Buddhism GK Important Points

Q: Who was the first king of Magadha to receive his discipleship of Gautam Buddha?

<strong>Bimbisara</strong> belonged to the Haryana dynasty.

Q: Where did Buddha die?

<strong>Kushinagar</strong>, which is located in the Uttar Pradesh state of India.

Buddhism – GK + Notes [PDF]: Due to the lack of contemporary historical texts, our knowledge of Gautama Buddha is very limited. Although, the Sonipat and Jataka texts provide some information about the life of the Buddha. The former name of Buddha was Siddhartha. He was born on the full moon of Baishakhi beneath a sal tree in Lumbini garden, near the town of Kapilavastu in the Tarai region of Nepal (c. 566 BC). His father Śuddhodana was the leader of the Shakya clan. His mother was Mayadevi. When Siddhartha was 7 years old his mother died. After that, his mother-in-law Gautomi brought up him carefully. So many people think that Gautam is another name for Buddha after the name of his mother-in-law, Gautami. At the age of sixteen, he married a princess named Yasodharā.

According to Buddhist mythology, four consecutive scenes aroused deep pain in Gautama’s heart. The first was ‘decrepitude/infirmity‘, the second was ‘disease/disorder‘, the third was ‘death‘, and the fourth was ‘a traveling monk in a yellow robe‘. Seeing these scenes, Gautam became restless searching for a spiritual/better life. Fearing further entanglement in the family after the birth of his son, he left his wife, newborn child, and the luxuries of the palace at night and set out in search of the truth. This event is known in the Buddhist texts as “Mahaviniskraman“.

Buddhism GK Important Points

At first, Gautam became a disciple of a sage named Alara Kalama and became a novice in the study of scriptures. But he did not know the secrets of the world. He then meditated at a place called Urubi near Buddhagaya. This is the place where he achieved “Bodhi” or divinity. After that, He became the Buddha (Absolute sagacious) or Tathagata (who has found the ultimate truth).

THE BASIC TEACHING OF BUDDHA

At the age of 35, he attained ‘Bodhi‘ or Divinity and was the first to teach five disciples in the Mrigdab forest of Sarnath. At this time his name was Buddha. His teaching was based on a few basic truths.

They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.

These truths can also be summarized as follows,

The world is miserable
Desire, lust, and addiction are the cause of sorrow,
Destroy the causes of sorrow and get rid of sorrow,
There are ways to destroy these factors as well.

These four truths are called Aryasatya. He speaks of eight ways to destroy human addiction. These are known as ‘Ashta Marg‘ or ‘Astangik Marg or the ‘eightfold path‘. These are right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi (‘meditative absorption or Samyak Samadhi’).

He thought that extreme indulgence and extreme austerities and penance were both obstacles to the progress of the soul. That is why he was in favor of taking a middle ground between these two extremes. After long preaching, in 486 BC, he died at the age of 80 at Kushinagar.

Important events in the life of Gautam Buddha

DOB of Gautam Buddha	566 BC
Father	Śuddhodana
Mother	Mayadevi or Mahamaya
Wife	Yasodharā
Son	Rahul
Teacher	Alara Kalama
Tree of Knowledge	Pipal or Bodhi tree
Death	486 BC at Kushinagar

Info about Gautam Buddha

Scriptures of Buddhism:

Buddha used to deliver his advice in the Pali language which is accessible to the public. No words were recorded during his lifetime.

Tripitaka (Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, and Abhidhamma Pitaka) written in Pali is a sacred scripture of the Buddhists. Besides, Jatakas, Dipavamsa, and Mahavamsa are also very important.

List of Buddhist University

Buddhist University	Place	King	Dynasty
Nalanda	Bihar	The first Kumar Gupta	Gupta dynasty
Odantapuri	Bihar	Gopal	Pala Empire
Vikramshila	Bihar	Dharmapala	Pala Empire
Sompuri	North Bengal	Dharmapala	Pala Empire
Jagaddal	Bengal	Dharmapala	Pala Empire
Vallavi	Gujarat	Bhattark	Maitraka dynasty

Buddhist University

Buddhist councils

There are mainly 5 Buddhist councils held by the various king at various places. Those are given below.

`1.` First Buddhist Council

Place: Rajgir/Rajagriha

Year: 483 BC or 486 BC

Forecaster: Mahakashyapa

King: Ajatashatru

Results of Council: The first part of the text Tripitaka was read by one of his disciples. Buddha’s great teachings are collected which are attached to the Sutta Pitaka in the form of inscriptions.

`2.` Second Buddhist Council

Place: Vaishali

Year: 483 BC or 487 BC

Forecaster: Mahādeva

King: Kalashoka

Results of Council: It was the second-largest council in Vaishali. The followers of the Buddha are divided into two groups, namely Sthaviras/Stagnant and conglomerate/Mahāsāṃghika.

`3.` Third Buddhist Council

Place: Patliputra

Year: 251 BC

Forecaster: Moggaliputta-Tissa

King: Ashoka

Results of Council: In this council, the Stagnant/Sthaviras are considered the old followers of Buddha. The third lesson of Tripitaka in this conference is Abhidhamma Pitaka, which explains the psychology and philosophy of Buddhism.

`4.` Fourth Buddhist Council

Place: Kashmir

Year: First century BC / 72 AD

Forecaster: Vashumitra

King: Kanishka

Results of Council: In the new concept, Buddhism is divided into two parts. One is Mahayana and the other is Hinayana.

`5.` Fifth Buddhist council

Place: Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar)

Year: 1871 CE

Forecaster: Jagarabhivamsa, Narindabhidhaja, and Mahathera Sumangalasami.

King: Minden

Results of Council: The main purpose of this meeting was to make all the contents of the stagnant Buddhism in Pali and to educate all the closed monks.

FAQs on Buddhism

Who was the founder of Buddhism?

Gautam Buddha.

When Gautam Buddha was born?

563 BCE or 565 BCE. There is a disagreement between these two years.

Where Gautam Buddha was born?

Goutam Buddha was born in the Lumbini garden of Kapilavastu in Nepal.

Who was the father of Gautam Buddha?

Śuddhodana. He was the king of the Sakhya dynasty.

Who is the mother of Gautam Buddha?

Mayadevi. She died after giving birth to Buddha.

Who was the wife of Gautam Buddha?

Yasodharā. She was the daughter of King Suppabuddha.

Who was the son of Gautam Buddha?

Rahul

What was the name of Gautam Buddha in childhood?

Siddhartha

Who was the master of Gautam Buddha?

Alara Kalama.

What was Gautama Buddha’s horse name?

Kanthaka (in Pali and Sanskrit). When Siddhartha was a prince, his favorite horse was Kanthaka.

Where did Siddhartha attain enlightenment?

Buddhagaya near Magadha.

At which years old did Gautama Buddha attain divinity?

At the age of 35.

Under which tree did Siddhartha gain enlightenment?

Ashvattha or Sacred fig

Who were the first five disciples of Gautam Buddha?

Kondanna, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa, & Mahanama.

Who was the first king of Magadha to receive his discipleship of Gautam Buddha?

Bimbisara belonged to the Haryana dynasty.

When did Gautam Buddha die?

It was 483 BCE. However, a disagreement on the death of Buddha existed. Some scholars believed that Buddha died in 487 BC.

Where did Buddha die?

Kushinagar, which is located in the Uttar Pradesh state of India.

In which language was the Tripitaka written?

Tripitaka was written in Pali which was an ancient language of India.

To whom did Gautama Buddha give his last advice?

Gautama Buddha gave the last advice to a nun named Subhadra and her dear disciple Ananda.

Where was the first Buddhist council held?

The first Buddhist council was held in Rajgir, an ancient city in the northeast Indian state of Bihar in 483 BC or 487 BC.

Buddhism General knowledge notes for UPSC, SSC, State Public Service Commission, Railway, and other competitive government job exams. A comprehensive and sufficient discussion is made on this topic so that Buddhism GK/note will help you to gain great knowledge for your preparation.