-
Introduction
-
Buddha
-
Teachings
-
Dharma and Nirvana
-
Sangha
-
Concept of God
-
Sacred Writings
-
Rituals and Holidays
-
Schools and Divisions
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
Buddhism is one of
the world’s major religions which claims more than 300 million
adherents. It is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha and
sprang as a heresy from Hinduism in North India in the 6th
century B.C. Buddhism spread rapidly over whole of North East and
North West of India in the beginning but it could not stand the
assaults of Brahmanism and lost its influence in a few centuries
in its country of birth unlike other heresy, the Jainism, which
still survives in India.
Buddhism literally
means religion of those seeking to be awakened. Today it is
practiced throughout most of East and South Asia in countries like
China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Burma, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Bhutan, Vietnam
and Taiwan.
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
The founder of
Buddhism is believed to be Hindu Prince Siddhartha (563 B.C. – 483
B.C.) whose clan or family name was Gautama and title is Buddha
meaning the “Enlightened One”. The life of Buddha is little known
from history and more known through the traditions of his
followers. The most famous of these traditions are from the Jataka
Tales, a compilation written in second century B.C. in the Pali
language.
Siddhartha Gautama
was born in Kapilavastu in what is now southern Nepal near the
foothills of Himalayas about 563 B.C. His father’s name was
Shuddhodona and mother’s name was Maya. His father belonged to
warrior Hindu caste of Kshatriya and was a wealthy ruler of the
important Shakya tribe. According to a tradition, it was predicted
at Siddhartha’s birth that he would be either a great universal
teacher or a great universal emperor, and that four signs would
show him which course he should follow. His father was determined
that Siddhartha should succeed him and become a universal emperor,
so he took great care that his son should not see the four sings
which would show him the misery of the world and become a teacher.
Siddhartha was, therefore, brought up in luxury in the palace. He
married his cousin Yasodhara, at the age of 20, whom he won in a
mighty contest of skill and strength against many strong young
men. From her he had a son Rahula.
At the age of 29,
in-spite of his father’s efforts, he finally had a series of four
visions which were to decide his future course of life. In the
first vision, he saw an old man. In the second, he saw a sick man,
and in the third, a corpse. In the fourth vision, he met a
wandering holy man. The first three visions convinced Gautama that
life involves aging, sickness, and death. The vision of the holy
man convinced Gautama that he should leave his wife and newborn
son, Rahula, and seek religious enlightenment. Such enlightenment
would free him from life’s suffering.
One night when all
were sleeping he slipped out of the palace and rode off on his
faithful horse Kanthaka, whose hooves were cushioned by the gods
to prevent any noise. When far from the city, he took off his fine
clothing and donned the habit of a monk. Setting out alone he
began his great search for enlightenment and the solution to the
problem of escaping from the universal impermanence and sorrow of
the world. This search, known in Buddhist tradition as The Noble
Quest, began with a period of wandering, but before long
Siddhartha settled in the forest as a hermit. There he learned the
techniques of meditation and self-discipline. But these gave him
no satisfaction, and he soon joined a band of five ascetics in the
hope that extreme self-mortification might bring insight and
peace. He practiced extreme forms of self-denial and self torture.
He lived in filth and many days ate only a grain of rice. After
six years of incredible austerities, having still failed to find
the object of his quest, he departed from the ascetics and began a
more natural way of living.1
One day Siddhartha
Gautama, now thirty-five years old, (528 B.C) seated himself
beneath a large bo tree or Bodhi tree (a kind of pipal tree) on
the outskirts of the town of Gaya in eastern India and vowed that
he would not leave his place until the riddle of suffering was
solved. For forty-nine days he sat beneath the tree. The friendly
gods and spirits surrounding him fled when the tempter Mara, the
Buddhist devil, approached. For days the bodhisattva (future
Buddha) Siddhartha withstood temptations and attacks of all kinds.
Mara called his demon hosts and attacked the meditating Gautama
with whirlwind, flood, and earthquake. He had his daughters
Desire, Pleasure, and Passion dance seductively before Gautama but
Gautama was not moved. When Mara called on him to produce evidence
of his goodness and benevolence, the bodhisattva touched the
ground with his hand, and with a voice like thunder the earth
intoned, “I am his witness.” At last Mara and his demons fled, and
on the morning of the forty-ninth day Siddhartha Gautama knew the
truth. He had solved the riddle of suffering and knew what man had
to do to overcome it. Fully enlightened, he was now a Buddha. He
had achieved nirvana, the ultimate detachment from the world that
brings an end to suffering.2
After meditating
beneath the tree for forty-nine days more, he at last arose and
traveled to the Deer Park near Banaras, where he found the five
ascetics with whom he had lived. To them he preached his first
sermon, or, in Buddhist terminology, “set in motion the Wheel of
the Law.” The Buddha soon gained many disciples. His favorite
beings his cousin Ananda. From among these he organized his
monastic community, the sangha, which consisted of an order of
monks (bhikkus, literally “beggars”). Later a lesser order of nuns
was also established although in the beginning Buddha had refused
to receive women into the community. He observed however, that a
religion of men would last 1000 years while one which includes
women would last 500 years only. To his ordained disciples he
taught the full discipline for understanding the release from
suffering and for achieving nirvana. To lay adherents of his faith
he gave instruction in ethical living. He traveled widely
throughout the Ganges Plain preaching the new doctrine, returning
home briefly to convert his family and much of the royal court. In
time he came to be known as Bhagava “Lord”), Tathagatha (“he who
has come”), and Shakyamuni (“Sage of the Shakya tribe”).3
For the most part
the Buddha and his followers were not persecuted. One story,
however, tells that the Buddha’s cousin Devadatta was jealous and
tried to kill the Buddha by letting a mad elephant loose in his
path. The Buddha stopped the elephant with his gentleness, and the
beast knelt before him.4
As Buddha’s fame
increased, stories spread among his followers that dramatically
described his magic powers, religious insight, and compassion. His
followers believed that Buddha had lived many lives before he was
born as Gautama. A number of stories describe events that occurred
during these lives. The stories, called Jatakas, became popular
and helped people understand Buddha’s message.5
At the age of
about 80 (in the year 483 B.C.) Buddha became ill after eating
contaminated pork served to him by a lay disciple and died. His
disciples gave him an elaborate funeral, burned his body, and
distributed his bones as sacred relics. Many Buddhists believe his
power is still present in these relics and in the many images of
Buddha.6
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
The teachings of
Buddhism consist of the “Four Noble Truths” which are: the fact of
existence of suffering; that suffering has a cause (which is
desire): that it can be ended; and that it can be ended by
following the Noble Eightfold Path. The steps or rules of the
Noble Eightfold Path are: right views; right desires; right
speech; right conduct, including abstinence from immorality as
well as from taking life; right livelihood, harming no one; right
effort; right awareness, and right contemplation or meditation. We
would discuss these teachings in detail in the following
paragraphs:
The Four Noble
Truths:
1. The First Noble Truth is in the fact of
suffering.
Birth is
suffering; decay is suffering; illness is suffering; death, …
presence of objects we hate, … separation from objects we love, …
not to obtain what we desire is suffering … clinging to existence
is suffering.
Birth is
uncomfortable, both to the mother and to the child, although the
child does not consciously remember it. The birth of a new idea,
of a new “self” or personality, can also be quite painful; for old
habits and old ideas are difficult to discard. Decay also is
painful, whether it is decay of a tooth or decay of one’s morale
and confidence. Illness is uncomfortable, both mentally and
physically. Both death and the fear of death, for ourselves and
for others, constitute suffering. Either the presence of objects
we hate or the absence of objects we love is a painful experience.
Gautama believed that this suffering was felt by a man who was out
of harmony with life. “If I am not living harmoniously, it is
because I have not learned to accept the world as it is. Perhaps I
am expecting from the world things that I have no right to expect.
Perhaps I am clinging too strongly to one part of my world thus
losing touch with the total picture.7
2. The second
Noble Truth is the cause of suffering. Buddha is reported to have
said:
Now this is the
Noble Truth as to origin of suffering. It is the craving thirst
that causes the renewal of becomings. This craving thirst is
accompanied by sensual delights and seeks satisfaction, now here,
now there. It takes the form of craving for the gratification of
the senses, or the craving for prosperity.8
This craving is
actually excessive desires and aspirations (trishna). The craving
leads on to rebirth, is accompanied by delights and passion,
rejoicing at finding delight here and there. It is the craving for
lust, for existence, for non-existence. It may be a craving for
food, for popularity, for success. Desire is self-defeating. For
it can never be completely satisfied and always involves
frustration. We can never really possess what is not our self,
something external to us. Thus, these first two truths set the
pessimistic tone that life is suffering and that the cause of
suffering is desire or the appetites that nourish desire.
The third and
forth Noble Truth are, however, more optimistic in tone, for they
offer a solution to the problem of suffering and its cause.
3. Third is the
Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering. This is the cessation
of craving by forsaking and relinquishing it so that one is freed
from it. Craving or desire can be suppressed, and since it is the
cause of suffering, with the disappearance of desire, suffering
will end.
4. The Fourth
Noble Truth constitutes the process by which one can achieve this
end of suffering. It is known as the Noble or Holy Eightfold Path
which makes the essence of Buddhist discipline. The steps of this
Eightfold path are: Right views; right thought or aspirations;
right speech; right conduct; right livelihood; right effort; right
mindfulness; right contemplation.
The Noble
Eightfold Path:
1. The first step
toward happiness, Gautama said, is the right view point on
unhappiness. Before a person can make any progress, he must look
at his problem for what it is. When he sees that it is his
ignoring of the true facts of his life that causes his trouble,
and when he has accepted his responsibility for that trouble, then
he has entered upon the Path. Gautama did not claim to have found
an original way to happiness. He described it as being very
ancient. But he felt that most people were not aware of it.9
Gautama said that
so long as we see life from the wrong viewpoint we will go on
craving things as though the things would make us happy. This is a
way of deceiving ourselves. We must learn to see for ourselves why
it is a delusion. Then we are ready to take the second step, which
Gautama called right aspiration.10
2. Everyone
aspires after something. The trouble is that most of us, in our
confused mental and emotional condition, have aspired after the
wrong things. We have not focused our desires and efforts on
worth-while objectives. But when we renounce false values that
lead us into unhappiness, we are in a position to choose the true
values. The Buddha pointed to kindness and love as being true
values. Such values can be attained only when a person has gone
beyond the point where his primary concern is “I,” “me,” and
“mine.” It is after self-centeredness ceases that true kindness
and love are shown in a free and spontaneous way.11
3. The third step
is right speech. A person following the Buddha’s Path can no
longer take delight in gossip, slander, and abusive or idle talk.
His speech will be controlled, considerate, and thoughtful,
because it stems from kind attitudes toward others. Some people
commit worse crimes through what they say than hardened criminals
do. Gautama recognized, just as modern psychologists do, that this
is a stumbling block to real maturity.12
4. The next step
in the Buddha’s Path is the important step of right behavior.
Gautama did not describe fully the scope of this step. But his
followers gradually drew up lists of the things one was not
supposed to do. One typical list says that a person must not kill,
steal, be impure, lie, or drink intoxicants. However, such
negative commandments are incidental to the importance of what
Gautama said about behavior. He knew that it was much more
important to encourage people to do certain things than to order
them not to do others.13
To Gautama, right
behavior meant love. Gautama taught that “all that we are is the
result of what we have thought.” Therefore, we should not harbor
feelings of resentment or hatred. Feelings and thoughts wreck
chances for happiness, as truly as do actions. “He abused me, he
beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me’ - in those who harbor such
thoughts, hatred will never cease,” warned Gautama. For he had
discovered that “hatred does not cease by hatred at any time;
hatred ceases by love.” And he said at another time, “Let a man
overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good.”14
5. To a man who
was really earnest about finding the true happiness, the fifth
step was the next logical one. It is right livelihood. There were
certain occupations a man could not engage in without damaging
himself and other seriously, Gautama felt. Any business that
involved injuring life in any form was not to be followed. This
included, for Buddhists, the trade of the butcher, of the vendor
of poisons (dopes, drugs, and the like), of the slave trader or
the slave owner. One must not engage in making or distributing
liquors. Neither must one be a soldier.15
6. The sixth step
is a move beyond the level of conduct. It is right effort, and to
the Buddha those words had a special meaning. Right effort means
that one must find for himself his own proper rate of speed on the
Holy Eight-Fold Path to true happiness. A religious seeker must
not move too slowly or too quickly. And there is no happiness to
be gained in trying to keep pace with someone else. You are
yourself, with your own needs and your own tempo. One task in
learning to know our true selves is to learn to travel at our own
best pace.16
7. Gautama’s
seventh emphasis was right mindfulness. He declared that it is the
mind that leads man into most of his disharmonious living.
Physical desires might be distracting, the Buddha admitted, but
usually that is because the vivid imagination creates too many
desires. The desire to eat in itself does not make one unhappy.
Unhappiness develops from excessive eating or excessive desire to
eat. Part of right mindfulness meant learning to see physical
desires and everything else for what they actually were, not as
the imagination had made them appear.17
The Buddha’s aim
was to teach people that objects that appeal to the senses have
power to make us unhappy because they may lead to excessive
desires. He was aware that the average man had a habit of
“idealizing” woman. He urged his followers to overcome this habit
of enslavement to a pretty face. The story is told of a traveler
who once asked a Buddhist monk, “Tell me, have you seen a woman
walking along this way?” The monk replied, “I cannot say whether
it is a woman or a man that passed this way. This I know, that a
set of bones is traveling this road.” This is Buddhist right
mindfulness carried to the extreme.18
8. The final step
in the Path is called right contemplation. Gautama had a great
appreciation for some of the prevailing Yoga practices of his day.
Although he had not found in Yoga the full answer to his questions
about unhappiness, he had been helped by such practices to
“silence” his mind. Therefore, he told his followers of its
values.19
The Yoga
discipline was taught individually. It involved learning how to
quiet the irrelevant thoughts of the mind, until the person could
come directly to knowledge of his own true needs. This
contemplation that Gautama recommended was not a process of
reasoning or logic. It was a different way of knowing – by insight
or intuition. Be cause Gautama recognized that people vary greatly
in temperament, he suggested several dozen modes of training the
mind for right contemplation. These ways were developed by his
followers into the Yoga practices that are still important to many
zealous Buddhists.20
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
Buddhists, like
Hindus, believe in doctrine of incarnation and law of karma.
Buddha preached that existence was a continuing cycle of death and
rebirth. Each person’s position and well-being in life was
determined by his or her behavior in previous lives. For example,
good deeds may lead to rebirth as a wise and wealthy person or as
a being in heaven. A person’s evil deeds may lead to rebirth as a
poor and sickly person or even to rebirth in hell.
Buddhism, however,
added an important qualification to karma-that of intention. In
order for Karma to be generated there must be intention, which
Buddhism considers even more important than the act itself.
Indeed, an unintentional deed produces no Karma at all, whereas if
there is intention, karma is generated even though no act is
performed. Thus, according to Buddhism, karma embraces both the
intention and the actual act that follows on it.
Buddha also taught
that as long as individuals remain within the cycle of death and
rebirth, they can never be completely free from pain and
suffering. Buddha said people could break out of the cycle by
eliminating any attachment to worldly things. By ridding
themselves of such attachment, people would gain a kind of perfect
peace and happiness. Buddha called this state of peace and
happiness nirvana. According to Buddha, those who are willing and
able to follow the Middle way and the Noble Eightfold Path will
conquer their attachment to worldly things and thus achieve
nirvana.21
About Noble
Eightfold Path we have already studied, let us study what is the
middle way.
The Middle Way:
At the Deer Park in the sermon he gave, Buddha said: “There are
two extremes, O Alms-men, which he who has given up the world,
ought to avoid – a life given to pleasure, and a life given to
mortifications. By avoiding these two extremes, the truth-finder
(the Tathagata Buddha’s designation for himself) has gained the
knowledge of the Middle Path, which leads to Enlightenment, to
Nirvana.”
The path that
Gautama had found was one he was to describe as the “Middle Path”
between extremes. The extremes to be avoided were the life of
sensual indulgence on the one hand and the life of drastic
asceticism on the other. Both led to out-of-balance living.
Neither led to the true goal of release from suffering. Gautama
discovered that neither extreme was wise, for neither brings
happiness. Over-indulgence has the same final effect on a person
as has the release of all tension on the strings of a violin.
Extreme self-denial, on the other hand, has the same general
effect as tightening the strings on a violin until they are at the
breaking point. In neither case is there the right attunement.
Harmony is lacking because there is either too little tension or
too much. It was this lack of attunement or harmony that Gautama
considered to be man’s suffering. It was to help men find harmony
within themselves and with the universe that he began to teach.22
Nirvana:
Let us
now explain what the Buddhists understand from Nirvana. The
minimum meaning of Nirvana is the extinction of all craving,
resentment, and covetousness. As we have seen, to the Buddha such
extinction of craving and other improper attitudes was true
happiness. Nirvana has another meaning, which is just as important
to most Buddhists. That is the release from all future
reincarnations, escape from the “Round of Becoming.”
Nirvana is not a
place. It is a condition of the mind. Nirvana is reached after
earnest thoughtfulness and vigorous effort. Thoughtfulness is one
of the chief virtues of Buddhists. Thoughtlessness is deplored.
Buddhists have compared a thoughtless man to a monkey feverishly
searching for food in a forest.23
Nirvana does not
mean the loss of personal consciousness that comes with death, for
Gautama achieved it and then spent many years trying to help
others realize it. However, Buddhists soon found it necessary to
talk about ultimate Nirvana. This could be achieved after one had
died. They called it Parinirvana.24
A truly happy
person is the one who has given the thought and effort necessary
to realize Nirvana. The Buddha did not respect titles or castes –
even the highest castes in India. He said that a man did not reach
happiness by the status of the family into which he was born. Had
not he himself been born a prince and yet been for a time among
the unhappiest of the unhappy? Not by birth, not by wealth, does
one discover how to overcome suffering. By seeking to overcome
unwholesome desires, by keeping to the practical Eight-Fold Path,
by self-knowledge – by these one attains lasting happiness.25
No-Self:
In
Hinduism it was believed that an individual had a permanent self
(atman) that merged at death with a universal self i.e., Brahman.
This merging constituted a salvation, a freeing from the
transmigratory cycle.
In Buddhism,
however, this idea is considered erroneous, and rather than
constituting salvation, is a deterrent to it. The Buddha
maintained that self could only lead to attachment and craving and
suffering.26
The Buddha put
forth the theory of “no – self” (anatman), whereby he maintained
that all tings were made up of parts, that at any one time a thing
was the sum of these parts, or “aggregates” (skandha), as they are
known. The Five Aggregates are: (1) material body (rupa), that is,
the four elements – earth, water, fire, and wind – and matter
derived from them; (2) sensation (vedana), from contacts with the
eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind; (3) perception (samjna),
notions of colors, sounds, odors, tastes, tangible things and
mental images; (4) predisposition (samskara), or volitions,
concerning colors, sounds, odors, tastes, tangible things, and
objects of thought; and (5) consciousness (vijnana), that is,
knowledge established by the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and
mind. As a group they represent the whole of matter (material
body) and mental energies.27
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
When Buddha
started preaching and gained many conversions, he organized his
monastic community the Sangha, which consisted of an order of
monks (bhikhus, literally “beggars”). The Sangha was governed by
simple rules. The wearing of the yellow robes, the adoption of the
shaven head, the carrying of the begging bowl, the habit of daily
meditation were the basic rules which were followed by Sangha. The
Vow prescribed for the monks was: “I take refuge in the Buddha; I
take refuge in the Sangha; I take refuge in the Dharma.” They also
undertook to live by the following ten precepts:28
1.
Refrain from destroying life.
2.
Do not take what is not given.
3.
Abstain from unchastity.
4.
Do not lie or deceive.
5.
Abstain from intoxicants.
6.
Eat moderately and not after noon.
7.
Do not look on at dancing, singing,
or dramatic spectacles.
8.
Do not affect the use of garlands,
scents or ornaments.
9.
Do not use high or broad beds.
10.
Do not accept gold or silver.
The Sangha,
however, became the official term for the Buddhist community
sometime between the 4th and 2nd Century
B.C. The early community was formed of monks, nuns, laymen and
laywomen. There was a strong emphasis on monasticism. Requirements
for entering in the community were in the beginning very simple
such as leaving home, receiving instruction for a time and then
taking vows.
The order of monks
has always had a special role within the sangha. It has played an
important part in preserving and spreading Buddhism. In many
Buddhist groups, the discipline of monastic life is considered
essential to those who seriously seek nirvana. In most Buddhist
countries, monks are expected to live a life of poverty,
meditation, and study. Monks are also expected to avoid sexual
activity. Some Buddhists become monks for life, but others serve
in the Sangha for only short periods of time. The monks wear
special robes and are a common sight in all Buddhist countries.29
The laity also has
an important role in the life of the sangha. Members are expected
to honor Buddha, to follow basic moral rules, and to support the
monks. They are also expected to pay special honor to images of
Buddha and to objects that are associated with him.30
Many of the laity
have influenced the history of Buddhism. During the 200s B.C.,
Asoka, and Indian emperor, made Buddhism a kind of state religion.
He established a tradition that has led to close relations between
religion and government in many Buddhist countries. In 1956, B.R.
Ambedkar, an Indian layman, led a mass conversion that brought
more than 1 million former Hindus in India into the sangha.31
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
In Buddhism, a
universal God plays no part, and hence in many Buddhist nations no
word exists for God who was neither affirmed nor denied by Buddha
himself but simply ignored. Nor did Buddha claim to be other than
a man. For early Buddhists, the Buddha was the same as other
ascetics except for the fact that he was a teacher and was the
founder of the way. Later on, however, Buddha was portrayed by his
followers as divine, much superstition entered the religion,
prayers were addressed to Buddha, rituals were developed, sacred
relics were preserved in stupas and the belief in a succession of
Buddhas was introduced.
About the concept
of God in Buddhism, the Encyclopedia Americana writes:
“Buddhism was born
in the womb of Hinduism but moved in a quite different direction
on the question of God. Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha) taught a
discipline of release from suffering through renunciation of
craving. The path to “enlightenment” was a way of self-reliance
with no expectation of divine aid. Thus the question of God became
irrelevant. It is sometimes held that Gautama’s teaching was
atheistic. In any case, it seems that the issue of God was
irrelevant to his doctrine. However, soon after his death
Gautama’s followers virtually deified him. Theravada Buddhism –
the Buddhism of southern Asia, which claims to be faithful to the
original Buddhist tradition – extols many Buddhas.”
“As Buddhism moved
northward into China and Japan, it developed a quite new form:
Mahayana Buddhism, distinguished by its doctrine of the
bodhisattva. The bodhisattva is the person who has completed the
path of enlightenment and is entitled to break the painful cycle
of reincarnation and enter into Buddhahood. But in an act of
compassion he chooses to rejoin men in their historical existence
in order to help them. Believers may pray to the merciful
bodhisattvas. Mahayana Buddhism is sometimes as luxuriant in its
metaphysical speculation as the earliest form of Buddhism was
spare. The most celebrated of the bodhisattvas is Amida, who
frequently surpasses Gautama Buddha in importance to believers.
The faith in him as a gracious divine saviour has been compared
with the Christian faith in Christ.”
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
The sacred
writings or Holy Scripture of Buddhism is known as Tripitaka or
“Three Baskets”. This tripartite compendium was produced by the
followers of Buddha after his death at three councils – the first
was held immediately after the death of Buddha and last was held
at the order of King Asoka in 244 B.C. Buddha himself wrote
nothing. The traditions which had developed around the Dharma were
collected and compiled in the Tripitaka or Three Baskets which
consist of Vinaya Pitaka, Sutra Pitaka and Abhidharma Pitaka. They
are respectively for the laymen, for monks and for philosophers.
The first part
Vinaya – Pitaka (The Basket of Discipline) is considered to be the
oldest. It deal with the rules for regulating the order of
Buddhist monks. It is a good source for studying the early life
and basic doctrines of the community.
The Sutra – Pitaka
or the Basket of Discourses consists of dialogues between the
Buddha and his disciples. It concerns the Dharma as it is revealed
by the Buddha in answers to various questions put to him by his
devotees. It is believed to have been arranged as far back as the
3d century. B.C. It is divided into sections and further into
sub-sections.
Third is the
Abhidharma – Pitaka or the Basket of Scholastic elaboration. It
contains later and more systematic discussions of Dharma. It was
compiled after the split of Buddhism in Theravada and Sarvastivada
schools.
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
The Buddhist
clergy consists of monks and nuns. The temple is governed by an
abbot or senior monk. The temple arranges lectures for the local
population. In china and Japan, it also organizes schools and
dispensaries and engages in social work. In Southeast Asia, monks
give the laity sermons for right living. They are present at the
tonsure ceremony of the child when he reaches puberty, at the
entry of a young man into the order, and at funeral where they
chant sutras and offer prayers. In Japan, Zen Temples are popular
as retreats for meditation.
Ritual differs
according to sect. Shingon ritual includes prayers, intoned by the
priest and followed by the congregation; hymns; the worship of a
variety of holy images; and the chanting by the priests, of
sutras. Amidists worship statues of Amitabha (Amida) and less
frequently those of the historical Buddha. The Zen sect, while
concentrating on meditation, also include sutra readings in its
ritual.
In Buddhism there
is no international church comparable to Vatican in case of Roman
Catholic sect of Christianity. However, the Chinese Buddhist
Association, organized in 1953, is an effort, in China, to bring
all clergy and laymen into one organization for the purpose of
government supervision. In Burma there is a council made up of
leading Buddhists and laymen. In Thailand a ”ruler of the
Community” (sangharaja) is chosen by the heads of the main
monastic groups, approved by the ministry of education, and
appointed by the king.32
Holy Days:
There are no regular days of worship corresponding to the
Christian Sunday. However, there are frequent lectures, festivals,
and holy days.33
Principal holy
days are (1) the Buddha’s birthday, celebrated, in China and
Japan, usually on the 8th day of the 4th
month. The day is marked by processions in which a statue of the
Buddha is borne. The statue is bathed by ladling water or tea over
it, a practice stemming from the legend that the historical Buddha
was bathed at birth by heavenly beings. Paper flowers are
scattered, and incense is burned. In Southeast Asia, Wesak,
usually in May, commemorates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment,
and death. (2) In Japan and China, the Feast of the Dead usually
takes place on the 15th day of the 7th
month. The spirits of the dead are taken from the tombs, returned
to the temples for three days (Japan), where they are worshipped,
and then once more returned to their tombs, (3) Vegetarian feasts
(China and Japan) are usually held at midday on such occasions as
the Buddha’s birthday in honor of deceased patriarchs or eminent
monks, deliverance from calamity, and prayers for one or another
boon. Both laymen and clergy take part in these feasts. (4) In the
countries of Southeast Asia, the New year’s festival with its many
colorful amusements, processions, and dances, and the offering of
robes and alms to monks at the end of the rainy season, are
important event in the Buddhist religious calendar.34
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
Buddhism is not
practiced in same way as it was in the era of the great Buddha.
Different area (which are under its sway) show different
adjustments, both to indigenous religions and to local ideas. The
main division in Buddhism are Theravada or Hinayana (Lesser
vehicle) which prevails in the countries of South East Asia, and
Mahayana (Greater vehicle) which dominates in North Asia. Lamaism
in Tibet and Zen in Japan are the sects of the latter.
The Theravada
or Hinyana:
The word Theravada means way of the Elders. The Theravada school
is the only one of the early Buddhist schools that has survived.
Today, it is the dominant religious tradition in Burma, Kampuchea,
Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The Theravadans emphasize the
importance of Buddha as a historical figure, the virtues of the
monastic life, and the authority of the Tripitaka.35
Theravada Buddhism
essentially is a discipline of salvation in which the individual
is responsible for his own progress. It applies only to those who
join the Community of monks and nuns. The monks and nuns
concentrate on accumulating good karma by performing good acts.
This karma is nontransferable and applies only to the one who
performs the acts. The ideal toward which the practitioner strives
is to become an arhat, or perfect saint, who practices the
religious life for himself, not for others. The follower of
Mahayana (Great Vehicle) applied the name Hinayana, or “Lesser
Vehicle,” to Theravada, which they considered to be an inferior
means to salvation.36
Mahayana:
In contrast to Hinayana, Mahayana offers salvation to all, not to
the few. Fundamental is the doctrine that all have the potential
of enlightenment. The emphasis is on faith and belief in the
Buddha, and this contrasts with the emphasis on discipline that
characterizes Hinayana. Individual striving of Hinayana is
replaced by a broad love of man manifest in the fundamental
virtues of Mahayana-compassion, charity, and altruism.37
The ideal being of
the Mahayana is the bodhisattva, the “being destined for
enlightenment,” in contrast with the Hinayana arhat who follows
his lonely religious discipline. The bodhisattva is qualified for
nirvana by virtue of the merit of his past good deeds, but he
postpones his entry into this state in order to help all sentient
beings toward enlightenment. There is a belief that the
bodhisattva can transfer some of his merit to those needing it,
and he is willing thus to sacrifice himself. He is the ideal of
universal compassion (karuna) through self-sacrifice. The
bodhisattva is thought to represent one or another trait of the
Buddha – compassion, wisdom, virtue – and since these traits are
numerous there are many bodhisattvas.38
As for the Buddha
himself, Theravada had conceived of him as a human teacher. He was
an actual, if heroic, man, subject to the laws of life and death.
Mahayana conceives of him as an eternal being, an embodiment of
absolute truth and not subject to life and death. He may, however,
manifest himself in time and in human form, as he did in the case
of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. He does this to save
humanity. He has appeared on numerous occasions before Shakyamuni
and he will do so again in the future.39
Most Mahayanists
accept the Tripitaka, but they believe that their own scriptures
reveal a higher level of truth. The Mahayanists teach various ways
in which the laity, as well as monks, can achieve nirvana.
Zen:
Zen is
practiced chiefly in Japan. It originated in China, where it is
called Chan. Zen accepts most Mahayanan doctrines and emphasizes a
close relationship between a master and his disciples. However,
Zen has developed distinctive practices that are designed to lead
to a state of spiritual enlightenment called satori. Many
followers of Zen believe that satori comes in a sudden flash of
insight. Others believe that satori must be achieved gradually
through a long process of self-discipline, meditation, and
instruction.40
Lamaism:
The
form that Buddhism has assumed in Tibet and Mongolia is known as
Lamaism. It is close to Mahayana school of Buddhism. Lama means
“One who is superior”. This is usually applied by the westerners
to all members of the Tibetan clergy whereas the Tibetan people
reserve this title for their ruler, Dalai Lama, for abbots of
monasteries and for high – ranking teachers famous for learning.
Lamaism is a vital force in Tibet where considerable population
lives in Lamaseries which are religious establishments as well as
seats of political influence and learning.
[Back
to the start of this chapter]
REFERENCES
1 to
4- Collier’s Encyclopedia
5,
6- World Book Encyclopedia
7 to
20- Great Religions By Which Men Live
21- World Book Encyclopedia
22 to
25- Great Religions By Which Men Live
26,
27- Encyclopedia Americana
28- Islam and World Religions
29 to
31- World Book Encyclopedia
32 to
39- Encyclopedia Americana
40- World Book Encyclopedia
[Back
to the start of this chapter] |