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140-471: In all branches of Buddhism, Maitreya is viewed as the direct successor of Gautama Buddha . As the fifth and final Buddha of the current kalpa (eon), Maitreya's teachings will be focused around re-establishing the Buddha's Dharma on Earth. According to scriptures, Maitreya's teachings will be similar to those of Gautama (Śākyamuni). The arrival of Maitreya is prophesied to occur during an era of decline when

280-466: A Dazangjing Bu Bian (大藏經補編) published in 1986 are supplements of them. The manuscript finds at Dunhuang contain numerous Buddhist texts in Chinese and in other languages like Tibetan and Old Uyghur which are either not in the main Chinese canon or are significantly different versions. Most these texts are no later than the 11th century, the date of the closing of the largest trove of texts found in

420-896: A Dharani Pitaka, or Bodhisattva Pitakas. The first Chinese translations of Buddhist texts appeared during the later Han Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Ming (r. 58–75 ce). The first sutra to be translated is said to be the Sutra of Forty-two Sections (四十二章經 sìshíèr zhāng jīng). Many of the early translators were monks from Central Asia, like the Parthian Ān Shìgāo (安世高), and the Kuchan translator Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什; 343– 413). Later figures were native Chinese who traveled to India and studied Sanskrit texts there, like Fǎxiǎn (法顯, c. 337–422 ce) and Xuánzàng (玄奘, 602–664 ce). Most translators who produced significant translations did not work alone, making use of teams of translators and scribes. Thus,

560-515: A millenarian role by many non-Buddhist philosophies and religions, such as Theosophy , New Age , the White Lotus , as well as by modern new religious movements , such as Yiguandao and Falun Gong . The name Maitreya is derived from the Sanskrit word maitrī "friendship", which is in turn derived from the noun mitra , signifying "friend". The Pali form Metteyya is mentioned in

700-561: A white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side, and ten months later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilavastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. Her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree . The earliest Buddhist sources state that the Buddha was born to an aristocratic Kshatriya (Pali: khattiya ) family called Gotama (Sanskrit: Gautama), who were part of

840-596: A Buddha that appealed to them, by eliding one that did not". The dates of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Within the Eastern Buddhist tradition of China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan, the traditional date for Buddha's death was 949 BCE, but according to the Ka-tan system of the Kalachakra tradition, Buddha's death was about 833 BCE. Buddhist texts present two chronologies which have been used to date

980-422: A Human family during his last life. Maitreya is also often shown in a heaven realm, indicating his current location (Tushita). In Indian symbolism, the kamaṇḍalu pot symbolizes immortality ( amrita ), fertility, life and wealth. In Buddhism, the similar pūrṇa- kumbha (full bottle) also symbolizes "auspicious abundance", wisdom, health, longevity, wealth, prosperity, and the Buddha's infinite quality of teaching

1120-494: A claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" ( abhijñā ). The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on the Buddha's life as a śramaṇa, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as Alara Kalama and his forty-five-year career as a teacher. Traditional biographies of Gautama often include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of

1260-634: A clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures , and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant accounts exist. British author Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as

1400-590: A devout monk named Jìngwǎn . His followers at the temple continue to carve sutras on stone tablets for generations after (even well into the Ming dynasty ). The earliest dated Heart Sutra from 661 comes from this collection of stone carved sutras. Another important milestone in the development of the canon was the compilation of the Kaiyuan Catalogue (Kāiyuán Shìjiàolù, 開元釋教錄, Kaiyuan Era Record of Buddhist Teachings , Taishō Tripitaka No. 2154) during

1540-513: A dramatic narrative about the life of the young Gotama as a prince and his existential troubles. They depict his father Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch of the Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka). This is unlikely, as many scholars think that Śuddhodana was merely a Shakya aristocrat ( khattiya ), and that the Shakya republic was not a hereditary monarchy. The more egalitarian gaṇasaṅgha form of government, as

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1680-428: A flower)", "one who has awakened from the deep sleep of ignorance and opened his consciousness to encompass all objects of knowledge". It is not a personal name, but a title for those who have attained bodhi (awakening, enlightenment). Buddhi , the power to "form and retain concepts, reason, discern, judge, comprehend, understand", is the faculty which discerns truth ( satya ) from falsehood. The name of his clan

1820-420: A follower of Maitreya Buddha. Maitreya will be born to the chief priest of Sankha, Brahmayu, and his wife Brahmavati. In some sources his family name is Maitreya and his first name is Ajita. Maitreya will live as a householder, have a son, and then renounce the world and achieve Buddhahood like Shakyamuni. In some accounts, Maitreya will meet Mahakasyapa , who has been in samadhi on top of mount Kukkutapada since

1960-593: A historical figure. Michael Carrithers goes further, stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true. Legendary biographies like the Pali Buddhavaṃsa and the Sanskrit Jātakamālā depict the Buddha's (referred to as " bodhisattva " before his awakening) career as spanning hundreds of lifetimes before his last birth as Gautama. Many of these previous lives are narrated in

2100-1096: A lot of colloquial language, some of which is recognizably MSC [Modern Standard Chinese]. So any generalizations made about BC will not hold for every text. The various editions of the Chinese Buddhist canon all include translations of Indian Āgama , Vinaya and Abhidharma texts from the Early Buddhist schools , as well as translations of the Mahāyāna sūtras , śāstras (treatises) and scriptures from Indian Esoteric Buddhism . The various canons also contain texts composed in China, Korea and Japan, including apocryphal sutras and Chinese Buddhist treatises. These additional non-Indic works include philosophical treatises, commentaries, philological works, catalogues, sectarian writings, geographic works, travelogues, biographies , genealogies and hagiographies , encyclopedias and dictionaries . Furthermore, each edition of

2240-663: A new collection of canonical texts, was published by Zhonghua Book Company in Beijing in 1983–97, with 107 volumes of literature, are photocopies of early versions, and include many newly unearthed scriptures from Dunhuang . There are also newer Tripitaka Sinica projects. A number of apocryphal sutras and texts composed in China are excluded from the main collections of the canon. These Chinese works include sutras like High King Avalokiteshvara Sutra and other texts, some of which are important to Chinese folk religions . Some of these works can be found in supplementary volumes to

2380-567: A palace at the center of Tuṣita Heaven (Pāli: Tusita ). Gautama Buddha also lived here before he was born into the world as all bodhisattvas live in the Tuṣita Heaven before they descend to the human realm to become Buddhas. Though the concept of the bodhisattva is different in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, both traditions of Buddhism share a belief in Maitreya bodhisattva as

2520-472: A period of moral and social betterment. It is only then that Maitreya is expected to come. To be able to take part in this golden age, Buddhist devotees hoped to make enough good merit (through good deeds like giving and compassionate acts) which would condition their future rebirth. One mention of the prophecy in the Maitreyavyākaraṇa states that gods, men and other beings: Will lose their doubts, and

2660-532: A political alternative to Indian monarchies, may have influenced the development of the śramanic Jain and Buddhist sanghas , where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism . The day of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak and the day he got conceived as Poson . Buddha's Birthday is called Buddha Purnima in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India as he

2800-502: A revolving wheel storage cabinet. In the following one thousand years of Chinese Buddhist history, fifteen further editions of the Chinese Buddhist canon were constructed. Half of these were royal editions, supported by the Imperial Court , while other canons were made through the efforts of laypersons and monastics. The texts of the Chinese Buddhist canon are written in a unique variant of literary Chinese (Wényán 文言) which

2940-513: A single Tripitaka from one school or collection. Instead, the canon was complied piecemeal over centuries as various Indian texts were translated and new texts composed in China. These were all later collected into a distinct Chinese canon. The Chinese Buddhist Canon also contains many texts which were composed outside of the Indian subcontinent , including numerous texts composed in China, such as Chinese Buddhist treatises and commentaries, histories, biographies and other reference works. As such,

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3080-542: A single set of pitakas . Previous canons like the Korean canon had followed the older schema of having two main divisions of " Hīnayāna " and Mahāyāna sections (each with separate sub-divisions for the Sūtra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma texts of each yana ). The Yongle canons however merged all these texts into a single collection of Sūtra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma (which sub-divisions for Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna). As such, its structure

3220-688: Is a full Buddhist canon translated into the Tangut language from Chinese sources. This canon was the main source for the Buddhism of the Tangut people of the Western Xia dynasty (1038–1227). Today, this canon is studied by a small group of scholars who work in the field of Tangutology . Eric Grinstead published a collection of Tangut Buddhist texts under the title The Tangut Tripitaka in 1971 in New Delhi. The Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799) had

3360-605: Is also an object of worship and devotion for Asian Buddhists and its reproduction is seen as an act of merit making . The development of the Great Storage of Scriptures was influenced by the Indian Buddhist concept of a Tripitaka , literally meaning "three baskets" (of Sutra , Vinaya , and Abhidharma ), a term which referred to the scriptural canons of the various Indian Buddhist schools . However, Chinese Buddhists historically did not have access to

3500-443: Is believed to have been born on a full moon day. According to later biographical legends, during the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode, analyzed the child for the "32 marks of a great man" and then announced that he would either become a great king ( chakravartin ) or a great religious leader. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day and invited eight Brahmin scholars to read

3640-513: Is commonly seen together in canonical texts and depicts some of his perfected qualities: The Pali Canon also contains numerous other titles and epithets for the Buddha, including: All-seeing, All-transcending sage, Bull among men, The Caravan leader, Dispeller of darkness, The Eye, Foremost of charioteers, Foremost of those who can cross, King of the Dharma ( Dharmaraja ), Kinsman of the Sun, Helper of

3780-645: Is included in the Taishō is the Kaiyuan Shijiao Lu 開元釋教錄 (Taisho no. 2154). Other catalogs are included in Volume 55. The Xuzangjing (卍續藏) version, which is a supplement of another version of the canon, is often used as a supplement for Buddhist texts not collected in the Taishō Tripiṭaka . The Jiaxing Tripitaka is a supplement for Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty Buddhist texts not collected, and

3920-619: Is more prominent in Southeast and East Asia. According to Donald Lopez Jr., "... he tended to be known as either Buddha or Sakyamuni in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet, and as either Gotama Buddha or Samana Gotama ('the ascetic Gotama') in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia." Buddha , "Awakened One" or "Enlightened One", is the masculine form of budh (बुध् ), "to wake, be awake, observe, heed, attend, learn, become aware of, to know, be conscious again", "to awaken" " 'to open up' (as does

4060-409: Is not imminent and instead will happen millions of years in the future. In spite of this, Buddhist believers can hope to accumulate good karma so that when the time comes, they will be reborn to meet the future Buddha Maitreya and reach enlightenment under him. Scriptures which describe the future coming of Maitreya also describe the paradise like conditions of the world during Maitreya's time. His coming

4200-609: Is not inaccessible, and various Buddhists throughout history have also claimed to have been visited by Maitreya, to have had visions of him, and to have received teachings by him. As such, Mahayana Buddhists traditionally consider Maitreya to be the founder of the Yogacara tradition through his revelation of various scriptures like the Mahāyānasūtrālamkārakā , and the Madhyāntavibhāga . Maitreya has also been employed in

4340-577: Is now Bihar (the location of Pataliputra )". The Ganges basin was densely forested, and the population grew when new areas were deforestated and cultivated. The society of the middle Ganges basin lay on "the outer fringe of Aryan cultural influence", and differed significantly from the Aryan society of the western Ganges basin. According to Stein and Burton, "[t]he gods of the brahmanical sacrificial cult were not rejected so much as ignored by Buddhists and their contemporaries." Jainism and Buddhism opposed

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4480-538: Is now India . The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain , teaching and building a monastic order . Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached parinirvana ("final release from conditioned existence"). According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to freedom from ignorance , craving , rebirth, and suffering . His core teachings are summarized in

4620-519: Is said to usher in a "golden age" of religion and civilization. Buddhist scriptures do not exhort believers to work to bring about this golden age (what Nattier calls "active apocalypticism "). This might be due to the Buddhist view of the cyclical nature of time and history. The cyclical nature of history is thus part of the Maitreya myth. Buddhists believe that there will come a time of Dharma decline in which social order and morality will decline and

4760-473: Is termed "Buddhist Chinese" ( Fojiao Hanyu 佛教漢語), and is a variety of literary Chinese with several unique elements such as a distinctly Buddhist terminology that includes transliterations from Indian languages and newly coined Chinese Buddhist words. In India, the early Buddhist teachings were collected into canons called tripiṭaka (‘three baskets’; Chin. 三藏 sānzàng ‘three stores’ or ‘three repositories’). Most canons contained sūtras (discourses of

4900-404: Is termed Buddhist Chinese by scholars. This "Buddhist Chinese" contains several features that distinguish it from standard literary Chinese. One of these is the fact that Buddhist Chinese makes greater of disyllabic and polysyllabic words. Much of this is due to Buddhist terminology not found in other literary Chinese works. One example of a Chinese term that was coined to translate an India term

5040-522: Is traditionally said to have revealed to the 4th century Indian Buddhist master Asanga . These texts are important in the Yogacara tradition and are considered to be part of the third turning within the Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma . They teach the "consciousness-only" idealist philosophy of Yogacara Buddhism. Buddhist tradition associates Asanga (c. 4th century), one of the founders of

5180-517: Is unknown. It may have been either Piprahwa , Uttar Pradesh, in present-day India, or Tilaurakot , in present-day Nepal. Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only 24 kilometres (15 mi) apart. In the mid-3rd century BCE the Emperor Ashoka determined that Lumbini was Gautama's birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with the inscription: "...this is where

5320-486: Is 如來 (rúlái, "thus come") which refers to the term Tathagata . Buddhist Chinese also contains many transliterations from Indian languages such as Sanskrit, for example 波羅蜜 bōluómì for the Sanskrit term pāramitā . Another feature of Buddhist Chinese is that it tends to rely on more vernacular elements than non-Buddhist literary Chinese. However, these generalizations should be understood to be very broad since, as Lock and Linebarger write: it should be borne in mind that

5460-566: The Cakkavatti Sutta: The Wheel-turning Emperor ( Digha Nikaya 26), Maitreya Buddha will be born in a time when humans will live to an age of eighty thousand years, in the city of Ketumatī (present Varanasi), whose king will be the Cakkavattī (wheel-turning emperor) Sankha. Sankha will live in the palace where once dwelt King Mahāpanadā, but later he will give the palace away and will himself become

5600-533: The Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra meanwhile, Maitreya has an entire chapter in which he preaches the Dharma to the pilgrim Sudhana in one hundred and twenty one verses. Then Sudhana is allowed to enter Maitreya's palace (Vairocanakutalamkara-garbha), where he has a grand vision of the entirety of Maitreya's bodhisattva career. In addition, there are also several Mahāyāna sūtras which focus specifically on Maitreya, his teachings and future activity. Some key Maitreya sutras in

5740-467: The Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra , and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidānakathā is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by Buddhaghoṣa . Scholars are hesitant to make claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most of them accept that the Buddha lived, taught, and founded a monastic order during

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5880-866: The Ariyapariyesana Sutta ( MN 26), the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta ( DN 16), the Mahāsaccaka-sutta (MN 36), the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN 123), which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jātaka tales retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva , and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts. The Mahāpadāna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as

6020-693: The Bodhi tree , with the inscription Bhagavato Sakamunino Bodho ("The illumination of the Blessed Sakamuni"). The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts , found in Gandhara (corresponding to modern northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) and written in Gāndhārī , they date from the first century BCE to the third century CE. Early canonical sources include

6160-1015: The Cakkavatti-Sīhanāda Sutta ( Digha Nikaya 26) of the Pāli Canon , and also in chapter 28 of the Buddhavamsa . Some modern scholars like Richard Gombrich argue that the sutra is a later addition to the Pali Canon or that it has been edited at a later date. Maitreya's prophecy also appears in other texts like the Māhavastu , Lalitavistara , the Mūlasarvāstivāda -vinaya and the Divyāvadāna . Due to their similar names, some modern scholars like Przyluski , Lamotte and Levi have speculated that inspiration for Maitreya may have come from ancient Indo-Iranian deities like Mithra and

6300-581: The Chinese canon are the following: The Tibetan Buddhist canon meanwhile contains the following Maitreya sutras: Maitreya also appears in other literary works. The Maitreyasamitināṭaka was an extensive Buddhist play in pre-Islamic Central Asia (c. 8th century). The Maitreyavyakarana (a poem in śatakam form) in Central Asia and the Anagatavamsa of South India also mention him. In

6440-593: The Eastern Jin and the Sui Dynasties , the earliest canons were compiled using manuscripts . None of these early manuscript canons have survived. One early collection of Chinese Buddhist canonical material is the Fangshan Stone Sutras (房山石經) which a set of around 15,000 stone tablets containing Buddhist sutras carved at Yúnjū Temple (雲居寺). This project was begun in the 7th century by

6580-735: The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path , a training of the mind that includes ethical training and kindness toward others , and meditative practices such as sense restraint , mindfulness , dhyana (meditation proper). Another key element of his teachings are the concepts of the five skandhas and dependent origination , describing how all dharmas (both mental states and concrete 'things') come into being, and cease to be, depending on other dharmas , lacking an existence on their own svabhava ). A couple of centuries after his death, he came to be known by

6720-507: The Great Storage of Scriptures , the foundation of East Asian Buddhist teachings, reflects the evolution of Chinese Buddhism over time, and the religious and scholarly efforts of generations of translators, scholars and monastics. This process began with the first translations in the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) after which a period of intense translation work followed in the succeeding dynasties . The first complete canonical collection, known as

6860-753: The Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara , in the first centuries CE in northern India, Maitreya was the most popular figure to be represented along with Gautama Buddha . Numerous sculptures of Maitreya have been found in Greater Gandhara from the Kushan Empire period (30–375 CE). He also appears in Mathura to a lesser extent. Maitreya is already depicted at Sanchi before the Kushan period. But art depicting him becomes much more numerous during

7000-737: The Jatakas , which consists of 547 stories. The format of a Jataka typically begins by telling a story in the present which is then explained by a story of someone's previous life. Besides imbuing the pre-Buddhist past with a deep karmic history, the Jatakas also serve to explain the bodhisattva's (the Buddha-to-be) path to Buddhahood. In biographies like the Buddhavaṃsa , this path is described as long and arduous, taking "four incalculable ages" ( asamkheyyas ). In these legendary biographies,

7140-794: The Kaibao Canon or Shu-pen (蜀本) edition was printed during the Song dynasty between 971 to 983. Later eras saw further editions of the canon published in China, Korea and Japan like the Tripitaka Koreana (11th & 13th centuries) and the Qianlong Canon (1735-1738). One of the most widespread edition used by modern scholars today is the Taishō Tripiṭaka , produced in Japan in the 20th century. The language of these scriptures

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7280-463: The Mahajanapada , and during the reign of Bimbisara (his friend, protector, and ruler of the Magadha empire); and died during the early years of the reign of Ajatashatru (who was the successor of Bimbisara), thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira , the Jain tirthankara . There is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies, as "Buddhist scholars [...] have mostly given up trying to understand

7420-478: The Pāli Canon . The exact meaning of the term is unknown, but it is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" ( tathā-gata ), "one who has thus come" ( tathā-āgata ), or sometimes "one who has thus not gone" ( tathā-agata ). This is interpreted as signifying that the Tathāgata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena . A tathāgata is "immeasurable", "inscrutable", "hard to fathom", and "not apprehended". A list of other epithets

7560-418: The Shakyas , a tribe of rice-farmers living near the modern border of India and Nepal. His father Śuddhodana was "an elected chief of the Shakya clan ", whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime. The early Buddhist texts contain very little information about the birth and youth of Gotama Buddha. Later biographies developed

7700-472: The Tang dynasty by the monk Zhisheng (699-740). This catalogue provided the main blueprint for the restoration and organization of future canons after the Great Buddhist Persecution in 845 . These early textual developments influenced the compilation of the first printed canon (the Kaibao ) during the Song dynasty, which was completed in 983 and comprised 130,000 woodblocks. This shift from manuscript culture to xylography introduced several changes to

7840-420: The Yogacara school, with the bodhisattva Maitreya. According to traditional accounts, after twelve years of retreat and meditation, Asanga encountered a dying dog and treated his wounds by removing the maggots from the wounds to a piece of Asanga's own flesh. It was only after his act of love and compassion that Asanga had a vision of Maitreya, who turned out to be that very dying dog. Maitreya then took Asanga to

7980-497: The Buddha ( lit.   ' the awakened one ' ), was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia , during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism . According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini , in what is now Nepal , to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy , asceticism , and meditation, he attained nirvana at Bodh Gaya in what

8120-424: The Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara ) and perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the Mahāvastu , over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with

8260-434: The Buddha's birthplace, calling him the Buddha Shakyamuni ‍ ( Brahmi script : 𑀩𑀼𑀥 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀻 Bu-dha Sa-kya-mu-nī , "Buddha, Sage of the Shakyas"). Śākyamuni, Sakyamuni, or Shakyamuni ( Sanskrit : शाक्यमुनि , [ɕaːkjɐmʊnɪ] ) means "Sage of the Shakyas ". Tathāgata ( Pali ; Pali: [tɐˈtʰaːɡɐtɐ] ) is a term the Buddha commonly used when referring to himself or other Buddhas in

8400-415: The Buddha's lifespan even later as 448 – 368 BCE. Most historians in the early 20th century use the earlier dates of 563 – 483 BCE, differing from the long chronology based on Greek evidence by just three years. More recently, there are attempts to put his death midway between the long chronology's 480s BCE and the short chronology's 360s BCE, so circa 410 BCE. At a symposium on this question held in 1988,

8540-531: The Buddha's lifetime is accepted (but he also points out that such a text was originally intended more as hagiography than as an exact historical record of events). John S. Strong sees certain biographical fragments in the canonical texts preserved in Pāli, as well as Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit as the earliest material. These include texts such as the "Discourse on the Noble Quest" ( Ariyapariyesanā-sutta ) and its parallels in other languages. No written records about Gautama were found from his lifetime or from

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8680-430: The Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later, in the Mahayana sutras and later Pali commentaries or texts such as the Mahāvastu . In the Sandaka Sutta , the Buddha's disciple Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing while in the Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta the Buddha himself states that he has never made

8820-445: The Buddha's teachings were "also a response to the historical changes of the time, among which were the emergence of the state and the growth of urban centres". While the Buddhist mendicants renounced society, they lived close to the villages and cities, depending for alms-givings on lay supporters. According to Dyson, the Ganges basin was settled from the north-west and the south-east, as well as from within, "[coming] together in what

8960-422: The Buddha, collections of stories about his past lives known as Jataka tales , and additional discourses, i.e., the Mahayana sutras . Buddhism spread beyond the Indian subcontinent, evolving into a variety of traditions and practices, represented by Theravada and Mahayana. While Buddhism declined in India, and mostly disappeared after the 8th century CE due to a lack of popular and economic support, Buddhism

9100-401: The Buddha, sage of the Śākyas ( Śākyamuni ), was born." According to later biographies such as the Mahavastu and the Lalitavistara , his mother, Maya (Māyādevī), Suddhodana's wife, was a princess from Devdaha , the ancient capital of the Koliya Kingdom (what is now the Rupandehi District of Nepal ). Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that

9240-540: The Buddha, 經 jīng), monastic rule texts (vinaya; 律 lǜ); and scholastic treatises (abhidharma; 阿毘曇 āpítán or 阿毗達磨 āpídámó). Initially these sources were transmitted orally but later they were written down into various manuscript collections. Each of the Indian Buddhist schools had their own canon, which could differ significantly from that of other schools and be in different languages ( prakrits like Gandhari and Pali , as well as classic Sanskrit and Hybrid Sanskrit ). Some schools had extra pitakas or divisions, including

9380-438: The Chinese Buddhist Canon) has fifty-five volumes and 2,184 texts. The main section of the Taishō mostly consists of reprints of the second edition of the Korean ( Koryŏ ) canon. However, some texts which were missing from the Koryŏ canon were added from other sources such as Japanese collections or other Chinese canons. The Taishō also provides scholarly annotations that contain alternate readings from other sources, though it

9520-441: The Chinese Buddhist canon translated into the Manchu language during his reign. This Qing dynasty translation of the canon is known as the Manchu Canon (ch. Qingwen fanyi dazangjing 清文繙譯大藏經, mnc . Manju gisun i ubiliyambuga amba kanjur nomun). The project involved more than 90 scholars working for 20 years. The sutras were translated from the Qianlong edition of the Chinese canon but the Vinaya texts were actually translated from

9660-494: The Chinese Buddhist canon was Song dynasty Kaibao Canon (開寶藏) also known as the Shu-pen (蜀本) or Sichuan edition (since it was printed in Sichuan province ). It was printed on the order of Emperor Taizu of Song (r. 960–976) and the work of printing the whole canon lasted from 971 to 983. The blocks used to print the Kaibao Canon were lost in the fall of the Northern Song capital Kaifeng in 1127 and there are only about twelve fascicles worth of surviving material. However,

9800-491: The Dharma. Chinese Buddhists consider the rotund monk Budai as an emanation of Maitreya in China. Buddhist yogis and scholars, like Dao'an , have also sought to receive visions, teachings, or guidance from Maitreya in this present life. Various stories are recorded of individuals ascending to meet Maitreya (through meditation and samadhi ) or of Maitreya descending to meet them here on earth. The most famous of these revelations in Mahayana Buddhism are five scriptures Maitreya

9940-449: The Dharma. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is termed a bumpa (wisdom urn, ritual vase). According to Jan Nattier , there are four main types of the Maitreya myth which we find throughout the history of Buddhism . The typology is based around when and how a devotee expected to encounter the figure of Maitreya: In all Buddhist traditions, Maitreya is prophesied to be the next Buddha who will arise in this world. He will attain Buddhahood far in

10080-672: The Kaibao formed the basis for future printed versions that do survive intact. Most importantly, the Shu-pen canon (along with later editions like the Liao dynasty edition) was the main source for the Tripitaka Koreana , which in turn was the basis for the modern Taisho edition. The earliest edition of the Korean canon or Tripiṭaka Koreana ( Koryŏ Taejanggyōng 高麗大藏經), also known as the Palman Daejanggyeong (80,000 Tripitaka),

10220-527: The Korean Canon (which follows the organization of Zhisheng 's Kaiyuan Catalogue ) are as follows: The Yongle Northern Tripiṭaka ( yongle beizang 永樂北藏), named after the Yongle Emperor , was the most important canon carved in the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644). It was carved in the new capital of Beijing from 1419 to 1440. The Yongle was one of the first canons to merge all the texts into

10360-461: The Kushan era, when his cult seems to have grown in popularity. In 4th- to 6th-century China, Buddhist artisans saw Shakyamuni and Maitreya as interchangeable, which indicates that the iconography of the two figures were not fully established at an early date. An example is the stone sculpture found in the Qingzhou cache dedicated to Maitreya in 529 CE as recorded in the inscription (currently in

10500-976: The Middle and the Extremes"), Abhisamayalankara ( "Ornament for clear realization"), and the Ratnagotravibhaga (Exposition of the Jeweled lineage). The Chinese tradition meanwhile maintains that the five revealed scriptures are: the Yogācārabhūmi , *Yogavibhāga [now lost] , Mahāyānasūtrālamkārakā , Madhyāntavibhāga and the Vajracchedikākāvyākhyā. Mahayana sources contain various mantras and dharanis of Maitreya. His common name mantra (as taught in Shingon Buddhism ) is: oṃ maitreya svāhā Another Maitreya mantra taught in

10640-758: The Pali Jataka Commentary ( Jātakaṭṭhakathā ) and the Sanskrit Jātakamālā is how the Buddha-to-be had to practice several "perfections" ( pāramitā ) to reach Buddhahood. The Jatakas also sometimes depict negative actions done in previous lives by the bodhisattva, which explain difficulties he experienced in his final life as Gautama. According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini , now in modern-day Nepal, and raised in Kapilavastu . The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu

10780-598: The Pāli suttas have retained very archaic place-names, syntax, and historical data from close to the Buddha's lifetime, including the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta which contains a detailed account of the Buddha's final days. Hinüber proposes a composition date of no later than 350–320 BCE for this text, which would allow for a "true historical memory" of the events approximately 60 years prior if the Short Chronology for

10920-490: The Qingzhou Museum, Shandong ). The religious belief of Maitreya apparently developed around the same time as that of Amitābha , as early as the 3rd century CE. Maitreya is often depicted standing or sitting on a throne. He is often represented as a northern Indian nobleman or prince with a full head of hair, fine flowing robes and jewels. Gandharan style images present him with a distinctive long hair loop folded at

11060-568: The Shakyas"). Another one of his edicts ( Minor Rock Edict No. 3 ) mentions the titles of several Dhamma texts (in Buddhism, "dhamma" is another word for "dharma"), establishing the existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the Maurya era . These texts may be the precursor of the Pāli Canon . "Sakamuni" is also mentioned in a relief of Bharhut , dated to c.  100 BCE , in relation with his illumination and

11200-458: The Taisho have allowed for easier restoration of the original characters as Unicode expanded its base of Chinese characters. Numerous collections of supplemental texts which are not found in the main traditional canonical editions have been published by modern scholars as part of modern collections of the canon or as supplemental volumes. Perhaps the most well known are the supplemental volumes to

11340-574: The Taishō Canon. The supplements are contained in forty-five volumes with 736 other texts. Volumes 56 to 84 (published 1929–1932) contain Japanese Buddhist texts, vol. 85 has Dunhuang texts, volumes 86 to 97 contain illustrations and iconography and volumes 98 to 100 contain catalogs. The use of old catalogues is an important supplement to the study of the Chinese Buddhist canon, its history and lost editions. One well known catalog that

11480-492: The Tibetan canon. The Goryeo canon has been translated in full into modern Korean . The Taisho canon was also translated in full into modern Japanese during the 20th century under the auspices of Takakusu Junjiro and other Japanese Buddhist scholars. Many sutras and treatises have been translated into English by various scholars, but many works remain untranslated into English. In 1965, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (Society for

11620-882: The Tibetan tradition is: oṃ āḥ maitrī sarva siddhi hūṃ Two other mantras from the Chinese canon (in a text translated by Kūkai ) include: Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ aparājite jayanti svāhā Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ ajitaṃjaya sarva-sattva-āśaya-anugata svāhā A popular dharani taught in Tibetan Buddhism is the Incantation of Noble Maitreya's Promise (Ārya-maitri-pratijñā-nāma-dhāraṇī ): Namo ratnatrayāya namo bhagavate śākyamunaye tathāgatāyārhate samyaksaṃbuddhāya. Tadyathā: oṃ ajite ajite aparājite ajitañjaya hara hara maitri avalokite kara kara mahāsamayasiddhe bhara bhara mahābodhimaṇḍabīje smara smara asmākaṃ samaya bodhi bodhi mahābodhi svāhā Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama , most commonly referred to as

11760-552: The World ( Lokanatha ), Lion ( Siha ), Lord of the Dhamma, Of excellent wisdom ( Varapañña ), Radiant One, Torchbearer of mankind, Unsurpassed doctor and surgeon, Victor in battle, and Wielder of power. Another epithet, used at inscriptions throughout South and Southeast Asia, is Maha sramana , "great sramana " (ascetic, renunciate). On the basis of philological evidence, Indologist and Pāli expert Oskar von Hinüber says that some of

11900-641: The ability to conduct a search of the entire database. The digital editions of the canon have also seen further improvements of the texts from previous printed editions. For example, when the Taisho Canon was first printed, many old characters found in the Tripitaka Koreana (the main source of the Taisho) were not available to the original Taisho Canon typesetters , who thus had to choose alternative Chinese characters. The new electronic editions of

12040-585: The basis for electronic editions of the Chinese Buddhist canon. The two main projects currently available online for free are the SAT Daizōkyō Text Database and the Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA). The digitization of these canons became possible with the expansion of Unicode Character encoding standard to include many ancient Chinese characters . These digital editions also contain

12180-429: The bodhisattva goes through many different births (animal and human), is inspired by his meeting of past Buddhas , and then makes a series of resolves or vows ( pranidhana ) to become a Buddha himself. Then he begins to receive predictions by past Buddhas. One of the most popular of these stories is his meeting with Dipankara Buddha , who gives the bodhisattva a prediction of future Buddhahood. Another theme found in

12320-667: The bodhisattva's descent from the Tuṣita Heaven into his mother's womb. The sources which present a complete picture of the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies from a later date. These include the Buddhacarita , Lalitavistara Sūtra , Mahāvastu , and the Nidānakathā . Of these, the Buddhacarita is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by

12460-542: The canon contains further texts including: Furthermore there are more sections for supplementary content by Japanese authors (30 volumes), supplementary sections of extra sutra, vinaya and sastra commentaries, a supplementary section on schools and lineages, a supplementary section for liturgical texts in Siddham script, a section for Dunhuang texts , a section for lost ancient texts, suspected texts and twelve volumes of iconographical content. The Taishō Tripiṭaka became

12600-684: The canon has its own organizational schema, with different divisions for the various types of texts. While the Kaibao Canon is the earliest printed canon (completed c. 983), it is the Zhaocheng Jin Tripitaka , which dates to the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) , that is the earliest Tripitaka collection that survives intact. The Goryeo Tripitaka and the Qianlong Tripitaka are the only collections which have survived as complete woodblock printing sets. The first printed version of

12740-431: The canon is Great Storage of Scriptures ( traditional Chinese : 大藏經 ; simplified Chinese : 大藏经 ; pinyin : Dàzàngjīng ; Japanese : 大蔵経 ; rōmaji : Daizōkyō ; Korean : 대장경 ; romaja : Daejanggyeong ; Vietnamese : Đại tạng kinh ). The Chinese canon is a major source of scriptural and spiritual authority for East Asian Buddhism. It

12880-472: The celestial realm of Tushita and transmitted to him several Buddhist scriptures (the so called "five dharmas of Maitreya"). The Chinese and Tibetan traditions disagree on which scriptures are included in the "Five Dharmas of Maitreya". In the Tibetan tradition, the five texts are: Mahāyānasūtrālamkārakārikā , ("The Adornment of Mahayana sutras"), Dharmadharmatāvibhāga ("Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being"), Madhyāntavibhāgakārikā ("Distinguishing

13020-563: The current regent of the Buddha's Dharma in Tusita. Many Buddhists throughout history have cultivated merit through good deeds in order to be reborn in Tusita and meet Maitreya bodhisattva there in their next life. This may be combined with the wish to descend back down to earth as part of Maitreya's future entourage. Mahayana Buddhists such as Dao'an , Xuanzang , Yjing , and other masters of East Asian Yogacara , have expressed devotion for Maitreya and have sought to be reborn in his pure land ,

13160-626: The different editions of the canon. In the medieval period, several translations of Chinese Buddhist texts were made into other languages by various groups within the Chinese Buddhist sphere of influence. In the modern era, the contents of the Chinese canon were also translated into modern languages like Korean, Japanese and English. From the 11th to the 14th centuries, Uyghur Buddhism thrived especially in Qocho, Beshbaliq and Ganzhou regions. Uyghur Buddhists made many translations into Old Uyghur . Many of these texts have survived. The Mi Tripitaka (蕃大藏經)

13300-419: The flourish of Brahminism, as Greater Magadha . The Buddha's tribe of origin, the Shakyas, seems to have had non-Vedic religious practices which persist in Buddhism, such as the veneration of trees and sacred groves, and the worship of tree spirits (yakkhas) and serpent beings (nagas). They also seem to have built burial mounds called stupas. Tree veneration remains important in Buddhism today, particularly in

13440-462: The future Zoroastrian savior figure of the Saoshyant . However, David Alan Scott points out numerous differences in their artistic portrayals (even in the same geographic region) and discrepancies which make this direct link unlikely. He specifically points out the very ancient Buddhist roots of Maitreya in the earliest Buddhist texts . Scott does point out that both deities are personifications of

13580-407: The future (proximally 2000 years from now - 5000 years after Sakyamuni's Parinirvana). Since attaining enlightenment is thought to be much more likely while studying under a living Buddha, many Buddhists have hoped to meet Maitreya and train under him. As Buddhist studies scholar Alan Spongberg writes, Maitreya "came to represent a hope for the future, a time when all human beings could once again enjoy

13720-460: The future. All gave similar predictions. Kondañña , the youngest, and later to be the first arhat other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha . Chinese Buddhist canon The Chinese Buddhist canon refers to a specific collection of Chinese Buddhist literature which contains the main canonical scriptures of East Asian Buddhism . The traditional term for

13860-479: The historical person." The earliest versions of Buddhist biographical texts that we have already contain many supernatural, mythical, or legendary elements. In the 19th century, some scholars simply omitted these from their accounts of the life, so that "the image projected was of a Buddha who was a rational, socratic teacher—a great person perhaps, but a more or less ordinary human being". More recent scholars tend to see such demythologisers as remythologisers, "creating

14000-598: The history of the Chinese Buddhist Canon can be divided into four main periods: the handwriting era (from the Han up to the 10th century), the era of woodblock printing (beginning in the Song era with the Kaibao edition of the 10th century), the era of modern printing , and the digital era . From the Han to the Song dynasty era, many translations were made and made new texts were also composed in China. During

14140-400: The human lifespan will also decline. There will be war, sickness and famine. The Buddha's Dharma will then be lost. After some time, the world will begin to improve again, and human lifespans will begin to increase. It is at the peak of this rise in goodness in the far future that Maitreya will arrive. As such, in the traditional Buddhist view, first there will be a period of decline, followed by

14280-438: The lifetime of the Buddha. The "long chronology", from Sri Lankese chronicles, states the Buddha was born 298 years before Asoka 's coronation and died 218 years before the coronation, thus a lifespan of about 80 years. According to these chronicles, Asoka was crowned in 326 BCE, which gives Buddha's lifespan as 624 – 544 BCE, and are the accepted dates in Sri Lanka and South-East Asia. Alternatively, most scholars who also accept

14420-492: The long chronology but date Asoka's coronation around 268 BCE (based on Greek evidence) put the Buddha's lifespan later at 566 – 486 BCE. However, the "short chronology", from Indian sources and their Chinese and Tibetan translations, place the Buddha's birth at 180 years before Asoka's coronation and death 100 years before the coronation, still about 80 years. Following the Greek sources of Asoka's coronation as 268 BCE, this dates

14560-473: The majority of those who presented gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not been accepted by all historians. The dating of Bimbisara and Ajatashatru also depends on the long or short chronology. In the long chrononology, Bimbisara reigned c.  558  – c.  492 BCE , and died 492 BCE, while Ajatashatru reigned c.  492  – c.  460 BCE . In

14700-570: The modern era, and are seen as accurate sources for the classic Chinese Buddhist Canon. Today, the woodblocks are stored at the Haeinsa temple, in South Korea . The main texts in this canon are divided into main sections: a Mahāyāna Tripiṭaka and a Hīnayāna Tripiṭaka, each one having the three classic sub-divisions of Sūtra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma. There are also supplementary sections with texts of East Asian provenance. The contents of

14840-516: The names of printers and binders. Some editions also included illustrations of various scenes, such as Buddha assemblies from specific sutras and landscapes. Various types of paper were used for the canons, many of them being made from mulberry and hemp , while woodblocks were made from pear wood or jujube wood. After printing, a canon would be stored in special cabinets produced for storing canonical texts. These huge cabinets were called "tripitaka cabinets" and were of different designs, including

14980-508: The names of their house priests. While the term Buddha is used in the Agamas and the Pali Canon, the oldest surviving written records of the term Buddha is from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, when several Edicts of Ashoka (reigned c.  269 –232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism. Ashoka 's Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to Lumbini as

15120-415: The net of the passions, they will manage to enter into trances, and theirs will be an abundance of joy and happiness, for they will lead a holy life under Maitreya's guidance. Thus, many Buddhists throughout history have sought to develop the necessary merit to meet Maitreya on Earth during the life of his final Buddhahood. This includes many Theravada Buddhists. One famous Theravadin who expressed this wish

15260-513: The next 180,000 years. According to the commentary of Anāgatavamsa, his teaching will last for 360,000 years. Buddhists believe that Maitreya is currently a spiritually advanced bodhisattva (a being who is practicing the path towards full Buddhahood ) in Tuṣita heaven where he will remain until it is the right time for him to descend to earth to attain Buddhahood. Maitreya currently resides in

15400-491: The one or two centuries thereafter. But from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, several Edicts of Ashoka (reigned c. 268 to 232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism. Particularly, Ashoka 's Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to Lumbini as the Buddha's birthplace, calling him the Buddha Shakyamuni ( Brahmi script : 𑀩𑀼𑀥 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀻 Bu-dha Sa-kya-mu-nī , "Buddha, Sage of

15540-501: The palace at the center of Tuṣita. One Theravada example is the legend of the monk Malaya-Mahadeva, who is said to have traveled to Tushita and met Maitreya according to the 11th century Rasavāhinī . Modern figures like Xuyun , and Taixu  have also expressed the wish to meet Maitreya in Tushita. Maitreya is also believed by Buddhists to manifest "emanation bodies" ( nirmanakayas ) on earth in order to aid living beings and teach

15680-585: The passing of Shakyamuni. According to some accounts, Mahakasyapa will then hand Shayamuni's robe to Maitreya. Buddhist texts from several traditions say that beings in Maitreya's time will be much bigger than during the time of Sakyamuni. To these gigantic beings, Buddha's robe barely covers two fingers and a modern human appears insect sized. Some sources state that Maitreya will be 88 cubits (132 feet, 40 meters) tall and will live for 88,000 years. Like Maṅgala Buddha , his rays will make people hard to distinguish between day and night. His teachings will preserve for

15820-854: The physical layout and other material aspects of the new printed canons. One of these changes was the use of the Thousand Character Classic for a library classification system. Each text was assigned a character from this classic work which was widely memorized by school children and thus known by all educated persons. Regarding physical aspects, while the Kaibao canon came in scrolls made from several sheets of paper pasted together, later editions were packaged in different styles such as accordion folding books and string bound books (called "Indian style" since it imitated Indian manuscripts). Texts were also preceded or closed by prefaces and colophons that contained information such as titles, text origin, printing date, sponsors, and even

15960-477: The poet Aśvaghoṣa in the first century CE. The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna / Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE. The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled

16100-490: The practice of venerating Bodhi trees. Likewise, yakkas and nagas have remained important figures in Buddhist religious practices and mythology. The Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of influential śramaṇa schools of thought like Ājīvika , Cārvāka , Jainism , and Ajñana . The Brahmajala Sutta records sixty-two such schools of thought. In this context, a śramaṇa refers to one who labours, toils or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious purpose). It

16240-509: The reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1738 CE). The edition comes in 7,173 volumes and survives in complete woodblocks. It is the last canon printed in the traditional style (without any punctuation or modern typography ) and the best preserved of the classic Chinese Tripitakas in China. The Taishō Tripiṭaka ( taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經) is one of the most influential modern editions, being widely used by modern scholars. It

16380-441: The sceptic. The Pāli canon frequently depicts Buddha engaging in debate with the adherents of rival schools of thought. There is philological evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Rāmaputta , were historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques. Thus, Buddha was just one of the many śramaṇa philosophers of that time. In an era where holiness of person

16520-423: The short chronology Bimbisara reigned c.  400 BCE , while Ajatashatru died between c.  380 BCE and 330 BCE. According to historian K. T. S. Sarao , a proponent of the Short Chronology wherein the Buddha's lifespan was c.477–397 BCE, it can be estimated that Bimbisara was reigning c.457–405 BCE, and Ajatashatru was reigning c.405–373 BCE. According to the Buddhist tradition, Shakyamuni Buddha

16660-478: The so-called Library Cave (Cave 17). These finds have been influential on modern East Asian Buddhist scholarship and are an important supplement to the study of East Asian Buddhist texts found in the main canonical collections. The Dunhuang texts have been published by different modern scholarly projects. The Chinese Manuscripts in the Tripitaka Sinica (中華大藏經–漢文部份 Zhonghua Dazangjing: Hanwen bufen ),

16800-495: The social stratification of Brahmanism, and their egalitarism prevailed in the cities of the middle Ganges basin. This "allowed Jains and Buddhists to engage in trade more easily than Brahmans, who were forced to follow strict caste prohibitions." In the earliest Buddhist texts, the nikāyas and āgamas , the Buddha is not depicted as possessing omniscience ( sabbaññu ) nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent ( lokottara ) being. According to Bhikkhu Analayo , ideas of

16940-404: The spiritual and physical environment most favorable to enlightenment and the release from worldly suffering." The Maitreya legend has provided a positive view of the future for all Buddhist cultures, who have adapted and expressed the prophetic myth in different ways. According to Buddhist tradition, each kalpa (a cosmic period lasting millions of years) has several Buddhas . The previous kalpa

17080-515: The teachings of Gautama Buddha have been disregarded or largely forgotten. Despite many religious figures and spiritual leaders claiming to be Maitreya throughout history, diverse Buddhist sects insist that these are false claims, while underscoring that Maitreya has yet to appear as a Buddha (since the Buddha's teachings have not been forgotten yet). Traditional Buddhists believe that Maitreya currently resides in Tushita heaven. However, Maitreya

17220-514: The term in fact covers the language of thousands of texts, both those translated from Sanskrit and other languages, and those written originally in Chinese. The texts are also in a large number of different genres, and were produced over a period of nearly two thousand years. This vast corpus includes texts in a kind of ‘translationese’, influenced by the vocabulary and grammar of the original languages from which they were translated, texts written throughout in an elegant Wenyan style, and texts containing

17360-457: The texts of the Chinese canon were translated by various figures from different source texts (in different forms of Sanskrit and prakrit). This process happened over several centuries and thus the various texts of the Chinese canon reflect different translation styles and philosophies. According to a Yuan dynasty catalogue, there were about 194 known translators who worked on about 1,440 texts in 5,580 fascicles (juans). According to Darui Long,

17500-622: The title Buddha , which means 'Awakened One' or 'Enlightened One'. His teachings were compiled by the Buddhist community in the Vinaya , his codes for monastic practice, and the Sutta Piṭaka , a compilation of teachings based on his discourses. These were passed down in Middle Indo-Aryan dialects through an oral tradition . Later generations composed additional texts, such as systematic treatises known as Abhidharma , biographies of

17640-461: The top of the head. Maitreya is often depicted carrying a vase or bottle ( kamaṇḍalu ), an element which goes back to the Gandharan sculptures and which he shares with depictions of the deity Brahma (along with the hair loop). Because of this, some scholars argue that the water bottle and hair loop are symbols of his brahminical origins, and indeed, some stories depict Maitreya as being born to

17780-400: The torrents of their cravings will be cut off: free from all misery they will manage to cross the ocean of becoming; and, as a result of Maitreya's teachings, they will lead a holy life. No longer will they regard anything as their own, they will have no possession, no gold or silver, no home, no relatives! But they will lead the holy life of oneness under Maitreya's guidance. They will have torn

17920-698: The virtue of friendship , so they do have that in common ( maitrī ). There are many Mahāyāna sūtras which describe and discuss the bodhisattva Maitreya. He appears as a supporting character in several important Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Lotus Sutra , Vimalakirti Sutra , the Golden Light , the King of Samadhis Sutra , and the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines . In

18060-469: The world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma". As noted by Andrew Skilton, the Buddha was often described as being superhuman, including descriptions of him having the 32 major and 80 minor marks of a "great man", and the idea that the Buddha could live for as long as an aeon if he wished (see DN 16). The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing

18200-520: Was Gautama (Pali: Gotama). His given name, "Siddhārtha" (the Sanskrit form; the Pali rendering is "Siddhattha"; in Tibetan it is "Don grub"; in Chinese "Xidaduo"; in Japanese "Shiddatta/Shittatta"; in Korean "Siltalta") means "He Who Achieves His Goal". The clan name of Gautama means "descendant of Gotama", "Gotama" meaning "one who has the most light", and comes from the fact that Kshatriya clans adopted

18340-723: Was a Shakya , a sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The Shakya community was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. The community, though describable as a small republic, was probably an oligarchy , with his father as the elected chieftain or oligarch. The Shakyas were widely considered to be non- Vedic (and, hence impure) in Brahminic texts; their origins remain speculative and debated. Bronkhorst terms this culture, which grew alongside Aryavarta without being affected by

18480-474: Was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahavira , Pūraṇa Kassapa , Makkhali Gosāla , Ajita Kesakambalī , Pakudha Kaccāyana , and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta , as recorded in Samaññaphala Sutta , with whose viewpoints the Buddha must have been acquainted. Śāriputra and Moggallāna , two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta,

18620-583: Was as follows: This canon was also influential outside of China, as it was re-printed in Japan under the auspices of Tetsugen Doko (1630–1682), a renowned master of the Ōbaku school . The Qianlong Dazangjing (乾隆大藏經) also known as the Longzang (龍藏 “Dragon Store”) or the "Qing Tripitaka" was produced in Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) between the 13th year of Yongzheng (1735 CE) and the third year of

18760-512: Was excellent and the layout such that all the characters appeared in large size. The blocks measured two feet three inches in length and nearly ten inches in width and more than an inch in thickness. A very hard and durable wood from the Betula schmidtii regal tree (known as Paktal in Korean), gathered on the islands off the coast, was used." These woodblocks were kept in good condition until

18900-540: Was first carved in the 11th century during the Goryeo period (918–1392). The first edition was completely destroyed by the Mongols in 1232 and thus a second set was carved from 1236 to 1251 during the reign of Gojong (1192–1259). This second Korean canon was carved into 81,258 woodblocks . According to Lewis R. Lancaster "each was carved on both sides with twenty-three lines of fourteen characters each. The calligraphy

19040-589: Was judged by their level of asceticism, Buddha was a reformist within the śramaṇa movement, rather than a reactionary against Vedic Brahminism. Coningham and Young note that both Jains and Buddhists used stupas, while tree shrines can be found in both Buddhism and Hinduism. The rise of Buddhism coincided with the Second Urbanisation , in which the Ganges Basin was settled and cities grew, in which egalitarianism prevailed. According to Thapar,

19180-505: Was not a true critical edition of the Chinese canon. It also contained punctuation marks not found in the earlier canons, though they are often mistaken. The Taisho canon was also revolutionary in the way it organized the canonical texts. It abandoned the traditional canonical schemas of organization which date back to the Kaiyuan catalogue. Instead, the Taisho was organized into the following categories: The Supplementary section of

19320-505: Was published by Japanese scholars who worked in Japan from 1924 to 1929. Named after the Taishō era of Japanese history, a modern standardized edition was published in Tokyo between 1924 and 1934 in 100 volumes. It is one of the first editions of the canon with modern punctuation and also scholarly notes. The main section of the Taishō (the section that contains the traditional contents of

19460-412: Was the vyuhakalpa (glorious aeon), and the present kalpa is called the bhadrakalpa (auspicious aeon). The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity ( saptatathāgata ) are seven Buddhas which bridge the last kalpa and the present kalpa, they begin with Vipassī and end (so far) with Gautama (Shakyamuni). Maitreya is thus the eighth Buddha in this line. According to traditional Buddhist sources Maitreya's advent

19600-640: Was the Sinhalese king Duṭṭhagāmaṇī . In Mahayana Buddhism, Buddhas preside over pure lands , such as Sukhavati . Once Maitreya becomes a Buddha, he will rule over the Ketumati pure land, an earthly paradise sometimes associated with the city of Varanasi (also known as Benares) in Uttar Pradesh , India, and in other descriptions, the kingdom of Shambhala . Various Buddhist sources give details about Maitreya's birth, family and country. According to

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