Author: Om Prakash Dubey
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: March 2, 2005
GAUTAMA BUDDHA was born and brought
up and died a Hindu, Rhys Davids writes in his famous book " Buddhism".
He says," Gautam's whole training was of Sanatan dharma he probably deemed
himself to be the most correct exponent of the spirit, of the ancient faith,
and it can only be claimed for him that he was one of' the greatest and
wisest and best of the Hindus."'
Buddha's teaching was only a restatement
of the thought of the Upanishads with a new emphasis. The spirit which
gave birth to the Upanishads is also the life-spring of Buddhism.
Dr Radhakrishnan has shown that
the following points are common to the teaching of the Upanishads and the
teaching of Buddha-
* Both are indifferent to authority
and insist on personal experience. Both have contempt for ritualism and
sacrifices.
* Both admit that the absolute Reality,
called Brahman by the one Dharma by the other, cannot be comprehended by
the intellect
* Birth assert that there is no
peace for the mind of man till the state of changeless reality, call it
moksha or nirvana, is reached.
* Both teach that this reality can
be reached only through renunciation, meditation and the realisation of
the oneness of all life.
* Both regard the world and the
individual self as impermanent.
* Both believe in the law of Karma
and rebirth.
* And Buddha uses in his discourses
many phrases and expressions from the Upanishads.
But Buddha was interested much more
in providing a remedy for the ills of life than in discussing metaphysical
questions.
His teaching was confined to the
Four Sanatana truths and eightfold Sanatana Path. The four. Sanatana Truths
are- (1) that there is suffering in the world, (2) that it has a cause,
(3) that it can be removed, and (4) that there is a way to do this.
The famous Eightfold Sanatana path
consisting of (1) right belief, (2) right aim, (3) right speech, (4) right
action, (5) right living, (6) right effort, (7) right mind fullness and
(8) right contemplation. In the beginning the teaching of Buddhism was
regarded as the second Renaissance in Sanatana traditions, as the Upanishadic
teaching was the first. For the religious canon of Buddhism took shape
only many centuries after Buddha's death and there are many inconsistencies
in its teaching. For instance, there is now a great difference of opinion
among scholars about the views of Buddha on the nature of the world, the
sol and the final liberation. It is quite probable that, taking advantage
of his silence on metaphysical questions, his later followers gave their
own explanations of these as an addition to his practical teaching. Anyway
the Buddhist Sangha developed in course of time certain doctrines which
looked like perversions of the teachings of the Upanishads.
Life of renunciation and meditation
could only be for the few who have the necessary qualification for it and
not for all and sundry.
According to the Sanatana scheme
it was only for those who had lived a full life in the world and had discharged
their obligations to society Formal Sanyasa was the crown of the religious
life, not its base.
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The real Buddhism today (Part
II of II)
Author: Om Prakash Dubey
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: March 9, 2005
It is often said that the Brahmin
priests opposed the teaching of Buddha because he repudiated their ascendancy
and condemned sacrifices which were the source of their income. But all
Brahmins were not sacrificial priests even those days, and it was not the
sacrificial priests who always guided the religious thought of the society.
In the Upanishads it Is not the sacrificial priests that decide religious
questions, but those who have transcended sacrificial traditions. Nor are
Brahmins always considered the supreme teachers. They often give place
to other community of the society.
Buddha did not abolish caste among
the laity. He abolished it only in the Sangha, only among those who had
renounced the world and who had taken monastic vows. Even according to
Sanatana theory, those who renounced the world and became Sanyasis were
above caste distinctions. No, it is not these selfish considerations, but
the Buddhist Sngha interpretation of Nirvana as utter extinction, the Bhuddhist
over-emphasis onmonastic life and the Buddhist system of cold self-culture
without God and without worship and without any warm feeling of the leaders
of society.
But during the lifetime of Buddha
the charm of his own wonderful personality and the story of his great renunciation
overcame everything. For he was the most lovable of the world-teachers.
No harsh word ever escaped his lips.
He ever radiated peace, gentleness
and serenity, and he had boundless compassion for all beings. The success
of his simple practical teaching conveyed in the language of the people
was immediate. But the People do not know much of its history, for a long
time after his death till the time of Ashoka. When the emperor embraced
Buddhism and interpreted its teaching in his own way and sent religious
embassies far and near and carved his edics on rocks and pillars, it may
be said to have started on its career of world-conquest. In spite of all
these developments, Sanatana Dharma was never eclipsed by Buddhism. Vincent
Smith says: "It must be clearly understood that Sanatana Dharma continued
to exist and to claim innumerable adherents throughouxt the ages. It may
well be doubted if Buddhism can be described as having been the prevailing
religion of India as a whole at any time. The phrase "Buddhist perios"
to be found in many books is false and misleading.
Neither a Buddhist nor a Jain period
ever existed. From time to time either Buddhism or Jainism obtained exceptional
success and an unusually large percentage of adherents in the population
of one kingdom or another But neither heresy ever superseded Sanatana Dharma."
Buddha is a Sanskrit word, meaning "Wisdom and enlightenment". In essence
Buddha means wisdom. In application or function, it means enlightenment.
In 1923, a well- known Buddhist
scholar, Mr. Jing-Wuou-Yang gave a speech at Nanjing Nor mal University
in China, entitled "Buddhism is neither a Religion nor a Philosophy, but
the Essential for our modern time." He says, "Buddhism is a most virtuous
and perfect education based on Sanatana Traditions of India." Currently
there are at least five forms of Buddhism. The first form is the real Buddhism.
It is the education of the Buddha's teachings. The second form is religious
Buddhism. Although originally not a religion it has become one in the past
few hundred years.
The third form is philosophical
or academic Buddhism often found as a course in college. This is inappropriate.
Buddhist education is a complete university in itself, including all branches
of learning. But now it is reduced to merely a philosophical discipline.
The fourth and most recent deviation
is Buddhism as a show. It consists of a few hours of music, singing and
dancing with a short talk in between. The fifth form is a deviation that
has gone too far, that of the distortion of Buddhism into a cult. This
deviated form has appeared in the last thirty to forty years. The exploitation
of Buddhism by evil cults has gone too far. In the name of Buddhism, they
take advantage of the weaknesses of human nature, creating chaos by cheating,
and misleading people, endangering the safety of the public-Some of their
propaganda and deeds can sound extremely enticing and appealing.
