Key Concepts & Self-Assessment15 Key Facts
Review key Buddhism: Gautama Buddha, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path & Councils exam facts and rate your mastery to track revision.
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#1
Siddhartha Gautama attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and delivered the Dharmachakrapravartana sermon at Sarnath.
#2
The Four Noble Truths diagnose suffering (Dukkha) and its cause (Trishna), prescribing the Noble Eightfold Path for liberation.
#3
Core ontological concepts include Pratityasamutpada (dependent origination), Anicca (impermanence), and Anatta (non-self).
#4
The Pali canon (Tripitaka) consists of the Vinaya Pitaka (monastic discipline), Sutta Pitaka (discourses), and Abhidhamma Pitaka (philosophy).
#5
Four Buddhist Councils systematized canonical scriptures and led to the Mahayana and Hinayana (Theravada) divisions.
#6
Siddhartha Gautama was born in Lumbini to King Shuddhodana of the Shakya clan and Queen Maya, achieving Parinirvana at Kushinagar at age eighty.
#7
The First Buddhist Council was convened at Rajagriha in the Sattapanni Cave (483 BCE) under King Ajatashatru and chaired by Mahakashyapa, compiling the Vinaya and Sutta Pitakas.
#8
The Second Buddhist Council took place at Vaishali (383 BCE) under King Kalashoka, leading to the initial ideological split between Sthaviravadins and Mahasanghikas.
#9
The Third Buddhist Council was held at Pataliputra (250 BCE) under Emperor Ashoka and chaired by Moggaliputta Tissa, where the Abhidhamma Pitaka was completed.
#10
The Fourth Buddhist Council met at Kundalvana in Kashmir (72 CE) under Kushan Emperor Kanishka, presided over by Vasumitra and Ashvaghosha, codifying the Mahayana-Hinayana division.
#11
The Noble Eightfold Path (Arya Ashtangika Marga) is grouped into three trainings: Prajna (Right View, Right Resolve), Shila (Right Speech, Action, Livelihood), and Samadhi (Effort, Mindfulness, Concentration).
#12
Ashvaghosha served as the spiritual mentor to Kushan Emperor Kanishka and authored the Buddhacharita and Saundarananda, the earliest surviving court epics in classical Sanskrit literature.
#13
The Madhyamaka school of Mahayana philosophy was founded by Nagarjuna in the 2nd century CE, articulating the doctrine of Shunya (Emptiness) in the Mula-madhyamaka-karika.
#14
Nalanda Mahavihara was established in the 5th century CE under the patronage of Gupta Emperor Kumaragupta I, flourishing as a global center of Buddhist learning.
#15
The Milinda Panha (Questions of King Menander) records a famous philosophical dialogue between Indo-Greek King Menander I and Buddhist sage Nagasena in the 2nd century BCE.
Subject Specialist Commentary
Analytical perspective & practical exam advice from the Master10 academic board
Buddhism arose as a practical Middle Path to help ordinary people overcome life's distress. Siddhartha Gautama realized that desire causes sorrow, but following eight sensible habits—the Noble Eightfold Path—leads to peace and liberation. Rejecting rigid rituals, Buddha taught that everything in the world is impermanent and interconnected through cause and effect. His simple ethical teachings spread rapidly across Asia through wandering monks and royal patrons like Ashoka and Kanishka.
For competitive exams like UPSC and SSC CGL, mastery over the four Buddhist councils is essential. Examiners love setting traps around council patrons and presidents. Use this chronological memory sequence: King Ajatashatru at Rajagriha, Kalashoka at Vaishali, Ashoka at Pataliputra, and Kanishka in Kashmir. In statement-based prelims questions, remember that the Abhidhamma Pitaka was completed during the third council under Ashoka, whereas the Mahayana-Hinayana division was formalized at the fourth council.
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