Buddhism in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Buddhism in India - Essay Example The history of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddharta Gautama (History of Buddhism). India is considered to be the birthplace of Buddhism where Buddha found enlightenment at the age of 35. He then became to be known as Gautama Buddha, or simply "The Buddha", which means "the awakened one" (History of Buddhism). Buddha took much of his inspiration from the Indus Valley religions and traditions. Buddhism flourished in India during the dynasty of the Guptas (4th-6th century). Indian Buddhism weakened in the 7th century following White Hun and Islamic invasions. However, it enjoyed a strong revival under the Pala Empire, in which Mahayana Buddhism flourished between the 8th and the 12th century (History of Buddhism). Some non-Buddhist religion adopted many great things from Buddhism doctrine but spoke ill of Buddhism as well to discredit Buddhism. Some other religious fanatics also have persecuted the Buddhists, a process, which other foreign invaders of India followed until Buddhism was practically driven out of India (Buddhism in India). So by the dawn of the 20th century, Buddhism is limited only in some isolated places in India. Today, India is again appearing on the Buddhist map of the world due to the Angarika Dhammapala of Sri Lanka and great son of India Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (Dr. B. R. Ambedkar) the architect of modern Indian constitution. He after studying all existing religions of the world embarrassed Buddhism along with his five lakhs followers on 14th October 1956. Indians are awakening to their Buddhist past. Since then the Indians began to be surprised at the discovery of the Buddhist legacy. To talk of a "revival of Buddhism in modern India" is right in this sense of the discovery of the Buddhist heritage by Indians (Buddhism in India). Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is a dharmic religion with its origins in the prehistory of India. There are 9 million people around the world who are Jains today. Jainism was established by Mahavira in about 500 B. C. Mahavira was called 'Jina' meaning the big winner and from this name was derived the name of the religion. (Information on India). Mahavira's full name is Vardhamaan Mahavir, he was born in about 600BC. in the home of Siddharta the King of Kundgraam of Bihar province in India on the thirteenth day under the rising moon of Chaitra. He is considered to be the twenty-fourth or the last Teerthankar of Jainism (Mahavir Swami Nirvana). He became detached from the world on the death of his parents and left his home for the forest at the age of thirty. There he practiced very hard simple life until he attained enlightenment (Mahavir Swami Nirvana).