Buddhism - Origin and History Flashcards

Question

Why did Siddhartha go to Deer Park? What did he do there?

Answer 1

Buddha finds his old disciples and they notice a striking change in him and immediately rejoin him.

Answer 2

Buddha gives a speech at the Deer Park that proclaims the Four Noble Truths and describes the Eight-fold Path. He calls it the Dharma.

Answer 3

the Four Noble Truths and Eight-fold Path

Answer 4

the first monks

Answer 5

The community of disciples that follow the four noble truths and adhere to the eight-fold path are referred to as the Sangha. This is the oldest continuous existing religious community in the world.

Answer 6

The Buddha died at the age of eighty after forty -five years of teaching. He gained many followers including several close disciples.

Answer 7

By tradition, Buddha ate a meal given to him by a blacksmith. He fell violently ill but told his disciples to tell the blacksmith the meal had nothing to do with his sickness. It is believed he accidentally ingested poisonous mushrooms. Over the next few hours, he reassured the monks around him and then he died.

Answer 8

This is the final release from samsara. It literally is a ceasing to exist. The Buddha will never live a life again. This is the ultimate goal of Buddhism.

Answer 9

(c. 453 BCE by tradition) It occured soon after Buddha’s death. The top monks in the Sangha built the Buddhist canon and all agreed on what the Buddha taught. Here the sutras are finalized in spoken form. They record the life and teachings of the Buddha.

Answer 10

The life and teachings of the Buddha. They were finalized during the first council (453 BCE).

Answer 11

(c. 350 BCE by tradition) While the monks in the Sangha agreed about what the Buddha taught, they did not all agree on how to exactly understand the Buddha’s teachings. The result was not to relax any of the rules the Buddha had set forth, but this caused some monks to split off. This eventually led to the formation of the 18 schools of Buddhist philosophy. Of these original 18 schools of philosophy, only Theravada survives.

Answer 12

The “Way of the Elders” -- Also known as Hinayana (“Lesser Vehicle”). Today it is the predominant form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma (Myanmar). It emphasizes the individual’s effort in seeking an end to suffering. It emphasizes monasticism.

Answer 13

(c. 247 BCE) Included Ashoka. This council was called in order to try to form an orthodox view of Buddhist teachings and practices, as the 18 schools had begun to pull away from each other in these matters. In other words, they want to try to purify the Sangha. The results of this council are in dispute, but it seems clear that Ashoka’s son took the decisions of this council to Sri Lanka.

Answer 14

(c. 100 BCE) In Sri Lanka, the teachings of the Buddha and the decisions of the earlier councils were recorded in Pali (a local language related to Sanskrit that regular people spoke). These writings became the Pali Canon. The Pali Canon is the oldest existing source of Buddhist teachings.

Answer 15

The oldest existing source of Buddhist teachings. Finalized during the fourth council (100 BCE).

Answer 16

(304 – 232 BCE). Ashoka is widely considered one of the greatest king in the history of India, if not the whole world. He waged a deadly and destructive war that ending with him conquering a rival state. He converted to Buddhism after witnessing the horrors and death of the war. He successfully ruled his new kingdom. He sent Buddhist monks to Sri Lanka and Central Asia. He created monuments at important sites in the life of the Buddha.

Answer 17

Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BCE) conquered an area all the way to modern Afghanistan and the Indus River Valley. With the arrival of Buddhism in central Asia during the reign of Ashoka, there was a merging of cultures. Called Greco-Buddhist art.

Answer 18

(100 BCE – 100 CE) -- Happened under Ashoka. "The Greater Vehicle" = largest Buddhist sector. The Buddha is thought of as an expression of ultimate reality. It has a complex cosmology. Introduces the notion of Bodhisattva. Not one of the original 18 schools.

Answer 19

Buddhism was the majority religion in India

Answer 20

Positively

Answer 21

Was introduced near the end of the Gupta Dynasty (6th century CE) -- “Diamond Vehicle”. The smallest school. It is influenced by Mahayana Buddhism. It is also influenced by the Tantric Texts (from Hinduism). It is the most philosophically complex school of Buddhism. The prominent form of this school is Tibetan Buddhism.

Answer 22

Hinduism made a resurgence and became the dominant religion in India again. Buddhism had been in a slow decline in India. By the time of the Muslim invasions into India (The Mughals), Buddhism was a small minority religion.

Answer 23

the Mahayana tradition, but the other two schools also have growing followings.