Eternal India Encyclopedia

encyclopedia Eternal India

RELIGIONS

BUDDHISM

* Buddha, the great spiritual teacher, preacher and social reformer. * Dhamma, his teachings, Sangha , the order of Bud- dhist monks and nuns.

Dharma Chakra (wheel of law). The Sarnath sermon, called the Sermon of the Turning of the wheel of law. (DhammacakkaPavattana Sutta), con- tains the fundamental teaching of Bud- dhism.

* Discovered a path for making an end of suffering. * State Religion of Emperor Ashoka.

The Buddha said that no amount of ritual washing in the waters of holy rivers like the Ganga could cleanse the perpe- trator of wicked acts. He spoke out against fire rituals and sacrifices of innocent animals for the religious aims of men. He opposed blind faith, fanaticism and superstition. * The Buddha advocated welfare of animals, protection of plant-life and ecological preservation.

THE BUDDHA Bom Siddhartha Gautama, became Buddha, the Enlightend one. Also known as Sakyamuni or Tathagatha, he was bom in 566 B.C. on the Vaisakha Purnima Day at Lumbini near Kapilavastu (Nepal). He was the son of Suddhodhana, the Kshatriya chief of the Sakya people.

As a child, led a sheltered life with every luxury.

Married Yashodhara at 16, had a son, Rahula.

The Buddha preached that the world is

full of suffering

*

Seeing the universality of sufferings, left his palace at the age of 29

(dukkha), it is transient (anicca) and it is

soulless (anatta).

to find a solution to the problem of sufferings.

There is no individual soul ( atman ) or world soul (Brahman).

Attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya (Bihar) on the

Vaisakha

* Kamma - The Buddha said “Volition is kamma. Having willed one acts by body, speech and thought.” (Sutta Pitaka) Kamma is all moral and immoral volition and intentional action, mental (thought), verbal (word) and physical (deed). Kamma is action and vipaka (fruit or result) is its reaction or result. Wholesome kamma gives rise to wholesome vipaka, and unwholesome kamma gives rise to unwholesome vipaka. No kamma is accumulated by one who has completely eradi- cated craving and has understood things as they truly are. Ig- norance (avijja) and craving (tanha) are the chief causes of kamma. (Narada, A Manual of Buddhism) Action has three unwholesome (akusala) roots (mula/hetu) (greed (lobha), hatred (dosa) and delusion (moha)), and three wholesome (kusala) roots (greedlessness (alobha), hatelessness (adosa) and undeludedness (amoha)). * Rebirth - Birth... is the arising of the khandhas (aggre- gates)... Death... is the cessation of the psycho-physical life of any one individual existence. Kamma necessarily leads to rebirth. Past kamma conditions the present birth, and present kamma, in combination with past kamma, the future... kamma, which is rooted in ignorance, is the cause of birth and death. As long as this kammic force survives there is rebirth.” * There is no place in Buddhism for a supreme, creator God. The Buddha did not encourage speculation on the origin and end of the world. He laid stress on purity of conduct, clarity and calmness of mind and on development of wisdom.

Purnima Day at the age of 35. Preached his first sermon at the Deer Park at Samath (10 kms. from Varanasi) to his first five disciples. For 45 years went around spreading his message of love, peace, harmony and enlightenment.

Attained

Maha-Parinirvana

at

Kusinagara

(Gorakhpur,

Uttar

Pradesh) at the age of 80 (486 B.C.).

PREACHINGS The essence of Buddhism is contained in the Sarnath ser- mon which is called the Sermon of the Turning of the Wheel of Law (Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta). This contains the four Noble Truths and the noble Eight - fold Path which are accepted by all Buddhist sects. The four Noble Truths are: the world is full of suffering (i dukkha ), suffering is caused by human desires, the renun- ciation of desire is the path to freedom and this freedom is possible through the Eight-fold Path. The way to Nirvana (extinction, "blowing out" as of a lamp, freedom from the cycle of rebirth) is known as the Noble Eight-fold Path or the Middle Path (Ariyaatthangika- magga). 1. Samma-Ditthi (Right Understanding) : Insightful understanding of things as they really are. 2. Samma - Sankappa (Right Thoughts): Thoughts based on renunciation, loving-kindness and compassion. 3. Samma-Vakka (Right Speech) : Truthful, kindly, gentle and meaningful. 4. Samma-Kammanta (Right Action) : Reverence for life, honesty and sexual propriety. 5. Samma-Ajiva (Right Livelihood) : Abstaining from livelihood that brings harm to other beings. 6. Samma-Vayama (Right Effort) : Avoiding or over- coming evil things and of developing wholesome things. 7. Samma-Sati (Right Mindfulness) : Active, watchful mind. 8. Samma-Samadhi (Right Concentration) : Concentra- tion or one-pointedness of mind.

The Buddha rejected caste. One does not become a Brahmin by birth One does not become an outcast by birth

*

One becomes a Brahmin by act One becomes an outcast by act.

(Sutta - Pitaka)

He founded a monastic order - established a Sangha (Order) of Bhikkus (monks) and Bhikkunis (nuns).

* According to the Buddhist psychology there are six perceptions. They are perceptions of form, sound, taste, odour, touch and of thoughts.