{"id":63532,"date":"2026-01-06T19:13:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=63532"},"modified":"2026-01-09T13:10:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T07:40:24","slug":"buddhist-civilisational-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-01-2026\/buddhist-civilisational-legacy","title":{"rendered":"Reclaiming India\u2019s Buddhist Civilisational Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/ History and Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>PM Modi inaugurated the Grand International Exposition of Sacred Piprahwa Relics, titled \u201cThe Light &amp; the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One\u201d, in New Delhi, marking the return of sacred Buddhist relics to India after more than a century.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Piprahwa relics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Piprahwa relics were\u00a0 discovered in <strong>1898<\/strong> by British civil engineer <strong>William Claxton Pepp\u00e9<\/strong> in Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They are excavated from the <strong>Piprahwa Stupa<\/strong>\u2014widely recognized as the ancient city of<strong> Kapilavastu<\/strong>, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>They include<\/strong> bone fragments, soapstone and crystal caskets, a sandstone coffer, and offerings such as gold ornaments and gemstones.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They are believed to be associated with the mortal remains of Lord Buddha.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An inscription in the <strong>Brahmi script<\/strong> on one of the caskets confirms these as relics of the Buddha deposited by the <strong>Sakya clan.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Status: <\/strong>Most of these relics were moved to the <strong>Indian Museum in Kolkata in 1899<\/strong> and are legally protected as <strong>\u2018AA\u2019 antiquities<\/strong>, forbidding their sale or removal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While some bone relics were gifted to the <strong>King of Siam, a portion kept by Pepp\u00e9\u2019s descendants.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Schools of Buddhism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Theravada Buddhism:<\/strong> Focuses on <strong>individual liberation<\/strong> and is prominent in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mahayana Buddhism:<\/strong> Emphasises compassion and the <strong>Bodhisattva ideal<\/strong>, spreading across East Asia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vajrayana Buddhism:<\/strong> Incorporates ritual practices and tantric elements, prevalent in Tibet, Bhutan, and the Himalayan region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Core Philosophical Foundations of Buddhism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Four Noble Truths:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dukkha:<\/strong> Life is suffering or unsatisfactory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Samudaya:<\/strong> Suffering is caused by craving and attachment (tanh\u0101).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nirodha:<\/strong> The cessation of suffering is possible by letting go of craving.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Magga: <\/strong>The path to the cessation of suffering is the Eightfold Path.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Noble Eightfold Path (Magga): <\/strong>Right Understanding\/View, Right Thought\/Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Relevance of Buddhism in Contemporary World<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mental Well-being: <\/strong>Buddhist meditation traditions, especially Vipassana and its related forms, are widely used to manage stress, anxiety, and mental health challenges in fast-paced modern life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Teachings of non-attachment and humility<\/strong> provide an ethical response to excessive consumerism, comparison, and ego-driven living encouraged by modern society and social media.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Middle Way: <\/strong>The principle of the Middle Way encourages balanced living by avoiding extremes of indulgence and austerity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Compassion: <\/strong>The Buddhist values of karu\u1e47\u0101 (compassion) and mett\u0101 (loving-kindness) promote empathy, moral responsibility, and peaceful coexistence in societies marked by inequality and conflict.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inclusive and Universal Appeal:<\/strong> Buddhism\u2019s inclusive philosophy makes it relevant in pluralistic, multicultural, and democratic societies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ddnews.gov.in\/en\/pm-modi-inaugurates-international-exposition-of-sacred-piprahwa-relics-in-new-delhi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>DD News<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">PM Modi inaugurated the Grand International Exposition of Sacred Piprahwa Relics, titled \u201cThe Light &#038; the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One\u201d, in New Delhi, marking the return of sacred Buddhist relics to India after more than a century.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>About Piprahwa relics<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Piprahwa relics were\u00a0 discovered in 1898 by British civil engineer William Claxton Pepp\u00e9 in Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">They are excavated from the Piprahwa Stupa\u2014widely recognized as the ancient city of Kapilavastu, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-01-2026\/buddhist-civilisational-legacy\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63532"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63537,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63532\/revisions\/63537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}