veda, upanishads and life of the buddha...life of the buddha. religious landscape in 600 b.c.e c....
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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
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