VEDA, UPANISHADS AND

LIFE OF THE BUDDHA

RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE IN 600 B.C.E

c. 1500 B.C.E. VEDAS

- Natural Forces as Gods

Indra – God of Thunder, king of the gods

Brahmanaspati /Brahma– God of the

Creative Word

Surya – Sun God (Mitra, Vishnu – solar gods, sun cult)

Agni – God of Fire

Varuna – God of Ocean, also solar god

Aditi – Mother of the Gods

Saraswati – river goddess of inspiration

Prithvi – earth goddess

- Symbolic language

- Caste system – hereditary and hierarchical

(brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, sudra, achyuta)

RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE IN 500 B.C.E

c. 1500 B.C.E. VEDAS (cont’d)

- Fire Sacrifices – brahmin mediated offerings of

libations, grains and animals

- Recognition of practitioners of extremism (Vratyas,

Keshins)

– ascetic and middle path, shraman and brahmin

- Ritual as Icon

RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE IN 500 B.C.E

c. 10th – UPANISHADS

7th c. B.C.E.

- Vedic reformism; proto-philosophic texts

- Concern with ultimate reality as Unitary

(Brahman)

- Bliss (Ananda) as basis of reality

- Idea of self-division of Brahman as an

appearance through power of Maya

- Individualized self-appearances of Brahman

= Atman

- Affirmation of reincarnation

- Emphasis on experience of Brahman through

meditation

- Privileging of shramanic/monastic (muni)

existence

- Freedom from cycle of rebirths (moksha /

jivanmukti)

Conception of the Buddha –

Maya’s white elephant dream

Bharhut Mahastupa, c. 2nd c.

B.C.E.

Birth of Buddha at Lumbini, Gandhara, c. 2nd c. C.E.

Conception and Birth, Sarnath style, c. 6th c. C.E

Seer Asita’s prediction, Gandhara, 3rd – 4th c. C.E. – play of king and shraman ideas

- idea of the philosopher-king

Gautama as a young adult

meditating under

a jambu tree, Gandhara,

c. 6th c.

-Spontaneous meditation

- Prelude to his bodhi

meditation

Gautama

Encounters

the Four

Signs,

Thailand,

20th c.

-old age:

suffering as

incapacity

-sick man:

suffering as

pain

-dead man:

-suffering

as non-

existence

-shraman:

-seeking for

a way out

of suffering

Gautama departs from his palace, Gandhara, 4th c. C.E.

The Great Departure,

Abanindranath Tagore,

c. 1918

At age 29, Gautama

departs on his horse

Kanthaka to find the

solution to the

problem of suffering

Gautama releases his horse and servant and shears his hair, Borobudur, 9th c. C.E.

From Rajagriha, Gautama

studied with two teachers,

Arada Kalama and Udaraka

Ramaputra. Having mastered

their meditation practices, he

did not find the answer to his

question on eradicating

suffering. He joined a band

of 5 wandering shramans and

came near Uruvela, trying to

outdo them in ascetic

practices.

Gautama as an Ascetic,

Gandhara, Sikri Stupa,

1st. – 3rd. c. C.E.

Liang Kai. Shakyamuni

Descending from the

Mountains. Hanging

scroll. Ink and color on

silk, China, early 13th c.

He remembers his

spontaneous meditation

and affirms the middle

path – a Vedic choice

Gautama is attacked by the hordes of Mara, Mogao cave 428, N. Zhou, 6th c. C.E.

Gautama reaching Enlightenment, black schist, Nalanda monastery, 10th – 11th c. C.E.

Buddha teaches his first

sermon, “turning the

wheel of the Law

(dharmachakra

pravartana)”, Sarnath,

5th c. C.E.

THE FIRST SERMON

(DHARMACHAKRA PRAVARTANA – TURNING THE WHEEL OF THE LAW)

Return to Kapilavastu, Rahula becomes a monk, Wat Chiang Man, Chiang Mai, c. 1926 .

Parinirvana of

The Buddha,

Kongobu-ji,

Koyosan,

1086