Eternal India Encyclopedia

RELIGIONS

Eternal India

encyclopedia

SCRIPTURES

There are two main schools or sects of Buddhism, the

Theravada and the

Mahayana.

The sacred scriptures of the

Thervadins are in Pali. The

Mahayana

scriptures were

originally in Sanskrit. The Pali canon is, however, gener-

ally accepted as authentic.

The scriptures are referred to as

Tripitaka

or the "Three

Baskets". They are :

Vinaya Pitaka

(Rules of conduct of the Buddhist order)

Sutta Pitaka

(Discourses of the Buddha). This is divided

into five groups or

Nikayas:

Digha Nikaya

(long dis-

courses),

Majjhima Nikaya,

(middle-length)

Samyutta

Nikaya,

(grouped or connected) collections of discourses,

Anguttara Nikaya,

(graduated) a collection of discourses

arranged according to the number of topics treated in each

discourse, and

Khuddaka Nikaya.

(minor). The

Khuddaka

includes, among other things, the

Dhammapada

(Way of

Truth, the most famous of all Theravada scriptures), a

summary of the Buddha's universal teachings,

Sutta Nipata,

Udana, Itivuttaka, Thera-gatha

(Psalms of the Brethren),

Theri-gatha

(Psalms of the sisters) and the Jataka stories,

histories of the previous lives of the Buddha as a Bodhi-

sattva, a being destined to become a Buddha. 3)

Abhidhamma Pitaka,

a collection of works on Buddhist

psychology and philosophy.

The Pali scriptures were committed to writing for the first

time on palm leaves in Sri Lanka (29 B.C.) under the pa-

tronage of King Vattagamani Abhaya.

CODE OF ETHICS

Buddhism has a code of ethics - the

Panca-sila

(Five

Precepts or vows) for the lay devotee (

Upasaka,

fem:

Upasika

) which is expanded into the

Dasasila

for novice

monks and nuns.

The Five Precepts

Panca-sila

are :

I undertake the rule of training to refrain from killing

or injury to living things

I undertake the rule of training to refrain from taking

that which is not given.

I undertake the rule of training to refrain from exces-

sive sensuality.

I undertake the rule of training to refrain from false and

harmful speech.

I undertake the rule of training to refrain from drinks

and drugs which fuddle the mind and reduce mindful-

ness.

Monks have to abide by the following five additional precepts:

To refrain from eating after mid-day.

To refrain from attending performances of dancing,

music and theatricals.

To refrain from using garlands, cosmetics and jewel-

lery.

To refrain from using high and wide beds.

To refrain from accepting money.

The

Vinaya Pitaka

lays down 227 rules for monks.

THE THREE REFUGES (

TISARANA

)

Buddham saranam gacchami:

(I go to the

Buddha

as my refuge.)

Dhammam saranam gacchami :

(I go to the Doctrine [Teaching] as my refuge.)

Sangham saranam gacchami:

(I go to the Order [of monks and nuns] as my refuge)

THE SANGHAS

The Sangha

(Order of the

Bhiksus)

founded by the Buddha

still exists in Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Bhikku

(monk) being the torch-bearer of the

Dhamma,

acts as a friend, philosopher and guide of the laity.

The higher ordination of a

Bhiksu

Upasampada.

THE FOUR COUNCILS

The first Council

(Sangiti)

was held at Rajagriha, immedi-

ately after the

Maha-Parinirvana

of the Buddha. Ananda,

the life-long companion attendant of the Buddha, recited the

Sutta Pitaka,

and Abhidhamma, the Buddha's discourses on

the doctrine and philosophy while Upali recited the

Vinaya

Pitaka,

the rules of the order as he had heard the Buddha give

them :

The second Council was held 100 years (386 B.C.) later at

Vaisali where differences arose over some points of monas-

tic discipline. The order broke into two sections - the

orthodox Theravadins - supporters of the Doctrines of the

Elders and

Mahasanghikas

i.e. members of the Great Com-

munity. Out of the

Mahasanghika

there developed the

Ma-

hayana

or Great Vehicle.

The third Council was convened in 253 B.C. by Emperor

Ashoka at Patna (Pataliputra) where the scriptures were

further edited (It was Ashoka who, through his son Mahen-

dra (Mahindra), converted Ceylon (Lanka) to Buddhism.

The fourth Council was convened by Emperor Kanishka.

The commentary on the

Sutta-Pitaka

(100,000 slokas),

The

Vinayavibhasa,

a commentary on the

Vinaya

(100,000

slokas) and

The Abhidharma-Vibhasa

(100,000 slokas)

were composed.

THE SECTS

Due to differences over the interpretations of the Buddha's

teachings, two schools -

the Theravadins (Sthaviravadins)

and

Mahasanghikas

came into being 100 years after the

Buddha's death.

The

Mahasanghikas

became the Mahayana School in the

first century A.D. The Mahayanists gave prominence to the

Bodhisattva ideal and emphasised the liberation of all the

sentient beings rather than the salvation of an individual.

The

Hinayana

(Theravada) school believed that the Buddha

possessed a more ultimate Dharma body (

dharmakaya

The

Mahayanist's

emphasis on the Bodhisattva theory led

to the emergence of th

e Yogacara

school of thought, in

which not only imaginary beings but exponents or leaders

were also deified as Bodhisattvas.