Question

document 2
excerpt from \setting in motion the wheel of the lawdharma,\ siddhartha gautamas first sermon afte
having achieved enlightenment from the tripitaka.
this, o buddhist monks, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering; decay is suffering; illness i
suffering; death is suffering. presence of objects we hate, is suffering; separation from objects we love, is
suffering; not to obtain what we desire, is suffering. briefly...clinging to existence is suffering.
this, o buddhist monks, is the noble truth of the cause of suffering: thirst, that leads to rebirth,
accompanied by pleasure and lust, finding its delight here and there. (this thirst is threefold), namely, thirst
for pleasure, thirst for existence, thirst for prosperity.
this, o buddhist monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: (it ceases with) the
complete cessation of this thirst,--a cessation which consists in the absence of every passion,--with
the abandoning of this thirst, with the doing away with it, with the deliverance from it, with the destruction
of desire.
this, o buddhist monks, is the noble truth of the path which leads to the cessation of suffering:
that holy eightfold path, that is to say, right belief, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right
means of livelihood, right endeavour, right memory, right meditation....
source: t.w. rhys davids and herman oldenberg, trans, vinyaya texts, in f. max mueller, ed., the sacred
books of the east, 50 vols., (oxford: clarendon, 1879 - 1910), vol 13. pp. 94 - 97, 100 - 102 repr. in alfred j.
andrea and james h. overfield, the human record: sources of global history, vol 1, 2d. ed., (boston:
houghton mifflin, 1994), pp. 72 - 74 http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/bud - ser1.html
historical context-- refers to the historical circumstances that led to this event/idea/historical
development.

1. explain the historical circumstances that led to the development of buddhism. 1

Explanation:

To determine the historical circumstances leading to Buddhism's development, we analyze the context: In ancient India, the Vedic religion (with Brahmanic rituals and caste system) dominated. Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) sought answers to suffering (seen in the excerpt's focus on the Four Noble Truths). Social inequality (caste system), spiritual unrest, and a desire for a more accessible path to enlightenment (beyond Brahmanic exclusivity) drove his quest. The Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path emerged as responses to these issues, addressing human suffering and offering a way to end it, leading to Buddhism's formation.

Answer:

The historical circumstances included the dominance of the Vedic - Brahmanic religious system with its complex rituals and rigid caste system in ancient India, spiritual unrest among people seeking answers to human suffering (as reflected in the Four Noble Truths’ focus on suffering), and a desire for a more inclusive, practical path to enlightenment (the Eightfold Path) that addressed the limitations of the existing religious and social order, leading Siddhartha Gautama to develop Buddhism.