112-675: The Eight Great Events ( aṣṭamahāpratihārya ) are a set of episodes in the life of Gautama Buddha that by the time of the Pala Empire of North India around the 9th century had become established as the standard group of narrative scenes to encapsulate the Buddha's life and teachings. As such they were frequently represented in Buddhist art , either individually or as a group, and recounted and interpreted in Buddhist discourses. The Eight Great Events are:
224-614: A murti of a Hindu goddess; now moved inside, it remains in worship. One scholar connects groups of the Eight Great Events specifically with Nalanda, both a huge centre of learning and of the production of sculpture. The Jagdishpur stele is unusual in including five Vedic or Hindu deities in the Descent scene. From left, these are Surya and Brahma , then on the other side of the Buddha, Indra, Vishnu and Shiva . The Buddha Siddhartha Gautama , most commonly referred to as
336-557: 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
448-501: A "miracle contest" with the Six Heretical Teachers , the Buddha performed two miracles. The first and more commonly depicted is known as the "multiplication of Buddhas", where Buddha baffles the others by multiplying his form into several Buddhas, who preach to the assembled crowd. In small pieces, however, only one Buddha figure may be shown. In the other, Buddha makes flames rise up from his upper body, while water flows from
560-566: A 5th-century stele at Sarnath , and sometimes one or two deer, referring to the location. These may be on the front of the base of Buddha's throne, where the disciples may also appear, much smaller than the Buddha. This took place during the Parileyyakka Retreat at Vaishali . It is also called the Monkey's Offering of Honey . A monkey offers honey to Buddha, who is shown in the lotus position, with his begging bowl in his lap. In some versions
672-578: 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
784-613: A black dot which would help the blind recognise the note. The name of the central bank in Roman script would be printed on the note along with the date of printing in both the Gregorian Era and the Bikram Era . The new note is being issued following a cabinet decision 27 August. Nipponzan Myohoji decided to build a Peace Pagoda in the park in 2001, which is visited by many different cultures and religions every day. Because some Hindus regard
896-488: 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
1008-626: 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
1120-507: 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
1232-428: 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
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#17328585632641344-497: A graceful tribhanga pose. The Buddha emerged miraculously from her side, which is usually shown in small depictions with him as though flying. In larger ones two male figures stand to the left, representing the Vedic gods Indra , who reaches out to hold the baby, and Brahma standing behind him. Maya's sister Pajapati may support her to the right, and maids may stand on the right, and apsaras or other spirits hover above. The Buddha
1456-564: A grid of narrow plain borders enclosing them. They are not in exact chronological sequence, with for example the Birth at the bottom of the left column, the First Sermon at top left, and the Death at top right. The spaces for each scene are slightly wider than they are high, allowing at least three figures in each scene, and sometimes more. Another broken and damaged stele from Sarnath (illustrated) has
1568-593: 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
1680-465: A pilgrimage circuit along Buddha's Holy Sites . Nepal's central bank has introduced a 100-rupee Nepali note featuring Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha . The Nepal Rastra Bank said the new note would be accessible only during the Dashain , Nepal's major festival in the time of September/October. It displays the portrait of Mayadevi, Gautam Buddha's mother in silver metallic on the front. The note also has
1792-523: 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
1904-641: A series of the most ancient Buddhist shrines in South Asia extending the history of the site to a much earlier date. According to Robin Coningham , excavations beneath existing brick structures at the Mayadevi Temple at Lumbini provide evidence for an older timber structure beneath the walls of a brick Buddhist shrine built during the Ashokan era (3rd-century BCE). The layout of the Ashokan shrine closely follows that of
2016-469: A similar grid style; five scenes survive, but there may have been others, as the Death is missing and the stone is broken off at the top. In this the lowest scene, of the birth , is double width and includes more detail, but is badly damaged. The Descent has a small flight of steps. The Jagdishpur stele is a rare survival of a very large stele with the Eight Great Events, rather than just showing
2128-414: A single one as most large steles do. At over 3 metres tall, and probably 10th-century, it is "the largest Buddhist devotional image to survive from this period in north India". Jagdishpur is some two kilometres from the main remains of the great Buddhist college of Nalanda , where it may have originally been placed. When the image was photographed in the 1870s it was outside a small Hindu temple, worshiped as
2240-456: A witness to attest his right to achieve it. In reply Buddha touched the ground with his right hand outstretched, asking Pṛthivi , the devi of the earth, to witness his enlightenment, which she did. The foliage of the Bodhi Tree may be shown above Buddha's head. Buddha is always shown seated in the lotus position, reaching the fingers of his right hand down to touch the ground, which is called
2352-418: Is accepted, fell or jumped down a well in some versions, but was later saved and turned into a deva , or was reborn as a human who joined Buddha's sangha as a monk. The Buddha's cousin and brother-in-law Devadatta is portrayed in Buddhist tradition as an evil and schismatic figure. He is said to have attempted to kill Buddha by setting the ferocious elephant Nalagiri on Buddha, at Rajgir . Buddha pacifies
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#17328585632642464-570: Is also known from an inscription at the Nigali Sagar pillar: Om mani padme hum May Prince Ripu Malla be long victorious 1234 A second pillar of Ashoka is located about 22 kilometers to the northwest of Lumbini, the Nigali Sagar pillar (with inscription), and a third one 24 kilometers to the west, the Gotihawa pillar (without inscription). Lumbini is 4.8 km (3 mi) in length and 1.6 km (1.0 mi) in width. The holy site of Lumbini
2576-443: 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
2688-469: Is bordered by a large monastic zone in which only monasteries can be built, no shops, hotels or restaurants. It is separated into an eastern and western monastic zone, the eastern having the Theravadin monasteries, the western having Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries. There is a long water filled canal separating the western and eastern zones, with a series of brick arch bridges joining the two sides along
2800-506: 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
2912-525: Is divided into two zones: the East Monastic Zone which represents Theravada school of Buddhism and the West Monastic Zone which represents Mahayana and Vajrayana school of Buddhism, with their respective monasteries on the either side of a long pedestrian walkway and canal. Marking the monastic spot as a sacred pilgrimage site, many countries have established Buddhist stupas and monasteries in
3024-657: 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
3136-417: Is normally depicted in stele groups across the centre of the top, above the main figures, with a reclining Buddha with his head to the left, usually on a raised couch or bed. As many followers as space allow are crowded round the bed, in early versions making extravagant gestures of grief; these return in later Japanese paintings. In Sri Lanka , artists often showed the Buddha alive and awake, but elsewhere
3248-573: 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
3360-532: 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
3472-580: Is seated, normally in the lotus position, and his hands are always shown in the Dharmachakra Pravartana Mudrā , where his two hands mime his metaphor of "setting in motion the Wheel of the Dharma". This is generally only used in images of the Buddha when representing this moment. This or the Enlightenment are usually the main large scene in stele groups. In larger groups a wheel may figure, as in
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3584-477: Is sitting in a meditation position, although in The Monkey's offering he is sometimes seated on something, with his legs coming down. The steles are typically arranged with the horizontal scene of the death across the top, above the main image, then the two scenes where Buddha stands the highest on each side. The Birth is normally at the bottom of one side, more often the viewer's left, and the meditating scenes fill
3696-506: 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
3808-506: Is where Mayadevi, the Buddha's mother, is believed to have taken the ritual bath prior to his birth and where the Buddha also had his first bath. At other sites near Lumbini, earlier Buddhas were born, then achieved ultimate Enlightenment and finally relinquished their earthly forms. Lumbini was made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. In the time of the Buddha, Lumbini was situated east of Kapilavastu and south-west of Devadaha of Shakya , an oligarchic republic. According to
3920-467: 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
4032-840: 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
4144-676: 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
4256-459: The Enlightenment , surrounded by smaller scenes showing the others. The Parinirvana, with a reclining Buddha , is normally at the top, over the larger figure, with the rest three high on each side. In small versions of such a scheme the space available means that events are distinguished largely by the mudra or hand gesture of the Buddha. Sets of paintings, which only survive from rather later, show all eight at similar sizes. The iconography of
4368-718: 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
4480-721: 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,
4592-613: 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
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4704-580: 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
4816-656: The Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal . According to the sacred texts of the Buddhist Commentaries, Maya Devi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini in c.624 BCE . Siddhartha Gautama achieved Enlightenment , and became Shakyamuni Buddha who founded Buddhism . He later passed into parinirvana at the age of 80 years, in c.544 BCE. Lumbini is one of four most sacred pilgrimage sites pivotal in
4928-515: 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
5040-507: The bhūmisparśa or "earth witness" mudra. Larger depictions may show Mara and his army of demons, or his three beautiful daughters, who attempt to prevent the Buddha's enlightenment by distracting him from meditation with seductive movements; modern South-East Asian depictions of this can be rather lurid. This event in Buddha's life is most commonly the large central scene in groups, as in the Jagdispur stele, where dozens of small demons surround
5152-757: The Birth of the Buddha, the Enlightenment , the First Sermon, the Monkey's offering of honey, the Taming of Nalagiri the elephant, the Descent from Tavatimsa Heaven, the Miracle at Sravasti and his death or Parinirvana . Each event had taken place at a specific location, which had become a place of pilgrimage, and there was a matching set of " Eight Great Places ", "Attha-mahathanani" in Pali , where
5264-546: 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
5376-534: The Buddha Shakyamuni was born here. (He) both caused to be made a stone bearing a horse and caused a stone pillar to be set up, (in order to show) that the Blessed One was born here. (He) made the village of Lumbini free of taxes, and paying (only) an eighth share (of the produce). The park was previously known as Rupandehi , 2 mi (3.2 km) north of Bhagavanpura. The Sutta Nipáta (vs. 683) states that
5488-487: The Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu , thousands of Hindus have begun to come here on pilgrimage during the full moon of the Nepali month of Baisakh (April–May) to worship Queen Mayadevi as Rupa Devi, the mother goddess of Lumbini. Lumbini was granted World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1997. In 2011, Lumbini Development National Director Committee wad formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Prachanda .The committee
5600-475: 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
5712-408: The Buddha initially rejected the honey because it had bee larvae, ants or other insects in it, but after the monkey carefully removed these with a twig his gift was accepted. It is the most obscure of the events, and relatively uncommonly depicted before it became one of the Eight Great Events around the 8th century. It is also rather unclear from the texts why it is connected to Vaishali , but this
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#17328585632645824-729: The Buddha was born in a village of the Sákyans in the Lumbineyya Janapada. The Buddha stayed in Lumbinívana during his visit to Devadaha and there preached the Devadaha Sutta. In 1896, former Commander-In-Chief of the Nepalese Army General Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and Alois Anton Führer discovered a great stone pillar at Rupandehi , according to the crucial historical records made by
5936-543: 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
6048-411: 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,
6160-531: 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
6272-430: 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
6384-445: 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
6496-422: 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
6608-401: 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
6720-434: The Buddha. This is also known as the "Sermon in the Deer Park", and is recorded in the text called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta ("The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dharma Sutta"). Among other key Buddhist doctrines it set out the Four Noble Truths and the Middle Way . It was delivered at Sarnath , some weeks after his enlightenment, to five named disciples, who may be shown if they can be fitted in. Buddha
6832-503: The Buddhist tradition, it was there that the Buddha was born. Ashoka Pillar of Lumbini , a monolithic column with an inscription in the ancient Brahmi script discovered at Rupandehi in 1896, is believed to mark the spot of Ashoka 's visit to Lumbini. The site was not known as Lumbini before the pillar was discovered. The translation of inscription (by Paranavitana) reads: When King Devanampriya Priyadarsin had been anointed twenty years, he came himself and worshipped (this spot) because
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#17328585632646944-509: 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
7056-422: 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
7168-461: 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
7280-540: The Venerable One has been born –here the Venerable One has attained the unsurpassable complete enlightenment –here the Venerable One has turned the threefold-turning, twelve-spoked lawful wheel – here the Venerable One has gone to the realm of complete nirvāṇa. Along with Lumbini which is the Buddha 's place of birth; Bodh Gaya where he attained enlightenment , Sarnath where he gave his first sermon and Kushinagar where he attained parinirvana are four most significant pilgrimage sites in Buddhism . These four places form
7392-447: 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
7504-458: The ancient Chinese monk-pilgrim Xuanzang in the 7th century CE and by another ancient Chinese monk-pilgrim Faxian in the early 5th century CE. The Brahmi inscription on the pillar gives evidence that Ashoka , emperor of the Maurya Empire , visited the place in 3rd-century BCE and identified it as the birth-place of the Buddha. At the top of the pillar, there is a second inscription by king Ripumalla (1234 Saka Era , 13-14th century CE), who
7616-429: 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
7728-441: 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
7840-545: The close spiritual and cultural connection between the two countries. António Guterres , secretary-general of the United Nations made a visit to Lumbini in the October of 2023 and "urged everyone to reflect on the core teachings of Buddhism and their relevance in today’s troubled world ", highlighting conflicts around the world from Middle East to Ukraine to Africa, undermining of global rules and their devastating impacts on ordinary people, especially women and children. In 2019, Lumbini received 1.5 million visitors from across
7952-440: The earlier timber structure, which suggests a continuity of worship at the site. The pre-Mauryan timber structure appears to be an ancient tree shrine. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from the wooden postholes and optically stimulated luminescence dating of elements in the soil suggests human activity began at Lumbini around 1000 BCE. The site, states Coningham, may be a Buddhist monument from 6th-century BCE. Other scholars state that
8064-429: The earliest) say he lived to be eighty, but he is shown as young, as he is in all depictions of him as an adult. One of the earliest surviving sets, if not the earliest, of the eight scenes on a single piece of stone is in the museum at Sarnath, dating from the 7th century, and a little over 3 foot high. Here there is no larger main image, with all eight scenes at the same size, arranged in two columns of four scenes, with
8176-416: The elephant, who kneels before him. Buddha is usually shown standing, with his hand in the abhayamudra , with his right hand held open and the palm vertical. The elephant is usually much smaller, often at the scale of a small dog compared to Buddha, and shown bowing to Buddha. Sometimes a small figure of Ananda , a close disciple, stands by Buddha, as in some texts of the story he remained with Buddha during
8288-636: The episode. Some years after his enlightenment, Buddha visited the Tavatimsa heaven, where he was joined by his mother (from the Tushita heaven). For three months he taught her the Abhidhamma doctrine, before descending again to earth at Sankassa . Larger depictions show the Buddha descending the central one of three ladders or steps, often attended by Indra and Brahma, lords of the Tavatimsa heaven, who may remain at
8400-508: The events reflects the elaborated versions of the Buddha's life story that had become established from about 100 AD in Gandharan art and elsewhere, such as Sanchi and Barhut , and were given detailed depictions in cycles of scenes, typically rectangular, on the many spaces provided by large stupas and other Buddhist constructions. From early on, the accounts of some events varied considerably. Small reliefs only allow very compact depictions of
8512-447: The events took place. Apart from his birth in modern Nepal (just, some 10 km from the border), all the events took place in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh in north-east India . Before and after this period there were other groupings, both smaller and larger, with 4, 5, 20, and other much larger groups found. A grouping of four events, the Birth, Enlightenment, First Sermon and Death was
8624-489: The excavations revealed nothing that is Buddhist, and they only confirm that the site predates the Buddha. Before parinirvana at the age of eighty, Gautama Buddha gave a sermon to his disciples on the significance of Lumbini as a place of pilgrimage (Dīghanikāya, 16; Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta ): There are, O monks, four places on earth which a believing householder's son or a believing householder's daughter should commemorate as long as they live. Which are those four? –here
8736-470: 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
8848-422: 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 . Lumbini Lumbinī ([लुम्बिनी] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |IPA= ( help ) pronounced [ˈlumbini] , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in
8960-479: 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
9072-477: The length. The canal is serviced by simple outboard motor boats at the north end which provides tours. The holy site of Lumbini has ruins of ancient monasteries, a sacred Bodhi tree , an ancient bathing pond, the Ashokan pillar and the Mayadevi Temple, a site traditionally considered to be the birthplace of the Buddha. From early morning to early evening, pilgrims from various countries perform chanting and meditation at
9184-564: The life of the Buddha. Lumbini has a number of old temples, including the Mayadevi Temple , and several new temples, funded by Buddhist organisations from various countries. Most of the temples have already been completed and some are still under construction. Many monuments, monasteries , stupas, a museum, and the Lumbini International Research Institute are also near to the holy site. The Puskarini, or Holy Pond,
9296-436: 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
9408-486: 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
9520-532: The lower parts. This is more rarely depicted, with only five reliefs known from Gandhara. The depiction indicates both elements by patterns on the relief, with the Buddha standing with his hand in the abhayamudra . Another miracle, with the miraculous growth of a mango tree, is shown in earlier reliefs at Sanchi, but not in depictions of the Eight Great Events . Also called the Parinirvana ("entry to nirvana "). It took place at Kushinagar , Uttar Pradesh . It
9632-473: 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
9744-516: The moment after death is usually represented. Sometimes the body is already wrapped in a shroud, but usually the face, as if asleep, is turned towards the viewer. Traditionally the death took place between two sal trees (the same species under which he was born), which may be shown behind him, as may their tree-spirits in the branches. The texts (the Pali Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta and Sanskrit-based Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra are
9856-497: The monastic zone with their unique historical, cultural and spiritual designs. The Cultural Center and New Lumbini Village comprises Lumbini Museum, Lumbini International Research Institute, World Peace Pagoda of Japan, Lumbini Crane Sanctuary and other administrative offices. The Government of Bangladesh is currently constructing a major Buddhist monastery in Lumbini. New excavations in the Mayadevi temple in Lumbini in 2013 revealed
9968-533: The most prominent, consisting of very important life-events. Larger groups, such as the 43 on the 20th-century Ivory carved tusk depicting Buddha life stories in New Delhi , tend to have more from the Buddha's early life. A 15th-century Tibetan painted thanka has 32 scenes, of which 15 precede the Enlightenment. A common iconography for steles in relief had a larger central Buddha figure, normally showing
10080-552: 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
10192-424: 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
10304-463: The other spaces, including the larger main image. A bronze model stupa from 8th or 9th-century Nalanda in the National Museum, New Delhi has the events arranged around a middle drum section. Later works, from the following centuries and several different countries, continue the broad stele format with variations, and often differences in the scenes depicted. Queen Maya , mother of the Buddha,
10416-477: 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
10528-490: 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
10640-474: The rituals celebrating Buddha's birthday or Vesak in many countries. This took place at Bodh Gaya , under the famous Bodhi Tree , a probable descendant of which survives beside the Mahabodhi Temple . Buddhist tradition recounts that the enlightment was preceded by the "assault of Mara ", a demon king, who challenged the Buddha's right to acquire the powers that enlightenment brought, and asked him for
10752-414: The scenes, with very few if any other figures than the Buddha. These are simplified versions of much larger relief sculptures of each individual event. Larger depictions, such as paintings, are by contrast often crowded with other figures. Apart from the Birth and Death , the other events divide into two scenes where the Buddha is normally standing, the Descent and taming Nalagiri, leaving four where he
10864-441: 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
10976-482: 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
11088-879: The site. Lumbini complex is divided into three areas: the Sacred Garden, the Monastic Zone and the Cultural Center and New Lumbini Village. The Sacred Garden remains the epicenter of the Lumbini area and consists of the birthplace of Buddha and other monuments of archaeological and spiritual importance such as the Mayadevi Temple , the Ashoka Pillar , the Marker Stone, the Nativity Sculpture, Puskarini Sacred Pond and other structural ruins of Buddhist stupas and viharas. The Monastic Zone, spanning an area of one square mile
11200-495: 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
11312-610: 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
11424-553: The top of any steps, but in simplified depictions they flank a standing Buddha on either side, at a much smaller scale, sometimes one holding a parasol over the Buddha. Buddha makes the varadamudra . A small figure of the nun Utpalavarana may be waiting for the Buddha below. The event is still celebrated in Tibet, in a festival called Lhabab Duchen . This is also called the Twin Miracle , performed at Shravasti (Sravasti etc). In
11536-469: 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
11648-534: The world. Lumbini is a 10-hour drive from Kathmandu and a 30-minute drive from Bhairahawa . The closest airport is Gautam Buddha Airport at Bhairahawa, with flights to and from Kathmandu. The nearest airport to Lumbini, Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairahawa, is currently undergoing expansion. This small domestic airport is soon expected to become an international airport, with latest deadline set for 2019. The airport expansion attracted investors and hoteliers, and
11760-711: 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
11872-714: 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
11984-599: Was able to stand and take seven steps almost immediately, ending by standing on a lotus flower, and the baby standing on this may be shown; in East Asia this subject became popular by itself, the most famous and one of the earliest at the Todaiji in Nara, Japan . Buddha's first bath is also sometimes shown in the same scene; two Nagaraja ( Nāga kings) perform the bathing, and maids may attend. Symbolic re-enactments of this form part of
12096-466: 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,
12208-519: Was an important city with other connections with the Buddha, who preached his last sermon there. He left his begging bowl in the city when he departed, and this, which became an important cetiya or relic, is the indispensable identifying element in the most reduced images, when even the monkey is not shown. The monkey may be shown, and also an elephant who also protected Buddha and gave him water. Each of these had divergent and initially unhappy after-stories. The monkey, overcome with excitement when his gift
12320-455: Was given the authority to "draft a master plan to develop Lumbini as a peaceful and tourism area and table the proposal" and the responsibility to gather international support for the same. In 2022 on Buddha's Birthday , Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba , jointly laid the foundation stone for the Indian monastery in Lumbini. Nepal-India cultural events are held annually in Lumbini highlighting
12432-574: 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,
12544-447: Was returning to her parents' home to give birth. She stopped for a walk in the park or grove at Lumbini , now in Nepal . Reaching up to hold a bough of a sal tree ( Shorea robusta ), labour began. Maya standing with her right hand over her head, holding a curving bough, is the indispensable part of the iconography; this was a pose familiar in Indian art , often adopted by yakshini tree-spirits. Maya's feet are usually crossed, giving
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