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72-703: It was named after the 7th-century regent Shōtoku . Shō ( Go'on reading) can also be read sei ( Kan’on reading); the latter was chosen for this school. 35°47′0.1″N 139°54′17.6″E  /  35.783361°N 139.904889°E  / 35.783361; 139.904889 This article on a Chiba Prefecture institute of higher education or related topic is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Prince Sh%C5%8Dtoku Prince Shōtoku ( 聖徳太子 , Shōtoku Taishi , February 7, 574 – April 8, 622 ) , also known as Prince Umayado ( 厩戸皇子 , Umayado no ōjî, Umayado no miko ) or Prince Kamitsumiya ( 上宮皇子 , Kamitsumiya no ōji, Kamitsumiya no miko ) ,

144-406: A bamboo? Alas! For The wayfarer lying And hungered for rice! The second day, Shōtoku sent a messenger to the starving man, but he was already dead. Hereupon, he was greatly grieved and ordered his burial. Shōtoku later thought the man was no ordinary man for sure, and sending another messenger, discovered the earth had not been disturbed. On opening the tomb there was no body inside, and

216-644: A body of teachings incorporating esoteric tantric techniques, may be viewed as a separate branch or tradition within Mahāyāna. The Theravāda branch has a widespread following in Sri Lanka as well as in Southeast Asia, namely Myanmar , Thailand , Laos , and Cambodia . The Mahāyāna branch—which includes the East Asian traditions of Tiantai , Chan , Pure Land , Zen , Nichiren , and Tendai  

288-633: A major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of development which leads to awakening and full liberation from dukkha ( lit.   ' suffering or unease ' ). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes such as asceticism or sensual indulgence. Teaching that dukkha arises alongside attachment or clinging ,

360-537: A phenomenon known as Greco-Buddhism . An example of this is evidenced in Chinese and Pali Buddhist records, such as Milindapanha and the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra . The Milindapanha describes a conversation between a Buddhist monk and the 2nd-century BCE Greek king Menander , after which Menander abdicates and himself goes into monastic life in the pursuit of nirvana. Some scholars have questioned

432-497: Is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha , a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE . It is the world's fourth-largest religion , with over 520 million followers, known as Buddhists , who comprise seven percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played

504-607: Is found in Seitoku University and its associated junior college (both in Matsudo, Chiba ) as well as Tokyo's defunct Seitoku Junior College of Nutrition (and indirectly its replacement Seiei College ). The portrait of Prince Shōtoku has appeared on 100 , 1,000 , 5,000 and 10,000 yen bills. Two bills made with different types of materials and special inks with a face value of 100,000,000 (one hundred million yen) were also issued. The characteristic of these bills

576-597: Is known by several titles, although his real name is Prince Umayado ( 厩戸皇子 , Umayado no ōji , literally ‘the prince of the stable door’) since he was born in front of a stable. He is also known as Toyosatomimi ( 豊聡耳 ) or Kamitsumiyaō ( 上宮王 ) . He is also known for bearing the Sanskrit Dharma name Bhavyaśīla which was awarded to him by Bodhidharma. In the Kojiki , his name appears as Kamitsumiya no Umayado no Toyosatomimi no Mikoto ( 上宮之厩戸豊聡耳命 ) . In

648-633: Is predominantly practised in Nepal , Bhutan , China , Malaysia , Vietnam , Taiwan , Korea , and Japan . Tibetan Buddhism , a form of Vajrayāna , is practised in the Himalayan states as well as in Mongolia and Russian Kalmykia . Japanese Shingon also preserves the Vajrayana tradition as transmitted to China . Historically, until the early 2nd millennium , Buddhism was widely practiced in

720-400: Is scholarly disagreement on whether insight was seen as liberating in early Buddhism or whether it was a later addition to the practice of the four jhānas . Scholars such as Bronkhorst also think that the four noble truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight". According to Vetter, the description of

792-640: Is shown by a large increase in epigraphic and manuscript evidence in this period. However, it still remained a minority in comparison to other Buddhist schools. Mahāyāna Buddhist institutions continued to grow in influence during the following centuries, with large monastic university complexes such as Nalanda (established by the 5th-century CE Gupta emperor, Kumaragupta I ) and Vikramashila (established under Dharmapala c.  783 to 820) becoming quite powerful and influential. During this period of Late Mahāyāna, four major types of thought developed: Mādhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddha-nature ( Tathāgatagarbha ), and

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864-542: Is that they have a border around it to prevent its alteration. As characteristics, it has a seal and figures in different positions starting from the middle outwards. The measurements of these 2 issues of bills are 35.3 cm x 16 cm and the other with a small variation of 34.3 by 16.5 cm. These cloth tickets were used for the exchange of important values. Buddhism Buddhism ( / ˈ b ʊ d ɪ z əm / BUUD -ih-zəm , US also / ˈ b uː d -/ BOOD - ), also known as Buddha Dharma ,

936-461: Is translated as "The world is vain and illusory, and the Buddha's realm alone is true." In his correspondence with Emperor Yang of Sui , Shōtoku's letter contains the earliest known written instance in which the Japanese archipelago is referred to by a term meaning "land of the rising sun." The Sui Emperor had dispatched a message in 605 that said, "the sovereign of Sui respectfully inquires about

1008-474: Is vast, with many different textual collections in different languages (such as Sanskrit , Pali , Tibetan , and Chinese ). Buddhist schools vary in their interpretation of the paths to liberation ( mārga ) as well as the relative importance and "canonicity" assigned to various Buddhist texts , and their specific teachings and practices. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravāda ( lit.   ' School of

1080-857: The Nihon Shoki , in addition to Umayado no ōji , he is referred to as Toyosamimi Shōtoku (豊聡耳聖徳), Toyosatomimi no Nori no Ōkami (豊聡耳法大王), and simply Nori no Ushi no Ōkami (法主王). The name by which he is best known today, Prince Shōtoku , first appeared in Kaifūsō , written more than 100 years after his death in 622 AD. A number of institutes are named after Shōtoku, such as Shotoku Gakuen University and its associated junior college (both in Gifu ). The first syllable of his name (聖), can be read shō in Go-on and can also be read sei in Kan-on . The later reading

1152-838: The Dharmaguptaka school. The Islamic conquest of the Iranian Plateau in the 7th-century, followed by the Muslim conquests of Afghanistan and the later establishment of the Ghaznavid kingdom with Islam as the state religion in Central Asia between the 10th- and 12th-century led to the decline and disappearance of Buddhism from most of these regions. The origins of Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") Buddhism are not well understood and there are various competing theories about how and where this movement arose. Theories include

1224-695: The Milindapanha version, expressing doubts whether Menander was Buddhist or just favourably disposed to Buddhist monks. The Kushan empire (30–375 CE) came to control the Silk Road trade through Central and South Asia, which brought them to interact with Gandharan Buddhism and the Buddhist institutions of these regions. The Kushans patronised Buddhism throughout their lands, and many Buddhist centres were built or renovated (the Sarvastivada school

1296-469: The Pali canon . The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods: Early Buddhism (occasionally called pre-sectarian Buddhism ), Nikaya Buddhism or Sectarian Buddhism (the period of the early Buddhist schools), Early Mahayana Buddhism , Late Mahayana, and the era of Vajrayana or the "Tantric Age". According to Lambert Schmithausen Pre-sectarian Buddhism is "the canonical period prior to

1368-682: The Tarim Basin . The first documented Buddhist texts translated into Chinese are those of the Parthian An Shigao (148–180 CE). The first known Mahāyāna scriptural texts are translations into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema in Luoyang , between 178 and 189 CE. From China, Buddhism was introduced into its neighbours Korea (4th century), Japan (6th–7th centuries), and Vietnam ( c.  1st –2nd centuries). During

1440-565: The Theravada tradition had not established any deities, but were epistemologically cautious rather than directly atheist . Later Buddhist traditions were more influenced by the critique of deities within Hinduism and therefore more committed to a strongly atheist stance. These developments were historic and epistemological as documented in verses from Śāntideva 's Bodhicaryāvatāra , and supplemented by reference to suttas and jātakas from

1512-589: The epistemological tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakirti . According to Dan Lusthaus , Mādhyamaka and Yogācāra have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early Buddhism. During the Gupta period (4th–6th centuries) and the empire of Harṣavardana ( c.  590 –647 CE), Buddhism continued to be influential in India, and large Buddhist learning institutions such as Nalanda and Valabahi Universities were at their peak. Buddhism also flourished under

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1584-598: The Śramaṇa traditions. New ideas developed both in the Vedic tradition in the form of the Upanishads, and outside of the Vedic tradition through the Śramaṇa movements. The term Śramaṇa refers to several Indian religious movements parallel to but separate from the historical Vedic religion , including Buddhism, Jainism and others such as Ājīvika . Several Śramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before

1656-515: The 1200s. The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to China is most commonly thought to have started in the late 2nd or the 1st century CE, though the literary sources are all open to question. The first documented translation efforts by foreign Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory of

1728-561: The 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre- Mahavira ), and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy . According to Martin Wilshire, the Śramaṇa tradition evolved in India over two phases, namely Paccekabuddha and Savaka phases, the former being the tradition of individual ascetic and the latter of disciples, and that Buddhism and Jainism ultimately emerged from these. Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical ascetic groups shared and used several similar ideas, but

1800-683: The Bhairava Vidyapitha tantras. Ronald M. Davidson meanwhile, argues that Sanderson's claims for direct influence from Shaiva Vidyapitha texts are problematic because "the chronology of the Vidyapitha tantras is by no means so well established" and that the Shaiva tradition also appropriated non-Hindu deities, texts and traditions. Thus while "there can be no question that the Buddhist tantras were heavily influenced by Kapalika and other Saiva movements" argues Davidson, "the influence

1872-631: The Buddha advised meditation practices and ethical precepts rooted in non-harming . Widely observed teachings include the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , and the doctrines of dependent origination , karma , and the three marks of existence . Other commonly observed elements include the Triple Gem , the taking of monastic vows , and the cultivation of perfections ( pāramitā ). The Buddhist canon

1944-484: The Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path. According to numerous Buddhist scriptures, soon after the parinirvāṇa (from Sanskrit: "highest extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held to collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no errors occurred in oral transmission. Many modern scholars question

2016-514: The Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907), Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was introduced from India and Chan Buddhism (Zen) became a major religion. Chan continued to grow in the Song dynasty (960–1279) and it was during this era that it strongly influenced Korean Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism also became popular during this period and was often practised together with Chan. It

2088-663: The Elders ' ) and Mahāyāna ( lit.   ' Great Vehicle ' ). The Theravada tradition emphasizes the attainment of nirvāṇa ( lit.   ' extinguishing ' ) as a means of transcending the individual self and ending the cycle of death and rebirth ( saṃsāra ), while the Mahayana tradition emphasizes the Bodhisattva ideal , in which one works for the liberation of all sentient beings. Additionally, Vajrayāna ( lit.   ' Indestructible Vehicle ' ),

2160-732: The Indian subcontinent before declining there ; it also had a foothold to some extent elsewhere in Asia, namely Afghanistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , and Tajikistan . The names Buddha Dharma and Bauddha Dharma come from Sanskrit : बुद्ध धर्म and बौद्ध धर्म respectively ("doctrine of the Enlightened One" and "doctrine of Buddhists"). The term Dharmavinaya comes from Sanskrit: धर्मविनय , literally meaning "doctrines [and] disciplines". The Buddha ("the Awakened One")

2232-505: The Prince's purple garment lay folded on the coffin. The Prince then sent another messenger to claim the garment, and he continued to wear it just as before. Struck by awe, the people praised the Prince: "How true it is that a sage knoweth a sage." This legend is linked with the temple of Daruma-ji in Ōji, Nara , where a stone stupa was found underground, which is exceedingly rare. Shōtoku

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2304-609: The Theravada Majjhima Nikaya and Sarvastivada Madhyama Agama contain mostly the same major doctrines. Richard Salomon , in his study of the Gandharan texts (which are the earliest manuscripts containing early discourses), has confirmed that their teachings are "consistent with non-Mahayana Buddhism, which survives today in the Theravada school of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, but which in ancient times

2376-529: The Vinaya (monastic rule), and this caused a split with the conservatives who rejected this change, they were called Mahāsāṃghikas . While most scholars accept that this happened at some point, there is no agreement on the dating, especially if it dates to before or after the reign of Ashoka. Buddhism may have spread only slowly throughout India until the time of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (304–232 BCE), who

2448-464: The age of 80 in Kushinagar , India. The Buddha's teachings were propagated by his followers, which in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE became various Buddhist schools of thought , each with its own basket of texts containing different interpretations and authentic teachings of the Buddha; these over time evolved into many traditions of which the more well known and widespread in

2520-759: The ancient religion Jainism , is also claimed to be ksatriya by his early followers. ) According to early texts such as the Pali Ariyapariyesanā-sutta ("The discourse on the noble quest", MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at MĀ 204, Gautama was moved by the suffering ( dukkha ) of life and death, and its endless repetition due to rebirth . He thus set out on a quest to find liberation from suffering (also known as " nirvana "). Early texts and biographies state that Gautama first studied under two teachers of meditation, namely Āḷāra Kālāma (Sanskrit: Arada Kalama) and Uddaka Ramaputta (Sanskrit: Udraka Ramaputra), learning meditation and philosophy, particularly

2592-709: The authorship of the Sangyō Gisho or "Annotated Commentaries on the Three Sutras" (the Lotus Sutra , the Vimalakirti Sutra , and the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra ). The first of these commentaries, Hokke Gisho , is traditionally dated to 615 and thus regarded as "the first Japanese text", in turn making Shōtoku the first known Japanese writer. In the late 6th century, Shōtoku led an enormous national project to promote Buddhism and he commissioned

2664-608: The construction of Shitennō-ji . The Buddhist temple was built in Settsu Province (present-day Osaka ) after his military victory against the powerful Mononobe clan , for he is said to have summoned them to crush his enemies. Shōtoku's name has been linked with Hōryū-ji , a temple in Yamato Province , and numerous other temples in the Kansai region . Documentation at Hōryū-ji claims that Suiko and Shōtoku founded

2736-467: The development of different schools with their different positions". The early Buddhist Texts include the four principal Pali Nikāyas (and their parallel Agamas found in the Chinese canon) together with the main body of monastic rules, which survive in the various versions of the patimokkha . However, these texts were revised over time, and it is unclear what constitutes the earliest layer of Buddhist teachings. One method to obtain information on

2808-625: The earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to include the first versions of the Prajnaparamita series, along with texts concerning Akṣobhya , which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India. There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, with a separate monastic code (Vinaya), but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas. Records written by Chinese monks visiting India indicate that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks could be found in

2880-600: The early texts, which has led most scholars to conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , Nirvana , the three marks of existence , the five aggregates , dependent origination , karma and rebirth . According to N. Ross Reat, all of these doctrines are shared by the Theravada Pali texts and the Mahasamghika school's Śālistamba Sūtra . A recent study by Bhikkhu Analayo concludes that

2952-558: The ending of the mental defilements ( asavas ), the ending of suffering, and the end of rebirth in saṃsāra . This event also brought certainty about the Middle Way as the right path of spiritual practice to end suffering. As a fully enlightened Buddha , he attracted followers and founded a Sangha (monastic order). He spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma he had discovered, and then died, achieving " final nirvana ", at

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3024-456: The guise of a starving beggar. The Prince asked the beggar to identify himself, but the man did not reply. Instead of going ahead, Shōtoku gave him food, drink, and covered him with his purple garment, telling him to "lie in peace". Shōtoku then sang for the starving man. Alas! For The wayfarer lying And hungered for rice On the hill of Kataoka (The sunshiny) Art thou become Parentless? Hast thou no lord Flourishing as

3096-497: The historicity of this event. However, Richard Gombrich states that the monastic assembly recitations of the Buddha's teaching likely began during Buddha's lifetime, and they served a similar role of codifying the teachings. The so called Second Buddhist council resulted in the first schism in the Sangha . Modern scholars believe that this was probably caused when a group of reformists called Sthaviras ("elders") sought to modify

3168-434: The idea that it began as various groups venerating certain texts or that it arose as a strict forest ascetic movement. The first Mahāyāna works were written sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahāyāna comes from early Chinese translations of Mahāyāna texts, mainly those of Lokakṣema . (2nd century CE). Some scholars have traditionally considered

3240-710: The life and accomplishments of Prince Shōtoku comes from the Nihon Shoki . The Prince is renowned for modernizing the government administration and for promoting Buddhism in Japan. He also had two different families that fought over his custody. Over successive generations, a devotional cult arose around the figure of Prince Shōtoku for the protection of Japan, the Imperial Family, and for Buddhism . Key religious figures such as Saichō , Shinran and others claimed inspiration or visions attributed to Prince Shōtoku. Parents Wives According to tradition, Shōtoku

3312-621: The maintenance of a political state during succession and wars to resist invasion. During the Middle Ages, Buddhism slowly declined in India, while it vanished from Persia and Central Asia as Islam became the state religion. The Theravada school arrived in Sri Lanka sometime in the 3rd century BCE. Sri Lanka became a base for its later spread to Southeast Asia after the 5th century CE ( Myanmar , Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand , Cambodia and coastal Vietnam ). Theravada Buddhism

3384-412: The meditative attainment of "the sphere of nothingness" from the former, and "the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception" from the latter. Finding these teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of severe asceticism , which included a strict fasting regime and various forms of breath control . This too fell short of attaining his goal, and then he turned to

3456-587: The meditative practice of dhyana . He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree—now called the Bodhi Tree —in the town of Bodh Gaya and attained "Awakening" ( Bodhi ). According to various early texts like the Mahāsaccaka-sutta, and the Samaññaphala Sutta , on awakening, the Buddha gained insight into the workings of karma and his former lives, as well as achieving

3528-484: The modern era are Theravada , Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Iron Age India around the middle of the first millennium BCE. This was a period of great intellectual ferment and socio-cultural change known as the "Second urbanisation" , marked by the growth of towns and trade, the composition of the Upanishads and the historical emergence of

3600-596: The oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pāli Canon and other texts. The reliability of the early sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies. According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished: According to Mitchell, certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout

3672-627: The origins of early Vajrayana has been taken up by various scholars. David Seyfort Ruegg has suggested that Buddhist tantra employed various elements of a "pan-Indian religious substrate" which is not specifically Buddhist, Shaiva or Vaishnava. According to Indologist Alexis Sanderson , various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism . Sanderson has argued that Buddhist tantras can be shown to have borrowed practices, terms, rituals and more form Shaiva tantras. He argues that Buddhist texts even directly copied various Shaiva tantras, especially

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3744-656: The precise dates are uncertain, although the 5th century BCE seems to be the best estimate. Early texts have the Buddha's family name as "Gautama" (Pali: Gotama), while some texts give Siddhartha as his surname. He was born in Lumbini , present-day Nepal and grew up in Kapilavastu , a town in the Ganges Plain , near the modern Nepal–India border, and he spent his life in what is now modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh . Some hagiographic legends state that his father

3816-402: The same monasteries, with the difference that Mahāyāna monks worshipped figures of Bodhisattvas, while non-Mahayana monks did not. Mahāyāna initially seems to have remained a small minority movement that was in tension with other Buddhist groups, struggling for wider acceptance. However, during the fifth and sixth centuries CE, there seems to have been a rapid growth of Mahāyāna Buddhism, which

3888-603: The schisms, each Saṅgha started to accumulate their own version of Tripiṭaka (triple basket of texts). In their Tripiṭaka, each school included the Suttas of the Buddha, a Vinaya basket (disciplinary code) and some schools also added an Abhidharma basket which were texts on detailed scholastic classification, summary and interpretation of the Suttas. The doctrine details in the Abhidharmas of various Buddhist schools differ significantly, and these were composed starting about

3960-467: The society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts. Various details about the Buddha's background are contested in modern scholarship. For example, Buddhist texts assert that Buddha described himself as a kshatriya (warrior class), but Gombrich writes that little is known about his father and there is no proof that his father even knew the term kshatriya . ( Mahavira , whose teachings helped establish

4032-517: The sovereign of Wa ," and Shōtoku responded by sponsoring a mission led by Ono no Imoko in 607, who brought along a note reading: "From the sovereign of the land of the rising sun ( hi izuru tokoro ) to the sovereign of the land of the setting sun." He is said to have been buried at Shinaga in Kawachi Province (modern Osaka Prefecture ). A legend claims that when Bodhidharma came to Japan, he met with Prince Shōtoku whilst under

4104-651: The support of the Pāla Empire (8th–12th centuries). Under the Guptas and Palas, Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana developed and rose to prominence. It promoted new practices such as the use of mantras , dharanis , mudras , mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas and developed a new class of literature, the Buddhist Tantras . This new esoteric form of Buddhism can be traced back to groups of wandering yogi magicians called mahasiddhas . The question of

4176-506: The temple in the year 607. Archaeological excavations in 1939 have confirmed that Prince Shōtoku's palace, the Ikaruga no miya (斑鳩宮), stood in the eastern part of the current temple complex, where the Tō-in ( 東院 ) sits today. Despite being credited as the founder of Japanese Buddhism , it is also said that the Prince respected Shinto and never visited Buddhist temples without visiting Shinto shrines. A popular quote attributed to Shōtoku that became foundational for Buddhist belief in Japan

4248-574: The third century BCE and through the 1st millennium CE. According to the edicts of Aśoka , the Mauryan emperor sent emissaries to various countries west of India to spread "Dharma", particularly in eastern provinces of the neighbouring Seleucid Empire , and even farther to Hellenistic kingdoms of the Mediterranean. It is a matter of disagreement among scholars whether or not these emissaries were accompanied by Buddhist missionaries. In central and west Asia, Buddhist influence grew, through Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs and ancient Asian trade routes,

4320-410: The three Vedic sacrificial fires, reinterpreting and explaining them as ethical conduct. The Śramaṇa religions challenged and broke with the Brahmanic tradition on core assumptions such as Atman (soul, self), Brahman , the nature of afterlife, and they rejected the authority of the Vedas and Upanishads . Buddhism was one among several Indian religions that did so. Early Buddhist positions in

4392-509: The Śramaṇa traditions also drew upon already established Brahmanical concepts and philosophical roots, states Wiltshire, to formulate their own doctrines. Brahmanical motifs can be found in the oldest Buddhist texts, using them to introduce and explain Buddhist ideas. For example, prior to Buddhist developments, the Brahmanical tradition internalised and variously reinterpreted the three Vedic sacrificial fires as concepts such as Truth, Rite, Tranquility or Restraint. Buddhist texts also refer to

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4464-545: Was a Śramaṇa who lived in South Asia c. 6th or 5th century BCE. Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists in English, referred to themselves as Sakyan -s or Sakyabhiksu in ancient India. Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez asserts they also used the term Bauddha , although scholar Richard Cohen asserts that that term was used only by outsiders to describe Buddhists. Details of the Buddha's life are mentioned in many Early Buddhist Texts but are inconsistent. His social background and life details are difficult to prove, and

4536-420: Was a king named Suddhodana , his mother was Queen Maya. Scholars such as Richard Gombrich consider this a dubious claim because a combination of evidence suggests he was born in the Shakya community, which was governed by a small oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered instead. Some of the stories about the Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about

4608-450: Was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aśoka and his descendants led to the construction of more stūpas (such as at Sanchi and Bharhut ), temples (such as the Mahabodhi Temple ) and to its spread throughout the Maurya Empire and into neighbouring lands such as Central Asia and to the island of Sri Lanka . During and after the Mauryan period (322–180 BCE), the Sthavira community gave rise to several schools, one of which

4680-429: Was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko . He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half-sister. But later, he was adopted by Prince Shōtoken. His parents were relatives of the ruling Soga clan and also he was involved in the defeat of the rival Mononobe clan . The primary source of

4752-444: Was also during the Song that the entire Chinese canon was printed using over 130,000 wooden printing blocks. During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and Mongolia . Johannes Bronkhorst states that the esoteric form was attractive because it allowed both a secluded monastic community as well as the social rites and rituals important to laypersons and to kings for

4824-601: Was apparently mutual". Already during this later era, Buddhism was losing state support in other regions of India, including the lands of the Karkotas , the Pratiharas , the Rashtrakutas , the Pandyas and the Pallavas . This loss of support in favor of Hindu faiths like Vaishnavism and Shaivism , is the beginning of the long and complex period of the Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent . The Islamic invasions and conquest of India (10th to 12th century), further damaged and destroyed many Buddhist institutions, leading to its eventual near disappearance from India by

4896-405: Was appointed regent ( Sesshō ) in 593 by Empress Suiko (554–628), his aunt. Shōtoku, inspired by the Buddha's teachings, succeeded in establishing a centralized government during his reign. In 603, he established the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System at the court. He is credited with promulgating the seventeen-article constitution . Shōtoku was an ardent Buddhist and is traditionally attributed

4968-420: Was particularly favored), especially by Emperor Kanishka (128–151 CE). Kushan support helped Buddhism to expand into a world religion through their trade routes. Buddhism spread to Khotan , the Tarim Basin , and China, eventually to other parts of the far east. Some of the earliest written documents of the Buddhist faith are the Gandharan Buddhist texts , dating from about the 1st century CE, and connected to

5040-478: Was represented by eighteen separate schools." However, some scholars argue that critical analysis reveals discrepancies among the various doctrines found in these early texts, which point to alternative possibilities for early Buddhism. The authenticity of certain teachings and doctrines have been questioned. For example, some scholars think that karma was not central to the teaching of the historical Buddha, while other disagree with this position. Likewise, there

5112-476: Was the Theravada school which tended to congregate in the south and another which was the Sarvāstivāda school, which was mainly in north India. Likewise, the Mahāsāṃghika groups also eventually split into different Sanghas. Originally, these schisms were caused by disputes over monastic disciplinary codes of various fraternities, but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being caused by doctrinal disagreements too. Following (or leading up to)

5184-665: Was the dominant religion in Burma during the Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1552). It also became dominant in the Khmer Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries and in the Thai Sukhothai Kingdom during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (1237/1247–1298). The term "Buddhism" is an occidental neologism, commonly (and "rather roughly" according to Donald S. Lopez Jr. ) used as a translation for

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