CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 6 New Questions And Ideas

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 6 New Questions And Ideas

The Story of the Buddha

  • Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha, also known as Gautama, who was born about 2500 years ago.
  • During this period, there was a rapid change in the lives of people. Some kings in the mahajanapadas were growing more powerful. New cities were developing and life was also changing in the villages.
  • Many thinkers were busy analyzing the changes in society and also wanted to try and find out the true meaning of life.
  • Gautama Buddha belonged to 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 many years, meeting and holding discussions with other thinkers. He finally decided to find his own path to realization.
  • He meditated for many days under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, where he attained enlightenment. After the enlightenment, 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 traveling from place to place on foot and teaching the people, till he passed away at Kusinara.

Teachings of the Buddha

The Buddha taught in the language of the ordinary people i. e. Prakrit, so that everybody could understand his message. He also encouraged people to think for themselves rather than simply accept what he said.

Following were the teachings of the Buddha

  • He taught that life is full of suffering and unhappiness, which is caused because we have cravings and desires (which often cannot be fulfilled).
  • Sometimes, we are not satisfied even if we get what we want and want even more (or want other things). The Buddha described this as thirst or tanha. This constant craving could be removed by following moderation in everything.
  • He taught people to be kind and to respect the lives of others, including animals.
  • He believed that the results of our actions (called karma), whether good or bad, affect us in both the present life and the next life.
  • Knowledge Plus: During the time of the Buddha, a famous scholar Panini prepared grammar for Sanskrit.
  • He arranged vowels and consonants in a special order and used them to create formulae. He wrote rules of the language in short formulae.

New Form of Buddhism

  • Over the centuries, Buddhism spread to many parts of the sub-continent and beyond. A new form of Buddhism, i.e. Mahayana Buddhism emerged which had two distinct features. These were
  • The statues of Buddha were started to be made. Earlier, the Buddha’s presence was shown in sculpture by using certain signs.
  • For example, his attainment of enlightenment was shown by sculptures of the peepal tree. Many of the statues were made in Mathura, while others were made in Taxila.
  • People started to believe in Boddhisattva who were supposed to be the persons who attained enlightenment. Once they attained enlightenment, they could live separately and meditate in peace. They remained in the world to teach and help other people.
  • The worship of Bodhisattvas became very popular and spread throughout Central Asia, China, Korea, and Japan. Buddhism also spread in Western and Southern India.
  • In South-Eastwards Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia. The older form of Buddhism known as Theravada Buddhism, was more popular in

Upanishads

  • Upanishad literally means ‘approaching and sitting near teacher’. Upanishads are the texts containing conversations between teachers and students.
  • During the time of the Buddha, various other thinkers also tried to find answers to philosophical questions. Some of them wanted to know about life after death, others wanted to know why sacrifices should be performed.
  • Many of the thinkers felt that there was something permanent in the universe that would last even after death. This was described by them as the atman or the individual soul, and the brahman or the universal soul.
  • They believed that ultimately, both the atman and the Brahman were one. Many of their ideas were recorded in the Upanishads. These ideas were mostly presented through simple dialogues.
  • Most Upanishadic thinkers were men, especially brahmins and rajas. There were also some women thinkers like Gargi, Apala, Ghosha and Maitreyi who were famous for their learning, and participated in debates.
  • Poor people rarely took part in these discussions. However, there was a sage Satyakama Jabala, who was named after his mother, the slave woman Jabali.
  • Jabala had a deep desire to learn about reality. He was accepted as a student by a Brahmin teacher named Gautama, and became one of the best-known thinkers.
  • Many of the ideas of the Upanishads were later developed by the famous thinker Shankaracharya.

Jainism

  • Around 2500 years ago, the last and 24th tirthankara of the Jainas, Vardhamana Mahavira, spread his message.
  • He was a Kshatriya prince of the Lichchhavis, a group that was part of the Vajji sangha. He left home at the age of 30 and went to live in a forest. He led a hard and lonely life for 12 years after which he attained enlightenment.

Teachings of Mahavira

  • Mahavira taught a simple doctrine that men and women who wished to know the truth must leave their homes.
  • They must follow very strictly the rules of ahimsa, which means not hurting or killing living beings. He believed that everyone in this world wants to live, as everyone’s life is precious.
  • The teachings of Mahavira and his followers were transmitted orally for several centuries. They were written down at a place called Valabhi, in Gujarat, about 1500 years ago.

Followers of Mahavira

Ordinary people could understand the teachings of Mahavira and his followers because they used the local language i.e. Prakrit.

The followers of Mahavira were known as Jainas. The rules they had to follow are

  1. They had to lead very simple lives, begging for food.
  2. They had to be absolutely honest and were especially asked not to steal.
  3. They also had to observe celibacy (the state of being unmarried).
  4. The men had to give up everything, including their clothes.

It was very difficult for most men and women to follow these strict rules. However, many people left their homes to learn and teach this new way of life.

  • Many people followed and supported those who became monks and nuns (female monks), providing them with food.
  • Jainism was mainly supported by traders, but not by farmers, who had to kill insects to protect their crops and found it more difficult to follow the rules.
  • Over hundreds of years, Jainism spread to different parts of North India, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

The Sangha

  • Both the Mahavira and the Buddha felt that only those who left their homes could gain true knowledge. They arranged for them to stay together in the sangha, an association of those who left their homes.
  • The rules made for the Buddhist sangha were written down in a book called the Vinaya Pitaka. According to this book, there were separate branches for men and women.
  • All men could join the sangha. However, children had to take permission from their parents and slaves from their masters.
  • The people who worked for the king had to take his permission and debtors from creditors, while women had to take their husbands’ permission.
  • Men and women who joined the sangha led simple lives. They meditated for most of the time and went to cities and villages to beg for food during fixed hours.
  • That is why they were known as bhikkhus (the Prakrit word for renouncer) and bhikkhunis.
  • They taught others and helped one another. They also organized meetings to settle any quarrels that took place within the sangha.
  • Those who joined the sangha included Brahmins, Kshatriyas, merchants, laborers, barbers, courtesans, and slaves.
  • Many of them wrote down the teachings of the Buddha. Some of them also composed beautiful poems, describing their life in the sangha.

Viharas

  • Both Jaina and Buddhist monks went from place to place throughout the year, teaching people. They stayed in one place only during the rainy season, when it was very difficult to travel.
  • During this time, their supporters built temporary shelters for them in gardens, or they lived in natural caves in hilly areas.
  • Gradually, the need for more permanent shelters was needed and thus, monasteries were built, which were known as viharas.
  • The earliest viharas were made of wood, and then of brick. Some of them were made in caves that were dug out in hills, especially in Western India. The land on which the vihara was built was mostly donated by a rich merchant a landowner, or the king.
  • The local people gave gifts of food, clothing, and medicines to the monks and nuns. In return, they taught the people.

Ashram means a stage of life. There are four Ashramas as follows

  1. Brahmacharya In this stage, brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas were expected to lead simple lives and study the Vedas during the early years of their life.
  2. Grihastha In this stage, they had to marry and live as householders.
  3.  Vanaprastha In this stage, they had to live in the forest and meditate.
  4. Samnyasa In this stage, they had to give up everything and become samnyasins.

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