Buddhist Spectrum

Buddhism in India

KAMALIKA Pieris

Siddhartha Gotama came from the republican tribe of the Sakyas living in the Himalayan foothills. He was born around 566 BC. His father Suddhodana was the chief of the tribe. North India had a number of such small republics. According to legend they were founded by persons of royal lineage who had left their homeland. These republics practised corporate government with face to face discussions. They permitted independent opinion and were ready to tolerate unorthodox views.

The Ganges plains also had several royal kingdoms such as Kosala and Magadha (south Bihar). These kingdoms were strong on trade and commerce. They also had a deep interest in religion and philosophy. Thapar notes that 'the richness and vigour in thought of this period was rarely surpassed in the centuries to come'. There were many atheistic sects. Buddhism originated in this fertile climate. The Buddhist monastic order was modelled on republican assemblies. There were fortnightly meetings and public confessions. Women were admitted into the monastic order, a 'revolutionary' event.

Magadha

A stone statue in India

The Buddha preached at Magadha, Kosala and the lands north of the Ganges. He preached in Magadhi dialect. His audiences were receptive. Kings were interested and he was received in capital cities such as Rajagaha, Sravasti and Varanasi (Banaras). King Pasenadi, king of Kosala, supported the Buddhist order and had frequent discussions with the Buddha. Bimbisara, king of Magadha converted to Buddhism. Bimbisara was a resolute and energetic king who gave his kingdom a modern administration. The Buddha also had powerful followers among the mercantile community. Anathapindika, a rich merchant, invited the Buddha to Sravasti, after hearing him preach at Rajagaha. Anathapindika became a lay follower. Buddhism was accepted by the rich as well as the poor. The Buddha often accepted invitations to the houses of the rich for the midday meal. Food and other requisites were also gifted by the poor.

Intellectual movement

Buddhism became a strong social and intellectual movement in north India. Thapar says that King Dharmasoka (269-232 BC) had to 'come to terms with it' and that is why he supported Buddhism. Buddhism also spread across India into the west and south. The temples at Ellora in western India date from the first and second centuries BC . The huge Satavahana Empire (50BC- 250 AD) which included Maharashtra, Malwa and present Madhya Pradesh supported Buddhism. In south India Buddhism was closely associated with traders and other urban groups. Buddhism lasted longest at Andhra. In the 3rd

century AD, under Ikshvaku rule almost all the royal ladies in the Krishna-Guntur region were Buddhist.

Buddhism influenced many things in India. Basham says it was only in the time of the Buddha that Magadha, under King Bimbisara (542-490BC) initiated the first great Indian empire. The whole Ganges basin was under Magadha in the 4th century BC. The capital was Pataliputra (Patna). Buddhism encouraged thought and reason. In the Gupta period there were lively philosophical debates between the Buddhist and the Brahmans. The Buddhist debaters prided themselves on their advanced knowledge and use of logic. Buddhist monastic education included grammar and medicine. The approach was

generally less orthodox than those of the Brahmans. Nalanda became a great seat of learning catering to the needs of thousands of students from many parts of the contemporary Buddhist world.

Women acquired status through Buddhism. In the Satavahana Empire, women were prominent in social life and held property in their own right. In sculptures they are shown worshipping Buddhist emblems, taking part in assemblies and entertaining guests alongside of their husbands. Buddhism also influenced the arts. The Buddha image and the hill side cave temples such as Ajanta are considered the highest achievements in Indian art and architecture of the time.

Central Asia

Indian Buddhists took Buddhism to Central Asia. Kumarajiva, the Buddhist philosopher, lived at Kucha. Well endowed Buddhist monasteries came up in the oases and trade centres of Central Asia. There were over 4000 Buddhist establishments in Khotan until about the 8th century AD. From Central Asia Buddhism went eastwards and westwards. From Khotan Buddhism went to Afghanistan and Turkestan. From Kucha, Buddhism went to Burma, China, Tibet, Japan and Korea. Indian Buddhists went in large numbers to preach in China. Thapar says that it was Indian Buddhism that introduced Indian culture to various parts of Asia.

However, over time, Buddhism became a threat to the faith based religions which were gaining momentum in India. The Bhakthi movement, consisting of the devotional cults of Tamil saints, became popular in south India in the 6th and 7th centuries. According to Thapar, these devotional cults were influenced by Buddhism. With the rise of the Bhakthi movement, the Hindus in south India objected to Buddhism. The Hindu religious leader Kumarila (8th century) frequently attacked Buddhism in his works. He did much to discredit Buddhism.

Ascetic order

The reformer Sankara (9th century) regarded Buddhism as Hinduism's chief enemy. But the philosophy and organization used by him closely resembled Buddhism. He reorganized the ascetic order, modelling it on the Buddhist order. His philosophy showed Mahayana influence. Buddhists were indignant at a movement intended to destroy them by their own methods. The Bhakthi movement helped to displace Buddhism and enthrone Hinduism. Yuan Chwang, who visited south India in 642 AD when the Hindu revival was gathering momentum, said that Buddhism was on the decline. South India eventually became a Hindu region.

In north India Buddhism was replaced by Islam. Islam's largest following in India came from the Buddhist areas of north India. The Turks and Afghans who invaded in the 12th and 13th centuries made it a point to eliminate Buddhism. They systematically demolished Buddhist temples and universities. The devastation was heaviest in Bengal-Bihar region which had a large concentration of major Buddhist centres. Vikramasila and Uddandapura were completely destroyed. Nalanda was badly damaged with only 100 monks left. Buddhagaya survived due to the dedication of the 300 Sinhala monks who continued to stay there and look after the temple while Buddhism was fast disappearing in northern India.

Special thanks to A L Basham, P V B. Karunatilake, T Ling, K A Nilakanta Sastri, S Paranavitana and R Thapar.

Kamada's Lament

An excerpt

Andrew OLENDZKI

This plaintive cry of the deva Kamada, concerning the difficulty of Buddhist practice, will resonate with almost anyone who has embarked on the temporary homelessness of a retreat. The steady reply of the Buddha here admonishes Kamada to overcome his weaknesses and find the nobility within himself to tread the noble path.

The tone of this poem is so typical of the approach the Buddha displays throughout the Pali texts - compassionate yet firm, reasoned but profoundly inspiring. The progression is also characteristic - from virtue to joy, tranquility to diligent development, and finally cutting through the snares of death and rebirth and proceeding to undying Nibbana.

Kamada is reminded that others have done, gotten and tamed what he is having such difficulty doing, getting and taming. Others have taken the hard path to the goal, and all he lacks is the resolve, the hero's determination, to forge ahead despite the obstacles.

The lyrical almost sing-song quality of the verse has been hopefully retained by translating it in something like its original meter of eight syllables per line.

Kamada:

So hard it is to do, Lord,

It's so very hard to do!

Buddha:

But still they do what's hard to do,

Who steady themselves with virtue.

For one pursuing homelessness,

Content arrives, and with it joy.

Kamada:

So hard it is to get, Lord,

This content of which you speak!

Buddha:

But still they get what's hard to get,

Who delight in a tranquil mind.

The mind of those, both day and night,

Delights in its development.

Kamada:

So hard it is to tame, Lord,

This mind of which you speak!

Buddha:

But still they tame what's hard to tame,

Who delight in senses at peace.

Cutting through mortality's net,

The nobles, Kamada, proceed.

Kamada:

So hard it is to go, Lord,

On this path that gets so rough!

Buddha:

Still nobles, Kamada, proceed

On paths both rough and hard to take.

Those who are less than noble fall

On their heads when the path gets rough.

But for nobles the path is smooth

- For nobles smooth out what is rough!

(Translated from the Pali)

ABHIDHAMMA IN A NUTSHELL - XXII:

Worshipping Buddha statues

Shamika SOYSA

I invite Buddhist scholars who are more knowledgeable in Buddhist history and Buddhist culture to analyze worshipping Buddha statues in a more cultural and

historic perspective.

In any Buddhist temple, organization, house or any other place, Buddha Statues are present. There are many types of Buddha statues created during the Buddhist history. They are a prominent aspect of Buddhist culture and literature. What is the importance of a Buddha statue for a Buddhist? Can a Buddhist get anything by worshipping a Buddha statue?

A Buddhist who has taken Buddhism in right spirit does not expect anything by worshipping it. A Buddha statue is a sign to symbolize the Buddha and his infinite superior qualities such as loving-kindness, compassion and wisdom. Enormous and famous Buddha statues are created by highly skilled professional artists to depict the might of Buddha's qualities. The mind of a person who worships Buddha statues gets filled with a serene joy by adverting the qualities of the Buddha.

A Thought Process connected with Eye-door - Chakkudhwarika Chiththa Vithi

Over last two episodes it was mentioned that there are 75 types of Chiththa Vithis and there are 17 elements in an ordinary thought process. This episode would illustrate a thought process which would possible arise when a Buddhist worships a Buddha statue.

In the above scenario there are thousands of Chiththas and Chiththa Vithis pass by in one's mind. It may start by a thought process connected by ear-door when the person hears about the Buddha statue. When the person sees, it would be a thought process connected with eye-door. When he worships, it would be a thought process connected with body-door and so on.

Here, the thought process passes when the person sees the Buddha statues would be described. Since it is connected with eye-door, it is named as Chakkhudhwarika Chiththa Vithi.

1. Bhavanga Chiththa

As explained in the previous episode Bhavanga Chiththa goes through the cycle of -uppadha-ththi-bhanga until a sensual faculty receives an object.

2. Bhavanga Chalana

Now the person sees the Buddha statues and Bhavanga Chiththavibrates.

3. Bhavanga Upachchedha

Bhavangha Chiththa ceases leaving the next Chiththa to arise. This state of Bhavangha is called Bhavangha Upachchedha.

4. Upekkha sahagatha Panchadhwaravajjana Chiththa

(Five sense-door adverting consciousness accompanied by indifference)

Then mind turns toward the Buddha statue. It examines from which sense door it has entered.

5. Upekkha sahagatha Chakkhu Vinnanaya

(Eye-consciousness accompanies by indifference)

Now it has been identified that the objects has entered from eye-door.

6. Upekkha sahagatha Sampatijjana Chiththa

(Receiving-consciousness accompanied by indifference)

This is the reception of the object of Buddha statue entered from the eye-door.

7. Somanassa sahagatha Santhirana Chiththa

(Investigating consciousness accompanied by pleasure)

This is the examination of the object of the Buddha statue entered from the eye-door. The object entered brings wholesome thoughts as it is a sign to symbolize the qualities of Buddha. Therefore it is a Kusala Vipaka Chiththa (Moral resultant consciousness) and Santhirana Chiththa becomes pleasurable.

8. Upekkha sagahatha Manodhwaravajjana Chiththa - Voththapana

(Mind-door adverting consciousness accompanied by indifference)

Now that the object is received, identified and examined. This Chiththa determines the object with respect to the knowledge contained in mind. Mind-door is basically the sixth sense and was identified as the 'Memory' of a person in the fifth episode. This Chiththa gathers all thoughts and memories related to Buddha statue making the background to arise Javana Chiththas.

9. 15. Javana Chiththas -> Somnassa sahagatha Nana samprayuktha Asankharika Chiththa

(Impulsion - Consciousness accompanied by pleasure associated with knowledge and unprompted)

The next seven thought moments are actually the ones which perform Kamma. At this moment the person goes through the moral roots of Alobha, Adwesha and Amoha. Akusala Chiththa arises to cause a Kusala Kamma.

He gets a pleasurable feeling at this moment (Somanassa sahagatha). This person knows what the Buddha statue means. Therefore he has the right view (Nana samprayuktha). If no one has directed him for the action consciousness arises unprompted (Asankharika). Therefore the possible consciousness arising would be Somanassa Sahagatha Nana samprayuktha Asankharika Chiththa. This Chiththa usually goes through seven thought moments in a roll.

Cause of Kamma

Out of seven Javana thought moments the first is the weakest as it is the beginning of Javana moments and lacks previous sustaining source.

Therefore this causes Dhittadhammavedhaniya Kamma which results in this Bhava itself. If it does not operate it becomes ineffective, that is Ahosi Kamma. The last Javana thought moment is the second weakest as it's sustaining power has been spent.

Therefore the resultants would be in the next Bhava causing Upapajjavedhaniya Kamma. Five Javana thought moments in the middle are strongest which has more sustaining power so that they cause Aparapariyavedhaniya Kamma.

Effect of worshipping Buddha statues

When worshipping Buddha statues one goes through moral roots of Alobha, Adwesha and Amoha. Skillfully and Confidently (Sadhdha) created Buddha statue helps the Buddhist generate meritorious thoughts and cause Kusala Kamma.

This would not be the case if one is pleading for something by worshipping. Pleading involves Lobha so that instead of Kusala Kamma, Akusala Kamma is caused by worshipping Buddha statues expecting some personal gain.

This episode has illustrated Thought Processes in Abhidhamma while providing an Abhidhammic perception on worshipping Buddha statues.

The next episode would review 'What is Mind' for the third time.

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The Song of Meditation

(A favourite piece from Hakuin's Song of Meditation)

All beings are from the very beginning Buddhas.

It is like water and ice:

Apart from water, no ice,

Outside living beings, no Buddhas.

Not knowing it is near, they seek it afar.

What a pity!

It is like one in the water who cries out with thirst;

It is like the child of a rich house who has strayed

among the poor.

The cause of our circling through the six worlds

Is that we are on the dark paths of ignorance.

Dark path upon dark path treading,

When shall we escape from birth-and-death?

The Zen meditation of the Mahayana

Is beyond all our praise.

Giving and morality and the other perfections,

Taking of the Name, repentance, discipline,

And the many other right actions,

All come back to the practice of meditation.

By the merit of a single sitting

He destroys innumerable accumulated sins.

How should there be wrong paths for him?

The Pure Land paradise is not far.

When in reverence this truth is heard even once,

He who praises it and gladly embraces it has

merit without end

How much more he who turns within

And confirms directly his own nature,

That his own nature is no-nature-

Such has transcended vain words.

The gate opens, and cause and effect are one.