HIST 2070 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Lotus Sutra, Bardo, In Essence
27 Jun 2018
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The history of Buddhism:
Siddhartha was born around 566- 560 BC and died 80 years later
Buddhists were organized into monastic orders called Sanghas for mutual support and training
The Buddha's followers disagreed on the meaning and practical importance of his teachings
soon after his death - a council was convened to deal with these disagreements
The third council which met in 250 BCE was finally able to give a rough mark for the end of the
period of a unified Buddhism - from this time there were two major divisions and many smaller
subdivisions of the two
oThe smaller, but more traditional of the two, is called Theraveda Buddhism - meaning
the tradition of the elders
oThe larger is called Mahayana - meaning the expansive way
While the vocation of monk is the ideal route to follow in Theraveda Buddhism, lay people also
have a role
oThe role of ordinary people is to support the monks and hoping to improve their lot in a
future life
Relics of the Buddha are venerated in Theravada Buddhism and most of the divisions of
Mahayana
oThey are usually housed in temple complexes, there are often large groups of buildings
centered on a hall used for meditation, and teaching, which contains a statue of the Buddha
From 268 to 232 BC, Asoka was the most powerful rule in India, the first to rule virtually the
entire sub-continent
oHe was to be the single most important impetus to spreading Buddhism outside Indian
and across Asia
Asoka sent Buddhist missionaries east as far as China and west as far as Greece
One curious mingling of Greek and Buddhist culture was formed in north-west Indian in the last
two centuries BCE, when successors to one of Alexander the Great's generals invaded and set up a
series of small states there
In south-east Asia, Theravadan Buddhism became dominant in Burma, Thailand, Laos and
Cambodia
Mahayana Buddhism began to develop during the reign of Asoka. At that time, a belief that the
Buddha had not taught all he knew to his followers, but that there were secret teachings related
only to the most adept
By the first century AD, many Buddhists began to believe that the Buddha was not human, but
almost divine and eternal and had come to earth in the form of a man because of his love for
humanity
A belief also developed that there were many Buddhas, not just one. Assisting the work of these
Buddhas was another class of beings called Bodhisattvas, or future Buddhas
oThese beings were on the point of achieving Nirvana, but had postponed its attainment
in order to aid humanity - some did so as incarnated humans on earth, others from heaven
While Buddhism has spread earlier to Sri Lanka in the Theravada form, China was its first major
success in the Mahayana version
By the third century AD, Buddhism was one of the three major religions of China
From China it spread to Korea then to Japan
Buddhism also spread to the major Indonesian islands of Java, Sumatra, and Bali, where
Hinduism was already known
Later spread to Mongolia and Tibet, where it developed distinctive forms
Sects of Buddhism:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
