Rise And Growth Of Buddhism

Rise And Growth Of Buddhism. Made by : Aastha Sharma Astha Panchal Atharv Joshi Devansh Phadke Hirali Shah Jap Shah Samruddhi Thakare Sanjeevani Suman.

“He will either be a world – conqueror or a Buddha!”.

While recalling his past, The Tathagata tells his disciples – “ Bhikkhus, I was delicately nurtured, most delicately nurtured, extremely delicately nurtured. At my father’s residence lotus ponds were made just for my enjoyment: in one of them blue lotuses bloomed, in another red lotuses, and in a third white lotuses. I used no sandalwood unless it came from Kāsi and my headdress, jacket, lower garment, and upper garment were made of cloth from Kāsi. By day and by night a white canopy was held over me so that cold and heat, dust, grass, and dew would not settle on me.” “I had three mansions: one for the winter, one for the summer, and one for the rainy season. I spent the four months of the rains in the rainy-season mansion, being entertained by musicians, none of whom were male, and I did not leave the mansion. While in other people’s homes slaves, workers, and servants are given broken rice together with sour gruel for their meals, in my father’s residence they were given choice hill rice, meat, and boiled rice.”.

“ Amid such splendor and a delicate life, it occurred to me: ‘An uninstructed worldling, though himself subject to old age, not exempt from old age, feels repelled, humiliated, and disgusted when he sees another who is old, overlooking his own situation. Now I too am subject to old age and am not exempt from old age. Such being the case, if I were to feel repelled, humiliated, and disgusted when seeing another who is old, that would not be proper for me.’ When I reflected thus, my intoxication with youth was completely abandoned.” “Again, it occurred to me: ‘An uninstructed worldling, though himself subject to illness, not exempt from illness, feels repelled, humiliated, and disgusted when he sees another who is ill, overlooking his own situation. Now I too am subject to illness and am not exempt from illness. Such being the case, if I were to feel repelled, humiliated, and disgusted when seeing another who is ill, that would not be proper for me.’ When I reflected thus, my intoxication with health was completely abandoned.” “Again, it occurred to me: ‘An uninstructed worldling, though himself subject to death, not exempt from death, feels repelled, humiliated, and disgusted when he sees another who has died, overlooking his own situation. Now I too am subject to death and am not exempt from death. Such being the case, if I were to feel repelled, humiliated, and disgusted when seeing another who has died, that would not be proper for me.’ When I reflected thus, my intoxication with life was completely abandoned.” (Anguttara Nikaya, 3. 39).

A Novice…. At first he went to the great meditation teachers of his time, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, but although he quickly reached the highest meditation level taught by these teachers, and was asked by both to continue to guide their students as the highest teacher, he found only the temporary cessation of suffering and not the definitive end of birth, old age, illness and death he was looking for. So Siddharta decided to continue his search and moved into the jungle to spend years in extreme ascetic practices. After six years of intense asceticism, Siddharta’s body was completely emaciated and his death was near, without having reached liberation from suffering. Legend has it that at that moment a minstrel passes by the place where Siddharta sits with his travelling companion, and Siddharta hears the minstrel telling him how to get the strings of his lute right: “The strings shouldn’t be too slack, but certainly not too hard. If they are too slack, you don’t get a sound, too tight and they snap, but if you tension them exactly in the middle of these two extremes, you get the most beautiful tones.”.

As he sat there, without torment, cool and pleasant, in complete peace, his mind became silent. And he reached, immersed in a meditation that was natural to him, a high concentration. Thinking about this Siddharta realized that not the violent asceticism with self-flagellation and not the courteous life full of sensory longing but precisely this middle ground of concentration and letting go is the way to liberation..

Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma. “Bhikkhus, these two extremes should not be followed by one who has gone forth into homelessness. What two? The pursuit of sensual happiness in sensual pleasures, which is low, vulgar, the way of worldlings, ignoble, unbeneficial; and the pursuit of self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, unbeneficial. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata has awakened to the middle way, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. “And what, bhikkhus, is that middle way awakened to by the Tathagata, which gives rise to vision … which leads to Nibbāna? It is this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This, bhikkhus, is that middle way awakened to by the Tathagata, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna..

It emphasizes that the path the Buddha taught can actually be realized by others, that the Buddha only points the way. It is sometimes said that the Buddha’s path is a selfish path because it is about liberating yourself. But this is not true. It is out of love and compassion for all beings that the Buddha shared his way with us. When he had 60 disciples who were all completely liberated from suffering, enlightened, Arahant, he commanded them to go forth into the world and share the path to liberation (Vin I:20): “Go, bhikkhu’s, for the good of many, for the happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the good, the welfare and the happiness of gods and men. Don’t let two of you go the same way.”.

Piyadassi worships Tathagata. Ashoka Wikipedia. Lion Capital Ashokan Pillar at Sarnath by Manender Chauhan Medium.

The contributions of Asoka to Buddhism have had a great impact on the Buddhism community. Asoka’s contribution of the missionaries has impacted Buddhism significantly, it allowed Buddhism to expand beyond Mauryan Empire. Asoka sent his son and daughter to Sri Lanka with the missionaries and the impact this had was Sri Lanka converted to Buddhism. Asoka contributions impacted his kingdom significantly. Through Asoka the Sangha and the masses were able to unite through worshiping in the temples and shires. If it wasn’t for Asoka building the Viharas, people wouldn’t have been able to unite together and worship their religious tradition. Buddhism is now publicly worshiped and this is due to one of Asoka’s contributions. Through rock edicts, stupas and missionaries Asoka was able to promote Buddhist education as equal access to knowledge. The most important impact Asoka left from his contributions was the importance of social welfare as he showed his people how important social welfare in Buddhism and the care for others is. This was shown through Asoka’s examples of social welfare, some of these examples include, medicinal herb gardens, hospitals, planting trees and lastly treating everyone friendly and with fairness..

He built a number of stupas (commemorative burial mounds) and monasteries and erected pillars on which he ordered inscribed his understanding of religious doctrines. He took strong measures to suppress schisms within the sangha (the Buddhist religious community) and prescribed a course of scriptural studies for adherents. It is as a result of Ashoka’s patronage that Buddhism, which until then was a small sect confined to particular localities, spread throughout India and subsequently beyond the frontiers of the country. (a statue of Buddha in a Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka).

Important Stupas in India. .

1. Mahabodhi Temple. Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya. Mahabodhi Temple is an important Buddhisht pilgrimage site, said to have been built by Ashoka c. 260 BCE marking the location where Buddha is Said to Have attained Enlightenment. According to the Jatakas, the navel of the earth lies at this spot, and no other place can support the weight of the Buddha's attainment. Another Buddhist tradition claims that when the world is destroyed at the end of a kalpa, the Bodhimanda is the last spot to disappear, and will be the first to appear when the world emerges into existence again. Tradition also claims that a lotus will bloom there, and if a Buddha is born during the new kalpa, the lotus flowers in accordance with the number of Buddhas expected to arise..

Sculptures and Motifs at the Site -. Bodhi Tree..

2. Sanchi Stupa. 2. Sanchi Stupa Just like the previous one, the Sanchi Stupa was too built by Ashoka. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the 'chhatra', a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics. In the 1st century BCE, four elaborately carved toranas (ornamental gateways) and a balustrade encircling the entire structure were added. The Sanchi Stupa built during Mauryan period was made of bricks. The composite flourished until the 11th century. The main shrine was built by the Mauryas which was later enlarged and decorated by the Shungas and Satavahanas. The Guptas in the following centuries added various temples around the Stupa. Altogether, Sanchi encompasses most of the evolutions of ancient Indian architecture and ancient Buddhist architecture in India, from the early stages of Buddhism and its first artistic expression, to the decline of the religion in the subcontinent ..

Sculptures and Motifs at the Site -. Sanchi lion capital 1st c. BCE Sanchi elephant capital 1st c. BCE,'CE Sanchi Yakshas capital 1st c. CE.

3. Shanti Stupa. This marvelous Stupa was built in 1991 by Japanese Buddhist Bhikshu, Gyomyo Nakamura and part of the Peace Pagoda mission. The Shanti Stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama. The stupa is built as a two-level structure. The first level features the central relief of Dharmachakra with deer on each side. A central golden Buddha image sits on a platform depicting the "turning wheel of Dharma" (Dharmachakra). The second level has reliefs depicting the "birth" of Buddha, the death of Buddha (mahanirvana) and Buddha "defeating the devils" while meditating. Both levels feature a series of smaller meditating Buddha reliefs. The Shanti Stupa was built to promote world peace and prosperity and to commemorate 2500 years of Buddhism. It is considered a symbol of the ties between the people of Japan and Ladakh..

The Consecrated Idol of Buddha at the Shanti Stupa..

4. Dhamek Stupa. The Dhamek Stupa was built in 500 CE to replace an earlier structure commissioned by Ashok in 249 BCE, along with several other monuments, to commemorate the Buddha's activities in this location. The Dhamek Stupa is said to mark the spot ( Rishipattana which can be translated as "where the Rishi arrived") where the Buddha gave the first sermon to his first five disciples, led by Kaundinya, after attaining enlightenment, revealing his Eightfold Path leading to nirvana. This event marked the formation of the Sangha..

5. Thotlakonda Stupa. . Thotlakonda was well within the influence of ancient Kalinga, which was an important source of dissemination of Buddhism to Sri Lanka and various parts of Southeast Asia. It provides an insight into the process of transoceanic diffusion of Indic culture, especially Buddhism. The excavations reveal Satavahana Lead and Roman Silver coins indicating foreign trade; terracotta tiles, stucco decorative pieces, sculptured panels, miniature stupa models in stone, and Buddha footprints were also found. Nikaya Buddhism appears to have been practiced here, including the worship of Gautama Buddha through symbols such as padukas and other material remains rather than using human representation. Thotlakonda had declined by the end of the 3rd century..

Offshoots from the Tree…. Since the death of the Buddha in the 5th BCE, Buddhism has spread around the world. It is not surprising that it has changed over time by coming into contact with all kinds of peoples and cultures. As the Buddha teaches, everything is subject to change. Now, 2500 years later, we can discern three major schools within Buddhism: Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna. Theravāda , the school of the Elders , began to take shape around 250 BC. It is considered the most orthodox form of Buddhism and has followers mainly in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The vipassanā movement (and by extension the mindfulness hype) is a modern day school within Theravāda Buddhism. Mahāyāna , the Great Vehicle , slowly came into being around the 1st century B.C., with contemporary followers mainly in China, Japan and Korea. Famous schools within Mahāyāna Buddhism include Zen (Chen) and Pure Land. Vajrayāna , or Diamond Vehicle , arose around the 5th century A.D. as an extension of Mahāyāna. Tibetan Buddhism derived from this school around the 7th century AD..

Before we continue, it is good to realize that even after all these centuries, there are many similarities between these different Buddhist schools. You could say that the foundations of they have always remained the same. The Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path consisting of the trainings in morality, concentration and wisdom. The doctrine of Dependent arising and karma (kamma). The pursuit of Nibbāna and a deep respect for the Buddha can always be found. This core remains unchanged, even in the present..

Mahayana Buddhism. The path that slowly but surely took shape was seen by the followers as superior to the early Buddhist schools, and that of course gave rise to criticism. The greatest criticism is that the Mahāyāna suttas were not taught directly by the Buddha but were conceived by later disciples. Probably partly in response to this criticism, the Mahāyāna texts are frequently written about the great spiritual advantage one gains by just reading thes sutras. The ancestors of the Mahāyāna invoke secret teaching in which the Buddha did preach the Mahāyāna sutras, it is just that not everyone was able to understand these sutras and therefore they were only passed on to specific disciples. The Mahāyāna school spread around Central Asia via the silk route around the 1st century A.D..

Theravada/ Hinayana Buddhism. Theravada has mainly predominated in South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, while Mahayana has predominated in China – where the Chan tradition is also present – in Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea and Japan – where the Zen tradition also exists..

Vajrayana Buddhism. Vajrayāna entered Tibet around the 8th century A.D. where it partly merged with the indigenous bön-religion and thus gave shape to sub-branches as Dzogchen for example ..

Some ‘Zen’ Stories. During the Tang dynasty there was a man named Li Bo who loved to study. Because he had read over 10,000 volumes, people called him “Li of 10,000 volumes.” Once, he asked the monk Zizank, “There is a passage in the Vimalakeerth Nirdesha Sutta which says, ‘Mount Sumeru can be inserted into a mustard seed.’ How could such a big mountain fit into a tiny mustard seed?’” The master answered, “You are called Li of 10,000 volumes. How could those 10,000 volumes fit into a tiny skull?”.

. A disciple who belonged to the Sixth Zen Sect joined a monastery called Kaaksi and attained enlightenment under the master’s guidance. The master asked him to go around the world, so he began his travels. In one city, a student from another monastery met him and asked, "Where are you coming from?" "I am coming from the Kaaksi monastery that belongs to the Sixth Sect," said the enlightened disciple. "What did you get in that monastery?" "There was nothing there which I did not already have before joining Kaaksi," said the disciple. "Then why did you go there?" "If I had not gone there, how would I have known that there was nothing there that I did not have before?".

In a monastery, a Zen master gathered firewood and started a fire for a stove. He was preparing tea. A disciple asked him, "For whom are you preparing tea?" The master replied, "You see that lazy guy sitting over there? It is for him." He was referring to one particularly lazy disciple who kept dodging work and just sat around, while all the other disciples were active in work. The disciple said, "Why do you have to prepare tea for him? He has grown up now. Let him prepare it on his own." The Master smiled and said, "I am here and now.".

Jaisa Des Waisa Bhes!. As Buddhism spreaded to newer regions and started assisimilating with the local customs, people started interpreting the very representation of Buddha in their own ways. Local Traditions naturally peeped in. The following slides go through these different “versions” of the Buddha..

. The Gandhar School of Art.

-ytA(5hYt. Tibetan and Zen illustrations of Buddha.

abstract. The cheerful Laughing Buddha!.

. As they saw him in Sri Lanka..

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