BUDDHISM

Buddhism is one of the world’s largest religions and originated 2,500 years ago in India.
Buddhists believe that the human life is one of suffering, and that meditation, spiritual and
physical labor, and good behavior are the ways to achieve enlightenment, or nirvana.

Buddhism, founded in the late 6th century B.C.E. by Siddhartha Gautama (the "Buddha"), is an
important religion in most of the countries of Asia. Buddhism has assumed many different forms,
but in each case there has been an attempt to draw from the life experiences of the Buddha, his
teachings, and the "spirit" or "essence" of his teachings (called dhamma or dharma) as models
for the religious life. However, not until the writings of the Buddha Charita (life of the Buddha)
by Ashvaghosa in the 1st or 2nd century C.E. do we have a comprehensive account of his life.

The Buddha was born (ca. 563 B.C.E.) in a place called Lumbini near the Himalayan foothills,
and he began teaching around Benares (at Sarnath). His erain general was one of spiritual,
intellectual, and social ferment. This was the age when the Hindu ideal of renunciation of family
and social life by holy persons seeking Truth first became widespread, and when the Upanishads
were written. Both can be seen as moves away from the centrality of the Vedic fire sacrifice.

Siddhartha Gautama was the warrior son of a king and queen. According to legend, at his
birth a soothsayer predicted that he might become a renouncer (withdrawing from the
temporal life). His father, the king, was determined that his son become a great ruler and
tried to shield Prince Siddhartha from these four realities of life. To prevent this, his father
provided him with many luxuries and pleasures.

However, at age 29, Siddhartha, with his charioteer, went out of the protected palace
grounds and, for the first time, encountered suffering, which he understood to be an
inevitable part of life. He went on a series of four chariot rides where he first saw the
more severe forms of human suffering: a man bent with old age, a person afflicted with
sickness, a corpse, and a wandering ascetic. He saw four sights: It was the fourth sight,
that of a wandering ascetic, that filled Siddhartha with a sense of urgency to find out what
lay at the root of human suffering. The contrast between his life and this human suffering
 made him realize that all the pleasures on earth where in fact transitory, and could only
mask human suffering.

Leaving his wife—and new son (Rahula) he took on several teachers and tried severe
renunciation in the forest until the point of near-starvation. Finally, realizing that this too
was only adding more suffering, he ate food and sat down beneath a tree to meditate. By
morning (or some say six months later) he had attained Nirvana (Enlightenment), which
provided both the true answers to the causes of suffering and permanent release from it.

Or

After 49 consecutive days of meditation, Gautama became the Buddha, or “enlightened

Now the Buddha ("the Enlightened or Awakened One") began to teach others these truths out of
compassion for their suffering.

The most important doctrines he taught included the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold
Path.

After the Buddha's death, his celibate wandering followers gradually settled down into
monasteries that were provided by the married laityas merit-producing gifts. The laity were in
turn taught by the monks some of the Buddha's teachings. They also engaged in such practices as
visiting the Buddha's birthplace; and worshipping the tree under which he became enlightened
(bodhi tree), Buddha images in temples, and the relics of his body housed in various stupas or
funeral mounds. A famous king, named Ashoka, and his son helped to spread Buddhism
throughout South India and into Sri Lanka (Ceylon) (3rd century B.C.E.).

Buddhism also received support from the state. In 260 BCE, King Ashoka adopted Buddhism
after a violent war against the feudal state of Kalinga. He wanted to renounce violence and
publicly turned to Buddhism in order to achieve this. He may have also turned to Buddhism as a
 way of uniting people of many castes and cultures under a similar religion, which might have
made his empire easier to govern.

How did Buddhism Spread in Ancient India?

 Buddha had two kinds of disciples – monks (bhikshus) and lay worshippers (upasikas).

 The monks were organized into the Sangha for the purpose of spreading his teachings.

o The Sangha was governed on democratic lines and was empowered to enforce
discipline among its members.

 Owing to the organised efforts made by the Sangha, Buddhism made rapid progress in
North India even during Buddha’s life time.

 After the death of Buddha, his followers traversed on his path of meditation and roamed
throughout the countryside.

 For 200 years Buddhism remained overshadowed by their Hindu counterparts until the
advent of Great Mauryan King – Ashoka.

o After the bloodbath in his Kalinga conquest, emperor Ashoka decided to give up
the policy of worldly conquest and adopted Dhamma conquest.

o Ashoka during the third Buddhist council dispatched various Buddhist missions to
different areas such as Gandhara, Kashmir, Greece, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar),
Egypt, and Thailand.

 Through his missionary effort Ashoka spread Buddhism into West Asia and Ceylon. Thus
a local religious sect was transformed into a world religion.

Three Universal Truths

1. Everything in life is impermanent and always changing.

2. Because nothing is permanent, a life based on possessing things or persons doesn't make you
happy.
3. There is no eternal, unchanging soul and "self" is just a collection of changing characteristics or
attributes.

Four Noble Truths

1. Human life has a lot of suffering.

2. The cause of suffering is greed.

3. There is an end to suffering.

4. The way to end suffering is to follow the Middle Path.

Buddha then taught people not to worship him as a god. He said they should take responsibility
for their own lives and actions. He taught that the Middle Way was the way to nirvana. The
Middle Way meant not leading a life of luxury and indulgence but also not one of too much
fasting and hardship. There are eight guides for following the Middle path.

The Eightfold Path

1. Right understanding and viewpoint (based on the Four Noble Truths).

2. Right values and attitude (compassion rather than selfishness).

3. Right speech (don't tell lies, avoid harsh, abusive speech, avoid gossip).

4. Right action (help others, live honestly, don't harm living things, take care of the environment).

5. Right work (do something useful, avoid jobs which harm others).

6. Right effort (encourage good, helpful thoughts, discourage unwholesome destructive thoughts).

7. Right mindfulness (be aware of what you feel, think and do).

8. Right meditation (calm mind, practice meditation which leads to nirvana).

TheEight-Fold Path is pervaded by the principle of the Middle Way, which characterizes the
Buddha's life. The Middle Way represents a rejection of all extremes of thought, emotion,
action, and lifestyle. Rather than either severe mortification of the body or a life of indulgence
insense pleasures the Buddha advocated a moderate or "balanced" wandering life-style and the
cultivation of mental and emotional equanimity through meditation and morality.
 The Five Precepts

Even though each form of Buddhism took on its own identity, all Buddhists follow a set of
guidelines for daily life called the Five Precepts. These are:

1. Do not harm or kill living things.

2. Do not take things unless they are freely given.

3. Lead a decent life.

4. Do not speak unkindly or tell lies.

5. Do not abuse drugs or drink alcohol.

BUDDHISM & JAINISM – CAUSES FOR GROWTH

1.Kshatriya class’ resentment towards the domination of the priestly class (Brahmanas)

The order of hierarchy in the Varna system was-Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.
The Kshatriyas who were ranked second strongly objected to the ritualistic domination of the
Brahmanas and the various privileges enjoyed by them. It should also be noted that both Buddha
and Mahavira belonged to the Kshatriya varna. It is important to mention that the Buddhist Pali
texts at many places reject the Brahmanical claim to superiority and places itself (Kshatriyas)
higher than the Brahmanas.

2.Rise of the new agricultural economy that needed animal husbandry-

In the sixth century BCE, there was a shift of the centre of economic and political activity from
Haryana and western U.P to eastern U.P and Bihar where the land was more fertile due to
abundant rainfall. It became easier to utilize the iron reservoir of Bihar and its adjoining areas.
People started using more and more iron tools like ploughshare for agricultural purposes. The
use of iron ploughshare required the use of bullocks, which meant that the age-old custom in the
Vedic age of killing animals as sacrifices would have to be abandoned for this agricultural
economy to stabilize. Furthermore, the flourishing of animal husbandry became imminent to
raise a potential animal population to take up the work that was required to uphold the
agricultural sector development. Both Buddhism and Jainism were against any kind of sacrifices,
so the peasant class welcomed it.

3.The Vaishyas and other mercantile groups favoured Buddhism and Jainism as they
yearned for a better social and peaceful life-
The agricultural boom led to the increased production of food which also helped in the
development of trade, craft production and urban centres. The discovery of thousands of silver
and copper Punch-Marked Coins (PMC) by the numismatists reflects the development of trade in
this era. This period is known as the era of second urbanisation. As many as sixty towns and
cities like Rajagriha, Shravasti, Varanasi, Vaishali and Champa developed between 600 and
300 BCE. The Vaishyas and other mercantile groups rose to a better economic position and
preferred to patronise non-Vedic religions like Buddhism and Jainism through substantial
donations. As both Buddhism and Jainism promoted peace and non-violence, this could put an
end to wars between different kingdoms and consequently promote further trade and commerce,
which was beneficial for this economic class.

4. Acceptance of simple and peace centred principles of Buddhism and Jainism by people-

The common masses welcomed the new religions as they preached peace and social equality,
simple and ascetic living. People wanted relief from the growing social problems and yearned to
live a peaceful and uncorrupt life.