81-689: Phuktal Monastic School , also known as the Phugtal Monastic School , is set up by the Phuktal Gompa that provides the students of the local Lungnak Valley in south-eastern Zanskar , in the autonomous Himalayan region of Ladakh , in Northern India . Housed in the Phuktal Gompa, it is the only centre of learning for the remote villages located in the Lungnak Valley, which is cut off from
162-626: A body of teachings incorporating esoteric tantric techniques, may be viewed as a separate branch or tradition within Mahāyāna. The Theravāda branch has a widespread following in Sri Lanka as well as in Southeast Asia, namely Myanmar , Thailand , Laos , and Cambodia . The Mahāyāna branch—which includes the East Asian traditions of Tiantai , Chan , Pure Land , Zen , Nichiren , and Tendai
243-525: A phenomenon known as Greco-Buddhism . An example of this is evidenced in Chinese and Pali Buddhist records, such as Milindapanha and the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra . The Milindapanha describes a conversation between a Buddhist monk and the 2nd-century BCE Greek king Menander , after which Menander abdicates and himself goes into monastic life in the pursuit of nirvana. Some scholars have questioned
324-513: A wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE . It is the world's fourth-largest religion , with over 520 million followers, known as Buddhists , who comprise seven percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to
405-583: Is a Buddhist monastery located in the remote Lungnak Valley in south-eastern Zanskar , in the Himalayan region of Ladakh , in Northern India . It is 52 km southeast of Padum on Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road (NPD). Solar power was installed at the Phugtal monastery in 2016. Until 2023 before NPD road was built, it was one of the few Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh that could still be reached only by foot. Supplies to
486-564: Is a lunisolar calendar , hence the dates for these festivals differ each year as compared to the Gregorian calendar . Phuktal Gompa has set up the Phuktal Monastic School that caters to the students of the local Lungnak Valley of Zanskar. The school was set up in 1993, at the behest of Geshe Lharampa Nagri Choszed. Complete education is provided, which involves a mix of traditional learning and modern curriculum. No fees are charged from
567-563: Is predominantly practised in Nepal , Bhutan , China , Malaysia , Vietnam , Taiwan , Korea , and Japan . Tibetan Buddhism , a form of Vajrayāna , is practised in the Himalayan states as well as in Mongolia and Russian Kalmykia . Japanese Shingon also preserves the Vajrayana tradition as transmitted to China . Historically, until the early 2nd millennium , Buddhism was widely practiced in
648-400: Is scholarly disagreement on whether insight was seen as liberating in early Buddhism or whether it was a later addition to the practice of the four jhānas . Scholars such as Bronkhorst also think that the four noble truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight". According to Vetter, the description of
729-640: Is shown by a large increase in epigraphic and manuscript evidence in this period. However, it still remained a minority in comparison to other Buddhist schools. Mahāyāna Buddhist institutions continued to grow in influence during the following centuries, with large monastic university complexes such as Nalanda (established by the 5th-century CE Gupta emperor, Kumaragupta I ) and Vikramashila (established under Dharmapala c. 783 to 820) becoming quite powerful and influential. During this period of Late Mahāyāna, four major types of thought developed: Mādhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddha-nature ( Tathāgatagarbha ), and
810-474: Is vast, with many different textual collections in different languages (such as Sanskrit , Pali , Tibetan , and Chinese ). Buddhist schools vary in their interpretation of the paths to liberation ( mārga ) as well as the relative importance and "canonicity" assigned to various Buddhist texts , and their specific teachings and practices. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravāda ( lit. ' School of
891-508: The Central Government for grants and financial aid to help rebuild the school and monastery and undo the damage of the flood. Buddhism Buddhism ( / ˈ b ʊ d ɪ z əm / BUUD -ih-zəm , US also / ˈ b uː d -/ BOOD - ), also known as Buddha Dharma , is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha ,
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#1733085976204972-809: The Dharmaguptaka school. The Islamic conquest of the Iranian Plateau in the 7th-century, followed by the Muslim conquests of Afghanistan and the later establishment of the Ghaznavid kingdom with Islam as the state religion in Central Asia between the 10th- and 12th-century led to the decline and disappearance of Buddhism from most of these regions. The origins of Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") Buddhism are not well understood and there are various competing theories about how and where this movement arose. Theories include
1053-673: The Milindapanha version, expressing doubts whether Menander was Buddhist or just favourably disposed to Buddhist monks. The Kushan empire (30–375 CE) came to control the Silk Road trade through Central and South Asia, which brought them to interact with Gandharan Buddhism and the Buddhist institutions of these regions. The Kushans patronised Buddhism throughout their lands, and many Buddhist centres were built or renovated (the Sarvastivada school
1134-465: The Pali canon . The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods: Early Buddhism (occasionally called pre-sectarian Buddhism ), Nikaya Buddhism or Sectarian Buddhism (the period of the early Buddhist schools), Early Mahayana Buddhism , Late Mahayana, and the era of Vajrayana or the "Tantric Age". According to Lambert Schmithausen Pre-sectarian Buddhism is "the canonical period prior to
1215-659: The Tarim Basin . The first documented Buddhist texts translated into Chinese are those of the Parthian An Shigao (148–180 CE). The first known Mahāyāna scriptural texts are translations into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema in Luoyang , between 178 and 189 CE. From China, Buddhism was introduced into its neighbours Korea (4th century), Japan (6th–7th centuries), and Vietnam ( c. 1st –2nd centuries). During
1296-555: The Theravada tradition had not established any deities, but were epistemologically cautious rather than directly atheist . Later Buddhist traditions were more influenced by the critique of deities within Hinduism and therefore more committed to a strongly atheist stance. These developments were historic and epistemological as documented in verses from Śāntideva 's Bodhicaryāvatāra , and supplemented by reference to suttas and jātakas from
1377-581: The epistemological tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakirti . According to Dan Lusthaus , Mādhyamaka and Yogācāra have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early Buddhism. During the Gupta period (4th–6th centuries) and the empire of Harṣavardana ( c. 590 –647 CE), Buddhism continued to be influential in India, and large Buddhist learning institutions such as Nalanda and Valabahi Universities were at their peak. Buddhism also flourished under
1458-584: The Śramaṇa traditions. New ideas developed both in the Vedic tradition in the form of the Upanishads, and outside of the Vedic tradition through the Śramaṇa movements. The term Śramaṇa refers to several Indian religious movements parallel to but separate from the historical Vedic religion , including Buddhism, Jainism and others such as Ājīvika . Several Śramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before
1539-504: The 1200s. The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to China is most commonly thought to have started in the late 2nd or the 1st century CE, though the literary sources are all open to question. The first documented translation efforts by foreign Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory of
1620-556: The 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre- Mahavira ), and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy . According to Martin Wilshire, the Śramaṇa tradition evolved in India over two phases, namely Paccekabuddha and Savaka phases, the former being the tradition of individual ascetic and the latter of disciples, and that Buddhism and Jainism ultimately emerged from these. Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical ascetic groups shared and used several similar ideas, but
1701-664: The Bhairava Vidyapitha tantras. Ronald M. Davidson meanwhile, argues that Sanderson's claims for direct influence from Shaiva Vidyapitha texts are problematic because "the chronology of the Vidyapitha tantras is by no means so well established" and that the Shaiva tradition also appropriated non-Hindu deities, texts and traditions. Thus while "there can be no question that the Buddhist tantras were heavily influenced by Kapalika and other Saiva movements" argues Davidson, "the influence
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#17330859762041782-608: The Buddha advised meditation practices and ethical precepts rooted in non-harming . Widely observed teachings include the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , and the doctrines of dependent origination , karma , and the three marks of existence . Other commonly observed elements include the Triple Gem , the taking of monastic vows , and the cultivation of perfections ( pāramitā ). The Buddhist canon
1863-484: The Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path. According to numerous Buddhist scriptures, soon after the parinirvāṇa (from Sanskrit: "highest extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held to collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no errors occurred in oral transmission. Many modern scholars question
1944-504: The Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907), Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was introduced from India and Chan Buddhism (Zen) became a major religion. Chan continued to grow in the Song dynasty (960–1279) and it was during this era that it strongly influenced Korean Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism also became popular during this period and was often practised together with Chan. It
2025-648: The Elders ' ) and Mahāyāna ( lit. ' Great Vehicle ' ). The Theravada tradition emphasizes the attainment of nirvāṇa ( lit. ' extinguishing ' ) as a means of transcending the individual self and ending the cycle of death and rebirth ( saṃsāra ), while the Mahayana tradition emphasizes the Bodhisattva ideal , in which one works for the liberation of all sentient beings. Additionally, Vajrayāna ( lit. ' Indestructible Vehicle ' ),
2106-711: The Indian subcontinent before declining there ; it also had a foothold to some extent elsewhere in Asia, namely Afghanistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , and Tajikistan . The names Buddha Dharma and Bauddha Dharma come from Sanskrit : बुद्ध धर्म and बौद्ध धर्म respectively ("doctrine of the Enlightened One" and "doctrine of Buddhists"). The term Dharmavinaya comes from Sanskrit: धर्मविनय , literally meaning "doctrines [and] disciplines". The Buddha ("the Awakened One")
2187-484: The Lungnak River (Lingti- Tsarap River). The monastery today houses a main temple, prayer rooms, a library with rare sacred texts, apartments and living quarters, teaching facilities, a kitchen, and of course, the original cave and the sacred spring, which is protected. It is home to about 70 monks. There is a stone tablet which serves as a reminder of the stay of Alexander Csoma de Kőrös at Phuktal, while he worked on
2268-458: The Phuktal Gompa. These are occasions for the monks to interact with the villagers and for the villagers to visit the monastery. Festivals help to preserve the centuries-old traditions and to spread dharma . They also enable the monks to accumulate good karma for the next life through offerings, worship, prayers and service. The festivals celebrated at Phuktal Monastery, starting around the end of February, are mentioned below. The Tibetan calendar
2349-545: The Phuktal River flooded and washed away the entire school campus. The building, equipment, materials, and stores were all destroyed. The monastery has applied to the Jammu and Kashmir State Government and the Central Government for grants and financial aid to help rebuild the school and monastery and undo the damage of the flood. Phugtal Monastery Phuktal Monastery or Phuktal Gompa (often transliterated as Phugtal )
2430-588: The Theravada Majjhima Nikaya and Sarvastivada Madhyama Agama contain mostly the same major doctrines. Richard Salomon , in his study of the Gandharan texts (which are the earliest manuscripts containing early discourses), has confirmed that their teachings are "consistent with non-Mahayana Buddhism, which survives today in the Theravada school of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, but which in ancient times
2511-561: The Tibetan science of natural medicine. The Phuktal Gompa maintains a Traditional Tibetan medical clinic and makes many of the natural medicines itself. As future members of the Gompa, the students are trained in all aspects of monastic life and life as a monk, including prayers, rituals, festivals, hymns, among other things. The day of the student begins early, with prayers at sunrise followed by exercise, and then learning. Classrooms are often open to
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2592-520: The Vinaya (monastic rule), and this caused a split with the conservatives who rejected this change, they were called Mahāsāṃghikas . While most scholars accept that this happened at some point, there is no agreement on the dating, especially if it dates to before or after the reign of Ashoka. Buddhism may have spread only slowly throughout India until the time of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (304–232 BCE), who
2673-451: The West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of development which leads to awakening and full liberation from dukkha ( lit. ' suffering or unease ' ). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes such as asceticism or sensual indulgence. Teaching that dukkha arises alongside attachment or clinging ,
2754-458: The age of 80 in Kushinagar , India. The Buddha's teachings were propagated by his followers, which in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE became various Buddhist schools of thought , each with its own basket of texts containing different interpretations and authentic teachings of the Buddha; these over time evolved into many traditions of which the more well known and widespread in
2835-547: The air. The teaching faculty of the Phuktal Monastic School consists of Geshes , the Tibetan Buddhist equivalent of a master's degree, and is an academic degree for monks and nuns. Geshes are responsible for not only imparting education to their students on subjects in the curriculum, but also all aspects of dormitory life, since students often live at the Monastery during their school life. At present, there are three Geshes at
2916-759: The ancient religion Jainism , is also claimed to be ksatriya by his early followers. ) According to early texts such as the Pali Ariyapariyesanā-sutta ("The discourse on the noble quest", MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at MĀ 204, Gautama was moved by the suffering ( dukkha ) of life and death, and its endless repetition due to rebirth . He thus set out on a quest to find liberation from suffering (also known as " nirvana "). Early texts and biographies state that Gautama first studied under two teachers of meditation, namely Āḷāra Kālāma (Sanskrit: Arada Kalama) and Uddaka Ramaputta (Sanskrit: Udraka Ramaputra), learning meditation and philosophy, particularly
2997-416: The cave, and so is the great leader and translator Lama Marpa Lotsawa . In the 12th century, the Tibetan translator Zanskar Lotsawa Phagpa Sherab also lived and worked from Phuktal. The eminent scholars and brothers Dangsong, Pun, and Sum, who were believed to have the supernatural power of flight gave teachings on Dharma at Phuktal. When Jangsem Sherap Zangpo arrived at Phuktal, the three brothers bequeathed
3078-467: The development of different schools with their different positions". The early Buddhist Texts include the four principal Pali Nikāyas (and their parallel Agamas found in the Chinese canon) together with the main body of monastic rules, which survive in the various versions of the patimokkha . However, these texts were revised over time, and it is unclear what constitutes the earliest layer of Buddhist teachings. One method to obtain information on
3159-618: The earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to include the first versions of the Prajnaparamita series, along with texts concerning Akṣobhya , which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India. There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, with a separate monastic code (Vinaya), but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas. Records written by Chinese monks visiting India indicate that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks could be found in
3240-587: The early texts, which has led most scholars to conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , Nirvana , the three marks of existence , the five aggregates , dependent origination , karma and rebirth . According to N. Ross Reat, all of these doctrines are shared by the Theravada Pali texts and the Mahasamghika school's Śālistamba Sūtra . A recent study by Bhikkhu Analayo concludes that
3321-548: The ending of the mental defilements ( asavas ), the ending of suffering, and the end of rebirth in saṃsāra . This event also brought certainty about the Middle Way as the right path of spiritual practice to end suffering. As a fully enlightened Buddha , he attracted followers and founded a Sangha (monastic order). He spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma he had discovered, and then died, achieving " final nirvana ", at
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3402-405: The first English-Tibetan dictionary between 1826 and 1827, when he explored Ladakh. The Phuktal Gompa maintains a Traditional Tibetan medical clinic, catering to the local community. There is an on-site Amchi , a traditional Tibetan physician who provides natural Sowa-Rigpa medicine , many of which have been prepared at the monastery itself. The village life in the Lungnak Valley revolves around
3483-493: The historicity of this event. However, Richard Gombrich states that the monastic assembly recitations of the Buddha's teaching likely began during Buddha's lifetime, and they served a similar role of codifying the teachings. The so called Second Buddhist council resulted in the first schism in the Sangha . Modern scholars believe that this was probably caused when a group of reformists called Sthaviras ("elders") sought to modify
3564-417: The holy site to him and departed. According to legend, the spiritually gifted Zangpo caused a spring to appear and run from the cave, a tree to grow on top of the cave and for the cave itself to grow larger in size. Then, under his guidance, the present structure of the monastery was built around the cave. It is built in the cliffside, like a honeycomb. The cliff is part of a lateral gorge of a major tributary of
3645-434: The idea that it began as various groups venerating certain texts or that it arose as a strict forest ascetic movement. The first Mahāyāna works were written sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahāyāna comes from early Chinese translations of Mahāyāna texts, mainly those of Lokakṣema . (2nd century CE). Some scholars have traditionally considered
3726-422: The isolated Phuktal monks had had virtually no access for several centuries. He restored the ancient tradition of learning and scholarship at Phuktal and instructed the monks in philosophy, traditional ritual systems, and moral discipline. He also sent out many monks to for the purpose of advance learning at other institutions, who returned to Phuktal and began to teach. In 2014, the Phuktal Monastic School facility
3807-479: The local farming families in the Lungnak Valley, which are extremely poor and least educated. The older generations are nearly totally uneducated. The school was set up in 1993, at the behest of Geshe Lharampa Nagri Choszed (1920–1998), a native of Tibet , who came to Phuktal in 1959 after the Chinese invasion of Tibet . Nagri Choszed brought with him a high level of Buddhist philosophical education and training, to which
3888-610: The maintenance of a political state during succession and wars to resist invasion. During the Middle Ages, Buddhism slowly declined in India, while it vanished from Persia and Central Asia as Islam became the state religion. The Theravada school arrived in Sri Lanka sometime in the 3rd century BCE. Sri Lanka became a base for its later spread to Southeast Asia after the 5th century CE ( Myanmar , Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand , Cambodia and coastal Vietnam ). Theravada Buddhism
3969-412: The meditative attainment of "the sphere of nothingness" from the former, and "the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception" from the latter. Finding these teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of severe asceticism , which included a strict fasting regime and various forms of breath control . This too fell short of attaining his goal, and then he turned to
4050-573: The meditative practice of dhyana . He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree—now called the Bodhi Tree —in the town of Bodh Gaya and attained "Awakening" ( Bodhi ). According to various early texts like the Mahāsaccaka-sutta, and the Samaññaphala Sutta , on awakening, the Buddha gained insight into the workings of karma and his former lives, as well as achieving
4131-478: The modern era are Theravada , Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Iron Age India around the middle of the first millennium BCE. This was a period of great intellectual ferment and socio-cultural change known as the "Second urbanisation" , marked by the growth of towns and trade, the composition of the Upanishads and the historical emergence of
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#17330859762044212-470: The monastery has been built, and has for long been a place for retreat, meditation, learning, and teaching. This is reflected in its name Phuktal, which is derived from Phukthal , made up of Phuk ཕུག meaning 'cave', and Tal དལ་ or Thal meaning 'at leisure' in the endangered Zangskari dialect of the Tibetic languages . An alternate spelling of Phuktal is Phukthar , where Thar ཐར means 'liberation'. Hence,
4293-416: The monastery were brought on horses, donkeys, and mules in the warmer months, and in the frozen winters, they were transported through the frozen Zanskar River . Before the road was built, it was a day's walk from Village Chah or Village Khangsaar, the end of the road leading from Padum . The Phuktal Gompa owes its legacy to powerful and renowned scholars and teachers who resided in the cave, around which
4374-631: The monastery. Monks from the monastery attend local village events of significance, such as birth, deaths and weddings, performing traditional prayer ceremonies. The villagers visit the monastery to offer prayers, consult the Amchi and to attend festivals and special events at the monastery. The village and the monastery has remained largely untouched by modern development. The Monastery was electrified by Global Himalayan Expedition in July 2016 through setting up of solar micro-grids. Festivals are an important feature of
4455-464: The name Phuktal means 'the cave of leisure' or 'the cave of liberation'. The Phuktal Monastery is built around a natural cave, which is believed to have been visited by numerous sages, scholars, translators, and monks around 2,550 years ago. The remote location of the monastery was ideal for monks looking for peace and solitude to meditate. The present Phuktal Gompa, of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism ,
4536-596: The oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pāli Canon and other texts. The reliability of the early sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies. According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished: According to Mitchell, certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout
4617-627: The origins of early Vajrayana has been taken up by various scholars. David Seyfort Ruegg has suggested that Buddhist tantra employed various elements of a "pan-Indian religious substrate" which is not specifically Buddhist, Shaiva or Vaishnava. According to Indologist Alexis Sanderson , various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism . Sanderson has argued that Buddhist tantras can be shown to have borrowed practices, terms, rituals and more form Shaiva tantras. He argues that Buddhist texts even directly copied various Shaiva tantras, especially
4698-639: The precise dates are uncertain, although the 5th century BCE seems to be the best estimate. Early texts have the Buddha's family name as "Gautama" (Pali: Gotama), while some texts give Siddhartha as his surname. He was born in Lumbini , present-day Nepal and grew up in Kapilavastu , a town in the Ganges Plain , near the modern Nepal–India border, and he spent his life in what is now modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh . Some hagiographic legends state that his father
4779-423: The rest of the Ladakh region and has no direct vehicular connectivity. People ferry supplies on horses, donkeys, and mules in the warmer months, and in the frozen winters, they are transported through the frozen Zanskar River . No fees are charged from the students, and the monastery bears the cost for the room, board and study materials of the students, with help from sponsors. A lot of the students are children from
4860-402: The same monasteries, with the difference that Mahāyāna monks worshipped figures of Bodhisattvas, while non-Mahayana monks did not. Mahāyāna initially seems to have remained a small minority movement that was in tension with other Buddhist groups, struggling for wider acceptance. However, during the fifth and sixth centuries CE, there seems to have been a rapid growth of Mahāyāna Buddhism, which
4941-593: The schisms, each Saṅgha started to accumulate their own version of Tripiṭaka (triple basket of texts). In their Tripiṭaka, each school included the Suttas of the Buddha, a Vinaya basket (disciplinary code) and some schools also added an Abhidharma basket which were texts on detailed scholastic classification, summary and interpretation of the Suttas. The doctrine details in the Abhidharmas of various Buddhist schools differ significantly, and these were composed starting about
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#17330859762045022-519: The school. On 31 December 2014, a landlisde occurred between the Shun and Phuktal villages. This caused the formation of a landslide dam on the Phuktal River. It was first noticed due to the recession in the water level of the Nimoo Bazgo Hydroelectric Plant down the river. The lake formed behind the dam increased in length and height as compared to the height of the blockade. In May 2015,
5103-467: The society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts. Various details about the Buddha's background are contested in modern scholarship. For example, Buddhist texts assert that Buddha described himself as a kshatriya (warrior class), but Gombrich writes that little is known about his father and there is no proof that his father even knew the term kshatriya . ( Mahavira , whose teachings helped establish
5184-589: The spread of dharma , and modern curriculum, which readies them for the world. The school currently provides primary (grades 1 to 4) and middle school (grades 5 to 8) education, after which students take a transfer to other higher or secondary schools. By that age, the students are older and more mature to leave the valley by themselves. The school has an integrated curriculum and includes natural sciences, social sciences, Hindi , English , and written Tibetan (Bhodi) . It also includes traditional Tibetan subjects such as Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and Sowa-Rigpa medicine,
5265-406: The students, and the monastery bears the cost for the room, board and study materials of the students, with help from sponsors. Many students are children from the local farming families in the Lungnak Valley, which are extremely poor and uneducated. On 31 December 2014, a landslide occurred between the Shun and Phuktal villages. This caused the formation of a landslide dam on the Tsarap River. It
5346-479: The support of the Pāla Empire (8th–12th centuries). Under the Guptas and Palas, Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana developed and rose to prominence. It promoted new practices such as the use of mantras , dharanis , mudras , mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas and developed a new class of literature, the Buddhist Tantras . This new esoteric form of Buddhism can be traced back to groups of wandering yogi magicians called mahasiddhas . The question of
5427-574: The third century BCE and through the 1st millennium CE. According to the edicts of Aśoka , the Mauryan emperor sent emissaries to various countries west of India to spread "Dharma", particularly in eastern provinces of the neighbouring Seleucid Empire , and even farther to Hellenistic kingdoms of the Mediterranean. It is a matter of disagreement among scholars whether or not these emissaries were accompanied by Buddhist missionaries. In central and west Asia, Buddhist influence grew, through Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs and ancient Asian trade routes,
5508-410: The three Vedic sacrificial fires, reinterpreting and explaining them as ethical conduct. The Śramaṇa religions challenged and broke with the Brahmanic tradition on core assumptions such as Atman (soul, self), Brahman , the nature of afterlife, and they rejected the authority of the Vedas and Upanishads . Buddhism was one among several Indian religions that did so. Early Buddhist positions in
5589-509: The Śramaṇa traditions also drew upon already established Brahmanical concepts and philosophical roots, states Wiltshire, to formulate their own doctrines. Brahmanical motifs can be found in the oldest Buddhist texts, using them to introduce and explain Buddhist ideas. For example, prior to Buddhist developments, the Brahmanical tradition internalised and variously reinterpreted the three Vedic sacrificial fires as concepts such as Truth, Rite, Tranquility or Restraint. Buddhist texts also refer to
5670-545: Was a Śramaṇa who lived in South Asia c. 6th or 5th century BCE. Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists in English, referred to themselves as Sakyan -s or Sakyabhiksu in ancient India. Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez asserts they also used the term Bauddha , although scholar Richard Cohen asserts that that term was used only by outsiders to describe Buddhists. Details of the Buddha's life are mentioned in many Early Buddhist Texts but are inconsistent. His social background and life details are difficult to prove, and
5751-420: Was a king named Suddhodana , his mother was Queen Maya. Scholars such as Richard Gombrich consider this a dubious claim because a combination of evidence suggests he was born in the Shakya community, which was governed by a small oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered instead. Some of the stories about the Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about
5832-665: Was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aśoka and his descendants led to the construction of more stūpas (such as at Sanchi and Bharhut ), temples (such as the Mahabodhi Temple ) and to its spread throughout the Maurya Empire and into neighbouring lands such as Central Asia and to the island of Sri Lanka . During and after the Mauryan period (322–180 BCE), the Sthavira community gave rise to several schools, one of which
5913-491: Was also during the Song that the entire Chinese canon was printed using over 130,000 wooden printing blocks. During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and Mongolia . Johannes Bronkhorst states that the esoteric form was attractive because it allowed both a secluded monastic community as well as the social rites and rituals important to laypersons and to kings for
5994-905: Was apparently mutual". Already during this later era, Buddhism was losing state support in other regions of India, including the lands of the Karkotas , the Pratiharas , the Rashtrakutas , the Pandyas and the Pallavas . This loss of support in favor of Hindu faiths like Vaishnavism and Shaivism , is the beginning of the long and complex period of the Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent . The Islamic invasions and conquest of India (10th to 12th century), further damaged and destroyed many Buddhist institutions, leading to its eventual near disappearance from India by
6075-494: Was completed. The new facility had student accommodation and housing, multiple classrooms, staff quarters, offices, a library, the Sowa-Rigpa medicine centre, a kitchen, a dining hall, and a prayer-assembly hall. This helped the school increase its enrolment significantly. Complete education is provided, which involves a mix of traditional learning, which ensures preservation of the unique Zanskari cultural and spiritual heritage and
6156-476: Was established in the early 15th century by Jangsem Sherap Zangpo , a disciple of Je Tsongkhapa. Tsongkhapa was the founder of Gelug, which is one of the newest schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Believed to be one of the earliest residents of the cave are the 16 Arhats , or the legendary followers of Buddha . The images of these 16 Arhats appear on the cave walls. The great scholars and translators Padmasambhava and Phakspa Nestan Dusdan are believed to have lived in
6237-441: Was first noticed due to the recession in the water level of the Nimoo Bazgo Hydroelectric Plant down the river. The lake formed behind the dam increased in length and height as compared to the height of the blockade. In May 2015, the Phuktal River flooded and washed away the entire school campus. The building, equipment, materials, and stores were all destroyed. The monastery has applied to the Jammu and Kashmir State Government and
6318-480: Was particularly favored), especially by Emperor Kanishka (128–151 CE). Kushan support helped Buddhism to expand into a world religion through their trade routes. Buddhism spread to Khotan , the Tarim Basin , and China, eventually to other parts of the far east. Some of the earliest written documents of the Buddhist faith are the Gandharan Buddhist texts , dating from about the 1st century CE, and connected to
6399-478: Was represented by eighteen separate schools." However, some scholars argue that critical analysis reveals discrepancies among the various doctrines found in these early texts, which point to alternative possibilities for early Buddhism. The authenticity of certain teachings and doctrines have been questioned. For example, some scholars think that karma was not central to the teaching of the historical Buddha, while other disagree with this position. Likewise, there
6480-584: Was the Theravada school which tended to congregate in the south and another which was the Sarvāstivāda school, which was mainly in north India. Likewise, the Mahāsāṃghika groups also eventually split into different Sanghas. Originally, these schisms were caused by disputes over monastic disciplinary codes of various fraternities, but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being caused by doctrinal disagreements too. Following (or leading up to)
6561-635: Was the dominant religion in Burma during the Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1552). It also became dominant in the Khmer Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries and in the Thai Sukhothai Kingdom during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (1237/1247–1298). The term "Buddhism" is an occidental neologism, commonly (and "rather roughly" according to Donald S. Lopez Jr. ) used as a translation for
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