Buddhism: The Buddha’s Life and Councils

1.1 What was his name, and when did he live?

He was born Siddhartha Gautama. World History Encyclopedia gives his dates as about 563 to 483 BCE. The “c.” in a date means “about”.

1.2 Why is he called the Buddha?

Buddha means “Enlightened One”. It is a title. Shakyamuni, “silent sage of the Shakya clan”, is another name for him.

1.3 Where was he born, and to whom?

He was born into a noble family at Lumbini, in the southwest of modern Nepal. His mother was Maha Maya. His father, Suddhodana, ruled a small village. The family belonged to the Sakya clan.

1.4 What did people foretell at his birth?

Buddhist texts say a prophecy was made at his birth. He would become either a powerful king or a great spiritual leader.

1.5 Who else lived in his time?

He was a younger contemporary of Mahavira, the Jain teacher (about 599 to 527 BCE). Exams like to mix the two up.

2.1 How was his early life?

Stories say his father shielded him from anything unpleasant for his first 29 years. He married and had a son named Rahula.

2.2 What are the four signs?

One day he slipped past his father’s guards. He saw an aged man, a sick man and a dead man. Then he saw a religious ascetic.

2.3 What did the signs teach him?

He saw that he, too, could fall sick, grow old and die. He saw that he would lose everything he loved. So he followed the example of the ascetic.

2.4 When did he leave home?

He left at the age of 29, to search for a means of salvation. This leaving is the turning point of his life story.

2.5 Whom did he study under?

First he went to the teacher Arada Kalama. Then he studied under Udraka Ramaputra. Neither teacher solved the problem of suffering for him.

3.1 What did he do after the teachers?

He took up very hard ascetic practices. Five other shramanas (wandering seekers) joined him. Such extreme asceticism, the source says, only leads to more suffering.

3.2 What was the turning point?

A milkmaid named Sujata offered him some rice milk. It revived him, and he ended his fasting. He then went to Bodh Gaya and sat on a bed of grass beneath a tree.

3.3 Who is Mara?

Mara is an evil superhuman being. He stands for temptation, fear, delusion and death. Texts say Mara challenged the Buddha as he meditated. By defeating Mara, he overcame all such hindrances.

3.4 What happened next?

He reached enlightenment, or bodhi (awakening). Encyclopedia.com gives his age as 35.

3.5 Where is Bodh Gaya today?

It is one of the four main pilgrimage sites. The Mahabodhi Temple stands there. Read about it in The Mahabodhi Temple: Architecture and Heritage.

4.1 Where and to whom did he preach first?

He preached his first sermon at the Deer Park at Sarnath. The listeners were the five shramanas, his former companions. A stupa at Sarnath is believed to mark where he first met them.

4.2 Why is the sermon so important?

Tradition calls it the “turning of the Wheel of the Dharma”. Encyclopedia.com says this first talk was the beginning of Buddhism. He shared his own experience of enlightenment with the five.

4.3 What are the Four Noble Truths?

The Four Noble Truths are the base of Buddhism. They make a person aware of suffering, its cause, and how to live without it.

• First truth: human life includes pain.
• Second truth: the pain is caused by desire, or craving.
• Third truth: the pain can be overcome by defeating craving.
• Fourth truth: a path leads away from craving and suffering.

Think of it like a doctor’s visit. The first truth names the illness. The second finds the cause. The third says a cure exists. The fourth gives the treatment.

4.4 What is the Eightfold Path?

The path in the fourth truth has eight parts. It is both a guide to the road and the road itself. Each part is called “Right”, such as Right view.

• Right view: believing in the Buddha’s teachings. This means the Four Noble Truths, karma, nonself and impermanence. Everyday sense: seeing that wanting more never ends.
• Right intention: working against the pull of desire and attachment. It also means avoiding anger and hatred. Everyday sense: letting go of a grudge.
• Right speech: no lies, no gossip, no harsh words and no running people down. Everyday sense: not repeating a rumour.
• Right action: living peacefully and without aggression. It means no stealing and no harming others. Everyday sense: returning a lost wallet.
• Right livelihood: choosing work that does not harm others. Jobs that kill animals or make weapons are examples to avoid. Everyday sense: earning an honest wage.
• Right effort: trying to be the best person one can be. It means giving up unwise desires. Everyday sense: breaking a bad habit.
• Right mindfulness: paying attention to the present moment. A person stays engaged in whatever they are doing. Everyday sense: eating a meal without a phone.
• Right concentration: meditating to reach enlightenment. Everyday sense: sitting quietly to steady the mind.

World History Encyclopedia gives a simple grouping. The first three parts deal with wisdom. The next two deal with conduct. The last three deal with mental discipline. Other teachers split the eight a little differently, so learn the eight names first.

The Encyclopedia.com list calls Right intention “right resolve”. EBSCO calls Right concentration “Right meditation”. These are the same parts under other names.

4.5 Is the path a ladder to climb?

No. A common mistake is to treat the eight parts as steps one to eight. The sources say it should be followed as a whole, all at once. A person does not finish Right view and then begin Right speech.

The path is also called the middle way. It lies between complete engagement with the world and total renunciation of it.

4.6 What does the Dhamek Stupa show?

The Dhamek Stupa was built in the Mauryan period (third century BCE). It was enlarged in the eleventh century CE. It is said to mark the spot of the first sermon.

5.1 Which names belong to the Buddha?

Shakyamuni is one of his names. Tathagata is a genuine epithet too. The 2024 paper page on this site confirms both.

Sources: Encyclopedia.com on Buddhism and on Jainism, and the UPSC 2024 paper page on this site.

5.2 Is Nayaputta also his name?

No. Nayaputta, or Nataputta, is the family name of Mahavira. Encyclopedia.com says Mahavira was born Nataputta Vardhamana.

6.1 How did the Buddha die?

After a long ministry he died at the age of 80, at Kushinagar. Before this he ate a meal served by a student named Cunda.

6.2 What happened to his remains?

His disciples divided his remains. They were placed in eight (or ten) stupas at sites important in his life. Ashoka later reinterred them in 84,000 stupas across India.

6.3 What is Vesak?

Vesak is the most significant Buddhist festival. It marks the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. Tradition holds that all three fell on the same day.

6.4 Which are the four great pilgrimage sites?

They match the four big events of his life.

Sources: Encyclopedia.com and World History Encyclopedia.

6.5 Who stood by him?

His aunt Mahapajapati raised him after his mother’s death. She became the first woman admitted to the sangha, the community of monks. His cousin Ananda was his companion for more than 20 years.

6.6 What is special about Lumbini?

Ashoka formally identified it as the Buddha’s birthsite in 249 BCE. He set up a famous pillar there. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

7.1 Why was a council held?

The monks feared the teachings would be lost, because none were written down in the Buddha’s lifetime. So they met three months after his death. This meeting is called the First Buddhist Council.

7.2 Where and under whom?

It met in Rajagriha (modern Rajgir) at the entrance of the Saptaparni Cave. King Ajatashatru of Magadha arranged the meeting. The monk Maha Kassapa presided. Some spellings say Mahakasyapa.

7.3 Who attended?

The monks chose 499 famous senior monks, called arahants, for 500 seats. One seat stayed empty for Ananda. He was still a learner. He worked hard that night and joined as an arahant.

7.4 What did Upali and Ananda do?

• Upali answered questions about the Vinaya, the monastic rules.
• Ananda recited the Buddha’s discourses, which he had heard and remembered well.

7.5 What came of it?

The Discipline (Vinaya) and the Teaching (Dharma) were agreed upon. Later they were written down in Pali as the Tipitaka (Three Baskets): Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidhamma.

7.6 When did it meet?

BuddhaNet puts it three months after the death. That gives about 483 BCE. World History Encyclopedia says c. 400 BCE. Sources differ, so read dates here with care.

8.1 What are the four councils?

Four councils are counted in BuddhaNet’s account.

Source: BuddhaNet on the four councils. The First Council entry also uses Nekhor and BuddhaNet’s account of it.

8.2 What happened at the Second Council?

It met about a hundred years after the death. Some monks wanted more freedom in applying the rules, and the elders disagreed. World History Encyclopedia says this dispute led to the first schism, between the Sthaviravada and the Mahasanghika (“Great Congregation”) schools.

8.3 And the Third and Fourth?

The Third met at Pataliputra under Emperor Ashoka. The Fourth met in the first century CE under King Kanishka.

8.4 Who was Ajatashatru?

He was a king of Magadha. He came to the throne by deposing and executing his own father, Bimbisara. Magadha later grew into the Mauryan empire.

8.5 Where can I read more?

See The Buddhist Councils and the Spread of Buddhism for the full account.

9.1 Which question types come up?

Three UPSC questions show the pattern. Newest first.

9.2 What traps repeat?

• A Jain name given to the Buddha: Nayaputta is Mahavira’s.
• A real term with a wrong meaning: Shramana is not a high-status priest.
• A real kingdom from the wrong period: Gandhara’s Buddhist link came centuries later.
• Mixing up the monks: Upali recited the rules and Ananda the discourses.