Important Points to Remember on Buddhism

*** इस पृष्ठ को हिंदी में पढ़े ***‌

The founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha was born at Lumbini located in present day Nepal.
Gautama Buddha's original name was Siddhartha and he was the son of King Suddodhana of Kapilvastu.
He attained enlightenment at Bodhgaya and gave his first sermon at Sarnath. Bodhgaya is located in Bihar, while Sarnath is in Uttar Pradesh.
The state of Bihar is named after Buddhist 'Vihara' - the residential quarters of Buddhist monks.
The first day of the Buddhist calendar is Vaishakhi Purnima
Vesak or Buddha Purnima is the day which marks the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Buddha.
The Indian state with the maximum number of Buddhists is Maharashtra.
The country with the largest Buddhist population is China
Six Buddhist councils have been held so far as follows
  • Immediately after the death of Gautama Buddha.
  • After about 100 years after his death.
  • During the reign of Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century BC.
  • During the reign of King Kanishka around 100 AD
  • From 1888 to 1871 in Mandalay, Burma
  • From 1954 to 1956 at Rangoon, Burma.
The Leshan Giant Buddha in China is the tallest stone Buddha statue in the world.
The Borobudur Temple in Java, Indonesia is the largest Buddhist temple in the world.
Jataka tales are about the Buddha’s previous lives in various forms before he was born as a human being.
Mahayana and Hinayana are the two sects in Buddhism.


Some Important Monasteries in India

MonasteryLocation
Namgyal MonasteryDharamsala (H.P.)
Hemis MonasteryLadakh (J & K)
Namdroling Nyingmapa MonasteryMysore (Karnataka)
Tabo MonasterySpiti valley (H.P.)
Ghum MonasteryDarjeeling (W.B.)
Mindrolling MonasteryDehradun
Tawang MonasteryBomdila (Arunachal Pradesh)
Kye MonasterySpiti (H.P.)
Rumtek MonasterySikkim
Phuktal MonasteryZanskar (J & K)
Thiksey MonasteryLadakh (J & K)