Was Piprahwa Stupa the Burial Place of the Buddha

The Buddha (also called Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni), was an Axial age philosopher who lived and gathered disciples in India between about 500-410 BCE. His life renouncing his wealthy past and preaching a new gospel led to the spread of Buddhism throughout Asia and the rest of the world—but where was he buried? Key Takeaways: Where is the Buddha Buried? When the Axial age Indian philosopher Buddha (400–410 BCE) died, his body was cremated.  The ashes were divided into eight parts and distributed to his followers.  One part ended up in his familys capital city Kapilavastu.  The Mauryan king Asoka converted to Buddhism in 265 BCE and further distributed the Buddhas relics throughout his realm (essentially the Indian subcontinent).Two candidates for Kapilavastu have been identified—Piprahwa, India and Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu in Nepal, but the evidence is not unequivocal.In one sense, the Buddha is buried at thousands of monasteries. Death of the Buddha When the Buddha died at Kushinagar in the Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh, the legends report that his body was cremated and his ashes were divided into eight parts. The parts were distributed to eight communities of his followers. One of those parts was said to have been buried in his familys burial plot, in the Sakyan state capital city of Kapilavastu.   About 250 years after the Buddhas death, the Mauryan king Asoka the Great (304–232 BCE) converted to Buddhism and built many monuments called stupas or topes all over his realm—reportedly there were 84,000 of them. At the base of each, he enshrined splinters of relics taken from the original eight parts. When those relics became unavailable, Asoka buried manuscripts of sutras instead. Almost every Buddhist monastery has a stupa in its precinct.   At Kapilavastu, Asoka went to the familys burial place, excavated the casket of ashes and buried them again beneath a large monument in his honor. Whats a Stupa?   Ananda Stupa and Asokan pillar at Kutagarasala Vihara, Vaishali, Bihar, India. Casper1774Studio / iStock / Getty Images Plus A stupa is a domed religious structure, an enormous solid monument of fired brick built to enshrine relics of the Buddha or commemorate important events or places in his life. The earliest stupas (the word means hair knot in Sanscrit) were built during the spread of the Buddhist religion in the 3rd century BC. Stupas are not the only type of religious monument constructed by early Buddhists: sanctuaries (griha) and monasteries (vihara) were also prominent. But stupas are the most distinctive of these.   Where is Kapilavastu? The Buddha was born at the town of Lumbini, but he spent the first 29 years of his life at Kapilavastu before he renounced his familys wealth and went off to explore philosophy. Today there are two main contenders (in the mid-19th century there were many more) for the now-lost city. One is the town of Piprahwa in the Uttar Pradesh state of India, the other is Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu, in Nepal; they are about 16 miles apart.   To figure out which set of ruins was the ancient capital, scholars rely on the travel documents of two Chinese pilgrims who visited Kapilavastu, Fa-Hsien (who arrived in 399 CE) and Hsuan-tasang (arrived 629 CE). Both said the city was near the slopes of the Himalyas, between the Nepalese lower ranges near the western bank of the Rohini river: but Fa-Hsien said it was 9 miles west from Lumbini, while Hsuan Tsang said it was 16 miles from Lumbini. Both candidate sites have monasteries with adjacent stupas, and both sites have been excavated.   Piprahwa   Piprahwa was opened in the mid-19th century by William Peppà ©, a British landowner who bored a shaft into the main stupa. Some 18 feet below the top of the stupa, he found a massive sandstone coffer, and inside it were three soapstone caskets and a crystal casket in the shape of a hollow fish. Inside the crystal casket were seven granulated stars in gold leaf and several tiny paste beads. The coffer contained many broken wooden and silver vessels, figurines of elephants and lions, gold and silver flowers and stars, and lots more beads in a variety of semi-precious minerals: coral, carnelian, gold, amethyst, topaz, garnet.   Author Charles Allen examines original jewels from Piprahwa Stupa. Courtesy of  © Icon Films / Lorne Kramer One of the soapstone caskets was inscribed in Sanskrit, which has been translated as this shrine for the relics of the Buddha... is that of the Sakyas, the brethren of the Distinguished One, and also as: of the brethren of the Well-famed One, together with (their) little sisters (and) together with (their) children and wives, this (is) a deposit of relics; (namely) of the kinsmen of Buddha, the Blessed One. The inscription either suggests it contained relics of the Buddha himself, or those of his kinsmen.   In the 1970s, archaeologist K. M. Srivastava of the Archaeological Survey of India followed up on earlier studies, after coming to the conclusion that inscription was too recent to be that of the Buddha, made no earlier than the 3rd century BCE. In the stupa below the earlier levels, Srivastava found an earlier soapstone casket filled with charred bones and dated to the 5th-4th centuries BCE. Excavations of the area found more than 40 terracotta sealings marked with the name Kapilavastu in deposits near the monastery ruins. Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu Archaeological investigations in Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu were first undertaken by P. C. Mukhurji of the ASI in 1901. There were others, but the most recent was in 2014–2016, by a joint international excavation led by British archaeologist Robin Coningham; it included an extensive geophysical survey of the region. Modern archaeological methods require minimal disturbance of such sites, and so the stupa was not excavated. According to new dates and investigations, the city was established in the 8th century BCE and abandoned in the 5th–10th centuries CE. There is a large monastery complex built after 350 BCE near the Eastern Stupa, one of the main stupas still standing, and there are indications that the stupa might have been enclosed by a wall or circulatory path.   So Where is Buddha Buried?   The investigations are not conclusive. Both sites have strong supporters, and both clearly were sites visited by Asoka. One of the two may very well have been the site where the Buddha grew up—it is possible that the bone fragments found by K. M. Srivastava in the 1970s did belong to the Buddha, but maybe not.   Asoka bragged that he built 84,000 stupas, and based on that, one could argue that therefore the Buddha is buried in every Buddhist monastery. Sources and Further Reading Allen, Charles. The Buddha and Dr. Fà ¼hrer: An Archaeological Scandal. London: Haus Publishing, 2008.  Coningham, R.A.E., et al. Archaeological Investigations at Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu, 2014-2016. Ancient Nepal 197-198 (2018): 5–59.  Peppà ©, William Claxton, and Vincent A. Smith. The Piprahwa Stupa, Containing Relies of Buddha. The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (July 1898) (1898): 573–88.  Ray, Himanshu Prabha. Archaeology and Empire: Buddhist Monuments in Monsoon Asia. Indian Economic Social History Review 45.3 (2008): 417–49.  Smith, V.A. The Piprahwa Stupa. The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland October 1898 (1898): 868–70.  Srivastava, K. M. Archaeological Excavations at Piprahwa and Ganwaria. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 3.1 (1980): 103–10.  ---. Kapilavastu and Its Precise Location. East and West 29.1/4 (1979): 61–74.

The Appeal Of Indulgences By Johann Tetzel - 1407 Words

Question 1: Indulgences: The offer of indulgences was a practice where the congregation recognised a gift or other beneficent work with a bit of paper, a liberality, that ensured that the supplier s spirit would enter paradise all the more rapidly by lessening their time in limbo. The Church taught that if a man had submitted no genuine sins that ensured a spot in damnation and they kicked the bucket before apologising and making up for the greater part of their wrongdoings, then their spirit went to limbo—a sort of waystation where a man completed the process of making amends for their transgressions before being permitted to enter paradise. Pope Leo X had allowed indulgences to raise cash for the remaking of St. Diminish s Basilica in Rome. These indulgences sold by Johann Tetzel not a long way from Wittenberg, where Luther was an educator of religious philosophy. Luther was gravely worried about the way the Church was interfacing access to paradise with a monetary exchange, however the offer of indulgences was not Luther s lone conflict with the Church. Question 2: Martin Luther Martin Luther was eager to change the Roman Catholic Church since his beliefs clashed with the church’s practices. He proclaimed that salvation of the soul will come about because of the genuine confidence in God, not simply great deeds. Martin Luther also firmly hated the demonstration of conceding and offering indulgences since he felt that forgiveness came from that person and God.Show MoreRelatedThe Reformation in Germany1299 Words   |  6 Pagesthe selling of indulgences. Everything that Luther had come to believe was leading up to something that would shake Germany, Europe, and even the entire world: The Ninety-Five Theses. The year of 1517 was the start of great religious change. Beginning with the rise in popularity and dependence upon indulgences, which were remissions of sin earned by a donation of money, either for someone still living or for someone who had died and was believed to be in purgatory. Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friarRead MoreMartin Luthers Life and Teachings Essay1610 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough prayer for their souls. He dedicated himself to flagellations, fasts, constant confessions, and long hours of prayers and pilgrimages although his peace with god has escaped him. Luther pondered himself a lot in the monastery so his superior, Johann von Staupitz, believed that Luther needed more work to keep himself busy and keep his mind off of the many things that he was pondering, so he ordered Luther to purse an academic career. In 1507, he was ordained to the priesthood and in 1508 he becameRead MoreThe Legacy Of Martin Luther1719 Words   |  7 Pagessense of grief. Because of his struggle to find peace with God, Luther was ordered to teach Scripture at the University of Wittenberg. While teaching at Wittenberg Luther earned a doctoral degree in theology. Subsequently, Luther was selected by Johann Staupitz to be his replacement as chair of Bible at Wittenberg. Satupitz had been Luther’s superior at the monastery. As he studied the bible in preparation for lectures and preaching, Luther gained a new understanding of the Scriptures namelyRead MoreThe Importance of the Renaissance to the Reformation in Germany1263 Words   |  6 Pagessociety, and Rome achieved cultural prominence. It later spread throughout Europe and began a rediscovery of classical thoughts and influenced painters, such as Raphael and Michelangelo, sculptors such as Donatello and writers, such as Johann Reuchlin, Ulrich Von Hutten and Desiderius Erasmus. The renaissance influenced the re-examination of ideas and beliefs and created men who were willing to challenge basic beliefs of the church. Humanism, the study of humanities, placedRead MoreLutheranism and Its Impact on Germanic Peasants1396 Words   |  6 Pagesrampant corruption. A devout Catholic himself, Luther was concerned for his own salvation, and through rigorous study of the Bible, soon became aware that many of the teachings of the Catholic Church directly contradicted the Gospel. When Luther’s appeals were met with scrutiny, he began to spread his ideas under the title of Lutheranism. Though modeled directly after conventional Catholicism, Luther and his followers believed that through Grace, Faith, and Scripture alone, one would be granted salvationRead MoreEssay on Book Report, Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther3404 Words   |  14 Pagesthree professors who were sent to Wittenberg when the elector there asked the Augustinian and Franciscan orders to send them. Luckily for Luther for at this time his inner conflict was so great he, ‘would have sunk into hell,’ had it not been for Dr. Johann von Staupitz Vicar of the Augustinian Order. (pg 34) It was to Dr. Staupitz Luther continually went to in order to find guidance and solace. Dr. Staupitz tried all manners of reasoning and consolation in order to help Luther. Until finally he seemed

Strategic Management Plan and Hospitality Establishment †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Management Plan and Hospitality Establishment . Answer: Introduction This report will try to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategic management activities which take place in two different hospitality organisations one of which is successful and the other is not able to attain the same level of success in their business. There business activities and processes carried out by a hospitality establishment are largely responsible for determining their performance in the market and how effectively they have been able to realise their business goals and objectives. There is bound to be significant differences between a successful hospitality establishment and an unsuccessful one in regard to the manner in which their strategic decision making takes place (Noe et al., 2006). In this report, the organisations selected for the comparative analysis are Part Hyatt Sydney (5 Star hotel) Mercantile Hotel (2 Star hotel). Background of the two hospitality organisations Park Hyatt Sydney is a premium hospitality organisation which provides 5 Star accommodation facilities to their customers in the market. The hotel is located at a strategic location overlooking the Sydney Harbour and this provides a wonderful and majestic view of the Sydney Harbour and Opera House to their guests. In Sydney among all the hotels Park Hyatt is the successful hotel where excellent quality services of the products are available for the customers in the market. This hotel mainly caters their products and services to the niche (premium) segment of the market. The customers of Park Hyatt Sydney have refined tastes and preferences as they belong to rich and affluent background. The organisation has been effectively catering to the needs of the premium customers and played a very important part in helping for promoting satisfaction of customer in the market (Sydney.park.hyatt.com, 2017). Mercantile Hotel is a two star accommodation facility in Sydney which mainly caters to the budget segment in the market. The organisation provides products with better quality for the satisfaction and preferences the regular budget segment of the market. The organisation has received a good rating of 4.1 out of 5 on travel website Expedia. Difficulties and Problems faced by Mercantile Hotel Mercantile Hotel is presently facing a lot of problems in their business and always has negative impact on the productivity on market. Market competition is unable to tackle with the rivals in a proper way with their revenues and profits from their business have significantly decreased over the years. The rising cost of business expenses is another factor which has eaten up their profit margins. The management at Mercantile hotel is inefficient and they have been unable to take effective decisions for ensuring the growth and success of the organisation. The management at Mercantile Hotel is insensitive towards the needs and expectations of their employees (Shuck Wollard, 2008). This had played a vital role in contributing towards greater employee dissatisfaction at the workplace. The clear lack of communication and coordination among the management and vital role has been played by the employees in bringing down productivity and performance of the employees in work place and this is the main reason why tackling the organization is unable for the business rivals in effective manner (Colquitt et al., 2011). Organisation follows an autocratic style in leadership where involvement of the employees is not in decision making process. This organization never pays heed on the interest of the decision making of the employees who invariably brought down the motivation and enthusiasm among their employees. All the decisions undertaken by the management are forcefully trusted over the employees and this is the major reason why there is lack of commitment and dedication among the employees which is more so evident in the form of high rates of absenteeism and the high employment turnover levels within the organisation (Leblebici, 2012). The lack of long term clear business vision has played a major role in preventing the organisation from expanding their business operations in an effective manner. The management only tries to satisfy their short term goals of maximising their profits and revenues without understanding the need for providing the necessary motivation and inspiration among their employees. The employees are not appreciated for their performance at the workplace and there is no performance based incentives for the employees. This has also played a very important role in contributing towards employee resentment against their management (Gbel Zwick, 2013). A degree of flexibility is needed by the worker of the organisation. If it is the not provided by the organisation they are contributing for the balance between the work condition and the life they are living as an individual can get effected. If the balance gets hampered the inconsistency may get reflected in the performance of the worker and that will work in a negative way to the organisation. Along with professional life the each employee has their personal life too. It is important for them to spend time with their immediate family member to rejuvenate their energy level. That is reason process of job rotation can make some meaningful contribution in this regard. Solutions to the problems faced by Mercantile Hotel The problems faced by Mercantile Hotel can be solved only by overhauling their organisational management. The organisation needs to incorporate a participative leadership style within their organisation. The significance of this leadership style is it does offer the opportunity to all the member of the organisation in the decision making process ( Lam, et al., 2015). In this style of leadership the responsibility and the authority used to get dispersed among the contributor of the organisation. (Stevens, 2010). This is the opportunity for the employee of the organisation to show their skill of decision making. One can perceive the flavour of authority out of this practice that can help them to gain sufficient enthusiasm to make better contribution to the job responsibility. The process of participation is the process to judge ones capability of effective participation. This practice can help the employee to gain high level of confidence and at the same time it can offer a lasting sen se of job satisfaction in the mind. This style of leadership can help the organisation to improve the process employee retention (Bortoluzzi et al., 2014). In order to develop an effective work environment Mercantile Hotel need to configure a result oriented atmosphere within its area of operation. The employee of the organisation needs to understand the advantage of the Mutual Corporation and facilitation (Nahavandi, 2016). Organisational and interpersonal communication skill is very important to serve the purpose in this regard. The organisation can make an effective connection with its people through the process of communication in this case the organisation such as Mercantile Hotel need to develop an effective communication system to get the best result from the personnel of various functional departments. An effective communication process can ensure the strategic implementation. In case of Mercantile Hotel all the decision can get implemented properly through the communication process of organisational as well as interpersonal level. The organisation needs to appreciate the performance and contribution of their employees towards organisational growth and success and they need to provide their employees with performance based incentives. They need to provide the employees proper opportunities for their growth and development of the career within organisation. Dedication and commitment towards the employees are needed to be inferred with the job roles which are significantly enhanced. This will promote healthy competition among the employees at the workplace and all the employees will try to get appreciation and recognition for their performance at the workplace (Miner, 2015). The performance of the employees needs to be monitored and evaluated from time to time with the help of performance appraisal tools and this will enable the organisation to identify their most component and dedicated employees who are playing an instrumental role behind the success of Mercantile Hotel. The organisation will be able to promote with the higher rank of the employees with the higher ranks with added responsibilities (Noe et al., 2006). Work flexibility is another aspect which Mercantile Hotel needs to seriously think about implementing within their business. This is another factor which can contribute towards enhancing the employee performance. It is necessary that quality time is needed to be sent with proper convenience of the work (Gbel Zwick, 2013). Understanding how Park Hyatt Sydney has been able to tackle these problems and ensurance of the growth of market Strong leadership with corporate governance structure is made on Park Hyatt Sydney. The employees are the biggest asset of the organization. And they work with striving goals for the fostering subject of the work. Attractive packages for remuneration with festering jobs are done by the employees of the hotel (Marston, 2010). They work with the structure of the organization which has basic outlook for the organization. A participative leadership with the work of the organization is played by Park Hyatt Sydney. The opinion and views are taken by the management for the consideration of the employees for the decision making process which are based on the target (Miner, 2015). Effective and accurate decisions are ensured with the success and growth of the organization. For the employees contribution in needed to be done towards the bonus and incentives depending on the performance. The factors work with promotion of the job for employment. For fostering the commitment dedication with the detainment of long haul. Consideration is done on the employment with the objective to fulfil the quality of the service of the organization. The organization with the priority of the hotel with observational quality services with the market approval works with the target. By the product of the market Park Hyatt Sydney is capable to attract the customers for the satisfaction of the customers. Market competition works with the development of business rivals in appropriate manner with market advantage. References Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., Wright, P. M. (2006). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage. Krishnan, K., Nandy, D., Puri, M. (2014). Does financing spur small business productivity? Evidence from a natural experiment.Review of Financial Studies, hhu087. Schmidt, S. S. (2008).The measurement of productive efficiency and productivity growth. Oxford University Press. Loeppke, R., Taitel, M., Haufle, V., Parry, T., Kessler, R. C., Jinnett, K. (2009). Health and productivity as a business strategy: a multiemployer study.Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,51(4), 411-428. Gbel, C., Zwick, T. (2013). Are personnel measures effective in increasing productivity of old workers?.Labour Economics,22, 80-93. Leblebici, D. (2012). Impact of workplace quality on employees productivity: case study of a bank in Turkey.Journal of Business, Economics,1(1). Stevens, R. H. (2010). Managing human capital: How to use knowledge management to transfer knowledge in today's multi-generational workforce.International Business Research,3(3), 77. Miner, J. B. (2015).Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Routledge. Colquitt, J., Lepine, J. A., Wesson, M. J. (2011).Organizational behavior: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace. McGraw-Hill Irwin. Gilley, A., Gilley, J. W., McMillan, H. S. (2009). Organizational change: Motivation, communication, and leadership effectiveness.Performance improvement quarterly,21(4), 75. Sydney.park.hyatt.com. (2017). Our Hotel | Park Hyatt Sydney. [online