According to Buddha, the world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing. It is also soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it. Within this transient world sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence. The path of moderation between severe penance and self indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles….
The European interested in Stupas: Nineteenth-century Europeans like the French and English sought Shahjehan Begum’s permission to take away the eastern gateway, which was the best preserved, to be displayed in museums in France and England. Cunningham look drawings of the place deciphered the inscription and bored shafts down these domes. According to the letter…
Stupas were regarded as sacred as it contained relics of the Buddha such as his bodily remains or objects used by him were buried there. According to a Buddhist text, the Ashoka Vadana, Ashoka distributed portions of the Buddha’s relics to every important town and ordered the construction of stupas over them. By the second…
There were a plethora of reasons due to which men and women joined the Sangha: They wanted to follow the path of righteousness and non-violence. They wanted to renounce the worldly pleasures. Some of them wanted to become the priests and teachers of Buddhism. The environment of Sangha was very peaceful that inspired large number…
The Brahmana said that all his sins or evil will ward off when he takes a dip in the holy water. This is the justification given by the Brahmana for his daily dip in the river.
The main ideology of Jainism is that they consider the entire world as animated: they consider that even the non-living things like stone or water have life. The Jain philosophy promotes the idea of non-injury to living beings especially human beings, animals, plants, insects, etc. They also propagate the idea of ahimsa i.e. non violence….
As the Stupas became the religious sites of Buddhism, a similar number of temples were constructed to house the Hindu deities. The Shaivite and Vaisnavite movements led to the spread of worship of Shiva and Vishnu. Some of the features of the temples constructed for the Hindu deities are: The earliest constructed temple used to…
There is not much difference between the ideas of the Upanishadic thinkers and fatalists and materialists. We can see this through following points: Ahimsa of non-violence was the idea of the Jain and Buddhist philosophers. However this ideology was even supported by the Hindu religion. Upanishads believes and teaches karma, which held an important position…
Punna questioned the Brahmana’s thought of washing evil away in the water. She believed that if the sins were washed away by taking bath in water, then it must be true that all the sea creatures will go to heaven on performing this act. She also says that it is the fear in one’s heart…