Eternal India Encyclopedia

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RELIGIONS

THE BUDDHA

Bom Siddhartha Gautama, became Buddha, the Enlightend one.

Also known as

Sakyamuni

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.

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

to find a solution to the problem of sufferings.

Attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya (Bihar) on the

Vaisakha

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

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

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).

Samma-Ditthi

(Right Understanding) : Insightful

understanding of things as they really are.

Samma - Sankappa

(Right Thoughts): Thoughts based

on renunciation, loving-kindness and compassion.

Samma-Vakka

(Right Speech) : Truthful, kindly,

gentle and meaningful.

Samma-Kammanta

(Right Action) : Reverence for

life, honesty and sexual propriety.

Samma-Ajiva

(Right Livelihood) : Abstaining from

livelihood that brings harm to other beings.

Samma-Vayama

(Right Effort) : Avoiding or over-

coming evil things and of developing wholesome

things.

Samma-Sati

(Right Mindfulness) : Active, watchful

mind.

Samma-Samadhi

(Right Concentration) : Concentra-

tion or one-pointedness of mind.

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 preached that the world is

full of suffering

(dukkha),

it is transient

(anicca)

and it is

soulless

(anatta).

There is no individual soul (

atman

) or world soul

(Brahman).

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.

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.

BUDDHISM

Buddha, the great spiritual teacher, preacher and social

reformer.

Dhamma,

his teachings,

Sangha

, the order of Bud-

dhist monks and nuns.

Discovered a path for making an end of suffering.

State Religion of Emperor Ashoka.

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.

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