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The religion of Buddha is famous as Buddhism. The followers of that religion are known as Buddhists. In his teachings, Buddha showed a new path. In his religious mission, he did not give value to the so-called sacred rites and rituals. Instead, he showed the way for a life of ethics and spirituality. He preached in simple language and to the common people. His doctrines were simple as well as practical for adoption.
He preached against the extreme means of worldly life which led to man’s self indulgence, pleasures and unending desires. At the same time, he did not prescribe for the common man extreme hardship of ascetic life by physical punishment and self torture. His was the noble ‘Middle Path’ which was possible for every man to follow. Between the two extremes of pleasures and penance, he showed the path of a really virtuous life.
The following main doctrines constitute the substance of his teachings:
The Four Noble Truths or the Arya Satya:
In his enlightenment, Buddha discovered the real causes of the miseries of human existence. He also discovered the way to escape from those miseries which followed endlessly in the wheel of Karma, birth and rebirth. These discoveries were called the Four Noble Truths.
The first truth was the Truth of Pain or Sorrow. “Birth is pain, old age is pain, sickness is pain, death is pain.” felt Buddha. Everything in the world was transient, sorrowful and full of pain. The existence of this sorrow was in the nature of life.
The second truth, according to Buddha, was the Truth of the Cause of Pain or Sorrow. This cause was the Desire. The desire or the Trishna was the lust and the thirst for all worldly things. It was the root of all evils leading to pain.
The third truth was the Truth to end the Pain or Sorrow. This end or cessation of pain was possible by ending desires. Elimination of desires was to lead to the end of sorrows. Perfect bliss was to follow the end of the sorrows. It was like the end of life and death. It was the real freedom or emancipation.
The fourth truth was the Truth to End the Desires. This was possible by a noble way to attain the real bliss without desires. Extreme penance was not necessary for this, while extreme pleasure was unnecessary by all means. Avoiding both, it was the noble middle path which was the right way to end the Desires. This path was to lead to the real state of freedom or emancipation. Buddha described this path as the Arya Astangika Marga or the Noble Eight-fold, path. This Path was the real path to end the cycle of Karma and the rebirth.
The Noble Eight-fold Path:
Buddha gave eight principles to follow as his noble eight-fold path. They were: the Right Vision, Right Aims, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Efforts, Right Mindfulness, and Right Meditation.
By right vision or views, Buddha meant that man should realise how sorrowful was this world for man’s greeds, desires and selfishness. Man should, therefore, rise above for a new vision for his own happiness and for the happiness of all. By right aims or aspirations, man should not run behind his power and wealth, and should not run for passion, pleasures and enjoyment. Instead, he should aim at loving other fellow men and giving them happiness. By right speech, man should give up falsehood, lies, criticism of others and quarrels which spoil the peace of others and of the society.
Instead, man should be truthful in his words and friendly and kind in his talks. By right action or conduct, man should avoid violence and killing, give up harmful acts like theft, and stealing, and instead could work for the good of all in a virtuous way. By right livelihood, Buddha advised man to live by harmless means, not by selling or taking wine or butchering animals for himself or others.
Instead, he should live an honest and simple life for peace within and peace outside. By right effort or exertion, Buddha meant a correct discipline in mind and action not for any evil thought or practice, but for a proper exercise towards all that was good. Man was asked to give up evil designs from his thought and to develop nobler feelings for better efforts.
By right mindfulness or awareness, Buddha wanted man to be conscious of the unrealities of his existence, unrealities of the body and the bodily pleasures, the meaninglessness of the worldly bonds and attachments. Instead, he was to search for the real happiness beyond the flesh and material existence which had no substance. Finally, by right meditation or contemplation, Buddha wanted man to concentrate his mind on the real truth of existence. It was necessary for the discipline and training of the mind towards the higher goal.
The Noble Eight-fold Path was thus a code of conduct for every man. It became the basis of Buddhism as a religion. It was a religion for social happiness of all. Buddhism has been rightly described as ‘the most social of religions’.
Buddha taught the householders:
“Honouring mother and father, cherishing of child and wife,
And a peaceful occupation: This is the best good omen.
Giving of alms and righteous life, to cherish kith and kin,
Doing deeds that bring no blame: This is the best good omen.
Ceasing and abstaining from sin, to shun intoxicating drinks,
Not neglecting religious duties: This is the best good omen”.
The Path which Buddha showed was a practical path to follow. This path was meant for the common people as the lay disciples of the faith. For the Buddhist monks there were other strict regulations like celibacy which were not binding on the lay followers.
Non-violence and Morality:
Buddha was the prophet of non-violence. “Let not one kill any living being”, he said. Ultimately, the philosophy of non-violence became a cardinal principle of Buddhism. The Buddhists rejected animal sacrifice and killing of animals in every form. Non-violence also called for kindness towards all creatures. It denied man to hate man. “Let a man overcome anger by kindness, evil by good….Never in the world hatred ceases by harted. Hatred ceases by love”, said Buddha.
Social morality was given the highest priority in Buddhist thought. “Let not one take what is not given to him; let not one speak falsely, let not one drink intoxicating drinks; let not one be unchaste”, were Buddha’s guidelines for moral living.
Buddha did not preach the Fatherhood of God. Instead, he preached the Brotherhood of Men. His religion thus rested on ethics, morality and virtue. It rejected worships, rituals and rites. It has thus no respect for the priestly class and the so-called high-born. Buddha opened the doors of his Sangha to all men.
He asked his followers to preach the Noble Path by advising them: “Go into all lands and preach this gospel. Tell them that the poor and the lowly, the rich and the high, are all one, and that all castes unite in this religion as do the rivers in the sea”.
Karma and Rebirth:
In the Buddhist thought, the doctrine of Karma and rebirth was given great prominence. It was the Karma of the creature which caused its transmigration. Man’s action in life could be bad or good. For Karma, he was destined to suffer when reborn in form of any living creature. The chain of birth, death and rebirth was thus endless. To Buddha, the supreme purpose of consciousness was to attain liberation from that endless chain of misery.
In view of the danger of Karma, Buddha left a serene message to men to understand the value of a good life and of good actions.
He said:
“Happy the solitude of the peaceful; who knows and beholds truth
“Happy is he who stands firmly unmoved, who holds himself in check at all times.
“Happy he whose every sorrow, Whose every wish is at an end.
“The conquest of the stubbornness of the egoity is truly the supreme happiness”.
Nirvana:
In his search for that ultimate liberation, Buddha brought the concept of Nirvana. Nirvana was the eternal salvation from the misery of existence. To enjoy the bliss of Nirvana, he advised man to follow the Middle Path or the Noble Eight-fold Path of a purer life. It should be a life of no possessions, no desires and no worldly attachment. It should also be a life of compassion, goodness and kindness.
As Buddha said:
“When one sees sorrow, suffering or misery as the first and the most fundamental Truth underlying human existence, while one is walking on the ‘Middle Path’, one also becomes aware of the fact that, there is only misery and no one miserable ; there is only action and no doer of action.
This awareness, friends, is the indication of the fact that when one has started to walk on the Middle Path one becomes aware that it leads to Nirvana or liberation from all bondage. And, when one now looks at the world around him, one sees that most men feel miserable and are driven to do this, that or any other thing to be free from misery.
This doer, with which men identify themselves, is the generator of all misery. The doer is the ego. But to one who is walking on the Middle Path, there is only misery and not the miserable, there is action and not the doer of action”.
To Buddha, “the Eight-fold Path would bring the realisation that everything was transitory, full of misery and unreal. The sense of nothingness would take away the sense of ‘I-ness’ or ‘me’, and destroy the ego. It would bring a state of happiness, far above selfish desires and worldly attachment. That would liberate the man from his self-consciousness and from rebirth. With desires gone and with the annihilation of the self, the Nirvana comes as the final liberation from all pains, and the pain of worldly existence once for all.”
Thus, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eight-fold Path and the realisation of Nirvana were the basic fundamentals of Buddha’s teachings.
Spread of Buddhism:
A messiah of the poor and the down trodden, Buddha believed in equality of status and freedom for all. He wanted to improve the existing pattern rather than replace it with a new one.
The ethics and morality which Buddha propounded as the true religion of mankind created a deep impression on the Indian mind. Both the learned and the common men saw in Buddha’s teachings a remarkable way of life for true happiness. During his life, as he preached, his words attracted princes and the poor alike. A new mental ferment was marked, with far reaching consequences.
Soon after the death of Buddha, the First Buddhist Council was held at Rajagriha where 500 Buddhist monks gathered from different Sanghas. The Council adopted the sayings of Buddha as the canonical texts for future guidance of men. They were divided into two parts, namely, the Vinaya Pitaka and the Dhamma Pitaka. Mahakassapa, the President of the council, and two other disciples of Buddha named Upali and Ananda conducted the works of the Council and guided the Sangha.
The Second Buddhist Council met one hundred years after the death of Buddha at Vaisali under the patronage of the king of Magadha. The Third Buddhist Council was held at Pataliputra during the reign of Asoka. It was presided over by Moggaliputta Tissa. The Fourth Buddhist Council was held in Kashmir under the guidance of Vasumitra and Asvaghosha during the time of Kanishka. It was the last Buddhist Council.
The religion of Buddha spread as a popular religion. The simple and practical tenets of the faith carried appeal to the mass mind. It was preached in the simple language of the people, the Pali, The equality of men, as upheld by the Buddhists, brought the lowly and the downtrodden to its fold. No ceremonies and costly rituals were necessary.
There was also no need for priests. The tireless efforts of the Buddhist Sanghas, and the missionary zeal of the monks and preachers carried the gospels of Buddha to every corner of the country.
But, it was the conversion of Emperor Asoka after his Kalinga War which gave Buddhism a new dimension. Under the patronage of that monarch, grounds were prepared for the spread of Buddhism far and wide. Inside India and outside India’s frontiers, the spread of the religion became rapid. In course of time Buddhism became the religion of the Asian humanity and Buddha became the Light of Asia.
By: Mona Kaushal ProfileResourcesReport error
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