INDEX

1. Objectives
2. Introduction
3. Life as Siddhartha
4. The journey to enlightenment
(i)The passing Sights
(ii)The Middle Path
(iii) Finding Liberation
5. Principles and teachings of Buddha
(i) Four Noble Truth
(ii) Eightfold paths
6. The first Sangha
(i)Monks , Nuns , and the rule of the
Sangha
(ii)women in Buddhism
7. Types of Buddhism
8. Buddhist festivals
9. Buddhist holy book
10. Buddhist art and architecture
11. Conclusion
12. Photo Gallery
13. Bibliography

Objective
This project Will explore the detail the history of Buddhism
We would like to explain Siddhartha Gautama's life and
Describe the main ideas of Buddhism and investigate the
Eightfold path and the four Noble Truth and how these ideas
Have been a great impact on Indian society as well as
Southside India.
CH1 INTRODUCTION
Buddhism is a faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama
(“the Buddha”) more than 2,500 years ago in India. With about
470 million followers, scholars consider Buddhism one of the
major world religions. Its practice has historically been most
prominent in East and Southeast Asia, but its influence is
growing in the West. Many Buddhist ideas and philosophies
overlap with those of other faiths.

Ch 2 life as Siddhartha

The Buddha or Siddhartha gautama was

born around 567 B.C.E , in a small kingdom
just Below the Himalayan foothills.His
father was a chief of shakya clan . His said
That twelve years before his birth the
brahmins prophesied that he would become
either a universal monarch or a great sage .
To prevent him from becoming a ascetic his
father kept him within the confines of the
palace. Gautama grew up in princily
luxury.shielded from the outside world ,
entertained by the dancing girls , instructed
by brahmins , and trained in archery ,
swordsmanship , wrestling, swimming,and
running when he came to age he married
Gopa, who gave birth to a son . He had , as
we might say today , everything

CH 3 The Journey of Enlightenment

One day seated beneath the Bodhi tree

(The tree of awakening) Siddhartha
became deeply absorbed in meditation ,
and reflected on his experience of life ,
determined to penetrate it’s truth. He
Finally Achieved Enlightenment and
became the Buddha . The Mahabodhi
temple at the site of Buddha’s
Enlightenment, is now a pilgrimage site

The Passing Sights

One day , after growing up , marrying up
and having a child, Siddhartha went outside
the royal enclosure where he lived. When
he went outside he saw ,. Each for the first
time , an old man, a sick man and a corpse
This greatly disturbed him and he learned
that sickness , age , and death were the
inevitable facts of human being – a fate no
– one could avoid. These life-changing
encounters would become known in
Buddhism as the four passing Sights

The Middle Path

His five companions left him after he made

the decision to take more substantial food
and to abandon asceticism. Then ,
Siddhartha entered a village in search of
food. There , is a women sujata offered him
a dish of milk and a separate vessel of
honey . His strength returned. Siddhartha
washed himself in the Nairanjana River ,
and then set off to the Bodhi tree . He
spread a mat of kusha grass underneath ,
crossed his leg and sat.
He sat , having listened to all the teachers,
studied all the sacred texts and tried all the
methods. Now there was nothing rely on ,
no one to turn to , nowhere to go. He sat
solid and unmoving and determined as a
mountain , until finally , after six days , his
eye opened on the rising morning star , so
it is said , and he realized that what he had
been looking for had never been lost ,
neither to him , nor to anyone else.
Therefore there was nothing to attain , and
no longer any struggle to attain it.

Finding Liberation

With this action Siddhartha Gautama joined

a whole class of men who had dropped out
of Indian society to find Liberation. There
were a variety of methods and teachers ,
and Gautama investigated many – athesits,
materialists , idealist and dialecticians. The
deep forest and the tuming marketplace
were alive with the sounds of thousands
arguments and opinions , unlike in our time.
Gautama finally settled down to work with
two teachers. From Arada kalama, who had
Three Hundred Disciples, he learned how
to discipline his mind to enter the sphere of
nothingness. But even though Arada
kalama asked him to remain and teach as
an equal, he recognized that this was not
Liberation, and left. Next Siddhartha
learned how to enter the concentration of
mind which is neither consciousness nor
unconsciousness from Udraka Ramaputra.
But neither was this Liberation and
Siddhartha left his second teacher.
For Six years Siddhartha along with five
companions practised austerities and
concentration. He drove himself mercilessly
, eating only a single grain of rice a day ,
pitting mind against body . His ribs stuck
through his wasted flesh and he seemed
more dead than alive

CH 4 Principles and teachings of Buddha

The Buddha’s teaching have been

reconstructed from stories , found mainly in
the Sutla Pitaka. Some stories describe his
miraculous power , others suggest that the
Buddha tried to convince people through
persuasion rather than through displays of
supernatural power. For instance, when a
grief-stricken woman whose child had died
came to the Buddha , he gently convinced
about the inevitability of death rather than
bring her son back to life.
According to the Buddhist philosophy, the
world is translent(anicca) as there is
nothing permanent or eternal in it . Within
this transient world , sorrow ( dukkha) is
intrinsic to human existence it is by
following the path of moderation between
severe penance and self indulgence that
human being can rise above these worldly
troubles. In the earliest form of Buddhism ,.
Whether or not God existed was irrelevant.
The Buddha was regarded the social world
as the creation of human rather than of
divine origin. Therefore . He advised Kings
and gahapatis to be human and ethical
Individual efforts was expected to transform
social relation. The Buddha emphasised
individual agency and righteous action as
the means to escape from the cycle of
rebirth and attain self-rralisation and
nibbana , literally the extinguishing of the
ego and desire and thus end the the cycle
of suffering for those who renounced the
world. According to Buddhist tradition his
last words to his followers were: “Be lamps
into yourselves as all of you must work out
your own liberation.

Four Noble Truth

In Buddhism four Noble Truth are

considered to be the first teaching of
Buddha and one of his most important
teachings.
The four Noble truths, which Buddha
Taught, are
The Suffering ( Dukkha)
The truth of the cause of suffering
(Samudaya)
The truth of the end of Suffering
( Nirhodha)
The truth of the path that free us from
suffering ( magga)
Collectively these Principles explain why
humans hurt and how to overcome
suffering.
Buddha set in motion the wheel of teaching:
rather than worshipping one God or gods,
Buddhism centers around the timeless
importance of the teaching, or the Dharma.
For the next 45 years of his life the Buddha
Taught many Disciples, who became
Arahants or ‘nobleones’, who had attained
Enlightenment for themselves.

Eightfold path

The Buddha Taught his followers that the

end of suffering, as described in the fourth
Noble Truth, could be achieved by following
an Eightfold path.
In no particular order, the eightfold path of
Buddhism teaches the following ideals for
either conduct, mental disciple and
achieving wisdom.
Right understanding (samma ditti)
Right thought (samma sankappa)
Right speech (samma Vaca)
Right action (samma kammanta)
Right livelihood (samma ajiva)
Right efforts (samma vayama)
Right mindfulness (samma sati)
Right concentration (samma samadhi)

CH5 The first Sangha

The five ascetics who listened to the

Buddhas first discourse in the deer Park
became the nucleus of a community, a
Sangha of men (women were to enter later)
who followed the way the Buddha had
described in his four Noble Truth, the Noble
Eightfold path . These bhikshus,or monks,
lived Simply, owning a bowl a rope , needle
, a water strainer, and a razor, since they
shaved their head as a sign of having left
home . They travelled around northeastern
India , practicing meditation alone or in
small groups begging for their meals .

Sanghas are Buddhist monastic order ,

traditionally composed of four groups:
monks ,. Nuns , laymen, and laywomen –
the Sangha originated in the group of
Disciples who renounced the worldly life to
wander with the Buddha and listen to his
teachings . After the Buddha’s death his
disciples continued to live together as a
community, living off the receipt of alms.
During the time of the full and new moon
followers of Buddha would gather and
reaffirm their sense of community and
purpose be reciting their basic beliefs. This
steady retreat eventually resulted in the
settling of the community. The monastic
order is dependent on the lay community
for economic support in the form of alms or
large gifts of money and property, since
Buddhist monks-notably those of the
thevavāda tradition in southeast Asia do not
engage in commerce or agriculture.

Monks Nuns And the rules of the Sangha

The Sangha generally refers to orders of

monks and nuns who have chosen a life
that focuses entirely on the Dhamma. They
live according to the rules of the order of
monks or nuns they join. These rules are
called the vinaya, meaning ‘discipline’
Monks and nuns can be referred to as
bhikku. The word literally means ‘beggar’,
as the Buddha and his followers owned
nothing and asked for food , having
renounced the world completely. Buddhist
communities are happy to give to food ,
clothing and other necessities to the monks
and nuns because they have renounced
material wealth and family life to devote
themselves to the dhamma. This means
that Buddhist monks and nuns.provide
important spiritual help and guidance for
the lay community. Today, Buddhist monks
and nuns may generate income by holding
meditation classes and offering services or
selling things that may benefit the
community.
Orders of monks and nuns follow strict
rules of conduct , such as no sexual
relations, eating only before midday and
refraining from gossip. Between midday
and the following day , monk chant,
meditate and study . They also keep the
monastery clean and neat monks own very
little, often just their robes and belt a food
bowl , a needle and thread to mend their
robes, and a razor to shave their hair.
There are some rules laid down for the
Buddhist monks and nuns
 When a new rug has been made by a
bhikku, it is to be kept for at least six
years . It after less than six years , he
should a new rug, then unless he has
been authorised by the bhikkus. It is to
be forfeited and confessed.
 If a bhikku arrives at a family residence
and is presented with cakes or cooked
grain meal , he may accept two or three
bowlfuls. Having more should be
confessed and bowlfuls is to be shared
with other bhikkus.
 If any bhikku has set out bedding is a
lodging belonging to the Sangha or has
had it set out and departing neither put
it away or gone without taking a leave,.
It is to be confessed.
Women in Buddhism

Initially only men were Allowed into

Sangha but later women also came to be
admitted. This was made possible
throught the meditation of Ananda, one of
the Buddha’s dearest disciples who
persuaded him to allow women. The
Buddha’s foster mother, Mahaprajapati
Goutmi was the first women to be
obtained as a Bhikkuni. One significant
strand emphasizes that in terms of
spiritual attainment, women and men
have equal spiritual capabilities and that
woman in many cases have attained
spiritual liberation. Buddhist doctrines do
not differentiate between men and women
since everyone, regardless of gender ,
status, or age , is subjected to old age ,
illness and mortality. Many women
entered the Sangha and became teachers
of dhamma, went on to become theirs or
respected women who attain liberation

CH 6 types of Buddhism

Today, many forms of Buddhism exist

around the world. The three main types
that represent specific geographical area
include:
Theravada Buddhism: prevalent in
Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and
Burma.
Mahayana Buddhism: prevalent in China,
Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and
Vietnam.

Tibetan Buddhism: prevalent in Tibet,

Nepal, Mongolia, bhuttan, and part of
Russia and northern Indian.
CH 7 Buddhist festivals

There are many special or holy days held

throughout the year by the Buddhist
community. Many of these days celebrate
the birthdays of Bodhisattva’s in the
Mahayana tradition or other significant
dates in the Buddhist calender. The most
celebration happens every may on the
night of the full moon, when Buddhist all
over the world celebration the birth,
enlightenment and death of the Buddha
over 2500 years ago. It has become to be
known as Buddha Day.
CH 8 Buddhist Holy Book

Buddhist reverse many sacred texts and

scripture. Some of the most important
are:
Tipitaka: These texts, known as the “three
baskets”, are thought to be the earliest
collection of Buddhist writtings.
Sutras: there are more than 2000 sutras,
which are sacred teachings embraced
mainly by Mahayana Buddhist.
The book of the Dead: this Tibetan texts
describes the stages of death in detail.