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The Rise of Buddhism and Jainism: Why?
There was religious unrest in India in the 6th
century B.C. The complex rituals and sacrifices
advocated in the Later Vedic period (1100 - 500
B.C.E.) were not acceptable to the common
people.
The sacrificial ceremonies were also found to be too
expensive. The superstitious beliefs and mantras
confused the people. The teachings of Upanishads, an alternative to the system of
sacrifices, were highly philosophical in nature and therefore not easily understood
by all.
Therefore, what was needed in the larger interests of the people was a
simple, short and intelligible way to salvation for all people. Such religious teaching
should also be in a language known to them. This need was fulfilled by the
teachings of Buddha and Mahavira. Other than the religious factor, social and
economic factors also contributed to the rise of these two religions (Buddhism and
Jainism).
The rigid caste system, of Hinduism, prevalent in India generated tensions in
the society. Higher classes enjoyed certain privileges which were denied to the
lower classes. Also, the Kshatriyas had resented the domination of the Brahmins,
priestly class. It should also to be noted that both Buddha and Mahavira belonged
to Kshatriya origin.
The Kshatriyas, - (kshot-ree-yahs) was made up of soldiers and nobles
(politicians). The growth of trade led to the improvement in the economic conditions
of the Vaisyas. As a result, they wanted to enhance their social status but the
orthodox Varna system did not allow this. The Vaishyas, (vy-sy-us) was made up
of farmers, merchants, and craftspeople.
Therefore, they began to extend support to Buddhism and Jainism. It was this
merchant class that extended the chief support to these new religions
(Buddhism/Jainism).
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THE FOUNDER OF BUDDHISM was a man named Siddhartha. He was
a member of the Gautama clan. He was born in 567 B.C. in Lumbini
Garden near Kapilavastu. The dates usually given for his life are
between 560 - 480 B.C.E.
However, the life of Gautama, as he has come to be known, is surrounded by
legend and the exact dates of his life are subject to question. Nevertheless, he
probably lived during the sixth century B.C.E. and was a contemporary of
Mahavira.
Gautama was the son of a Kshatriya – Raja (king) called Suddhodana and his
wife, Maya. Gautama's mother died soon after his birth, and he was reared by his
maternal aunt, Prajapati Gautami. She became his father's second wife.
When Gautama was born, it was predicted that he could become a great king, but
that if he ever saw the sights of human misery or the tranquility of a monk, he
would grow up to be a religious teacher.
His father did not wish him to grow up to be a religious teacher. He sought to
protect him from the ugliness and distress of humanity. The Raja (King) specifically
sought to keep the young prince from seeing four sights:
 a dead body
 an aged person
 a diseased person
 an ascetic monk
At the age of sixteen he married Yasodhara, had a son, Rahula. Gradually, one by
one, he began to see the things his father had forbidden. The sight of an old man,
a diseased man, a corpse and an ascetic turned him away from worldly life.
He left home at the age of twenty nine in search of Truth. He wandered for seven
years and met several teachers but could not get enlightenment.
At last, he sat under a Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya and did intense penance, after
which he got Enlightenment (Nirvana). Then he became known as the Buddha or
‘the Enlightened One’.
THE BUDDHA became enlightened when he was about thirty-five years old. The
first step the Buddha took after his enlightenment was to travel to the holy city of
Banaras and locate five ascetic friends who had spurned him. He found them in
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Deer Park; though at first they had contempt for him, they listened as he preached.
He delivered his first sermon at Sarnath near Banaras.
In his first sermon, the Buddha taught that neither the extreme of indulgence nor
the extreme of asceticism was acceptable as a way of life. One should avoid
extremes and seek to live in the middle way.
The five ascetics noted the change that had come over the Buddha, and they
accepted his teachings. These five formed the first Sangha (Buddhist monastic
order).
The next forty five years, he led the life of a preacher. He spent the remaining
years of this life teaching his growing band of disciples.
Unlike orthodox Hindus, he taught that any person of any caste or sex could find
the same enlightenment he knew. Therefore, his followers included a wide variety
of persons. When women asked to join his group, the Buddha was at first reluctant,
but he eventually relented and allowed them to form an order of nuns.
He did not involve himself in fruitless controversies regarding metaphysical
questions like god, soul, karma, rebirth, etc., and concerned himself with the
practical problems confronting man.
He died at the age of eighty at Kusinagara. The Buddha reportedly died after
eating spoiled pork curry. According to tradition, his final words were, "Subject to
decay are all component things. Strive earnestly to work out your own salvation. “
THE NATURE OF BUDDHIST WORSHIP
There are different types of worship. When someone worships a god, they praise
him or her, making offerings and ask for favors, believing that the god will hear
their praise, receive their offerings and answer their prayers. Buddhists do not
indulge in this kind of worship.
The other kind of worship is when we show
respect to someone or something we admire.
When a teacher walks into a room we stand up, when we meet a dignitary we
shake hands, when the national anthem is played we salute. These are all
gestures of respect and worship and indicate our admiration for persons and
things. This is the type of worship Buddhist practice.
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The perfume of incense reminds Buddhists of the pervading influence of virtue.
The lamp reminds us of light of knowledge. The flowers which soon fade and die,
reminds us of impermanence (temporariness). When we bow, we express our
gratitude to the Buddha for what his teachings have given us.
The teachings of the Buddha became the basis for an organization that took on
many of the components of a religion. His followers organized themselves into a
monastic order (Sangha). His teachings became codified in the laws of that order
and in various forms of scripture.
The Buddha himself came to be regarded as the greatest of beings. The rules
under which early Buddhist monks were expected to live are noteworthy because
they demonstrate the practical outworking of the Buddha's teachings.
The Teachings of Buddha
THE PALI SERMONS (PALI, "FIRE SERMON DISCOURSE"), is a discourse from
the Pali Canon, popularly known as the Fire Sermon. In this discourse, the
Buddha preaches about achieving liberation from suffering through detachment
from the five senses and mind. English speakers might be familiar with the name of
this discourse due to T. S. Eliot's titling the third section of his celebrated poem,
The Waste Land, "The Fire Sermon."
THE TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA
Among the unique teachings of the Buddha was that the soul did not exist.
According to Buddha, people live in a state of anatman (the absence of enduring
souls).
What is called a soul is actually a combination of five mental or physical
aggregates: the physical body, feelings, understanding, will, and consciousness.
This combination, which makes up the human personality, is bound up in the
endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that is typical in Indian religions.
The Buddha's understanding of humankind's plight is presented in the classic
Buddhist statement of the Four Noble Truths.
The Buddha's understanding of humankind's plight is presented in the classic
Buddhist statement of the Four Noble Truths.
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1st - Noble truth of pain: The World (Life) Is Full of Suffering. Everything in life
is suffering and sorrow:
 Birth, Sickness, Old Age, Death are painful.
 Sorrow and Lamentation are painful.
 Dejection and Despair are all painful.
 Dejection and Despair are all painful.
 Contact with unpleasant things is painful.
 Not getting what one’s desires is painful.
In short the five groups of grasping (hearing, smelling, eating, touching, and
thinking) are painful.
2nd - Noble truth of the cause of pain: The Cause of Suffering is Desire. The
cause of all this pain - is people’s self-centered cravings and desires. People
seek pleasures that cannot last and that leads only to rebirth and more
suffering.
(The cravings combined with pleasure and lust, finding pleasure here and
there, namely the craving for passion, the craving for existence, the craving
for non-existence leads only to rebirth and more suffering.)
3rd - The noble truth of the cessation of pain: If Desires Are Gotten Rid
(purged) Of, Suffering Can Be Removed. The way to end all pain is to end all
desires. (Abandonment, forsaking, release, and non-attachment.)
Suffering comes from desire and worldly things. Which means, you suffer
more when you desire things that you really you want.
4th - The noble truth of the way that leads to the cessation of pain: This Can
Be Done By Following The Eightfold Path. People can overcome their
desires and attain enlightenment by following the Eightfold Path.
THIS IS THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD WAY (PATH).
The Middle Path
Two extremes to be avoided:
Hedonism – living and behaving in ways that mean you get as much pleasure out
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of life as possible, according to the belief that the most important thing in life is to
enjoy yourself.
Asceticism - the doctrine that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state
by practicing self-denial, self-mortification, and the like.
By avoiding these two extremes:
We discover a Middle Path, a path which opens the eyes, which bestows
understanding, and which leads to peace of mind, to wisdom, to full enlightenment,
to Nirvana.
1.)
Right View:
Our actions have consequences; death is not the end, and our actions and
beliefs have consequences after death. The Buddha followed and taught a
successful path out of this world and the other worlds (heaven, the
underworld, and hell).
2.)
Right Resolve (to follow the path):
The giving up of home and adopting the life of a religious mendicant in order
to follow the path. This concept aims at peaceful renunciation, into an
environment of non-sensuality, non-ill-will (to loving kindness), away from
cruelty (to compassion).
3.)
Right Speech: no lying, no rude speech, no telling one person what another
says about him. Speaking that which leads to salvation.
4.)
Right Conduct: no killing or injuring, no taking what is not given, no sexual
acts.
5.)
Right Livelihood: beg to feed, only possessing what is essential to sustain
life.
6.)
Right Effort: guard against sensual thoughts. This concept aims at
preventing unwholesome states that disrupt meditation.
7.)
Right Mindfulness: never be absent minded, but being conscious of what
one is doing. This encourages the mindfulness about body, feelings, and
mind.
8.)
Right Concentration (Samadhi): practicing four stages of meditation
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(dhyana) culminating into unification of the mind. Experiencing regeneration:
change into a new creature who experiences the world in different way.
The Middle Path, of which the Tathagata has gained enlightenment, which
produces insight and knowledge, and tends to calm, to higher knowledge,
enlightenment, Nirvana?
The Buddha referred to himself (and to other Buddhas) as the Tathagata.
This word has its basis in the word Tathata, which means Thusness, Suchness,
as-is-ness. “There is nothing, yet there is something“.
Buddha neither accepts God nor rejects the existence of God. He emphasized
Ahimsa. Ahimsa means 'not to injure‘, and have ‘compassion‘, and do no harm.
Ahimsa is also referred to as nonviolence, and it applies to all living beings,
including all animals. By his love for human beings and all living creatures, Buddha
endeared himself to all.
Even under the gravest provocation he did not show the least anger or hatred and
instead conquered everyone by his love and compassion. He laid great emphasis
on the law of karma. He argued that the condition of man in this life depends upon
his own deeds.
He taught that the soul does not exist.
People who seriously joined the Buddha as monks shaved their heads and wore
coarse yellow robes. Their only possession was a bowl they carried when they
begged for food.
Their creed is said to have been, "I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the
Dharma (law); and I take refuge in the Sangha. “
Lay Buddhists supported the Sangha with gifts of food, clothing, and other
necessities of life.
Lay Buddhists also were expected to observe five basic rules of moral conduct:
 Abstain from killing.
 Abstain from stealing.
 Abstain from lying.
 Abstain from engaging in improper sexual conduct.
 Abstain from partaking of intoxicants.
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