Class 6 Ch 7 History- New questions and ideas

The story of the Buddha

Name: Siddhartha/ Gautam
Birth: Around 2500 years ago
Founder of Buddhism.
He belonged to the Sakya gana and was a Kshatriya.
He left home at a young age in search of knowledge.
He wandered for several years, meeting and holding discussions with other thinkers.
He attained enlightenment under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar. And came to be known as Buddha or the Wise One.
For the first time he taught at Sarnath near Varanasi. The Stupa at Sarnath was built to mark the place where he first taught his message.
He taught in Prakrit, the language of the ordinary people.
He passed away at Kusinara.

Teaching of Buddha

Life is full of suffering and unhappiness which is caused due to unfulfilled desires.
Even if we get what we want, we are never satisfied. This he described as thirst or tanha.
This constant craving could be removed by following moderation in everything.
He taught people to be kind and to respect the lives of others, including animals.
The results of our actions (karma) affect us both in this life and the next.

Upanishads (2500 years ago)

Upanishads literally mean ‘approaching and sitting near’ and the texts contain conversations between teachers and students.
These were part of the Later Vedic texts.
Most Upanishadic thinkers were men, especially brahmins and rajas.
Gargi was a female thinker, famous for her learning, and participated in debates held in royal courts.
Satyakama Jabala had a deep desire to learn about reality, was accepted as a student by a brahmin teacher named Gautama, and became one of the best known thinkers of the time.
The upanishadic thinkers believed that atma and brahman were one.
Many of the ideas of the Upanishads were later developed by the famous thinker Shankaracharya.

Panini

Jainism (2500 years ago)

Mahavira was a Kshatriya prince of the Lichchhavis, a group that was part of the Vajji sangha.
He left home at the age of thirty and attained enlightenment after 12 years.
His followers came to be known as Jainas, derived from the term jina, meaning conqueror.

Teachings of Mahavira

He taught in Prakrit.
Men and women who wished to know the truth must leave their homes.
Ahimsa should be followed strictly.
Jainas had to lead very simple lives and had to beg for food.
They had to be honest and were especially asked not to steal.
They had to observe celibacy.
Men had to give up everything including their clothes.
The teachings of Mahavira and his followers were transmitted orally for several centuries.
They were written down in the form in which they are presently available at a place called Valabhi in Gujarat about 1500 years ago.

Sangha

Mahavira and Buddha felt that only those who left their homes could gain true knowledge. They formed Sangha, an association of those who left their homes.
Vinaya Pitaka was a book that contained the rules made for the buddhist sangha.
There were separate branches for men and women.
All men could join the sangha.
Children had to take the permission of their parents, slaves that of their masters. Women had to take their husband’s permission, debtors that of creditors.
Those who joined sangha had to lead simple lives meditating most of the times.
They went to cities and villages begging for food and were known as bhikkus and bhikkunis.

Monasteries

Jain and Buddhists monks went from place to place throughout the year to teach people, resting only during the rainy season.
Their supporters built temporary shelters for them in gardens, or they lived in natural caves in hilly areas.
Later, permanent shelters in the form of monasteries, were built. These were known as viharas.

The Ashrama system

At this time, brahmins came up with the ashrama system.
These are stages of life.
Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa were the four recognized ashramas.

Brahmacharya: Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya men were expected to lead simple lives and study the Vedas during the early years of their lives.
Grihastha : They had to marry and live as householders.
Vanaprastha: They had to live in the forest and meditate.
Sanyasa: They had to give up everything and become sanyasis.

Women were not allowed to study the Vedas and had to follow the ashramas chosen by their husbands.