Gautam Buddha Quiz

Notes:
River Niranjana (modern Lilajan) is where Buddha meditated before enlightenment. Pavapuri is where Buddha spent his last days. Rajagriha was significant as Buddha sought instruction there from teachers like Uddaka. Hence, all three places are related to important phases in Buddha’s life—enlightenment, guidance, and his last days.

Notes:

• It was held that Gautama Buddha was preceded by six Buddhas, viz. (1) Vipasyi, (2) Sikhi, (3) Visvabhu, (4) Krakuchchhanda, (5) Kanakamuni, and (6) Kasyapa, and the prevalence of their worship among the Buddhists is confirmed by their representations in Buddhist art.

Notes:
Both statements are correct. Buddhism’s foundational Four Noble Truths state that life is characterized by suffering due to desire. Buddha’s solution was the Eightfold Path, which guides right conduct, livelihood and thought, aiming to eliminate suffering and attain Nirvana. The Eightfold Path is central to Buddhist doctrine and practice.

Notes:
Buddha belonged to a small gana known as the Sakya gana, and was a kshatriya. When he was a young man, he left the comforts of his home in search of knowledge. He wandered for several years, meeting and holding discussions with other thinkers. He finally decided to find his own path to realisation, and meditated for days on under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, where he attained enlightenment. After that, he was known as the Buddha or the Wise One. He then went to Sarnath, near Varanasi, where he taught for the first time. He spent the rest of his life travelling on foot, going from place to place, teaching people, till he passed away at Kusinara.
Buddha taught that the results of our actions (called karma), whether good or bad, affect us both in this life and the next.

Notes:
Dharmachakra in Sanskrit means ‘Wheel of Dharma’. This mudra symbolizes one of the most important moments in the life of Buddha, the occasion when he preached to his companions the first sermon after his Enlightenment in the Deer Park at Sarnath. This event is often referred to as the setting into motion of the Wheel of the teaching of the Dharma.

Notes:
Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, is marked by a commemorative pillar erected by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka of India during his pilgrimage to the holy site in 249 BC. The inscription on the Ashoka Pillar indentifies the Sacred Garden – spread over 9 sq. km – as the spot where the Enlightened One was born. Lumbini was known as Rummindei in Asoka’s time.

Notes:
Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, was born in 623 B.C. in the famous gardens of Lumbini, which soon became a place of pilgrimage. Among the pilgrims was the Indian emperor Ashoka, who erected one of his commemorative inscribed Ashoka pillars there. Ashokan pillar with Pali inscription in Brahmi script is found from this place. Ashoka exempted Lumbini from tax.

Notes:
Shakya was an ancient tribe (janapada) of the Indian Subcontinent in the 1st millennium BCE. In Buddhist texts the Shakyas, the inhabitants of Shakya janapada, are mentioned as a Kshatriya clan of Gotama gotra. The most famous Shakya was Gautama Buddha, a member of the ruling Gautama clan of Lumbini, who is also known as Shakyamuni Buddha, “sage of the Shakyas”, due to his association with this ancient kingdom. The Puranas mention Shakya as a king of Ikshvaku dynasty.

Notes:
Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment on the bank of river Niranjana. He attained the enlightenment on the night of Vaishakh Purnima while sitting below the Sacred Fig Tree i.e. Peepal tree in the state of Samadhi. The tree is now known as the Bodhi Tree.

Notes:
Earthquake was not related among the reasons that Buddha foretold for the destruction of Pataliputra. The reasons that Mahatma Buddha predicted for the destruction of Pataliputra were : Fire, Flood and Feud (internal strife).