Why Ashoka converted to Buddhism?

• The 3rd century BC was a watershed moment in the history of Lumbini and Buddhism.
• After witnessing the massacre in the war of Kalinga, the emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism and committed himself to promoting the spread of the religion.
• He visited Lumbini, and in 249 BC, built a large temple-like structure over the birthplace of Buddha and erected a sandstone pillar containing inscriptions to memorialise his pilgrimage.
• A portion of the pillar survives today, with 4 metres below the ground and 6 metres above.
• Descriptions of travellers suggest the original pillar was several metres taller, with an inverted lotus capital and an animal image on top, according to historians.
• The inscription on the pillar, in the Brahmi script of the language Pali, says Ashoka prayed at the birth site of The Buddha, and that pilgrims would be exempt from all religious taxes.
• In 1312, the Khasa-Malla king Ripu Malla engraved the Buddhist mantra, ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ and his name on the pillar. However, Lumbini was forgotten for many centuries, until it was rediscovered in 1896, and excavations were conducted at the site.
• Cultural deposits dating to the 6th century BC have been discovered at Lumbini.
• The Chinese monks Faxian (Fa-Hien) and Xuanzang (Huien Tsang) visited the site in the 5th and 7th centuries AD respectively, and their accounts were used by antiquarians in the 19th century in an effort to locate Lumbini.

When Buddhism started in India?

• Buddhism started in India over 2,600 years ago as a way life that had a potential of transforming a person.
• It is one of the important religions of South and South-Eastern Asian countries.
• The religion is based upon the teachings, life experiences of its founder Siddhartha Gautam, born in circa 563 BCE.
• He was born into royal family of Sakya clan who ruled from Kapilvastu, in Lumbini which is situated near the Indo-Nepal Border.
• At the age of 29, Gautama left home and rejected his life of riches and embraced a lifestyle of asceticism, or extreme self-discipline.
• After 49 consecutive days of meditation, Gautama attained Bodhi (enlightenment) under a pipal tree at Bodhgaya a village in Bihar.
• Buddha gave his first sermon in the village of Sarnath, near the city of Benares in UP. This event is known as Dharma-Chakra-Pravartana (turning of the wheel of law).
• He died at the age of 80 in 483 BCE at a place called Kushinagara a town in UP. The event is known as Mahaparinibban.

Where First and Second Buddhist council held?

• Buddhist Councils
• Buddhist Councils marked important turning points in the early Buddhism.
• These councils resulted in sectarian clashes and the eventual Great Schism that resulted in the two major schools, Theravada and Mahayana.
• In total, 4 major Buddhist councils were convened:

• It was held soon after the Mahaparinirvan of the Buddha, around 483 BC under the patronage of King Ajatshatru and was presided by Mahakasyapa, a monk.
• The council was held in the Sattapani cave at Rajgriha.
• The council was held with the purpose of preserving Buddha’s teachings (Sutta) and rules for disciples. During this council, the teachings of Buddha were divided into three Pitakas.

Second Council

• It was held in Vaishali, a village in Bihar under the patronage of the king Kalasoka in 383 BC. It was presided by Sabakami.

Third Council

• It was held in 250 BC in Patliputra under the patronage of Ashoka and was presided by Moggaliputta Tissa.

Fourth Council

• It was held in 72 AD at Kundalvana, Kashmir. It was presided by Vasumitra, while Asvaghosa was his deputy under the patronage of King Kanishka of Kushan Empire.
• Buddhism was divided into two sects namely Mahayan and Hinayan.

Who is a Bodhisattva?

• A bodhisattva is someone who has compassion within himself or herself and who is able to make another person smile or help someone suffer less. Every one of us is capable of this. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
• The ideal of Bodhisattva beholds the highest moral principle of intellect and discipline in Buddhism for the sake of happiness of all the other beings.
• The schools of Theravada Buddhism (early school) and Mahayana Buddhism understand Bodhisattva in different ways.
• Bodhisattva in Theravada Buddhism: It refers to a person who has taken a spontaneous vow to become a Buddha, and in addition to this, such a person is also assured by a living Buddha regarding the fulfilment of the vow. The school focuses on previous lives of Buddha before he attained enlightenment.
• Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism: It is an object of devotion as Mahayana Buddhism inspires others to walk on the path of Bodhisattva because the school believes that every individual possesses an inherent nature like Budhha and hence, anyone can become Budhha.
• To make it simple, while Bodhisattva path is an optional path for a heroic few like Sidharth Gautama Budha in Theravāda (or Hinayana sect) it is a normative path in Mahāyāna.

Four Virtues of a Bodhisattva (The Brahmaviharas)

• When a living being (sattva) develops the state of enlightenment (bodhi), that person exhibits four Buddhist virtues, also known as Brahmaviharas. These four Brahmaviharas are as following:
• Maitri (Loving-kindness): It refers to goodwill towards all.
• Karuna (Compassion): It denotes identification of the suffering of others as one’s own.
• Muditaa (Empathetic joy): It is the feeling of bliss as others are happy, even if a person has not contributed to it, it is a form of empathetic joy.
• Upekshaa (Equanimity): It refers to even-mindedness and serenity, treating everyone impartially.

Eight Prominent Bodhisattvas

• There are 8 important Bodhisattvas who represent different aspects of Buddha. They are as following:
• Avalokitesvara (Buddha’s Compassion): Avalokiteshwara means one who can see all. He represents infinite compassion and mercy. He is the most popular Bodhisattva of all. He represents the ideal of welfare in which he postpones his own transformation into Buddha to help others.
• Manjusri (Buddha’s Wisdom): The literal meaning of his name is ‘Gentle Glory’. He represents Pragya or transcendental wisdom at a very early age.
• Samantabhadra (Buddha’s Aspirations): The meaning of Samantabhadra is ‘Universal Worthy’ and he is associated with practice and meditation. He made ten vows to fulfil his journey of becoming a Buddha.
• Ksitigarbha (Buddha’s Merit): He is popular as a Buddhist monk in the mostly East Asia. While the name literally means Earth Womb, he is revered as the guardian of children and patron deity of deceased children. He carries a staff.
• Maitreya (Buddha’s Activity): He is also known as Ajita Boddhisattva. It is believed that he will arrive when people will forget the path of righteousness. He is considered as the successor of Gautam Buddha. In Buddhist traditions, he is revered as someone who will achieve complete enlightenment and will teach dharma to people.
• Vajrapani (Buddha’s Power): He is described as one of the 3 protective deities around Buddha, others are Manjusri and Avlokiteshwara. Vajrapani represents Buddha’s power while Buddha’s wisdom is symbolised by Manjushri, and Avalokiteshwara manifests as Buddha’s compassion.
• Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin (Buddha’s Qualities): He is invoked to remove or eliminate all the obstacles to insure a successful meditation.
• Akasagarbha (Buddha’s Blessings): He is boundless as space. He was the twin brother of Ksitigarbha. He manifests as a blessing.

How School of Buddhism differ?

Schools of Buddhism

• Mahayana:
• It is one of the two main schools of Buddhism.
• The term Mahayana is a Sanskrit word which literally means "Great Vehicle".
• It believes in the heavenliness of Buddha and Idol worship of Buddha and Bodhisattvas embodying Buddha Nature.
• It originated in northern India and Kashmir and then spread east into Central Asia, East Asia and some areas of Southeast Asia.
• Buddhist schools embedded in China, Korea, Tibet and Japan belong to the Mahayana tradition.

Hinayana

• Literally Lesser vehicle, also known as Abandoned Vehicle or Defective vehicle. It believes in the original teaching of Buddha or Doctrine of elders.
• It does not believe in Idol worship and tries to attain individual salvation through self discipline and meditation.
• Theravada is a Hinayana sect.

Theravada

• It is the most ancient branch of extant Buddhism today.
• It remains closest to the original teachings of the Buddha.
• Theravada Buddhism developed in Sri Lanka and subsequently spread to the rest of Southeast Asia. It is the dominant form of religion in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Vajrayana

• Vajrayana means “The Vehicle of the Thunderbolt”, also known as tantric Buddhism.
• This Buddhist school developed in India around 900 CE.
• It is grounded on esoteric elements and very complex set of rituals compared with the rest of the Buddhist schools.

Zen

• It is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty as the Chan school of Chinese Buddhism in and later developed into various schools.
• It spread to Japan in 7th century C.E.
• Meditation is the most distinctive feature of this Buddhist tradition.

Spread of Buddhism

• Buddha had two kinds of disciples – monks (bhikshus) and lay worshippers (upasikas).
• The monks were organized into the Sangha for the purpose of spreading his teachings.
• The Sangha was governed on democratic lines and was empowered to enforce discipline among its members.
• Owing to the organised efforts made by the Sangha, Buddhism made rapid progress in North India even during Buddha’s life time.
• After the death of Buddha, his followers traversed on his path of meditation and roamed throughout the countryside.
• For 200 years Buddhism remained overshadowed by their Hindu counterparts until the advent of Great Mauryan King – Ashoka.
• After the bloodbath in his Kalinga conquest, emperor Ashoka decided to give up the policy of worldly conquest and adopted Dhamma conquest.
• Ashoka during the third Buddhist council dispatched various Buddhist missions to different areas such as Gandhara, Kashmir, Greece, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Egypt, and Thailand.
• Through his missionary effort Ashoka spread Buddhism into West Asia and Ceylon. Thus a local religious sect was transformed into a world religion.

Contribution of Buddhism to Indian Culture

• Buddhism has made remarkable contribution to the development of Indian culture:
• The concept of ahimsa was its chief contribution. Later, it became one of the cherished values of our nation.
• Its contribution to the art and architecture of India was notable. The stupas at Sanchi, Bharhut and Gaya are wonderful pieces of architecture.
• It promoted education through residential universities like those at Taxila, Nalanda and Vikramasila.
• The language of Pali and other local languages developed through the teachings of Buddhism.
• It had also promoted the spread of Indian culture to other parts of Asia.
• Buddhism as a Way of Soft Diplomacy
• Buddhism in India as a Soft Power is different from the conventional sense of the term. India talks about shared cultural development instead of export of culture.
• The values of peace, accommodation, inclusiveness, and compassion that are part of our societies can be attributed to the influence of the teachings of Lord Buddha and Buddhism.
• The ideals of Buddhism continue to intersect with the political and economic contexts of many Asian nations with 22% of the world’s population.
• Buddhism can act as an intensifying factor for Asian emotional bonding and connectivity as it is embedded into their “nationalistic” thinking and actions.
• Buddhism is not restricted to Asia and has been able to generate a spiritual awakening elsewhere in the world and influenced a stream of philosophical traditions world over.
• India has in its favour at the moment abundance of resources by way of pilgrimage sites, the presence of the Dalai Lama, and international goodwill, as well as the right intentions.