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The historical Buddha
Did he exist? Does it matter?
The historical Buddha
Why did it become fashionable to doubt the
existence of Jesus and the Buddha?
What have archaeologists found to suggest that
the Buddha really existed?
Why might Buddhist’s be ambivalent about the
historical Buddha?
Why is Gautama’s point of view that the
“Dharma will be your guide” an important one?
What experience does the authority from which
the Buddha speaks hinge on?
The historical Buddha
Could the Buddha be irrelevant even to
Theravada Buddhists?
Why do some Buddhists schools perform
acts of devotion and worship?
Do Buddhist teachings stand by
themselves?
Mahayana Buddhology
Once a historical event has taken place,
many of the precise details gradually fade
in the minds of those who were present,
and speculation arises in the minds of
those who did not witness the event.
The life of the Buddha is no exception
Mahayana Buddhology
The issue of the Buddha as a superman
was one cause of the schism in the
Buddhist community, which gave rise to
the Mahasanghikas school.
They produced a huge biography of the
Buddha in which the founder appears as a
classic hero with supernatural powers.
Mahayana Buddhology
In later works produced by other Buddhist
schools, the Buddha is even more than a
super hero and his life story as Gautama
is portrayed simply as a play in which the
cosmic principle Buddha manifests himself
in order to show all beings the way out of
samsaric experience.
Mahayana Buddhology
In some other later works, The Buddha
becomes a transcendent being, described
as a cloud risen above the world which
envelops the earth. His earthly life as
Gautama, including his nirvana, is seen as
an illusion projected onto the earth.
Mahayana Buddhology
All Buddhist schools speak in places of more
than one Buddha. Gautama was simply the one
for the age we are studying (kalpa or aeon of
time) and there have been and will be others.
The Trikaya or three Body Doctrine was
developed in the 3rd – 4th centuries C.E. and part
of the philosophy holds the belief that there are
many worlds, each with a Buddha!
The Three Body Doctrine or
TRIKAYA
Dharmakaya
Sambhogakaya
Nirmanakaya
Mahayana Buddhology
The function of the Buddha’s in this
Mahayana philosophy is three fold:1.To teach the Bodhisattvas
2.To be Lords of Paradise – Pure Land
Buddhism in China
3.To father earthly Buddha’s.