- identify people and events significant to Buddhist history<\/li>
- describe the historical relationship between Buddhist and non-Buddhist communities<\/li>
- explain how significant people and events in Buddhist history contribute to Buddhist identity, culture and religious practice.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Pre-Buddhist India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buddhism arose in northeastern India sometime between the late 6th century and the early 4th century BCE, during a period of social instability characterized by the breakdown of tribal unity and growing discontent with Hindu practice of sacrifice and ritual by the priestly Brahman class in Hindu society. A series of ascetic movements based on self-discipline and abstention aimed to create more personal and spiritual religious experiences than those found in the Vedas<\/em> (Hindu sacred scriptures). The literature that grew out of this movement, the Upanishads<\/em>, offered a new emphasis on renunciation and transcendental knowledge. As a result, many new sects emerged in northeastern India which was less influenced by Vedic tradition, and these sects included a variety of diverse approaches such as skeptics, atomists, materialists, antinomians, and proto-Samkhya groups. Yet, the most important sects to arise at the time of the Buddha were the Ajivikas <\/em>who emphasized the rule of fate (niyati<\/em>) and the Jains<\/em> who stressed the need to free the soul from matter. Jainism influenced the development of Buddhism; the two religions share many features, terminology and ethical principles, but emphasize them differently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Triratna symbl on coin (185-168 BCE) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n Buddhism, like many of the sects that developed in northeastern India at the time, was comprised of three components; a charismatic teacher as leader, the teachings of the leader, and a community of supporters. In the case of Buddhism, this pattern is reflected in what is known as the Triratna<\/em>, or \u201cThree Jewels<\/em>\u201d; Buddha<\/em> (the teacher), dharma<\/em> (the teaching), and sangha<\/em> (the community). Since its beginnings in India, Buddhism has accepted both men and women of any race, social class, or caste. Many contemporary Buddhist communities continue to use the triratna as a symbol today, and many Buddhist ceremonies include the Threefold Refuge<\/em> declaration to ‘take refuge’ in the three jewels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Budda<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first teacher, and recognized founder of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama<\/em>, who was born into a wealthy family in what is present-day Nepal on the northern edge of the Ganges river basin. The precise dates of his life are debated between the mid-6th to mid-4th centuries BCE. Information about his life comes largely from Buddhist texts, the earliest of which were produced shortly before the beginning of the Common Era several centuries after his death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.anthrocervone.org\/worldreligions\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/bodhi.png\")
Siddhartha at the Bodhi Tree (100-200) Cleveland Museum of Art<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n Tradition narrates that Gautama was born into the ruling Shakya clan and was a member of the Kshatriya, or warrior, caste. His mother, Maha Maya, dreamt one night that an elephant entered her womb, and 10 lunar months later, while she was strolling in the garden of Lumbini, her son emerged from under her right arm. As a wealthy prince, he married at 16, had a son, and while venturing ventured outside the confines of his family property at 29 years of age, he observed the suffering of those who were less fortunate than he was. He decided to reject his life of riches, and he spent the next six years leading an ascetic lifestyle practicing meditation with several teachers and five companions. While bathing in a river, however, he fainted from weakness and thereby concluded that deprivation was not the path to liberation from suffering. He promoted the idea of the Middle Way<\/em>, which refers to moderating between two extremes of indulgence and deprivation. Buddhists believe that after 49 consecutive days of meditation under a Bodhi tree, Gautama received the Four Noble Truths<\/em> and the Eight Fold Path<\/em> which provide the foundation for Buddhist philosophy. He made this announcement in public and eventually acquired a group of disciples. His followers referred to him as the Buddha<\/em>, meaning the Enlightened One<\/em>, which was an ancient Indian title which referred to an enlightened being who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and achieved freedom from suffering. He spent the next 45 years traveling throughout northeastern India with his disciples teaching his message, establishing orders of monks and nuns, and receiving the patronage of kings and merchants. Before he died at the age of 80, he met with his disciples to impart his final instructions and passed into nirvana<\/em>, known as liberation from the lifecycle. His body was cremated and relics were distributed and enshrined in stupas<\/em> (funerary monuments that usually contained relics), where they are still venerated today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the various traditions, buddhas have existed throughout history and will continue to exist in the future. Some Buddhists believe that there is only one buddha for each historical age, others that all beings will become buddhas because they possess the buddha nature (tathagatagarbha<\/em>). In addition, there are others who are considered Arhats<\/em> (worthy ones) and bodhisattvas<\/em> (those who have dedicated themselves to achiebving enlightenment.) The first Buddha, Gautama, is referred to as Shakyamuni<\/em>, which means ‘Sage of the Shakya Clan’. In Buddhist texts he is most commonly addressed as Bhagavat<\/em> (often translated as \u201cLord\u201d), and he refers to himself as the Tathagata<\/em>, which can mean both \u201cone who has thus come\u201d and \u201cone who has thus gone.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n