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Buddhism



Main article: Reality in Buddhism

According to the scriptures, in his lifetime, the Buddha refused to answer several metaphysical questions. On issues such as whether the world is eternal or non-eternal, finite or infinite, unity or separation of the body and the self, complete inexistence of a person after nirvana and then death etc, the Buddha had remained silent. One explanation for this is that such questions distract from practical activity for realizing enlightenment.[78] Another is that such questions assume the reality of world/self/person.

In the Pali Canon and numerous Mahayana sutras and Tantras, the Buddha stresses that Dharma (Truth) cannot truly be understood with the ordinary rational mind or logic: Reality transcends all worldly concepts. The "prajna-paramita" sutras have this as one of their major themes. What is urged is study, mental and moral self-cultivation, faith in and veneration of the sutras, which are as fingers pointing to the moon of Truth, but then to let go of ratiocination and to experience direct entry into Liberation itself.

The Buddha in the self-styled "Uttara-Tantra", the Mahaparinirvana Sutra (a Mahayana scripture), insists that, while pondering upon Dharma is vital, one must then relinquish fixation on words and letters, as these are utterly divorced from Liberation and the Buddha. The Tantra entitled the "All-Creating King" (Kunjed Gyalpo Tantra, a scripture of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism) also emphasises how Buddhist Truth lies beyond the range of thought and is ultimately mysterious. The Supreme Buddha, Samantabhadra, states there: "The mind of perfect purity ... is beyond thinking and inexplicable ...."[79] Also later, the famous Indian Buddhist yogi and teacher mahasiddha Tilopa discouraged any intellectual activity in his 6 words of advice.

Most Buddhists agree that, to a greater or lesser extent, words are inadequate to describe the goal; schools differ radically on the usefulness of words in the path to that goal.[80]

Buddhist scholars have produced a prodigious quantity of intellectual theories, philosophies and world view concepts. See e.g. Abhidharma, Buddhist philosophy and Reality in Buddhism. Some schools of Buddhism discourage doctrinal study, but most regard it as having a place, at least for some people at some stages.

Mahayana often adopts a pragmatic concept of truth:[81] doctrines are "true" in the sense of being spiritually beneficial. In modern Chinese Buddhism, all doctrinal traditions are regarded as equally valid.[82]

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Divisions

The most frequently used classification of present-day Buddhism among scholars[83] divides present-day adherents into the following three traditions or geographical or cultural areas: Theravada, East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism.

An alternative scheme used by some scholars[84][page # needed] has two divisions, Theravada and Mahayana. In this classification, Mahayana includes both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism. This scheme is the one ordinarily used in the English language.[85] Some scholars[86] use other schemes. Buddhists themselves have a variety of other schemes.

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Buddhist texts

Pali Canon
    Vinaya Pitaka    
   
                                       
Sutta-
vibhanga		 Khandhaka Pari-
vara
               
   
    Sutta Pitaka    
   
                                                      
Digha
Nikaya		 Majjhima
Nikaya		 Samyutta
Nikaya
                     
   
   
                                                                     
Anguttara
Nikaya		 Khuddaka
Nikaya
                           
   
    Abhidhamma Pitaka    
   
                                                           
Dhs. Vbh. Dhk.
Pug.		 Kvu. Yamaka Patthana
                       
   
         
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Main article: Buddhist texts

Buddhist scriptures and other texts exist in great variety. Different schools of Buddhism place varying levels of value on learning the various texts. Some schools venerate certain texts as religious objects in themselves, while others take a more scholastic approach. The Buddhist canons of scripture are known in Sanskrit as the Tripitaka and in Pāli as the Tipitaka. These terms literally mean "three baskets" and refer to the three main divisions of the canon, which are:

According to the scriptures, soon after the death of the Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held; a monk named Mahākāśyapa (Pāli: Mahākassapa) presided. The goal of the council was to record the Buddha's sayings—sūtras (Sanskrit) or suttas (Pāli)—and codify monastic rules (Vinaya). Ānanda, the Buddha's personal attendant, was called upon to recite the discourses of the Buddha, and according to some sources the abhidhamma, and Upāli, another disciple, recited the rules of the Vinaya. These became the basis of the Tripitaka. However, this record was initially transmitted orally in form of chanting, and was committed to text in a much later period. Both the sūtras and the Vinaya of every Buddhist school contain a wide variety of elements including discourses on the Dharma, commentaries on other teachings, cosmological and cosmogonical texts, stories of the Buddha's previous lives, and lists relating to various subjects.

The Theravāda and other early Buddhist Schools traditionally believe that the texts of their canon contain the actual words of the Buddha. The Theravāda canon, also known as the Pāli Canon after the language it was written in, contains some four million words. Other texts, such as the Mahāyāna sūtras, are also considered by some to be the word of the Buddha, but supposedly were transmitted in secret, or via lineages of mythical beings (such as the nāgas), or came directly from other Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Approximately six hundred Mahāyāna sutras have survived in Sanskrit or in Chinese or Tibetan translations. In addition, East Asian Buddhism recognizes some sutras regarded by scholars as of Chinese origin.

The followers of Theravāda Buddhism take the scriptures known as the Pāli Canon as definitive and authoritative, while the followers of Mahāyāna Buddhism base their faith and philosophy primarily on the Mahāyāna sūtras and their own versions of the Vinaya. The Pāli sutras, along with other, closely-related scriptures, are known to the other schools as the āgamas.

Whereas the Theravādins adhere solely to the Pali canon and its commentaries, the adherents of Mahāyāna accept both the agamas and the Mahāyāna sūtras as authentic, valid teachings of the Buddha, designed for different types of persons and different levels of spiritual penetration. For the Theravādins, however, the Mahayana sūtras are works of poetic fiction, not the words of the Buddha himself. The Theravadins are confident that the Pali canon represents the full and final statement by the Buddha of his Dhamma—and nothing more is truly needed beyond that. Anything added which claims to be the word of the Buddha and yet is not found in the Canon or its commentaries is treated with extreme caution if not outright rejection by Theravada.

Buddhist monk Geshe Konchog Wangdu reads Mahayana sutras from an old woodblock copy of the Tibetan Kanjur.
Buddhist monk Geshe Konchog Wangdu reads Mahayana sutras from an old woodblock copy of the Tibetan Kanjur.

For the Mahāyānists, in contrast, the āgamas do indeed contain basic, foundational, and, therefore, relatively weighty pronouncements of the Buddha. From the Mahayana standpoint the Mahāyāna sutras articulate the Buddha's higher, more advanced and deeper doctrines, reserved for those who follow the bodhisattva path. That path is explained as being built upon the motivation to liberate all living beings from unhappiness. Hence the name Mahāyāna (lit., the Great Vehicle), which expresses availability both to the general masses of sentient beings and those who are more developed. The theme of greatness can be seen in many elements of Mahayana Buddhism, from the length of some of the Mahayana sutras and the vastness of the Bodhisattva vow, which strives for all future time to help free all other persons and creatures from pain), to the (in some sutras and Tantras) final attainment of the Buddha's "Great Self" (mahatman) in the sphere of "Great Nirvana" (mahanirvana). For Theravadins and many scholars, including A.K. Warder,[87] however, the self-proclaimed "greatness" of the Mahayana Sutras does not make them a true account of the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha.

Unlike many religions, Buddhism has no single central text that is universally referred to by all traditions. However, some scholars have referred to the Vinaya Pitaka and the first four Nikayas of the Sutta Pitaka as the common core of all Buddhist traditions.[88] However, this could be considered misleading, as Mahāyāna considers these merely a preliminary, and not a core, teaching, the Tibetan Buddhists have not even translated most of the āgamas, though theoretically they recognize them, and they play no part in the religious life of either clergy or laity in China and Japan.[89] The size and complexity of the Buddhist canons have been seen by some (including Buddhist social reformer Babasaheb Ambedkar) as presenting barriers to the wider understanding of Buddhist philosophy.

Over the years, various attempts have been made to synthesize a single Buddhist text that can encompass all of the major principles of Buddhism. In the Theravada tradition, condensed 'study texts' were created that combined popular or influential scriptures into single volumes that could be studied by novice monks. Later in Sri Lanka, the Dhammapada was championed as a unifying scripture.

Dwight Goddard collected a sample of Buddhist scriptures, with the emphasis on Zen, along with other classics of Eastern philosophy, such as the Tao Te Ching, into his 'Buddhist Bible' in the 1920s. More recently, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar attempted to create a single, combined document of Buddhist principles in "The Buddha and His Dhamma". Other such efforts have persisted to present day, but currently there is no single text that represents all Buddhist traditions.

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Buddhist symbols

Main article: Buddhist symbolism

The eight auspicious symbols of Mahayana and Vajrayana are:

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Comparative study

Buddhism is a fertile ground for comparative studies with different beliefs, philosophy, science, history, and various other aspects of Buddhism. In term of doctrine, dependent origination is, according to some, Buddhism's primary contribution to metaphysics. This has wide-ranging implication in terms of theology, philosophy, and science. On the other hand, Buddhist emphasis on the Middle way not only provides a unique guideline for ethics but it has also allowed Buddhism to peacefully coexist with various local beliefs, customs, and institutions in adopted countries for most of its history.

List of Buddhism related topics in comparative studies

  • Buddhism and Thelema[90]

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See also

[

Notes

  1. ^ Major Religions Ranked by Size
  2. ^ http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001470.html
  3. ^ Dhamma
  4. ^ For instance, see the UNESCO webpage entitled, "Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha". See also Gethin Foundations, p. 19, which states that in the mid-third century BCE the Emperor Ashoka determined that Lumbini was the Buddha's birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with the inscription: "... this is where the Buddha, sage of the Śākyas, was born."
  5. ^ For instance, Gethin Foundations, p. 14, states: "The earliest Buddhist sources state that the future Buddha was born Siddhārtha Gautama (Pali Siddhattha Gotama), the son of a local chieftain—a rājan—in Kapilavastu (Pali Kapilavatthu) what is now the Indian-Nepalese border." However, Professor Gombrich (Theravada Buddhism, p. 1) and the old but specialized study by Edward Thomas, The Life of the Buddha, ascribe the name Siddhattha/Siddhartha to later sources
  6. ^ http://buddhism.about.com/library/blbudlifesights2.htm The Life of the Buddha: The Four Sights "On the first visit he encountered an old man. On the next excursion he encountered a sick man. On his third excursion, he encountered a corpse being carried to cremation. Such sights sent home to him the prevalence of suffering in the world and that he too was subject to old age, sickness and death...on his fourth excursion, however, he encountered a holy man or sadhu, apparently content and at peace with the world."
  7. ^ http://www.wildmind.org/mantras/figures/shakyamuni/5 Wild mind Buddhist Meditation, The Buddha’s biography: Spiritual Quest and Awakening
  8. ^ see: http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/bodhidharma/bodhi_tree.html The Bodhi Tree
  9. ^ http://www.buddhamind.info/leftside/arty/bod-leaf.htm Bodhi leaf
  10. ^ Skilton, Concise, p. 25
  11. ^ Cousins, Dating.
  12. ^ "the reputed place of Buddha's death and cremation,"Encyclopedia Britannica, Kusinagara
  13. ^ A History of Indian Buddhism - Hirakawa Akira (translated and edited by Paul Groner) - Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 1993, p. 7
  14. ^ Indian Buddhism, Japan, 1980, reprinted Motilal Banarsidass,Delhi,1987,1989,table of contents
  15. ^ Professor of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Buddhist Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His main views and arguments can be found in his book Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks, University of Hawai'i Press
  16. ^ Mitchell, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2002, page 34 & table of contents
  17. ^ Skorupski, Buddhist Forum, vol I, Heritage, Delhi/SOAS, London, 1990, page 5; Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, vol 21 (1998), part 1, pages 4, 11
  18. ^ Encyclopedia of Religion, Macmillan, New York, sv Councils, Buddhist
  19. ^ Journal of the Plai Text Society, volume XVI, p. 105)
  20. ^ Janice J. Nattier and Charles S. Prebish, 1977. Mahāsāṅghika Origins: the beginnings of Buddhist sectarianism in History of Religions, Vol. 16, pp. 237–272
  21. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 74
  22. ^ Williams, Paul (1989). Mahayana Buddhism: the doctrinal foundations. London: Routledge. , pages 20f
  23. ^ Lamotte, Étienne (trans. to French) (1976). Teaching of Vimalakirti, trans. Sara Boin, London: Pali Text Society, XCIII. ISBN 0710085400. 
  24. ^ Davidson, Ronald M. (2003). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231126190. 
  25. ^ Prebish & Keown, Introducing Buddhism, page 89
  26. ^ Gethin, Foundations, page 1
  27. ^ Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967, page 395
  28. ^ World Christian Encyclopedia, 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, 2001, volume 1, page 191, & volume 2, page 10
  29. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 152
  30. ^ Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism 1900-1950, Harvard, 1967, pages 47, 396
  31. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, page 283
  32. ^ World Christian Encyclopedia, 2nd ed, volume 1, page 723
  33. ^ Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2007, page 611
  34. ^ World Christian Encyclopedia, 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, 2001, volume 1, page 803
  35. ^ Harvey, Introduction, page 159; Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume Two), page 882
  36. ^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume One), pages 430, 435
  37. ^ World Christian Encyclopedia, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, 2001, Volume 1, page 412
  38. ^ Harvey, Introduction, pages 165f
  39. ^ Adherents.com (2005). [http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html#Buddhism Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents]. Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
  40. ^ Chinese Cultural Studies: The Spirits of Chinese Religion
  41. ^ Windows on Asia - Chinese Religions
  42. ^ Religions and Beliefs in China
  43. ^ SACU Religion in China
  44. ^ Index-China Chinese Philosophies and religions
  45. ^ AskAsia - Buddhism in China
  46. ^ BUDDHISM AND ITS SPREAD ALONG THE SILK ROAD
  47. ^ U.S. Department of States - International Religious Freedom Report 2006: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
  48. ^ openDemocracy.net - 'The Atlas of Religion,' Joanne O'Brien & Martin Palmer: State Attitudes to Religion
  49. ^ Center for Religious Freedom - Survey Files
  50. ^ The Range of Religious Freedom
  51. ^ Garfinkel, Perry (December 2005). "Buddha Rising". National Geographic: 88–109. 
  52. ^ [1], retrieved on 2008-01-15
  53. ^ World Christian Encyclopedia, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, 2001, volume 2, page 10
  54. ^ World Religions Religion Statistics Geography Church Statistics
  55. ^ See for example: http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/fourtruths.html The Four Noble Truths
  56. ^ Gethin, Foundations, page 60
  57. ^ Gombrich, Richard F. (1988). Theravada Buddhism, 2nd, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 2. ISBN 0710213190. 
  58. ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:489.pali Pali Text Society Pali Dictionary
  59. ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:2598.pali Pali Text Society Pali Dictionary
  60. ^ http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:229.pali Pali Text Society Pali Dictionary
  61. ^ An important development in the Mahayana [was] that it came to separate nirvana from bodhi ('awakening' to the truth, Enlightenment), and to put a lower value on the former (Gombrich, 1992d). Originally nirvana and bodhi refer to the same thing; they merely use different metaphors for the experience. But the Mahayana tradition separated them and considered that nirvana referred only to the extinction of craving (= passion and hatred), with the resultant escape from the cycle of rebirth. This interpretation ignores the third fire, delusion: the extinction of delusion is of course in the early texts identical with what can be positively expressed as gnosis, Enlightenment.’’ How Buddhism Began, Richard F. Gombrich, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, p. 67
  62. ^ ‘It is evident that the Hinayanists, either to popularize their religion or to interest the laity more in it, incorporated in their doctrines the conception of Bodhisattva and the practice of paramitas. This was effected by the production of new literature: the Jatakas and Avadanas.' Buddhist Sects in India, Nalinaksha Dutt, Motilal Banararsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition, 1978, p. 251. The term 'Semi-Mahayana' occurs here as a subtitle
  63. ^ ‘[the Theravadins’] early literature did not refer to the paramitas.’ Buddhist Sects in India, Nalinaksha Dutt, Motilal Banararsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition, 1978, Dutt, p. 228
  64. ^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume One), page 351; Cook, Hua-yen Buddhism, pages 110f
  65. ^ Norbu, Chogyal Namkhai (2000). The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen. Snow Lion Publications, 164. ISBN 1559391359. 
  66. ^ Kohn, Shambhala, pp. 131, 143
  67. ^ Bhikku, Thanissaro (2001). Refuge. An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha. Access to Insight.
  68. ^ Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha, tr Nanamoli, rev Bodhi, Wisdom Pubns, 1995, pages 708f
  69. ^ Volume One, page 296
  70. ^ Thera, Piyadassi (1999). "Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta", The Book of Protection. Buddhist Publication Society.  In the Buddha's first sermon, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, he talks about the Middle Way, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths.
  71. ^ Harvey, Introduction, p. 47
  72. ^ Hinnels, John R. (1998). The New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140514805. ,pages 393f
  73. ^ Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, p. 92
  74. ^ Eliot, Japanese Budhism, Edward Arnold, London, 1935, page 60
  75. ^ Eliot, Japanese Buddhism, Edward Arnold, London, 1935, pages 59f
  76. ^ Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967, page 396
  77. ^ Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2007, page 502
  78. ^ MN 72 (Thanissaro, 1997). For further discussion of the context in which these statements was made, see Thanissaro (2004).
  79. ^ The Sovereign All-Creating Mind tr. by E.K. Neumaier-Dargyay, pp. 111–112.
  80. ^ Philosophy East and West, volume Twenty-Six, page 138
  81. ^ Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1989, page 2
  82. ^ Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967, page 395
  83. ^ (Harvey, 1990); (Gombrich,1984); Gethin (1998), pp. 1–2, identifies "three broad traditions" as: (1) "The Theravāda tradition of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia, also sometimes referred to as 'southern' Buddhism"; (2) "The East Asian tradition of China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, also sometimes referred to as 'eastern' Buddhism"; and, (3) "The Tibetan tradition, also sometimes referred to as 'northern' Buddhism." Robinson & Johnson (1982) divide their book into two parts: Part One is entitled "The Buddhism of South Asia" (which pertains to Early Buddhism in India); and, Part Two is entitled "The Development of Buddhism Outside of India" with chapters on "The Buddhism of Southeast Asia," "Buddhism in the Tibetan Culture Area," "East Asian Buddhism" and "Buddhism Comes West."
  84. ^ Smith, Buddhism; Juergensmeyer, Oxford Handbook. In addition, Gethin, Foundations, pp. 1–5, could be used to support the use of this bipartite classification scheme to the degree that he identifies that both East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism have a "general outlook" of the Mahāyāna tradition, although Tibetan Buddhism's "specific orientation" is Tantric Buddhism.
  85. ^ "Tibetan Buddhism". American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. (2004). Houghton Mifflin Company. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. 
  86. ^ See e.g. the multi-dimensional classification in Encyclopedia of Religion, Macmillan, New York, 1987, volume 2, pages 440ff
  87. ^ A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition (2000), p. 4
  88. ^ A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition (2000)
  89. ^ Eliot, Japanese Buddhism, Edward Arnold, London, 1935, page 16
  90. ^ Thelema & Buddhism in Journal of Thelemic Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, Autumn 2007, pp. 18-32

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References

  • Bechert, Heinz & Richard Gombrich (ed.) (1984). The World of Buddhism, Thames & Hudson.
  • Berzin, Alexander (November 2001). Historical Sketch of Buddhism and Islam in Afghanistan. Berzin Archives.
  • Cousins, L. S. (1996). "The Dating of the Historical Buddha: A Review Article". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Series 3 (6.1): 57–63. ; reprinted in Williams, Buddhism, volume I; NB in the online transcript a little text has been accidentally omitted: in section 4, between "... none of the other contributions in this section envisage a date before 420 B.C." and "to 350 B.C." insert "Akira Hirakawa defends the short chronology and Heinz Bechert himself sets a range from 400 B.C."
  • Davidson, Ronald M. (2003). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231126190. 
  • de Give, Bernard (2006). Les rapports de l'Inde et de l'Occident des origines au règne d'Asoka. Les Indes savants. ISBN-10: 2846540365. 
  • Gethin, Rupert (1998). Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-289223-1. 
  • Harvey, Peter (1990). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-52-131333-3. 
  • Lamotte, Étienne (trans. from French) (1976). Teaching of Vimalakirti, trans. Sara Boin, London: Pali Text Society, XCIII. ISBN 0710085400. 
  • Skilton, Andrew (1997). A Concise History of Buddhism. Windhorse Publications. ISBN 0904766926. 
  • Williams, Paul (1989). Mahayana Buddhism: the doctrinal foundations. London: Routledge. 
  • Williams, Paul (ed.) (2005). Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, 8 volumes, Routledge, London & New York.

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Suggested reading

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