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93-840: Zenshuji follows the 2,500-year-old teachings of Gautama Buddha as passed down by Koso Dogen Zenji (1200–1253) and Taiso Keizan Zenji (1268–1325) who are recognized as the founding patriarchs of Soto Zen. The essence of Soto Zen was transmitted during the Kamakura period in Japan approximately eight hundred years ago by Dogen Zenji. Keizan Zenji further enhanced the School and significantly increased its accessibility and popularity with lay people. In 1244, Dogen Zenji established Eiheiji Temple in present-day Fukui Prefecture . Later, in 1321, Keizan Zenji established Sojiji Temple in present-day Kanagawa Prefecture . Today, Eiheiji and Sojiji still serve as

186-511: 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 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

279-614: 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

372-520: A "true historical memory" of the events approximately 60 years prior if the Short Chronology for 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

465-513: 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

558-593: 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

651-680: 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 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

744-547: 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 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

837-516: A north west to south east orientation till the Aravalli Hills and is about 300 km (190 mi) wide stretching from Haryana in India into Pakistan's Punjab Province . The elevation varies from 275 m (902 ft) in the north to 176 m (577 ft) in the south west. The left quarter of the region is drained mainly by the tributaries of Indus – Ravi , Beas , and Sutlej and

930-532: 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

1023-541: A spiritual, intellectual, or social need. Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama , most commonly referred to as 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

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1116-459: Is "immeasurable", "inscrutable", "hard to fathom", and "not apprehended". A list of other epithets 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

1209-503: Is also a key figure in Zenshuji's history; having served as general supervisor for 26 years from the late 1960s through the mid-1980s. Rev. Shumyo Kojima keeps an office at Zenshuji and frequently presides over various ceremonies and services at the temple. Rev. Shumyo Kojima is chartered with Zenshuji's ongoing mission to offer the ethnically diverse area of Los Angeles guidance in the practice of Soto Zen to those interested in satisfying

1302-507: 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 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

1395-443: 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

1488-402: Is drained by three major river systems and has a high ground water table . Due to its rich water resources and fertile alluvial soil, it is one of the world's most densely populated and intensely farmed areas. The eastern part of the plain receives heavy rainfall during the monsoon after the summer, which commonly results in floods and inundations. The rainfall decreases from the east towards

1581-572: Is not possible. According to the recent research, sediment deposited at the bed of the per-historic Tethys Sea folded towards the northern end due to the northward drift of the Indian plate and a trough was formed later due to the emergence of the Himalayas in the north. Beneath the silt deposition, the region rests on hard crystalline rocks which connect the Himalayan region with the peninsula. As

1674-735: Is the river delta formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers when they enter the Bay of Bengal . Spread over the Bengal region , consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal , it is the world's largest river delta and is one of the most fertile regions of the plains. The delta stretches from about 260 km (160 mi) from the Hooghly River east to the Meghna River in

1767-431: 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 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 ,

1860-517: 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

1953-514: The Arabian Sea . Most of the delta lies in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan with a small portion in the Kutch region of India. The delta covers an area of about 41,440 km (16,000 sq mi), and is approximately 210 km (130 mi) across where it meets the sea. The climate is arid , the region receives only 25 and 50 cm (9.8 and 19.7 in) of rainfall. Since

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2046-543: 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 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

2139-669: The Himalayas in the north to the Vindhyas and Satpura and the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the south in the south, and extends from North East India in the east to the Iranian border in the west. The region is home to many major cities and nearly one-seventh of the world's population. In India, it mainly encompasses the states and union territories of Rajasthan in the west, Punjab , Haryana, Chandigarh , and Delhi in

2232-490: The Indian Independence in 1947. The plains were named after the two major river systems that drain the region– Indus and Ganges . The region was formed as a result of continuous deposition of silt by the major river systems of Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra in the depression that existed between the Himalayas in the north and Deccan plateau in the south. However, there has been divergent theories as to

2325-585: The Indus delta and the Rann of Kutch . The western part of the region is covered by shifting sand dunes (dharian) and the eastern part of the region (Rajasthan Bagar) is rocky. The region is largely arid with seasonal streams uch as Luni supporting limited agriculture. The Punjab-Haryana Plain lies to the east and north east of the Rajasthan Plain. It extends for a length of 640 km (400 mi) in

2418-737: 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,

2511-793: 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 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",

2604-656: 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 a claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" ( abhijñā ). The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on

2697-678: The Second Battle of Tarain , which led to the rise of the Delhi Sultanate in the region in the 13th century CE. In 1526 CE, Babur swept across the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal Empire , which ruled for almost the next three centuries. The Maratha Empire founded by Chatrapati Shivaji , briefly captured the region in the early 18th century CE. The Sikh Empire was established by Ranjit Singh around

2790-652: The Second Urbanisation , in which the Ganges Basin was settled and cities grew, in which egalitarianism prevailed. According to Thapar, 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,

2883-591: 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 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,

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2976-472: 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

3069-826: The Shivalik range in the north and the Deccan Plateau in the south with the Yamuna River forming the rough western boundary. The region extends 550 km (340 mi) in the north–south direction and is about 380 km (240 mi) wide with an average elevation of 100–300 m (330–980 ft). The Middle Ganga Plain stretches to the east of the Upper Ganga plain and forms part of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It covers an area of 1.44 km (0.56 sq mi), stretching 330 km (210 mi) in north–south direction and 600 km (370 mi) in

3162-538: The Yamuna waters a small portion on the eastern border. The in-between land which encompasses the city of Delhi, largely consists of no major streams except the seasonal Ghaggar River . The region has a humid sub tropical climate with dry winters and receives the major part of rainfall during the south west monsoon between July to September. The Ganga Plain forms the largest sub-unit of the plains and encompasses an area of 375,000 km (145,000 sq mi) across

3255-457: The 1940s, the delta has received less water as a result of large-scale irrigation works capturing large amounts of the Indus water before it reaches the delta. The region is home to the largest arid mangrove forests in the world. The population of the active part of the delta was estimated at 900,000 in 2003 with fishing being the major industry. The Rajasthan Plains form the western extreme of

3348-508: The 1960s was Dr. Wako Kazumitsu Kato. Dr. Kato went on to teach and hold academic positions at San Francisco State University , University of California, Berkeley , California State University, Los Angeles , and University of California, Los Angeles . He also served as Dean of International Studies at the Nagoya University of Foreign Studies for seven years. Dr. Kato is still actively involved at Zenshuji. Bishop Kenko Yamashita

3441-420: 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 a clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of

3534-531: 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 the flourish of Brahminism, as Greater Magadha . The Buddha's tribe of origin,

3627-548: The Buddha commonly used when referring to himself or other Buddhas in 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

3720-526: 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, 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

3813-618: 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 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

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3906-531: 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 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

3999-415: 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 the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara ) and perfected being who is unencumbered by

4092-427: 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 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

4185-648: 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

4278-637: 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 the Buddha, collections of stories about his past lives known as Jataka tales , and additional discourses, i.e.,

4371-608: The Dharma ( Dharmaraja ), Kinsman of the Sun, Helper of 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

4464-579: 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 the Shakyas"). Śākyamuni, Sakyamuni, or Shakyamuni ( Sanskrit : शाक्यमुनि , [ɕaːkjɐmʊnɪ] ) means "Sage of the Shakyas ". Tathāgata ( Pali ; Pali: [tɐˈtʰaːɡɐtɐ] ) is a term

4557-484: 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 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

4650-462: The Ganges basin was settled from the north-west and the south-east, as well as from within, "[coming] together in what 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

4743-530: The Indo-Gangetic plain. The Maurya Empire existed from 4th to 2nd century BCE and unified most of the Indian subcontinent into one state, and was the largest empire ever to exist on the Indian subcontinent. The Kushan Empire expanded out of what is now Afghanistan into the northwest of the Indian subcontinent in the middle of the 1st century CE. Maritime trade along the Silk Road flourished during

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4836-482: 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 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

4929-704: 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

5022-522: 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 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

5115-459: The Western Sea ( Arabian Sea )". The region was part of what was historically referred to as Hindustan , a term used to refer to the whole of the Indian subcontinent . The term "Hindustani" is also commonly used to refer to the people, music , and culture of the region. The fertile terrain facilitated the rise and expansion of various empires such as the Mauryas , Kushan , Guptas , all of whom had their demographic and political centers in

5208-427: The basis of philological evidence, Indologist and Pāli expert Oskar von Hinüber says that some of 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

5301-429: 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

5394-414: 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 the title Buddha , which means 'Awakened One' or 'Enlightened One'. His teachings were compiled by

5487-401: 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

5580-425: 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 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

5673-463: 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 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

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5766-435: The east to the Iranian border in the west. The region is home to many major cities and nearly one-seventh of the world's population. As the region was formed by the deposits of the three major rivers–Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra , the plains consists of the world's largest expanse of uninterrupted alluvium . Due to its rich water resources, it is one of the world's most densely populated and intensely farmed areas. The region

5859-406: The east–west direction. The elevation varies from 100 m (330 ft) in the western boundary to 30 m (98 ft) towards the south east. This plain is largely drained by Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi rivers. The Lower Ganga Plain includes parts of Bihar, West Bengal and most of Bangladesh . It stretches for 81,000 km (31,000 sq mi) along a 580 km (360 mi) stretch from

5952-401: The first century BCE to the third century CE. Early canonical sources include 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

6045-530: 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 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

6138-444: The foothills of the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south, and extends between the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the west and Bangladesh's eastern boundary with India. The average elevation is 50 m (160 ft) along the western boundary. The Brahmaputra Valley largely covers the Indian state of Assam and is an eastern extension of the plains. It stretches from the Eastern Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh in

6231-400: The formation of the depression. As per Darashaw Wadia , the depression was a furrow that originally existed since the formation of the plateau in the south and the mountains in the north. Edward Suess had suggested that the depression was a large syncline that was formed when the southward advance of the Himalayas was blocked by the Indian landmass. Sydney Burrard opined that the region

6324-433: 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 . Indo-Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain , also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain , is a fertile plain spanning 700,000 km (270,000 sq mi) across

6417-415: The head temples / monasteries for the Soto Zen school of Buddhism. In 1922, a few years after attending the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco , Rev. Hosen Isobe established the Zenshuji Soto Mission in a Los Angeles apartment. Anti-immigration laws at that time made it extremely difficult for people of Japanese descent to purchase land in the United States. Nonetheless, in 1923, land

6510-399: The historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most of them accept that the Buddha lived, taught, and founded a monastic order during 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 ,

6603-434: 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 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,

6696-425: 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, 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

6789-400: The long chrononology, Bimbisara reigned c.  558  – c.  492 BCE , and died 492 BCE, while Ajatashatru reigned c.  492  – c.  460 BCE . In 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

6882-546: The most light", and comes from the fact that Kshatriya clans adopted 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

6975-460: 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 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

7068-563: The north west, Uttar Pradesh in the north, Bihar and West Bengal in the east, and Assam in the north east. The Indo-Gangetic Plain is divided into two drainage basins by the Delhi Ridge , which is a northern extension of the Aravalli Hills . The western part is drains by the Indus, and the eastern part consists of the Ganga–Brahmaputra river systems. The plains encompassed four distinct geographical regions: The region

7161-609: The north, to the Garo - Khasi - Jaintia and Mikir Hills in the south. Its has the Patkai and Naga Hills to the east and the boundary of the Lower Ganga Plain to the west. The region covers an estimated 56,000 km (22,000 sq mi) and is watered by Brahmaputra and its tributaries. The elevation varies from 130 m (430 ft) in the east to 30 m (98 ft) in the west. The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta

7254-472: The northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent . It encompasses northern and eastern India , eastern Pakistan , southern Nepal , and almost all of Bangladesh . It is named after the two major river systems that drain the region– Indus and Ganges . Its stretches from the Himalayas in the north to the northern edge of the Deccan plateau in the south, and extends from North East India in

7347-682: The period. The Gupta period existed from the 4th to 7th century CE and is noted for its arts, architecture and science. In the 12th century CE, much of the region was ruled by the Rajputs . In 1191 CE, the Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan unified several Rajput states and defeated the invading army of Shihabuddin Ghori in the First Battle of Tarain . However, Shihabuddin defeated the Rajputs in

7440-611: The plains in India and is mostly composed of Thar desert , which occupies an area of 200,000 km (77,000 sq mi) stretching acrss 650 km (400 mi). About three-fourth of the plains lie in India and rest in Pakistan. In India, two-thirds of the region is part of western Rajasthan , extending to the west of Aravalli Hills and rest form parts of Haryana , Punjab and Gujarat . The region has an average elevation of 325 m (1,066 ft) which reduces from east to west, reaching about 150 m (490 ft) towards

7533-843: 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 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

7626-415: The region was formed by the deposits of major rivers, the plains consists of the world's largest expanse of uninterrupted alluvium . The fertile plains span 700,000 km (270,000 sq mi) across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent . It encompasses northern and eastern India , eastern Pakistan , southern Nepal , and almost all of Bangladesh . Its stretches from

7719-520: The same time in the north western part of the region. The Europeans arrived in the end of the 15th century CE in peninsular India . The English East India company 's in the Battle of Plassey (1757) and Battle of Buxar (1767) consolidated the company's power in the lower Gangetic plain. With the defeat of the Marathas, the entire region came under the control of British Raj and remained same until

7812-591: The states of Uttar Pradesh , Bihar, and West Bengal . The Ganges along with its tributaries such as the Yamuna , Gomti , Ghagara , Gandak , Chambal , Kosi , and Sone drain the region. The various rivers and streams originating from both the Himalayas and the Deccan Plateau contribute to fertile soil in the region. The region gently slopes towards the south east and consists of three regions: Upper, Middle and Lower Ganga Plains. The Upper Ganga Plain stretches 149,000 km (58,000 sq mi) from

7905-880: 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 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

7998-529: 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 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

8091-705: The west with the western region encompassing drier areas such as the Thar desert . The region can be sub-divided into various geographical units such as the Sindh Plains , and the Indus Delta in Pakistan; Rajasthan Plain, and Punjab-Haryana Plain in India and Pakistan, Ganga Plain in India and Bangladesh, Brahmaputra Valley in India, Terai region in Nepal, and the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in India and Bangladesh. The Sindh Plains forms

8184-661: The western part of the plains and encompasses the Sindh region of Pakistan to the west of the Thar desert with the Punjab Plains in the north and the Indus River Delta in the south. The region receives about 13 in (330 mm) of rain annually, mostly from June to September. The economy is largely based on agriculture. The Indus River Delta encompasses the region where the Indus River flows into

8277-401: Was a deep rift that existed in the earth's crust , which was subsequently filled with alluvium. He also pointed out the existence of other rift valleys in the Himalayan and Deccan plateau region. However, geologists such as Ferdinand Hayden and Richard Oldham have rejected this stating that there is no evidence of existence of a rift valley and that the existence of such a large rift valley

8370-732: Was home to the Indus Valley civilisation in 3000 BCE, which was one of the earliest human settlements in the Indian subcontinent. During the Vedic period (c. 1500 – 600 BCE), the region was referred to as " Aryavarta " (Land of the Aryans ). According to Manusmṛti (2.22), 'Aryavarta' is "the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the Eastern Sea ( Bay of Bengal ) to

8463-414: Was just one of the many śramaṇa philosophers of that time. In an era where holiness of person 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

8556-631: Was purchased and construction of a temple was eventually completed in 1926. In 1927, Zenshuji was recognized as a non-profit organization by the United States. In 1937, Zenshuji formally became the North America Headquarters for Soto Zen and a direct branch of Eiheiji and Sojiji. Bishop Daito Suzuki became the third head priest on Rohatsu which fell on December 8, 1941. During World War II , when about 110,000 people of Japanese heritage were sent to detention camps , Zenshuji

8649-451: Was temporarily closed. A Hindu temple took over the deed and a Christian group used it for worship during the war. When the war ended, Bishop Daito Suzuki returned to Zenshuji and worked on its restoration. Rev. Koun Yamada served as Bishop of North America at Zenshuji for almost four years prior to his return to Japan to become president of Komazawa University and eventually abbot of Eiheiji. Another priest that served at Zenshuji during

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