Figure 1.--I believe thast this photograph in a Buddhist temple was taken in Japan, but am not sure. |
|
Buddha lived and persued his teachings in India 500 years before Christ. It was spread to China over the Silk Road. Of all the great religions, Buddhism is the most pacifistic. Buddhism was virtually unknown in the Western world until the 19th century. Although it originated in India, the joint actiins of Hindu and Muslim rulers have virtually obliterated it there. Some in the Islamic world even seek to obliterate the archeological evidence of Buddhism, such as the Taliban destruction of the ??? Buddhas in 2001. Although largely driven from India, Budhism in the late 20th century has come to resonate with many in the Western world. A key figure in the introduction of Buddhism to the West was Sir William Jones, the renowned "Oriental Jones". Jones in 1778, after the British conquest of India from the French, was offered the post of justice on the Supreme Court of Bengal. Unlike most British who spurned Indian culture, Jones actually learned Sanskrit, perhaps the first Westerner to do so. With his previous academic training and knowledge of languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian), he was the first to grasp the similarities in these languages and their common origins that today has come to be known as the Indo-European language pool. Jones founded the Asiatic Societyb of Bengal and the societies periodic publications Provided a platform for researchers throughout India to share their findings. One such work mentioned a stone inscription in a palace known as Bod-dha-gaya that described "Bood-dha, the Author of Happiness ... the Supreme Being, the Eternal One." Other Westerners including George Turnour (Ceylon), Brian Hodgson (in the Himalayas), and James Prinsep (Bengal) began to realize that not only that Buddhism existed, but that it had been a widespread religion with different traditions. Princep managed to decipher Buddhist inspriptions andlearned of King Ashoka that hadspread Buddhism in India. Westerners gradually looked on Buddhism as esentially nihilistic, but gradually an appreciation for Buddhism has developed. [Allen] Today Westerners practice Buddhism in various forms and books and magazines discuss the teachins of Buddha and the practice of the religion.
Prince Buddha was born about 500 BC in what is now Nepal. (Nepal is the only modern state wher Buddhism is the state religion.) Prince Buddh was the pride of his father. The young prince enjoyed all the erahly pleasures in large measure. Then he experienced a powerful religious experience and left home. He wandered India as a religious pilgrim searching for enlightenment. After 6 years he found that enligtenment under a Bofhi tree, apparently a fig tree. The Buddha story is often told with mythological trappings, but is essentially an attempt to end human suffering. [Mishra]
Buddha lived and persued his teachings in India 500 years before Christ. Although Buddhism originated in India, today there is essentially only argeolgical remains to remind us of Buddhism in India. The joint actions of Hindu and Muslim rulers have virtually obliterated it there. Some in the Islamic world even seek to obliterate the archeological evidence of Buddhism, such as the Taliban destruction of the ??? Buddhas in 2001. Buddhism originated in India and traveled east along the Silk Road to China where it prospered at the same time it declined in India. Ruddhism reached Japan after Shinto, a native religion, had become well established. Buddhism came later (6th century AD).
Other important teachers have followed Buddha. Perhaps the most important is the philosopher Nagyaharajuna who developed important insights that some scholars believe invove deeper implications than Buddha's original teachings. [Mishra]
Of all the great religions, Buddhism is the most pacifistic.
Buddhism was virtually unknown in the Western world until the 19th century. Although largely driven from India, Budhism in the late 20th century has come to resonate with many in the Western world. A key figure in the introduction of Buddhism to the West was Sir William Jones, the renowned "Oriental Jones". Jones in 1778, after the British conquest of India from the French, was offered the post of justice on the Supreme Court of Bengal. Unlike most British who spurned Indian culture, Jones actually learned Sanskrit, perhaps the first Westerner to do so. With his previous academic training and knowledge of languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian), he was the first to grasp the similarities in these languages and their common origins that today has come to be known as the Indo-European language pool. Jones founded the Asiatic Societyb of Bengal and the societies periodic publications Provided a platform for researchers throughout India to share their findings. One such work mentioned a stone inscription in a palace known as Bod-dha-gaya that described "Bood-dha, the Author of Happiness ... the Supreme Being, the Eternal One." Other Westerners including George Turnour (Ceylon), Brian Hodgson (in the Himalayas), and James Prinsep (Bengal) began to realize that not only that Buddhism existed, but that it had been a widespread religion with different traditions. Princep managed to decipher Buddhist inspriptions andlearned of King Ashoka that hadspread Buddhism in India. Westerners gradually looked on Buddhism as esentially nihilistic, but gradually an appreciation for Buddhism has developed. [Allen] Today Westerners practice Buddhism in various forms and books and magazines discuss the teachins of Buddha and the practice of the religion.
Allen, Charles. The Search for the Buddha: The Men Who Discovered India's Lost Religion (Carrol & Graf: 2003), 322p.
Mishra, Oankaj. An End to Suffering: The Biddha in the World (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2004), 422p.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Teturn to the Main religion page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]