The Light of Asia, a perfect embodiment of knowledge, love, sacrifice and universal compassion emerged on this earth in the sixth century B.C. Seeing the human life fraught with colossal misery and pain of old age, sickness and death, Prince Siddhartha at the age of 29 did not kick away only the luxurious Shakya Kingdom but also his beloved wife, Yashodhara, and newborn son, Rahul. The three strong bonds of the world - gold, women and fame - could not detract him. He underwent rigorous religious austerities for six years and at last found enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Gaya.
The enlightened Siddhartha became the Buddha who preached his enlightenment to all without any distinction of caste, creed or colour. And thus Buddhism was embraced by rich and poor, the high and the low, the intellectual and layman. It spread from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari and crossed the frontiers of India to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Malaya (Malaysia), Jawa, Sumatra (Indonesia) in the South-East and afterwards to Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, China and Japan. Buddhism has now entered into European and American academic life as a fascinating discipline. Buddhism was the first missionary world religion. It revolted against Hinduism and became a revolution deeper than Jainism in India.
Essence
The essence of Buddhism is the Dharma, i.e., Moral Consciousness which starts with a deep problem of suffering. Suffering and its total eradication is the main theme of Buddhism. The root cause of suffering is Avidya -Ignorance and the passions (attachment, aversion, avarice, anger and lust). The entire existence springs from the 'I' Consciousness (Satkayadristi), the basic wrong notion of something permanent, identical with one universal entity which endangers thirst for life.
Buddhism is committed to the Dharma-moral law and the theory of Karma. This law operates without any super agency. The entire universe is the expression of the Moral Order (Karmajam lokavaichitryam). This is the basic assumption of Buddhism, the Hinayana as well as Mahayana. The suffering is Samsara -the endless series of birth and death, with which one's soul is bound, coming and going which is the result of our Karmas. The cessation of suffering is Nirvana - liberation. The human problem is basically moral and spiritual i.e. absence of self-analysis through self -control, self-effort and self-education. We must understand what the Buddha taught: "Be light unto thyself".
The Buddhist concept of reality is dynamic and functional. It believes in the theory of casual efficiency -Arthakriyakritvam). The reality must produce it. It must be effective. The reality is Svalaksana, i.e. extreme particular. This is another basic assumption of Buddhism. This establishes the theory of momentariness.
The Buddhist theory of causality, i.e. Dependent Origination (Pratityasamutpada) explains both Samsara as well as Nirvana.
The Four Noble Truths
The entire Buddhist philosophy and religion is simply an elaboration of four noble truths: Suffering-Dukha, the cause of suffering-Dukha-Samudaya, the cessation of suffering-Dukha-Nirodha and the way leading to the cession of suffering-Dukha-Nirodhagainipratipat.
The noble eightfold path consists of eight steps which are: Right Path (Samyak Dristi), Right Resolve (Samyak Samkalpa), Right Speech (Samyak Vak), Right Action (Samyak Karma), Right Living (Samyak Ajiva), Right Effort (Samyak Vyayama), Right Thought (Samyak Smrti), and Right Concentration (Samyak Samadhi).
Out of the eightfold paths the first two combined together are called prajna. The last three paths combined together are called sila. These three have been termed as three jewels- Ratna-Traya. They correspond to the three jewels Jainism-Samyak Jnana, Darsana and Charitra.
The first sermon taught by the Buddha at Sarnatha was the Madhyama Pratipat-the Middle Path. "There are two extremes, O Monks, a religious man must abstain. One is a life of pleasure, devoted to desire and enjoyment: that is base, ignoble and unworthy. The other is a life of mortification: it is gloomy and unworthy. The perfect one, O Monks, must abstain from both extremes and he should follow the middle path which leads to enlightenment, knowledge, to Nirvana."
The early Buddhists were Saravastivadins. They denied only soul, i.e. Pudgalanairatmyavada which culminated into Nagarjuna's philosophy of Sunyata which negates both Pudgala as well as Dharmas, i.e. Pudgalanairatmyavada and Dharma-Nairatmyavada. The Vijnanavadins realised the lacuna of the absolute negation of Nagarjuna, and therefore, accepted the ultimate reality of Vijnana, Consciousness and rejected the reality of the external world. The later developments of Mantrayana and Tantra have their significance and Buddhism never ceased to develop and modify its position through the centuries. In the early Buddhism Buddha was an exalted person (Samyak Sambuddha). He was still a human being who by his preservance and accumulation of meritorious deeds (Punya Sambhara) in his several past births could actually shake off all the causes of bondage to attain Buddhahood. It is the concept of Pratyeka Buddha, who attains enlightenment without guidance from others but liberates only himself without teaching others. Another attempt was made by the Mahayana Buddhism thereby divinity enters into it through the personality of Buddha and the transcendence of Buddha (Lokottarvada) was accepted. The Buddhist concept of Trykayavada is the answer to the orthodox Hindu conception of Isvara. The divinising effect of Buddhism was universal and the traditional Hindu worship entered not only in the Mahayanistic countries but in the Hinayanistic countries as well. The temples, images and statutes of Buddha are found in all these countries.
Influence Abroad
Buddhism went outside India as a moral and spiritual movement propagating and advocating its high moral and spiritual ideals. It was embraced everywhere simply because it did not supplant and destroy the religions of those countries but only supplemented what they were lacking in their higher spiritual order. It never adopted force, violence and persecution and taught them the Buddhist message of universal compassion and peace. A Bodhi-sattva, perfect embodiment of knowledge, courage, love and sacrifice defers his own Nirvana in order to liberate those who are still entangled in themselves of suffering. This is the height of religious compassion which can save humanity from all dangers.
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