A1) State whether the following statements are true or false. Correct the false statement. i] The author and his wife were Buddhists.
Answers
Explanation:
Buddhism is an ancient Indian religion, which arose in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (now in Bihar, India), and is based on the teachings of the Gautama Buddha[note 1] who was deemed a "Buddha" ("Awakened One"[3]), although Buddhist doctrine holds that there were other Buddhas before him. Buddhism spread outside of Magadha starting in the Buddha's lifetime.
The Great Stupa at Sanchi, located in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, is a Buddhist shrine in India.
The Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha, and particularly to the attainment of Enlightenment. The first temple was built by The Indian Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC, and the present temple dates from the 5th century or 6th century AD. It is one of the earliest Buddhist temples built entirely in brick, still standing in India, from the late Gupta period.[1]
Rock-cut Buddha Statue at Bojjanakonda near Anakapalle of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
Ancient Buddhist monasteries near Dhamekh Stupa Monument Site in Sarnath.
Devotees performing puja at one of the Buddhist Caves in Ellora.
With the reign of the Buddhist Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, the Buddhist community split into two branches: the Mahāsāṃghika and the Sthaviravāda, each of which spread throughout India and split into numerous sub-sects.[4] In modern times, two major branches of Buddhism exist: the Theravāda in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and the Mahāyāna throughout the Himalayas and East Asia. The Buddhist tradition of Vajrayana is sometimes classified as a part of Mahāyāna Buddhism, but some scholars consider it to be a different branch altogether.[5]
The practice of Buddhism as a distinct and organized religion lost influence after the Gupta reign (c.7th century CE), and the last state to support it, the Pala Empire, fell in the 12th century. It was challenged by the increased popularity of Hinduism and the rise in the socio-political influence of the Brahmins. By the end of the 12th century, it had largely disappeared with the exception of the Himalayan region and isolated remnants in parts of south India. However, since the 19th century, modern revivals of Buddhism in India have included the Maha Bodhi Society, the Dalit Buddhist movement, and the Vipassana movement. There has also been a growth in Tibetan Buddhism with the arrival of the Tibetan diaspora following the Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1950/1951. According to the 2011 Census there are 8.4 million Buddhists in India (0.70% of the total population).