Gautam Buddha and Origin of Buddhism

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Buddhism is one of the world's major religious traditions, with the majority of its influence in south and southeastern Asia. The history of Buddhism is the story of one man's spiritual journey to Enlightenment, and of the teachings and ways of living that developed from it. Siddhartha Gautama The Buddha. During its roughly 2.5 millennia of history, Buddhism has shown a flexible approach, adapting itself to different conditions and local ideas while maintaining its core teachings. The founder of Buddhism in this world is Buddha Shakyamuni. He was born as a royal prince in 624 BC in a place called Lumbini, which was originally in northern India but is now part of Nepal. 'Shakya' is the name of the royal family into which he was born, and 'Muni' means 'Able One'. The history of Buddhism also witnessed the development of numerous movements and divisions, such as Theravada, Mahayana, etc. This valuable book on Buddhism will be an important resource guide for students of theology and general public.

Pramod Chattarak is Associate Professor in the Department of Buddhist Studies at BSK College, Dhanbad, Jharkhand. He has attended many national and international seminars. His several research papers have been published in reputed journals.

Buddhism is one of the world's major religious traditions, with the majority of its influence in south and southeastern Asia. The history of Buddhism is the story of one man's spiritual journey to Enlightenment, and of the teachings and ways of living that developed from it. Siddhartha Gautama - The Buddha. During its roughly 2.5 millennia of history, Buddhism has shown a flexible approach, adapting itself to different conditions and local ideas while maintaining its core teachings. The founder of Buddhism in this world is Buddha Shakyamuni. He was born as a royal prince in 624 BC in a place called Lumbini, which was originally in northern India but is now part of Nepal. Shakya' is the name of the royal family into which he was born and 'Muni' means 'Able One". The history of Buddhism also witnessed the development of numerous movements and divisions, such as Theravada, Mahayana, etc. The First Council The first council of Buddhism Sangha was organized a few months after Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana. It was held in Rajagaha, with the aim of developing an agreement on his teachings.

Siddhartha Gautama lived during a time of profound social changes in India. The authority of the Vedic religion was being challenged by a number of new religious and philosophical views. This religion had been developed by a nomadic society roughly a millennium before Siddhartha's time, and it gradually gained hegemony over most of north India, especially in the Gangetic plain. But things were different in the 5th BCE, as society was no longer nomadic: agrarian settlements had replaced the old nomad caravans and evolved into villages, then into towns and finally into cities. Under the new urban context, a considerable sector of Indian society was no longer satisfied with the old Vedic faith. Siddhartha Gautama was one of the many critics of the religious establishment. After Siddhartha Gautama's death, the community he founded slowly evolved into a religion-like movement and the teachings of Siddhartha became the basis of Buddhism. The historical evidence suggests that Buddhism had a humble beginning. Apparently, it was a relatively minor tradition in India, and some scholars have proposed that the impact of the Buddha in his own day was relatively limited due to the scarcity of written documents, inscriptions, and archaeological evidence from that time. By the 3rd century BCE, the picture we have of Buddhism is very different. The Mauryan Indian emperor Ashoka the Great (304-232 BCE), who ruled from 268 to 232 BCE, turned Buddhism into the state religion of India. He provided a favourable social and political climate for the acceptance of Buddhist ideas, encouraged Buddhist missionary activity, and even generated among Buddhist monks certain expectations of patronage and influence on the machinery of political decision making. Archaeological evidence for Buddhism between the death of the Buddha and the time of Ashoka is scarce; after the time of Ashoka, it is abundant. The most important teaching of the Buddha is known as "The Four Noble Truths", which is shared with varying adjustments by all Buddhist schools.

**Contents and Sample Pages**