• This includes early life of Buddha, four Buddhist Councils, different schools in Buddhism. This briefly covers Mahayana, Hinayana and Vajrayana schools. Tried to make it simple and highlighted key parts.

Background about Buddha

The ancient name of India, Jambudvipa, has been confirmed based on numerous inscriptions and records uncovered through archaeological excavations over a long period, as well as the early Pali canonical 1 and classical Sanskrit texts. 2 In Jambudvipa, in 623 BCE, Siddhartha Gautama was born in the Śītōṣṇa (sub-Himalayan) region near present-day Lumbini, Nepal, in North India, to King Śuddhodana and Queen Mahāmāyā. Siddhartha’s father, Śuddhodana, belonged to the Śākya clan. 

Author Amit Narwade is a PHD scholar, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai.

After attaining youth, Siddhartha became deeply troubled by social conflicts, oppression, suffering generated by exploitation, and the growing hostility among human beings.  In order to discover the true causes of human suffering and to seek a path for the welfare of humanity, Siddhartha renounced household life at the age of twenty-nine. This event is known in history as the Mahābhiniṣkramaṇa (Great Renunciation).

Siddhartha studied the philosophies and teachings of many contemporary thinkers and prominent teachers from various schools of thought. 3 These include Pūraṇa Kassapa’s Akiriyāvāda (which denies moral action and its consequences), Makkhali Gosāla’s Ājīvika sect taught Niyativāda, or strict determinism, Ajita Kesakambali’s Ucchedavāda is a form of materialism that denies rebirth and karma, Pakudha Kaccāyana’s atomistic eternalism holds that elements are unchanging, Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta’s Ajñānavāda advocates complete philosophical scepticism and Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta (Mahāvīra) founder of Jainism, emphasising asceticism and non-violence. 

However, even after engaging with these intellectual traditions, he did not find a complete solution to the problem of human suffering and liberation. Realising that the search for truth must be undertaken through personal experience, Siddhartha began intense meditation on the banks of the Nirañjanā River, seated beneath a banyan tree. 

Years of rigorous meditation, ascetic practices, and extreme fasting reduced his body to a mere skeleton. At that point, he understood that without preserving the body, the quest for truth could not continue. With this realisation, he accepted milk-rice (kheer) offered by Sujātā and then proceeded to Gaya (Uruvelā). At Gaya, Siddhartha seated himself beneath a peepal tree and entered deep meditation.

Sujata Temple, Bodh Gaya. 2012. 

Through profound contemplation, he discovered the path to human liberation and freedom from suffering. With this realisation, Siddhartha Gautama attained Buddhahood and became the Buddha.

Bodhi Tree at Bodh Gaya under which Gautama attained Buddhahood.

The path he discovered is known as Bodhi or Enlightenment. The peepal tree under which he attained enlightenment later came to be known as the Bodhi Tree, gaining lasting historical and spiritual significance. After attaining enlightenment, the Buddha began the task of transmitting the knowledge he had realised to society. He initiated this mission by approaching his former companions—the five ascetics (Pañcavargika) with whom he had previously practised austerities. 

The Buddha delivered his first sermon at the Deer Park (Mṛgadāvaṇa) in Sarnath, in the presence of Bhaddiya and the other ascetics. This inaugural discourse is known as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (The Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma).

Stupa at Sarnath 

Through this sermon and his subsequent teachings, the Buddha presented profound doctrines such as the Four Noble Truths (Cattāri Ariyasaccāni), the Five Precepts (Pañca Śīla), the Noble Eightfold Path (Ariya Aṭṭhaṅgika Magga), and the principle of Dependent Origination (Paṭiccasamuppāda). The Buddha taught that by understanding and practising these principles, human beings could free themselves from suffering. Read  Samkhya and Buddhism

In due course, people from various sections of society were inspired by Buddha’s teachings. They accepted him as their teacher and entered the Saṅgha, adopting the life of bhikkhus. What began with the ordination of the first five disciples gradually expanded into a Saṅgha consisting of thousands of monks.

Early Buddhism and Buddhist Council Meetings

As the Saṅgha continued to grow in size, the diversity of temperament, behaviour, and conduct among its members made it necessary to establish a structured system of discipline. To maintain harmony, moral conduct, and organisational stability within the monastic community, a set of disciplinary rules became essential. This necessity led to the formulation of the Vinaya, the monastic code of discipline.

However, differing interpretations and applications of the Vinaya eventually became a source of internal divisions within the Saṅgha. These disagreements resulted in factions and splits, a phenomenon historically referred to as Saṅghabheda (schism within the monastic community).

From these schisms within the Saṅgha, several distinct schools and divisions emerged. Although there were differences of opinion among these groups primarily concerning matters of Vinaya (monastic discipline), there was no fundamental disagreement regarding the core principles and teachings of the Buddha. The essential elements of the Buddha’s doctrine continued to serve as the central foundation of all these traditions. 

The term “Yāna” literally means a “vehicle” or “path”, signifying a means through which beings are carried toward liberation. Throughout his life, the Buddha devoted himself to the propagation and dissemination of the Dhamma (Pali word for the Sanskrit word Dharma), and he instructed his followers to continue this mission. He exhorted the monks with the famous injunction:

“Caratha Bhikkhave cārikaṃ, Bahujana hitāya Bahujana sukhāya”  (VP, MVG I.11) 4 “Go forth, O monks, for the welfare of the many, for the happiness of the many.” 

The Buddha directed the bhikkhus to travel and teach the path of Dhamma, which leads to the welfare and happiness of humanity. At the age of eighty, the Tathāgata took leave of this world. The Buddha’s passing away from worldly existence, traditionally dated to 545 BCE, is known in Buddhist tradition as the Mahāparinirvāṇa.

Four important places in Buddha Life. Bodhgaya Temple. 2012.

At the time of the Buddha’s Mahāparinirvāṇa, Buddhism was largely confined to central India. In the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, 5, the Buddha advised devotees to visit four places connected with his life: Lumbinī, where he was born; Bodhgayā, where he attained enlightenment; Sārnāth, where he delivered his first sermon; and Kusinārā, where he attained Mahāparinirvāṇa. Geographically, these sites lay in or around the region known in early Buddhist texts as Madhya-deśa, or the “central country.”

Soon after the Buddha’s passing, these four places became important pilgrimage centers (caityas), serving as living memorials of his life and teachings. Pilgrimage to these sacred sites helped preserve the memory of the Buddha, strengthen devotion among lay followers, and played a key role in spreading Buddhism beyond its original heartland.

First Buddhist Council

Soon after the Mahāparinirvāṇa of the Buddha, the Bhikkhu Saṅgha felt an urgent need to maintain unity, discipline, and doctrinal clarity within the monastic community.  With this objective, the First Buddhist Council was convened within one hundred days of the Mahāparinirvāṇa, during the 5th century BCE, at Rājagṛha (Rajgir), under the patronage of King Ajātaśatru. The council was led by senior monk Mahākassapa and attended by 500 Arhat bhikkhus.

Several important resolutions were adopted at this council to preserve the Buddha’s teachings. Bhante Ānanda was entrusted with the responsibility of compiling and reciting the Suttas (discourses of the Buddha), while Bhante Upāli was assigned the task of compiling and reciting the Vinaya, the monastic code of discipline. 

This council laid the foundation for the systematic preservation of the Dhamma–Vinaya through oral tradition.

Board at Rajgir. 

Second Buddhist Council

Approximately one hundred years later, in the 4th century BCE, the Second Buddhist Council was held at Vaiśālī under the patronage of king Kalasoka. The primary purpose of this council was to resolve disputes concerning ten controversial monastic practices, most of which were related to the interpretation and observance of the Vinaya.

This council was resulted in the first major schism within the Saṅgha, leading to the division between the Sthaviras (Elders) and the Mahāsaṅghikas. The monks who deviated from the rules were later called the Mahasanghikas, while the orthodox monks were distinguished as the Theravadins (Sthaviravadins). It was rather a division between the conservative and the liberal. The hierarchic and the democratic. There is no room for doubt that the Council marked the evolution of new schools of thought.

From this initial split, several Buddhist schools later emerged. The Theravada and Mahasanghikas then divided into several sects and groups.

After the Buddha’s mahaprinirvana (death), Buddhist missionaries spread Buddhism from central India toward the southwest along the Southern Route. Buddhism also reached western India, where it flourished in Mathura (Madhura), a city on the banks of the Yamuna River, southeast of present-day Delhi. Although Mathura was later known as a sacred center of Krishna worship, Buddhism once thrived there (Baruah, 2000, p.5). The city became an important center of the Sarvastivadin (Theravadins) school of Buddhism. Sarvastivadin (Theravadins) became popular all-over North India and made its way to Central Asia, China. Mahāsaṅghika sect (those who deviated from the rules) became popular in Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati and Nagarjunikonda.

Third Buddhist Council

In the 3rd century BCE, the Third Buddhist Council was convened at Pāṭaliputra under the patronage of Emperor Aśoka. The principal objective of this council was to purify the Saṅgha by eliminating false monks and resolving doctrinal confusion.

This council played a decisive role in shaping and consolidating Theravāda Buddhism, and also marked the beginning of large-scale missionary activities, through which Buddhism spread beyond the Indian subcontinent.

Early Buddhist traditions from Northern and Southern India differ in several ways, though they also share important similarities. By the time of King Ashoka, the Sangha had already passed through four or five generations of leadership. Buddhism had spread to Kashmir in the north and to the Deccan plateau in the south.

Sri Lankan sources state that Ashoka sent missionaries across India, but such a large effort could not have been carried out by the Theravāda school alone. The Dipavamsa records that many schisms occurred within two centuries after the Buddha’s death, leading to the formation of eighteen Nikāya schools.

Fourth Buddhist Council

The Fourth Buddhist Council held in Kashmir, was organised by Kanishka, is understood differently within various Buddhist traditions. The session synchronises with the emergence of Mahayanism. In the centuries after the Christian era the erection and worship of Buddha images came into vogue. This paved the way for the advent of Mahayanism. The earliest writer on Mahayana philosophy was Nagarjuna who lived in Andhra Pradesh.

Thus, the Buddhist Councils were pivotal historical events that ensured the preservation, transmission, and diversification of Buddhism, enabling it to spread and flourish across vast regions of Asia.

Different schools of Buddhism

The first major split occurred at the Second Buddhist Council, about 100 years after the Buddha’s Mahāparinirvāṇa. This division led to the formation of two main groups: the Mahāsāṅghikas (liberals) and the Sthaviravādins (orthodox).  

The Mahāsāṅghikas, who held more liberal and progressive views, were often in conflict with the Sthaviras, the conservative group that closely followed the original teachings of the Buddha. In a certain sense, the Mahāsāṅghikas were the forerunners of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

They were the first to introduce the terms Mahayana and Hinayana, using Hinayana to refer to the Sthaviras, while identifying their own outlook as Mahayana. The terms Mahayana and Hinayana refer to two different sets of Buddhist doctrines.

In terms of time, the teachings called Hinayana were taught by Buddha himself, while the teachings known as Mahayana developed later, after his death, through the reflections and interpretations of his disciples. In terms of approach, Hinayana emphasizes the Buddha’s practical and experiential (phenomenological) teachings, whereas Mahayana expresses the deeper, introspective understanding of reality attributed to the Buddha.

Thus, it is clear that the terms Mahayana and Hinayana were coined later, when differences and a sense of superiority developed between early Buddhism and later, developed schools. The followers of developed Buddhism called their own tradition Mahayana (Great Vehicle) and labelled earlier traditions as Hinayana (Small Vehicle). These terms do not appear in the Pali Nikāyas or the Chinese Āgamas, but are frequently found in Mahayana sūtras and treatises. According to Baruah, although some scholars consider Nāgārjuna the founder of Mahayana Buddhism, this view is mistaken.

Theravāda (simply said orthodox school, Hinayana, teachings taught by Buddha)

Theravāda, literally meaning the “Teaching of the Elders” (Jain, 2012, p. 395), is the Buddhist tradition that strictly preserves the Buddha’s original teachings and monastic discipline as they existed before his Mahāparinirvāṇa, without later doctrinal modifications. It upholds the arhat as the highest spiritual ideal, emphasizing individual liberation from saṃsāra through insight into suffering and non-self rather than universal salvation.

Liberation is attained by following the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, grounded in ethical conduct (śīla), mental discipline (samādhi), and wisdom (paññā). The tradition relies exclusively on the Pāli Tipiṭaka, comprising the Vinaya Piṭaka (monastic discipline and the formation of the Saṅgha), Sutta Piṭaka (the Buddha’s discourses), and Abhidhamma Piṭaka (systematic analysis of mind and reality). 

All the Buddha’s teachings are summarized as Dhamma, meaning truth, law, and righteousness, which governs both human conduct and the natural order. Living in accordance with Dhamma leads to Nibbāna, the final liberation from suffering, achieved not through prayer or divine intervention but through self-effort, mental training, and compassion. Philosophically, Theravāda emphasizes the Three Marks of Existence—impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha), and non-self (anattā)—and dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda), firmly rejecting any permanent soul. 

Strong emphasis is placed on monastic life, meditation practices such as Vipassanā and Samatha, and careful preservation of the earliest teachings.

Important scholars such as Mahākassapa, Ānanda, Upāli, Moggaliputta Tissa, Buddhaghosa, Dhammapāla, and Mahānāma played key roles in preserving and explaining the tradition.

Today, Theravāda Buddhism is practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and parts of India and Bangladesh.

Read  How Hindu, Buddhist strains are intertwined in Thailand, Japan and Cambodia and Ramayana in Cambodia

Lord Indra Temple, Bangkok. 2009. 

Mahāyāna

Mahāyāna Buddhism emerged about five centuries after the Buddha’s death and marked a major turning point in the history of Buddhism. It played a decisive role in the spread of Buddhism to East Asia—particularly China, Korea, Japan, and later Taiwan—without which Buddhism might not have survived or flourished in these regions. 

Early Theravāda Buddhism was largely monastic, inward looking, and focused on individual liberation (arhat ideal). Its highly technical and philosophical orientation had limited appeal for the socially and practically oriented cultures of East Asia. In contrast, Mahāyāna re-presented Buddhism as a compassionate, socially engaged, and accessible tradition that welcomed lay participation.

According to B. Baruah,7 after the decline of Buddhism in India following Aśoka’s reign and the resurgence of Brahmanism, Mahāyāna arose as a reform movement. It sought to overcome sectarian divisions, revive Buddhism, oppose Brahmanical dominance, and reconnect the Dharma with society by engaging actively with social and political realities. 

Around the beginning of the Common Era, this new movement came to be known as Mahāyāna (“Great Vehicle”), distinguishing itself from earlier traditions that it labelled Hīnayāna (“Lesser Vehicle”). Although sometimes presented as a sharp break, Mahāyāna was in fact a creative expansion of ideas already presents in the Buddha’s teachings. It likely originated in South India, with Northwest India also serving as an important center due to interactions with Indian, Mediterranean, and Iranian cultural influences. 

A Mahāyāna historical account from the early Common Era even claimed that earlier forms of Buddhism were preliminary stages leading toward Mahāyāna (Jain, 2012, p. 173), highlighting its self-understanding as a higher and more inclusive path.

A defining feature of Mahāyāna is the introduction of a new spiritual ideal—the Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva is an “Awakening Being,” one who is committed to completing the Ten Perfections (daśa pāramitā) in order to attain Buddhahood (Coomaraswamy, 1954, p. 337). Unlike the arhat or pratyekabuddha, who seek personal liberation, the Bodhisattva renounces final release and vows to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

This compassionate intention, known as bodhicitta, leads the Bodhisattva towillingly remain within saṃsāra to relieve the suffering of others. The development of celestial Bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteśvara and transcendent Buddhas like Amitābha further encouraged devotional practices, including prayer and worship, making Buddhism emotionally and spiritually accessible to the masses.

Philosophically, Mahāyāna is centered on the doctrine of śūnyatā (emptiness), which teaches that all phenomena lack inherent, independent existence and arise only through interdependence. Emptiness does not imply nihilism but points beyond fixed and absolute concepts. Closely related is the idea of tathatā (suchness), the true nature of reality as it is, beyond conceptual thought.

Another influential doctrine is Tathāgata-garbha (Buddha-nature), which holds that all beings possess the potential for Buddhahood. Although this idea appears close to the notion of an inner essence, Mahāyāna interprets it within the broader framework of non-self and emptiness.

Several influential scholars and texts shaped early Mahāyāna thought. Nāgārjuna (2nd century CE) founded the Mādhyamika school, elaborating the philosophy of emptiness, which was further developed by his disciple Āryadeva (3rd century CE). Aśvaghoṣa (1st–2nd century CE) was a pioneering poet and philosopher who helped popularize Mahāyāna ideas. 

Key Mahāyāna texts include the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, Lotus Sūtra (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka), Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa, Buddhacarita, and the Mahāyānaśraddhotpāda-śāstra. 

Together, these developments established Mahāyāna as a dynamic, compassionate, and philosophically profound tradition that reshaped Buddhism and ensured its survival and expansion across Asia.

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The ideas of the Maitreya Buddha and the Jātaka tradition developed slowly within Buddhism as part of its natural historical and doctrinal growth. The belief in a future Buddha came from the early Buddhist idea that Buddhahood continues over time and is not limited to one historical Buddha. It reflects hope during times of moral decline and promises the future renewal of the Dhamma. Maitreya was not a later or foreign idea but grew naturally from teachings already found in the Nikāyas.

Maitreya Buddha, road from Leh to Kargil. Also found in Thiksey Monastery near Leh. 

In the same way, Jātaka stories, which describe the Buddha’s past lives, developed to explain the long moral and spiritual training needed to become a Buddha. At first, these stories were meant to teach values like generosity, compassion, and self-sacrifice. Later, they became more detailed and popular narratives. The Jātakas helped spread Buddhism among ordinary people and strengthened the Bodhisattva ideal, which later became central to Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Vajrayāna

From the Buddha’s Parinirvāṇa until the sack of Nalanda in 1197 A.D.—about seventeen centuries—Indian Buddhism went through three main phases: Hinayāna, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna (Esoteric or Tantric Buddhism). These phases were not completely separate; earlier forms continued alongside and influenced later ones.

Vajrayāna Buddhism is a unique blend of mysticism and ritual, combining mantras (sacred sounds), yantras (magical diagrams), mandalas (ritual circles), mudras (symbolic gestures), maithuna (sexual rituals), yoga, a complex pantheon, elaborate worship, magic, astrology, alchemy, symbolic practices, emphasis on the female principle, and a monastic philosophy.

Mahayana was not the last major development in Indian Buddhism. Between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE, new ideas emerged within Mahayana that formed a new phase of Buddhism, often described as the third turning of the Wheel of Dharma.

This tradition came to be known as Tantra, also called Mantrayana (the Secret Mantra Vehicle) or Vajrayana (the Diamond Vehicle). Although these terms are often used together, scholars note that they are not exactly the same.

Traditionally, it is believed that Tantric teachings were given by Buddha himself, but because they were highly specialised, they were meant only for select practitioners. For this reason, Tantra is often referred to as Esoteric Buddhism.

The word tantra also refers to a type of scripture that explains these specialised teachings. Tantric texts are considered a later addition to Buddhist literature, coming after the three original collections—the Vinaya, Sutta, and Abhidhamma Pitakas.

Tantric Buddhism, like all Buddhist traditions, aims at Buddhahood. Tantric Buddhism is sometimes described as presenting a shortcut to enlightenment (Tilawka Thera, Sakhare A, 2023). The Vajrayāna technique adds skilled means to advanced Mahāyāna teachings for advanced students (Sakhare, 2017,19). It is based on early Buddhist doctrine and is philosophically rooted in Mahayana, especially the Madhyamaka idea of emptiness (śūnyatā). Its distinctive feature lies in its special methods of practice, which require guidance from a guru.

While the ideal figures of earlier traditions are the arhat (Hīnayāna) and the bodhisattva (Mahayana), Tantra upholds the siddha, or accomplished adept, as its spiritual ideal.

The origin of Buddhist Tantra is debated, but it is best understood as part of the wider religious creativity of ancient India, rather than as borrowed from Hindu Tantra. It developed in India for several centuries before Buddhism declined there. Our main knowledge of Buddhist Tantra comes from Tibet, where it was well preserved, especially in the Gelugpa tradition. From Tibet, it spread across the Himalayas, Mongolia, and Siberia. A smaller transmission went through China to Japan, where it survives in the Shingon school.

KARMA has different meaning in different schools

The Sarvāstivādins tried to explain karma by arguing that past, present, and future karmas all “exist”, so that actions (deeds) could be directly linked to their results. This view, however, met with strong resistance from other Buddhist schools.

From the Mahāyāna perspective, karma is explained through dependent origination and emptiness (śūnyatā). Actions and their results are real at the conventional level, but they do not exist as permanent entities. Karma functions through causal relations without requiring the real existence of past and future karmas.

In Vajrayāna, karma is accepted as binding, but it is seen as something that can be transformed or purified through advanced methods such as mantra, ritual, meditation, and yogic practices. Vajrayāna emphasizes the rapid transformation of karmic tendencies rather than their denial, integrating karma with skillfull means on the path to enlightenment.

Conclusion

Buddhism began with the Buddha’s quest to understand and end human suffering and developed into a rich and diverse tradition over many centuries. Through the Buddhist Councils, the Dhamma–Vinaya was preserved, clarified, and transmitted, even as differences in discipline and interpretation led to the formation of various schools. 

Theravāda preserved the earliest teachings and emphasized individual liberation through discipline, meditation, and wisdom. Mahāyāna emerged as a reformist and socially engaged movement, expanding the ideal of liberation through the Bodhisattva path, compassion, and profound philosophical insights such as emptiness and Buddha-nature. Vajrayāna developed later as an esoteric extension of Mahāyāna, introducing powerful ritual and meditative methods aimed at rapid enlightenment.

Despite their differences, all three traditions share the same foundational goal: the eradication of suffering and the attainment of liberation, demonstrating Buddhism’s ability to adapt while remaining rooted in the Buddha’s original vision.

Author Amit Narwade is a PHD scholar, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai.

Source (numbers in article refer to Source)

1.“Imasmiṁ kho, bhikkhave, Jambudīpe Tathāgato loke uppajjati…”- Aṅguttara Nikāya (AN 8.29 / AN 4.36). Meaning, Monks, it is in this Jambudīpa that a Tathāgata arises in the world... “Jambudīpe manussā dīghāyukā honti…”- Dīgha Nikāya – Mahāpadāna Su􀆩a (DN 14). Meaning “In Jambudīpa, humans are long-lived…”

2. “Jambudvīpe manuṣyaloke bodhisattvo jāyate”(Lalaitvistara). Meaning “In Jambudvīpa, in the human world, the Bodhisattva is born.”

3. According to the Brahma Jala sutta of Digha Nikaya I, there were 62 philosophical views: Eternalism, annihilationism, chance theories.

4. VP- Vinaya Pitaka, Mahavagga part I.

5. Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, Dīgha Nikāya 16 (DN 16)

6. Bahuah B, Buddhist sects and sectarianism, 2000, p.79, 80.

7. Bahuah B, Buddhist sects and sectarianism, 2000, p. 78

References 

1. Bapat P V, 2500 years of Buddhism, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India, 1956

2. Tilawka Thera, Sakhare A, ETHICAL TEACHINGS IN BUDDHIST SCHOOLS, JETIR November 2023, Volume 10, Issue 11.

3. Dr. Jain Bhagchandra ‘Bhaskar’, Pali bhasha aur sahitya ka Itihaas, Alok Prakshan, Nagpur, 2012. 

4. Dr. Sakhare Malti, Understanding Dhamma, Sanket Prakashan, Nagpur, 2017 Coomaraswamy, Ananda K., Arts and Crafts of India and Ceylon, Farrar, Straus & Co., N.Y., 1964. 6. Online Tripitaka. https://suttacetral.net

5. Bibhuti Baruah, Buddhism sects and sectarianism, Sarup and sons, 2000

6. Tipitaka.org

7. Nilinaksha Datta, Buddhist sects in India, Narendra Prakash jain publication, 1998.

8.Suttacentral.net  

Also read on eSamskriti (suggestions by Editor)

1. Author, spiritualist and British Council scholar Dr Satish Kapoor wrote in Introduction to Buddhism-“On leaving home Buddha reached Vesali where he became a disciple of Alara Kalama (also known as Arada Kalama) a scholar of the Sankhya school of philosophy. Alara introduced him to the philosophy of the Upanishads and taught him the techniques of meditation. But his quest for the ultimate Reality could not be fulfilled, and he left him with five Brahmin ascetics.”

2. Respected Guruji S.N. Goenka said on the Vipassana Research Institute site, “Vipassana is a technique of India. Laudable references to Vipassana are given in the Ṛg Veda. The most ancient literature of this country is full of words of praise for Vipassana:”

3. The 4 Noble Truths of Buddhism were echoes of Rishi Kapila’s original wisdom according to former scholar President Dr. Radhakrishnan writings in Indian Philosophy (1923). “The profound four-fold framework that Sage Kapila had already crystallized in the Samkhyapravacanabhasya – from the recognition of suffering, to the path of liberation, through the subtle understanding of prakrti and purusha, to the supreme discriminating wisdom – would later find a simplified reflection in Buddhist teachings.”

4. Why did Buddhism vanish from India

5. Hindu deities worshipped in Japan

6. Harmonious blend of Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto strains in Japan

7. How Hindu, Buddhist strains are intertwined in Thailand, Japan and Cambodia

8. Ramayana performances in South-east Asian countries and Sri Lanka

9. Samkhya and Buddhism

10. Vajrayana Buddhism core tenets based on SAIVA SAKTA Philosophy

11. Theravada Buddhism as an Iteration of Classical Hindu Ascetic Praxis

12. Lord INDRA in Buddhism

13. Dalai Lama explaining Tantra in Buddhism – “His Holiness clarified that while the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma dealt with the Four Noble Truths, teachings given in public, for which there is a historical record, the Second Turning deals with the Perfection of Wisdom teachings. The Third Turning deals with Buddha nature and the clear light nature of the mind and how to use it. This is the basis of the practice of secret mantra. He explained that the Second and Third Turnings did not take place in public but before a more select gathering of disciples.”

14. What is common to the Dhammapada and Bhagavad Gita

Photo credits - Cover by Benoy K Behl. All other, except Maitreyi Buddha by Sanjeev Nayyar.