Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... The cultural elements of Buddhism vary by region and include: Buddhist cuisine Buddhist art Buddharupa Art and architecture of Japan Greco-Buddhism Tibetan Buddhist sacred art Buddhist music Buddhist chant Shomyo Categories: Buddhism-related stubs ... The history of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddharta Gautama. ... Contents: Top - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The following is a List of Buddhist topics: A Abhidharma Ahimsa Ajahn Ajahn Chah Ajanta Aksobhya Alexandra David-Néel Amara Sinha B... Buddhist beliefs and practices vary according to region. ... The percentage of Buddhist population of each country was taken from the US State Departments International Religious Freedom Report 2004 [1]. Other sources used were CIA Factbook [2] and adherents. ... An image of Gautama Buddha with a swastika, traditionally a Buddhist symbol of good luck, on his chest. ... The Buddhist temple Wat Chiang Man, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which dates from the late 13th century Buddhist temples and monasteries, sorted by location. ... Contents: Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term. ... There is great variety in Buddhist texts. ... Before Common Era Trad. ...

1st Buddhist council (5th century BC)

The first Buddhist council was held soon after the death of the Buddha under the patronage of king Ajatasatru, and presided by a monk named Mahakasyapa, at Rajagaha (today's Rajgir). Its objective was to record the Buddha's sayings (sutra) and codify monastic rules (vinaya). Ajatashatru (ruled 491-461 BCE) was a king of the Magadha empire that ruled north India. ... Mahākāśyapa (摩訶迦葉) or Kāśyapa was a brahman of Magadha, who became one of the principal disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha and who convened and directed the first council. ... Rajgir is a town in Bihar, India, about 10 KMs from Nalanda. ... Sutra (सूत्र) in Sanskrit is derived from the verb √siv, meaning to sew. ... Pali or Sanskrit word meaning discipline. The Vinaya is the textual framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. ...

2nd Buddhist council (383 BC)

The second Buddhist council was convened by king Kalasoka and held at Vaisali, following conflicts between the conservative and liberal elements of Sangha. Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC - 380s BC - 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC Years: 388 BC 387 BC 386 BC 385 BC 384 BC - 383 BC - 382 BC 381 BC...

The conservative schools insisted on strict adherence to monastic rules (vinaya). The secessionist Mahasangikas argued for more relaxed monastic rules, which could appeal to a large majority of monastic and lay people (hence their name "majority" assembly). Pali or Sanskrit word meaning discipline. The Vinaya is the textual framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. ...

The council ended with the rejection of the Mahasanghikas. They left the council and maintained themselves for several centuries in northwestern India and Central Asia according to Kharoshti inscriptions found near the Oxus and dated c. 1st century AD. The Kharoṣṭhī script, also known as the Gāndhārī script, is an ancient alphabetic script used by the Gandhara culture of historic northwest India to write the Gandhari and Sanskrit languages (the Gandhara kingdom was located along the present-day border between Afghanistan and Pakistan between the Indus River and the... The Amu Darya (in Persian آمودریا; Darya means river in Persian) rises in the Pamirs and flows mainly north-west through the Hindu Kush, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to join the Aral Sea in a large river delta. ...

In time, up to 18 schools of the traditional Buddhist thought arose, the only remaining one today being the Eastern Theravada school. Other schools included the Sarvastivadin and the Dharmaguptaka in Northwestern India. Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. ... The Sarvastivada (roughly, Proclaiming that all exist) --a reference to one of the distinguishing doctrines of the school, the existence of dharmas in all of the three times (past, present, and future). ... The Dharmaguptaka are one of the eighteen schools of early Buddhism. ...

3rd Buddhist council (c. 250 BC)

The third Buddhist council was convened by the Mauryan king Ashoka (260-218 BC) at Pataliputra (today's Patna), and held by the monk Moggaliputta. Its objective what to reconcile the different schools of Buddhism, and to purify the Buddhist movement, particularly from opportunistic factions which had been attracted by the royal patronage. Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC - 250s BC - 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC Years: 255 BC 254 BC 253 BC 252 BC 251 BC - 250 BC - 249 BC 248 BC... The Mauryan empire (321 to 185 BCE), at its largest extent around 230 BCE. The Mauryan empire was Indias first great unified empire. ... Emperor Ashoka (a possible picturisation) Ashoka the Great (also Asoka, Aśoka, pronounced as Ashok-uh, not Ashokaa) was the ruler of the Mauryan empire from 273 BC to 232 BC. A convert to Buddhism, Ashoka reigned over most of the Indian subcontinent, from present day Pakistan to Bengal and as... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC - 210s BC - 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC Years: 223 BC 222 BC 221 BC 220 BC 219 BC - 218 BC - 217 BC 216 BC... Patna is the capital of the state of Bihar, in north-eastern India. ...

The Pali canon (Tipitaka, or Tripitaka in Sanskrit, lit. the "Three Baskets"), which are the texts of reference of traditional Buddhism and considered to be directly transmitted from the Buddha, was formalized at that time. They consist of the doctrine (the Sutra Pitaka), the monastic discipline (Vinaya Pitaka) and an additional new body of subtle philosophy (the Abhidharma Pitaka). The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ... The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ... Pali or Sanskrit word meaning discipline. The Vinaya is the textual framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. ... The abhidhamma is the name of one of the three pitakas, or baskets of tradition, into which the Tipitaka (Pali; Sanskrit: Tripitaka), the canon of early Buddhism, is divided. ...

Also, emissaries were sent to various countries in order to spread Buddhism, as far as the Greek kingdoms in the West (in particular the neighboring Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and possibly even farther to the Mediterranean according to the inscriptions left on stone pillars by Ashoka). Approximate extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 220 BCE. The Greco-Bactrians were a dynasty of Greek kings who controlled Bactria and Sogdiana, an area comprising todays northern Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, the easternmost area of the Hellenistic world, from 250 to 125 BCE. Their expansion...

After 250 BC, the Sarvastivadin (who had been rejected by the 3rd council, according to the Theravada tradition) and the Dharmaguptaka schools became quite influential in northwestern India and Central Asia, up to the time of the Kushan Empire in the first centuries of the common era. The Dharmaguptakas were characterized by a belief that Buddha was separate, and above, the rest of the Buddhist community. The Sarvastivadin believed that past, present and future are all simultaneous. They may have contributed some formative influence to Mahayana. Boundary of the Kushan empire, c. ...

4th Buddhist council (c. 100 AD)

The fourth Buddhist council was convened by the Kushan emperor Kanishka, around 100 AD at Jalandhar or in Kashmir, and is usually associated with the formal rise of Mahayana Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism does not recognize the authenticity of this council, and it is sometimes called the "council of heretical monks". (Redirected from 100 AD) For other uses, see number 100. ... Boundary of the Kushan empire, c. ... Gold coin of Kanishka I with a representation of the Buddha (c. ... (Redirected from 100 AD) For other uses, see number 100. ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Guan Yin from Mt. ... Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. ...

It is said that Kanishka gathered 500 Bhikkhus in Kashmir, headed by Vasumitra, to edit the Tripitaka and make references and remarks. It is said that during the council, there were all together three hundred thousand verses and over nine million statements compiled, and that it took twelve years to complete. Dancing bhikkhu in Tibet A bhikkhu (male) or bhikkhuni (female) is a Buddhist monk. ... The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ...

This council did no rely on the original pali canon (the Tipitaka). Instead, a set of new scriptures were approved, as well as fundamental principles of Mahayana doctrine. The new scriptures, usually in the Gandhari vernacular and the Kharosthi script, were rewritten in the classical language of Sanskrit, to many scholars a turning point in the propagation of Buddhist thought. The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ... The word Gāndhārī can mean more than one thing: Gāndhārī is a character in the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. ... The Kharoṣṭhī script, also known as the Gāndhārī script, is an ancient alphabetic script used by the Gandhara culture of historic northwest India to write the Gandhari and Sanskrit languages (the Gandhara kingdom was located along the present-day border between Afghanistan and Pakistan between the Indus River and the... The Sanskrit language ( संस्कृता वाक्) is one of the earliest attested members of the Indo-European language family and is not only a classical language, but also an official language of India. ...

The new form of Buddhism was characterized by an almost God-like treatment of the Buddha, by the idea that all beings have a Buddha-nature and should aspire to Buddhahood, and by a syncretism due to the various cultural influences within northwestern India and the Kushan Empire, especially from Zoroastrianism and Greco-Buddhism. Boundary of the Kushan empire, c. ... Faravahar, The depiction of the human soul before birth and after death. ... Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Græco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between the culture of Classical Greece and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 800 years in Central Asia in the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century...

From that point on, and in the space of a few centuries, Mahayana was to flourish and spread into Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan (introduction of Buddhism in 538 AD). Events End of the Kofun and beginning of the Asuka period, the second part of the Yamato period in Japan. ...