Early Indian Buddhism
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The common history of the Buddhist traditions in India, from the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa until the closing of the Pāli Canon. For India at the time of the Buddha, see Buddha’s India.
An Ashokan pillar still proudly stands over the ruins of the Kūtāgārasālā of Vaiśālī where the Buddha often stayed and which was a thriving monastery in North India for centuries after the Buddha's passing. (Amaan Imam, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Table of Contents
- Articles (34)
- Audio/Video (7)
- Booklets (3)
- Canonical Works (10)
- Essays (10)
- Excerpts (2)
- Monographs (11)
- Papers (5)
- Subtopics (1)
Articles (34)
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Omission even in cases of variation is possible, where a sample gives an impression of the whole
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An encyclopedia entry introducing the Abhidharma and Indian Buddhism.
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A joint archaeological and hydrological study revealed that the dams appear to have been designed not only with a sophisticated knowledge of dam engineering but also with an understanding of the principles of basin water balance. This raises important questions about the role of water resources management in the spread of institutionalized Buddhism and accelerated urban growth in ancient India.
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🥇 Featured
Only a man could dream of Heaven as a place where he can lie about all day, surrounded by beautiful women
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⭐ Recommended
That nuns did participate in the transmission and explication of the sacred texts is, however, proven by both literary and epigraphic records.
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Gives a short overview of the methods and evidence for studying the early history of Buddhism.
36 pages -
⭐ Recommended
But the Bodhisattva, unwilling to ask anyone for help, plucks up his courage, and goes out with his basket and cutting tool and cuts grass. He sells the grass and ekes out a meager living, giving what he can to those in need.
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A very brief summary of the Śrāvakabhūmi: an ancient meditation manual preserved by the Yogācāra school.
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What had started out as a rather straightforward fact took on a mystical flavour.
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there was nothing “private” about either the king’s support of Buddhist communities, or the claims and requests that Buddhist intellectuals made of the king.
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An exploration of the Buddhist caves of Western India, and what the historical record there can tell us about how Buddhism was received as it spread.
Audio/Video (7)
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20 min -
⭐ Recommended
An excellent walk-through of the classical Indian philosophies of language: from the Sanskrit grammars of Panini and Patanjali, to Brahmanical realism, Buddhist skepticism, and Jain agnosticism.
65 min -
Season 2, special episode D of The History of India Podcast is a guided, audio tour of the famous stupa at Sanchi.
Booklets (3)
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Here you will find presented a number of maps of places in Ancient Asia to help as a reference for those interested in understanding the geography and history presented in Buddhist texts.
Canonical Works (10)
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May all these beings have happy minds! Listen closely to my words…
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These are the over two hundred kinds of knowledge that arise in one who develops concentration by mindfulness of breathing with sixteen grounds
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Raising my hands and putting my palms and fingers together, I saluted
Essays (10)
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Of all the discoveries Cunningham ever made he always considered that at Bharhut to be the most significant.
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A poem from the Tibetan Tradition about one of the pilgrimage sites in Buddhist India: the spot to which the Buddha is said to have descended after teaching the devas.
Excerpts (2)
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With these various strands of thought, the basic ingredients of the bodhisattva ideal seem to fall into place.
44 pages -
The ability of a lineage to carry a particular association is of great benefit to the narratives, for it provides both weight and flexibility.
Monographs (11)
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⭐ Recommended
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600 pages
Papers (5)
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The Buddhist tradition has tended to associate Moggallāna with concentration or serenity, and Sāriputta with wisdom or insight, and to characterize the former figure along with his outstanding faculty as inferior to the latter.
26 pages -
I suggest that the original form of the ‘enlightenment’ set was the ‘basic’ set: idaṃ dukkhaṃ, ayaṃ dukkha-samudayo, ayaṃ dukkha-nirodho, ayaṃ dukkha-nirodha-gāminī paṭipadā When these items became known as “Truths”, they were [later] so designated: idaṃdukkha-saccaṃ, etc.
15 pages -
⭐ Recommended
We may begin with one simple list, but the structure of early Buddhist thought and literature dictates that we end up with an intricate pattern of lists within lists
24 pages