Mahatma Buddha: Life, Philosophy and Influences

Mahatma Buddha: Life, Philosophy and Influences Prof. (Dr.) Surendra Pathak* Siddhartha or Gautama Buddha was born as a prince in the year 624 BC, in Kapilavastu (Nepal). Siddhartha left from his kingdom and went to several well-known teachers to study the ultimate nature of reality. He is known as the Buddha, was the leader and founder of a sect of wanderer ascetics, one of many sects which existed throughout the India. This sect came to be known as Sangha, to distinguish it from other similar communities, but their teachings didn’t satisfy him and he set out to find his own path. His father hoped that his son would one day become a great king. Historian says that the prince was kept away from all forms of religious knowledge and had no idea about the concepts of old age, sickness and death. Once on a trip through the city on a chariot he witnessed an old man, a diseased person, and a corpse. This new knowledge about the sufferings in the world gave rise to several questions within his mind and the prince soon renounced all his worldly affairs in order to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Finally after years of rigorous contemplation and meditation, he found Enlightenment, and became the Buddha, meaning “awakened one" or "the enlightened one". Biography and Life Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati. .  Narada 1992, p. 14. By tradition, he is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces built for him. Although more recent scholarship doubts this status, his father, said to be King Śuddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human suffering. When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of the same age named Yaśodharā. She gave birth to a son, named Rāhula. Siddhartha is said to have spent 29 years as a prince in Kapilavastu. Having spent all of his life confined to his palace, young Siddhartha grew curious and asked a charioteer to take him on a tour of the city. While travelling through the city he came across an old crippled man, a sick man, a dead man, and a holy man with no home. These sights shocked him as he had no prior knowledge about the concepts of sickness, old age, death, and asceticism. The charioteer explained to him that sickness, aging and death were a part and parcel of life, and that some people renounce their worldly life in order to seek answers to questions regarding human sufferings. Siddhartha was very troubled after witnessing these sights. The opulence of palace life no longer interested him and he realized that he had to seek the ultimate truth. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that material wealth was not life's ultimate goal. . Narada 1992, p. 14. The turning point in Siddhartha’s life was attaining nirvana. Nirvana is a Sanskrit noun often translated as “extinction” which signifies the act and effect of blowing at something, to put it out: to blow out or to extinguish. The process itself along with its outcome is also part of the meaning of nirvana: becoming extinguished, blowing out, calming down. The Encyclopædia Britannica define Nirvana is the extinguishing of the "fires" . (1) Desire/Thirst, (2) Anger and (3) Delusion. They are all kinds of energy and are called 'fires' because, untamed, they can rage through us and hurt us and other people too! Properly calmed through spiritual training, however, they can be transformed into the genuine warmth of real humanity. of desire, hatred, and ignorance, that keep the cycle of suffering and rebirth going. . Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 October 2014. Nirvana is also regarded as the "end of the world", in that no personal identity or boundaries of the mind remain. In such a state, a being is said to possess the Ten Characteristics, belonging to every Buddha. The religious use of the word nirvana seems to be earlier than Buddhism itself and may have been introduced into Buddhism along with many other religious elements associated with the sramanas movements. In this peaceful state of Nirvana he began to examine the true nature of life. "What is the cause of suffering,” he asked himself, “and what is the path to everlasting joy?" In his mind's eye he looked far beyond his own country, far beyond his own world. Soon the sun, planets, the stars out in space and distant galaxies of the universe all appeared to him in his meditation. He saw how everything, from the smallest speck of dust to the largest star was linked together in a constantly changing pattern: growing, decaying and growing again. Everything was related. Nothing happened without a cause and every cause had an effect on everything else. According to some sutras of the Pali canon, “at the time of his awakening he realized complete insight into the Four Noble Truths, thereby attaining liberation from samsara, the endless cycle of rebirth, suffering and dying again.” 4. Williams (2002), p. 74-75. According to scholars, this story of the awakening and the stress on "liberating insight" is a later development in the Buddhist tradition, where the Buddha may have regarded the practice of dhyana as leading to Nirvana and moksha. . Bronkhorst (1993), p. 99-100, 102-111 Scholars have noted inconsistencies in the presentations of the Buddha's enlightenment, and the Buddhist path to liberation, in the oldest sutras. These inconsistencies show that the Buddhist teachings evolved, either during the lifetime of the Buddha, or there-after. In the historical context, we found the great influence of Buddha’s teaching on Sanatana Dharma. According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana, or the final deathless state, and abandon his earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha.[web 18] Mettanando and von Hinüber argue that the Buddha died of mesenteric infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning. .   Mettanando 2000. Influence of Buddha on Sanatana Dharma At the time of his enlightenment he gained complete insight into the cause of suffering, and the steps necessary to eliminate it. He called these steps the "Four Noble Truths". . (1) The Noble Truth of Suffering (2) The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering (3) The Noble Truth of Cessation of Suffering (4) The Noble Truth of the Way leading to the Cessation of Suffering: Legend has it that initially Buddha was reluctant to spread his knowledge to others as he was doubtful of whether the common people would understand his teachings. But then the king of gods, Brahma, convinced Buddha to teach, and he set out to do that. He went to the Deer Park in Isipatana where he found the five companions who had earlier abandoned him. He preached his first sermon to them and the others who had gathered there. In his sermon, he focused on the Four Noble Truths: Dukkha (suffering), Samudaya (cause for suffering), Nirodha (state of mind free from suffering) and Marga (way to end suffering). He further explained the Marga in his Eightfold Path to end the cravings which cause suffering. He taught that “Truth” is found through the Middle Way by way of the Noble Eightfold Path. The path includes Right Viewpoint, Right Values, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, and Right Mindfulness among others. Gautama Buddha spent the rest of his life travelling, teaching a diverse range of people from nobles to criminals. . The Noble Eight fold Path. (1) Right View. (2) Right Thought. (3) Right Speech. (4) Right Action. (5) Right Livelihood. (6) Right Effort (7) Right Mindfulness. (8) Right Concentration. Buddhist scholars have presented different viewpoints on the relationship between Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and the teachings in Buddhist texts. .  White 2014, pp. 31-43, Chapter 2.,  Peter Heehs (2002), Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience, New York University Press, ISBN 978-0814736500, pages 136-142 and Michele Desmarais (2008), Changing Minds: Mind, Consciousness And Identity In Patanjali'S Yoga-Sutra, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120833364, pages 72-81 with footnote Karel Werner says, "Patanjali's system is unthinkable without Buddhism. As far as its terminology goes there is much in the Yoga Sutras that reminds us of Buddhist formulations from the Pāli Canon and even more so from the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma and from Sautrāntika." .  Karel Werner (1994), The Yogi and the Mystic. Routledge, ISBN 978-0700702725, page 26 He adds, "upon the whole Yoga sutras is more elaborate and summarizes the actual technique of Yoga procedures more exactly than the Buddhist exposition". .  Karel Werner (1998), Yoga and the Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120816091, page 131 However, states Werner, "The Buddha was the founder of his system, even though, admittedly, he made use of some of the experiences he had previously gained under various Yoga teachers of his time. Patanjali is neither a founder nor a leader of a new movement. The ingenuity of his achievement lies in the thoroughness and completeness with which all the important stages of Yoga practice and mental experiences are included in his scheme and in their systematic presentation in a succinct treatise." .  Ibid, page 131 Werner adds that the ideas of existence and the focus on "Self, Soul" in Patajali's Yoga Sutra are different from the "no Self" precepts of Buddhism. . Karel Werner (1994), The Yogi and the Mystic. Routledge, ISBN 978-0700702725, pages 120-125, 139-145 According to David Gordon White, the language of the Yoga Sutras is often closer to "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, the Sanskrit of the early Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, than to the classical Sanskrit of other Hindu scriptures". .  White 2014, p. 10. He adds, historical evidence suggests that yoga philosophical systems influenced, and were influenced by, other philosophical systems in India such as early Buddhism and Jainism. . Ibid, p. 19 White mentions controversies about the Yoga Sutras. A significant minority of scholars, notes White for example, believes that Vyasa lived a few centuries after Patanjali and his commentary subverted Yoga Sutras' original "Buddhist" teachings; while the majority scholarly view disagrees with this view. . Ibid, p. 40-41, Quote: "A significant minority opinion, however, maintains that Vyasa lived several centuries later, and that his "Hindu-izing" commentary, rather than elucidating Patanjali’s text, actually subverted its original "Buddhist" teachings." Other scholars state there are differences between the teachings in the Yoga Sutras and those in Buddhist texts. . Peter Heehs (2002), Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience, New York University Press, ISBN 978-0814736500, pages 136-142& . Michele Desmarais (2008), Changing Minds: Mind, Consciousness And Identity In Patanjali'S Yoga-Sutra, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120833364, pages 72-81 Patanjali's Yoga Sutras for example, states Michele Desmarias, accept the concept of a Self or soul behind the operational mind, while Buddhists do not accept such a Self exists. The role of Self is central to the idea of Saṃyoga, Citta, Self-awareness and other concepts in Chapters 2 through 4 of the Yoga sutras, according to Desmarias. At the time when Siddhartha Gautama lived, Northern India was composed of numerous and small independent states competing for resources. This was a time when the traditional religious order in India was being challenged by a number of new philosophical and religious schools that were not in line with the orthodox Indian religious views. The Vedic philosophy, theology and metaphysics, along with its ever growing complexity of rituals and sacrificial fees, were being questioned. Materialistic schools were running wild in India, undermining the reputation and authority of the priestly class, leading to a temporary religious anarchy which contributed to the development of new religions. By the time Siddhartha Gautama was born, the intellectual decay of the old Brahmanic orthodoxy had begotten a strong skepticism and moral vacuum which was filled by new religious and philosophical views. The realization that he, like anyone else, could be subject to different forms of human suffering drove siddhartha into a personal crisis. Some scholars write that Siddhartha’s ideas have some similarities with the work of Rishi Kapila, founder of Samkhya Darshan, an Indian sage who lived probably about two centuries earlier. Both were concerned with providing humanity with a relief from suffering. They discarded the remedies proposed by the Vedic rites, especially the sacrifices; they considered these rites to be cruel because of their strong connection with the slaughter of living beings. Both of them believed that knowledge and meditation were the true means of salvation. Also, they both strived to attain a state of human perfection and their approach was purely agnostic. However, the parallels go no further. Kapila organized his views in a system of philosophy that has not a hint of sympathy for mankind in general. The Buddha, on the other hand, delivered his message with a living, all-embracing sympathy and a deep concern for the poor and the oppressed. He preached in favour of the equality of men and opposed inequalities and abuses of the caste system. Teachings of Buddha The teachings of Buddha may be explained that 'Not to do any evil; to cultivate good; to purify one's heart - this is the teaching of all the Buddhas.' Although Buddhists highly value such virtues as loving kindness, humanity, patience and giving, perhaps they value wisdom and compassion most of all. The idea of ahimsa or harmlessness is very closely connected with compassion. The compassionate desire to cause no harm to all beings including animals, plants and the world in general. In all things Buddhism places great stress on self-reliance and the Buddha himself told his followers not to believe without questioning, but to test it for themselves. Buddhism is also a very practical religion and aims at helping people to live their lives peacefully. Buddhists also try to practice the Buddhist virtues actively in their everyday lives. The final goal of all Buddhist practice is to bring about that same awakening that the Buddha himself achieved through an active transformation of the heart and passions and the letting go of I. Buddha found the answer of his quest during his enlightenment,. He discovered three great truths and explained these truths in a simple way so that everyone could understand them. 1. Nothing is lost in the universe: The first truth is that nothing is lost in the universe. Matter turns into energy, energy turns into matter. A dead leaf turns into soil. A seed sprouts and becomes a new plant. Old solar systems disintegrate and turn into cosmic rays. We are born of our parents; our children are born of us. We are the same as plants, as trees, as other people, as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around us, we are the same as everything. If we destroy something around us, we destroy ourselves. If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves. Understanding this truth, the Buddha and his disciples never killed any animal. 2. Everything Changes: The second universal truth of the Buddha is that everything is continuously changing. Life is like a river flowing on and on, ever-changing. Sometimes it flows slowly and sometimes swiftly. It is smooth and gentle in some places, but later on snags and rocks crop up out of nowhere. As soon as we think we are safe, something unexpected happens. Once dinosaurs, mammoths, and saber-toothed tigers roamed this earth. They all died out, yet this was not the end of life. Other life forms like smaller mammals appeared, and eventually humans, too. Now we can even see the Earth from space and understand the changes that have taken place on this planet. Our ideas about life also change. People once believed that the world was flat, but now we know that it is round. 3. Law of Cause and Effect: The third universal truth explained by the Buddha is that there is continuous changes due to the law of cause and effect. This is the same law of cause and effect found in every modern science textbook. In this way, science and Buddhism are alike. The law of cause and effect is known as karma. Nothing ever happens to us unless we deserves it. We receive exactly what we earn, whether it is good or bad. We are the way we are now due to the things we have done in the past. Our thoughts and actions determine the kind of life we can have. If we do good things, in the future good things will happen to us. If we do bad things, in the future bad things will happen to us. Every moment we create new karma by what we say, do, and think. If we understand this, we do not need to fear karma. It becomes our friend. It teaches us to create a bright future. . http://online.sfsu.edu/rone/Buddhism/footsteps.htm The Buddha said in Dhammapada that "The kind of seed sown   will produce that kind of fruit.   Those who do good will reap good results.   Those who do evil will reap evil results.   If you carefully plant a good seed,   You will joyfully gather good fruit."              According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished: .   Bronkhorst (1993), p. vii. "Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a considerable part of the Nikayic materials;"[ .  Well-known proponents of the first position are A.K. Warder] & [ According to A.K. Warder, in his 1970 publication "Indian Buddhism"], from the oldest extant texts a common kernel can be drawn out. . Warder, (1999) According to Warder, c.q. his publisher: "This kernel of doctrine is presumably common Buddhism of the period before the great schisms of the fourth and third centuries BC. It may be substantially the Buddhism of the Buddha himself, although this cannot be proved: at any rate it is a Buddhism presupposed by the schools as existing about a hundred years after the parinirvana of the Buddha, and there is no evidence to suggest that it was formulated by anyone else than the Buddha and his immediate followers."5 and Richard Gombrich. .  Bronkhorst (1997), p. viii. Richard Gombrich: "I have the greatest difficulty in accepting that the main edifice is not the work of a single genius. By "the main edifice" I mean the collections of the main body of sermons, the four Nikāyas, and of the main body of monastic rules." . Gombrich, (1997) "Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism;"[ .  A proponent of the second position is Ronald Davidson.] & [ .  Ronald Davidson: "While most scholars agree that there was a rough body of sacred literature (disputed) (sic) that a relatively early community (disputed)(sic) maintained and transmitted, we have little confidence that much, if any, of surviving Buddhist scripture is actually the word of the historic Buddha.] "Cautious optimism in this respect."[ .  Well-known proponent of the third position are: * J.W. de Jong: "It would be hypocritical to assert that nothing can be said about the doctrine of earliest Buddhism [...] the basic ideas of Buddhism found in the canonical writings could very well have been proclaimed by him [the Buddha], transmitted and developed by his disciples and, finally, codified in fixed formulas." * Johannes Bronkhorst: "This position is to be preferred to (ii) for purely methodological reasons: only those who seek may find, even if no success is guaranteed." * Donald Lopez: "The original teachings of the historical Buddha are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover or reconstruct. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… * Professor, Value Education, Peace and Harmony Education, [email protected], A705, Ballajee Foister Heights, Crossing Republik, Ghaziabad, UP. Mobile: 8527630124. ] It seems ironic that a man whose career was largely based on believing and teaching the oneness of mankind and the equality among people, ended up being worshipped and elevated to the status of a god by some of his followers. As strange as this may sound, this is what happened in some Buddhist circles, particularly in India. The Buddha, originally considered a human being (wise and extraordinary, but only a man), gradually entered into the pantheon of the Hindu gods and came to be regarded as one of the many manifestations of the god Vishnu. A man of tolerance, intelligence, compassion, peace, what harm could it do to worship him as a deity? His followers perhaps thought that by making him a god the Buddha would become more special, his image more powerful and unique. However, in a tradition like in India filled with endless gods and goddesses everywhere, to make him a god was also to make him ordinary, just one more god among thousands. Moreover, his image became to coexist with myth, ritual and superstition that corrupted his original message. Eventually, the Buddha was swallowed up by the realm of Hindu gods, his importance diminished and Buddhism finally died out in the land where it was born.[WR6] So complete was the destruction of Buddhism in India during ancient times, that when western scholars rediscovered Buddhism, the records they relied on came from countries near and around India: no valuable records were kept in the home of Buddhism. The message of the Buddha vanished from its homeland, just as Jesus Christ failed to perform his miracles in his own home town, but it remained alive in almost every other part of Asia and from Asia it spread to the rest of the world. [WR] The development of scientific logic Buddha seems to be more relevant and has a scientific base of reasoning. At last, I would like to quote some teachings : जैसे मैं हूँ, वैसे ही वे हैं, और ‘जैसे वे हैं, वैसा ही मैं हूं। इस प्रकार सबको अपने जैसा समझकर न किसी को मारें, न मारने को प्रेरित करें। Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. अतीत पे ध्यान मत दो, भविष्य के बारे में मत सोचो, अपने मन को वर्तमान क्षण पे केन्द्रित करो. Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others. अपने मोक्ष के लिए खुद ही प्रयत्न करें. दूसरों पर निर्भर ना रहे. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bechert, Heinz, ed. (1991–1997),The dating of the historical Buddha (Symposium), vol. 1-3, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Borges, J, Siete Noches (Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1980). Bronkhorst, Johannes (1993),The Two Traditions of Meditation In Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass Buswell Jr, R.E, Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Macmillan Library Reference, 2013). Buswell, R.E, The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton University Press, 2013). Durant, W, Our oriental heritage; (Simon & Schuster, 1963). Frye, S, Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish (Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1981). Gombrich, Richard F (1988),Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, Routledge and Kegan Paul Irons, E. A, Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Checkmark Books, 2008). Karel Werner (1994), The Yogi and the Mystic. Routledge, ISBN 978-0700702725, Mettanando, Bhikkhu; Hinueber, Oskar von (2000), "The Cause of the Buddha's Death" , Journal of the Pali Text Society XXVI: 105–118, on 9 April 2015 Narada (1992), A Manual of Buddhism, Buddha Educational Foundation, ISBN 967-9920-58-5 Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. Eighth Reprint Edition. (University of Calcutta: 1984). p. 5, Warder, Anthony K. (1998). "Lokayata, Ajivaka, and Ajnana Philosophy". A Course in Indian Philosophy (2nd ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 45. ISBN 9788120812444. WEB REFERENCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha http://online.sfsu.edu/rone/Buddhism/footsteps.htm http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/buddha.htm http://buddhism.about.com/od/lifeofthebuddha/a/buddhalife.htm http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666 http://www.ancient.eu/Siddhartha_Gautama/ http://www.achhikhabar.com/2013/05/15/bhagwan-buddha-life-essay-biography-in-hindi/ End notes: 10 | Budhha – Surendra Pathak