Big Ideas Simply Explained - The Religions Book

["branded as unorthodox. But by Not by birth is one an HINDUISM 99 around 500 BCE a de\ufb01nite shift in outcast; not by birth is one the way religion was viewed The sacred literature throughout Hindu society had a Brahmin. By deed one of Hinduism taken place. Rather than being becomes an outcast, by deed seen as a means of maintaining Hindu scriptures fall into two order, it now seemed to offer a way one becomes a Brahmin. categories, distinguished by to escape the bondage of physical Buddha on the varnas the names sruti and smriti. life by achieving a purely spiritual The term sruti, which means existence. Seeking liberation determined for that individual, \u201cthat which is heard,\u201d is used from, rather than alignment with, according to the varnas; it had, to describe Vedic literature, the established order became therefore, both a personal and which was heard by priests paramount. And in the centuries a social dimension, as well as and scholars through the that followed, the Hindu tradition an apparently rational system process of revelation, or of the embraced the idea of personal for prescribing how the personal realization of undoubted truth. devotion as a means of liberation, and social interacted. This canonical knowledge was and worship became a matter then passed down via the oral more of personal engagement than This early phase of Hinduism tradition from one generation simply the correct performance of highlights an issue for all religion, of Brahmins to the next. sacri\ufb01ce. Over time, personal namely whether it should be based forms of devotion and ritual mainly on the individual, or on There are four collections developed, so much so that shrines society as a whole. Religions are of Vedic hymns, composed became a common feature in embedded within society, and it is over a period of 1,000 years. people\u2019s homes, and a Brahmin sometimes dif\ufb01cult to distinguish The \ufb01rst, thought to date was no longer required to enable truly religious ideas from beliefs back to 1200 BCE, is the acts of devotion to take place. and attitudes that arise from the Rig-Veda. Associated with political or cultural milieu within these, and also sruti, are Religion and society which the religion developed. the Brahmanas, which In the Vedic period, religion was It is also the case that religious provide instructions about focused primarily on the individual rules and traditions may be used the performance of ritual; the \ufb01nding his or her place within the by a ruling elite to maintain Aranyakas, which outline universe, and within society, and their own position. discussions on meditation and living in the way that had been ritual; and the Upanishads, Even posing the question which provide philosophical of whether religion should focus interpretations. Vedic sruti on the individual or society is literature is the ultimate problematic, for it implies that authority for Hindus. a personal experience of religion is more valid than the social. \u25a0 The term smriti, which translates as \u201cthat which The concept of varna may need is remembered\u201d is used to rede\ufb01ning in order to be workable in describe the remaining Hindu 21st-century India where newly de\ufb01ned literature, notably the great roles and nontraditional careers epic poems, the Mahabharata challenge existing hierarchies. and the Ramayana. While not having the same status as sruti, because they are not thought to be divinely inspired, these texts are nonetheless important because they are open to interpretation. This signi\ufb01cant strand of Indian literature is still hugely in\ufb02uential and includes the Bhagavad-Gita, probably the most popular of all Hindu scriptures.","100 THE DIVINE HAS A FEMALE ASPECT THE POWER OF THE GREAT GODDESS IN CONTEXT W hile in many faiths the Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune, image of the divine has beauty, and fertility, is the consort of KEY TEXTS been mainly masculine, Lord Vishnu. She has four arms and The Vedas Hinduism has many goddesses, hands, with which she dispenses who represent creativity, fertility, material and spiritual gifts to devotees. WHEN AND WHERE or power. The general term for the From 1700 BCE, India feminine divine force is Shakti, sleeping goddess at the base of the which means \u201cto be able.\u201d Shakti spine. Awareness and development BEFORE is personi\ufb01ed in Maha Devi, the of this force through yoga can be a 3000 BCE Figurines dating to divine mother or \u201cgreat goddess.\u201d form of spiritual release. Sometimes this time found in the Indus She represents the active power of practiced physically, more often Valley suggest the worship the divine, as well as its nurturing through meditation, these Tantric of a fertility goddess. force, and in the Hindu school of rituals are used to enhance the Shaktism she is worshipped as the union between a person\u2019s male AFTER supreme deity. The great goddess and female elements. \u25a0 5th\u20133rd century BCE The takes on many different forms, each Puranas, ancient Hindu texts, expressing particular qualities. celebrate female power, and In her aspect as consort to Shiva, the goddesses described as for example, Shakti may appear consorts of the gods in the as gentle, loving Parvati, but she Vedas begin to gain their is also Kali and Durga\u2014terrible own followings. and threatening. 300\u2013700 CE Tantric rites The coiled serpent use images of coupled male As well as being the creative power and female deities as a focus of the divine, Shakti represents the for meditation, and Shaktism feminine element within the self. becomes a fully \ufb02edged Hindus believe that our sexual devotional branch of Hinduism. energy and life force (kundalini) resides like a coiled serpent or c.800 CE Adi Shankara composes Saundaryalahari See also: Physical and mental discipline 112\u201313 \u25a0 Devotion through puja 114\u201315 (\u201cWaves of Beauty\u201d), a hymn to \u25a0 Buddhas and bodhisattvas 152\u201357 \u25a0 Shaktism 328 Parvati and her sexual power.","HINDUISM 101 SIT UP CLOSE TO YOUR GURU HIGHER LEVELS OF TEACHING IN CONTEXT I s it realistic to offer the same In particular, the texts argue religious teachings and truths that there is a single universal KEY SOURCE to everyone? In Hinduism reality, Brahman, which can The Upanishads there are different levels at which be known only by thought and the religion can be understood and the analysis of experience. The WHEN AND WHERE followed. Its earliest texts, the Upanishads thus added a highly 6th century BCE, India Vedas, and the commentaries on philosophical dimension to Indian them that followed, provided the religious discussion. The idea BEFORE texts, prayers, and instructions of sitting up close to your guru From 1200 BCE The Vedas for the performance of sacri\ufb01ces implies that there are levels provide texts and instructions and other public acts of worship. of teaching which, by probing for rituals used exclusively Later, the epic, often action-packed religious ideas for truths that are by the brahmins, or priests. stories of the gods, the Ramayana universal and rational, can give and the Mahabharata (p.111), new depth to conventional beliefs. \u25a0 AFTER were used for popular devotion. 6th century BCE In India, But by the 6th century BCE, another On Earth, those who traveling teachers, among body of literature\u2014the Upanishads achieve greatness achieve them Buddha and Mahavira, \u2014had developed, offering access it through concentration. attract their own disciples. for the initiated to a higher plane of spiritual knowledge. The Upanishads From 1st century BCE Six distinct schools of Hindu Dif\ufb01cult concepts philosophy, known as the The word \u201cUpanishad\u201d means Darshanas, develop. \u201cto sit up close,\u201d and it applies to teachings that are restricted to 800 CE Adi Shankara founds those who are accepted for religious four famous mathas, or study by a guru, or teacher. The monastery schools, to teach Upanishads focus on abstract the ideas of the Upanishads. concepts concerning the nature of the self and of the universe. 1500 CE Sikhism takes its name from the Sanskrit word See also: The ultimate reality 102\u2013105 \u25a0 The self as constantly changing 148\u201351 shishya, \u201cstudent of the guru.\u201d \u25a0 The Protestant Reformation 230\u201337 \u25a0 The Darshanas 328","102 IN CONTEXT BRAHMAN IS KEY SOURCE MY SELF The Upanishads WITHIN THE HEART WHEN AND WHERE 6th century BCE, India THE ULTIMATE REALITY BEFORE From 2000BCE The idea of a soul that can be separated from the body is present in some early Indo-European beliefs, but describes a spirit that carries the essence of the individual rather than a soul at one with an ultimate reality. AFTER c.400 BCE Indian philosophy in\ufb02uences ancient Greek thinkers. Plato posits a supreme being from which all other living beings derive. 1st century Buddhist sage Nagasena rejects the notion of a \ufb01xed self, following Buddha\u2019s teaching that all things exist in a state of \ufb02ux. The Upanishads are a series of philosophical texts, the earliest of which had been composed by the 6th century BCE. They record the highest level of teachings, reserved for the \ufb01nely trained, meditative minds of Hindu sages or gurus. Their central concern is the nature of the self; in effect they argue that to understand the self is to understand everything. Western philosophy has traditionally taken two positions on the nature of the self. For the school known as dualist, the self is nonphysical and distinct from the body. Whether it is called the soul or the mind, it is the thinking and feeling aspect of what we are\u2014the","HINDUISM 103 See also: Animism in early societies 24\u201325 \u25a0 Man and the cosmos 48\u201349 \u25a0 Seeing with pure consciousness 116\u201321 \u25a0 Man as a manifestation of God 188 \u25a0 Mystical experience in Christianity 238 \u25a0 Su\ufb01sm and the mystic tradition 282\u201383 Conventionally, we tend But if we analyze The sage then asks his son to to think of ourselves as material objects in divide one of those seeds, and distinct from our bodies terms of their smallest describe what he sees inside and separate from the elements, we end up with that. The answer is \u201cnothing.\u201d an absolute reality The sage then points out that the rest of the world. that is invisible to whole great \ufb01g tree is made of just such \u201cnothingness.\u201d That is Therefore our true self even the largest its essence, its soul, its reality. is identical with of microscopes. And, the dialogue concludes, \u201cThat is you, Svetaketu!\u201d the invisible, absolute If this is true of reality, Brahman. all objects in the The statement, \u201cThat is you!\u201d world, it must also be (in Sanskrit, \u201cTat tvam asi!\u201d), is true of ourselves. probably the most famous in all Hindu philosophy. It rests on the idea that analysis of any apparently solid object will eventually arrive at an invisible essence, present everywhere, which is Brahman. This applies to everything, from a \ufb01g to the human self. Beyond the physical and mental aspects of the self, Hinduism says there is something greater, the atman, which can be nothing other than Brahman, the single, absolute reality. There is no distinction between us and this ultimate divine reality. \u276f\u276f \u201cI\u201d that experiences the world. It impersonal reality, Brahman. Microscopy has helped science to is this \u201cI\u201d that absorbs sensory data Therefore, although we may conclude that an entire human being is and makes sense of it. Materialists experience ourselves as separate, made from DNA\u2014but does this include (or physicalists), on the other hand, small, and vulnerable individuals, what we think of as our self? argue that only physical things our true selves are actually at one exist, therefore the self is no more with the fundamental reality than a way of describing the of the universe. activity of the brain. The self as nothing Within Hinduism, however, the The Upanishads express the idea Upanishads explored a view that of atman by way of dialogues and differs from both of these Western images. One of the most famous is approaches. In these texts, the self from the Chandogya Upanishad. is described as having three parts: It is a dialogue between the sage a material body; a more subtle body, Uddalaka Aruni and his son, which is made up of thoughts, Svetaketu. The sage asks the boy feelings, and experiences; and to bring and cut open a \ufb01g. When a pure consciousness, called his father asks him what he sees the atman. The atman, it is claimed, inside it, the son replies, \u201cSeeds.\u201d is identical with the absolute,","104 THE ULTIMATE REALITY An endless cycle of lives is what lies before us, unless we can be released from the suffering of reincarnation through the realization of the true nature of atman or Brahman. All this is Brahman\u2026 He is my Self within the heart, smaller than a corn of rice\u2026 Chandogya Upanishad 14th Khanda Understanding Brahman and pure\u2014but bringing forth not individual. Just as making a The Upanishad dialogue about the breath, mind, and all the senses. sacri\ufb01ce in the correct way was \ufb01g seed is followed by a second, \u201cIts heart is the whole world. Truly, thought to align the self with the which attempts to give us some this is the Inner Self of all.\u201d universal order, so being aware sense of what Brahman might be of Brahman as the true self is to like. A bowl of water is brought and In this understanding, the way align yourself with reality itself. the son is asked to taste the liquid we experience the world through from different parts of the bowl. It the senses, viewing it as consisting Hindus believe that karma tastes pure throughout. Salt is of objects separate from ourselves, (actions) produce consequences then dissolved in the water. Now, is not the absolute truth; there is a \u2014both good and bad\u2014not just although the appearance remains reality that underlies and sustains in the external world, but also for the same, all of the water tastes of everything, which is invisible and the person who performs them. salt. In the same way, Brahman, within our innermost self. Hinduism developed an idea of the absolute reality, is unseen but reincarnation in which the self present everywhere. Karma and reincarnation takes on a succession of bodies In the earlier Vedic religion, it was over the course of many lifetimes. The Mundaka Upanishad uses believed that the act of offering The form each life takes is a different image for Brahman. Just sacri\ufb01ces to the gods maintained determined by karma from the as thousands of sparks \ufb02y from a the sense of order in the universe. previous life. However, knowledge large \ufb01re and then fall back into it, The Upanishads internalized that that \u201catman is Brahman\u201d can so innumerable beings are created process. They claimed that reality release a person from the constant from Brahman, \u201cthe imperishable,\u201d is to be found as an absolutely cycle of birth, death, and rebirth or \u201cGreat One,\u201d which is described simple, still point, deep within the (which is known as samsara). as unborn, breathless, mindless, self. And that reality is universal, Karma is generated by the actions of the physical body and the subtle mental body (such as an individual\u2019s thoughts and feelings), but the person who is aware of the atman, and therefore of Brahman, residing deep within the self, will transcend the level of the two bodies (physical and subtle mental) at which karma operates.","HINDUISM 105 When many candles Hinduism the aim is to be released is directly experienced\u2014in a are kindled from another, from the suffering that inevitably way that goes beyond reason arises from living and dying in one and language. This wordless it is the same \ufb02ame life after another. awareness is said to produce a that burns in all candles; state of bliss (ananda). even so, the one Brahman A conscious intuition The arguments presented by the It could be argued that a self appears to be many. Chandogya Upanishad\u2019s stories formed by sense experience and Sage Vasishtha about the \ufb01g seeds and the salt reason alone would suf\ufb01ce for the water are logical. In a sense, they purposes of a human life. This Although Hindus hope that, by are no more than scienti\ufb01c analysis was challenged by the sages who generating good karma, they will of matter, but presented in the produced the dialogues of the improve their prospects in future language of a prescienti\ufb01c age. Upanishads. The Katha Upanishad lives, there is always the threat that Today, the equivalent would be uses a chariot as an analogy of the bad karma will lead to them being to say that everything is comprised self. The senses are the chariot\u2019s reborn into a lower caste, or as of subatomic particles, energy, horses and the mind is its driver. an animal. However, this is not and the fundamental forces. But riding in the chariot is the as important as it \ufb01rst appears, atman. The implication of this because moving on to another life However, the purpose and image is that, for someone whose (good or bad) is not viewed as a implication of the Upanishadic whole awareness is limited to \ufb01nal goal in Hinduism. Unlike in dialogues and modern science are reason and sense experience, monotheistic religions, in which quite different. In the Upanishads, the onward rush of the chariot the prospect of life beyond death reasoned argument is not an end is without purpose, since it lacks is a promise to be welcomed, in in itself, but a means of leading a a passenger who is making the person to an intuition that goes journey. That is what the intuition beyond words. The logic of the of the atman restores. argument for the identity of atman and Brahman represents Hinduism does not see gaining no more than the starting point for consciousness of the atman as easy. understanding them. The aim of It can occur only after other possible the Upanishads\u2019 teachings is to identities have been examined and encourage students to internalize discarded as inadequate. It is not a and meditate on the arguments fact to be learned, but an intuition until the reality that they suggest that can gradually inform a person\u2019s conscious awareness. \u25a0 Death and beyond If the self, or soul, is nonphysical reality. This self takes on physical Concealed in the heart and therefore separable from the form in a succession of lives, of all beings is the physical body, the possibility of which is the idea of reincarnation. Atman, the Spirit, surviving death and living on in For Western monotheistic another form becomes logically religions, the issue is whether the the Self; smaller than the possible. Most Western religions soul is genuinely separable from smallest atom, greater see each individual soul as being the body, and how, if separated, than the vast spaces. created at a particular point in it might maintain its identity. For Katha Upanishad time, but capable of living on Hindus, the issue is to intuitively inde\ufb01nitely following the death grasp that this self and this life of the body. Hindu thought sees are only a part of something the self as timeless, having no much larger, and that the self is beginning, and identi\ufb01ed with one with the fundamental reality the single, undifferentiated of the universe.","106 IN CONTEXT WE LEARN, KEY TEXT WE LIVE, The Dharma-shastras WE WITHDRAW, WE DETACH WHEN AND WHERE 5th century BCE, India THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE BEFORE From prehistory Many early belief systems have age-related rules and rites of passage. From 1700 BCE The Vedic religion includes a tradition of ascetic discipline, but emphasizes social duty as the central goal for most people. 6th century BCE As ideas about reincarnation and liberation become more prominent in Hinduism; more people reject society and family life and choose the path of the ascetic. AFTER Today The majority of Hindus remain for most of their lives in the householder stage. Implicit in all religions is the notion that there are aims in life, and correct ways of living that might secure these aims. Hinduism proposes that life has several main goals: dharma (right living); the linked concepts of artha (wealth) and kama (pleasure); and moksha (liberation). The pursuit of dharma\u2014living as duty obliges \u2014keeps a person on the righteous path. The search for wealth and pleasure leads people to learn valuable lessons, as well as producing children, supporting the family, and being in a position to give alms. The \ufb01nal goal, moksha, is a liberation from the concerns and things of the earthly world.","HINDUISM 107 See also: \u25a0 Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation 68\u201371 \u25a0 A rational world 92\u201399 \u25a0 Sel\ufb02ess action 110\u201311 \u25a0 Finding the Middle Way 130\u2013136 \u25a0 The purpose of monastic vows 145 The Four Stages of Life choice was not an uncommon one in Hindu society at this time; the most We learn In the \ufb01rst stage of life, students famous example is that of Buddha, are expected to study the Vedas who abandoned his privileged life as Prince Siddhartha Gautama, leaving under instruction from a guru. his wife and baby son in order to become a wandering teacher. We live As a householder, a man is expected to marry, have children, and work However, the position of the followers of the shramana tradition\u2014 to support family and others in society. that asceticism was more spiritually valuable than the seeking of artha We withdraw With the birth of a grandchild, some (wealth) and kama (pleasure)\u2014 may retire from active work and placed them in opposition to Vedic tradition. For around a thousand take time to re\ufb02ect and advise. years, the Vedas had been used to teach that seeking material comfort We detach A few men may take the \ufb01nal step of and personal ful\ufb01llment were noble becoming a wandering ascetic. goals in life, if correctly pursued. So, was it necessary to choose between such radically different paths? Or might it be possible for a person to enjoy the bene\ufb01ts of all four traditional goals? Having it all In about the 5th century BCE, further commentaries on dharma known as shastras offered a new approach: instead of making one \ufb01nal choice, a person might work \u276f\u276f By the 6th century BCE two very known as shramana (a Sanskrit Of Brahmins, Kshatriyas different traditions in Indian word that translates as something and Vaishyas, as also the religion existed. Most people in like \u201cto work at austerity\u201d) was very Shudras, O Arjuna, the duties India followed the Vedic tradition, in\ufb02uential in the development of are distributed according to offering sacri\ufb01ces to the gods and both Buddhism and Jainism. The the qualities born of their hoping for a life of wealth and Dharma Sutras\u2014sacred texts on pleasure, moderated by the moral the rules of correct behavior\u2014 own natures. and social principles encoded in suggested that a person who had The Bhagavad-Gita dharma. However, others had studied dharma (virtue or right become attracted to a different living) was essentially faced lifestyle\u2014that of the wandering with three possible paths: the ascetic, committed to serious continued study of the Vedic texts physical and mental discipline in as the principal goal in life; a life order to achieve spiritual liberation, seeking wealth and pleasure; or the and shunning both wealth and renunciation of everything in order pleasure. This ascetic tradition, to become an ascetic. The last","108 THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE When one renounces all the about dharma\u2014right living\u2014in an Today it is generally a matter of desires which have arisen in academic way, together with history, letting go of overall responsibility philosophy, law, literature, grammar, for business and \ufb01nancial matters, the mind\u2026and when he and rhetoric. Education traditionally allowing the next generation to himself is content within his continues until the age of around take over, but also having time own self, then is he called a 25 or 30, and during this stage, to study and offer wise advice. as well as showing respect to man of steadfast wisdom. parents and teachers, students are Most Hindus never get beyond The Bhagavad-Gita expected to abstain from sexual the retirement stage to reach that activity, sublimating all their of the ascetic; they are only allowed toward different goals in succession, energy into their learning. to enter the fourth stage of life as they moved through four stages of once they have ful\ufb01lled all their life, or ashramas: student, house- At the end of his education, a obligations to their family. This is holder, retiree, and renunciate, or Hindu man is expected to marry the point at which the individual ascetic. The correct aims in life, and have a family. This is the start sets aside all worldly concerns and and correct behavior, would not of the grihastha, or householder, ties, and devotes his life to the only depend on the individual\u2019s stage, during which every man is pursuit of \ufb01nal release (moksha). varna, or social class (pp.92\u201399), expected to be economically active, but would also vary with the stage supporting not just his wife and A combined formula reached in life. children, but also elderly relatives. The four stages of life combine Traditional Indian households often with a person\u2019s class in a single Not everyone is thought able to include three or four generations concept that de\ufb01nes morality and travel through these four stages. who pool their income and use a lifestyle: varnashrama-dharma, Women are (usually) excluded, as single kitchen. This extended family literally the right ordering of life are Shudras (the laboring class) and tends to be organized on hierarchical (dharma) according to one\u2019s class those outside the class system lines, both for men and women. (varna) and stage in life (ashrama). (Dalits, or untouchables). Only men Householders are also expected to As a formula for prescribing how to from the highest three varnas\u2014 offer support to ascetics. live correctly, it is very different to Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas those of other religions, where one (soldiers or protectors of the state), The householder upholds the and Vaishyas (merchants and duties of his dharma and his varna A man measures fabric in his place farmers)\u2014undergo the rite, in which (class), but, unlike in the other of business. During the householder they are about eight years old, known three stages, part of his duty is the phase of life a man is expected to as the sacred thread ceremony, pursuit of artha (wealth) and kama pursue wealth and provide for his where they are \u201ctwice born,\u201d and (desire), including sexual pleasure family and for his extended family. begin their journey through life. and procreation. To describe this stage of life as one in which wealth Learning and living and pleasure are the primary goals, The \ufb01rst stage of life is that of the however, may give a distorted brahmacharya, or student. The view of its obligations, for it involves boy attends a gurukula (a school) caring for the extended family where he studies Vedic literature and offering hospitality. with a guru, or teacher. He learns Withdrawal from the world The third stage of life of is that of vanaprastha\u2014retirement. This traditionally begins with the arrival of the \ufb01rst grandson. Originally, it involved becoming a \u201cforest dweller,\u201d opting for a simple life of re\ufb02ection into which a man could retire with his wife\u2014although, at this stage, ceasing to have sex.","HINDUISM 109 The various spiritual obligations of Hinduism could seem dif\ufb01cult to ful\ufb01ll in one lifetime. However, by delineating four separate life phases, each with a different focus and with speci\ufb01c duties to perform for a limited period, the task seems more achievable. set of moral commands applies of a man\u2019s life, and marriage is Moral principles equally to all. It is a moral system considered to be a contract between that recognizes \ufb02exibility and families, rather than a matter of Hinduism has \ufb01ve broad difference in people\u2019s circumstances. romantic attachment. If a new wife moral principles: ahimsa (not It also aims to prevent pride in those is to be introduced to an extended killing), satya (speaking the of the higher classes, who must family home, it is clearly problematic truth), asteya (not stealing), undergo a disciplined education if she is not well suited to the man brahmacharya (sexual in order to develop self-detachment in terms of dharma, varna, or his continence), and aparigraha and prepare them, mentally, to ashrama. This explains the origins (not being avaricious). The relinquish their worldly gains and of certain Hindu social attitudes way each of these is practiced responsibilities in later life. It and traditions\u2014for example, the depends on the stage of life. For confers value on the labors of arranged marriage\u2014but many of instance, celibacy will not be the householder, recognizing that, these now clash with the outlook of practiced by householders, both economically and practically, some Hindus brought up in a more whose duty it is to have those in the second stage of life individualized and secular society. children. These principles support everybody else. And it gives de\ufb01ne external morality, but dignity to the elderly, with the \ufb01nal Hinduism is to a large degree there is also a tradition of inner letting go of practical and domestic more about practice than belief, cultivation to practice during all responsibilities seen as a positive and it is closely bound up with stages of life, which involves opportunity for spiritual growth. ideas about age and class. the pursuit of \ufb01ve qualities: Western concepts of individual cleanliness, contentment, In the modern world rights and equality do not sit pure concentration, group Until very recent times, the extended easily alongside some of the early study, and devotion to God. family has been the dominant model Hindu teachings, and with the The \ufb01ve qualities re\ufb02ect the throughout Hindu society, forming Westernization of attitudes, greater progression from the early the background against which men social mobility in modern India, Vedic tradition, based on lived out the four stages, with their and the practice of Hinduism in ritual, to a religion of personal moral and spiritual principles. In this communities globally, it remains spiritual development and traditional scenario, women do not to be seen whether the the four devotion, which developed feature in the \ufb01rst or last stages stages will remain a viable many centuries later. model for Hindu life. \u25a0","110 IT MAY BE YOUR DUTY TO KILL SELFLESS ACTION IN CONTEXT T he Bhagavad-Gita is an of killing? Advice comes from his ancient Hindu scripture charioteer, who turns out to be KEY SOURCE about virtue and duty. It none other than the god Krishna. The Bhagavad-Gita tells of a dialogue between Krishna (an incarnation of the supreme god Krishna tells Arjuna that he WHEN AND WHERE Vishnu) and the warrior-prince should do his duty and \ufb01ght. The 2nd century BCE, India Arjuna. Arjuna is about to go into act of killing would only create bad battle against another branch of his karma if it was done for the wrong BEFORE family in a dispute over who should reasons\u2014out of hatred or greed, From 1700 BCE Dharma\u2014the rule the kingdom. As a member of for example. The ideal is for the right way of living to preserve the kshatriya class (the military individual to do his or her duty, universal order\u2014is a central or ruling elite), it is his duty is whatever it is and however much it feature of early Hindu thought. to \ufb01ght. Yet he despairs of killing goes against personal inclinations, some of those on the other side\u2014 but to do it with sel\ufb02ess motives. 6th century BCE Buddha his relatives or those whom he Not only will such action not cause upholds the concept of respects as great teachers. harm, but it will be a step toward unsel\ufb01sh action, but teaches personal liberation. that all killing is wrong. In the opening section of the Gita, Arjuna says that he would Krishna argues that personal 3rd century BCE The Indian rather give up the struggle over the motives are what count when emperor Asoka incorporates kingdom than be involved in the considering any type of action. nonviolence and compassion slaughter. Not only does the idea of toward all people into his rule. killing members of his family and By ful\ufb01lling the obligations his teachers go against his deepest he is born with, a person AFTER inclinations, but he also fears that From 15th century Sikhism it will have negative consequences, never comes to grief. includes the duty to protect creating bad karma for all involved Krishna the weak and defend the faith. (in Hinduism, killing a relative is thought to lead to the downfall of 19th\u201320th century a family and rebirth in hell). Mahatma Gandhi develops the strategy of passive Arjuna is caught between two resistance as a nonviolent apparently con\ufb02icting principles: weapon against injustice. should he do his duty as a member of the warrior class or avoid the disastrous karmic consequences","HINDUISM 111 See also: Living in harmony 38 \u25a0 A rational world 92\u201399 \u25a0 Hinduism in the political age 124\u201325 \u25a0 Let kindness and compassion rule 146\u201347 \u25a0 Striving in the way of God 278 \u25a0 The Sikh code of conduct 296\u2013301 Arjuna Krishna The epic poems I despair at the thought You are a prince: it is The teaching on sel\ufb02ess duty of going to war. your duty to \ufb01ght. is just one of the themes to be found in the Bhagavad-Gita, I do not wish to kill those Your feelings are a work noted for the beauty I love and respect. immaterial; put them of its imagery and language. aside and do your duty. It is part of the Mahabharata, I grieve that my kindred an epic poem that chronicles and teachers will die. The self is immortal and the rivalry between two eternal, so it is wrong to think branches of one family. But if I kill will I not have sinned? that anyone will die. The other great Hindu epic is the Ramayana, which tells Krishna reassures Arjuna that It is only by forgoing of the relationship between killing is the duty of a righteous your duty to \ufb01ght in a just Prince Rama and his wife Sita, warrior in a just war. war that you would sin. through her kidnap by the demon Ravana. Its narrative, has a wonderful, much-loved cast of characters. These epics offer a positive view of the brahmins and Vedic sacri\ufb01ces, and highlight the dire consequences of royal rivalry. They explore moral dilemmas and celebrate human qualities, presenting role models for Hindus to follow. Both epics were created over a long period, probably starting in the 4th or 5th century BCE. He applauds the willingness Vedic period, promoted social order Ravana, the vengeful demon to act dutifully out of sel\ufb02ess and duty as the basis of morality. king and villain of the Ramayana, motives, setting aside any sel\ufb01sh However, it had been challenged by is played by a dancer in a preferences. Krishna then gives newer philosophies\u2014particularly production of the Ramayana Arjuna a second reason for going the Buddhist and Jain religions\u2014 in Kerala, Southern India. into battle: the self is immortal and in which not killing was the \ufb01rst passes through a succession of precept and foundation of morality. incarnations, so no one is really This represented a departure from killed. Only the body dies; the soul the Vedic class system and its will live again in a different body. traditional obligations. Arjuna\u2019s dilemma re\ufb02ects that clash of moral A context of change priorities, and Krishna\u2019s advice When the Gita was composed, there is an attempt to maintain class were two very different streams of obligations in the face of criticism religious thought in India. The older from philosophies centered on the of the two, dating from the early idea of karma and reincarnation. \u25a0","112 THE PRACTICE OF YOGA LEADS TO SPIRITUAL LIBERATION PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DISCIPLINE IN CONTEXT T he Sanskrit word yoga Although originally devised for is used to describe a those who had taken an ascetic KEY TEXT range of practices, both path, yoga was later developed The Yoga Sutras physical and mental, which are as a set of practices that could be used to help achieve spiritual used by everybody. The physical WHEN AND WHERE insight and escape the limitations postures and techniques for 2nd century BCE, India of the physical body. breath control are not an end in themselves. They aim to calm BEFORE Ideas about yoga are found the mind and make it singular Before 1700 BCE An Indus in the 6th century BCE in the early in its focus\u2014single-pointed. The Valley clay tablet showing a philosophical Hindu texts known mind can only become calm once person sitting cross-legged as the Upanishads, and there is the senses have been controlled. suggests a yoga posture. a section on yoga in the ancient It is only then that inner freedom Sanskrit scripture, the Bhagavad- and insight may arise. 1000 BCE Indian Ayurvedic Gita. The \ufb01rst systematic account medicine analyzes the body of yoga is found in the Yoga Sutras. A path to release and promotes exercise. Some scholars attribute this text to According to the Yoga Sutras, the philosopher Patanjali, who lived yoga enables the practitioner to 6th century BCE Daoism and in the 2nd century BCE. However, it avoid mental af\ufb02ictions, such as Buddhism promote mental is now generally agreed that it was and physical discipline as written between the 2nd century CE aids to harmony and insight. and the 4th century CE by more than one author, and that it includes AFTER traditions and practices from earlier 12th century In Japan, periods. The Yoga Sutras comprise Zen Buddhism re\ufb01nes the a set of techniques to promote pursuit of mental stillness mental calmness and concentration, and focused thinking. which are deemed necessary for gaining greater insight. 20th century In the West, yoga becomes popular in a Physical postures and breath control secular context for its physical techniques are used in yoga to still and mental health bene\ufb01ts. both body and mind. More advanced techniques can lead to the attainment of higher consciousness.","See also: Aligning the self with the dao 66\u201367 \u25a0 Seeing with pure HINDUISM 113 consciousness 116\u201321 \u25a0 Zen insights that go beyond words 160\u201363 A godless philosophy Both body and mind must be calm and focused to be freed from earthly concerns. Yoga does not require belief in any external deity, but is Body and mind in\ufb02uence one another. a natural process of clearing away the entanglements of Thoughts and feelings Posture and control physical experience, releasing can affect our can promote the true self to realize its identity with the absolute. But physical well-being. mental alertness. this makes sense only in the context of the philosophy upon Combining both mental and physical discipline which it is based\u2014Samkhya. with yoga will help us escape our limitations. One of the oldest schools ignorance, ego-centered views, and on that object, and arriving at a of Indian philosophy, Samkhya extremes of emotion. It also offers state of absorbed concentration. argues for an absolute dualism freedom from the \u201cthree poisons\u201d These steps are progressive, of prakriti (matter) and purusha of greed, anger, and delusion (a leading to the \ufb01nal release from (pure consciousness). Some goal that Buddhism shares). a mundane awareness of self and philosophies contrast the world, with its mental af\ufb02ictions, physical with the mental, The Yoga Sutras set out the into a higher consciousness. but Samkhya sees the mind practice of yoga in eight steps. The as a re\ufb01ned form of matter. \ufb01rst two are preparatory and show Today, yoga is widely practiced A person therefore comprises the context in which yoga becomes as a healthful physical regime that three elements\u2014a physical effective. First is the practice of a also promotes inner calm. But it is body, a worldly self (with all morality of restraint, particularly of important to remember that in the its mental activity and sense ahimsa (not taking life). The second context of Hindu religion, the term experience), and a pure and focuses on personal observances, yoga encompasses disciplines and eternal self, which is identi\ufb01ed such as the study of philosophical practices not only of posture, but of with the eternal purusha, works and contemplation of a god morality, meditation, knowledge, and is free and beyond any in order to gain inspiration. The and devotion, and that taken limitations of time and space. next three steps aim to control the together, their aim is to release the body and senses: adopting physical true self or consciousness (purusha) In Samkhya, rather than postures (asanas) to control the from the entanglements of matter devoting the self to any god, body, controlling breathing, and (prakriti), thereby restoring it to its the aim is to release the withdrawing attention from the natural condition. So, while many self to appreciate its pure senses. Finally, there are three in the West think of yoga as a form spiritual nature, freed from mental steps: concentrating the of physical exercise, for Hindus it the limitations of the physical, mind on a single object, meditating is a path to ultimate freedom. \u25a0 and the vehicle that is used to achieve this is yoga. Yoga is the practice of quieting the mind. Patanjali","114 WE SPEAK TO THE GODS THROUGH DAILY RITUALS DEVOTION THROUGH PUJA IN CONTEXT T here has always been A devotee performs puja by an element of ritual and offering food to the image of a deity, KEY MOVEMENT worship in Hindu religion. as if enticing it to eat. Images such The development of bhakti In the earliest traditions prescribed as this are believed to be \ufb01lled with by the sacred Vedic texts, it was the deity\u2019s spiritual energy. WHEN AND WHERE vital that sacri\ufb01ces made at the 6th century CE, India sacred \ufb01res be performed in the deity that results from it. At the exactly the right way, and solely end of an act of puja, worshippers BEFORE by the brahmins or priestly class. may receive any food that has been From prehistory Making However, in the early centuries CE, offered. The nature of the offering offerings before images of the approach to worship became is less important than the intention deities characterizes worship less exclusive, and this evolved behind the offering. Sometimes it in many cultures. into the practice of bhakti (loving is enough simply to go to a temple devotion). Temples were built and look at the image of the deity. From 1700 BCE In Vedic housing images of the gods, which religion, as in other early could be visited by worshippers, civilizations, a priestly class and gradually, alongside the performs religious rites on priestly rituals connected with behalf of the people. birth, coming of age, marriage, and death, there developed a tradition 6th century BCE The of making personal acts of worship, Upanishads introduce more or puja, to the deities that was abstract concepts to Hindu open to all, irrespective of class. religious thought. Honoring the gods From 2nd century BCE In Puja involves making a simple Mahayana Buddhism, images offering\u2014vegetarian food, incense, of buddhas and bodhisattvas or \ufb02owers\u2014before the image of a (enlightened beings) are used god or goddess. It can take place as devotional aids. in a temple or in the home, and the people performing it often mark AFTER their foreheads with powder or 15th century Sikh worship paste in acknowledgment of the is based on devotional songs. act of puja and the blessing of","HINDUISM 115 See also: Sacri\ufb01ce and blood offerings 40\u201345 \u25a0 Living the Way of the Gods 82\u201385 \u25a0 The Protestant Reformation 230\u201337 \u25a0 Devotion to the Sweet Lord 322 The Vedas said that the But it is possible to speak Divine love rituals performed by to the gods directly, without In worship, the god or goddess (made visible in his or her image, brahmins were important to recourse to a priest. or murti) is seen as a person with maintain the world order. whom the worshipper can have Through devotion and a relationship. Through bhakti, We speak to the gods offerings, we can develop the devotee develops an intense through daily rituals. personal relationships emotional bond with a chosen deity; the divine is then seen Through puja, people can both pay with the gods. as dwelling within the heart of the respects to the gods and ask favors devotee. Bhakti came to dominate of them. Hindu gods are frequently requests and thanksgiving. It may Hinduism by the 12th century: referred to according to the tasks be performed by a large gathering temple worship involved singing they perform, such as \u201cGanesh, of people at a festival, such as the and dancing, and the relationship remover of obstacles.\u201d This enables Durga Puja. This annual, nine-day between the devotee and his or Hindus to choose the goddess or celebration of the goddess Durga, her god or goddess was likened god most appropriate to the help who embodies the female aspect to a relationship between lovers. they need, and to ask them for it of divine power, commemorates her through puja. However, puja is not slaying of Mahishasura, the terrible Although practiced widely, always connected with personal buffalo-demon. Devotees make many forms of bhakti were offerings, say prayers, sing hymns, particularly focused on the god dance, fast, and feast in her honor. Vishnu (see below left), who is depicted in the great epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata as coming down to earth to help humankind in the guise of one of his many avatars (embodiments of a god). The eighth avatar of Vishnu is Krishna, whose followers see bhakti as the highest path toward liberation. \u25a0 Vishnu\u2019s nine forms of worship In the Ramayana, Vishnu, in the always, to practice control of With hearts \ufb01lled with form of Rama, describes nine the senses, nobility of character, love\u2026all should satisfy me modes of bhakti \u201cguaranteed and sel\ufb02ess service, these are frequently with tears of love to reach and please me.\u201d \u201cFirst expressions of the sixth mode \ufb02owing from their eyes and is satsang, or association with of bhakti. Seeing me manifested with voices choked with love-intoxicated devotees. The everywhere in this world and feelings and with dancing, second is to develop a taste for worshipping my saints more hearing my nectarlike stories. than myself is the seventh. music, and singing. The third is service to the guru. To \ufb01nd no fault with anyone The Devi-Gita Fourth is to sing my communal and to be contented with one\u2019s chorus. Japa or repetition of my lot is the eighth. Unreserved Holy name and chanting my surrender with total faith in bhajans are the \ufb01fth expression. my strength is the ninth and To follow scriptural injunctions highest stage.\u201d","THE WORLDIS AN ILLUSION SEEING WITH PURE CONSCIOUSNESS","","118 SEEING WITH PURE CONSCIOUSNESS IN CONTEXT Through the work of may be mistaken for a snake, or the Indian philosopher vice versa. Further, a person may KEY FIGURE Adi Shankara, a branch know it is possible to be fooled by Adi Shankara of Hindu philosophy known as what is seen, heard, or touched\u2014 Vedanta (\u201cthe end of the Vedas\u201d) but what if the whole enterprise WHEN AND WHERE developed in the 9th century. It of gathering information from the 788\u2013820, India sought to systematize and explain senses is itself a form of illusion? material found in the ancient BEFORE scriptures of the Vedas, and to An unknowable Brahman? 6th century BCE The explore the nature of Brahman The Upanishads had taught Upanishads describe Brahman as discussed in the philosophical that there is a single ultimate as the ultimate reality. works, the Upanishads (the last reality, Brahman, with which section of the Vedas). the innermost self, the atman, 4th century BCE The Greek is identi\ufb01ed. However, the philosopher Plato contrasts the There are various branches of problem is that Brahman is objects of sense experience Vedanta, but the one established not an object of sense experience with reality itself; in some later by Shankara is called Advaita because it is not part of reality Platonic thought, this ultimate (non-dualist) Vedanta. It states (as worldly objects are)\u2014it is reality becomes identi\ufb01ed with that there is only one reality, even reality itself. Ordinary objects a \u201ctranscendent One,\u201d or God. if we may experience it in different can be known because they are ways. This non-dualist belief distinguished from one another 2nd century CE Nagarjuna lies in contrast to later forms of by qualities that the senses can founds the Madhyamaka Vedanta in which the deity detect. Brahman, by contrast, school of Buddhist philosophy, assumes a personal role. because it has no physical which is centered on the key attributes, cannot be grasped idea of emptiness. Shankara argued that human by rational interpretation of what reason is limited to the objects is known through the senses. AFTER of sense experience: that is, it 13th century Soto Zen aims is not possible to get outside or So what should be made of to go beyond awareness of beyond the senses to see the world the idea of a supreme being, or the world of sense experience as it really is. Even within the of the divinities used in religion? with the development of world of experience it is possible There appears to be a profound pure consciousness. to be mistaken, because all sensory difference between what the knowledge is ambiguous. To use Upanishads have to say in terms Shankara\u2019s example, a coil of rope Our knowledge of the world comes via We know Brahman\u2014absolute reality\u2014 the senses, so it is always liable to error. not through our senses but directly, as identical with the atman, our inner self or soul. The world of our conventional Absolute reality is not known knowledge is an illusion. through the senses.","HINDUISM 119 See also: Higher levels of teaching 101 \u25a0 The personal quest for truth 144 \u25a0 The challenge of modernity 240\u201345 \u25a0 A faith open to all beliefs 321 The problem for the Advaitin Brahman is real; one sun. How then might Brahman is to solve how from the the world is an illusory be known? Shankara\u2019s answer lies pure Brahman the impure appearance; the so-called in the identity of Brahman and world of men and things soul is Brahman itself, the atman, the innermost self of came into existence. pure consciousness. He states T.M.P. Mahadevan and no other. that Brahman cannot be known Adi Shankara externally, via the senses, but of philosophical argument and can be known internally, because what is actually practiced in is nothing in the world that is not it is our innermost essence. the Vedas, in terms of gods and Brahman\u2014it is the basic reality; goddesses that are addressed however, there is also nothing that Consciousness in worship. How, for example, is Brahman: there is no separable, and knowledge can Brahman be both personal knowable object that corresponds Shankara proposes that there (knowable) and impersonal to the idea of Brahman. To explain is a single reality, but two very (unknowable) at the same time? this, Shankara offers the example of different ways of understanding How, if it is eternal and absolute, the sun shining down on a number it. From the conventional and can it be described in any way? of pots, all of which are \ufb01lled with pragmatic standpoint, we have the water: each pot offers its own world of sense experience, with Shankara\u2019s answer particular re\ufb02ection of the light of all its variety. From an absolute Shankara attempts to answer the sun, and yet there is still only standpoint, however, we need to these questions by making a recognize that the experienced distinction between nirguna world is unreal: it is an illusion. Brahman (unquali\ufb01ed reality), We can therefore only experience known only through pure the ultimate reality, free from consciousness, and saguna illusion, through an awareness that Brahman (quali\ufb01ed reality), which comes from pure consciousness. is more like the traditional idea of a God who exists and acts in It is possible that Shankara the world. Brahman remains the took this idea of the two levels of same reality, but can be known truth from Buddhism, in which a \u276f\u276f in different ways. One means of expressing this is to say that there In Shankara\u2019s philosophy, human reason is limited to the information we gather with our senses; a different kind of knowledge, or understanding, is needed to grasp absolute reality.","120 SEEING WITH PURE CONSCIOUSNESS This world is transitory. One who has taken birth in it is living as if in a dream. Nirvana Upanishad Shankara proposed that (maya), although his claim is maya (illusion). Shankara\u2019s the world of the senses is slightly more subtle than that. philosophy is described as non- an illusion and that we Shankara suggests there are two dualist because of this; there are impose our ideas upon our levels of reality, which are both not two different realities\u2014the environment, causing us, for false in some way: the apparent world and Brahman\u2014but just one. example, to see things that world (which we appear to see may not be present. and touch around us), and the When a person becomes aware pragmatic world (which is a view of the identity of atman (the true similar distinction was being of the world according to our own self) and Brahman (a single reality), made at this time between preconceived notions). While there follows a recognition that the pragmatic and absolute truth. the apparent world is derived from conventional self, as an object For both Hindu and Buddhist our senses\u2019 interpretation, the among other objects in the world, thought, this distinction pragmatic world is derived from is partly an illusion. Enlightened represented a necessary step our minds projecting outward, awareness is a realization of what in bringing the fundamental imposing our ideas upon our we have been all along\u2014the philosophical ideas of religion environment (such as organizing atman of pure consciousness; and together with actual practice. a spiky green shape into \u201ca leaf\u201d). compared with this idea, the ever- During the \ufb01rst millennium, However, both of these ideas of the changing and super\ufb01cial physical religious practice had been moving world are incorrect since they are body is relatively unreal. increasingly toward devotion to only our representations of the various gods and goddesses (or, world. So we can say that the The gods point the way in the case of Buddhism, different world of our experience is an The distinction between nirguna bodhisattva images), each of illusion, but not that the world and saguna Brahman (unquali\ufb01ed which was regarded as re\ufb02ecting itself\u2014beyond the knowledge versus quali\ufb01ed reality), and the a true aspect of reality. For both given by the senses\u2014is an contrast between knowledge Hinduism and Buddhism, this illusion. The world of the senses is gained through sense experience, was not an attempt to denigrate and understanding acquired conventional religion, but to set it through pure consciousness, are of in a broader philosophical context. fundamental importance\u2014not just for an understanding of Hinduism, Not quite an illusion but for religion in general. The most obvious way to describe Shankara\u2019s view of the world is These distinctions suggest that he regards it as an illusion that there are two levels of religion. At a popular level there may be devotion to a chosen deity (as in the bhakti tradition), and the","portrayal of gods and goddesses him to draw together two very HINDUISM 121 as having particular qualities different traditions into a single or acting within the world. system: the religious ceremonies Adi Shankara However, this devotion is no of the Vedas and the later more than a preliminary step on commentaries on them; and the Adi Shankara, the founder of the path toward knowledge and mental discipline of the ascetics, the Advaita Vedanta tradition liberation. Liberation can only who saw themselves as beyond of Indian philosophy, was be achieved through the mental the stage of religious rituals. born in 788 into a Brahmin discipline required for a level of family in Kerala, and trained meditation that leads to insight. Science and reality under a guru (teacher) from the And that insight, for Shankara, Modern scienti\ufb01c theories are age of seven. He later moved is of a single reality; there is no based on the premise that the to Varanasi, where he gained separate world of the gods. This universe is comprised of objects, his \ufb01rst followers, and then means that if there is only one structures, events, and sense to Badrinatha, where, aged reality that is knowable through experiences that are measurable only 12, he is believed to have inner consciousness, then no and knowable. However, such written a commentary on religious ceremonies are theories\u2014although considered the Brahma Sutras. necessary; all a person needs by many to provide a reliable to do is develop insight through way to understand the world\u2014 Shankara became a guru the practice of meditation. often re\ufb02ect only scientists\u2019 and attracted many followers. interpretation of the phenomena He was also instrumental It is tempting to say that they examine and are always in a revival of Hinduism and Shankara promotes philosophy open to modi\ufb01cation. The world establishing a number of rather than religion, but that would of sense experience, for example, monasteries. Shankara died not be strictly true: the quest even when explored at the limits at the age of 32. A number of for an awareness of the unity of of scienti\ufb01c knowledge, is just an works, mainly commentaries atman and Brahman requires approximation of reality, measured on the Upanishads, have disciplines of meditation that through the tools available, as been attributed to Shankara. are more of a religious exercise opposed to reality itself. His philosophy, which offered than a philosophical questioning. a systematic development The sort of self-control required for In addition, the scienti\ufb01c of the Vedanta tradition in insight is not merely intellectual. methods used in attempting to the Upanishads, remains Shankara\u2019s approach allows discover reality may actually a major contribution to interfere with and in\ufb02uence the Hindu doctrine. The pure truth of Atman, nature of what is observed. For which is buried under Maya instance, the very act of observing Key works and measuring an experiment at [\u2026], can be reached by quantum level can signi\ufb01cantly 8th century The Brahma Sutra meditation, contemplation, alter the outcome. Bhaysa and other spiritual disciplines 8th century The Crest-Jewel What science may perceive of Discrimination such as a knower of as truth or reality would, in 8th century A Thousand Brahman Shankara\u2019s philosophy, still be Teachings considered an illusion, on may prescribe\u2026 the grounds that there are two Adi Shankara completely different levels of truth, and that gods and scienti\ufb01c laws alike can only approximate to an ultimate reality beyond both reason and sense experience. Instead, pure consciouness can only be achieved by transcending illusion through meditation. \u25a0","122 SO MANY FAITHS, SO MANY PATHS GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS IN CONTEXT Each person on a spiritual quest may worship a particular god or follow a particular path or religion. KEY FIGURE Sri Ramakrishna But just as the different Hindu gods and goddesses all represent different aspects of Brahman, so different religions are all WHEN AND WHERE ways to approach a single spiritual reality. 19th century, India It is better to allow each person to follow their own BEFORE religion than try to convert them from one religion to another. From 3rd century BCE As Buddhism spreads, devotional T he idea that all religions with which the self (atman) is images and practices diversify. lead to the same God identi\ufb01ed. The starting point for was put forward by Ramakrishna\u2019s thinking was the 6th century The bhakti Sri Ramakrishna, a 19th-century idea that, in meditation, a person tradition in Hinduism accepts mystic who practised bhakti comes to appreciate the divine that the divine can be (Hindu religious devotion) and within, and that, to whichever god worshipped through followed the philosophy of Advaita or goddess they might be devoted, any number of images. Vedanta, as originally taught by there is only one spiritual reality. Adi Shankara (p.121)\u2014built Therefore, within Hinduism, each 15th century Guru Nanak, around the notion of of a single person is free to worship in his or founder of Sikhism, opens his underlying reality, Brahman, her own way, while recognizing new religion to all who love one God, regardless of class and traditional faith distinctions. AFTER 20th century Interfaith dialogue becomes common. 20th century A plethora of new religious movements offer a spiritual path open to all, irrespective of cultural and religious background.","HINDUISM 123 See also: The ultimate reality 102\u2013105 \u25a0 Class systems and faith 302\u2013303 \u25a0 Cao \u00d0\u00e0i aims to unify all faiths 316 \u25a0 A faith open to all beliefs 321 We believe not only in as the \u201ceternal ideal of the spiritual Sri Ramakrishna universal toleration, but we oneness of the whole universe.\u201d accept all religions as true. For Ramakrishna, if religion means Born Gadadhar Chatterjee Swami Vivekananda a process of internal transformation, into a poor brahmin family in and if God represents the ultimate Bengal in 1836, Ramakrishna that ultimately there is only one reality, it follows that, using became a priest in a temple \u201cHoly Power\u201d (Brahman). To whatever set of religious ideas dedicated to Kali just outside Ramakrishna, this suggested that are available, an individual can Calcutta, where he became it might be possible to experience follow a path that is bound to well known as a charismatic all religions in just this same, converge with all others who are \ufb01gure. From an early age, he internal or personal way, and on a similar quest. Ramakrishna experienced religious trances, therefore all spiritual paths might believed that an individual could and saw the goddess Kali eventually lead to the same goal. encounter \u201cthe God within\u201d through everywhere, as mother of the any religious tradition, and that this universe, even dancing before An inner transformation transcended any external, cultural, her image in an ecstatic state. What Ramakrishna understood or doctrinal differences between by this is illustrated by his claim religions. He therefore concluded In 1866 a Hindu Su\ufb01 that he became a Muslim for a that a truly religious person should initiated Ramakrishna into short period. He immersed himself think of all other religions as paths Islam. He is said to have in the teachings of Islam and that all lead to the same truth. followed that faith for a few described the manner in which Rather than attempting to convert days, as well as possessing he performed Islamic prayers, so people from one religion to another, an image of Christ upon that, for a time, he felt he really each person should be encouraged which he meditated. possessed the Muslim faith, and to follow his or her own religion, did not even experience any desire allowing a natural spiritual His ideas were spread to look at Hindu temple images. convergence to take place. \u25a0 and given more systematic form by his disciple, Swami The majority of Muslims would An imam performs the Muslim call Vivekenanda (1836\u20131902), who not consider this to be a valid to prayer within the National Cathedral emphasized that the Hindu experience of Islam, given that in Washington D.C. during an interfaith religion was not a matter he did not engage with its cultural service attended by a joint Christian, of trying to believe certain and social practices. However, for Jewish, and Muslim congregation. doctrines or philosophical Ramakrishna, this entirely internal propositions, but instead one experience led him to conclude that of entering into an experience. any inner journey of self discovery Vivekananda presented these will enable a person to identify ideas to the World Parliament with what Ramakrishna\u2019s disciple of Religions in 1893. He also Vivekananda would later describe established the Ramakrishna Movement to promote Sri Ramakrishna\u2019s work.","124 NONVIOLENCE IS THE WEAPON OF THE STRONG HINDUISM IN THE POLITICAL AGE IN CONTEXT I t was while working to oppose injustice, a person should simply racial discrimination in South retire into private spirituality and KEY FIGURE Africa that Gandhi coined the avoid confrontation. Hinduism had Mahatma Gandhi term satyagraha\u2014\u201cholding on to long been divided between those the truth.\u201d It was to become the who thought that they should follow WHEN AND WHERE key theme of his campaigns of their social duty, as determined 1869\u20131948, India nonviolent civil disobedience, by their class and stage of life, both there and later in India. and those who opted out of society BEFORE in order to follow an ascetic path From 6th century BCE Although raised a Hindu, of personal religious discipline. Ahimsa or nonviolence is the Gandhi was deeply in\ufb02uenced Gandhi felt committed to seek key ethical principle of the Jain by Jainism, with its emphasis on political and social justice, while and Buddhist religions. nonviolence and the welfare of all at the same time maintaining the creatures. However, he was opposed fundamental ascetic value of 3rd century BCE The Emperor to the idea that, in the face of social Asoka converts to Buddhism and initiates social reforms Inactivity and detachment allow social inspired by nonviolence. injustice to continue unchecked. 2nd century BCE The Hindu But violence only leads to retaliation and Bhagavad-Gita explores the further violence, which is self-defeating. dichotomy between ahimsa and the duty of the warrior Therefore social and political change is best achieved class to \ufb01ght in a just war. through nonviolent protest and a determination to stand by the truth, whatever the consequences. AFTER 1964 The Baptist minister Martin Luther King preaches the use of nonviolent means to oppose racial inequality in the United States.","HINDUISM 125 See also: Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation 68\u201371 \u25a0 Sel\ufb02ess action 110\u201311 \u25a0 Let kindness and compassion rule 146\u201347 \u25a0 Dying for the message 209 \u25a0 Striving in the way of God 278 God is truth. The way regarded noncooperation and civil Unfortunately, the last year of to truth lies through disobedience as \u201cweapons of truth\u201d Gandhi\u2019s life saw bloodshed and that an individual or society should mass displacement as Muslim nonviolence. not be afraid to deploy, provided that Pakistan was separated from Hindu Mahatma Gandhi negotiation had failed. To accept India. However, his teachings, the consequences of our actions is notably his legacy of nonviolent nonviolence. He also saw the a sign of strength, if accompanied protest, spread globally, inspiring self-destructiveness and futility by the moral certainty of the truth. many of the world\u2019s leaders and of opposing violence with violence. political movements, including Love all, hate no one antiapartheid in South Africa He believed that an individual Gandhi emphasized that ahimsa and civil rights movements in could only genuinely seek the (nonviolence) should be taken in the US, China, and elsewhere. \u25a0 truth by discounting his or her its most positive sense: in other social position and self-interest. words, that it should mean the A lone protestor de\ufb01es tanks near He therefore argued that the way cultivation of love toward all, as Tiananmen Square in Beijing, in an to oppose injustice was to have the opposed to simply abstinence from image that became a global icon for courage and strength to hold on to killing. This philosophy had further the principle of passive resistance. the truth, whatever the personal social and political consequences, consequences\u2014and for him that since it must entail support for included years spent in prison. He the oppressed. So, for example, Gandhi championed the cause of those who were outside the caste system and called \u201cuntouchables\u201d since they were considered to be ritually impure. He regarded \u201cuntouchability\u201d as a crime against humanity. It was later outlawed in India. He also argued strongly for religious freedom and against all forms of exploitation. Mohandas Karamchand Born in 1869 in Porbandar, India, which he was imprisoned for (\u201cMahatma\u201d) Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi two years. He continued to (known as \u201cMahatma\u201d or \u201cgreat- promote similar campaigns, and souled\u201d) quali\ufb01ed as a lawyer in suffered a further term in jail. London. After a brief time back in He wanted to see an India free India, he spent 21 years in South from British rule, in which all its Africa giving legal support to the religious groups could have a Indian community, during which stake, and when independence time he launched a program of was \ufb01nally agreed in 1947, he passive resistance against the opposed the partition of India compulsory registration and because it con\ufb02icted with his \ufb01ngerprinting of Indians. vision of religious unity. In 1914, he returned to India, Gandhi was assassinated where he opposed injustices in Delhi in 1948 by a Hindu imposed by the British rulers. fanatic who accused him of During the 1920s, he initiated being too sympathetic to the civil disobedience campaigns for needs of the nation\u2019s Muslims.","BUDDHIS FROM 6TH CENTURY BCE","M","128 INTRODUCTION Siddhartha The First Buddhist Emperor Asoka A collection of the teachings Gautama Council is held in of India converts to of Buddha, the Pali Canon, (later known as the year following Buddhism and calls is written down in Sri Lanka Buddha) is born Buddha\u2019s death. the Third Buddhist in northeast and forms the basis of Council. Theravada Buddhism. India. C.563 BCE 5TH CENTURY BCE 3RD CENTURY BCE 1ST CENTURY BCE 5TH CENTURY BCE 4TH CENTURY BCE 3RD CENTURY BCE 1ST CENTURY CE Different branches of The Second Buddhism spreads Mahayana Buddhism evolve as Buddhist Council to Sri Lanka and Buddhism emerges the religion spreads is held, resulting in Burma, and probably in India, with an across Asia. the \ufb01rst schism into Central Asia. emphasis on the in Buddhism. bodhisattva ideal. B uddhism is regarded incorporated Hindu belief in the after his death, that Gautama\u2019s by some as more of a idea of samsara\u2014a soul caught teachings \ufb01rst appeared in philosophical system in an eternal circle of birth and written form, in the Tipitaka. This than a religion because it does rebirth. Buddhism proposed a was written in Pali, a Sri Lankan not explicitly involve a god or radically different view of how dialect, rather than Sanskrit, gods. Its origins are also atypical: the cycle could be broken. Instead the language of the scholars. its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, of relying on Hindu religious The so-called Pali Canon was the Buddha (\u201cawakened one\u201d), practices, such as worship and followed by commentaries, such based his teachings not on any ritual, Gautama advocated a as the Mahayana Sutras, which mystical vision or appearance, change of lifestyle; instead of interpreted Buddha\u2019s teaching. but on conclusions he reached after sacred texts giving divine a long period of experience and guidance and authority, Buddhism What Buddhism lacked in thought\u2014enlightenment, rather offered its founder\u2019s teachings as theology, it made up for in its than revelation. Gautama neither a starting point for meditation. analysis of the reasons a soul af\ufb01rmed nor denied the existence might get caught up in samsara; of deities, since they were irrelevant Basic tenets it explored how one could achieve to his ideas, but some branches of The doctrine of Buddhism was enlightenment and nirvana\u2014the Buddhism have since become passed by word of mouth, at \ufb01rst ultimate extinction of desire, more theistic, even if deities are to Gautama\u2019s immediate group of aversion, and disillusionment. not central to their practice. followers, and then through the Gautama explained that the main teachers of the monastic order obstacle to escape from the cycle of The India in which Gautama that he founded. It was not until the samsara was human suffering, grew up was dominated by the 1st century BCE, hundreds of years caused by desires and attachments Brahmanic religions, and that can never be satis\ufb01ed. He set","BUDDHISM 129 The Mahayana Vajrayana, Theravada Buddhism Zen Buddhism Sutras are or Tantric, Buddhism spreads from Sri emerges in Japan from composed. develops in India, from the Chinese tradition of the Theravada tradition. Lanka into Burma, meditation Buddhism. Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. 1ST\u20135TH CENTURIES CE 4TH\u20135TH CENTURIES 11TH\u201313TH CENTURIES 12TH\u201313TH CENTURIES 3RD CENTURY CE 7TH CENTURY 12TH CENTURY 19TH CENTURY Buddhism begins to Mahayana Buddhism The decline of Western \ufb02ourish in China. is adopted in Tibet, Buddhism accelerates philosophers such with an emphasis on as Schopenhauer imagery and ritual. as the Indian begin taking an subcontinent is interest in Indian invaded by Muslims. religions. out \u201cFour Noble Truths\u201d\u2014the Theravada, with its conservative Later divisions within these two central doctrine of Buddhism\u2014to and austere approach, remained major traditions also occurred. explain the nature of suffering and closer to Buddha\u2019s original These gave rise to such contrasting how it could be overcome: dukkha teachings, but became increasingly branches as Zen Buddhism, which (the truth of suffering), samudaya localized to southern India and aims to clear the mind in order to (the truth of the origin of suffering), especially Sri Lanka. Theravada allow spontaneous enlightenment nirodha (the truth of the ending was revitalized in the 12th century without ritual, scripture, or of suffering), and magga (the truth of when trade took it into Burma, reasoning; and the various forms the path to the ending of suffering). Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. of Tibetan Buddhism that are This last Noble Truth alludes to characterized by colorful temples, the Middle Way\u2014the lifestyle Mahayana Buddhism had a images, and rituals. advocated by the Buddha, which is more overtly religious following, simple in concept but hard to attain. offering its adherents temples and Today, Buddhism is estimated rituals, as well as rich symbolism to have more than 500 million Spread and diversi\ufb01cation and images of the Buddha. Like adherents, and is considered to be Buddhism spread rapidly from Theravada, Mahayana also the fourth largest religion in the northern India southward across dwindled in India, but it was world (after Christianity, Islam, the subcontinent and northward enthusiastically adopted in Tibet, and Hinduism). However, despite into China. Different traditions of China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. growing Western interest in it as Buddhism began to emerge. The A key element of Mahayana is the both a religion and a philosophy, two main branches, Theravada and concept of religious leaders known it has been in decline since the Mahayana, continue to the present as bodhisattvas, who have achieved latter half of the 20th century, falling day, much along regional lines. enlightenment but remain on earth from its position as the largest single to show the way to others. religion in the early 1950s. \u25a0","FINDING THE MIDDLE WAY THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF BUDDHA","","132 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF BUDDHA IN CONTEXT I n northern India, the 6th Enlightenment came to Siddhartha century BCE was a time of after meditation beneath the Bodhi Tree. KEY FIGURE radical social and political A descendant of the original tree was Siddhartha Gautama change. There was terrible planted in Bodh Gaya in 288 BCE and is bloodshed as local rule by tribal now a site of pilgrimage for Buddhists. WHEN AND WHERE groups gave way to the rise of new 6th century BCE, kingdoms. Cities were expanding, materialist philosophy, rejecting northern India drawing people away from the conventional spiritual teachings in simplicity of agricultural village life, favor of a life based on pleasure, BEFORE and trade was \ufb02ourishing. At the in the belief that there is nothing From 1700 BCE A multitude same time, people were starting to beyond the physical world. of gods are ritually worshipped ask fundamental questions about in the Vedic religion of life and the basis of religion. Siddhartha seeks answers northern India. One wealthy man, Siddhartha On the one hand, there was the Gautama, decided, on reaching 6th century BCE In China, established Vedic religion, based adulthood, that his comfortable Daoism and Confucianism on sacri\ufb01ce and the authority of the present philosophies in Vedic texts, to which few outside which personal spiritual the brahmin, or priestly class of development is cultivated. Indian society, had access. This was a formal and conformist religion; it 6th century BCE Mahavira required obedience to tradition and rejects his destiny as an maintained class differences. On Indian prince and becomes an the other hand, many wandering extreme ascetic; his teachings teachers were challenging formal form the sacred texts of Jainism. religion. Some of these withdrew from society to practice asceticism AFTER (the self-denial of material comforts), 1st century CE The \ufb01rst texts opting for simplicity and deprivation containing Siddhartha as a means of spiritual development. Gautama\u2019s teachings appear, They rejected both physical comfort soon followed by the spread of and social norms, and lived outside Buddhism into China. the class system. Other wandering teachers followed the Lokayata Siddhartha Gautama Born in 563 BCE into the ruling Siddhartha set up communities family of the Shakya clan of of monks and nuns, and also northeast India, Siddhartha gained a growing number of lay Gautama was expected to take followers. He also engaged in a prominent place in society. discussions with princely rulers Brought up in comfort and well and religious teachers of other educated, he was married at 16 faiths. By the time he died, aged and had a son. 80, Buddhism had become a substantial religious movement. However, at the age of 29, he became dissatis\ufb01ed with his Key work life and left home, spending years as a religious ascetic. Following 29 BCE The Dhammapada, an an experience he described as accessible summary of Buddha\u2019s enlightenment, he became a early teachings, forms part of wandering teacher and soon the Pali Canon (p.140). attracted many followers, mainly in the cities of the Ganges Plain.","BUDDHISM 133 See also: Aligning the self with the dao 66\u201367 \u25a0 Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation 68\u201371 \u25a0 Wisdom lies with the superior man 72\u201377 \u25a0 A rational world 92\u201399 \u25a0 A faith open to all beliefs 321 lifestyle was incompatible with his However many material comforts I bring into my life, they growing awareness of life\u2019s hardships cannot protect me from the pain of suffering. and the certainty of death. In addition, material comforts offered The total denial of material comforts and a life of asceticism no protection from these harsh does not protect me from suffering either. realities of life. So he embarked on a religious quest to \ufb01nd the origin Each person needs to \ufb01nd a balanced, moderately disciplined of suffering, and the answer to it. lifestyle that takes account of their individual circumstances. For seven years he practiced Find the Middle Way. severe asceticism, depriving himself of all but the minimum lives forever) and nihilism (extreme reality are to be found beyond these sustenance, but he found that this skepticism in which the value or physical things. When Buddha did not help him \ufb01nd the knowledge meaningfulness of everything in rejected the eternal nature of the he sought. He therefore abandoned life is denied). self, he was rejecting a key feature the ascetic life, while remaining of Hindu thought and religion. determined to discover the cause Eternalism and nihilism of suffering. He is said to have The Vedic religion, particularly as Buddha also rejected the other gained enlightenment (becoming it was developed in the texts extreme\u2014nihilism, which holds aware of the true nature of reality) known as the Upanishads (p.105), that ultimately nothing matters during an all-night session of argued that the true self of every or has any value. Nihilism can meditation, and this gave him an person is the atman, which is be expressed in two ways, both answer to the problems of suffering, eternal and is reincarnated from life of which were practiced during aging, and death. From that point to life. The atman is linked to the Buddha\u2019s lifetime. One way is his followers were to refer to him as physical body only temporarily, and the path of asceticism: purifying Buddha, an honorary title meaning is essentially independent of it. the body by the harshest austerity one who is fully awake or the possible, and rejecting everything enlightened one. Crucially, the Vedic religion that the worldly consider to be identi\ufb01ed this atman with of value. This was the path that The Middle Way Brahman, the fundamental divine Buddha had attempted and found Buddha\u2019s teaching is known as reality that underlies everything. wanting. The other way of living the Middle Way. At the most Ordinary things in the world (such out nihilistic beliefs was that taken obvious level, this suggests a as trees, animals, and rocks) are an up in India by followers of the middle way between the two types illusion, known as maya; truth and unorthodox Lokayata school of \u276f\u276f of existence that he rejected: the life of luxury, attempting to obtain protection from suffering with material comforts, and that of extreme austerity, denying himself almost everything in pursuit of spiritual growth. The approach or way he found involved a moderate amount of discipline in order to live an ethical life, free from indulgence in either sensual pleasures or self- morti\ufb01cation. But Buddha\u2019s Middle Way is also set between two other extremes: eternalism (where a person\u2019s spirit has purpose and","134 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF BUDDHA philosophy: the wholehearted cease. Nothing, therefore, has leads people to have a general embrace of materialism. Their view a permanent or independent sense of dissatisfaction with life was that if everything is simply a existence. The Sanskrit term for (dukkha), and this constitutes temporary arrangement of physical such mutual dependence is pratitya the second mark of existence. elements, there is no enduring soul samutpada, of which a literal Dukkha is sometimes translated that can be in\ufb02uenced by good or translation might be things as suffering, but it means more bad deeds during life. Furthermore, stepping up together. The phrase is than physical suffering or the if there is no life after death, the sometimes translated as dependent inevitability of death\u2014it points to best policy is to seek as much origination, better to convey the existential frustration. Life does not pleasure as possible in this life. idea that nothing originates in necessarily provide us with what itself\u2014everything is dependent we want and, at the same time, However, in rejecting these two upon prior causes. We live in it contains things, events, and extremes, Buddha did not simply a world in which everything is other people that we don\u2019t want. opt for a Middle Way in the sense of interconnected and nothing is Nothing in life gives us complete a negotiated compromise; rather, the source of its own being. satisfaction; everything has his view was based on an insight its limitations. that is key to understanding the This simple but profound whole of Buddhist teaching: the observation leads to what are The third mark of existence concept of interconnectedness. known as the three universal marks is anata: that, because everything of existence. The \ufb01rst is anicca: is constantly changing, nothing Three marks of existence that everything is impermanent has a \ufb01xed self or essence. Buddha pointed out that all things and subject to change. We may Conventionally, we see things in life come about as a result of wish it were not so, but it is. (such as trees) as separate from certain causes and conditions; one another, and de\ufb01ne them on when these cease, the elements The Buddha said that the quest that basis. In reality, however, that depend upon them will also for permanence and the certainty because everything depends on of things having a \ufb01xed essence those elements that bring it about (trees cannot grow without soil, water, and sunlight), nothing can be de\ufb01ned or permanently \ufb01xed in the way that our common sense and language supposes. The idea of interconnectedness, as well as the three marks of existence implied within it, is a matter of observation rather than argument. It is not a statement of how the world should be, simply that this is how it is\u2014and that attempts to deny it are the root cause of our daily frustration. Buddha\u2019s subsequent teaching was shaped by the concept of interconnectedness. By relating dukkha, or dissatisfaction, to the process of change, the concept Buddhist monks do not cultivate hardship for its own sake; they are expected to eat moderately and depend on the gifts of lay people for their food\u2014 a practical example of interdependence.","BUDDHISM 135 suggests that there are ways or Just as a \ufb02ower lives and then dies, Buddha\u2019s conditions under which it could universal marks of existence hold that everything be minimized. Buddha explained is impermanent and subject to change (anicca). what these were in the teachings Building upon this idea is anata: nothing has a that became known as the Four \ufb01xed essence, because everything is in constant \ufb02ux. Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path (pp.136\u201343). Applying the Middle Way The Middle Way also has profound lived on after death\u2014questions to daily life implications for our general that are often seen to be at the In many practical ways, the understanding of religion, ethics, heart of religious belief\u2014Buddha spirit of the Middle Way shapes and philosophy. In practical terms, refused to answer. In terms of Buddhist practice. For example, it argues that the reality of life, philosophy, Buddhism argues that some branches of Buddhism with its constant change and the knowledge starts from an analysis emphasize the value of the inevitability of old age and death, of experience, rather than abstract monastic life, but vows are not cannot be permanently avoided speculation. This meant that taken for life, and many of those either by material security or self- Buddhism was able to remain who spend either a few months or denial. Taken into a person\u2019s heart, undogmatic, \ufb02exible, and open years as a monk or nun later return this view can shape that person\u2019s to new cultural ideas, while to family life (p.145). Similarly, in values and ethics, and affect how retaining its basic insight. The order not to cause unnecessary they choose to live their life. interconnectedness of all things, suffering, Buddhists aim to be experienced in the balance vegetarian. But if it is dif\ufb01cult A \ufb02exible philosophy between continuity and change, to obtain a vegetarian diet, or In terms of religion, Buddhism\u2019s is the basis upon which Buddhist medical conditions suggest that a denial of the unchanging, eternal philosophy is built. carnivorous diet is necessary, meat- self as de\ufb01ned in the Hindu eating is acceptable. Monks, who Upanishads was revolutionary. Buddhism\u2019s concepts also had rely on gifts of food, are expected to It suggested that life cannot be psychological signi\ufb01cance. By eat whatever they are given. None understood, or its suffering avoided, suggesting that the self was not of this is a matter of compromise; it by conventional religious beliefs. simple and eternal, but complex is the recognition that everything Buddhism\u2014if seen as a religion and subject to change, it became depends on prevailing conditions. rather than an ethical philosophy\u2014 possible for people to explore the does not deny the existence of self as a non-\ufb01xed entity. Moreover, When this exists, that gods, or some form of an eternal Buddha\u2019s invitation to follow comes to be; with the soul, but regards them as an the Middle Way was open to all, arising of this, that arises. unnecessary distraction. When making Buddhism, despite its When this does not exist, asked if the world was eternal, or lack of interest in a god or gods, an that does not come to whether an enlightened person attractive proposition in a society be; with the cessation of bound by convention and ritual. \u25a0 this, that ceases. Buddha","THERE CAN BE AN END TO SUFFERING ESCAPE FROM THE ETERNAL CYCLE","","138 ESCAPE FROM THE ETERNAL CYCLE IN CONTEXT The Blessed One Buddha thought that the search [Buddha] is compassionate for happiness leads people in the KEY SOURCE wrong direction. Individuals crave Buddha\u2019s \ufb01rst sermon, and seeks our welfare; things\u2014sensual pleasure, wealth, The Setting in Motion of he teaches the Dhamma power, material possessions\u2014in the Wheel of the Dhamma, the hope that these things will and subsequent teachings out of compassion. make them happy. But the falsity of Kinti Sutta this thought lies behind samudaya, WHEN AND WHERE the Second Noble Truth: that the 6th century BCE, India an overview of the human problem origin of suffering is craving. of suffering and solutions for it. Tanha, the Buddhist term for BEFORE The Truths, which are believed to this craving, indicates people\u2019s From prehistory Suffering be the subject of the Buddha\u2019s \ufb01rst attempts to hold on to what they is often regarded as a sermon following his enlightenment like, imagining that if only they punishment from the gods. under the Bodhi Tree, revolve could have a certain thing and around this issue. keep it, all their problems would From 700 BCE Hindus see be solved. Tanha can be translated suffering as the inescapable The \ufb01rst of Buddha\u2019s Four as \u201cthirst,\u201d suggesting how natural result of karma (actions in Noble Truths is dukkha, the truth and essential this craving seems past or present lives). of suffering. This is the idea that to us. Buddha argued that even so, all life involves suffering, which lies this craving is counterproductive, AFTER at the heart of Buddhist teachings, leading only to more suffering 3rd century BCE The and was the revelation that began and unhappiness. Mauryan emperor Asoka takes Siddhartha Gautama\u2019s long search practical and political steps for truth. Human life, Buddha said, According to Buddha, this to minimize suffering by is fragile and always vulnerable. craving for things goes beyond promoting Buddhist values. What is more, life is characterized material objects and the wish by suffering. The nature of this for power\u2014it includes the need 2nd century BCE Nagasena suffering is very broad, meaning to cling to particular views and argues that dissatisfaction not necessarily intense pain, but with life may be overcome by also lesser, more widespread People are often moved to tears recognizing the insubstantial, feelings of dissatisfaction. It at funerals and other sad events, but changing nature of the self. may be the emotional suffering Buddhists regard such suffering as caused by the death of a loved deriving from a mistaken wish to T he central aim of Buddha\u2019s one, an enduring sense that life hold on to something or someone. teaching\u2014the dhamma\u2014 is somehow pointless or empty, is to overcome suffering. or simply a feeling of being stuck Everything that does not contribute in an unpleasant situation, such to this aim is considered irrelevant. as a traf\ufb01c jam. Dukkha is the The ideas of Buddhism are not to feeling that arises in situations be taken as ends in themselves, nor that cause stress, discomfort, or are they the result of dispassionate dissatisfaction. It makes us feel speculation about the nature of the that we want to be somewhere, world. They are observations about or even someone else. life and principles that are to be put into practice. The Noble Truths The Buddhist dhamma starts with four statements, known as the \u201cFour Noble Truths,\u201d which give","BUDDHISM 139 See also: Aligning the self with the dao 66\u201367 \u25a0 A rational world 92\u201399 \u25a0 Physical and mental discipline 112\u201313 \u25a0 The enlightenment of Buddha 130\u201335 \u25a0 Su\ufb01sm and the mystic tradition 282\u201383 \u25a0 Tenrikyo and the Joyous Life 310 ideas, rules, and observances, The Four Noble Truths which is equally harmful. In this way, Buddhism takes a radically All life is impermanent, Dukkha different view from the majority imperfect, and The truth of religions, which tend to regard of suffering. people\u2019s acceptance of doctrines involves suffering. and religious observances as essential to salvation. While The cause of suffering is Samudaya Buddha did not say that such desire: the craving for things The truth of the beliefs are harmful in themselves, origin of suffering. he warned against clinging to to be a certain way. them in the assumption that they will automatically help in the path to overcome suffering. Finding nirvana Suffering can be ended Nirodha For Buddhists, everything arises by detaching oneself from The truth of the from existing conditions. This ending of suffering. means that something must craving and desire. cause suffering; and if that cause Magga is removed, suffering will cease. The way to stop craving The truth of the path to The Second Noble Truth identi\ufb01es is to follow the Noble the ending of suffering. craving as the cause\u2014so Buddha Eightfold Path. said that if the craving were to an unconditioned, uncaused state stop, the suffering would cease. Rather, the triple \ufb01res of greed, and is therefore an absolute truth The Third Noble Truth, nirodha hatred, and illusion\u2014three for Buddhists. This blissful state (the cessation of suffering and the characteristics that perpetuate of being is accessible to us on earth causes of suffering), refers to the human suffering\u2014are blown out and in our lifetimes. Unlike most absence of craving. Putting an like a candle. In other words, by religions, which encourage people end to craving does not involve letting go of destructive craving, to live a moral life in the present in stopping life\u2019s normal activities the mind is liberated from suffering order to attain happiness in a world \u2014Buddha himself carried on and unhappiness. This leads to beyond this one, Buddhism says teaching for 45 years after his a state of engaged happiness: a that a true end to suffering is enlightenment, and was subject to form of happiness that results possible immediately, in this world. all the usual problems that af\ufb02ict from good moral conduct. human beings. Rather, it refers Buddha himself attained a state to a state in which a person Unlike everything else, nirvana of nirvana at the age of 35, and understands and deals with life, is not thought to be the result of through his teachings sought to without the emotional need to cause and effect, but stands show others how to reach this crave for it to be other than it is. beyond or outside it. It is said enlightenment. The Fourth Noble to be permanent and unchanging: Truth describes \u201cthe path that leads With the Third Noble Truth while everything in the world to the end of suffering.\u201d This is comes a point of peace called, in around us, and we ourselves, are magga, the Middle Way, also known Sanskrit, nirvana. This is a state temporary and have arisen because as the \u201cNoble Eightfold Path.\u201d \u276f\u276f beyond craving or desire for of certain conditions, nirvana is anything or anyone. It is not the same as extinction; Buddha was critical of those who tried to escape reality by craving annihilation.","140 ESCAPE FROM THE ETERNAL CYCLE Material goods such as shoes may be advertised as must-have items, in an attempt to create a desire or craving in us. This desire, which can never be fully satisifed, leads to suffering. The Noble Eightfold Path Wisdom, for Buddha, is made because a mere understanding The path to the cessation of up of two directions in which to of the teaching (without also suffering is set out as a path of turn the mind: \u201cright view\u201d and adopting an intention to act eight steps. However, these need \u201cright intention.\u201d The \ufb01rst of these on it) is of no use. not be taken sequentially as they is important in order to be able to are eight principles, rather than see and identify the cause and Steps three, four, and \ufb01ve actions, that allow Buddhists to cure of suffering, as outlined in of the path offer practical moral overcome craving and achieve the Four Noble Truths. Without a guidelines. Buddhist morality is not happiness. The Noble Eightfold willingness to explore that view, about rules to be obeyed, but about Path deals with the three basic the rest of the path makes little creating conditions that facilitate aspects of the Buddhist life: sense. Right intention could the path toward enlightenment. wisdom (in the \ufb01rst two steps), equally be described as \u201cright Step three states that we must virtue (in the next three), and commitment\u201d\u2014it refers to our use \u201cright speech\u201d: avoid telling concentration (in the \ufb01nal three). intention to follow the path, lies, speaking harshly or cruelly, and listening to or spreading purposeless chatter and malicious gossip. Instead, we must cultivate the opposite: truthful, positive, kindly, and purposeful speech. Step four says that we must take \u201cright action\u201d by following the \ufb01ve moral \u201cprecepts\u201d: not to destroy life, not to steal, not to misuse the senses, not to lie, and not to cloud the mind with intoxicants (the last is of particular importance for those who are engaging in the mental training that forms the \ufb01nal The Pali Canon texts are collectively referred to There are four kinds of as the Pali Canon, and they form clinging: clinging to sensual In the 400 years after Buddha the scriptures of the Theravada pleasures, clinging to views, died, his teachings and the Buddhist tradition (p.330). guidelines for monastic life clinging to rules and were passed down orally The Pali Canon is also known observances, and clinging using local languages, rather as the Tipitaka (in Pali) and the than Sanskrit, which was the Tripitaka (in Sanskrit), meaning to a doctrine of the self. language used in the Hindu \u201cthree baskets.\u201d It is divided Sammaditthi Sutta scriptures. However, in the into three sections: the Vinaya 1st century BCE, his teachings Pitaka, which contains guidance were written down in Sri Lanka on monastic life; the Sutta using a language and script Pitaka, a collection of Buddha\u2019s called Pali, which was closely sayings and accounts of events related to the language that in his life; and the Abhidhamma Buddha himself spoke. These Pitaka, a philosophical analysis of Buddha\u2019s teachings.","BUDDHISM 141 There is a Middle Way\u2026 to another. An important step in overcome suffering, since what which leads to peace, to direct mental discipline is to be fully is being addressed is not physical knowledge, to enlightenment, aware of the present moment and pain or death itself, but the to allow the mind to be quietly sense of existential angst that to nirvana. And what is focused on just one thing. This can accompany them. In insight that Middle Way? It is just is seen in meditation techniques meditation, a person may calmly this Noble Eightfold Path\u2026 such as \u201cmindfulness of breathing\u201d and deliberately contemplate or \u201cjust sitting,\u201d which generally those things that most people Buddha form the starting point for training try to avoid thinking about, such in Buddhist meditation. as death. In a meditation on metta, or love, positive thoughts The \ufb01nal, eighth, step on the are cultivated toward others, path encourages us to apply \u201cright from people we love to those we concentration.\u201d The practice of naturally \ufb01nd most dif\ufb01cult. This meditation is a crucial aspect of exercise encourages benevolence following the Buddhist dhamma. and the development of a more This step recognizes that control of positive set of mental qualities. \u276f\u276f the mind is central to being able to part of the path). The \ufb01fth step The Noble Eightfold Path, or Middle also supports an ethical approach, Way, sets out the eight characteristics suggesting that we must pursue that we need to encourage in ourselves a \u201cright livelihood.\u201d This is the to bring an end to our suffering. requirement to earn a living in a way that does not go against UndeRrigshttaVniedwing and CRiogmht Imnteinttmionent Buddhist moral principles. 12 Cultivating right mind The last three steps advise on Right Concentration how to carry out the right mental training for reaching nirvana. Step PractRiigchatlAcEtitohnics six says that \u201cright effort\u201d should Right Speech be applied. This requires a person to be conscious of and set aside TrRaigihntiMnigndtfuhlneesMs ind negative or harmful thoughts as 83 they arise, replacing them with their positive equivalent. So, for The Noble example, at the beginning of the Eightfold Dhammapada (the \u201cVerses of the Dhamma\u201d), the Buddha says Path that those who resent the actions of others, or brood upon injuries 74 sustained in the past, will never become free of hate. Right effort 6 5 encapsulates the conscious intention to break the cycle of Right Effort Right Livelihood resentment and negative response. The seventh step tells us to pursue \u201cright mindfulness.\u201d It is all too easy for our minds to become distracted, \ufb02itting from one thing","142 ESCAPE FROM THE ETERNAL CYCLE If lust, anger, and delusion on to another step. The three although Buddhism takes from are given up, man aims main aspects of understanding, Hinduism the idea of karma (that morality, and meditation may actions have consequences), it neither at his own ruin, nor be used to reinforce one another. does not accept this in any rigid or at the ruin of others\u2026and he Some steps, however, such as mechanical sense. There is always experiences no mental pain those that deal with ethical issues, an element of choice in our actions. may be important in setting up and grief. Thus is nirvana the conditions in our lives in The Buddhist view of actions visible in this life. which meditation can become and consequences is presented in truly effective. graphic form in the \u201cWheel of Life,\u201d Anguttara Nikaya a complex piece of iconography that The Wheel of Life depicts suffering and possible ways The Noble Eightfold Path offers A key feature of Buddha\u2019s teaching to overcome it. Everything within a program of self-development. is \u201cinterconnectedness\u201d (pp.130\u2013 the wheel represents the world of However, Buddhism does not have 35): the idea that everything arises samsara\u2014a world of endless a set of commands or doctrines to because of preexisting causes and rebirth in which all beings are be accepted; instead, it suggests a conditions. The Buddhist path is trapped as a consequence of their way to live that will ease suffering. therefore one that works always karmic actions. The wheel itself is Different people will concentrate with context; it aims to create held within the jaws of a fearsome on different aspects of the path, the conditions that allow angst demon, who represents death. depending on their circumstances. and suffering to be replaced by In addition, the path itself is not a contentment and happiness. In the center of the wheel are straight route that begins at step three creatures\u2014a cock, a snake, one and ends at step eight. It is not This means that if we look at and a pig\u2014that represent the considered necessary to deal with the chain of causes and effects of three poisons: greed, hatred, and any one of the steps before moving events in our lives, we can look for ignorance. Buddha saw these as the links that might be changed so the starting point or root of the that our lives can take a different unwholesome life and thus of course. If it were not possible to human suffering. Surrounding them choose differently and alter the is a circle \ufb01lled with human beings outcomes of situations, people\u2019s either descending or ascending, fates and their every action would who pass by a series of realms be absolutely determined, with depicted in the next circle. These no escape from suffering. So, realms are those of humans, animals, gods, asuras (warlike The doctor\u2019s prescription The Buddha\u2019s teachings on the The practical aim of Buddhism, have the arrow removed until he Four Noble Truths are compared to much like that of a physician, is understands all the details of a physician diagnosing an illness to eliminate suffering in the world. the arrow and who made it. The and prescribing a treatment. The faith\u2019s Four Noble Truths can man\u2019s priority should be to have be set out according to the stages the arrow removed. Buddha involved in medical procedure: the discarded as irrelevant most of diagnosis, its cause, the fact that the questions posed by Western suffering will be cured if its cause philosophy, such as speculation is removed, and the method of about why the world is as it is. removing the cause. Buddhism is therefore seen by some as a therapy rather than a Buddha described the human religion: a health-giving regime condition as being similar to a to be followed, rather than a set man who has been wounded by of ideas to be believed. a poisoned arrow but refuses to","BUDDHISM 143 Finding themselves threatened by danger, people take refuge in spirits, shrines, and sacred trees, but these are not a true refuge. Dhammapada beings constantly doing battle), craving\u2014that is critical. If the link The Buddhist Wheel of Life hungry ghosts, and hell (the lowest holds, the process of re-becoming represents the universe and the of states). The implication is that (samsara) continues forever. endless cycle of death and rebirth, people can move from one realm If it can be broken, there is the within which humans are trapped to another. It is from the human possibility of escape from the unless they follow the Middle Way. realm that they may escape to a cycle of existence and suffering. happier state of existence through the conditions to help break that the teachings of Buddha. The breaking of the link signals nidana link, people should follow a return to the starting point of the Noble Eightfold Path. Through For those seeking to understand Buddha\u2019s route to the end of taking action they may \ufb01nd the process by which Buddhists suffering: the ability to engage nirvana. According to Buddhism, can achieve this\u2014by overcoming with life without allowing that there is no god to save humanity, suffering\u2014it is the outermost wheel experience to generate the craving so what people need to cultivate that is the most important. The that arises from attachment and is wisdom rather than faith. \u25a0 twelve nidanas, or links, in the disappointment. And to set up outer wheel give graphic expression to the interconnectedness that is central to Buddhist teaching. They feature people and buildings, from a blind man (who represents a starting point in total spiritual ignorance) to a house with \ufb01ve windows (representing the mind and senses). There is a crucial opportunity offered between the seventh and eighth nidanas, which show a man with an arrow in his eye (representing feelings of pain) and a woman offering a man a drink (feelings leading to craving). It is this link\u2014between the pain or pleasure that comes from contact with the world and the resulting","144 TEST BUDDHA\u2019S WORDS AS ONE WOULD THE QUALITY OF GOLD THE PERSONAL QUEST FOR TRUTH IN CONTEXT I n most religions, beliefs are Accept as completely true based on authority, whether only that which is praised KEY SOURCE that of a particular leader, The Pali Canon a priestly class, or sacred texts. by the wise and which People who accept these beliefs you test for yourself WHEN AND WHERE may seek to defend them rationally, and know to be good 6th century BCE, while those who feel unable to northern India assent to the beliefs of their culture for yourself and others. may be branded as heretics. Buddha BEFORE From 1000 BCE Traditional Buddhism is different. It pays meditation, the search for truth Hindu thought is based on great respect to Buddha and other and spiritual growth, and putting Vedic texts and the teachings religious teachers, and some Buddhist teachings into practice. of the brahmin priests. Buddhist traditions make much of the value of having a teacher with Early followers of Buddha 6th century BCE Jains and a particular lineage or tradition. achieved enlightenment by seeking Buddhists reject the Vedas However, the faith also values understanding of his teaching, not and brahmins as authorities. debate and discussion; teachers just by believing his word. Buddhism and intellectual convictions are still argues that beliefs should be AFTER seen as only a starting point. based on personal conviction and From 483 BCE For more than Buddha argued that people should experience, rather than simply four centuries after his death, not take any of his teachings on trusting external authority. \u25a0 the teachings of Buddha are trust, but should test them out, passed on by word of mouth both rationally and also in terms among his followers. of personal experience. 29 BCE A written collection Buddhist wisdom is therefore of Buddha\u2019s teachings and acquired in three stages: from sayings is made at the Fourth teachers or by reading scriptures; Buddhist Council in Sri Lanka. from personal re\ufb02ection and thought; and as a result of spiritual practice. 12th century Zen Buddhists The third stage generally involves reject the need for authoritative scriptures of any sort. See also: Wisdom lies with the superior man 72\u201377 \u25a0 Buddhas and bodhisattvas 152\u201357 \u25a0 Man as a manifestation of God 188","BUDDHISM 145 RELIGIOUS DISCIPLINE IS NECESSARY THE PURPOSE OF MONASTIC VOWS IN CONTEXT Throughout his life, Buddha About a hundred years after had two kinds of followers: Buddha died, debates began about KEY SOURCE monks and householders. how strictly the monastic rules Early Buddhist Councils The monks were wandering should be obeyed. As Buddhism preachers like Buddha at \ufb01rst, spread, it developed different WHEN AND WHERE but later they settled in monastic traditions, some of which, From 5th century BCE, communities. Here, they followed particularly in China and Japan, northern India disciplines that aimed to bene\ufb01t placed less emphasis on monastic their own spiritual progress as well life. Nevertheless, monasticism BEFORE as the community. Householders remains an important feature of From prehistory Most too could achieve enlightenment, Buddhism, especially in Sri Lanka religions combine spiritual since they practiced Buddhism and and Thailand, which follow the development with awareness helped the community of monks. Theravada tradition (p.330). of a person\u2019s place in society or the religious group. Young Buddhist monks accept In Buddhism, monastic vows monastic discipline for a short period. In are taken for a limited period, rather 7th century BCE A new their path toward greater personal and than for life. The vows are not an ascetic tradition of extreme social awareness, they are required to end in themselves, but aim to create self-denial arises in Hinduism. follow some, but not all, monastic rules. conditions that assist Buddhist practice. They are not essential, c.550 BCE Buddha advocates but helpful, in following the Middle a Middle Way between Way. However, individuals must asceticism and hedonism. not simply strive for personal enlightenment, because that AFTER would be self-defeating, implying a From 12th century CE In measure of sel\ufb01shness incompatible Japan, Pure Land Buddhism, with Buddhist teaching. Rather, and Nichiren Buddhism insist they must attempt to develop that faith in Amida Buddha universal compassion and good and chanting, rather than will, which have a social as well following a particular lifestyle as a personal dimension. \u25a0 or discipline, are the way to gain enlightenment. See also: The four stages of life 106\u2013109 \u25a0 The enlightenment of Buddha 130\u201335 \u25a0 Writing the Oral Law 182\u201383 \u25a0 Serving God on behalf of others 222\u201323","146 RENOUNCE KILLING AND GOOD WILL FOLLOW LET KINDNESS AND COMPASSION RULE IN CONTEXT If people are killed, their B uddhism arose out of family, relatives, and Hinduism, a faith that had KEY EVENT friends will suffer. always been ambivalent The conversion about killing. On the one hand, of Emperor Asoka Therefore the good leader Hinduism promoted the principle abstains from killing of ahimsa (not killing); on the other, WHEN AND WHERE living beings and orders Hindu society required animal 3rd century BCE, others to do likewise. sacri\ufb01ce, allowed meat eating, northern India and regarded \ufb01ghting in a just He builds a better society war as an inescapable duty. Like BEFORE through cultivating an many other teachers of his day, From 2000 BCE The Vedic including Mahavira, founder religion, then Hinduism, attitude of loving-kindness of the Jain religion, Buddha develop the doctrine of and fostering it in others. emphasized the principle of not ahimsa, or nonviolence, killing, and it became the \ufb01rst of but justify war in certain Renounce killing and the Five Precepts, principles that circumstances . good will follow. form the ethical basis for those following the Buddhist way of life. 6th century BCE Buddha enjoins his followers to abstain Five rules for living from killing; Mahavira founds The Five Precepts forbid the taking Jainism, which forbids the of life, stealing, sexual misconduct, taking of any life. lying, and the consumption of mind-dulling intoxicants such as AFTER alcohol. Each of these precepts has 17th century Sikhism a positive counterpart, effectively allows killing in defense of generating \ufb01ve rules relating to the oppressed and the faith. things one should do. The \ufb01rst of these is to treat all beings with 19th century Mohandas loving-kindness (metta); indeed, Gandhi, raised as a Hindu, one of the principal meditation adopts nonviolence as a practices in Buddhism is the political strategy. cultivation of goodwill toward everyone\u2014treating friends,","BUDDHISM 147 See also: Living in harmony 38 \u25a0 Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation 68\u201371 \u25a0 Sel\ufb02ess action 110\u201311 \u25a0 Hinduism in the political age 124\u201325 \u25a0 Dying for the message 209 \u25a0 The Sikh code of conduct 296\u2013301 If there is one practice Although the principle of not killing All life is sacred to Buddhist monks. that is suf\ufb01cient to bring was a key feature of Buddhism from They believe all living beings can exist its beginning, the \ufb01rst attempt to peacefully side by side, even men and about buddhahood, apply the principle to the whole of tigers\u2014as demonstrated at the Tiger it is the practice of society was made by the Emperor Temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. great compassion. Asoka in the 3rd century BCE. This is evident from the many edicts However, Buddha\u2019s Middle Way Dalai Lama that he issued, 32 of which have (pp.130\u2013135) indicates that self- been discovered carved on pillars denial must never be taken to strangers, and even those that one or rock faces. As well as advocating life-threatening extremes, so might \ufb01nd dif\ufb01cult with equal care the avoidance of killing, Asoka Buddhists may eat meat and \ufb01sh and concern. The broad, positive promoted support for the poor, the if it is deemed necessary for their approach evident in this \ufb01rst rule protection of servants, and the health, or where there is a shortage underpins the other four. Positive establishment of medical centers of fruit and vegetables (as in the goodwill toward others supports and veterinary services\u2014all mountains of Tibet). Monks and the principles of generosity; direct expressions of metta. nuns may eat meat and \ufb01sh if it nonexploitation (the third precept is is offered to them and has not generally taken to prohibit adultery, A peaceful ideal been killed for their bene\ufb01t. \u25a0 rape, and other forms of sexual Although there are rare cases exploitation); honesty; and the of self-harm (as in the suicide of keeping of a clear head to ensure Buddhist monks, who have been corrrect decisions and actions. known to set themselves on \ufb01re as an extreme form of political protest), in general Buddhism has never sought to impose its ideas upon society by force, nor has it ever become involved in war. The principle of not killing suggests that, as an ideal, Buddhists should be vegetarian. The Emperor Asoka Asoka was born in India in in Buddhism and, on \ufb01nding 304BCE. He was the son of the them, became a fervent convert. Mauryan emperor Bindusara and His conversion was marked by came to the throne of the kingdom a dramatic change in attitude: of Magadha in 268 BCE, having he began to promote Buddhist killed his brothers and other principles throughout his potential rivals in order to secure empire, issuing edicts on his position. He embarked on a moral matters, banning animal brutal campaign of expansion, sacri\ufb01ce, and increasing the extending his rule to establish provision of welfare. He sent an empire that included all but missionaries to promote the most southerly part of India. Buddhism abroad, but he also took a positive view of After one particularly bloody all religions, issuing only battle, the sight of the dead and moral precepts that would the grieving inspired him to be acceptable to all religious pledge never to \ufb01ght a battle groups within his empire. again. He looked for answers","148 IN CONTEXT WE CANNOT KEY FIGURE SAY WHAT A Nagasena PERSON IS WHEN AND WHERE THE SELF AS CONSTANTLY CHANGING 1st century CE, India BEFORE 6th century BCE The Hindu Upanishads make a distinction between the physical body, the self made up of thoughts and experience, and an eternal self. 6th century BCE Buddha argues that everything is constantly changing and nothing has a \ufb01xed essence. AFTER 12th century CE Teachers of Zen Buddhism distinguish between the small mind, or ego, and the Buddha-mind. 20th century Existentialist thinkers, like Buddhists, argue that individuals shape their lives through the decisions they make. T he idea that a human being comprises a physical body and a nonphysical self, or soul, is deeply ingrained in almost all religious traditions. It forms the basis of speculation about life after death\u2014whether we survive in some form in heaven or hell, or are reincarnated as the nonphysical self takes on a new body. Belief in an immortal soul and in God seem the very essence of religion. Both, however, were rejected by Buddha, who believed we have no \ufb01xed self. The idea that we do not have a permanent self, but are constantly changing, is absolutely central to Buddhist teaching, and sets Buddhism apart from most other"]