RG ST 21 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Mahayana, Brahmin, Vajrayana
Document Summary
Founded 2500 years ago by siddhartha gautama. Buddha = person who is enlightened or awakened . Gautama = buddha of the present age in this world. Buddhism emphasizes its teachings (dharma) over its founder. Dharma is to help be calmer, more wise, and compassionate. Dharma describes the world as it is and as it should be. Ultimately to assist one to wake up from delusions, attain nirvana. Most important bearers of buddhism is monastic community (sangha) Early sangha memorized buddha"s discourses, recited orally over generations. 100 years after death, monastic communities break into fraternities (nikaya) and. All later schools trace back to these. Earliest surviving school is called theravada, school of the elders (burma, thailand, sri. Great vehicle (mahayana) arises c. 1st century ce (china, korea, vietnam, japan) Diamond vehicle (vajrayana) arises c. 6th century ce (tibet, mongolia) Roots of indian buddhism are in the sramana movement of 6th century bce. Opposed the dominant religio-social order of the brahmana priests.
