History of Indian Buddhism

By Professor Karam Tej Singh Sarao (Former Professor, University of Delhi) | Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath, Varanasi

Learners enrolled: 1377

About the course:

History of Indian Buddhism is a four-credit course of 15 weeks’ duration.

The course, as the title suggests, deals with the history of Indian Buddhism from its origins in the sixth century BCE till its decline around the twelfth-thirteenth centuries CE. The primary objective of this course is to advance students’ knowledge of the history of Indian Buddhism from the time of its origins in about the sixth century BCE till its decline during the medieval period. Upon the completion of this course, students should: have acquired a clear understanding of the historical development of Indian Buddhism as a whole have a sound knowledge of key Buddhist scriptures, schools and doctrines. You can have acquired a good understanding of some of the most essential practices for Buddhists in South Asia. Be equipped with the methodological skills to pursue postgraduate or independent research on practically any topic relating to Indian Buddhism. There are 36 modules in this course and through these modules the students shall be familiarized with

1. Background to the Origin of Buddhism

2. Date of the Buddha

3. Biography of the Buddha-I: Previous Births

4. Biography of the Buddha-II: Conception to Life in the Palace

5. Biography of the Buddha-III: Abhiniṣkramaṇa to Nirvāṇa and Beyond

6. Early Buddhist Teachings

7. Origin and Growth of the Saṃgha

8. Dissent and Protest in Early Buddhism with special reference to Devadatta

9. The Mahābodhi Tree

10. The Mahābodhi Temple

11. Buddhist Perspective on Ahiṃsā

12. Social, Economic, and Political Philosophy of Buddhism

13. Buddhist Attitude towards Women

14. Dissent and Origin of Various Sects

15. Buddhist Councils: First

16. Buddhist Councils: Second

17. Buddhist Councils: Third and Fourth

18. Buddhism during the Mauryan Period

19. Origin and Development of Buddhist Pilgrimage

20. Puṣyamitra Śuṅga and the other Śuṅgas Kings

21. Buddhist Schools of Art

22. Buddhism under the Indo-Greeks and the Kuṣāṇas

23. Harṣavardhana and Śaśāṅka

24. Decline-I: History of Decline: Some Basic Issues

25. Decline-II: Corruption, Dissent, Sectarianism, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna

26. Decline-III: Brāhmaṇical Kings, Hinduism, and the Bhakti Movement

27. Decline-IV: Role of Islam and Ṣūfism

28. Decline-V: Saṃgha-Laity Relationship, Decline of Urbanization, and Evolving Material Milieu

29. Decline VI: Model/Blueprint of Decline

Pre-requisite for the course:- Bachelor’s degree in any course and interest in Buddhist Studies

Course type: core or elective:- Open Elective

Estimated work load every week:- Eight to twelve hours (Watching videos, reading module contents- (two or three every week), attempting questions and reading related reference materials.)

Total assignments allotted for the course (Indicate Graded assignments (which contain marks) and non-graded (those non-marks) ):-

In all fifteen assignments (three long essays of 3,000 words, short answers and MCQs) and fifteen assignments (two assignments consisting of long essays each of 3,000 words ) without marks.

Summary

Course Status :	Completed
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	15 weeks
Category :	Multidisciplinary
Credit Points :	4
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	06 Feb 2023
End Date :	22 May 2023
Enrollment Ends :	15 Mar 2023
Exam Date :

Page Visits

Course layout

	Week wise schedule (including the assignment to be kept in the week) :-
Week No.	Nos. and Titles of Modules
1	1. Background to the Origin of Buddhism
	2. Mahājanapadas and Republics at the Time of the Buddha
	3. Date of the Buddha
2	4. Biography of the Buddha: Previous Lives
	5. Biography of the Buddha: Conception to Home Leaving
3	6. Biography of the Śākyamuni Buddha: Home Leaving to Bodhi
	7. Biography of the Śākyamuni Buddha: First Sermon to Nirvāṇa
4	8. Origin and Development of the Saṃgha
	9. Pāli Tipiṭaka
	10. Weltanschauung of Indian Buddhism
5	11.The Buddhist Doctrine of Ahiṃsā
	12. Attitude of Indian Buddhism towards Women
	13. Social, Economic, and political thought of ancient Indian Buddhism
6	14. The First Buddhist Council
	15. Dissent and Protest in Early Indian Buddhism with Special Reference to Devadatta
	16. The Second Buddhist Council
7	17. Buddhism under the Mauryas
	18. The Third Buddhist Council
8	19. Buddhism during the Śuṅga Period
	20. The Indo-Greeks, the Śakas, and the Indo-Parthians
9	21.Buddhism during the Kuṣāṇa Period
	22.The Fourth Buddhist Council
10	23. Origin and Growth of Various Buddhist Sects in India
	24. The Origin and Development of Mahāyāna Buddhism
11	25. Buddhism under Harṣa and Śaśāṅka
	26. Origin and Growth of Tantra
12	27. Buddhist Schools of Art
	28. Origin and Growth of Buddhist Pilgrimage in India
13	29. The Mahābodhi Tree
	30. The Mahābodhi Temple
14	31. The History of the Decline of Buddhism in Different Parts of India
	32. Decline of Buddhism in India: The Issue of Moral and Ethical Corruption, Sectarianism, and the Rise of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna
	33. Decline of Buddhism in India: The Question of the Animosity of Brāhmaṇas, Hostile Kings, and the Rise of Bhakti Movement
15	34. Decline of Buddhism in India: Role of Islam and Ṣūfis
	35. Decline of Buddhism in India: Saṃgha-Laity Relationship, Decline of Urbanization, and Evolving Material Milieu
	36. Blue Print for the Decline of Buddhism in India

Books and references

Akira, Hirakawa. 1993. A History of Indian Buddhism, translated and edited by Paul Groner, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.

Bapat: V. 1956. 2500 Years of Buddhism, Government of India Publications Division, New Delhi.

Goyal, S.R. 1993. A History of Indian Buddhism,Meerut: Kusumanjali Prakashan.

Lamotte, Étienne. 1988. History of Indian Buddhism from the Origins to the Saka Era, trans. S. Webb-Boin, Louvain-la-Nueve: Institute Orientaliste, Universite de Louvain.

Nakamura, Hajime. 1980. Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes, Tokyo: KUFS Publication.

Sarao, K.T.S. 1989. The Origin and Nature of Ancient Indian Buddhism, Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers.

Instructor bio

Professor Karam Tej Singh Sarao (Former Professor, University of Delhi)

Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath, Varanasi

Course Coordinator Details :
Professor Karam Tej Singh Sarao
Former Professor,
Department of Buddhist Studies,
University of Delhi.

Professor Karam Tej Singh Sarao is the former Head and Professor of Buddhist Studies, Delhi University.

After receiving MA (History) and PhD (Buddhist History) from the University of Delhi, he went to Cambridge University as a Commonwealth Scholar from where he received his second PhD (Pāli and Buddhist Archaeology). Besides having taught at Delhi University for over four decades, Professor Sarao has also been a visiting fellow/professor at Dongguk University (South Korea), Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, Jinshan (Taiwan), Sorbonne (Paris, France), Cambridge University (UK), Visvabharati (India), and PS Royal Buddhist University (Cambodia). He has written sixteen books and published more than 350 research papers and articles. Some of his important books are Baku’s Temple of Eternal Fire (Bloomsbury, 2021), History of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya (Springer, 2020), Encyclopedia of Buddhism and Jainism (Springer, 2020), The Decline of Indian Buddhism: A Fresh Perspective (MRML, 2012), The Dhammapada: A Translator’s Guide (MRML, 2009), Pilgrimage to Kailash: The Indian Route (Aryan International, 2009), Urban Centres and Urbanisation as Reflected in the Pāli Vinaya and Sutta Piṭakas (MRML, 1990).

The P.S. Royal Buddhist University, Phnom Penh conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Letters (HC) in 2011 and in 2018, the President of India conferred on him the Certificate of Honour for outstanding scholarship in Pāli Language. Lifetime Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence was conferred by the Vietnam Buddhist University, Ho-Chi-Minh City in 2019. India’s Ministry of Culture conferred on him the Vesak Citation of Honour for the year 2020.

Course Coordinator email Id: ktssarao@hotmail.com

Mobile and Whats App No.: +91- 9811262124

Coordinator of the Course :-

Professor Geshe Ngawang Samten

Vice Chancellor,

Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, Varanasi

Professor Geshe Ngawang Samten, possesses a rare combination of education on modern lines as well as the Tibetan monastic system. He obtained Geshe Lharampa degree, from Gaden Shartse monastery, equivalent to Ph.D. degree in the modern system.

As a result of his outstanding achievement in the field of research, he was promoted to the position of Professor of Buddhist Philosophy. He is also actively engaged in Hindi translations of Buddhist texts in Sanskrit and Tibetan. Professor Samten, with his special interest in the philosophy of Nagarjuna, published the definitive critical edition of the Ratnāvali with its commentary as the result of his post-graduate research. He is credited with important publications, such as a critical edition of Abhidhammattha-Saṅgaho, a critical edition of Sanskrit and Tibetan versions of the Piṇḍikṛta and the Pañcakrama of Nagarjuna, and co-authored The Ocean of Reasoning, an annotated English translation of the commentary on Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamaka Karika by the Tibetan master thinker Tson-Kha-Pa, published by Oxford University Press. The Ocean of Reasoning is acclaimed far and wide.

He has contributed to the improvement of academic standards at CIHTS, particularly through teaching and research. He is instrumental in promoting Buddhist Studies in India. A number of Indian universities have greatly been benefited by his scholarship and insight in formulating courses and initiating Buddhist studies. He strongly advocates to make the education system instrumental in transforming the students through inculcation of value along with development of skills in various fields.

He frequently travels across the continents lecturing to academic audiences in the United States, Europe, Australia, Russia, some of the Asian countries and as well in India. He has been in action at various national and international seminars, workshops and conferences. He has held Visiting Professorship at Hampshire, Amherst and Smith Colleges in the USA and at the University of Tasmania in Australia.

In virtue of his sagacity and wisdom, Professor Samten has been on numerous academic bodies of universities and expert committees of the Ministries of Government of India, and as a member on the boards of several Institutes in USA, Canada, Thailand, France and Austria. He has also served in the Editorial Board of International Association of Tibetan Studies in Harvard. He has been the Vice President of Association of Indian Universities, and has served chairman/member of various expert committees constituted by the University Grant Commission of India.

In 2009, he has been awarded Padma Shri (one of the country’s highest civilian awards) by the President of India for his distinguished services in the field of education and literature.

In 2016, he has been awarded Vesak Samman by the Government of India in recognition of his outstanding lifelong achievement in the fields preservation, development and promotion of Indian philosophy, arts and culture within and outside India, as well as his lifelong services towards dissemination of Buddhist studies and establishment of academic institutions.

He is currently the Vice-Chancellor of Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, Varanasi.

Teaching Assistant for the Course:-

Name: Akansha Singh

Email: asbuddhist1@gmail.com

Ms Akansha Singh is a PhD student in the Department of Pāli and Buddhist Studies at the Banaras Hindu University where she is preparing her PhD thesis on “Vessantara Jātaka; Its Depiction in Literature, Paintings and Bas-Reliefs”. She has a first class Bachelor (Hons) degree in History, a first class MA in Buddhist Studies (History Specialization), and a post-graduate diploma in Pāli Language and Literature from Delhi University. She has also worked as Research Officer at Swami Vivekananda Subharti University from August 2019 to July 2021.

Course certificate

The Interested Learners (Students, Working Professionals, and Life-Long Learners) can enroll and learn this MOOC course for free.

If you want to get SWAYAM Certificate for this course, you have to register for SWAYAM Examination and write the proctored examination conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA: https://swayam.nta.ac.in/) in its various exam centres across India. The SWAYAM examination fee for this course is Rs. 1000, to be paid at the time of Exam registration.

Marks Distribution:

In this course, 30 Marks will be allocated for Internal Assessment (assignment/ discussion forum/ activity) and 70 Marks will be allocated for external proctored examination.

A minimum of 40 % passing marks (i.e. at-least 12 marks in Internal Assessment & 28 Marks in external proctored examination) will be required for being eligible for SWAYAM Certificate.

Kindly note:- The students enrolled in Universities/Institutions/Colleges can avail Credit Transfer as per UGC SWAYAM Regulations, 2021 for this course. The Host University for this Credit Transfer will be Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath, Varanasi.

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