The Buddha and His Message - S Radhakrishnan

Sixth century BC was remarkable for the spiritual unrest and intellectual ferment in many countries. In China we had Lao Tzu and Confucius, in Greece Parmenides and Empedocles, in Iran Zarathustra, in Israel the Prophets, in India Mahavira and the Buddha. In that period many remarkable teachers worked upon their inheritance and developed new points of view.

The Purnima or full-moon day of the month of Vaisakha is connected with three important events in the life of the Buddha-birth, enlighten-ment and parinirvana. It is the most sacred day in the Buddhist calendar. According to Theravada Buddhism, the Buddha’s parinirvana occurred in 544 BC.

© `Religion and Culture’ by S Radhakrishnan, published (1984) by Orient Paperbacks (A division of Vision Books Private Ltd.) 24, Feroze Gandhi Road, Lajpat Nagar 3, New Delhi 110 024. Reprinted with permission.

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