Buddhism (Life History, Teachings, Philosophies, Councils, Symbols and Mudras)

Buddhism (Life History, Teachings, Philosophies, Councils, Symbols and Mudras)

Index ·       Life history of Buddha (568 BC- 483 BC) ·       Symbols associated with Gautama Buddha ·       spread of Buddhism from India ·       Teachings of Buddha (3 jewels, 4 noble truth, 8 folded paths) ·       Buddhist sect (Mahayana and Vajrayana sect) ·       Buddhist literature ·       Buddha Mudras and Explanation ·       Buddhist councils (4 + 2 = 6 Buddhist councils)

Life History of Gautama Buddha (568 BC- 483 BC)

Life of Gautama Buddha

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  1.     The Birth site of Buddha is marked by pillar of Ashoka inscription dated in to year 249BC

• 2.     Siddhartha Gautama was born in a Kshatriya family in Lumbini, Nepal. (563 BC)

• 3.     Buddha Father Suddhodhana was Saka ruler, and his mother Mahamaya died after 7days of his birth, Buddha was bought up by her aunt Gautami

• 4.     Married to yashodhara at the age of 16 years, and had a son named Rahul

• 5.     Series of incidents made Siddhartha Gautama to transform himself and lead to the foundation of Buddhism

• 6.     Series of incidents when he was travelling by a chariot

• 7.     Helpless Old man, Diseased Sick man, Dead Body, Religious Mendicant – who lead of meditation life

• 8.     These encounters motivated Buddha to follow the spiritual path and find solutions to human sufferings

• 9.     He left home, wife and luxurious life and lead an ascetic life path (534 BC)

• 10.                        After Siddhartha left home he spent 7days in Garden of Mangoes at place ANUPIA

• 11.                        Went to Vaishali in search of Knowledge where he made Brahmin Alara Kalama as his teacher. Siddhartha was not impressed with his teachings met another teachers 

• 12.                        Rudraka in Rajgriha, Acharya  named Ramputtra. they also could not influenced Siddhartha 

• 13.                        Sidhhartha finally left all of them and practiced severe penance for 6 years there after he sat under papal tree in Gaya and started meditation till he acquired knowledge. On the eight day he was enlightened

• 14.                        Gautama attains Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya (In Bihar), India. (528 BC)

• 15.                        From that day he was called as “Tathagat/Buddha”, Then he went to Banaras and Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) near Varanasi and he delivered first sermon Dharmachakra Pravartan

• 16.                        After this sermon he was followed by 5 disciples later they laid foundation of Buddhist Sangha

• 17.   At the age of 80 years he attained Nirvana at Kushinagara (483 BC)
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Symbols associated with Gautama Buddha

Symbols	Represents the Events in Buddha’s life
Lotus and Bull	Janma(Birth)
Horse	Mahabhinishkarmana (Renunciation)
Bodhi Tree	Nirvana (Enlightement)
Wheel	Dharamachakra pravartana (Sermon/Teaching)
Stupa	Mahaparinirvana (Death)

Kingdoms associated with Buddha/Places travelled by Buddha

Buddha Preached his disciples Middle Path, then he went to Rajgriha, Kingdom of Bimbsara, from there he went to kosala, kingdom Prasenjith where he became his disciple The moved to kapilvastu a large people became order of sangha including buddha’s wife and son Yashodhara and rahul Then he went visited many kingdoms Magadha, Kashi, Kosala, Vaijji, Avanti etc. where he gained many disciples and followers After preaching at vaishali he went to patna, at the house of iron smith he ate food (truffle mushrooms ) which he could not digest, from there he went to kushinagar Continuing his preaching till 45 years, at the age of 80 years he attained Nirvana at Kusinagara (483 BC)

Spread of Buddhism

Ashoka believed in Buddhism and he build number of stupas

Buddhism spread to Srilanka – By Son of ashoka Mahinda (Mahendra) and his daughter Sanghamitra (whose name means Friend of sangha)

Prominent in this cause were his son Mahinda (Mahendra) and daughter Sanghamitra (whose name means "friend of the Sangha"), who established Buddhism in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and many parts as shown in the above diagram

Spread of Buddhisum from India

Some kings had most respect to Buddhism principles and practices, but it is at the time of Ashoka that Buddhism had wide spread to different parts of the world as shown in the following diagram

Teachings of Buddha (3 Jewels, 4 Noble Truth, 8 Folded Paths)

Buddha Path

Buddha Path

Buddha and Buddhist followed middle path, not fully worldly pleasures and not painful life, but middle path which is not to extreme ends

Buddha on Violence

Buddha condemned violence was against any form of killings – Principle of Ahimsa

Buddha on Rebirth and Karma and God

Buddha followed theory of Rebirth and Karma- Principle saying that man is again due to ego and desire, karma frees him from the bondage of Re-birth

Buddhism believed in the non existence of God and soul

Buddha Teachings Teachings of Buddha 1.     3 Jewels 2.     4 Noble Truths 3.     8 Folded Path

Teachings of Buddhism 3- Jewels/Tri Ratnas of Buddha, Also Called as Three Treasures

3 Jewels

Buddha (Enlightened/Awakened One)	Can be interpreted as Buddha Nature that exist in Humans
Dharma/Dhamma (Doctrine/teachings)	The teachings and Philosophies of Buddha
Sangha (Community/Order)	The community who follow and practicing Buddhist referred as Buddhist Monks and Nun’s

4- Noble truths

Noble Truths	Meaning
Dukkha	World is full of Sorrows
Pratitya Samutpada (Craving and Ignorance)	Reason and Cause of the Sorrow is Desire
Nirvana/Niroda	Ignorance/Sorrow can be removed through Knowledge
Ashtangika Marga (Eight Folded Path)	Eight practices that end suffering

8- Fold Path

Eight – Fold Path (Ashtangika Marga) 1.) Right Understanding 2.) Right Thought 3.) Right Speech 4.) Right Action 5.) Right Livelihood 6.) Right Effort 7.) Right Mindfulness 8.) Right Concentration

Buddhist Sect (Mahayana and Vajrayana Sect)

Buddhism was divided into 3 sects

Main Buddhist Sects are

• 1.    Hinayana
• 2.     Mahayana

Other Buddhist Sect

• 1.     Vajrayana

HINAYANA (Lesser Wheel)

Believed in original teachings of Buddha, firstly called Sthaviravadins, later they were called as Hinayana, it mainly focus strict follow of true teachings of Buddha, strict meditation and Monestic path to Enlightenment)

Hinayana or lesser wheel indicates the sense, that only a few can follow the original buddhist principles and forward to enlightened path

Division of Budhhisum into Hinayana and Mahayana happened during the period of Kanishka at the time of fourth Buddhist council

MAHAYANA (Large wheel)

Belived in liberal principles of Buddha teachings, try to understand true meaning of budhha’s teaching and follow, to move towards enlightened path

Mahayana allows some changes in Buddha practices.

Mahayana or greater wheel indicates the sense, that many can follow these liberal Buddha principles and move towards enlightened path

VAJRAYANA SECT 

Tantrik philosophy which led to the emergence of Vajrayana sect of Buddhism 

Vajrayana Buddhism, also known as the "Diamond" or "Thunderbolt Vehicle," is a form of Buddhism that developed in India in the 5th century C.E

Buddhist Literature

Consists of Three Pitak or ‘Tripitak’, Buddhist use Pali language in there literature

1.) Vinaya Pitaka

Contains the Rules of Communal Life for Monks and Nuns

2.) Sutta Pitaka

Collection of Sermons of the Buddha

3.) Abhidhamma Pitaka

Contains Interpretations and Analyses of Buddhist Concept

Buddha Mudras and Explanation

Buddha Mudras

Buddha Mudras

Mudra the symbolic gestures of the hands of Buddha images, called Mudras, are picture tools of identification of deeper meaning, While some mudras involve the entire body, most are usually formed by both the hand and the fingers

Mudra is used in the iconography of Hindu and Buddhist art of the Indian sub-continnet. Buddhas and Bodisattvas and frequently other deities are shown with their hands forming a number of different ritualized and stylized poses (Mudrâs). They may be holding different objects as well within these poses. Each by itself and in combination with others have specific meanings and interpretation. Some of the more common ones are depicted below

  

Buddha Mudras and Explanation

Buddha Mudras	Mudra Meaning	Symbol/posture
ABHAYA Mudra (No Fear)	Symbolizes to indicate fearlessness.	Abhaya Mudra ABHAYA Mudra
DHYANA Mudra (Meditation)	Dhyana/Samadhi mudra -Promotes the energy of meditation Deep contemplation	Dhyana Mudra DHYANA Mudra
NAMASKARA Mudra (Greeting & Adoration)	Namaskara/Anjali mudra - Greeting another being with the utmost respect and adoration	Namaskara Mudra NAMASKARA Mudra
BHUMISPARSA Mudra (Symbolizes Calling the Earth To Witness the Truth)	Bhumisparsa Mudra - Touching the Earth symbolizes Calling the Earth To Witness the Truth	Bhumispars Mudra BHUMISPARSA Mudra
VARADA Mudra (Compassion, Sincerity and Wish Granting)	Varada mudra - Expression of compassion, liberation and an offering of acceptance.	Varda Mudra VARADA Mudra
KARANA Mudra (Banishing & Expelling Negativity)	Karana mudra – Expression of Energy with which negative energy is expelled.	Karana Mudra KARANA Mudra
VAJRAPRADAMA Mudra (Confidence in Self)	Vajrapradama Mudra - Mudra of Self Confidence	Vajrapradama Mudra VAJRAPRADAMA Mudra
DHARMACHAKRA Mudra (Wheel of Dharma (Cosmic Order)	Dharmachakra mudra – Expression of the continuous energy which is symbolized by a wheel/chakra of the cosmic order.	Dharmachakra Mudra DHARMACHAKRA Mudra
UTTARABODHI Mudra (Supreme Enlightenment)	Uttarabodhi mudra - Mudra of Supreme Enlightenment.	Uttarabodhi Mudra UTTARABODHI Mudra
Vitarka mudra	The Gesture of Debate explaining the Buddha’s teachings (Vitaka Mudra) with the hands raised and the tips of the forefingers and the thumbs touch each other	Vitrka mudra Vitarka Mudra

Buddhist Councils

The Buddhist council is the order and the emphasis on laying the path to spread the Buddhism to different regions, the first four councils are very prominent and are described in the following table, year of establishment, place, Patronage/King, President of the council

1st Council

1st Council	Held after Mahaparinivarana of Buddha in Sattapani Cave
Year	400 BCE
Place	Rajgriha (Now Rajgir)
Patronage/King	Ajatashatru
President of Council	Mahakasyapa
Important Activity	Compilation of Suttas Suttas - Recited by Ananda (Containing Teaching of Buddha) Vinaya - Recited by Upali (Contains Rules and Orders to be followed for Buddhist) Abhidhamma Pitaka also included

2nd Council

Year	383 BCE
Place	Vaishali
Patronage/King	Kalasoka
President of Council	Sabakamini
Important Activity	Settle serious dispute on Vinaya Over the 10 points The different Schools are Sthaviravada (Sect of the Elders) Mahasanghika (Liberal School) Sarvastivadin (Orthodox School)

3rd Council

3rd Council	3rd Buddhist council, Tried to settle disputes of Vinaya Pitaka
Year	250 BCE
Place	Pataliputra (today's Patna)
Patronage/King	Mauryan king Ashoka (260–218 BC)
President of Council	Moggaliputta Tissa
Important Activity	The teachings of Buddha classified in 3. Abhidhamma Pitaka established and the 3 combined known as "Tripitaka"

4th Council

Year	72 AD
Place	Kundalvana (Kashmir)
Patronage/King	Kushan king Kanishka
President of Council	Vasumitra
Important Activity	Divided the Buddhism into 2 sects 1.) Mahayan 2.) Hinayan

The other Buddhist councils

5th Council

Year	1871 AD
Place	In Mandalay,Burma
Patronage/King	King Mindon
President of Council	Jagarabhivamsa Narindabhidhaja Sumangalasami
Important Activity	The aim of meeting is to recite all the teachings of the Buddha and examine them in detail to see if any of them have been altered, distorted or dropped.

6th Council

6th Council	500 Buddhist scholars from  eight countries participated in this council
Year	1954 AD
Place	Burma in Yangoon
Patronage/King	Burmese Govt led by PM U Nu
President of Council	Mahasi Sayadaw  Bhadanta and Vicittasarabhivamsa
Important Activity	Authorized for the construction of “Maha Passana Guha” (Cave) like India's Sattapanni Cave where first Buddhist Council had been held