Buddhism
Buddhism belongs to the Sramana-tadition of Indian
thought as distinguished from Vedic tradition. Like Jainism it has taken
birth at that time which was surcharged with the fervor of spiritual
renaissance. When Buddha was born, the foundations of Vedic rituals were
already shaken by some of the great Rsis of Upanisadas, and of late, by
his contemporary Mahavira. Emphasis was given on self exertion by
undergoing strict spiritual discipline and rigorous austerities. During
the early days of his spiritual expermentation, Buddha also took to severe
austerities and determined to seek truth through austerities when he said
to himself, "Ihasane susyatu me sariram" (Let me body be dried up in this
seat but I will not get up till I get enlightenment).
However, unlike Mahavira, severe austerities did not
help Buddha. He relented and adopted a middle course and found solace. He
tried almost every path, which was prevalent in his times, in search of
truth, but failed. Finally he chalked out his own path which was
absolutely rational and logical. He refused to go into the fogs of misty
metaphysics and directly touched ethics and psychology of human affairs.
Like Mahavira he also propounded a religion which was independent on an
inward change of heart. His persistent refusal to delve into the mysteries
of life, made his approach more direct and explicit both to the common men
and the intellectuals of his times and earned him greater following in
India and abroad. However, this very factor proved responsible for
introducing varied and very often contradictory interpretations of what he
said and preached, with the result that the Buddhism, which we see today,
seems to have practically nothing in common with what the Master is
supposed to have originally taught. In the second century after Buddha not
less than eighteen schools of Buddhistic doctrines can be traced. We shall
therefore confine our attention only to leading basic principles of early
Buddhism.
Sufferings of Life
The starting point of Buddhist philosophy is the
suffering in life. In fact Buddha's spiritual journey started, when he saw
that human life is full of suffering at every stage. He, as a prince, was
rolling in luxury and was guardedly kept away from experiencing the
miseries of human sufferings. But when once he was out on the roads of his
own �Kapilavastu' he saw an old man bowed down by age, a sick man scorched
by fever, and a corpse carried and followed by mourning relatives, a
serious conflict started in his mind which awakened his consciousness. As
he found that there was suffering at every stage of life and if that was
so, there must be some way out of it. Then he also saw an ascetic, a
mendicant, who had renounced the world, and who appeared to have attained
an equanimity which was rarely to be found amongst those, who engrossed in
the sensual objects of life. There he found a possible answer to the inner
turmoil which was going within. Realizing the emptiness of things of
senses, he renounced the world, stealthily leaving his sleeping wife and
little child in bed. Thus the sight of human suffering was the starting
point of his spiritual explorations and the same became the starting point
of his philosophical expositions.
Four Arya-Satyas
He came to the conclusion that there are four basic
truths of life. They are --
(1) There is suffering - �Duhkha'.
(2) Every suffering has a cause - �Duhkha-Samudaya'.
(3) It is possible to overcome this suffering - �Duhkha
Nirodha'.
(4) There is a way to overcome sufferings -
Duhkha-Nirodha-Marga.
He said, unless we fully comprehend these four basic
realities which he called �Arya-satya', there is no way to achieve peace
or happiness in life.
He, thus, directly touched the pulse of this sick
universe. Unlike Mahavira, he did not attempt to explain the mysteries of
universal phenomena, namely, who created the universe, what are the basic
elements constituting the universe, is there any divine force which
controls our lives and all happenings around us, what happens when we die
etc. He flatly refused to answer there questions saying that they are �Avyakrta',
that is, those which serve no purpose in asking or answering. To a
questioner of such questions his reply was straight. He asked his question
that if somebody thrust a poisoned arrow in his chest, would he wait first
to ascertain who smeared the arrow with poison and what kind of poison it
was, or would he like at once to be treated by some effective medicine by
a good doctor ? The answer provided by the Master by such a direct counter
question was indeed very effective. First concern of every sick man is to
get relieved of his sickness. If we find that the life is full of
sufferings, our first concern should be to acknowledge that fact and to
try to find our proper means to remove these sufferings. Buddha believed
that salvation of soul which results in the end of all sufferings does not
depend upon the minute distinctions of metaphysics and refinement of
reason.
Even Mahavira proclaimed that this Samsara is full of
sufferings (Aho dukkho hu samsaro). But he preferred to go deep into the
matter and explained the cause of sufferings in context of the universal
scheme. He, therefore, analysed the constituents of the universe,
ascertained their character as well as functioning and tried to reveal the
whole process which shapes the universal phenomena. This necessarily takes
one to the field of metaphysics, where mere reason and logic may not prove
sufficient to explain all the happenings. Buddha knew this, and he also
knew that it was not of much practical use to involve one's energies in
such trans-logical discussion. He therefore simply brushed aside all such
questions by resorting to the formula of �Anyakrta' which did not either
affirm or contradict various metaphysical theories prevalent in his times.
First Arya-satya - With reference to the first
fundamental truth that there is constantly some sort of suffering in life,
he pointed out that birth is painful, decay is painful, disease is painful
and death is also painful. Union with unpleasant is painful. Union with
unpleasant is painful and equally painful is the separation from te
pleasant. Any craving that is not satisfied, that too is painful because
cravings, desires, disease, decay and death are the inevitable
constituents of life.
Some thinkers have charged this attitude as unduly
pessimistic by saying that it has a tendency to blacken what is dark and
to darken what is grey. This, however, is not the proper appreciation of
what the Master has meant. If a doctor points out to our disease and
suggests a remedy we do not dub him as pessimistic. Disease can be removed
and life can be made enjoyable, if you have a proper diagnosis and right
remedies. Mahavira also put equal emphasis on the sufferings of existence.
But both Mahavira and Buddha showed the way to avoid sufferings and to
obtain absolute bliss which brings undiluted happiness and joy. As
Dr.S.Radhakrishnan puts it : "Buddha does not preach the mere
worthlessness of life or resignation to an inevitable doom. His, is not
the doctrine of a finer quality, an �Arhat' state.
gada
Second Arya-satya - The second fundamental truth is
that our sufferings are not without reason; there is a cause which
generates our suffering. Our intellectual awareness demands that we should
try to find out these causes. The problem cannot be over simplified by
saying that our sufferings are the punishments inflicted on us by some
superior power which rules the destiny of the whole universe. Like
Mahavira Buddha also did not believe in a super power ruling the destiny
of the universe and Mahavira and Buddha both believed in the theory of
Karma as shaped by ethical earnestness and personal efforts. In answer to
a question seeking reason for the inequalities found in life everywhere,
the master replied -
"Every living being has Karma as its master, its
inheritance, its congenial cause, its kinsman, its refuge. It is karma
that differentiates all beings into low and high states." --- ( Milinda,
65)
Like Mahavira, Buddha also believed that it is the
annihilation of all karmas-good as well as bad - which leads one to the
state of Arhatship and Nirvana, and that after attaining Nirvana, which
literally means extinction, one is not born again.
What is the main cause of suffering ? �Desires' is the
answer of the Master. Our desires - desires for the things which are
constantly vanishing, desires which are born out of our ignorance about
the transient character of the things desired, constitute the root cause
of all our sufferings.
To understand the process by which the causes of our
sufferings operate, Buddhism has propounded the theory of �conditioned
origination or dependent origination' which is known as the doctrine of
�Pratitya-samutpada' according to which each preceding link (Nidana) is
responsible for ushering in the next one. These links (Nidanas) are
twelve. The first link is Avidya, i.e., ignorance. Conditioned by this
ignorance, arise karma formations (Samskara). They in turn give rise to
consciousness (Vijnana); Vijnana gives rise to name and form (Nama-Rupa)
which in turn gives rise to six sense-organs (Sadayatana). Then arises
contact (Sparsa), then feeling (Vedana), then thirst (Trsna), then
attachment (Upadana), then becoming (Bhava), then birth (Jati) and then
decay and death (Jara-Marana). This way the whole process of Samsara goes
on.
Thus the root cause is Avidya - ignorance out of which
false desire springs.
According to Buddhism everything in this universe is
impermanent and transitory. Buddhism believes in the existence of soul and
also in rebirth. But according to it even the soul is not permanent. Here
it differs from Jainism. It explains the theory of rebirth and
transmigration by asserting that the process of cause and effect is so
constant that it only �appears' that there is continuity. Fact of the
matter, the Buddhists assert, is that the life is nothing but a series of
manifestations of becomings and extinctions. It is a stream running from
moment to moment just like a flow of a river, the water of which is never
the same or like a burning flame which appears to be the same and
unchanged but which is another every moment.
Third Arya-satya - The third Arya-satya is that it is
possible to overcome the suffering (Nirodha). Here also the process of
�conditioned origination or dependent origination' is invoked. The process
is that conditioned by the suffering of decay and death (Jara-Marana),
there arises Faith (Sraddha) then Delight (Pramoda), then Joy (Priti),
then Serenity (Prasrabdhi), then Bliss (Sukha), then State of trans
(Samadhi), then Vision to see things are (Yathabhuti-jnana-darsana), then
Non-attachment (Nirveda), then Detachment (Viraga), then knowledge of
destruction of inflow of karmas (Asrava-Kasaya-Jnana). This is the process
of Nirodha.
Fourth Arya-satya : Astanga-marga - The fourth
Arya-satya is that there is a way to liberation from sufferings. This way
is eight-fold, namely -
(1) Right view which is similar to Samyag-darsana of
Jainas, (2) Right resolve, (3) Right speech, (4) Right action, (5) Right
livelihood, (6) Right effort, (7) Right mindfulness and (8) Right state of
trance.
This is called Noble Eight-fold Path known as �Astanga-marga'.
