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Buddhist monasticism is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism and one of the fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns, called bhikkhu ( Pali , Skt. bhikshu ) and bhikkhuni (Skt. bhikshuni ), are responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the Buddha's teaching and the guidance of Buddhist lay people.
Buddhist Jack Maguire has suggested that in the 4th century, Christian monasticism developed in Egypt, and it emerged with a corresponding structure comparable to the Buddhist monasticism of its time and place. [40] In Alexandria, Indian gravestones dating from the Ptolemaic period (c. 305 BC – 30 BC) have been discovered in Alexandria. [42]
The book records Yijing's stay at Nalanda, a Buddhist Mahāvihāra in North-eastern India, and describes the life and practices of the monks therein. It also provides geographical and religious information on countries in the South Sea area, of which there were more than ten, during the Tang dynasty.
Buddhism was known in the pre-Christian Greek world through the campaigns of Alexander the Great (see Greco-Buddhism and Greco-Buddhist monasticism), and several prominent early Christian fathers, including Clement of Alexandria and St. Jerome, were aware of the Buddha, even mentioning him in their works.
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek μοναχός (monakhós) 'solitary, monastic'; from μόνος (mónos) 'alone'), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities.
' the awakened one '), [4] [f] [g] was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia [h] during the 6th or 5th century BCE [5] [6] [7] [c] and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, [b] to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a ...
[37] All Buddhist institutions had been severely damaged by the war with the Cholas, and the three main traditions had fragmented into eight sects. Parākramabāhu united all of these into a common community, which seems to have been dominated by the Mahāvihāra. However, this did not bring an end to sectarian competition completely. [37] [40 ...
The role of Greek Buddhist monks in the development of the Buddhist faith under the patronage of Emperor Ashoka around 260 BCE and subsequently during the reign of the Indo-Greek king Menander (r. 165/155–130 BCE) is described in the Mahavamsa, an important non-canonical Theravada Buddhist historical text compiled in Sri Lanka in the 6th century in the Pali language.