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Chapter 9 Continued
State, Society, and the
Quest for Salvation in India
©2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
1
Early Buddhism
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Siddhartha Gautama, ca. 563-483 B.C.E.
Encountered age, sickness, death, then monastic
life
Abandoned comfortable life to become a monk
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2
Gautama’s Search for Enlightenment
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Intense meditation, extreme asceticism
Forty-nine days of meditation under bo tree to
finally achieve enlightenment
Attained title of Buddha: “the enlightened one”
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3
The Buddha and His Followers
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Begins teaching new doctrine ca. 528 B.C.E.
Followers owned only robes, food bowls
Life of wandering, begging, meditation
Establishment of monastic communities
©2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
4
Buddha and His Disciples
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Buddhist Doctrine: The Dharma
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The Four Noble Truths
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All life is suffering
Suffering caused by desire
Removing desire removes suffering
This may be done through the eight-fold path
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Right views, intention, speech, action, livelihood,
effort, mindfulness, concentration
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6
Appeal of Buddhism
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Less dependence on brahmins for ritual activities
No recognition of caste, jati status
Philosophy of moderate consumption
Public service through lay teaching
Use of vernacular, not Sanskrit
Monasteries become important institutions in
Indian society
©2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
7
A Buddhist Monastery
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8
Ashoka’s Support of Buddhism
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Personal conversion to Buddhism
Saddened after violent war with Kalinga
Banned animal sacrifices, mandated
vegetarianism in court
Material support for Buddhist institutions,
missionary activities
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9
Changes in Buddhist Thought
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Third century B.C.E. to first century C.E.
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Buddha considered divine
Institution of boddhisatvas (“saints”)
Charitable donations to monasteries regarded as pious
activity
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10
Spread of Mahayana Buddhism
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Mahayana (“greater vehicle”), newer
development
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India, China, Japan, Korea, central Asia
Hinayana (“lesser vehicle,” also Theravada),
earlier version
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Ceylon, Burma, Thailand
©2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
11
Nalanda
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Buddhist monastery
Quasi-university: Buddhism, Hindu texts,
philosophy, astronomy, medicine
Peak at end of Gupta dynasty
Helped spread Indian thought
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e.g. mathematical number zero
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12
Emergence of Popular Hinduism
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Composition of epics from older oral traditions
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Mahabharata
Ramayana
Emphasis on god Vishnu and his incarnations
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13
The Bhagavad Gita
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“Song of the lord”
Centuries of revisions, final form ca. 400 C.E.
Dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna during
civil war
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14
Hindu Ethics
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Obedience to religious and moral laws (dharma)
Pursuit of economic well-being and honesty
(artha)
Enjoyment of social, physical, and sexual
pleasure (kama)
Salvation of the soul (moksha)
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15
Popularity of Hinduism
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Gradually replaced Buddhism in India
Gupta dynastic leaders extend considerable
support
©2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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