The ENTIRE History of Buddhism in 15 Minutes

The history of Buddhism: how a faith that nearly vanished from the land where it was born went on to transform all of Asia, from Sri Lanka to Japan, and became the path of around half a billion people. This Buddhism history documentary covers the life of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, Emperor Ashoka, the spread of Buddhism along the Silk Road, Zen, Tibet, and Buddhism in the modern world. In March 2001, the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, two of the largest standing Buddha statues on Earth, were destroyed after standing for about 1,400 years. By then, almost no Buddhists were left in the valley. Buddhism had disappeared from this land, and almost completely from India itself, centuries earlier. So how did it survive? This documentary follows the complete history of Buddhism: Siddhartha Gautama and the Shakya kingdom, the Lumbini pillar, the Four Sights, the Great Renunciation, the Middle Way, enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, the sacred tree of Sri Lanka, the first sermon at Sarnath, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, nirvana, the Sangha and the first nuns, the Pali Canon, the Kalinga War and Emperor Ashoka, the Great Stupa at Sanchi, India's lion emblem, Greco-Buddhist art in Gandhara, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana, the Silk Road and China, the Shaolin Monastery, Xuanzang and the Monkey King, the Laughing Buddha, the Diamond Sutra, the Tripitaka Koreana, the Great Buddha of Nara, Zen, Borobudur, Bagan, Angkor Wat, the fall of Nalanda, Tibet and the Dalai Lama, Ambedkar's revival, mindfulness, and Buddhism today. The statues could be destroyed. The monasteries could be burned. A religion could be wiped from the land where it was born. But a path to walk, a breath, and a teaching about how to sit in silence kept crossing borders and living on. This documentary is based on archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed research and primary historical sources. Religious beliefs and academic perspectives are presented separately and objectively. Origins of Faith tells the history of the world's religions and belief systems, objectively and in minutes. New videos every Wednesday and Sunday. Vote for our next topic in the community poll this Friday! Chapters: 00:00 The Bamiyan Buddhas, 2001 01:00 Prince Siddhartha 01:19 The Lumbini Pillar 01:34 The Four Sights 02:01 The Great Renunciation 02:20 The Middle Way 02:45 Enlightenment Under the Bodhi Tree 03:31 The Sacred Tree of Sri Lanka 03:45 The First Sermon 04:03 The Four Noble Truths 04:33 No Eternal Soul and Nirvana 04:57 Having More or Wanting Less? 05:20 The Sangha and the First Nuns 05:41 The Death of the Buddha 06:03 The Pali Canon 06:16 The Kalinga War 06:46 Ashoka's Pillars 07:11 India's Lions and Wheel 07:23 The First Buddha Statues 07:52 Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana 08:22 China, Shaolin and the Monkey King 09:11 The World's Oldest Printed Book 09:28 Korea and Japan 09:57 Zen 10:22 Borobudur, Bagan and Angkor Wat 10:50 Buddhism Disappears From India 11:25 Still the Same Religion? 11:35 Tibet and the Dalai Lama 12:01 The Twentieth Century 12:27 Ambedkar and the Revival in India 12:52 Mindfulness and the West 13:16 Buddhism Today 13:43 Buddhism's Legacy 14:10 Back to Bamiyan 14:35 The Hidden Oil Paintings 14:52 Why Buddhism Survived 15:07 What's Next? Sources: Gethin, R. (1998), "The Foundations of Buddhism," Oxford University Press Harvey, P. (2013), "An Introduction to Buddhism," 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press Lopez, D. S. (2001), "The Story of Buddhism," HarperCollins Strong, J. S. (2009), "The Buddha: A Beginner's Guide," Oneworld Thapar, R. (1961), "Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas," Oxford University Press The British Library, "The Diamond Sutra" (868 CE) European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (2008), study of the oil paintings in the Bamiyan caves Pew Research Center (2017), "The Changing Global Religious Landscape" #HistoryOfBuddhism #Buddhism #Buddha #History #Documentary #HistoryDocumentary #Zen #Ashoka #Bamiyan #Tibet #SilkRoad #Religion #WorldHistory