BUDDHISM

A B R I E F H I S T O RY O F B U D D H I S M
INTRODUCTION

• Siddhartha Gautama {Buddha} is believed to be the founder of Buddhism. He was born in

Lumbini {Nepal}. His father was Suddhodana and mother was Maya Devi. His father was one of
the leaders of Shakya clan. The Maya Devi temple is considered to be the birth place of Buddha

This is the
Maya Devi
temple
TIMELINE

6th century {Buddha 483 BCE

died} {Buddha died}

528 BCE
{Buddha was know as
the enlightened one}
 THE STORY OF SIDDHARATHA
GAUTAMA
• When Buddha was born, a prediction was made that he would leave all the worldly
possessions and become a great sage to stop this his father protected him from all the pain
and suffering of life after that he made Buddha marry to Yashodhara at a very young age. They
had a son name Rahula. But one day, when he rode out to the royal park he saw an old man, a
sick man, and a dead body. He was so sad by the suffering he saw that day. After a few days he
saw a monk he was pleased by the peace on the monk’s face. Finally Buddha decided to leave
his family at the age of 29 to find the meaning of life. After a lot of years of wandering one day
at Gaya he sat under a pipal tree, and san into deep meditation for 49 days. In the year 528
BCE Siddhartha attained enlightenment .
THE DOCTRINE OF BUDDHA

Buddha explained the doctrine of the 4 noble truths. The four noble truths are :-

• Life is full of suffering

• This suffering has a cause
• The cause of this sorrow is desire
• Getting rid of desires and wants will lead to peace

Fun fact
Buddha gave his first sermon in a dear park at Sarnath near Varanasi
 THE NOBLE EIGHT-FOLD PATH

• Buddha told that a simple life is the way to attain peace and happiness. That is the noble eight-fold path.
This is the eight-fold path-
• Right understanding
• Right thought
• Right speech
• Right action
• Right livelihood
• Right effort
• Right mindfulness
• Right contemplation or concentration
THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM
• Upon the death of Gautama Buddha in 400 BC, Buddhism divided into two sections: Mahayana
and Hinayana
MAHAYANA
The Mahayana section, which means
'Great Vehicle’ in Sanskrit, believed in
the divinity of the Buddha. The
section used to encourage idol
worship in Buddhism
HIMAYANA
The Hinayana sect, meaning ‘Small
Vehicle’ in Sanskrit, did not believe
in the divinity of the Buddha. They
believed Nirvana could be
achieved only by following the
middle path or the four noble
truths
 The sangha
• It was the most important feature of Buddhism
• It was an order of monks and nuns who travelled around the country spreading the teaching of
Buddha. They had to live a very simple life. It was the effort of these people that Buddhism spread
widely. They spread internationally to the south east and Asia and some places of North Asia
• The monasteries were the place where the monks of sangha live and prayed some of these became
learning centres like Sarnath, Nalanda, Takshashila, Vikramshila.
Stupas
• Stupas are dome shaped structures where the relics of Buddha are preserved. The stupa at Sanchi
in Madhya Pradesh is one of the few surviving stupas.
The Chatiya FACT BOX

• A chaitya is a Buddhist shrine or hall of worship Today, there are

about 535 million
people worldwide
who are Buddhists
that is 10% of the
world’s population
THANKS A LOT
BY ABHITI JAIN 6A