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146-497: Depending on the language, the symbol has slightly different names. In Tibet, a distinction was made between Buddhism ( Wylie : lha chos , literally "divine dharma") and folk religion ( Wylie : mi chos , "human dharma"). Windhorse was predominantly a feature of the folk culture, a "mundane notion of the layman rather than a Buddhist religious ideal," as Tibetan scholar Samten G. Karmay explains. However, while "the original concept of rlung ta bears no relation to Buddhism," over

292-403: A black tip marks the end. The tiger is one of only a few striped cat species. Stripes are advantageous for camouflage in vegetation with vertical patterns of light and shade, such as trees, reeds and tall grass. This is supported by a Fourier analysis study showing that the striping patterns line up with their environment. The orange colour may also aid in concealment, as the tiger's prey

438-626: 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  

584-547: A comprehensive analysis of morphological, ecological and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) traits of all putative tiger subspecies. In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy in accordance with the 2015 two-subspecies proposal and recognised only P. t. tigris and P. t. sondaica . Results of a 2018 whole-genome sequencing study of 32 samples from

730-443: A deceased individual, can be taken over in days or weeks. Male tigers are generally less tolerant of other males within their home ranges than females are of other females. Disputes are usually solved by intimidation rather than fighting. Once dominance has been established, a male may tolerate a subordinate within his range, as long as they do not come near him. The most serious disputes tend to occur between two males competing for

876-401: A female in oestrus . Though tigers mostly live alone, relationships between individuals can be complex. Tigers are particularly social at kills and a male tiger will sometimes share a carcass with the females and cubs within this home range and unlike male lions, will allow them to feed on the kill before he is finished with it. However, a female is more tense when encountering another female at

1022-495: A few more weeks. They can leave the denning site after two months and around the same time they start eating meat. The mother only leaves them alone to hunt and even then she does not travel far. When she suspects an area is no longer safe, she moves her cubs to a new spot, transporting them one by one by grabbing them by the scruff of the neck with her mouth. A tigress in Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve maximised

1168-489: A kill as early as 11 months and reach independence as a juvenile of 18 to 24 months of age; males become independent earlier than females. Radio-collared tigers in Chitwan started leaving their natal areas at the age of 19 months. Young females are sexually mature at three to four years, whereas males are at four to five years. Generation length of the tiger is about 7–10 years. Wild Bengal tigers live 12–15 years. Data from

1314-471: A kill. During friendly encounters and bonding, tigers rub against each other's bodies. Facial expressions include the "defence threat", which involves a wrinkled face, bared teeth, pulled-back ears and widened pupils. Both males and females show a flehmen response , a characteristic curled-lip grimace, when smelling urine markings. Males also use the flehmen to detect the markings made by tigresses in oestrus. Tigers will move their ears around to display

1460-621: A major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to 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 ,

1606-419: A mountain deity to "increase his fortune like the galloping of a horse and expand his prosperity like the boiling over of milk ( Wylie : rlung ta ta rgyug/ kha rje 'o ma 'phyur 'phyur ). The late 20th-century Tibetan Buddhist master Chögyam Trungpa incorporated variants of many of the elements above, particularly windhorse, drala, the four animals (which he called "dignities"), wangtang, lha, nyen and lu, into

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1752-525: 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

1898-495: A preference for sambar deer , Manchurian wapiti , barasingha , gaur and wild boar . Abundance and body weight of prey species are assumed to be the main criteria for the tiger's prey selection, both inside and outside protected areas. It also preys opportunistically on smaller species like monkeys , peafowl and other ground-based birds, porcupines and fish. Occasional attacks on Asian elephants and Indian rhinoceroses have also been reported. More often, tigers take

2044-603: A private, usually vegetated spot no further than 183 m (600 ft), though they have been recorded dragging them 549 m (1,801 ft). They are strong enough to drag the carcass of a fully grown buffalo for some distance. They rest for a while before eating and can consume as much as 50 kg (110 lb) of meat in one session, but feed on a carcass for several days, leaving little for scavengers. In much of their range, tigers share habitat with leopards and dholes . They typically dominate both of them, though with dholes it depends on their pack size. Interactions between

2190-561: A reduction in leopard population densities. Similarly, at two sites in central India the size of dhole packs was negatively correlated with tiger densities. Leopard and dhole distribution in Kui Buri correlated with both prey access and tiger scarcity. In Jigme Dorji National Park , tigers were found to inhabit the deeper parts of forests while the smaller predators were pushed closer to the fringes. The tiger generally mates all year round, particularly between November and April. A tigress

2336-472: A reduction in prey numbers, tigers continued to kill favoured prey while leopards and dholes increased their consumption of small prey. Both leopards and dholes can live successfully in tiger habitat when there is abundant food and vegetation cover. Otherwise, they appear to be less common where tigers are numerous. The recovery of the tiger population in Rajaji National Park during the 2000s led to

2482-727: A scattered range in the Indian subcontinent, the Indochinese Peninsula , Sumatra, northeastern China and the Russian Far East . As of 2020, India had the largest extent of global tiger habitat with 300,508 km (116,027 sq mi), followed by Russia with 195,819 km (75,606 sq mi). The tiger mainly lives in forest habitats and is highly adaptable. Records in Central Asia indicate that it primarily inhabited Tugay riverine forests and hilly and lowland forests in

2628-448: A secluded location, be it in dense vegetation, in a cave or under a rocky shelter. Litters consist of as many as seven cubs, but two or three are more typical. Newborn cubs weigh 785–1,610 g (27.7–56.8 oz) and are blind and altricial . The mother licks and cleans her cubs, suckles them and viciously defends them from any potential threat. Cubs open their eyes at the age of three to 14 days and their vision becomes clear after

2774-495: A secular system of teachings he called Shambhala Training . It is through Shambhala Training that many of the ideas above have become familiar to westerners. The wind horse is a rare element in heraldry . It is shown as a strongly stylized flying horse with wings . The most common example is the emblem of Mongolia . Buddhism Buddhism ( / ˈ b ʊ d ɪ z əm / BUUD -ih-zəm , US also / ˈ b uː d -/ BOOD - ), also known as Buddha Dharma ,

2920-447: A transient in another male's home range until he is older and strong enough to challenge the resident male. Tigers mark their home ranges by spraying urine on vegetation and rocks, clawing or scent rubbing trees and marking trails with faeces , anal gland secretions and ground scrapings. Scent markings also allow an individual to pick up information on another's identity. Unclaimed home ranges, particularly those that belonged to

3066-404: A typical felid morphology, with a muscular body, shortened legs, strong forelimbs with wide front paws, a large head and a tail that is about half the length of the rest of its body. It has five digits, including a dewclaw , on the front feet and four on the back, all of which have retractile claws that are compact and curved, and can reach 10 cm (3.9 in) long. The ears are rounded and

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3212-440: A watering hole for prey to come by, particularly during hot summer days. It is an ambush predator and when approaching potential prey, it crouches with the head lowered and hides in foliage. It switches between creeping forward and staying still. A tiger may even doze off and can stay in the same spot for as long as a day, waiting for prey and launch an attack when the prey is close enough, usually within 30 m (98 ft). If

3358-415: Is colour blind and possibly perceives the tiger as green and blended in with the vegetation. The three colour variants of Bengal tigers – nearly stripeless snow-white, white and golden – are now virtually non-existent in the wild due to the reduction of wild tiger populations but continue in captive populations. The white tiger has a white background colour with sepia -brown stripes. The golden tiger

3504-401: Is absent, so that ligers grow far larger than either parent species. By contrast, the male tiger does not pass on a growth-promoting gene while the lioness passes on a growth inhibiting gene; hence, tigons are around the same size as their parents. Since they often develop life-threatening birth defects and can easily become obese, breeding these hybrids is regarded as unethical. The tiger has

3650-497: Is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha , 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

3796-469: Is an apex predator and preys mainly on ungulates , which it takes by ambush. It lives a mostly solitary life and occupies home ranges , defending these from individuals of the same sex. The range of a male tiger overlaps with that of multiple females with whom he mates. Females give birth to usually two or three cubs that stay with their mother for about two years. When becoming independent, they leave their mother's home range and establish their own. Since

3942-455: Is believed to increase the strength in the supplicator of the four nag rtsis elements mentioned above. Often the ritual is called the risang lungta ( Wylie : ri bsang rlung ta ), the "fumigation offering and (the throwing into the wind or planting) of the rlung ta high in the mountains." The ritual is traditionally "primarily a secular ritual" and "requires no presence of any special officiant whether public or private." The layperson entreats

4088-577: Is caused by a mutation of a transmembrane aminopeptidase gene. Around 37% of the Simlipal tiger population has this feature, which has been linked to genetic isolation . The tiger historically ranged from eastern Turkey, northern Iran and Afghanistan to Central Asia and from northern Pakistan through the Indian subcontinent and Indochina to southeastern Siberia, Sumatra, Java and Bali. As of 2022, it inhabits less than 7% of its historical distribution and has

4234-488: Is emitted through an open mouth and exposed teeth. In friendlier situations, tigers prusten , a soft, low-frequency snorting sound similar to purring in smaller cats. Tiger mothers communicate with their cubs by grunting, while cubs call back with miaows . When startled, they "woof". They produce a deer-like "pok" sound for unknown reasons, but most often at kills. The tiger is a carnivore and an apex predator feeding mainly on large and medium-sized ungulates, with

4380-520: Is forced through an open mouth as it closes and can be heard 3 km (1.9 mi) away. They roar multiple times in a row and others respond in kind. Tigers also roar during mating and a mother will roar to call her cubs to her. When tense, tigers moan, a sound similar to a roar but softer and made when the mouth is at least partially closed. Moaning can be heard 400 m (1,300 ft) away. Aggressive encounters involve growling , snarling and hissing. An explosive "coughing roar" or "coughing snarl"

4526-438: Is in oestrus for three to six days at a time, separated by three to nine week intervals. A resident male mates with all the females within his home range, who signal their receptiveness by roaring and marking. Younger, transient males are also attracted, leading to a fight in which the more dominant, resident male drives the usurper off. During courtship, the male is cautious with the female as he waits for her to show signs she

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4672-599: Is known to occur in Siberian tigers. A morbillivirus infection was the likely cause of death of a tigress in the Russian Far East that was also tested positive for feline panleukopenia and feline coronavirus . Blood samples from 11 adult tigers in Nepal showed antibodies for canine parvovirus -2, feline herpesvirus , feline coronavirus, leptospirosis and Toxoplasma gondii . The tiger has been listed as Endangered on

4818-437: Is less capable of climbing trees than many other cats due to its size, but cubs under 16 months old may routinely do so. An adult was recorded climbing 10 m (33 ft) up a smooth pipal tree . Adult tigers lead largely solitary lives within home ranges or territories , the size of which mainly depends on prey abundance, geographic area and sex of the individual. Males and females defend their home ranges from those of

4964-474: Is pale golden with reddish-brown stripes. The snow-white tiger is a morph with extremely faint stripes and a pale sepia-brown ringed tail. White and golden morphs are the result of an autosomal recessive trait with a white locus and a wideband locus, respectively. The snow-white variation is caused by polygenes with both white and wideband loci. The breeding of white tigers is controversial, as they have no use for conservation. Only 0.001% of wild tigers have

5110-476: Is planned. The tiger is among the most popular of the world's charismatic megafauna . It has been kept in captivity since ancient times and has been trained to perform in circuses and other entertainment shows. The tiger featured prominently in the ancient mythology and folklore of cultures throughout its historic range and has continued to appear in culture worldwide. The Old English tigras derives from Old French tigre , from Latin tigris , which

5256-614: 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

5402-452: Is ready to mate. She signals to him by positioning herself in lordosis with her tail to the side. Copulation typically lasts no more than 20 seconds, with the male biting the female by the scruff of her neck. After it is finished, the male quickly pulls away as the female may turn and slap him. Tiger pairs may stay together for up to four days and mate multiple times. Gestation lasts around or over three months. A tigress gives birth in

5548-400: 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

5694-640: 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

5840-444: Is surrounded by black. The tiger is marked with distinctive black or dark brown stripes, which are uniquely patterned in each individual. The stripes are mostly vertical, but those on the limbs and forehead are horizontal. They are more concentrated towards the backside and those on the trunk may reach under the belly. The tips of stripes are generally sharp and some may split up or split and fuse again. Tail stripes are thick bands and

5986-475: Is the primeval human man, in a misguided attempt to avenge his daughter. The nyen then is made to see his mistake by a mediator and compensates Khri-to's six sons with the gift of the tiger , yak , Garuda , dragon, goat , and dog . The first four brothers then launch an exhibition to kill robbers who were also involved with their mother's death, and each of their four animals then becomes a personal drala (wylie: dgra bla , "protective warrior spirit") to one of

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6132-511: Is traditionally classified into nine recent subspecies , though some recognise only two subspecies, mainland Asian tigers and the island tigers of the Sunda Islands . Throughout the tiger's range, it inhabits mainly forests, from coniferous and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the Russian Far East and Northeast China to tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests on the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia . The tiger

6278-419: Is usually thin, though the Siberian tiger develops a particularly thick winter coat. The tiger has lines of fur around the face and long whiskers, especially in males. It has an orange colouration that varies from yellowish to reddish. White fur covers the underside, from head to tail, along with the inner surface of the legs and parts of the face. On the back of the ears, it has a prominent white spot, which

6424-474: 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

6570-566: The Caucasus . In the Amur - Ussuri region of Russia and China, it inhabits Korean pine and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ; riparian forests serve as dispersal corridors, providing food and water for both tigers and ungulates . On the Indian subcontinent, it inhabits mainly tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , temperate broadleaf and mixed forests , tropical moist evergreen forests , tropical dry forests , alluvial plains and

6716-720: The Dharma of the Buddha , fójiào in Chinese, bukkyō in Japanese, nang pa sangs rgyas pa'i chos in Tibetan, buddhadharma in Sanskrit, buddhaśāsana in Pali. Tiger The tiger ( Panthera tigris ) is a large cat and a member of the genus Panthera native to Asia . It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It

6862-754: 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

7008-520: The IUCN Red List since 1986 and the global tiger population is thought to have continuously declined from an estimated population of 5,000–8,262 tigers in the late 1990s to 3,726–5,578 individuals estimated as of 2022. During 2001–2020, landscapes where tigers live declined from 1,025,488 km (395,943 sq mi) to 911,901 km (352,087 sq mi). Habitat destruction , habitat fragmentation and poaching for fur and body parts are

7154-673: 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

7300-465: 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

7446-659: 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

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7592-555: 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

7738-560: The Three Jewels , or the wish fulfilling jewel . Its appearance is supposed to bring peace, wealth, and harmony. The ritual invocation of the wind horse usually happens in the morning and during the growing moon. The flags themselves are commonly known as windhorse. They flutter in the wind, and carry the prayers to heaven like the horse flying in the wind. The garuda and the dragon have their origin in Indian (both Buddhist and Hindu ) and Chinese mythology , respectively. However, regarding

7884-423: The classification of the tiger as of 2005, and also reflect the classification recognised by the Cat Classification Task Force in 2017. Snow leopard [REDACTED] Tiger [REDACTED] Jaguar [REDACTED] Leopard [REDACTED] Lion [REDACTED] The tiger shares the genus Panthera with the lion , leopard , jaguar and snow leopard . Results of genetic analyses indicate that

8030-581: 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

8176-764: The mangrove forests of the Sundarbans . In the Eastern Himalayas , it was documented in temperate forest up to an elevation of 4,200 m (13,800 ft) in Bhutan, of 3,630 m (11,910 ft) in the Mishmi Hills and of 3,139 m (10,299 ft) in Mêdog County , southeastern Tibet. In Thailand, it lives in deciduous and evergreen forests. In Sumatra, it inhabits lowland peat swamp forests and rugged montane forests . Camera trapping during 2010–2015 in

8322-524: The monsoon ; three males had 84–147 km (32–57 sq mi) large home ranges in winter, 82–98 km (32–38 sq mi) in summer and 81–118 km (31–46 sq mi) during monsoon seasons. In Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve , 14 females had home ranges 248–520 km (96–201 sq mi) and five resident males of 847–1,923 km (327–742 sq mi) that overlapped with those of up to five females. When tigresses in

8468-584: 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

8614-431: The "ideal horse" ( rta chogs ) with swiftness and wind. On prayer flags and paper prints, windhorses usually appear in the company of the four animals of the cardinal directions, which are "an integral part of the rlung ta composition": garuda or kyung , and dragon in the upper corners, and White Tiger and Snow Lion in the lower corners. In this context, the wind horse is typically shown without wings, but carries

8760-534: The 'decline of windhorse,' when the opposite happens. The colloquial equivalent for this is lam ’gro, which also means luck." In his 1998 study The Arrow and the Spindle, Karmay traces several antecedents for the wind horse tradition in Tibet. First, he notes that there has long been confusion over the spelling because the sound produced by the word can be spelt either klung rta "river horse" or rlung rta "wind horse". In

8906-504: 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

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9052-556: 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

9198-664: 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

9344-608: 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

9490-484: 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

9636-504: 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

9782-493: The Chinese idea of the lung ma, "dragon horse," because in Chinese mythology dragons often arise out of rivers (although druk [wylie: 'brug ] is the Tibetan for dragon, in some cases they would render the Chinese lung phonetically). Thus, in his proposed etymology the Chinese lung ma became klung rta which in turn became rlung rta. Samtay further reasons that the drift in understanding from "river horse" to "wind horse" would have been reinforced by associations in Tibet of

9928-648: 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 ' ),

10074-662: 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")

10220-481: The International Tiger Studbook 1938–2018 indicate that captive tigers lived up to 19 years. The father does not play a role in raising the young, but he encounters and interacts with them. The resident male appears to visit the female–cub families within his home range. They socialise and even share kills. One male was recorded looking after cubs whose mother had died. By defending his home range,

10366-627: The Middle-Late Pleistocene of Japan. Results of a phylogeographic study indicate that all living tigers have a common ancestor that lived between 108,000 and 72,000 years ago. Genetic studies suggest that the tiger population contracted around 115,000 years ago due to glaciation. Modern tiger populations originated from a refugium in Indochina and spread across Asia after the Last Glacial Maximum . As they colonised northeastern China,

10512-588: 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

10658-407: The Tibetan context. As Karmay notes, "the word [windhorse] is still and often mistakenly taken to mean only the actual flag planted on the roof of a house or on a high place near a village. In fact, it is a symbol of the idea of well-being or good fortune. This idea is clear in such expressions as rlung rta dar ba, the 'increase of the windhorse,' when things go well with someone; rlung rta rgud pa ,

10804-520: 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

10950-458: 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

11096-466: The ancestors of the South China tiger intermixed with a relict tiger population. Tigers can interbreed with other Panthera cats and have done so in captivity. The liger is the offspring of a female tiger and a male lion and the tigon the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion. The lion sire passes on a growth-promoting gene, but the corresponding growth-inhibiting gene from the female tiger

11242-759: 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

11388-487: The basis of fur length and colouration, striping patterns and body size of specimens in natural history museum collections that are not necessarily representative for the entire population. It was proposed to recognise only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia and the smaller P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands . This two-subspecies proposal was reaffirmed in 2015 through

11534-536: The centuries it became more common for Buddhist elements to be incorporated. In particular, in the nineteenth century lamas of the Rimé movement , particularly the great scholar Ju Mipham , began to "create a systematic interweaving of native shamanism, oral epic, and Buddhist tantra , alchemical Taoism , Dzogchen , and the strange, vast Kalachakra tantra ," and windhorse was increasingly given Buddhist undertones and used in Buddhist contexts. Windhorse has several meanings in

11680-410: The deciduous and subtropical pine forest of Jim Corbett National Park , northern India revealed a stable tiger population density of 12–17 individuals per 100 km (39 sq mi) in an area of 521 km (201 sq mi). In northern Myanmar, the population density in a sampled area of roughly 3,250 km (1,250 sq mi) in a mosaic of tropical broadleaf forest and grassland

11826-467: 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

11972-443: The different subspecies and populations vary greatly in size and weight, the tiger's average size may be less than the lion's, while the largest tigers are bigger than their lion counterparts. The tiger's coat usually has short hairs, reaching up to 35 mm (1.4 in), though the hairs of the northern-living Siberian tiger can reach 105 mm (4.1 in). Belly hairs tend to be longer than back hairs. The density of their fur

12118-577: The dignities in place of the windhorse. In this context the snow lion, garuda and dragon represent the Ling (wylie: Gling ) community from which Gesar comes, while the tiger represents the family of the Tagrong (wylie: sTag rong ), Gesar's paternal uncle. The wind horse ceremonies are usually conducted in conjunction with the lhasang ( Wylie : lha bsang "smoke offering to the gods") ritual, in which juniper branches are burned to create thick and fragrant smoke. This

12264-618: 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

12410-575: The early 20th century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic range and are locally extinct in West and Central Asia , in large areas of China and on the islands of Java and Bali . Today, the tiger's range is severely fragmented. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , as its range is thought to have declined by 53% to 68% since the late 1990s. Major threats to tigers are habitat destruction and fragmentation due to deforestation , poaching for fur and

12556-587: 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

12702-658: The early twentieth century the great scholar Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso felt compelled to clarify that in his view rlung rta was preferable to klung rta , indicating that some degree of ambiguity must have persisted at least up to his time. Karmay suggests that "river horse" ( klung rta ) was actually the original concept, as found in the Tibetan nag rtsis system of astrology imported from China. The nag rtsis system has four basic elements: srog (vital force), lu (wylie: lus, body), wangtang (wylie: dbang thang , "field of power"), and lungta (wylie: klung rta, river horse). Karmey suggests that klung rta in turn derives from

12848-500: 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

12994-407: The eyes have a round pupil. The snout ends in a triangular, pink tip with small black dots, the number of which increase with age. The tiger's skull is robust, with a constricted front region, proportionally small, elliptical orbits , long nasal bones and a lengthened cranium with a large sagittal crest . It resembles a lion's skull, but differs from it in the concave or flattened underside of

13140-558: The fossil record are jaw fragments from Lantion in China that are dated to the early Pleistocene. Middle- to late-Pleistocene tiger fossils have been found throughout China, Sumatra and Java. Prehistoric subspecies include Panthera tigris trinilensis and P. t. soloensis of Java and Sumatra and P. t. acutidens of China; late Pleistocene and early Holocene fossils of tigers have also been found in Borneo and Palawan, Philippines. Fossil specimens of tigers have also been reported from

13286-499: The four brothers. The brothers who received the goat and dog choose not to participate, and their animals therefore do not become drala. Each of the brothers represents one of the six primitive Tibetan clans ( bod mi'u gdung drug ), with which their respective animals also become associated. The four animals (with the snow lion replacing the yak) also recur frequently in the Epic of King Gesar and sometimes Gesar and his horse are depicted with

13432-722: The fragmentation of potential tiger habitat, especially in the Eastern Plains. Inbreeding depression coupled with habitat destruction, insufficient prey resources and poaching is a threat to the small and isolated tiger population in the Changbai Mountains along the China–Russia border. In China, tigers became the target of large-scale 'anti-pest' campaigns in the early 1950s, where suitable habitats were fragmented following deforestation and resettlement of people to rural areas, who hunted tigers and prey species. Though tiger hunting

13578-519: The genes for this colour morph and the overrepresentation of white tigers in captivity is the result of inbreeding . Hence, their continued breeding will risk both inbreeding depression and loss of genetic variability in captive tigers. Pseudo- melanistic tigers with thick, merged stripes have been recorded in Simlipal National Park and three Indian zoos; a population genetic analysis of Indian tiger samples revealed that this phenotype

13724-463: The genus Panthera using the scientific name Panthera tigris . Nine recent tiger subspecies have been proposed between the early 19th and early 21st centuries, namely the Bengal , Malayan , Indochinese , South China , Siberian , Caspian , Javan , Bali and Sumatran tigers . The validity of several tiger subspecies was questioned in 1999 as most putative subspecies were distinguished on

13870-493: 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

14016-434: 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

14162-461: The illegal trade of body parts for medicinal purposes. Tigers are also victims of human–wildlife conflict as they attack and prey on livestock in areas where natural prey is scarce. The tiger is legally protected in all range countries. National conservation measures consist of action plans, anti-poaching patrols and schemes for monitoring tiger populations. In several range countries, wildlife corridors have been established and tiger reintroduction

14308-442: The lower jaw and in its longer nasals. The tiger has 30 fairly robust teeth and its somewhat curved canines are the longest in the cat family at 6.4–7.6 cm (2.5–3.0 in). The tiger has a head-body length of 1.4–2.8 m (4 ft 7 in – 9 ft 2 in) with a 0.6–1.1 m (2 ft 0 in – 3 ft 7 in) tail and stands 0.8–1.1 m (2 ft 7 in – 3 ft 7 in) at

14454-610: 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

14600-489: The major threats that contributed to the decrease of tiger populations in all range countries. Protected areas in central India are highly fragmented due to linear infrastructure like roads, railway lines, transmission lines , irrigation channels and mining activities in their vicinity. In the Tanintharyi Region of southern Myanmar, deforestation coupled with mining activities and high hunting pressure threatens

14746-760: The male protects the females and cubs from other males. When a new male takes over, dependent cubs are at risk of infanticide as the male attempts to sire his own young with the females. A seven-year long study in Chitwan National Park revealed that 12 of 56 detected cubs and juveniles were killed by new males taking over home ranges. Tigers are recorded as hosts for various parasites including tapeworms like Diphyllobothrium erinacei , Taenia pisiformis in India and nematodes like Toxocara species in India and Physaloptera preputialis , Dirofilaria ursi and Uiteinarta species in Siberia. Canine distemper

14892-412: 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

15038-573: 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

15184-478: 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

15330-523: The more vulnerable calves. They sometimes prey on livestock and dogs in close proximity to settlements. Tigers occasionally consume vegetation, fruit and minerals for dietary fibre and supplements. Tigers learn to hunt from their mothers, though the ability to hunt may be partially inborn. Depending on the size of the prey, they typically kill weekly though mothers must kill more often. Families hunt together when cubs are old enough. They search for prey using vision and hearing. A tiger will also wait at

15476-546: The morning. A three-year-long camera trap survey in Shuklaphanta National Park revealed that tigers were most active from dusk until midnight. In northeastern China, tigers were crepuscular and active at night with activity peaking at dawn and dusk; they were largely active at the same time as their prey. The tiger is a powerful swimmer and easily transverses rivers as wide as 8 km (5.0 mi); it immerses in water, particularly on hot days. In general, it

15622-538: The mother and fatal injuries. After around two months, the cubs are able to follow their mother. They still hide in vegetation when she goes hunting. Young bond through play fighting and practice stalking. A hierarchy develops in the litter, with the biggest cub, often a male, being the most dominant and the first to eat its fill at a kill. Around the age of six months, cubs are fully weaned and have more freedom to explore their environment. Between eight and ten months, they accompany their mother on hunts. A cub can make

15768-477: The neck. Large prey may be disabled by a bite to the back of the hock , severing the tendon. Swipes from the large paws are capable of stunning or breaking the skull of a water buffalo . They kill small prey with a bite to the back of the neck or head. Estimates of the success rate for hunting tigers range from a low of 5% to a high of 50%. They are sometimes killed or injured by large or dangerous prey like gaur, buffalo and boar. Tigers typically move kills to

15914-596: 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

16060-502: The origin of the animals as a tetrad, "neither written nor oral explanations exist anywhere" with the exception of a thirteenth-century manuscript called "The Appearance of the Little Black-Headed Man" ( dBu nag mi'u dra chag ), and in that case a yak is substituted for the snow lion, which had not yet emerged as the national symbol of Tibet. In the text, a nyen (wylie: gNyan, mountain spirit) kills his son-in-law, Khri-to, who

16206-627: 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

16352-639: 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

16498-405: The prey spots it before then, the cat does not pursue further. A tiger can sprint 56 km/h (35 mph) and leap 10 m (33 ft); it is not a long-distance runner and gives up a chase if prey outpaces it over a certain distance. The tiger attacks from behind or at the sides and tries to knock the target off balance. It latches onto prey with its forelimbs, twisting and turning during

16644-402: 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

16790-668: The same reserve had cubs of up to four months of age, they reduced their home ranges to stay near their young and steadily enlarged them until their offspring were 13–18 months old. The tiger is a long-ranging species and individuals disperse over distances of up to 650 km (400 mi) to reach tiger populations in other areas. Young tigresses establish their first home ranges close to their mothers' while males migrate further than their female counterparts. Four radio-collared females in Chitwan dispersed between 0 and 43.2 km (0.0 and 26.8 mi) and 10 males between 9.5 and 65.7 km (5.9 and 40.8 mi). A subadult male lives as

16936-424: The same sex and the home range of a male encompasses that of multiple females. Two females in the Sundarbans had home ranges of 10.6 and 14.1 km (4.1 and 5.4 sq mi). In Panna Tiger Reserve , the home ranges of five reintroduced females varied from 53–67 km (20–26 sq mi) in winter to 55–60 km (21–23 sq mi) in summer and to 46–94 km (18–36 sq mi) during

17082-402: The same time and place, and was suggested to be a sister species of the modern tiger when it was examined in 2014. However, as of 2023, at least two subsequent studies considered P. zdanskyi likely to be a synonym of P. palaeosinensis , noting that its proposed differences from that species fell within the range of individual variation. The earliest appearance of the modern tiger species in

17228-593: 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

17374-449: The shoulder. The Siberian and Bengal tigers are the largest. Male Bengal tigers weigh 200–260 kg (440–570 lb), and females weigh 100–160 kg (220–350 lb); island tigers are the smallest, likely due to insular dwarfism . Male Sumatran tigers weigh 100–140 kg (220–310 lb), and females weigh 75–110 kg (165–243 lb). The tiger is popularly thought to be the largest living felid species; but since tigers of

17520-557: The six living putative subspecies—the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South China, Siberian and Sumatran tiger—found them to be distinct and separate clades . These results were corroborated in 2021 and 2023. The Cat Specialist Group states that "Given the varied interpretations of data, the [subspecific] taxonomy of this species is currently under review by the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group." The following tables are based on

17666-467: 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

17812-401: The struggle and tries to pull it to the ground. The tiger generally applies a bite to the throat until its victim dies of strangulation . It has an average bite force at the canine tips of 1234.3 newtons . Holding onto the throat puts the cat out of reach of horns, antlers, tusks and hooves. Tigers are adaptable killers and may use other methods, including ripping the throat or breaking

17958-639: 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

18104-680: 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,

18250-509: 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

18396-422: The three predators involve chasing, stealing kills and direct killing. Large dhole packs may kill tigers. Tigers, leopards and dholes coexist by hunting different sized prey. In Nagarhole National Park , the average weight for tiger kills was found to be 91.5 kg (202 lb), compared to 37.6 kg (83 lb) for leopards and 43.4 kg (96 lb) for dholes. In Kui Buri National Park , following

18542-498: The tiger and snow leopard are sister species whose lineages split from each other between 2.70 and 3.70 million years ago. The tiger's whole genome sequencing shows repeated sequences that parallel those in other cat genomes. The fossil species Panthera palaeosinensis of early Pleistocene northern China was described as a possible tiger ancestor when it was discovered in 1924, but modern cladistics places it as basal to modern Panthera . Panthera zdanskyi lived around

18688-411: The tiger and the river is doubted. In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the tiger in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis tigris , as the genus Felis was being used for all cats at the time. His scientific description was based on descriptions by earlier naturalists such as Conrad Gessner and Ulisse Aldrovandi . In 1929, Reginald Innes Pocock placed the species in

18834-584: The tiger population. In Thailand, nine of 15 protected areas hosting tigers are isolated and fragmented, offering a low probability for dispersal between them; four of these have not harboured tigers since about 2013. In Peninsular Malaysia, 8,315.7 km (3,210.7 sq mi) of tiger habitat was cleared during 1988–2012, most of it for industrial plantations . Large-scale land acquisitions of about 23,000 km (8,900 sq mi) for commercial agriculture and timber extraction in Cambodia contributed to

18980-786: The time spent with her cubs by reducing her home range, killing larger prey and returning to her den more rapidly than without cubs; when the cubs started to eat meat, she took them to kill sites, thereby optimising their protection and access to food. In the same reserve, one of 21 cubs died in over eight years of monitoring and mortality did not differ between male and female juveniles. Tiger monitoring over six years in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve indicated an average annual survival rate of around 85 percent for 74 male and female cubs; survival rate increased to 97 percent for both males and female juveniles of one to two years of age. Causes of cub mortality include predators, floods, fires, death of

19126-463: The white spots, particularly during aggressive encounters and between mothers and cubs. They also use their tails to signal their mood. To show cordiality, the tail sticks up and sways slowly, while an apprehensive tiger lowers its tail or wags it side-to-side. When calm, the tail hangs low. Tigers are normally silent but can produce numerous vocalisations. They roar to signal their presence to other individuals over long distances. This vocalisation

19272-563: 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

19418-647: 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

19564-465: Was a borrowing from Classical Greek [τίγρις] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) ( help ) 'tigris'. Since ancient times, the word tigris has been suggested to originate from the Armenian or Persian word for 'arrow', which may also be the origin of the name for the river Tigris . However, today, the names are thought to be homonyms , and the connection between

19710-468: 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

19856-615: 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

20002-491: 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

20148-905: 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

20294-507: Was considered the last important site for the tiger in Laos, but it has not been recorded there at least since 2013; this population likely fell victim to indiscriminate snaring. Anti-poaching units in Sumatra's Kerinci Seblat landscape removed 362 tiger snare traps and seized 91 tiger skins during 2005–2016; annual poaching rates increased with rising skin prices. Poaching is also the main threat to

20440-420: Was estimated to be 0.21–0.44 tigers per 100 km (39 sq mi) as of 2009. Population density in mixed deciduous and semi-evergreen forests of Thailand's Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary was estimated at 2.01 tigers per 100 km (39 sq mi); during the 1970s and 1980s, logging and poaching had occurred in the adjacent Mae Wong and Khlong Lan National Parks , where population density

20586-839: Was much lower, estimated at only 0.359 tigers per 100 km (39 sq mi) as of 2016. Population density in dipterocarp and montane forests in northern Malaysia was estimated at 1.47–2.43 adult tigers per 100 km (39 sq mi) in Royal Belum State Park , but 0.3–0.92 adult tigers per 100 km (39 sq mi) in the unprotected selectively logged Temengor Forest Reserve. Camera trap data show that tigers in Chitwan National Park avoided locations frequented by people and were more active at night than during day. In Sundarbans National Park , six radio-collared tigers were most active from dawn to early morning and reached their zenith around 7:00 o'clock in

20732-480: 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

20878-569: Was prohibited in 1977, the population continued to decline and is considered extinct in South China since 2001. Tiger populations in India have been targeted by poachers since the 1990s and were extirpated in two tiger reserves in 2005 and 2009. Between March 2017 and January 2020, 630 activities of hunters using snares , drift nets, hunting platforms and hunting dogs were discovered in a reserve forest of about 1,000 km (390 sq mi) in southern Myanmar. Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park

21024-478: 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

21170-584: 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)

21316-635: 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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