pune(Maharashtra)
● Ajanta, Ellora and Pithalkora caves, Aurangabad (Maharashtra)
● Kanheri caves, Mumbai. Pandavleni caves, Nashik in Maharashtra.
● Ghum monastery, West Bengal
● Rumtek, Pemayangtse and Enchay Monastery, Sikkim
● Alchi Monastery, Spituk Monastery, Shey Monastery etc. in Ladakh
● Dhankar Monastery, Nako Monastery(Kinnaur), Kye Monastery, Tabo
Monastery(Spiti valley) etc. in Himachal Pradesh
● Tawang Monastery (largest monastery in India), Bomdila Monastery Arunachal
Pradesh
● Namdroling Monastery, Bylakuppe, Karnataka.
● Rock-cut elephant and Ashokan edicts at Dhauli, Odisha

BODHISATTVA IN MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

Bodhisattva is the one who has generated Bodhicitta (a spontaneous wish and a
compassionate mind) to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. It
believes in Universal liberation and is a concept under Mahayana Buddhism.
Prominent Boddhisattvas under Buddhism include:

● Avalokitesvara: One of the three protective deities around Buddha. He is

described as holding Lotus flower and is also known as Padmapani.
● The painting can be found at Ajanta Caves. He is the most acknowledged among
all the Bodhisattvas. The bodhisattva of compassion, the listener of the world’s
cries who uses skillful means to come to their aid. He appears unofficially in
Theravada Buddhism in Cambodia under the name Lokesvara. He is depicted as
a female also and is said to incarnate in his holiness the Dalai Lama.

● Vajrapani: One of three protective deities around Buddha and is also depicted in
Ajanta Caves. Vajrapaṇi is contemplated to manifest all the powers of Buddha as
well as the power of all five tathagatas namely Vairocana, Akshobhya, Amitabha,
Ratnasambhava and Amoghasiddhi.
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● Manjusri: One of three protective deities around Buddha is also depicted in Ajanta
Caves. He is associated with the Wisdom of Buddha and is a male Bodhisattva
with a wielding sword in his hand.

● Samantabhadra: associated with practice and meditation. Together with the

Buddha and Manjusri, he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism.

● Ksitigarbha: He is depicted a Buddhist monk and took vow not to achieve

Buddhahood till the hell is completely emptied.

● Maitreya: A future Buddha who will appear on Earth in the future, achieve
complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. Laughing Buddha is said to
be an incarnation of Maitreya.

● Akasagarbha: associated with element of space.

● Tara: associated only with Vajrayana Buddhism and represents the virtues of
success in work and achievements.

● Vasudhara: associated with wealth, prosperity, and abundance. Popular in

Nepal.

● Skanda: Guardian of viharas and the Buddhist teachings.

● Sitatapatra: She is contemplated as a protector against supernatural danger and

is worshipped in both Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.