BUDDHISM

Gautama Buddha – the founder of Buddhism, was also known as the

‘Light of Asia’. He was born into a royal family in Kapilavastu in the sixth
century B.C. He was met by a sick man, an elderly man, then a corpse as
he grew older. He had lived a sheltered existence, which had a
tremendous effect on him since he realised that no amount of riches or
power could protect him from disease, old age, or death. He also
observed a travelling ascetic who was desperate to get away from the
pain

That perfect embodiment of knowledge, courage, love, and sacrifice,

whose heart overflowed with pure emotion upon seeing that human life
was essentially fraught with misery and pain, that a shallow optimism
was rooted in a deep pessimism, that behind the superficial momentary
glow of sensual pleasure lay the misery of old age, sickness, and death;
who was moved by that spectacle to seek a remedy for the misery. He
reached the first big turning point in his life after pondering on what he
had seen: he surrendered his house, wife, kid, and position to become a
homeless wanderer, seeking solace from this apparently inescapable
misery. He courageously renounced not only the Shakya kingdom's
worldly riches at the age of twenty-nine, but also his loving wife, whose
exquisite beauty and beautiful nature were famous far and wide, and his
much more beloved new-born son, who had solidified the love between
his parents.

He pursued trance-like meditation and then intense self-mortification for

several years, both of which were popular among wanderers at the time,
but he found them ineffectual. So, he sat peacefully, without
psychological or physical rigour, under a tree in gaya, pondering the
common human struggle. As a result of his tranquillity-induced
meditation, the second massive shift in his life emerged, at long last,
awakening and liberation. He then preached for forty-five years, taking
his philosophy from his own life experiences, and his classes covered a
wide range of topics. From Ceylon, Burma, and Siam in the south to
Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea in the north, he formed an order of monks
who were to liberate themselves by following his example, and they
propagated his doctrine across the world. He died of natural causes, like
others, but he was 'utterly extinguished', meaning he would never be
born again to suffer.

The rich and the poor, the lofty and the low, the educated and the
illiterate all accepted Buddhism. It spread like wildfire from the towering
Himalayas to Cape Camorin, extending beyond its homeland's borders to
Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Malaya, Java, Sumatra, and Nepal, Tibet,
Mongolia, Korea, China, and Japan. It evolved into a global religion and a
significant cultural influence, at least in Asia.

Prince Siddhartha is long gone, yet the Buddha lives on. Even today, the
Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path retain significance for
us. The same Enlightenment that changed the mortal Siddhartha into the
eternal Buddha continues to help us now.

LITERATURE

Buddha was more of a social reformer and ethical teacher than a

theoretical philosopher. He taught through discussion, and his teachings
were also passed down to subsequent generations by oral transmission
from his pupils. As a result, determining exactly what Buddha's teachings
are and what interpretations, amplifications, and elaborations the
followers have contributed to them is challenging. The Tripitakas, which
are the "three baskets" claimed to contain Buddha's opinions as related
by his closest pupils, form the foundation of our understanding of his
teachings.

The Vinaya-Pitaka, the Sutta-Pitaka, and the Abhidhamma-Pitaka are the

three canonical writings. Pali is the language used in these works. The
first is is about rules of order, the second is about parable-based
preaching, and the third is about philosophical issues. The early Buddhist
thought is covered in all three of these texts.

Aside from these, there is a vast non-canonical Pali literature, including

Muinda-Panho, Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Visuddhi-magga, and a rich
Tripitaka commentary literature.

The preceding is Hinayana sect literature, which was created after

Buddha's death many years ago. Some Buddhists called themselves
Mahayanis because they believed it did not portray the Master's true
teachings and had many horrendous misinterpretations of Buddha's
teachings, while others called themselves Hinayanis and had their own
Sanskrit literature.

The hinayana and mahayana are two of Buddhism's most well-known

divisions. It started in the south and has since spread to Ceylon, Burma,
and Siam. It has a large literature that is written in Pali. It is claimed to
be more traditional and loyal to the teachings of Buddha. Hinayana is
also known as Pali Buddhism or southern Buddhism. Mahayana was
largely practised in the north, with followers in Tibet, China, and Japan.
It began using Sanskrit for intellectual discussions, resulting in a large
body of Sanskrit Buddhist literature. The majority of this literature was
translated into Tibetan and Chinese, and it became naturalised in the
countries where Buddhism thrived. As a result of their translations, many
significant Sanskrit texts are currently being retrieved and restored to
Sanskrit in India. Mahayana Buddhism is also known as Northern
Buddhism or Sanskrit Buddhism.

Buddhism was coloured and inspired by the converts' initial beliefs and
views as it travelled over the world. Because the various schools of
Buddhism that arose as a result of this are so numerous, and the total
output of philosophical works in various languages is so vast, a thorough
understanding of Buddhist philosophy necessitates the talents of a
versatile linguist, as well as the insight of a philosopher—and yet one
lifetime may be far too short for the purpose.

TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA

It is difficult to ascertain the Buddha's teachings because he was

predominantly an ethical teacher and a mystic, rather than a
metaphysician, and only preached orally. Nonetheless, a fair description
of his teachings may be derived. The Four Noble Truths, the Noble
Eightfold Path, and the Doctrine of Dependent Origination are three
aspects of it.

The Four Noble Truths (arya satya) are:

1. There is suffering (duhkha)

Life is full with adversity and suffering. Even the so-called
pleasures, as well as their loss, involves pain. Indulgence may also
cause pain. It is a well-known reality that there is misery in our
world. In this world, poverty, sickness, old age, death, selfishness,
meanness, greed, rage, hatred, quarrels, bickerings, disputes, and
exploitation abound. Nobody can dispute that life is full with
misery.

2. There is a cause of suffering (duhkha-samudaya)

Everything has a cause. Nothing comes out of nothing – ex nihilo
nihil fit. Every occurrence is determined by its causes and
circumstances. Everything is conditional, relative, and restricted in
our life. Suffering, as a fact, must have a reason. It must be
contingent on certain circumstances. ‘This being, that arises’, ‘the
cause being present, the effect rises’, is the causal law of
Dependent Origination.

3. There is a cessation of suffering (duhkha-nirodha)

 Because everything is dependent on certain causes and conditions,
the effect must also cease if these causes and conditions are
eliminated. Since the cause is conditional and relative, it must be
fleeting, and fleeting things must die. What is must perish.
Production entails destruction.

4. There is a way leading to this cessation of suffering (duhka-

nirodha-gamini-pratipat)
There is an ethical and spiritual path that may be followed to
alleviate the suffering and attain liberation. This is the Noble Eight-
fold Path.

The Noble Eight-fold Path consists of eight steps which are:

a) Right views

As ignorance and wrong views about the self and the world are the
root cause of our sufferings it is important to acquire right views or
knowledge of truth. Right view is defined as the correct knowledge
about the four noble truths.

b) Right resolve

A mere knowledge of the truths is useless unless one resolves to

reform life in their light. Aspirant is asked to renounce all attachment
to the world, give up ill feelings towards others and desist from doing
any harm.

c) Right speech

Right speech consists of abstention from lying slander unkind words

and frivolous talk.

d) Right conduct

Right conduct includes the Panca-Sila, the five vows for desisting
from killing, stealing, sensuality, lying and intoxication.

e) Right livelihood

Giving up bad speech and bad action, one should earn his livelihood
by honest means. One should not take to forbidden means but work
in consistency with good determination.
 f) Right effort

An individual is constantly knocked off the right path by old evil

ideas which were deep rooted in the mind. One should maintain a
constant effort to root out old evil thoughts and prevent new evil
thoughts.

g) Right mindfulness

This highlights the necessity of constant mindfulness about the

truth. If we are not mindful, we behave as though the body mind
and mental states are permanent and valuable. Hence attachment
to such things and grief over their loss arises and we become
subjects to bondage and misery.

h) Right concentration

It consists of four meditations. It is crown of eightfold path. The

first jhana is a state of joy born of seclusion. The second jhana is a
state of joy born out of deep tranquility. The third jhana is a state of
neutral consciousness in which all passions are destroyed and the
fourth is a state of complete tranquility and self-possession.

A triple path consisting of Shila, or good behaviour, Samadhi, or right

concentration, and Prajha, or right knowledge, is also mentioned in old
literature. They basically equate to Jainism's Darshana, Jhana, and
Charitra. Prajna is the immediate cause of emancipation, while Shila and
Samadhi lead to it.
DOCTRINE OF PRATITYASAMUTPADA OR
DEPENDENT ORIGINATION

There is a natural, universal law of causality that governs the

manifestation of all mental and physical phenomena. Without the
assistance of any conscious guidance, this law dharma (or dhamma)
operates spontaneously. According to it, anytime a specific event occurs,
it is immediately followed by another specific occurrence. Everything is
conditional, as it is dependent on a cause. This is known as
pratityasamutpada, or dependent origination theory. This viewpoint
avoids two extreme viewpoints: eternalism, or the notion that some
reality endures eternally regardless of circumstances, and nihilism, or
the theory that something existent may be annihilated or cease to exist.
Buddha claims, therefore, to hold the middle view, namely that
everything that we perceive possesses an existence but is dependent on
something else, and that thing in turn does not perish without leaving
some effect.
All of the Buddha's teachings are founded on the notion of
Pratityasamutpada (Dependent Origination). This is found in the Second
Noble Truth, which explains why we suffer, and the Third Noble Truth,
which demonstrates how we might stop suffering. Suffering is Samsara,
and relief from it is Nirvana. Both are only different manifestations of the
same Reality. Pratityasamutpada is Samsara when viewed through the
lens of relativity, but Nirvana when viewed through the lens of truth. It is
the Absolute as well as relativity and dependent causation, since it is the
Absolute that appears as relative and functions as the tying thread that
binds them together and gives them meaning.

Everything in the empirical universe ruled by the intellect, according to

Pratityasamutpada, is relative, conditional, dependent, subject to birth
and death, and so impermanent. The causal formula is: 'This being, that
arises,' i.e., 'The effect occurs depending on the cause.' As a result, every
mental object is inevitably relative. Because it is relative, it is neither
completely real (because it is subject to death) nor entirely unreal
(because it is subject to death) (for it appears to arise). All phenomenal
things float between the extremes of reality and nothingness, avoiding
both extremes. They resemble the Vedantic Avidya or Maya in
appearance. Buddha refers to his philosophy as the Middle Path,
Madhyama Pratipat, since it avoids both eternalism and nihilism. It is
associated by Buddha with the Bodhi, the Enlightenment that came to
him beneath the shade of the bo tree in Gaya, transforming Siddhartha
into the eternal Buddha. He also associates it with the Dharma, the Law,
saying, "He who sees the Pratityasamutpada sees the Dharma, and he
who sees the Dharma sees the Pratityasamutpada." It is the failure to
understand it that leads to misery. Its knowledge leads to the cessation of
misery. Nagarjuna honours Buddha as the greatest of all teachers
because he taught the wonderful Pratityasamutpada philosophy, which
leads to the end of multiplicity and pleasure. Shantaraksita accomplishes
the same thing.

Buddha left his home, troubled by the sight of sickness, old age, and
death, to seek a solution to the pain of earthly existence. He discovered
the Pratityasamutpada solution. Why do we have to live in sorrow and
pain? Why do we have to deal with old age and death? Because we were
created. What is the purpose of our birth? Because the desire to be born
exists. Why should this desire to become exist? Because we cling to the
world's objects. Why are we clinging to each other? Because we have a
strong desire to appreciate the things of this life. Why do humans have
such a strong need for pleasure? As a result of sensory experience. What
is the purpose of this sensory experience? As a result of the sense-object
interaction. Why are we in contact with each other? As a result of the six
sense organs (the sixth sense being the mind). Why are there six sense
organs? The psychophysical organism is the reason behind this. What is
the purpose of this organism? What is the purpose of our awareness?
Because of our karma predispositions or perceptions. Why do we get
these feelings? Ignorance is to blame. Hence, Ignorance is the source of
all misery.

Thus, we get the twelve links of the Causal Wheel of Dependent

Origination:

(1) Ignorance (avidya).

(2) Impressions of karmic forces (samskara).
(3) Initial consciousness of the embryo (vijnana).
(4) Psycho-physical organism (nama-rupa).
(5) Six sense-organs including mind (sadayatana).
(6) Sense-object-contact (sparsha).
(7) Sense-experience (vedana).
(8) Thirst for sense-enjoyment (trsna).
(9) Clinging to this enjoyment (upadana).
(10) Will to be born (bhava).
(11) Birth or rebirth (jati).
(12) Old age and death (jara-marana).

The first two linkages are rejected to past life, the final two to future life,
and the remainder are rejected to present life.

This is the birth-and-death cycle. The wheel of Dependent Origination has

twelve spokes. This is what is known as the "vicious cycle of causality." It
does not end with death. Death is only the start of a new existence. It is
called Bhava-chakra, Samsarachakra, Janma-marana-chakra, Dharma-
chakra, Pratityasamutpada chakra etc.

DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL CHANGE AND

IMPERMANENCE OR THEORY OF MOMENTARINESS

The buddhist view of the transitory character of things is also derived

from the philosophy of dependent origination. Many other poets and
philosophers have spoken on the transience of life and earthly things.
This viewpoint is logically perfected by Buddha into the theory of
impermanence. Later followers developed this into the idea of
momentariness, which states that everything has a conditional and hence
non-permanent existence, as well as those objects do not persist even for
short periods of time, but only exist for one party's moment. Later writers
backed up this idea of all things being momentary with extensive
reasons, one of which is briefly mentioned here: the criteria for a thing's
existence (satta) is its ability to generate some impact (artha-kriya-
kairava-laksana sat). A non-existent object, such as a hare's horn,
cannot have any effect. Now, an object possessing existence must be
temporary, according to this criteria of existence. It does not remain
constant between any two moments since it does not create the same
impact in each. As a result, everything is ephemeral.

HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA

As the time went by, Buddhism experienced a rapid increase in the

number of followers. Further, these followers were divided into two
different schools namely Hinayana and Mahanaya. Hinayana flourished in
the south, specifically in areas such as Ceylon, Burma and Siam. The
Hinayana texts are considered to be more orthodox and faithful towards
the teachings of Buddha.

Like Jainism, Hinayana is a religion without God, with Karma replacing

God. Hinayana places a strong emphasis on personal emancipation. It is a
difficult self-help road. Its objective is Arhathood, or the state of the ideal
saint who achieves personal redemption, Nibbana, which is considered to
be the end of all suffering. In Hinayana, the concept of liberation is said
to be negative and egoistic.

Mahayana mainly flourished towards the north, especially in areas such

as Tibet, China and Japan. Buddhist literature in Sanskrit came to be
developed as many of the philosophical discussions were done in the
same language. Most of his teachings were translated into Tibetan or
Chinese and therefore became naturalised in these lands where
Buddhism was taught. Many Sanskrit scriptures which were lost in our
country are being recovered from those texts and being restored into
Sanskrit. Mahayana is also referred to as Sanskrit Buddhism Mahayana,
the Great Vehicle, the Great Ship, which can safely and securely
transport a considerably larger number of people to the shores
of Nirvana from the stormy waters of the ocean of Samsara.

Nirvana, according to Mahayana, is a positive state of bliss rather than a

negative condition of end of misery. Its ideal saint is the Bodhisattva,
who postpones his own salvation in order to save others. In this place,
Buddha has been converted into God and is worshipped as such. He is
claimed to be linked to transcendental reality and to have the ability to
reincarnate.
METAPHYSICS OF HINAYANA

Let us look at the major tenets of the Sarvastivada or Vaibhasika school,

which is likewise accepted by the Sautrantikas. Sarvastivada flatly denies
the existence of God, claiming that the Buddha and the idea of Karma
have taken his place. The so-called soul is reduced to a collection of
passing thoughts. The so-called matter is nothing more than a collection
of fleeting earth, water, fire, and air atoms. Everything is transient. The
universe operates on the principle of change. All cravings and passions
are extinguished in liberation.

The Theory of Momentariness is the most essential doctrine of this

school. Santanavada, or the notion of Flux or Ceaseless Flow, is another
name for it. It applies to both mind and substance because both are
transient. It is also known as Sahghatavada, or the Aggregates Theory,
which states that the so-called soul is only an aggregation of the five
ephemeral Skandhas, and that the so-called matter is simply an
aggregate of the transient atoms. Pudgala-nairatmya refers to the denial
of an eternal spiritual and material substance.

Everything is transient. Nothing lasts forever. All things are ephemeral

and sorrowful, including the body, sensations, perceptions, dispositions,
and consciousness. There is no such thing as being or not-being; there is
simply becoming. Reality is a continuous process of transformation. Life
is a
sequence of becoming manifestations. There is no such thing as a 'thing'
that changes; only change is constant. Everything is only a link in the
chain, a spoke in the wheel, a blip in the timeline. Everything is
pratityasamutpanna, conditional, dependent and relative. Birth and
death, production and destruction, creation and decay are all part of life.
NIRVANA

Nirvana is the state of the cessation of all earthly miseries. It literally

means ‘blown out’ or ‘extinguished’ as when a flame is blown out or a fire
burns out.

The ideal saint of both the schools of Hinayana is the Arhat who has
simply ‘blown’ himself out of existence by annihilating all desires and
passions. It is given in the third Noble Truth about the cessation of
suffering. It is often compared with the extinction of the flame of a lamp.
Just as a lamp when it becomes extinguished goes neither hither nor
thither, neither to the earth nor to the sky, neither to this direction nor to
that, it has been utterly blown out on account of the oil being consumed;
similarly, a sage obtains Nirvana when the desires and the passions have
been consumed; he goes neither this way nor that, but obtains utter
peace.

The individual is said to be on fire with passions and nirvana is the

complete
extinction of passions and consequent suffering. It is the extinction of
greed, hate,
anger, delusions and of impurities, will to be born, ignorance and rebirth.
It is not extinction of existence nor is it annihilation. It can be attained in
this life;
suffering can be completely extinguished in this life itself. Nirvana is not
heaven
after death, it is to be realized in this life only by one who is grounded in
virtue
and disciplined.

The very word ‘Nirvana’ means ‘blowing out’. It is the dissolution of the
five skandhas. It is the cessation of all activities (chitta vritti nirodha) and
of all becoming (bhavani radha). But there are many verses and passages
in the Pali Canon which emphatically reject this negative conception of
Nirvana. Here the real nature of Buddha’s teachings bursts forth,
breaking the outward covering of the Hinayana. Nirvana is identified
with positive bliss. It is said to be the highest and the most indestructible
state. It is the fearless goal. It gives happiness here and hereafter. It is
the highest bliss. We are even told that to mistake Nirvana as
annihilation is ‘a wicked heresy’. Unfortunately, the Pali Canon gives
both the negative and the positive descriptions of Nirvana and Hinayana
inclines towards the former.
Buddha lived an active life after attaining Nirvana. It is not renunciation
of actions,
but the purging of all actions of attachment, aversion and delusion. It is
renunciation of all the bases of rebirth, destruction of craving, will to live
and
becoming. Nirvana is a state of enlightenment which removes all
ignorance. It is a state of perfect equanimity which removes attachment,
aversion and delusions. It is a
state of stainless purity and good will. The liberated person has complete
insight,
unruffled calm, perfect self-control and tranquil mind, words and deed.
In the Pali texts nirvana has sometimes been described as a state of bliss.
The
liberated person is free from evil desire; he has a steadfast mind; he has
perfect
knowledge of the noble truths; he has obtained the fruit of the fourth
path, and is
immersed in ambrosia and enjoys nirvana.

Nirvana is happiness or holiness which is distinct from pleasure. Pleasure

is
transitory and therefore painful. Nirvana is the highest good. It is a
blissful end.