Religious Background
Time of radical thought and speculation - Upanishadic sages
Hybrid civilization - two invading groups: from Indus valley (undeciphered), Aryan - Vedic Sanskrit, Brahmins
Orthodox vs. Non-orthodox - Brahmanical vs ascetics/sramans
Buddha and Bodhisatta
Buddha = Awakened One or Enlightened One
Buddhas in history or future = perfect fully Awakened Ones (samma-sambuddhas)
Purpose = save society from itself by rediscovering timeless truths
Gender = male, women can become arahats
Arahats = awakened through practice, no direct teachings, achieve nirvana but are not reborn
Individual Buddhas = enlightened but don't teach (paccekabuddhas)
Bodhisatta = being dedicated to becoming enlightened, many lives
Buddhahood longer path than arahantship
Dates of the Buddha
Long Chronology, Pali = 566-468 BC
Short Chronology, Sanskrit, Chinese = 448-368 BC
Later date is better, as Buddhism declines over time
Life of Sakyamuni Buddha
Prince Siddhartha Gautama
Old man, diseased man, corpse
Taught by monks: meditation, meditation on perception, fasting, middle way is the way
First teaching = middle way, four noble truths
Teachings = Dhamma
Epithets
Descriptions of Buddha
"sage of the Sakya tribe"
"he whose aims are fulfilled"
"great cosmic person"
Triple Gem = namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa
Early Biographies of the Buddha
No concrete source
Multiple compilations, extensions
Includes Jataka tales