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Chapter outcomes In this chapter, students: ã outline the cultural and historical context in which Buddhism began ã examine the principal events in the Buddha’s life and explain why the Buddha is the model of Buddhist life ã describe the early formation of the sangha within the first five years and identify the importance of the first two councils in the development of Buddhism ã outline the unique features of the major schools of Buddhismã investigate the principal teachings of Buddhism ã identify the importance of the Tripitaka , the Lotus of the Good Law and the Tibetan Book of the Dead , and examine extracts from these sacred texts and writings that demonstrate the principal beliefs of Buddhism ã outline the principal ethical teachings in Buddhism and describe their importance in the life of adherentsã outline puja as celebrated in the home. 17 Chapter 2: Buddhism Introduction Buddhism is a living world religion that has appeared in many different forms since it began some time during the sixth to fifth centuries BCE in north-eastern India. Originally a response to the demands of different cultural groups in India, it spread rapidly throughout Asia and absorbed cultural and religious elements from a variety of cultures. In this way, Buddhism became the very vibrant and rich religious movement it remains today. Buddhism has always been successful in adapting to new cultures because people can practise it in many different ways, and on many different levels. Each level or way of practice gives meaning to the person and leads to a particular lifestyle—monks or nuns, laypeople, even those who simply practise a form of Buddhist meditation and are vegetarians (many Australians would fall into the last category). While the Western understanding of Buddhism is characterised by a preference for some of its philosophical traditions, this is only one aspect of a complex religion. Buddhism is extremely rich—we need to be aware of the tension between its various forms throughout history and the tendency to simplify it doctrinally. Buddhism can be approached from many different perspectives. To fully understand Buddhism we need to recognise its different levels—both intellectual and popular—which contain a series of highly intellectualised beliefs and ritual practices, an assembly of monks/nuns and a formally recognised body of laypeople.Originating in India, Buddhism had spread to Sri Lanka within two centuries. By the beginning of the Common Era it had moved into China and Burma (Myanmar), and expanded from these countries into the rest of Asia. Buddhism’s successful expansion is due to its ability to adapt itself to cultural and political conditions quite different from those of its country of srcin. This means that any attempt to define ‘Buddhism’—either as a philosophy or as a set of practices and lifestyle options—is bound to fail if it does not consider the richness of these many Buddhisms. Despite its wide variety of forms and practices, and its separation into the two large schools (or branches)—Theravada and Mahayana—Buddhism has a number of basic features that are recognisable throughout its history and across its geographical spread. Though seemingly abstract, the Four Noble Truths provide the foundation of these basic teachings. These truths can be found, no matter how indirectly, in all Buddhist teachings that have evolved since the Buddha’s lifetime. 1 Maintain a list in your personal workbook where you summarise the meanings of the key terms, concepts and ideas discussed in this chapter. 2 Create and maintain a media clippings file to do with Buddhism and/or Buddhists over the course of this chapter. Where relevant, include names and descriptions of websites on these topics. At the conclusion of the chapter, you will analyse your file and compare the media’s presentation with what you have learnt in your study of Buddhism. Extension Buddhist teacher Vidy Jayasinha at a Buddhist meditation centre in Point Clare, New South Wales 18 Living Religion Fourth Edition 2.1 Origins Historical and cultural srcin Glossary austerities Severe acts or practices that usually require someone to abstain from or deprive themselves of something. Buddha A formal title that literally means ‘awakened’. The Buddha’s family name was Siddhartha Gautama. He was also called Shakyamuni, ‘the sage of the Shakas’ (the Shakas were the clan into which he was born). doctrine Collective teachings (adjective: doctrinal). enlightenment The state in which the true nature of existence is known both intuitively and intellectually. Hinduism The other prominent religion of India during the Buddha ’s time. sangha Name for the assembly of monks and nuns living in a given geographical area. shramanas Wandering holy men searching for enlightenment and performing austerities such as fasting. yogins Holy men who focus on the performance of intensive meditational and ritual practice for long periods. It is hard to pinpoint the beginning of a religion because this incorrectly assumes we can define religion in contrast to other cultural institutions. Nor can we assume that the beginning of a religion begins with the life of its founder, as the founder might not have been aware of creating a new religion. But as a set of teachings and practices different from the existing varieties of Hinduism , Buddhism began as a religion some time during the life of the Buddha , who lived in either the sixth or fifth century BCE . Its beginning is dated about six weeks after the day the Buddha achieved enlightenment (530/527 BCE ). At this time, at Sarnath, a Deer Park near Benares in India, five men with whom he had practised religious austerities , and who were also on the religious quest for enlightenment, agreed to accept the path the Buddha had pursued to success. Through what became a formal process of ordination, they were converted as the first monks.The Buddha then began a wandering life that lasted for forty-five years until he died at the age of eighty-one. During this time he converted many people as both monks or nuns and lay Buddhists, adopted a conspicuously different clothing style from other holy men, and oversaw much property and wealth being granted to the sangha of monks and nuns he had set up. This means that in terms of doctrine , physical appearance of its followers and institutional support, Buddhism began to develop a somewhat different identity from the other religious movements of the time. Although it would be a few hundred years before this identity became easily recognised, it is these distinctive features that allow us to describe it as a separate religion.Buddhism srcinated during an era that was characterised by economic plenty. Whereas the prior sociopolitical situation had been one of tribal societies and small kingdoms, this period saw the emergence, consolidation and growth of large, centralised states, each ruled by a king with the help of a developing bureaucracy and well-organised army. Urbanisation had been occurring steadily for at least a century. Literary sources confirm that what subsequently became the four classes of Hindu society were beginning to take shape as reference points for measuring social status. Religious life during the Buddha’s time was dominated by practices that were centred on gift exchange rituals—animal sacrifices and plant offerings—designed to manipulate multiple gods. These rituals were either large scale, requiring heavy financial outlay and time or, more commonly, small rituals performed by the eldest male of the household over an open fire. The philosophies underlying this form of religious life were to acquire material wealth on earth and to be reborn in heaven after death. Yet alongside this was a new wave of thinking that focused on searching within the person, rather than in the outside world, to find what was considered to be the absolute truth. Many different groups of people and charismatic individuals taught various forms of these ideas and engaged in meditational practices. Some performed dramatic bodily austerities—including severe fasting, or remaining in one place for days without moving—to demonstrate their abhorrence toward the material world. We might call them holy men (they usually were men), ascetics or spiritual guides, but in the language of the time they were called shramanas . Some of these people were magicians, some were rogues, but others were serious and learned philosophers and well-practised yogins . Shramanas made a point of wandering from place to place, often wearing very striking garments or no clothes 19 Chapter 2: Buddhism at all, and taking every opportunity to communicate their teachings to anyone who would listen. They offered a whole series of teachings about the nature of the soul, the certainty of rebirth across many lives, the uselessness of ritual, the benefits of bodily austerities and the ineffectiveness of the gods to influence human destiny. They argued that the material and the internal or psychological world produced only frustration, rebirth and world-weariness, but if the soul was discovered and known intuitively, it was possible to escape from this potentially endless round of unsatisfactory rebirths. The Buddha was one such charismatic individual and Buddhism arose as one of these movements. But while most of the others fell away, the Buddha was able to attract a following and, importantly, to institutionalise it in such a way that it was able to flourish following his own death.It is often said that the rise of the shramana movement, and therefore of Buddhism, was caused by the significant socioeconomic changes that occurred in the century before (and continued during) the Buddha’s life. But why would religious movements so passionate about denying the value of the material world arise in times of economic plenty? This mystery becomes even more significant when you realise that the doctrine of dukkha , inadequately translated as ‘unsatisfactoriness’ (see pages 28–9), is one of the central doctrines of early Buddhist teaching. It is as if the kind of anxiety about existence indicated by this term reflected a deep dissatisfaction among the shramana groups towards the world around them. All held the view that existence was unsatisfactory, but this could not have been because of the economic conditions they lived under. One possible explanation is that there might have been a high rate of disease in the area of north-eastern India where the Buddha lived, making death unpredictable, frequent and highly visible. In this situation, it would be rational to develop world-denying beliefs where the religious quest centred on transcending the possibilities of (repeated) death. 1 In point form, clarify the characteristics of religious life in the Buddha’s time. 2 Describe the significance of holy men in ancient India in the Buddha’s time. 3 What was the shramana movement and what view did shramanas hold about existence? 4 Prepare a chart to outline the historical and cultural context in which Buddhism began. Review The Buddha—life and enlightenment Glossary buddhahood The view that all beings have within them the potentiality to become a Buddha and possess enlightening knowledge. dhamma The complete body of the teachings ( dharma ) of the Buddha or any other teacher. Dhamma is a Pali word based on the Sanskrit word dharma . It is used in this chapter unless it occurs as dharma in a name. Buddhist texts were composed in both Sanskrit and Pali and so both spellings will be found in Buddhist literature. The meaning is identical in both cases. nirvana The state of no suffering, desire or sense of self that results from enlightenment; the extinction of desire. schismatic A word describing the process where a group that has come together on the basis of common belief begins to split into different groups. Figure 2.1.1 The Buddha seated in meditation in the position of a yogin with two attendants, 82 CE . This sculpture, carved from red sandstone, comes from the city of Mathura, India. It is an early example of the Buddha rendered in human form.
