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Nalanda University flourished for more than seven centuries

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Re: Nalanda University flourished for more than seven centuries

#221

Post by zamnos »

kamaal wrote: post #213
bnralt wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think anyone disputes that there were religious centers of learning that occurred earlier. But in cases where these institutions are Christian, people seem fine saying that they were monasteries and not universities. Monastic intellectual tradition is well known. But with many non-Christian intellectual religious centers, people seem intent on using the term "university." Using different standards for Christi…

>>If Nalanda counts as a university, then Europe certainly had universities older than Bologna. Yup, a lot of things have existed earlier than we perceive. I do think 0 was invented by cave dwellers when they plucked 2 fruits from a tree, eat those 2 fruits over a day and counted the next day how many fruits were remaining(When they felt hungry and if they had to pluck more fruits)

That's the concept of lacking something you had before. What was revolutionary about zero, is it means you can add

     1000
    + 900
    +  90
    +   9
and aligned like that, to get 1999, instead of having to do math to figure out what the hell MCMXCIX works out to be. With zero as the place holder, larger numbers are way easier to represent.

Re: Nalanda University flourished for more than seven centuries

#223

Post by rramadass »

AdamN wrote: post #219
rramadass wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point was that the achievements of civilizations predating Islam have been given short shrift.

I can't think of anybody giving short shrift to the achievements of civilizations predating Islam: Rome, Ancient Greece, Ancient China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and many more civilizations are all commonly referred to as having made major achievements.

I thought it was obvious but apparently not; my other comment clarifies it as;

>What is being pointed out is the achievements of civilizations predating Islam in those countries which are today Islamic.

Re: Nalanda University flourished for more than seven centuries

#224

Post by Anglican34 »

sudhirc wrote: post #191
pankajdoharey wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buddhists were the only folks who were building universities at the time Hindus didnt even have a school leave alone universities. The so called "Gurukul" has never been found at any archaeological site.

Ofcourse millions of Sanskrit manuscript were produced in fictional Gurukuls by fictional characters who never existed. > The so called "Gurukul" has never been found at any archaeological site. Chariot were considered fiction until they were not[0]. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakhigarhi&ved=2ahUKEwjwktvM...

[dead]

Re: Nalanda University flourished for more than seven centuries

#225

Post by mettamage »

travist1000 wrote: post #152
mettamage wrote: post #4

Wait, so is this the oldest university then? Because a quick Google says "The Jagiellonian University is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in continuous operation in the world. It is regarded as Poland's most prestigious academic institution." Ugh... ChatGPT says "The University of Bologna…

Are we fixated on the word "University"? Irrespective of the word, it is the knowledge that was taught in those places.

Sorry about that, it is indeed a bias I have

Re: Nalanda University flourished for more than seven centuries

#226

Post by sudhirc »

random314 wrote: post #204
sudhirc wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buddhism is not that different from Hinduism. Both coexisted and debated with each other for centuries until islamic invasions started. Buddhism being a pacifist sect fell first.

Buddhism is very distinct from Hinduism. In particular, there aren't multiple deities to worship and there is no caste system. Buddhism, the dominant religion of India circa 400AD (as per Chinese travellers), was already under attack from Brahmins who made it a key strategy to get royal patronage, set up the religious rules for society which heavily favored themselves and also focused on acting as confidantes to king…

>there aren't multiple deities to worship and there is no caste system.

There are multiple deities [0] and Buddha didn't oppose caste system. He advocated it on deed and not birth which is not very diffrent from Hindu views of caste. Could you point to some instance from ancient Indians history when discrimination was made on the basis of caste, color, or gender?

The Buddha:– "Not by birth is one an outcast; not by birth is one a brahman. By deeds one becomes an outcast, by deeds one becomes a brahman." (Vasala Sutta 27 )

Mahabharata says the same thing.

Listen about caste, Yaksha dear, not study, not learning is the cause of being "twice-born". Conduct alone is the basis, there is no doubt about it. (M.Bh. Aranya-parva 312. 106.)

Birth based caste is an acquired taste from the Muslim invaders who had and still have a system of discrimination in the form of Islamic doctrine of Kafaat (Al-Hidaya, Book VI, Chapter 55.1). This system is still in practice across middle East[1].

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_deities

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafa%27ah

Re: Nalanda University flourished for more than seven centuries

#229

Post by rramadass »

korginator wrote: post #192
pankajdoharey wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually the most widespread form of Buddhism in India at the time was Theravada, and they dont worship gods like other religions do. Buddha vandana is not actual worship, because there is no concept of God in Buddhism, truth is the most basic tenet of Buddhism and God cannot be proven to be true. Same applies to Jains no concept of god. Buddhist Viharas and Mahaviharas (Universities) like Nalanda, Takshila, Vikram s…

Theravada was not the most widespread school at the time, nor were its doctrines yet systematised and formulated into the Vinaya and Abhidhamma the way it's read and practiced today until Buddhaghosa started his work on the Visuddhimagga... his teachings spread and took root in Sri Lanka and were spread to Myanmar, Thailand and parts of South East Asia including parts of Cambodia and Laos. Theravada as a word itself…

>There are several academic works that clearly lay out the history and evolution of the Buddhist schools from verifiable sources. I'll update this if and when I get the time to look into my bookshelf later :)

Reminder; please provide the sources/books. You have made some interesting points which i would like to know better.

Re: Nalanda University flourished for more than seven centuries

#230

Post by AdamN »

rramadass wrote: post #223
AdamN wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of anybody giving short shrift to the achievements of civilizations predating Islam: Rome, Ancient Greece, Ancient China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and many more civilizations are all commonly referred to as having made major achievements.

I thought it was obvious but apparently not; my other comment clarifies it as; >What is being pointed out is the achievements of civilizations predating Islam in those countries which are today Islamic.

Oh yeah - that's a big issue. Lots of big civilizational achievements were happening in what became the Islamic world before Islam became dominant.
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