Study Of Social, Religious And Economic Condition According To Buddist Literature

Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who came to be called the Buddha or “enlightened one”. Gautama was born into a wealthy family near the border of modern India and Nepal in 563 BC. Confronted by the reality of ageing, sickness and death, he left his rich home at 29, and spent seven years travelling India as an ascetic. Substituting meditation for physical self-punishment, he was sitting under a fig-tree (boddhi tree) when he had his first three enlightened revelations. The Buddhist literature was in the primary stage, oral literature. As per history, spiritual influence and personal example apart, the teaching of Buddha was communicated entirely by oral means. Though in which language he spoke is not known, it would appear that he rejected the more 'classical' Sanskrit in favour of the vernacular, especially the dialects of Kosala and Magadha.