Legends of Life of the Buddha

Dating, ca. 563-480 BCE

Names

Siddhartha Gautama

*Buddha, “Enlightened One”

Tathagata “He who arrived at truth”

Sakyamuni, “Sage of Sakya”

Early life

Kshatriya (Warrior) prince

Path to Enlightenment

Leaves family

Ascetic

Meditation

Enlightenment (Nirvana)

Buddha's Message

Karma

“Middle Path”

Four Noble Truths

1) Life is suffering (samsara)
2) Desire (thirst) is the source of suffering (samsara)
3) Ending desire is the solution to cessation of suffering
4) Holy Eightfold Path

Moral code (1-6)

Meditation (7-8)

Doctrinal Divisions

*Theravada (Teaching of Elders) /Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle)

Monasticism

Meditation

*Mahayana (Greater Vehicle)

Kushan Empire, ca. 1st century

Monasticism

Meditation

Connected to popular worship

Buddha “bone relics” at stupas

Gandharan-style statues

Multiple Buddhas

Past Buddhas

Historical Buddha

Maitreya, Buddha of the Future

*Bodhisattvas (Enlightened Beings)

Other deities

Barriers to Buddhism's spread

Geography

Mountains

Desert

Differences in language and culture

Indo-European vs. Sino-Tibetan language family

Aids to Buddhism's spread

Oasis Monastery Network

Bamian

Kizil cave temples

Dunhuang cave temples

Flexibility of Mahayana Buddhism

Avalokitesvara (Guanyin)'s Sex Change

Mini-Scriptural Pagoda, Gansu, 428

Nested coffin reliquaries, Gansu

Imperial Patronage

Cakravartin ideology “Wheel-turning king”

Translation projects

*Kumarajiva, 344-414

From Kucha

Served Later Qin (384-417) in Chang’an

Monasteries

Yungang

Outside N. Wei capital at Pingcheng (modern Datong)

Established in 454 CE during Wencheng’s reign (r. 452-465)

Colossal Buddha (Wong, fig. 3.2)

Longmen, ca. 500-750

Outside of 2nd N. Wei capital at Luoyang, 495-535 CE

Assimilation of Buddhism in China

Monasticism

Lay practice

Wong, Chinese Steles, 43-60

What are the signs of assimilation of Buddhism into Chinese and Särbi culture?

“95 Images Dedicated by 54 Members of an Yiyi Society,” Yungang Cave 11 (Wong, Fig. 3.3)

[These images were] dedicated…in the seventh year…of the Taihe Period [483] by 54 men and women of an yiyi society…by banding together in endeavoring to bring good fortune to the country, we reverently made ninety-five temple-images [of Buddhas] and Bodhisattvas. . . . May this bring good fortune to the country . . . and may the virtues of the Emperor [Xiaowen], the Empress Dowager [Lady Feng/Wenming], and the Prince be identical with Heaven and Earth” (Wong p. 52)

“Maitreya Image Dedicated by Lady Yüchi” of 495, Guyang Cave (Wong, Fig. 3.5)

On the eleventh month of the nineteenth year of the Taihe reign [495], Lady Yüchi…employed craftsmen to carve this image of Maitreya for her deceased son Niujue. May Niujue be released from the stratified realm [of existence], and be released from the chain of causation. If [he] is to be reborn, may [he] be born in a buddha-land…in Heaven. If [he] is to be reborn in this world, may [he] dwell in a land of wondrous happiness and be free from delusions” (Wong p. 56)

“Image of [Buddha] Dedicated by 200 members of a Devotional Society,” Guyang Cave (Wong, Fig. 3.6)

“In the seventh year of the Taihe reign [483], Sun Qiusheng and Liu Qizu, both Overseers of the Labor Division (gongcao) of the Xincheng District, along with some 200 people, reverently dedicated a stone image. May the country enjoy ever-lasting prosperity and may the Three Jewels [the Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha] prevail. May the number of Buddhist disciples multiply like the luxuriant blossoming of the huai tree…May the fragrance [of the doctrine] suffuse far and wide, and [the Buddha’s] golden light shine throughout the reigns of sacred [emperors]…May we and our ancestors’ spirits be able to traverse the nine realms [of existence], and accrue enough merit to advance on the path of the ten stages [bhûmi, of the bodhisattva career]” (Wong p. 58).

Aids to spread of Buddhism

Patronage of Temples at Luoyang, N. Wei

Alternative lifestyle

Women