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What happened after Gotama died?
I know there was the sangha wasnt there? so what did they do after Buddha died?
I know he was cremated but did they carry on teaching, who became in charge?
I know he was cremated but did they carry on teaching, who became in charge?
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Just before his death, the Buddha spoke: "Therefore, Ananda, be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge" and "It may be, Ananda, that to some among you the thought will come: 'Ended is the word of the Master; we have a Master no longer.' But it should not, Ananda, be so considered. For that which I have proclaimed and made known as the Dhamma and the Discipline, that shall be your Master when I am gone." [DN 16]
What happened afterwards can be read here and here.
Its an interesting discussion, one that has been discussed since the parinirvana and one that will continue to be debated. What is a Buddha and what happens when they "die"?
Interpretations are varied and there really isnt a historical source that can give many details considering that the closest source in terms of chronology is the Mahaparinibbana Sutta and that wasnt written until a couple of hundred years after the parinirvana occurred.
We of course know that the sangha survived and others took over roles of leadership etc. but the teachings themselves were largely transmitted orally and many of them are still today.
So I guess its back to the same questions, what is a Buddha, and what happens when they "die"?
What do you think happened?
The op asked specific questions about the transmission of the teachings and the survival of the sangha etc., points which have been carried throughout the discussion of the thread.
Its an important and interesting subject that deserves thorough discussion.
Just because it is coming from a historical context rather than a scriptural one doesnt mean the thread has been derailed.
If we went into a detailed discussion about the different interpretations of the nature of the Buddha that would derail the thread.
the Buddha certainly died, in the normal & ordinary way, just like we all will die.
kind regards
"Bhikkhus, there are these eight kinds of anariyavohara (ignoble ways of speaking). What are the eight kinds? The eight kinds are:
the tendency to speak of having heard things that have not (really) been heard;
the tendency to speak of having realized things that have not (really) been realized;
What is this 'we' that dies?
Is there proof here that may be provided as to the absolute nature of birth and death, when science keeps redefining 'death' according to the latest advance in technology? Is there proof that mind dies? The absence of the evidence of the survival of a 'mind' is not evidence of its death.
Your comment is also entirely consistent with post-mortem rebirth in that Buddha taught of rebirth 'after the breaking up of the body'. LIke Buddha, there is a post-mortem destination for all of 'us' but maybe not as 'we' know it, Captain Kirk.
the op has stimulated discussion that is relevant.
if you arent interested in the discussion read another thread.
It was just a picture.
The discussion that has spawned has absolutely nothing to do with the questions regarding what happened to the sangha and the teachings after the Buddha died. Your initial response "The Buddha died?" was not helpful in any way and now there will be a long, irrelevent debate while the OP's questions are swept aside. If you aren't interested in discussing the OP's actual questions, likewise you can go and create your very own Thread on this unrelated topic?
But again, it was just a picture; carry on, then.
emoticons to you.
I read this somewhere:
Seems apt here, dosen't it?
With kind regards,
Sukhita
This event is covered in the Maha-parinibbana Sutta (DN 16).
Yes, Theravada tradition holds that the teachings recorded in the Pali Canon were memorized and passed down orally for about 500 years until they were finally written down. As for your second question, the Buddha left his teachings (Dhamma) and rules of discipline (Vinaya) in charge. From DN 16:
-bf