Readings: All notes are from stories of the Buddha unit. Story source: The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922).
This week's readings were on the life of the Buddha, so I went to the Wikipedia page on Gautama Buddha. I learned that the Buddha was "Believed to have lived and taught mostly in the northeastern part of ancient India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE" (Wikipedia). I didn't realize that the Buddha, whose given name was Siddhārtha Gautama, lived that long ago! For whatever reason, I always imagined that he lived around the same time as Jesus Christ rather than a few hundred years prior. It was interesting to me to learn in the Wiki article that scholars of historical Buddhism aren't entirely sure what teachings should be attributed to Gautama and what exactly happened in his life. There is even disagreement among academics on what exactly were the teachings and practices that early followers of Buddhism adhered to and which teachings these followers considered central.
I also found the story about Hindu gods meeting and interacting with the Buddha interesting. More info about the Buddha in Hinduism can be found on this Wikipedia page. I learned from this page that "In Vaishnava Hinduism, the historic Buddha or Gautama Buddha, is considered to be an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu." I never knew that these two traditions had a notable overlap in one form of Hinduism. The page also notes that many contemporary Hindus revere the Buddha.
In a subsequent story, a sage is chosen to be the teacher of the Buddha. The teacher, however, is quickly impressed by the young Buddha and realizes that he has nothing to teach him. The sage, named Visvamitra, has his own Wikipedia page which I explored. According to some traditions and legends, he was not only a wise teacher but also a king in ancient India. Visvamitra (or Vishvamitra) is an important figure in some classical Hindu texts according to the page.
I really enjoyed reading the stories on the life of the Buddha this week and learning more about Buddhism and Hinduism via Wikipedia!
This week's readings were on the life of the Buddha, so I went to the Wikipedia page on Gautama Buddha. I learned that the Buddha was "Believed to have lived and taught mostly in the northeastern part of ancient India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE" (Wikipedia). I didn't realize that the Buddha, whose given name was Siddhārtha Gautama, lived that long ago! For whatever reason, I always imagined that he lived around the same time as Jesus Christ rather than a few hundred years prior. It was interesting to me to learn in the Wiki article that scholars of historical Buddhism aren't entirely sure what teachings should be attributed to Gautama and what exactly happened in his life. There is even disagreement among academics on what exactly were the teachings and practices that early followers of Buddhism adhered to and which teachings these followers considered central.
I also found the story about Hindu gods meeting and interacting with the Buddha interesting. More info about the Buddha in Hinduism can be found on this Wikipedia page. I learned from this page that "In Vaishnava Hinduism, the historic Buddha or Gautama Buddha, is considered to be an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu." I never knew that these two traditions had a notable overlap in one form of Hinduism. The page also notes that many contemporary Hindus revere the Buddha.
In a subsequent story, a sage is chosen to be the teacher of the Buddha. The teacher, however, is quickly impressed by the young Buddha and realizes that he has nothing to teach him. The sage, named Visvamitra, has his own Wikipedia page which I explored. According to some traditions and legends, he was not only a wise teacher but also a king in ancient India. Visvamitra (or Vishvamitra) is an important figure in some classical Hindu texts according to the page.
I really enjoyed reading the stories on the life of the Buddha this week and learning more about Buddhism and Hinduism via Wikipedia!
Image of "The Dream of Queen Maya" from Pakistan, ca. 2nd century. Schist,
H. 6 1/2 in.; W. 7 5/8 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Source: Wikimedia
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