Buddhism History

Summary

This introduction to Buddhism covers its origins from Hinduism and how it became a distinct tradition. It discusses the Buddha's life, from his sheltered upbringing to his enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, where he discovered the 'middle way' between indulgence and deprivation. The Buddha's teachings, the spread of Buddhism, and the formation of early Buddhist communities are explored. Additionally, it outlines Buddhism’s expansion across Asia, its introduction to the U.S. through immigration and cultural movements, and the key milestones in its historical development.

Takeaways

• 🪷 Buddhism originates from a Hindu context, specifically emerging when the Upanishads were challenging the Brahmin class.
• 🌟 Buddhism, unlike Hinduism, has a founder – Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, who sought new ways to achieve liberation.
• 📜 Buddhism’s scriptures were written in Pali, a language spoken by common people, making it more accessible than Hinduism's Sanskrit texts, which were mostly for the Brahmin elite.
• 👁️ Buddha’s early life was one of luxury, but after seeing old age, disease, death, and an ascetic, he became determined to seek a life of renunciation and find liberation.
• 🌳 The Buddha achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, realizing that the path to liberation lay in the 'Middle Way,' avoiding extremes of indulgence and asceticism.
• 🧘‍♂️ The Buddha’s teachings spread after he gave his first sermon at Deer Park, establishing the Sangha, or Buddhist community, which expanded after his death.
• 📅 Following the Buddha’s death, Buddhist councils were held to formalize his teachings, leading to the creation of different branches like Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.
• 🌏 Buddhism spread widely over centuries, reaching places like Sri Lanka, China, Korea, Japan, and Burma, though it declined in India due to various factors like conquests and Hindu assimilation.
• 🛤️ Buddhism was introduced to the U.S. through immigration and became more prominent during the 1960s and 70s with the counterculture movement’s interest in Eastern religions.
• ✈️ Anagarika Dharmapala played a significant role in spreading Theravada Buddhism to the U.S., particularly through the World Parliament of Religions in the late 19th century.

Q & A

What is the historical context from which Buddhism emerged?

Buddhism emerged from a Hindu context during a time when the Upanishads were challenging the authority of the Brahman class. The Buddha sought new paths to liberation, diverging from Hindu traditions.

How does Buddhism differ from Hinduism despite some shared ideas?

While Buddhism shares many ideas with Hinduism, such as concepts of liberation, it redefines them. Buddhism developed its own identity rather than remaining a branch of Hinduism, becoming a distinct tradition over time.

What is significant about the language in which Buddhist texts were written?

Buddhist texts were written in Pali, a language spoken by common people, unlike Hindu texts written in Sanskrit, which was a language of the religious elite. This made Buddhism more accessible to the general population.

Who was Siddhartha Gautama, and what were the key events that led to his Enlightenment?

Siddhartha Gautama, born into a wealthy family in the 6th century BCE, was sheltered from suffering. After witnessing old age, disease, death, and an ascetic, he renounced his life of pleasure, became an ascetic, and eventually discovered the 'Middle Way,' achieving Enlightenment and becoming the Buddha.

What is the significance of the 'Middle Way' in Buddhism?

The 'Middle Way' is a key concept in Buddhism that rejects extremes of pleasure and self-deprivation. The Buddha realized that balance between these two paths leads to Enlightenment and liberation from suffering.

What are the four sights that led to Siddhartha Gautama's renunciation of his previous life?

The four sights were old age, disease, death, and a religious ascetic. These experiences of suffering deeply affected Siddhartha and led him to renounce his life of luxury in search of spiritual truth.

What was the role of the Buddha's first sermon at the Deer Park?

The Buddha’s first sermon at Deer Park, after his Enlightenment, introduced the core teachings of Buddhism, including the Four Noble Truths. His audience included five former ascetics who became his first disciples, forming the early Buddhist community or 'Sangha.'

How did Buddhism spread after the Buddha's death?

After the Buddha’s death, his teachings were formalized through Buddhist councils. Buddhism spread across various regions, notably through Emperor Ashoka's efforts in the 3rd century BCE, who sent missionaries to spread the religion across India and other countries.

What factors contributed to the decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent?

Buddhism’s decline in India was due to several factors, including its pacifistic nature, the assimilation of Buddhist elements into Hinduism, and invasions like the Muslim and Hun conquests.

How did Buddhism first arrive in the United States?

Buddhism arrived in the United States primarily through immigration, especially from Asian laborers working on railroads and in mines. It gained further prominence during the 1960s and 1970s with the 'hippie generation's' interest in Eastern religions.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Overview of Buddhism's Historical Context

The first paragraph introduces the historical context of Buddhism as a religion emerging from Hinduism. The instructor highlights that this is a high-level introduction, covering the major religions while briefly discussing the Hindu influence on Buddhism. It emphasizes that Buddhism, unlike Hinduism, has a clear founder—Buddha—and distinguishes itself from Hinduism while sharing some overlapping beliefs. The paragraph also touches on the origins of Buddhism in response to the Upanishads and the Brahman class.

05:03

👁️ Buddha's Realization and the Four Sights

This section describes the early life of Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) and his sheltered upbringing. Despite living a life of luxury, Buddha eventually sneaks out of the palace and encounters four significant sights: old age, disease, death, and an ascetic. These experiences expose him to human suffering, prompting him to pursue a life of renunciation in search of deeper understanding and enlightenment, rejecting the path of pleasure and opting for a spiritual path.

10:03

🌳 The Middle Way and Buddha’s Enlightenment

In this paragraph, Buddha's journey toward enlightenment is explained. After trying both the path of renunciation and asceticism without success, Buddha sits under the Bodhi tree where he discovers the Middle Way. This middle path rejects both extreme pleasure and extreme deprivation. He attains enlightenment and becomes the 'Buddha' (the Enlightened One), achieving Nirvana (liberation) and realizing the non-dualistic nature of existence. The paragraph also details his subsequent seven-week period of meditation and reflection.

15:04

🦌 The First Sermon at Deer Park

Buddha's first sermon at Deer Park is outlined here, where he shares his newfound insights, specifically the Four Noble Truths, with five former ascetics who become his first disciples. This moment marks the beginning of the Buddhist sangha (community). The significance of Deer Park as the site of this religious turning point is emphasized, as is Buddha's ongoing teaching and the eventual spread of his message.

📜 Buddha’s Life and Spread of Teachings

This paragraph summarizes key events in Buddha's life, including his death and the spread of Buddhism. After his death, his remains are spread to pilgrimage sites, and Buddhism grows into a significant movement. The paragraph also briefly describes Buddha's key life events as depicted in a 10th-century stele from India, showing the importance of his birth, enlightenment, and final Nirvana in the Buddhist tradition.

🏛️ Early Buddhist Councils and Mahayana-Theravada Split

The formation of Buddhist councils and the gradual spread of Buddhism are discussed here. The first and second Buddhist councils, which attempted to formalize Buddhist teachings, are outlined, as well as the third council led by Emperor Ashoka, which helped spread Buddhism across India and neighboring regions. The division between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, originating from differences in interpretation of the Buddha's nature, is also introduced.

⚔️ Decline of Buddhism in India

This section covers the decline of Buddhism in India due to several factors, including its pacifist nature, the assimilation of Buddhist elements into Hinduism, and external invasions such as the Muslim conquests. Despite this decline, Buddhism continued to spread beyond India to places like Sri Lanka, China, and Japan, where different forms of Buddhism, such as Zen and Pure Land, emerged.

🇺🇸 Introduction of Buddhism to the U.S.

The final paragraph discusses the spread of Buddhism to the United States, starting with laborers and immigrants, particularly from Asia, and picking up after World War II. Notably, Anagarika Dharmapala is credited with introducing Theravada Buddhism to the U.S. at the World Parliament of Religions. Buddhism gained more followers in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s, influenced by the countercultural embrace of Eastern religions. Immigration played a significant role in the introduction of various forms of Buddhism to the U.S.

Keywords

💡Buddhism

Buddhism is a major world religion founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) in the 6th century BCE. It emerged from a Hindu context, specifically during a time when the Upanishads were challenging the authority of the Brahman class. In the video, Buddhism is presented as a distinct religion with its own founder, texts, and practices, although it shares some concepts with Hinduism.

💡Siddhartha Gautama

Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, is the founder of Buddhism. He was born into a wealthy family and led a sheltered life until he encountered suffering in the form of old age, disease, death, and asceticism. His experiences led him to seek enlightenment, eventually leading to the creation of Buddhism. The video details his life journey, from his privileged upbringing to his spiritual awakening under the Bodhi Tree.

💡Upanishads

The Upanishads are ancient Hindu texts that focus on spiritual knowledge and philosophical ideas. They challenged the authority of the Brahman class, creating a context in which new religious movements, like Buddhism, emerged. In the video, the Upanishads are mentioned to highlight how Buddhism arose during a time of religious questioning and reform within Hinduism.

💡Nirvana

Nirvana is the state of liberation from suffering and the cycle of rebirth, a central goal in Buddhist philosophy. In the video, it is compared to the Hindu concept of Moksha. The Buddha attained Nirvana after realizing the 'Middle Way' between indulgence and asceticism, and this became a key teaching in Buddhism.

💡Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths are the foundation of Buddhist teachings, which include the truth of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. In the video, these truths are mentioned as part of the Buddha's first sermon at Deer Park, where he introduced these core principles to his followers.

💡The Middle Way

The Middle Way is a central concept in Buddhism, referring to a balanced path between extreme indulgence and extreme asceticism. This was the path the Buddha followed to attain enlightenment after rejecting both his luxurious life and his harsh ascetic practices. The video emphasizes that the Middle Way became the essence of Buddhist practice and philosophy.

💡Sangha

Sangha refers to the Buddhist community of monks, nuns, and laypeople. It was established after the Buddha’s first sermon, where his former ascetic companions became the first members. In the video, the Sangha is highlighted as the first community of Buddhists who spread the teachings of the Buddha and preserved them.

💡Theravada and Mahayana

Theravada and Mahayana are the two main branches of Buddhism. Theravada is the older form that focuses on the original teachings of the Buddha, while Mahayana developed later and emphasizes a more universal approach to enlightenment. The video mentions the early emergence of these two traditions and their differing views on the nature of the Buddha and Buddhist practice.

💡Bodhi Tree

The Bodhi Tree is the tree under which Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became the Buddha. In the video, this is a key event, as it marks the Buddha's realization of the Middle Way and his attainment of Nirvana. The Bodhi Tree is now a significant symbol in Buddhism, representing spiritual awakening and enlightenment.

💡Ashoka

Ashoka was an Indian emperor who played a crucial role in the spread of Buddhism. He organized the Third Buddhist Council and sent missionaries to spread Buddhism across India and other regions. The video notes his efforts in propagating Buddhism and how he helped establish it as a major religion outside of India.

Highlights

The history of Buddhism is presented at a high level due to the introductory nature of the course.

Buddhism emerged from a Hindu context during the time when the Upanishads challenged the Brahman class's authority.

Buddhism has a founder, the Buddha, and though it shares concepts with Hinduism, it redefines them to form its own distinct tradition.

Buddhist texts are written in Pali, a language accessible to the common people, contrasting with Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit, a language limited to the religious elite.

The story of the Buddha's life is perceived through later accounts and tales, such as the Jataka tales, which recount the Buddha's past lives.

Siddhartha Gautama, born in the 6th Century BCE, lived a sheltered life of luxury until he encountered suffering outside the palace.

After seeing old age, disease, death, and an ascetic, the Buddha decided to leave behind his luxurious life to seek liberation.

The Buddha tried both the guru path and extreme asceticism but found no liberation until he discovered the 'Middle Way' under the Bodhi Tree.

The Buddha attained enlightenment and realized the nature of non-dualism and nirvana, which in Hinduism is referred to as moksha.

The first sermon at Deer Park to five of the Buddha’s former ascetic companions marked the establishment of the Buddhist community, or Sangha.

The spread of Buddhism was aided by Emperor Ashoka in the 2nd Century BCE, sending missionaries to different regions.

Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka by the 3rd Century BCE, China in the 6th Century CE, and eventually to Japan with Zen and Pure Land Buddhism in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Buddhism declined in India due to factors like pacifism, Muslim conquests, and assimilation into Hinduism.

Anagarika Dharmapala played a significant role in introducing Theravada Buddhism to the U.S. during the World Parliament of Religions in the late 19th century.

The spread of Buddhism in the U.S. began with immigrant laborers in the 19th century and gained momentum with the 1960s and 70s countercultural movement.

Transcripts

all right well we are going to jump into

the history of Buddhism and again

um keep in mind this is a pretty

high level history of Buddhism because

this is an intro course we're talking

about four major world religions and

we're also trying to leave some time at

the end of the course to talk about some

other religious Expressions around the

globe and so we'll

do this at a pretty high level we also

have your reading and feel free to ask

any questions along the way

but um

we talked about in our intro video how

Buddhism flows out of a Hindu context

and so if you remember

different time periods of Hinduism

Buddhism is coming out right at the time

when the upanishads are challenging the

authorities of the Brahman class

and so the Buddha is looking for new

ways to Liberation and so um whereas

Hinduism is a mixture of numerous

cultures religions

Buddhism has a Founder it starts with

the Buddha according to traditional

accounts so that's important to keep in

mind as we talk about this

and so um Buddhism we'll find out use as

many of the same ideas as Hinduism but

it can redefine them or tweak them and

so

you could make an argument that Buddhism

is a development of Hinduism that in

some ways becomes its own tradition

and so instead of just becoming an

aspect of Hinduism it ends up as its own

tradition

and as you look at the kind of the

history of Indian religions in general

Buddhism is not unique in that way there

are a lot of different kind of ways that

things take Hinduism and start to become

their own Expressions but then they

either die out or maybe they're

still existing in a smaller scale such

as Jainism or something like that and so

it's not unheard of and that in the

context of Indian religions and Hinduism

for other movements to come out of them

and

um one thing that's interesting about

Buddhism and we see this in other

religions is that

Hindu scriptures for the most part were

composed of Sanskrit and Sanskrit is a

language that wasn't spoken very often

and it really is kind of like a

religious Elite language that only the

Brahmin class and maybe not even all of

them but the trained ones could read

and so what is unique about Buddhism is

that the texts of Buddhism are written

Paley and Paley is one of the languages

that people actually spoke and it wasn't

a high cast language and so it was

accessible

and so Buddhism even from the get-go you

can learn something about it just by the

language it's in written and composed in

is that it was meant to be except

accessible to people and who not just

High cast people so there you can see

how it's starting to split from its

Hindu Origins

and now when we talk about the Buddha

there are stories about the life of the

Buddha but none of these are considered

super highly reliable

instead the stories really tell us how

the Buddha was later perceived

and so Buddha lived allegedly Buddha or

tradition lived through many existences

in the past and so you can find the

different existences previous existences

of the Buddha and uh

uh they're recorded recorded in

something called the jakata tales so if

you look at the jakata tales you can

Google it but you'll see the different

lives the Buddha lived before he became

the Buddha

but again the source material is really

late here we're talking hundreds and

hundreds of years after the Buddha

lived and so the reliability of it we

just don't know what we do know is how

the Buddha was later perceived

and so according to what we think

happened what's what's been passed down

is that Siddhartha gutama is believed to

be unborn in the 6th Century BCE and

like I said last time it's dated 6 to

4th century and he was from the

Christiana cast near the Ganges River

and his father was a wealthy ruler

and um

we see things like he he wasn't

conceived from sexual relations and they

was born kind of on the side of his

mother

um The Story Goes that he lived a very

protected life his father tried to

really protect him to keep him from Pain

and death and the Buddha was given all

the pleasures anything he could want he

was given him as he grew up inside of

the palace and so you know all the

different Pleasures that we talked about

and that are available in the

householder stage those are the types of

things that the Buddha was given but but

interesting love because of the

Sheltering of his parents he wasn't

allowed to leave on the palace and so

all these things were brought into him

he wasn't allowed to go out and leave

and see any of the suffering

but as he grows up he says he decides he

wants to see the outside world and so he

sneaks out of the palace and he has four

experiences

um four things that he sees when he

leaves the palace so the first one is

old age so he sees he'd never seen

anybody like that before because he was

so sheltered nobody ever grew old in

front of him the next one is disease

anybody who was sick or had some kind of

disease was removed from the palace he

never had a chance to see him

and then the third one was death he saw

somebody dead against something he had

never seen because he was completely

sheltered in the palace living just a

complete life of pleasure and then the

fourth one really had an impact on him

and that was an ascetic who had deprived

himself someone who religious ascetic

who had kind of shunned all desires and

likely was like we had seen in some of

those pictures in Hinduism you know very

very thin

very meditation oriented something like

that so those are the four things he

sees and so you can kind of all wrap

this up under the heading of suffering

so he sees some real suffering for the

first time in his life

and so that causes a time of reflection

and he decides that he really doesn't

have a full understanding of the world

just through pleasure and so

um he sets out to live a life of

renunciation remember we had the two

pass in Hinduism

and so he says I'm going to take the

renunciation path

and that's what he goes into does so he

finds a guru and he follows it after

them and he does everything they say he

should do

no Liberation in fact he almost feels

worse about life

so that didn't work out

and then he goes after it himself by

becoming an ascetic himself

and basically as you can see from this

statue

and it's part of Buddhist iconography

you see Buddha was good at being

aesthetic but you can see I'm kind of

from his facial expression here even

though he's a like maybe the best

aesthetic of all time it didn't lead to

Liberation for him and so again now he's

tried the guru route he's tried the

aesthetic route and so it's like well

what's it going to do you know what's it

going to take

and so um in some ways he kind of goes

and sits under a Bodhi Tree

um

and basically is trying to figure out

you know whether he's going to keep

living or not

because he's so you know kind of at that

aesthetic

and he really is out there like I'm

either going to discover I'm not

and

um while he's there he does Discover it

he realizes he has this kind of

experience where he encounters

Enlightenment and realizes it's not the

way of pleasure or the way of

deprivation but a middle way and so

Buddhism is really about this middle way

and so during his Enlightenment this is

when he becomes the Buddha because

Buddha means enlightened one

and he also encounters Nirvana which in

Hinduism would be Moksha but it's

liberation

and so he is liberated from his

attachment and he realizes the

non-toolistic nature of the world and so

he realizes that there isn't you know a

spiritual and a physical reality but

there's just kind of this this only one

reality and um

and so it's a non-dualistic way of

living and so the Buddha stays in his

enlightened state for seven weeks and

um just experiencing the freedom that it

offers and The Liberation that offers

and

um here's kind of a an artist rendition

of

um

that experience there's the Bodhi Tree

and kind of just some animals around him

as you can see now he is an enlightened

being

and then um he travels from there to the

Deer Park and this is a famous site near

Varanasi in India and this is where he

breaches his first kind of sermon after

he's been under the Bodhi Tree in his

seven weeks of Liberation and the people

who listen to him the first time are

actually five of his former Co

Aesthetics

and so these are people he had been

striving for Liberation with

and he preaches teaches the four noble

truths we'll talk about that more later

and then these five former

um people that he had been working with

to gain Liberation they become his first

Community which a Buddhist Community is

known as a singer

and so um Deer Park is where he takes it

from kind of like a personal experience

to now becoming the start of a religious

movement and this is a picture I believe

of the Deer Park

um there and

um you can kind of see it obviously has

significant you know it's not a part

significantly a park anymore but I'm

more of a religious location

and so um but the Buddha continues to

teach and the saying it grows

and eventually the Buddha leaves his

body near a place in I believe Northern

India called kushinagar

and his body is cremated and spread into

eight stupas that become pilgrimage

sites you could see the stupa was the

large Mound at the kind of at the far

side of that picture from the Deer Park

so these spread out eight spaces and now

they're pilgrimage sites for some

Buddhists

so she's Enlightenment under the Bodhi

Tree preaches at the Deer Park continues

to preach

the community grows around him and then

he leaves his body chooses to leave his

body

and kind of just meld into the

nothingness

um

and the saying it continues to grow and

so recently last fall I was down in the

Art Institute of Chicago

and I stumbled across this this is a

steel

um from around the 10th Century it was

found in India and you can see different

life events we won't go through them all

here but we see his birth down at the

bottom from the side of his mother

there's also a moment of Enlightenment

there's this sermon

at the Deer Park and at the top you can

see kind of his spot when he

leaves the Earth and fully experiences

Nirvana

and which is Liberation freedom and so

you can see how something like this that

I've just stumbled upon at the Art

Institute of Chicago

shows the different elements of the

Buddha's life and how core the Buddha's

life is to some versions of Buddhism

that's the kind of a traditional account

of the life of Buddha but then when we

look at and say okay well what's

what happened after that well honestly

we don't have a lot of good details

about what happens next there are no

real records from that time period what

we believe happened is Buddhism begins

to spread among all the different levels

of society

again that's something unique from

Hinduism

where it wasn't limited to the upper

levels and then different teaching

different versions of the Buddhist

teachings emerge

and then different people start to begin

to establish monasteries and develop

codes or rules monastic codes for those

things based on their interpretation of

the Buddhist teaching

and then

um

we start to get some records around the

fourth Century BCE and this is part of

the reason why we don't know was that

6th Century 4th Century that the Buddha

lived because this is when you start to

get kind of raw records

and so what you have happened are some

Buddhist councils where they pull

together these communities and they're

attempting to formalize the teachings of

the Buddhists by compiling his sayings

so the first one meets early fourth

Century second meets later in the fourth

century

and it's even here in this fourth

Century that we can begin begin to see

The Divide between Mahayana teravada

Buddhism

begin and a lot of that has to do with

the nature of the Buddha

and then the third council is called by

the emperor at the time period Ashoka in

the beginning of the second century and

this leads to the spread of Buddhism

around India and then also kind of

around that region as well as Ashoka

since the missionaries to nine different

countries

and so you have these first kind of two

councils are trying to formalize things

and then the third council is doing that

as well but it's called and

um is beginning to look at spreading

actively spread Buddhism around India

and the

that part of Asia

um but then

we also see a decline in the Indian

subcontinent of Buddhism and there are

numerous factors involved here one of

them is a pacifistic nature of Buddhism

does it lend itself well

um

what it's kind of encounters a more

militaristic religion

you also see Hinduism kind of begin to

assimilate some of the elemental

Buddhism we talked about that

about hinduism's ability to assimilate

different beliefs when we talked about

it then you also see things like Muslim

conquests in the Hun Conquest sweeping

through India as well they play a factor

in that

but it does spread and we talked a

little bit about that with the third

Council but it's spreading to places

like Sri Lanka by the third Century BCE

um

but in the first century we see Mahayana

Buddhism really taken off the fourth

Century we see Buddhism go to Korea the

6th Century CEO we see Buddhism go to

China 10 centuries in Burma

and in the 12th and 13th century we're

beginning to see things like Zen pure

land Buddhism in Japan

so it's spreading now it's taking a

while right that's

1400 years from Sri Lanka to Japan where

it's Zen and pure land Buddhism but I'm

spreading around Asia

okay so that's kind of the spread and

we're moving up toward the modern times

this guy is somebody that somebody can

jump into and take for a video but on

nagarika Dharma Pala

um what's interesting about him is that

he brings Buddhism to the U.S through

the world parliament of religion and

this is the version that he brings is

taravada Buddhism and so he's you know a

big enough deal that they put him on a

stamp in India in 2014. I won't say much

I won't say more about him than that let

somebody grab him for a city person

video but uh he plays a big role in our

perception of Buddhism

um

another thing to keep in mind

is that like many religions in the U.S

the Buddhism comes to the U.S primarily

through immigration and this starts on

the west coast with things like labors

brought in to build the railroads work

in the mines and things like that it

picks up significantly after World War

II

um

and then starts to really gain a

foothold through the kind of what is

kind of known as the hippie generation

in the 60s and the 70s and they're um

kind of there embracing of Eastern

religions

and when you think about

immigration

um

you know this is how this is the story

of religion in the U.S

you have all kind of the religion that

gets imported the US is through

immigration and it's starting right with

the pilgrims essentially

and so I'm here are some of those labors

that we talked about as bringing some of

the first forms of Buddhism to the U.S

um so that's a brief overview of the

history of Buddhism it's very much an

overview because it's an intro course

but we'll get I'll be able to dive into

some of those people and the important

cities in Buddhism

uh through your videos of course if you

have any questions feel free to shoot me

an email

but hopefully you now have a little

better understanding of the history of

Buddhism