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.
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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. |