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 THE
ESSENCE OF BUDDHISM
Buddhism
is the religion (some consider it a philosophy) based on
the teachings of the ancient Indian sage Gautama Buddha.
Born as Prince Siddhartha Gautama in one of the
northern kingdoms (now part of Nepal) around 2600 years
ago, he was deeply saddened and depressed by sights of
poverty and suffering of mankind. At the age of 29 he
renounced his family and kingdom to seek the reasons for
such sufferings and to find ways to end them.
He
embarked on his quest for enlightenment in a rich
religious milieu and an ancient religious heritage. The
dominant religions at the time were Vedism
(precursor of modern Hinduism)
and Jainism.
The concepts of Samsara
(re-incarnation);
Karma (causal effect of one’s deeds in the cycle
of re-incarnation); and Dharma
(religious and moral rights and duties of an individual)
were universally accepted. Many of these precepts (with
somewhat modified interpretations) found place in the
teachings, through discourses (Suttas
or Sutras), of
the Buddha.
While
no verifiable facts on the life of Siddhartha Gautama
and his emergence as the Buddha exist, the first known
biography, written in Sanskrit sometime in the first
century BCE, is the ‘Buddhacharita’. Siddhartha, in the course of his quest, studied
under many religious teachers and philosophers of the
time without finding any answers. Subjecting himself to
extreme asceticism also did not help. Finally, he sat
under what is known as the Bodhi
Tree in deep meditation, exploring the hidden nuances of
the mind and the meaning of life and existence. The deep
meditation led him to the ultimate realization of the
nature of existence and he became known as the Buddha
(the Awakened One)
at the age of 35. He
postulated a set of doctrines whose practice leads a
person to peace and spiritual emancipation or Nirvana
(realization of the ultimate truth of existence which
releases one from Samskara).
He advocated a ‘middle path’, between the extremes of self-indulgence (hedonism)
and self- mortification (asceticism) for overcoming Samskara and attaining Nirvana.
Gautama Buddha is said to have died or attained Parinirvana
(final Nirvana
and freedom from re-birth) at the age of 80.
Buddhism
may justifiably be called a “world’ religion of
Asia. The religion was developed in India in the fifth
century BCE and spread throughout south-east Asia,
including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Korea and
Japan and others, by around the eighth century CE. The
religion became firmly established in Tibet, till
recently the bastion of modern Buddhism, only around the
eleventh century CE.
In the West, Buddhism, which was probably known
from the time of Alexander the Great, has seen a
resurgence of interest in Westerners in recent times,
due to the increasing presence of Asian immigrants.
In India, its land of origin, Buddhism almost
died out by the end of the first millennium CE due to
the depredations of Muslim invaders and increasing
assimilation into Hinduism. While there has been an
upsurge in Buddhism in India - the Dalit (the
lower-caste or so-called untouchables) neo-Buddhism
movement) very recently, it is due more to certain
socio-political reasons rather than pure religiosity.
As
with all major religions, a certain amount of
revisionism crept into Buddhism over time. The three
major versions of Buddhism are Theravada
Buddhism (‘the
Speech of the Elders’), Mahayana
Buddhism (‘The Great Vehicle’) and Vajrayana
Buddhism (‘The
Diamond Vehicle’). All three originally developed
in India but underwent further revision in different
host nations. While detailed discussions on the foreign
mutations are beyond the scope of this article, examples
are the ‘CHing-tu’ school of Buddhism in China and the Zen Buddhism of
Japan.
The
Theravada
version claims to follow the original teachings of
Gautama Buddha. This form of Buddhism is predominant in
Sri Lanka and South-east Asia and is sometimes called
‘Southern’ Buddhism.
The Mahayana
form incorporates certain new texts which were also
supposed to have originated with the Buddha. A new goal
of attaining ‘Buddha-hood’
rather than mere Nirvana,
introduces a radical concept of Gautama Buddha being one
of a multiple set of incarnations of a cosmic Buddha.
There appears to be influence of certain aspects of
Hinduism in this form. The Mahayana
flourished further in China, Japan and Korea and is
sometimes called ‘Northern’ Buddhism. Vajrayana
Buddhism, the third major version also shows strong
influence of Tantric Hinduism (an esoteric and ritualistic yoga-based process
involving a partner of the opposite sex). This form of
Buddhism has been preserved in Nepal and Tibet.
The
original teachings of Gautama Buddha enshrined in his
first sermon (termed the ‘First
turning of the
wheel of Dharma’) includes the Four
Nobel Truths which are the fundamental tenets of all
forms of Buddhism. An important Buddhist doctrine
(directly contradicting the concept of the Atman or soul in Hinduism) is the negation of an under-lying
‘self’ and the concept of Unatman.
A second notable doctrine is that what we consider
‘self’ which animates the body, is nothing but a
variable combination of five aggregates, namely, the
physical ‘form’, ‘feelings’,
‘discrimination’, ‘predispositions’ and
‘consciousness’; a
mere process. A third important doctrine is that
all things, animate or inanimate, are changeable and
impermanent (Anitya).
A fourth important doctrine is that of ‘Dependant
Origination’ which highlights that suffering
arises from a series of related causal factors.
The
First Noble Truth
postulates the universal nature of suffering; that all
beings are afflicted with dissatisfaction and suffering
(Duhkha).
There are various nuances of suffering, such as
‘obvious
suffering’ like pain, sickness, death, grief.
Partly responsible for such duhkha is our inability to appreciate the ‘unatman’ and trying to cling on to a non-existent ‘self’. A
second type of suffering is the ‘suffering
of change’, when failing to recognize the
impermanence of things, we get attached. A third is the
‘pervasive suffering’
of recurring births related to Samsara,
the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
The
Second Noble Truth
states that the suffering is not a pure fact of nature
but has a cause. This cause is ‘craving’ or
literally, ‘thirst’ (Tanha
or Trishna);
which could be sensual craving (Kama
Tanha), existential craving (Bhava
Tanha), or even craving for the cessation of one’s
existence (Vibhava Tanha). Another very important aspect of ‘cause’
is the Buddhist principle of ‘Causal
Interdependence’ known as ‘Dependent
Origination’ cited above. In short, it states that
all elements of the natural order, physical and
meta-physical, are inextricably connected; disturbance
in any one part will, inevitably, affect other parts.
The
Third Noble Truth
states that there is a way to overcome suffering; by
attainment of Nirvana,
when all suffering and its causes, such as craving, are
‘extinguished’. Though this explanation tends to
give a negative connotation to ‘Nirvana’, the
positive aspect of ‘Nirvana’ is absolute peace and
happiness.
The
Fourth Noble Truth
states that Nirvana
can be attained by following the ‘Middlepath’
or the ‘Eightfold
Path’.
The
Eightfold Path consists
of eight steps
or elements grouped under three basic headings. The
elements, while being serially numbered, are mutually
independent and may be taken up simultaneously. Under
the first basic heading of ‘Wisdom’ (Prajna)
are (1) right view and (2) right intention; under the
second basic heading of ‘Ethical Conduct’ (Sila)
are (3) right speech, (4) right action and (5) right
livelihood; while under the third basic heading of
‘Mental Discipline’ (Samadhi)
are (6) right effort, (7) right mindfulness and (8)
right concentration. The ‘mental discipline’ refers
to aspects of meditation and is dealt with in great
detail in Buddhist scriptures. Further, in the context
of the ‘Eightfold Path’, the word ‘right’
translated from the Sanskrit word ‘Samyanc’ (or ‘Samma’
in Pali), connotes more than the bare meaning of
‘right’, such as ‘perfect’ or ‘ideal’ and
includes nuances of ‘completion, togetherness and
coherence’. The
eight spokes of the symbolic Buddhist ‘Dharmachakra’
or ‘Wheel of Law’ depict individual steps of the ‘Eightfold
Path’. A notable aspect of Buddhism is its
emphasis on ‘Monasticism’ and the ‘Sangha’
as a central institution. While ‘Sangha’,
in the Pali or Sanskrit languages
stands for ‘Assembly’ or ‘Association’, in the
context of Buddhism it predominantly refers to the ‘Monastic
Sangha’ rather than the association of lay
Buddhists. It has been traditionally believed by
Buddhists that a monastery provides the proper
environment for meditation and enlightenment.
While
the Buddha has been assimilated into Hinduism as an
incarnation of the Supreme Being (the tenth Avatar
of Vishnu),
there are significant differences between the two
religions. Buddhism does not recognize the existence of
an eternal soul (the Atman
in Hinduism). While the ultimate aim of existential
fulfillment in Hinduism is Moksha
(liberation of the soul from the cycle of re-birth and
merger with the Supreme God), Buddhism does not accept
the existence of the soul.
Unlike
some other major ‘world’ religions, Buddhism does
not propound the existence of an anthropomorphic God; in
fact, it does not even speculate whether God exists.
Hence there is a view held in some quarters that
Buddhism is an ‘Athiestic’ religion.
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