Siddhartha and Ancient Buddhism -The Buddhist Expansion - World History - Part 1 - Extra History

Deep within India, Prince Siddhartha has cast away all his belongings, power, and family. Seeking the answers to the woes of mankind. Here he sits under the bodhi tree in deep meditation, on the cusp of enlightenment of 8-Fold Secret. When he awakes he is Buddha and conveys the four noble truths to the people. However, the Demon God of Desire, Mara has different plans for him. For a mortal is forbidden to know secrets of death, rebirth, and the wheel of the cosmos.

*Miss an episode in our Buddhist Expansion Series?*

Artist: Nick DeWitt I Writer: Robert Rath I Showrunner & Narrator: Matthew Krol I Editor: Aidan Strite & Mac Owens

#ExtraHistory #Buddhism #History

[jphiled]

Side note: will we ever see an Extra History series on a Buddhist monk named Xuan-zang? He had some ibn Battuta level side quests, and epic journeys.

[kmdash]

I am a Buddhist and long time viewer of Extra Credits/Extra History. An important note, hopefully covered in the lies episode, is that Buddhism doesn't have a unified cannon like the Bible. There are many different stories about the Buddha's life, each of which have deep religious and symbolic meaning to each denomination. Take, for example, the Buddha's son's birth. Most accounts say he didn't raise his son, and that the day he set out on his holy mission was the day of his son's birth. This has implications later because his wife breaks down in tears when they finally reunite, asking why he left her on the day their son was born. His son was also supposedly named Rahula, one who ensnares the heart, because the Buddha saw this as a means to prevent his mission to seek the holy life.
The Buddha's mom also died from childbirth, and he was raised by his aunt Mahapajapati, which almost grounds the story in realism because while there is a ton of mythology around his birth (and not everyone believes in the same birth story), many women did not survive childbirth at that time.

[balargus]

I wish you covered the full "battle scene" between Mara and Buddha. Because it isn't just him repelling an army. In the standard mythology, it actually ends when Mara bellows that it is he who really provides meaning to existence, and has all his demons scream in agreement. Mara then taunts Siddartha as to who will vouch for his so-called enlightenment, and that's when he touches the ground.

[Game_Hero]

Mom : "HONEY, come! He's about to say his first words!"
Baby : "This is my last rebirth"

[nenenindonu]

Modern day Afghanistan used to be a bastion of Buddhism it's quite interesting how the socioreligious dynamics of geographies can change with time

[Pravaification]

I was raised Buddhist (My parents are Sri Lankan), and even though I don't practice religion anymore, I am glad that you guys are covering Buddhism. There is a lot of misconception about Buddhism and hopefully this series can shed some light on Siddhartha's journey.

[adamblakeslee]

I'm a christian but I've always admired Buddhism for its clarity and kindness. It will be good to learn more about Buddhism.

[felixbabuf]

As a practitioner of the Mahayana tradition, I applaud you for taking the time to make this series. Good to see more knowledge being contributed to general awareness in the West ☸

[djblades]

As a Theravada Buddhist, I really appreciate Extra History doing this series to spread the story and influence Buddhism even if they are are not followers.

[MiyuruWeerarathna]

I’m a Buddhist from Sri Lanka. Your interpretation on yhe core values of Buddhism is spot on.

[geoffreyherrick]

I loved reading Osamu Tezuka's biography of Buddha. It was his last project before he died.

[AlexAre]

I am Thai American buddhist and have watched your second episode on nebula (long time fan). This series is FANTASTIC. You are right about how diverse buddhism is and I don't claim to be a good source of it but this has been a pleasant experience when compared to learning it in AP World history where I was more confused than anything. A lot of the story and even discussions about the practices and principles like Nuns (conservativism toward women / gender hierarchy-esque) and the important (dependent) relationship between the common people and the monks are just chefs kiss. It's those details I tell my friends that I wouldn't expect to hear. Again, I am not any authority of the subject, but this was very interesting as it resonated with me more than the education I got from school about my own religion. Interested to see how far this goes. Had made me think of the tales I was told by my folks about the Buddha.

People have asked me "wait there is hell in buddhism?", "isn't it a philosophy?", "is nirvana a place or mental state?"
Valid questions, but it just shows how buddhism and how people know it is so complicated and mysterious, especially outside the East.

[zawwin]

Just a clarification.

Life is suffering is one of the most misquoted phrases. It translates more to There is discontentment in life. The illusion of trying to control something you cannot control brings suffering like your youth, wealth, etc. When you get rid of your harmful desires, it opens you to reality kinda like nihilism.

[JohnFallot]

Theravada Buddhist here, and I’m thrilled to see this series underway. But first, a caveat:

The first noble truth is a bit more nuanced: it’s less “it’s all suffering” but “suffering exists”. Similarly, the second noble truth is less “desire” but “sensual craving”.

To explain the nuance: a major reason why right concentration is in the Eightfold Path is that meditation, done in the right way, can produce immense refreshment and pleasure. Even the word “rapture” is used to describe how some of the initial meditative states feel.

And all together, the theme is that we satiate our desire for sense pleasures with meditation (ie pleasures not of the flesh). Now, this is better than the alternative, but for an experienced meditator, states of meditative concentration eventually reveal their drawbacks. Therefore, said meditator cultivates what is needed to go beyond that pleasure-not-of-the-flesh; and in so doing, finds something so utterly satisfying that the desire to come back to the material world itself gets exhausted.

[farazfirouzkouhi]

I remember when I first read the story of the buddha I related to it, I felt I could relate to the Sidartha's mindset.
I loved that story and beacuse of that I always felt a conection to buddhism.
I grew up as a muslim then lost my faith for a while but then I discivered budhism and it changed my life!
For the better!
Thanks for telling this story again it's still one of my favorite stories I have ever heared.❤

[shadiafifi]

*Shows a simplified pic of Aang with the title "Best Kids Show Ever"*
Amen to that brothers. ✊✊✊

That aside, it's great you're doing a series on the origins of Buddhism. It's not a topic I've been well-informed on, but I know you guys will deliver as always.

[jeffersonchau]

The whole thing so far is accurate to the way I was taught his story, but at the 4 minute mark, where Buddha sees the 4 different people, I was told he saw them on separate occasions. Where when he saw the sick man, his father tried to prevent him from leaving again, but he insisted and saw the other 3 people. But I rly like this series already I’ll be watching the episodes when they come out

[iRedditTales]

This is the best lesson if my entire life. I wish I heard this long time back. Monks like these makes your life easy and better. I'm so grateful for this sermon. 🙏

[samirpaudel]

I am glad that Extra history got the place of birth of Buddha right as it is so much important for us Nepalese people.

[WaterShowsProd]

At least according to Theravada Buddhism, when Mara's army attacked, The Mother Earth Goddess Thorani appeared and washed away the army in a deluge wrung from her hair which was comprised of the water Siddhartha Gautama had poured in devotion. This is a very popular image and throughout Thailand you can find altars to Mae Thorani in the act of wringing her hair, often with a fountain of water emerging at the tip of it. There is one such altar located near Bangkok's City Pillar Shrine, adjacent to The Grand Palace and Temple of The Emerald Buddha.