Miss Buddha

by Ulf Wolf

During the 3rd BCE, Buddhism also benefited from the patronage granted by King Ashoka, who at that time ruled almost all of India.

  Jainism also benefited from royal patrons.

  However, by the start of the Gupta period—which lasted from about 320 to 550 CE—Hinduism, by now having integrated a variety of Buddhist and Jain beliefs and practices, saw a resurgence.

  Some of the integrated beliefs and practices included the doctrine of ahimsa (nonviolence) and an emphasis on vegetarianism. In fact, the Gupta period is still celebrated as a glorious epoch of classical Hindu culture.

  During this classical Gupta period, Hindu thought and its systematization flourished; and during this period, many shastras (classical works) of Hindu philosophy were compiled.

  Shastras like the Arthashastra (principles of statecraft), Nayashastra (aesthetics of performing arts), grammars by Panini and the Yoga Suttas by Patanjali, all saw the light of day (or final form) during this period.

  In addition, the two epics—the Ramayana and Mahabharata—also found their present form then.

  Medieval Hinduism

  In the 7th century, while a vigorous and multifaceted Hinduism unfolded in India, a new (and rather warlike) religion made its appearance in Arabia: Islam.

  Within a century, Islam’s conquests and dominions extended from Spain in the west to Sind (now part of Pakistan) in the east, and by the 11th century the soldiers of Islam had consolidated their hold on northwestern India.

  In fact, by 1200 CE Islamic rule was established in the city of Delhi in northern India, and from there, in two waves, it spread over nearly the whole of the subcontinent.

  The first wave of expansion occurred under the Delhi Sultanate, which ruled from 1206 to 1526. The second wave, under the Mughal Empire, which lasted from 1526 to 1858, saw Islamic rule achieved its Indian peak.

  In other words, the (often violent) encounter between Hinduism and Islam lasted more than 800 years. During most of this time, Islam had the upper hand politically, a fact that had enormous consequences for Hinduism and that presented challenges for both Hinduism and Islam which continue to this day.

  As a rule, and by Islam policy, Islam’s military victories in all areas but India were always followed by the enforced conversion of the masses to Islam—with the possible exceptions of Spain and the Balkans.

  In India, however, by 1900 Islam had only succeeded in converting a quarter of the population, if that. Although Hinduism had successfully incorporated all previous invaders and political conquerors within the Hindu religious system—from the Persians in 6th century BCE to the Huns in the 6th century CE—its powers of assimilation failed in the face of Islam—the closed Islam doctrine and practice was (and still is) simply too diametrically opposed to the openness of Hinduism to afford any meaningful measure of blending.

  One Hindu response to the ever-increasing presence of Islam was political, including the rise of the Hindu Vijayanagar kingdom, which held power all through southern India from about 1336 to 1565, and the Hindu Maratha state that rose in western India during the 17th and 18th centuries.

  The rise of Sikhism and the Sikh Empire (1767-1846) in the Punjab should also be viewed as part of this response. Willing to use violence in self-defense, Sikhs took a militant stance toward the conquerors, and fought back—something that the non-violent Hindu had been loath to do.

  Overall, the Islamic presence (and attempted forced conversions) evoked a paradoxical Hindu religious response that blended hostile rejection and active emulation. Mainstream Hinduism, by necessity, withdrew into a defensive position where it took cover under a layer of increased orthodoxy, at least judging by the number of Hindu religious codes produced during this period.

  During the same period, at the theological level, Hinduism saw the rise and flowering of the bhakti (devotion) movement.

  Bhakti

  This movement of devotion to Vishnu or Shiva had gained a firm hold in the south of India by the 9th century, and managed to sweep across the rest of the country by the 17th century.

  Devotion to the divine (bhakti), rather than knowledge of the divine (jnana), grew to become the dominant form of Hinduism, more than likely as a response to these historical circumstances.

  Bhakti poetry expresses love for the divine, often in the forms of Krishna and Rama.

  Modern Hinduism

  Following the decline of the Mughal Empire during the late 17th century, the British gradually succeeded in establishing themselves as the paramount power in India.

  British victory over the Sikhs in 1846 sealed the effort. By this time the British had made two decisions of far-reaching importance for the future of Hinduism: 1813 saw the decision that Christian missionaries could operate within the British dominions; and in 1835 the decision was made to introduce English as the language of public instruction.

  These two decisions forced Hinduism to confront Christianity and Western modernity head-on; while at the same time, the Western world was, for the first time, exposed to Hindu scriptures translated into European languages.

  Movements for Reform

  One response to this enforced encounter with Europe was reform.

  In the early 19th century, the Bengali scholar Ram Mohan Roy—by campaigning against medieval or regional Hindu practices that were objectionable in the modern world—set the tone for this reform.

  For one, he advocated allowing widows to remarry and he campaigned for the abolition of the relatively rare practice of sati—a wife’s self-immolation after her husband’s death.

  While Roy aimed at reconciliation with the West, another movement kept India from moving too far toward imitation.

  This movement was named after Ramakrishna, a Hindu spiritual leader who served as a priest at the Dakshineshwar Temple in the city of Kolkata (Calcutta). His reputation as a mystic drew many to him, including Swami Vivekananda, who founded the Ramakrishna movement after Ramakrishna’s death in 1886.

  Vivekananda

  Vivekananda, who was a representative Hindu product of India’s new English-language education system, became a Ramakrishna devotee and renounced the world after the priest’s death. His message was a return to the timeless wisdom of the Vedas.

  To the world’s surprise he, an unknown swami, turned up uninvited at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago in 1893 to present Ramakrishna’s teachings.

  For this he won instant celebrity and was hailed as a hero back in India for his vigorous advocacy of Hinduism. In 1895, he went on to found the Vedanta Society in New York City to promote Hindu philosophy.

  Using mostly English in his work, Vivekananda stressed the inclusive aspects of Hindu spirituality over ritual and rules, and thereby sparked Hindu interest in the West and as well as a revival in his native India.

  India’s Struggle for Independence

  The 20th century saw the rise of Indian nationalism, which contributed further to Hindu self-awakening.

  Thus, in the works of Indian philosopher and statesman Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the Hindu tradition found intellectual expression; and in the work of Indian poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, Hinduism found humanist expression.

  And in the life of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, Hinduism found political and social expression as well.

  Another important figure in the development of what came to be seen as Hindu nationalism was Sri Aurobindo Ghose. Initially, Ghose promoted revolutionary activism, but he later withdrew to an ashram, practiced yoga, and chose to influence his followers through his writings instead of violence.

  Gandhi

  Gandhi’s creative use of nonviolence and civil disobedience on a massive scale (involving virtually all of the country) under the name of satyagraha elevated traditional Hindu values to relevance in India’s political struggle against British rule.

  By linking the elevation of the untouchables with the struggle, Gandhi added social justice to his campaign; and by raising social awareness within the Hindu tradition and by lifting that tradi
tion to a new level of political awareness, Gandhi provided modern Hinduism with its defining features: features that took firm root in a century of reformist effort and half a century of political struggle against the British.

  Although Gandhi’s movement succeeded in securing independence for India in 1947, it could not prevent the partition of the Indian subcontinent on a religious basis; a partition between a primarily Hindu India and a primarily Muslim Pakistan.

  Contemporary Challenges

  The modern age, like every age, poses challenges for humanity and for the various religions that engage humanity, and the aim of Hinduism has always been to enlighten (or, sometimes, assimilate) rather than to convert.

  The Hindu world-view of pluralism and respect for multiple paths holds up one beautiful model for reconciliation of religious conflicts, without calling for conversion to any one creed and with each religion maintaining its unique identity and practices.

  This aim pays homage to its long and varied history, and tells of its deep and sacred roots.

  :: Buddhism ::

  Buddhism, our last of five major world religions, saw the light of day in northeastern India about 2,500 years ago and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, better known today as the Buddha, the Enlightened (or Awakened) One.

  Originating within the dominant Brahman tradition of the day, Buddhism soon took its own path. The Buddha not only rejected significant aspects of Hindu philosophy, but also challenged the authority of the priesthood, denied the validity of the Vedic scriptures, and—primarily—rejected the sacrificial cult based on them.

  Moreover, he opened his movement to members of all castes, refuting that the matter of birth has anything to do with a person’s spiritual worth.

  Today, Buddhism is divided into two major branches known to their respective followers as Theravada—the Way of the Elders, and Mahayana, the Great Vehicle.

  Followers of Mahayana sometimes refer to Theravada using the derogatory term Hinayana, the Lesser Vehicle. Theravadins, on the other hand, have no derogatory term for Mahayana (which in my view speaks a volume or two).

  Theravada is dominant in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), and Laos, while Mahayana has had its greatest impact in China, Japan (as Zen), Taiwan, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as in India.

  The number of Buddhists worldwide is estimated at between 150 and 300 million. The reasons a more exact number is hard to arrive at are twofold: Throughout much of Asia religious affiliation tends to be nonexclusive; and it is especially difficult to estimate the number of Buddhists in Communist countries such as China.

  Origins

  As did most major faiths, Buddhism developed over many years.

  The Buddha’s Life

  It was not until centuries after the Buddha’s death that a biography of his life was even attempted, and in sources earlier than that we find only fragmentary accounts of his life. However, western scholars now generally agree on 563 BCE as the year of his birth.

  Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha-to-be, was born in Lumbini, Nepal, near the present Nepal-India border, the son of the ruler of a lesser kingdom.

  According to legend, sages recognized in the newborn boy the marks of a great man with the potential to become either a sage or the ruler of an empire.

  Since his father preferred that he become the ruler of an empire, the young prince was raised in sheltered luxury, until this plan backfired when at the age of 29 Siddhartha Gautama realized how empty his life to this point had been. Renouncing earthly attachments, he embarked on a quest for peace and enlightenment, seeking release from samsara (the cycle of births and rebirths). For the next few years he practiced Yoga and adopted a life of radical asceticism.

  He eventually abandoned the approach of severe self-denial as fruitless and instead adopted a middle path between his former life of indulgence and that of extreme asceticism.

  Sitting under a bo tree, he meditated, rising through a series of higher levels of meditative absorptions (states of consciousness) until he finally attained the enlightenment for which he had been searching.

  Having now seen the ultimate truth, and the path to its achievement, he began to teach, wandering from place to place, gathering a body of disciples, and organizing them into a monastic community known as the sangha.

  He spent the rest of his life as an itinerant teacher of his message.

  The Buddha’s Teachings

  As an oral teacher, the Buddha left no written body of thought. His beliefs were first passed on orally, to eventually be put down in writing by later followers.

  The Four Noble Truths

  The core of the Buddha’s enlightenment is the realization of the Four Noble Truths:

  The First Noble Truth: There is suffering (often misquoted as “Life is Suffering” which the Buddha never claimed). Instead, what he pointed out is that there is suffering.

  True, there is more to that statement than a mere recognition of the presence of suffering in existence, for what he said was that human existence, by its very nature of constant change and impermanence, is essentially unsatisfactory from the moment of (normally) painful birth to the moment of (normally) painful death.

  And even death brings no relief, for the Buddha acknowledge the Hindu truth of life as cyclical, with death leading to further rebirth.

  The Second Noble Truth: All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment, and grasping that result from such ignorance.

  The Third Noble Truth: Suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment (craving and clinging).

  The Fourth Noble Truth: The path to the ending of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

  These eight groups are usually divided into the three broader categories that form the cornerstone of Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadhi, or concentration.

  Anatman

  Buddhism analyzes human existence as made up of five aggregates or “bundles” (or skandhas):

  — The physical world and the material body.

  — Feelings, which are either positive, negative, or neutral.

  — Perceptions, which are identifications of what is sensed through the physical senses.

  — Mental formations, such as thoughts, imaginings, etc.

  — Consciousness.

  An individual, according to Buddhist teaching, is only a temporary combination of these aggregates, which are subject to continual change. Thus, no one remains truly the same for any two consecutive moments.

  The Buddha denied that the aggregates individually or in combination may be considered a permanent, independently existing self or soul (atman). Indeed, he regarded it as a serious mistake to conceive of any lasting unity behind the elements that constitute an individual.

  The Buddha taught that a belief in such a permanent self is what led to egoism, craving, and suffering. Thus he taught the doctrine of anatman, the denial of a permanent soul.

  All existences, he held, is characterized by anatman (no permanent soul), anitya (impermanence), and dukkha (suffering).

  His anatman doctrine necessitated a reinterpretation of the long-standing Indian tradition of samsara rebirths. To clarify this, he taught the doctrine of dependent origination.

  With this 12-linked chain of causation he showed how ignorance in a previous life creates the tendency for a combination of aggregates to develop. These in turn cause the mind and senses to operate.

  Sensations result, which lead to craving and a clinging to existence. This condition in turn triggers the process of becoming once again, producing a renewed cycle of birth, old age, and death. Through this causal chain a connection is made between one life and the next.

  What the Buddha posits is a stream of renewed existences, rather than a permanent being that moves from life to life
—in effect a belief in rebirth without transmigration.

  Karma

  Karma is part and parcel of the doctrine of dependent origination, and, consisting of a person’s acts and their ethical consequences, holds that human actions lead to rebirth, wherein good deeds are inevitably rewarded and evil deeds, as a matter of course, punished.

  As a consequence, there exists neither undeserved pleasure nor unwarranted suffering in the world, only universal, Karmic, justice.

  This justice operates through natural moral law rather than through a humanly contrived system of divine judgment, and it determines such things as one’s species, beauty, intelligence, longevity, wealth, and social status.

  According to the Buddha, karma of varying types can lead to rebirth as a human, an animal, a hungry ghost, a denizen of hell, or even one of the Hindu gods.

  Although the Buddha never actually denied the existence of these gods, he never agreed to any of their special roles. Rather, he held, their lives in heaven are long and pleasurable, but they are in the same predicament as other creatures, being subject eventually to death and further rebirth in lower states of existence. They are not creators of the universe nor are they in control of human destiny, and Buddhism flatly denies any value of prayer and sacrifice to them—as it refutes the value of any type of mechanistic ritual.

  Buddhist tradition also holds that of all possible modes of rebirth, human existence is to be preferred, because the lower strata are too painful to afford any thought or effort toward enlightenment and the deities are so engrossed in their own pleasures to bother about it.

  Hence, some even hold—though there are quoted instances of denizens of the heavenly realms reaching Nibbana—Enlightenment is possible only for humans.