Buddhist Education and Knowledge System to the Social Development

Chandrajit Roy; Dr. Sanjib Kumar Das1

1

Publication Date: 2024/12/13

Abstract: Gautam the Buddha was a great spiritual teacher. It can be argued that no other great social reformer in history has ever been born. Before his appearance, the state and society were governed by the Manusmriti, which dates back to the before Vedic era. He was born in a royal family of Kapilavastu, while enjoying royal pleasure, coincidently when he observed the various hardships of human life, many questions arose in his mind. He was curious about the reasons behind death, suffering, pain, and loss in society as well as how to overcome them. However, he was not satisfied with the answers that he had found from the contemporary scriptures and the knowledge. One day he went out in search of the right answers to those questions which had arisen in his mind. Eventually, he realised the truth which he was searching for and he shared the truth for the welfare of human society. A new path in human society was found by the knowledge and education of Buddha. Buddhist education is an innovative educational approach that examines each person's potential. Buddhism teaches or trains the body, speech, and mind; in other words, it is a means of purifying the suffering that drives a person to engage in these activities. Buddhist teaching (vidyā) is divided into two sections: Mukhya (mahā) Vidyā and Gauṇa (minor) Vidyā. Each of them has five divisions. The five Mahāvidyās are philosophy, logic, art, medicine, and grammar. Conversely, the five Gauṇavidyās are astrology, poetry, lexicography, dramaturgy, and semantics. Mahāyāna maintains that the Buddhavacana both directly and indirectly incorporates these vidyās, despite the fact that this is debatable. During the golden period of Buddhism, numerous educational institutions, including Nalanda, Vikramaśīla, Taxila, Jagaddala, Vallabhi, Odantapuri, and Somapura, were founded to disseminate this knowledge and offer a wide range of reading materials.

Keywords: Buddhist Education, Knowledge, System, Social Development.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14437393

PDF: https://ijirst.demo4.arinfotech.co/assets/upload/files/IJISRT24NOV1944.pdf

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