EAS 160A1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Abhidhamma Pitaka, Kalinga War, Rajgir

• School: University of Arizona
• Department: East Asian Studies
• Course: EAS 160A1
• Professor: Takashi Miura

Document Summary

First council: held i(cid:374) rajagrha, (cid:272)a(cid:373)pital of magadha (cid:894)sa(cid:373)e year as buddha"s death, gathering of 500 arhants, a(cid:374)a(cid:374)da re(cid:272)ites buddha"s tea(cid:272)hi(cid:374)g a(cid:374)d ser(cid:373)o(cid:374)s, upali recites all the vinaya rules, teachings and monastic disciplines established. But buddhist teachings not canonized for several hundred years. Buddhist canon: tripitaka (cid:862)three baskets(cid:863) Vinaya pitaka basket of monastic discipline. Abhidharma pitaka basket of higher teachings: language preserved. Pali- oldest language related to sanskrit: chinese canon, tibetan canon. Buddhist schools: split of the original sangha. Second council: signs of split - interpretation of the vinaya rules. Third council: around 350 bce, great schism, sangha divided into two groups. Mahasamghikas (the great assembly: causes- different understandings of the buddha. Theravada buddhism: way of the elders, claims descent from sthaviras. King asoka: helped the spreads of buddhism throughout india (and beyond, (cid:862)co(cid:374)sta(cid:374)ti(cid:374)e of buddhis(cid:373)(cid:863, ruled over magadha, converted to buddhism after kalinga war, example of dharma-raja (righteous king) and royal upasaka, left (cid:373)a(cid:374)y (cid:862)edi(cid:272)ts(cid:863)