History of Buddhism

A peek into the history of Buddhism, where and how it originated and where it is headed; like any other religion, Buddhism has come the long route of fights, disputes and opposition. Most of the history of Buddhism has been formed by the Great Councils throughout the history of Buddhism - however, this is one religion that has emerged as strong and united and all because the Buddhists actually practice what they preach.

The greatest achievement is selflessness; the greatest effort is not concerned with results. - Atisha

History OF Buddhism: A Glimpse into the Past.

Buddhism is a religion that practices spiritual development of the mind and eventually shines light upon the true nature of life. It is the belief of Buddhists, the practitioners of Buddhism, that every human has hidden qualities such as kindness, wisdom and awareness, which need to be consciously developed by changing oneself through the practice of meditation. Thousands of years of tradition and practice within the Buddhist sects teach you the way to explore yourself - a path that will eventually end in enlightenment, a status called 'Buddhahood'. This religion does not teach its followers to worship a creator, or God, perhaps this is why many people do not look upon Buddhism as a religion. Buddhism teach very straightforward and practical tenets, which include the beliefs that nothing in this world is fixed or permanent, all actions have related consequences, good actions will have good results, and bad ones will have bad consequences and change is always possible. Buddhism teaches all to be self sufficient and be responsible for their lives; moreover the main teachings of Buddhism are development of wisdom and compassion towards one and all through the practice of non-violence, tolerance of any differences, usually through meditation. Buddhism has become so popular and wide spread that there are believed to be over 350 million Buddhists all over the world.

Where the history of Buddhism began:

Buddhism has its origins in India as far back as 580 BC. Many people say that Buddhism started with the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautam in Lumbini of North India, A royal state on the border of Nepal. The fact is that at the age of 29 the young Prince Siddhartha, grieved by the many sufferings of life, such as death, old age and sickness, left his wife, family and royal heritage and went out in search of 'enlightenment', which he strived to attain for many years through self-denial, meditation and living a very simple lifestyle with only the bare necessities to his name. This is the actual beginning of Buddhism.

Many a time his only shelter would be a shady tree and he would depend on the goodness of countrymen for his meals. This meditation and simple life taught the prince many facts of life and showed him the path that led to a trouble free and healthy lifestyle. After 40 years of wandering and meditating, Prince Siddhartha discovered that he had actually attained freedom from pain and suffering this life would have inflicted upon him; he attributed this alleviation to his mindset and disciplined lifestyle, which was free from greed and want and included a love and compassion for all living things, and a life of non-violence. Prince Siddhartha set out on a journey that would take him far across the continent, preaching his learning's, which sounded so full of truth to all who came to hear him speak that they called the Prince 'Buddha" - Which literally translates to "The enlightened one". The 'Buddha', thus, is actually a title and not a name. The Buddha did not claim to be a God or even a prophet but just an enlightened human being. Enlightenment was a process that took the Buddha all of forty years under a peepal tree. The remaining forty five years of his life he wandered through the land teaching people the way to self-enlightenment, and in the process creating better human beings - Buddhists have established themselves as non-violent, tolerant people the world over.

The Councils;

History will stand witness that, as with anything that gets organized, corruption cannot be far away. So was it the same with Buddhism. Once the religion began to get organized, corruption began to seep into its portals and the need to clean out the system of false Buddhist monks and beliefs from time to time became very apparent. There was wide spread disagreements pertaining to the teachings of the Buddha and this needed to be sorted out. This is when the great councils had to be organized. It is believed that in the history of Buddhism the councils have had to sit six times at different places and the history of Buddhism saw the first council sit just a few months of the Buddha having attained enlightenment and was organized at a place called Rajagaha. Though the aim of the first council was to reach a consensus on the Buddha's teachings the teachings were not recorded in writing at this time.

The Second Council:

About a hundred years after the Buddha attained enlightenment a great dispute arose between the Mahasanghika majority, which was known as the Great Assembly of the eastern parts of India, and the Sthavira minority, or 'Elders', of the west. The dispute was to do with the nature of the 'Arahant', or saint, as he was getting to be known as. The second council tried to redress this dispute at a place called 'vasali'. Some believe that the second council sat to reprimand some Buddhist monks for their questionable behavior. They were accused of violating ten practices of Buddhism. These were:

1. Storing salt in a horn.
2. Eating after midday.
3. Eating once and then going again to a village for alms.
4. Holding the Uposatha Ceremony with monks dwelling in the same locality.
5. Carrying out official acts when the assembly was incomplete.
6. Following a certain practice because it was done by one's tutor or teacher.
7. Eating sour milk after one had his midday meal.
8. Consuming strong drink before it had been fermented.
9. Using a rug which was not the proper size.
10. Using gold and silver.

The main issue at the second council in the history of Buddhism was the use of gold and silver as also any form of money. Buddhist Monks of Vesali had begun wandering with the aim of collecting alms - their main aim was to collect money. The visiting monk named Yasa, strongly objected and this led to the second council.

The Third Buddhist Council:

The Third Buddhist council was organized in the year 250 BC at Asokarama at Patliputra in India to rid the system of corrupt and false monks who were believed to hold steadfast to heretical views.

The Fourth Council:

There were two fourth Councils held in the year 30 BC. The first was held in Sri Lanka and was in response to a call by the Buddhist monks to write down the Pali Canon, which was at that time entirely memorized by the Buddhist monks who were succumbing to starvation due to a series of failed harvests. There were monks whose sole duty it was to memorize different parts of the scripture to be taught to later generations. These monks had started to die and the scriptures were in danger of being lost forever. The First Council aimed to record these teachings and scriptures in order to preserve them for generations to come. The second fourth council was convened in Kashmir and comprised of about 500 monks. The aim was to compile extensive teachings and commentaries on the 'Savastvadin Abhidharma'. Many monks charge that a lot of editing and rewriting of the canon was undertaken and executed during this council. The 'Great Exegesis' is the outcome of this council.

The Fifth Council:

The fifth council was organized in Burma, then Myanmar, in 1971 under the reign of King Mindon. This fifth council endeavored to recite all the teachings and examine them in the minutest of ways for discrepancies which could include teachings that had been dropped, distorted or altered in any way through the centuries. This council was presided over by three elders; the Venerable Mahathera Jagarabhivamsa, the Venerable Narindabhidhaja, and the Venerable Mahathera Sumangalasami with more than two thousand four hundred monks in attendance and lasted three months. During which it was decided that the entire 'Tipitaka' was to be inscribed on seven hundred marble slabs. Each of these slabs was five and a half feet tall and three and a half feet wide and about five inches thick. The history of Buddhism gave the world the largest book that stands tall to this day in the many Pagodas at the foot hills of Mandalay hill in Burma.

Recent Activities of Buddhism: - The Sixth Council

It was eighty three years after the fifth council two thousand five hundred monks convened at Mandalay to mark and celebrate the two thousand five hundredth year of Buddhism. The sixth council commenced on the 17th of May 1954 in order to finish the preparations for the twenty fourth of May 1956, the day that marked the twenty fifth century of Buddhism, or the day the Lord Buddha attained enlightenment.

During the 25 centuries of Buddhism many controversies and disputes have cropped up from time to time, but the teachings of the Buddha guided the monks to resolve them all with wisdom and tolerance. Not much has changed through the 2500 years and not much will, it is hoped. Though Buddhism is such a widely practiced religion, and has spread to all countries of the world, it has not actually been propagated forcefully. Perhaps this is the main attraction of a religion that practices what it preaches - non-violence and tolerance of others.