1. Lesson 3 Buddhism and India’s Golden Age
Chapter 7 Ancient india
Lesson 3 Buddhism and India’s
Golden Age

2. Blah blah blah. This matters because . . .
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Blah blah blah. This matters because . . .

3. MAIN IDEAS
Belief System A teacher called the Buddha developed a new religion that focused on helping people to escape suffering.
Government The Maurya rulers united northern India into the first great Indian empire.
Culture About 500 years after Asoka’s death, a new ruler united northern India and began a golden age of culture.

4. California Standards
1) Know the life & moral teachings of Buddha & how Buddhism spread in India, Ceylon, & Central Asia.
2) Describe the growth of the Maurya empire & the political & moral legacy of Emperor Asoka.
3) Discuss important Indian aesthetic and intellectual traditions.

5. The Buddha’s Life and Teachings
The Rise of Buddhism
EQ: What are the main teachings of the religion of Buddhism?
The Buddha’s Life and Teachings
• Siddhartha Gautama was a 5th-century B.C. Hindu prince, born in wealth, luxury who gave up wealth when he saw suffering; began a search for peace
• Siddhartha deprived himself for six years, then meditated under fig tree
• Found understanding, insight into reality called Four Noble Truths & Eightfold Path
• Path leads to nirvana—the end of suffering—breaking cycle of reincarnation
• Siddhartha was called the Buddha, or “enlightened one.” He didn’t believe in the Hindu gods, goddesses, or caste system

6. Mahabodhi Temple - Bodhi Tree
Bodhgaya was where Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment beneath a bodhi tree and became Buddha 2600 years ago. In terms of blessedness, this tiny temple town is to Buddhists what Mecca is to Muslims.
The most hallowed spot in town is a bodhi tree which flourishes inside the Mahabodhi Temple complex, amid a beautiful garden setting, its roots embedded in the same soil as its celebrated ancestor.

7. Mahabodhi Temple

8. Four Noble Truths 1) People suffer because their minds are not at ease
2) Unease & suffering come from wanting things
3) People can stop suffering by not wanting
4) People can stop
wanting by following
the Eightfold Path

9. Eightfold Path

10. EQ: What are the main teachings of the religion of Buddhism?
The Rise of Buddhism
EQ: What are the main teachings of the religion of Buddhism?
Buddhism Changes
After Buddhaʼs death, followers collected teachings, called the Dharma. Dharma means true nature of things, often symbolized by wheel
Monks, nuns in religious communities made Buddhism a formal religion
Some Buddhists became wandering holy men, tried to live like Buddha
Buddhism later split into branches—most worshiped Buddha as a god

11. Triratna - Three Jewels
In Buddhism, dharma is the doctrine, the universal truth common to all individuals at all times, proclaimed by the Buddha. Dharma, the Buddha, and the sangha (community of believers) make up the Triratna, “Three Jewels,” to which Buddhists go for refuge.
Triratna - Three Jewels
Sangha

12. The Maurya Empire
EQ: How did the Maurya rulers unite northern India into
the first great Indian empire?
A United India
Separate Aryan kingdoms battled each other for centuries
Around 550 B.C., northeastern Magadha kingdom gained strength
Chandragupta Maurya became king of Magadha around 321 B.C. He conquered land, kept control with spies, army; taxed landowners, crops to pay officials

13. Asoka, the Buddhist King
The Maurya Empire
EQ: How did the Maurya rulers unite northern India into
the first great Indian empire?
Asoka, the Buddhist King
Asoka—Chandraguptaʼs grandson, greatest Maurya king. He began rule in 269 B.C., fought bloody war to take nearby kingdom. He later gave up warfare, ruled peacefully by Buddhist teachings, law
Carved policies of nonviolence, truth, kindness on rocks, pillars
Sent missionaries to spread Buddhism, but allowed other religions
Improved travel by building wells, hospitals, rest houses by roads

15. India had golden age during reign of Chandra Gupta II, A.D. 375-415
The Golden Age of the Guptas
EQ: Who were the Guptas, and what is their legacy?
India had golden age during reign of Chandra Gupta II, A.D
• Arts (architecture, murals, statues) thrived under Chandra Gupta II
• Kalidasaʼs famed Sanskrit plays, poems include Sakuntala love story
• Indians invented our numeral and decimal systems, symbol for zero
• A mathematician figured length of year, value of pi
• Doctors expanded Ayurvedic medicine, worldʼs oldest medical system
• Artisans developed advanced metallurgy (metal working)
• Gupta India profited from trade by selling cotton, ivory & buying items such as silk from China; resold to traders going west
• Traders and missionaries spread Indian culture, beliefs

16. summary & so what
Write a paragraph summarizing the lesson “Buddhism & India’s Golden Age.”
Choose one thing you wrote about and tell me why it matters to the world today.
Choose one thing you wrote about and tell me how it affects you personally.

17. summary & so what
Lesson Summary
A new religion called Buddhism taught people to escape suffering by following a path of right living.
Influenced by Buddhism, King Asoka tried to rule with peace, law, and good works.
Under Gupta rule, India had a golden age. The arts, science, metallurgy, and trade prospered.
Why It Matters Now . . .
The spread of Hinduism and Buddhism shaped Asian cultures. Many Asian people still practice those religions today.