Mahayana Buddhism

India is a land with a long history of civilizations. The social, economic, and cultural spheres of India are the result of a long period of regional expansion. The arrival of the Aryans and the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization mark the beginning of Indian history. The pre-Vedic and Vedic ages are the terms used to describe these two periods. During the Vedic period, Hinduism arose.

The Indus Valley Civilization and the arrival of the Aryans are the beginnings of India’s history. The pre-Vedic and Vedic periods are the terms used to describe these two periods. The Rig Veda is the earliest literary source that sheds light on India’s past. Between 2800 BC and 1800 BC, the Indus Valley civilization had a sophisticated and flourishing economic system. The people of the Indus Valley practiced agriculture, kept domesticated animals, made copper, bronze, and tin tools and weapons, and even traded with Middle Eastern countries.

During the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, the Maurya Empire conquered the majority of the Indian subcontinent. Prakrit and Pali literature flourished in the north, and Tamil Sangam literature flourished in the south, beginning in the 3rd century BCE. Wootz steel was created in the 1st century BCE in south India and exported to other countries. Various parts of India were ruled by numerous dynasties for the next 1,500 years during the Classical period, with the Gupta Empire standing out.

The Maurya Empire conquered the majority of the Indian subcontinent between the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. Beginning in the 3rd century BCE, Prakrit and Pali literature flourished in the north, while Tamil Sangam literature flourished in the south. 

The civilization of the Vedas

The Vedic civilization flourished along with the river Saraswati, which was named after the Hindu Vedas, which depicted the early literature of the Hindus. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata were the two most important epics of the time, and Hindus still hold them in high regard.

The Gupta Dynasty was a powerful family in India.

The Golden Age of Indian history has been referred to as the Gupta period. When Chandragupta I married the daughter of the chief of the ‘Licchavis,’ he received the gift of Pataliputra as a dowry and began laying the foundations of his empire, which stretched from the Ganges or Ganga to Allahabad. For his strategic conquests and the flourishing state of India, he was dubbed the “king of kings” and reigned for 15 years.

The civilization of the Indus Valley

Around 3300 BCE, the Indian subcontinent entered the Bronze Age. The Indus Valley region, along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, was one of three early cradles of Old World civilization. The Indus Valley Civilization was the largest of the three, with a population of over five million people at its peak.

The Harappans, who lived in the ancient Indus river valley, developed new metallurgical and handicraft techniques (corneal products, seal carving), as well as copper, bronze, lead, and in production. The civilization is known for its brick cities, roadside drainage systems, and multi-story houses, and it is thought to have had some form of municipal government.

Alexander the Great’s Invasion

Alexander crossed the Indus River and defeated the Indian rulers in battle when he invaded India in 326 BC. The Indians’ attempts at war were notable for their use of elephants, which the Europeans did not. Macedonians had never seen anything like it before. The defeated kings’ lands were then taken over by Alexander.

Mahayana Buddhism

Mahayana Buddhism is the world’s largest Buddhist sect, and its beliefs and practices are what most non-adherents in the modern era recognize as “Buddhism.” It arose as a school of thought sometime after 383 BCE, possibly descended from the earlier Mahasanghika school, though this claim has been contested.

Mahasanghika, which claimed to represent the majority of Buddhists (as its name suggests), was thought by 19th-century scholars to have evolved into Mahayana (“The Greater Vehicle”), but evidence suggests that Mahayana coexisted with Mahasanghika and was supported and encouraged by that school. Scholars and Buddhist theologians continue to debate how and why Mahayana Buddhism developed.

The belief system was founded by the Buddha, according to Buddhist tradition.

Siddhartha Gautama was a former Hindu prince whose father shielded him from pain and suffering for the first 29 years of his life. When the prince was born, a seer predicted that if he ever experienced or even saw evidence of pain and suffering, he would become a great spiritual leader, renounce his kingdom, and become a great spiritual leader.

Siddhartha grew up, married, and had a son while still believing he was in the real world. Periodically, a coachman loyal to the king would take him for a ride around what he thought was his father’s kingdom, making sure to stay away from the gates leading to the outside world.

He learned how to meditate and fast, as well as a variety of other techniques. None of these, however, were sufficient for him. Finally, he left the ascetic community and went off on his own, eventually settling down beneath a Bodhi tree and declaring that he would either achieve enlightenment there or die trying.

Beliefs in Mahayana Buddhism

The claim that Mahayana evolved from Mahasanghika is supported not only by the names (both claiming to be the largest group of believers and thus the majority who agreed on Buddha’s vision) but also by what is known about Mahasanghika beliefs later held by Mahayana.

Conclusion

In India, where Hinduism, which was already well-established, and Jainism, which appealed to the ascetic community, were more popular, Buddhism did not initially find a wide audience. It wasn’t until Buddhism was introduced that it became popular. It was spread across the Indian subcontinent and exported to other countries such as China, Sri Lanka, Korea, and Thailand after being embraced by Ashoka the Great of the Mauryan Empire.