Ancient, medieval & culture

Concepts to cover

1. Life: Lumbini, Kapilavastu, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar; epithets Shakyamuni, Tathagata, Sugata; Nayaputta belongs to Mahavira
2. Four noble truths, eightfold path, middle path avoiding extremes of penance and enjoyment (unlike Jainism), pratityasamutpada, anatta
3. Nirvana as the extinction of the flame of desire (blowing out), not annihilation of self
4. What Buddhism and Jainism share: rejection of Vedic authority and ritual efficacy; what they do not: the middle path
5. Sangha rules, bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, upasakas and upasikas; shramana, parivrajaka and maagadha (bards) as social types
6. Councils: Rajagriha, Vaishali (Mahasanghika split), Pataliputra under Ashoka, Kashmir under Kanishka; spread to Sri Lanka and Central Asia