P1 INDIA & SRI LANKA
1. INDIA Siddhartha Gautama, who would one day become known as Buddha ("the enlightened one" or "the awakened"), lived in Nepal during the 6th to 4th century B.C.E. Controversies about Buddha s age Buddha was a spiritual leader and a teacher whose life serves as the foundation of the Buddhist religion. Why teaching? Leaders only in Buddhism? His teachings spread not only throughout India, but also into many countries in Asia and, lately, into Europe and America
Preserving Buddha s teaching: No written documents (first 500 years), why? Reliability? Solutions: o Monks dedicating their lives memorizing Consequences in modern Buddhism o Councils were held, assuring accuracy
Emperor Asoka and Buddhism: 3th Mauryan Emperor Ruthless character Knowing his father was dying, Asoka eliminated his rivals Ambition, expansion, military conquests The turning point (last conquest)
Kalinga War: Mauryans: 10,000 killed Kalingas: 50,000 killed Many others wounded Other consequences of war o Misery o Starvation o Devastation
Present-day Odisha State (Kalinga Kingdom) Asoka after the Kalinga War: Disenchanted with war No more military expeditions Turns to religion Becomes a devoted Buddhist Consequently, Asoka: Comes to respect the value of life; Decreases the amount of animals killed; No more hunting excursions; goes on pilgrimages to holy places; Plants trees, digs wells, opens hospitals in the whole region
Asoka, Buddhism and the people: Asoka teaches people not to harbor unwholesome thoughts such as: o Greed o Anger o What else? Asoka encourages people to: o Be tolerant with all faiths o Show reverence to holy men o What else? Objective? o Improve the character of the people How? o Sending missionaries to the far corners of the known world o Edicts of Asoka - His proclamations carved on rocks and pillars
Jumping into the - 13 th century: Buddhism largely disappeared Few communities o Himalayas o Bangladesh Buddhism left its footprint in India with the ideas of: o Renunciation o Non-violence o Karma o Freedom from rebirth To escape the wheel of samsara (birth, life, death, rebirth) requires becoming free from all present and past karma ( ) o (Indian religions owe much to Buddhist concepts)
Other concepts that Buddhism supposedly contributed with: o Tolerance o Social Justice o Democracy Revival of Buddhism in recent years Earning new followers and fresh recognition
2. Sri Lanka Spreading Buddhism: Asoka sends missionaries all over his Empire Particularly successful in Sri Lanka Soon after Sri Lanka becomes a stronghold of Buddhism Mahinda / Mahendra (meaning "conqueror of the world") o First-born son of Asoka o Influenced by his Buddhist mother o At a young age, chooses monkhood o Renounces the Mauryan Throne o 246 BCE - Asoka sends Mahinda to Sri Lanka to visit the ruler (his friend) o Teaches Buddhism, convert the ruler of the Lanka people. o Buddhism s Ambassador to Sri Lanka o Establishes Theravada Buddhism (branch followed in Thailand) o Builds a great monastery near the capital
Sanghamitra o Eldest daughter of Emperor Asoka o Brings a shoot of Bodhi tree (in Buddha Gaya) o Establishes an Order of Nuns With royal patronage, Buddhism becomes the dominant religion by the 2nd century BCE 1st century BCE, the king of Sri Lanka commissions the compilation of the Buddhist scriptures in written form 1st century CE, Buddhism culture and scholarship flourishes
In 5 th century CE, a famous scholar, Buddhaghosa, outstandingly contributes to the literature of the Theravada tradition India / Sri Lanka relation: Historically, Sri Lanka endured many invasions and migrations from India As a result, Sri Lanka has a composite population of Hindu and Buddhist elements Buddhism suffered setbacks during the periods of greater Hindu influence Buddhism suffered further setbacks in Sri Lanka, under the colonial rule of the Portuguese, Dutch and British
Revival of Buddhism in 2 nd half of the 19 th century Thanks to a learned monk named Gunananda His eloquent lectures arise much interest His lectures then call the attention of H. S. Olcott (USA) Olcott himself becomes an enthusiast supporter of the revival Singhalese young man named Dharmapala joins Olcott Together they: o travel widely o give lectures on Buddhism o distribute Buddhist literature o raise funds for Buddhist education With time, their active work raises widespread support for Buddhism in Sri Lanka
By the mid-20 th century, Buddhism is as strong as it had ever been Once again, Sri Lanka becomes a core source of inspiration to the Buddhist world