| The life of the Buddha (400's BCE) | |
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The mother of the future Buddha
conceives
her child when she has an auspicious dream about an elephant; |
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The newborn Gautama is worshipped by Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu |
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Preparing to perform austerities, the future Buddha first cuts off his long hair |
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His austerities are so extreme that he fasts until he's almost a skeleton; this magnificent Gandharan sculpture is one of the glories of the Lahore Museum |
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Sitting under the Bodhi tree at BODH GAYA, the future Buddha is tempted and threatened by Mara-- but wins through to enlightenment |
|
NATH* |
At the Deer Park at Sarnath, outside Varanasi, the Buddha preaches his first sermon, and thus begins to turn the Wheel of the Law |
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The Buddha soon acquires
followers, and moves around with them through many parts of the *eastern Gangetic plains* |
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The
Buddha passes many rainy seasons in the early monasteries of Shravasti
and nearby Jetavana (in the Lucknow area) |
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The Buddha's death, at
Kushinagara, leaves
his followers desolate; but they spread his method for escaping sorrow |
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Once the Buddhist tradition begins to develop, the Mahayana ("Great Vehicle") school multiplies the numbers of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, heavens, and celestial entities |
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The Buddhist cave temples of Dunhuang, on the Chinese border, were for many centuries important stops on the silk route |
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Among other stupas and early Buddhist sites, Sri Lanka has one that claims to enshrine one of the Buddha's teeth |
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Swayambhunath Temple in KATHMANDU, Nepal, was a major pilgrimage center for Buddhists of the early Theravada and the later tantric Vajrayana ("Lightning Vehicle") schools |
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Nepal is famous for its own special blending of Hindu and Buddhist religious culture |
