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REVELATION
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BUDDHISM
WORLD RELIGIONS
FOURTH EDITION
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WORLD RELIGIONS
rican Traditional eligion
ahai Faithuddhism
atholicism & Orthodox hristianity
onucianism
aoism
induism
slam
Judaism
ative merican eligions
ProtestantismShinto
Sikhism
Zoroastrianism
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by
Madhu Bazaz Wangu
Series Editors: Joanne OBrien and Martin Palmer
BUDDHISM
WORLD RELIGIONS
FOURTH EDITION
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Buddhism, Fourth Edition
Copyright 2009, 2006, 2002, 1993 by Inobase Publishing
All rights reserved. No part o this book may be reproduced or utilized in any orm or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any inormation storage or retrieval systems, without
permission in writing rom the publisher. For inormation contact:
Chelsea House
An imprint o Inobase Publishing
132 West 31st Street
New York NY 10001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wangu, Madhu Bazaz.
Buddhism / by Madhu Bazaz Wangu.4th ed.
p. cm. (World religions)
Previously published: New York : Facts On File, 2006.
Includes bibliographical reerences and index.
ISBN 978-1-60413-105-5
1. BuddhismJuvenile literataure. I. Title. II. Series.
BQ4032.W36 2009
294.3dc22
2008051265
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OTTS
Preface 6
PT 1 Introduction: The Modern Buddhist World 8
PT 2 The Life of the Buddha 18
PT 3 The Spread of Buddhism 36
PT 4 The Varieties of Buddhism 56
PT 5 The Literature of Buddhism 76
PT 6 The Arts and Buddhism 92
PT 7 The Year in Buddhism 110
PT 8 Buddhism Today 122 Fact File and Bibliography 138
Further Reading and Web Sites 139
Glossary 140
Index 142
About the Author and Series Editors 144
Picture Credits 144
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6 BUDDHISM
Prefacelmost rom the start o civilization, more
than 10,000 years ago, religion has shaped
human history. Today more than hal the
worlds population practice a major reli-
gion or indigenous spiritual tradition. nmany 21st-century societies, including
the United States, religion still shapes peo-
ples lives and plays a key role in politics
and culture. nd in societies throughout
the world increasing ethnic and cultural
diversity has led to a variety o religions
being practiced side by side. This makes
it vital that we understand as much as wecan about the worlds religions.
The World eligions series, o which
this book is a part, sets out to achieve this
aim. t is written and designed to appeal
to both students and general readers. The
books oer clear, accessible overviews o
the major religious traditions and insti-
tutions o our time. ach volume in the
series describes where a particular religionis practiced, its origins and history, its cen-
tral belies and important rituals, and its
contributions to world civilization. are-
ully chosen photographs complement
the text, and sidebars, a map, act fle, glos-
sary, bibliography, and index are included
to help readers gain a more complete
understanding o the subject at hand.
These books will help clariy what
religion is all about and reveal both the
similarities and dierences in the great
spiritual traditions practiced around the
world today.
Buddhists as a Proportion
o the Population.
50%95%
2%49%
0.1%1.9%
Less than 0.1%
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Inobase Publishing
Preace
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8
CHAPTER 1
BUDDHISM
INTRODUCTION:
THE MODERN
BUDDHIST
WORLD
Approximately 370 million people in the world today are
practicing uddhists, making uddhism the ourth largest
o the worlds religions. owever, uddhism has an inuence
even greater than the number o its adherents would indicate.
From the time that Siddhartha Gautamaknown as the ud-
dhafrst preached his simple doctrine about 2,500 years ago,
uddhism has spread throughout sia rom its homeland in
ndia. t has had a signifcant and lasting impact on ndia, hina,
Japan, Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, and other sian nations.Today uddhism is the majority religion in Thailand, Mongo-
lia, ambodia, Myanmar (ormerly urma), hutan, Sri Lanka,
Tibet, Laos, ietnam, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore. Though the
most populous nation in the world, hina, is ofcially atheist, a
sizable minority o its people adhere to uddhist belies. Millions
more hinese, though they are not practicing uddhists, are
inuenced by the cultural aspects o uddhism.
uddhism is not confned solely to sia. n the past century it
has won admirers and ollowers in urope and the United States.
A young Burmese monk in a temple shrine room. The
gilt statues o the Buddha depict him with one hand
touching the earth to symbolize enlightenment.
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Introduction: The Modern Buddhist World
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10 BUDDHISM
ndeed, the majority o the people in one U.S. stateawaiiis
uddhist.
ll the countries that came under the inuence o uddhism
were enriched culturally and artistically. The image o the ud-
dha appears in colossal statues, delicate fgurines, and innumer-
able styles o art throughout sia. Scenes rom the uddhas lieare as important in sian art as the story o Jesus hrist is in
Western art.
WHAT IS BUDDHISM?
uddhism is a path to spiritual discovery. ts ounder, Siddhartha
Gautama, looked at the human condition much as a doctor does.
e ound disease, decay, and death. e ully realized that joy and
pleasure existed as well, but he recognized that those qualities didnot last. ll things in lie were transient or temporary. So even in
joy the awareness o impermanence and death caused unhappi-
ness and suering.
ecause o his ndian background Siddhartha did not believe
that death was a fnal release rom suering. n ndian religious
tradition souls are reborn into new bodies ater death. The cycle
o birth, death, and rebirth goes on unendingly. ll living beings
are caught in this cycle. Siddhartha strove to fnd a way to get o
the treadmill o endless rebirths. Throughmeditation he realized the path to fnal
release and became enlightened.
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
The uddha diagnosed human desire
in all its orms as the cause o suering.
Thereore his treatment, or solution,
was to eliminate desire by right thoughts
and right actions. This could be done by
ollowing the ightold Path. This was a
series o eight stages o a high ethical code.
The frst stages on this path were guides,
calling or kindly behavior to all living
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A stone carving o theBuddha on the huge stupa,
or dome-shaped shrine, at
Borobadur on the island
o Java in Indonesia. The
position o the Buddhas
hands shows that he is
teaching the dharma,
the law and the way.
The Buddhas hair is in
a topknot, representing
spiritual wisdom, and he
has elongated earlobes,
signiying his previous lie o
wealth when heavy jewels
would have weighed down
his ears.
things. Later stages were more difcult
and required meditation and discipline.
This truth, or law, o uddhism is
known as dharma. ndeed, uddha dhar-
ma is the name o the religion in sia. t is
also called the Middle Way. The uddhaadvised those who wished to ollow the
dharma to avoid extremes o behavior,
such as severe sel-denial or, at the other
extreme, selfsh attachment to pleasure.
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12 BUDDHISM
e stated, void these two extremes:
attachment to the pleasures o the senses,
which is low and vulgar, and attachment
to sel-mortifcation, which is painul.
oth are unproftable.
NIRVANA
orrectly ollowing the ightold Path brings one in time to nir-
vana, a term that is difcult to defne. uddhists have said that
it cannot be described in words. t is not the heaven o hristi-
anity or slam. n Sanskrit, the ancient ndian language, nirvana
means blowing out (as a ame is blown out). n uddhism what
is blown out is hatred, greed, and delusion.
Looking at it in another way, nirvana is the loss o the ego, or sel, a condition that ends the path o suering and pain when
human beings travel rom one lie to another. The word nirvana
Pilgrims in Tibet entering ahilltop Buddhist temple or
morning devotions.
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also implies boundless expansion, which
may be described as becoming part o the
universe. t was nirvana that Siddhartha
attained when he became the uddha.
AN ETHICAL CODEuddhism is like other religions in its
concern or the welare o humankind
indeed, or all living things. n the striving
or the attainment o nirvana, it teaches a
high ethical code. t asks its ollowers to abstain rom taking lie
o any kind; not to lie, cheat, or steal; and to treat others with
kindness. atred does not cease by hatred at any time, said the
uddha. atred ceases by love.
THE GREAT VARIETY OF BUDDHISM
The uddha never wrote down his teachings. is disciples mem-
orized his words, and their ollowers carried on the oral tradition.
The frst comprehensive written record o the uddhas doctrine
was not compiled until 500 years ater his death.
THERAVADA AND MAHAYANA
y that time uddhism had already developed two major orms:Theravada uddhism and Mahayana ud-
dhism. n general Theravadas adherents
ollowed more literally the teachings o
the historic uddha, while the ollow-
ers o Mahayana more reely adapted the
uddhas doctrine.
y and large Theravada uddhism is
ollowed today by people on the southern
rim o siaSri Lanka, Myanmar, Thai-
land, ambodia, Laos, and parts o Malay-
sia. Mahayana uddhism spread north
and east rom ndia into hina, Tibet,
ietnam, Korea, and Japan.
OLDER RELIGIONS
In many parts o Asia, Buddhism
absorbed or provided a space or the
continuation o older traditional religions
such as Bon in Tibet. In other countries
rivalry sometimes meant that the older
religions redefned themselves againstBuddhism. In China, or example, the rise
o Buddhism led to the traditional religion
o Daoism developing monasticism or
the frst time.
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14 BUDDHISM
Missionaries rom hina spread ud-
dhism to Korea and rom there it came to
Japan. The Japanese, showing their inge-
nious talent or turning oreign things into
uniquely Japanese traditions, assimilated
uddhism into their culture. Most Japa-nese today ollow the practices o both
uddhism and Shinto, the ancient Japa-
nese belie in kami, or nature spirits.
VARIETY OF PRACTICE
s a result o its tolerant tradition uddhism today displays a
wide variety o practices and customs. n Thailand, during the
rainy season that begins in July, schoolchildren make candles topresent as gits to the local uddhist temple and celebrate with
song and dance. ach year in Sri Lanka orange-robed uddhist
monks lead an elephant through the streets. t carries one o the
countrys holiest uddhist relicsa tooth o the uddha himsel.
n Tibet spiritual guides called lamas gather around people who
are dying, reciting certain texts to assist the dying person to reach
a higher plane o existence. n Korea each pril shops and houses
are estooned with paper lanterns as colorul processions pass
through the streets in celebration o the uddhas birthday. nJapan many people simply recite the phrase call on the mida
uddha in their everyday lives. ll these people are paying hom-
age to the uddha.
A MORAL MESSAGE
The message o uddhism has an appeal on many dierent intel-
lectual levels. t can be either very simple or immensely compli-
cated. For the person with such everyday concerns as how to
earn a living, it oers a moral message o compassion, honesty,
and sel-control. ts appeal is as great to a practitioner in indus-
trial Japan as it is to peasants in rural communities o Southeast
sia. On the other hand it can provide a basis or lielong medita-
tion and thought.
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Today, members o the sangha still teach and pursue the goal
o enlightenment. Men and women put on the robes o uddhist
monks or nuns and enter monasteries. They spend much o their
time reciting together the scriptures o uddhism, or in solitary
meditation on the truths o the religion. They depend on the
donations o the aithul or their subsistence. Some take theiralms bowls into the streets, and others receive donations o ood
or money at the monastery.
THE MONASTIC LIFE
Like uddhism itsel, the lie o a monk or nun is exible. Some
people enter as children and stay or their entire lietimes. Oth-
ers lead the monastic lie or a short time and then return to the
everyday world. This is not rowned upon, or they have earnedmerit or the time they spent in complete devotion to the ud-
dhist way. n the countries o Southeast sia it is very common
or laypersons such as successul merchants and cratspeople to
enter a monastery or the months o the rainy season and then go
back to their work. ll uddhists, whether
they are monastic or laypersons, ollow
the path that leads to release rom suer-
ing. n ollowing this path, they are said to
be taking reuge in the Three Jewelstheuddha, the dharma, and the sangha.
THE UNIVERSAL APPEAL OF BUDDHISM
uddhism has a universal appeal. t recog-
nizes the suering that all people endure
and provides a way to overcome it. ny-
one can practice it, or as the uddha
said, My doctrine makes no distinction
between high and low, rich and poor; it is
like the sky, it has room or all; like water
it washes all alike.
n sia, its birthplace, it has recently
begun to ourish again in countries such
THE THREE JEWELS
Amid all the dierent orms and prac-
tices o Buddhism, one o the ew
things all agree on is that a Buddhist takes
reuge in the Three Jewels. These are the
Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha.
Indeed, many Buddhists recite the phrase
I take reuge in the Buddha, I take reuge
in the dharma, and I take reuge in the
sangha as a daily prayer. When Buddhists
speak o taking reuge, they mean ollow-
ing the path that leads to the end o suer-
ingnirvana. A Tibetan proverb sums upthe Three Jewels: The Buddha is the great
physician; the dharma is the remedy; the
sangha is the nurse who administers the
remedy.
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16 BUDDHISM
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as hina, Mongolia, and the ussian states
o Kalmyk and uryat, where it had been
almost stamped out by the communist
governments.
n the West uddhism has grown sig-
nifcantly since the 1960s, when it becamepopular among artists and writers, espe-
cially the young, or its promotion o spir-
itual values and promise o inner peace. n
Great ritain, or example, the number o
uddhist centers has grown rom about
hal a dozen in the 1950s to several hun-
dred today.
The uddhas dharma has stood thetest o time. t is practical, or it provides
specifc action and stresses individual eort. The uddha said
that he himsel could only point the way: ach person must ol-
low the ightold Path on his or her own. Look within yoursel,
he told his ollowers. ou are the uddha.
BUDDHIST REVIVAL
Buddhism in China is now able to
unction relatively reely and many
historic temples are being restored by
the government in collaboration withthe Buddhist sangha. In Mongolia the all
o communism in 1991 ound Buddhism
barely alive. Within a ew years more than
900 temples and monasteries had been
ounded or reopened. Although this has
now dropped down to around 600, it rep-
resents the revival by popular demand o
the Mongolian aith in Buddhism.
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18 BUDDHISM
THE LIFE OF
THE BUDDHA
CHAPTER 2
Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who would become known asthe uddha, was born around the year 563 B.C.E. is birth-
place was the town o Kapilavastu in what is now epal. Siddhar-
tha was the son o Shuddhodana, the chie (sometimes called a
raja, or king) o the Sakyas. ence the title Sakyamuni, or Sage
o the Sakyas, by which Siddhartha was later known.
There is no doubt that Siddhartha really existed. bout 250
years ater his death an ndian emperor set up inscribed stone
pillars at the important sites o Siddharthas lie and teachings.
These are regarded as reliable historical records.
ORAL HISTORY
The details o the uddhas lie, as retold in this chapter, come
rom an oral tradition begun by those who actually knew and
saw him. These accounts were not written down until around
500 years ater his death, by which time all sorts o legends and
miraculous stories had grown around him.
Stone statues o the Buddha dressed in a simple monks
robe at Ayutthaya in Thailand. Founded in 1350,
Ayutthaya became the second capital o the kingdom o
Siam (the ormer name o Thailand); the frst capital o
the Buddhist kingdom was at Sukhotai.
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The Lie o the Buddha
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20 BUDDHISM
QUEEN MAYAS DREAM
ccording to the uddhist tradition Siddharthas mother, Queen
Maya, was a woman o perect orm and bee-black tresses, ear-
less in heart and ull o grace and virtue. One day a eeling o
great peace and joy came over her. That night, while she slept,
she had a wonderul dream: n elephant with six tusks, carryinga lotus ower in its trunk, touched her right side. t that moment
her son was miraculously conceived.
When the queen told her husband o the dream he called
rahmins (also spelled rahmans), or learned men, to interpret
it. They predicted that the child would be either the greatest king
in the world or the greatest ascetic, a holy man who practices sel-
denial. is name would be Siddhartha, which means he whose
aim is accomplished.
THE BIRTH OF SIDDHARTHA
ccompanied by dancing women and guards, Queen Maya went
to her athers home to prepare or the birth. s she stepped rom
her chariot in the Lumbini Gardens she stopped to rest, taking
hold o a branch o a sal tree.
Legend tells us that at that moment uddha emerged rom her
right side. Without any help the inant walked seven steps in each
o the our directions o the compass. n his ootprints lotus ow-ers sprouted rom the earth. The miraculous inant announced,
o urther births have to endure, or this is my last body. ow
shall destroy and pluck out by the roots the sorrow that is caused
by birth and death.
Seven days ater the wondrous birth Queen Maya died. ence
Mahaprajapati, Mayas sister, looked ater Siddhartha.
THE GREAT RENUNCIATION
The prediction o the learned men had disturbed Siddharthas
ather, King Shuddhodana. From the time o his sons birth
Shuddhodana encouraged his son to ollow the path o kingship.
Shuddhodana surrounded his son with pleasures and granted
his every wish. ever did Siddhartha see or learn about any
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kind o suering or hardship. When he let the palace the kings
guards went ahead o his chariot, clearing the streets o anything
unpleasant or disturbing.
rahmin priest instructed Siddhartha in the ways o govern-
ment, preparing him to govern wisely. Siddhartha also learned
the arts o warhow to fght with a sword and shoot an arrowrom his bow. The young man was strong and healthy, and his
physical beauty and lively spirit attracted many riends. ll o his
companions were children o the ofcials o the court.
BIRTH OF A SON
When Siddhartha was about 20 he married asodhara, the
daughter o one o the kings ministers. Their wedding east
lasted or many days, and gits were distributed to the peopleo the kingdom to mark the occasion. Within a year asodhara
bore Siddharthas son, named ahula, which means etter or
impediment.
King Shuddhodana was pleased, or he had provided every-
thing his son would need or happiness in his lie and success as
a great king. Some years passed, during which time Siddhartha
lived in the palace with his wie and son, enjoying all the plea-
sures o a king.
OLD AGE, SICKNESS, AND DEATH
Then, when he was 29 years old, Siddhartha asked his charioteer,
hanna, to take him or a ride without the consent o the king.
s the prince rode through the city he saw three things that he
had never seen beore. One was an old man, one was a man su-
ering rom illness, and the third was a corpse surrounded by
mourners.
Siddhartha asked hanna to explain the meaning o these
strange sights. hanna responded that old age, sickness, and
death were natural and unavoidable things that came to all peo-
ple. They were to be endured.
Shocked, Siddhartha returned to the palace and thought about
what he had seen. For the frst time he conronted the reality o
The Lie o the Buddha
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22 BUDDHISM
A 19th-century Chinese painting called The Great Departure, illustrating
Prince Siddhartha leaving his athers palace ater renouncing the luxury
into which he had been born to take on the lie o a wandering holy man.
Tradition holds that the circumstances o the event were ar more austere.
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lie: verything is transient; nothing is permanent in this world
. . . Knowing that, can fnd delight in nothing . . . ow can a
man, who knows that death is quite inevitable, still eel greed in
his heart, enjoy the world o senses and not weep in this great
danger?
RENOUNCING A LIFE OF PLEASURE
Once more Siddhartha asked hanna to take him into the city.
This time he saw the last o the Four Sights that changed his lie.
This was a wandering holy man, an ascetic, with no possessions.
The man had shaved his head, wore only a ragged yellow robe,
and carried a walking sta. Siddhartha stopped his chariot and
questioned the man. The ascetic told the prince, am . . . terrifed
by birth and death and thereore have adopted a homeless lie towin salvation . . . search or the most blessed state in which su-
ering, old age, and death are unknown.
That very night Siddhartha resolved to renounce the lie o
pleasure in the palace. e silently kissed his sleeping wie as-
odhara and his young son and ordered
hanna to drive him out o the city. Leg-
end claims that celestial beings held up the
hooves o the horses so that their clatter
would not wake the guards. t the edgeo a orest Siddhartha took o his jeweled
sword, cut o his hair and beard, and dis-
carded his princely garments. e put on
the yellow robe o a holy man and told
hanna to take his possessions back to his
ather.
THE GREAT RETIREMENT
Siddhartha wandered through north-
eastern ndia seeking out holy men, who
taught him ancient ndian techniques o
meditation. owever his main quest was
to fnd the answer to the problem o su-
KARMA
When a soul is reborn it may enter a
body in a higher or lower state o
existence than its previous one. The new
body may be that o a king, a beggar, or
even an animal or insect. The determining
actor o a souls new existence is the qual-
ity o lie led by the individual soul in its
previous existence. This is called the law o
karma. Simply put, karma consists o the
individuals thoughts, words, and deeds in
his or her previous existences. I the karma
has been good, the soul will be reborn ina higher orm. Conversely, i the karma
has been bad, the soul is punished (pays a
karmic price) by being reborn in a lower
orm.
The Lie o the Buddha
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24 BUDDHISM
ering. e wanted to know why people suered and how this su-
ering could end.
Siddhartha studied the ancient teachings o ndia. e was
most inuenced by the concept o samsara. Samsara is a belie
that ater death a persons innermost essence, or soul, transmi-
grates into a new bodyit is born again. nother name or thisprocess is reincarnation. very action, thought, and deed has an
eect in this lie and the next lie. This is the law o karma. the
quality o one lie has been good it will lead to a better rebirth.
FOUR CASTES
The law o karma also had social implications. ndian society
was strictly divided into our castes, or classes. t the top were
the rahminspriests and religious teachers. The second casteincluded the warriors and rulers. t was within this caste that
Siddhartha was born. The third and ourth castes were the mer-
chants and workers (laborers, cratsmen, armers, and so on). t
the very bottom were people who were literally outcastes, below
the our castes, whose station in lie made them impure.
n a single lietime it was impossible to rise within the caste
system. y law and tradition the members o each caste were
strictly separated rom the others. People o dierent castes did
not marry, eat together, or have physical contact with one anoth-er. a person violated the caste rules he or she had to undergo
rituals o purifcation. The only way to move up was to accumu-
late good karma and be reborn into a higher caste.
MOKSHARELEASE
Some believed that samsarathis process o lie, death, and
rebirthwas an endless chain o existence. t would continue
orever, rom lie to lie. round the time o Siddharthas lie,
however, new teachingslater set down in scriptures called the
Upanishadswere being developed. The Upanishadic teachers
developed the idea omoksha, or release. y leading a highly spiri-
tual lie (or several lives) a soul could be reunited with rahman,
the Ultimate eality. The cycle o samsara would be broken.
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A depiction o Siddhartha
when his body wasted away
during the six years he spent
asting, beore he realized
that the path to wisdom did
not lie in extremes.
SIDDHARTHAS SELF-DENIAL
ttracted by this idea, Siddhartha adopted a lie o extreme sel-
denial and penances, meditating constantly. e settled on the
bank o the airanjana iver, determined to orce himsel into
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26 BUDDHISM
A pilgrim meditating at
Bodhgaya in northern India.
In the shrine at Bodhgaya is
a tree believed to grow on
the site o the original Bodhi
tree under which Buddha
gained enlightenment.
the state o mind that would lead to moksha. For six years, throughrain and wind, hot and cold weather, he stayed there, eating and
drinking only enough to stay alive. is body became emaciated
and his ormer physical strength let him. is holiness was so
evident that fve other holy men joined him, hoping to learn rom
his example.
THE ENLIGHTENMENT
One day, the uddhist tradition holds, Siddhartha realized that
his years o penance had only weakened his body. n such a state
o physical exhaustion he could not meditate properly. e stood
up and stepped into the river to bathe. owever he was so weak
that he could not raise himsel out o the water. The uddhist
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scriptures say that the trees on the riverbank bent their branches
down so that he could reach them.
t that moment a milkmaid named andabala came into
sight. She oered Siddhartha a bowl o milk and rice and he
accepted it grateully. When the fve holy men who had been his
pupils saw this they let, because they thought he had abandonedhis quest to achieve true holiness, or moksha.
ereshed by the meal, Siddhartha sat down under a bo, or fg,
tree (known to uddhists as the odhi tree, the tree o enlighten-
ment) and resolved that he would not arise until he had ound the
answer he had sought or so long.
The uddhist scriptures say that Mara, an evil god who con-
stantly tempted people with desire, saw that Siddhartha was near
his goal. Mara sent his three sons and three daughters to temptSiddhartha. They tormented him with thirst, lust, and discon-
tent, oering all sorts o pleasures to distract him and stop him
achieving his aims.
owever Siddhartha was not swayed by them. e entered a
state o deep meditation, in which he recalled all his previous
rebirths. e gained knowledge o the cycle o births and deaths
and the certainty that he had cast o the
ignorance and passion o the sel that
bound him to the world. t last he hadattained enlightenment.
s tradition has it, the uddha could
then have cast o his body and his exis-
tence. nstead, however, he made a great
act o sel-sacrifce. aving discovered the
way to end his own suering, he turned
back, determined to share his enlighten-
ment with others so that all living souls
could end the cycles o their own rebirth
and suering. e thus set an example o
compassion and wisdom or sel-knowl-
edge or others that would be a hallmark
o his ollowers.
THE ENLIGHTENED ONE
The Buddhas enlightenment under
the Bodhi tree was the beginning o
the history o Buddhism as a religion. Sid-
dhartha became the Buddha, the enlight-
ened one. His own desire and suering
were over and, as the Buddha, he attained
nirvana. In the Buddhas words, There is a
sphere which is neither earth, nor water,
nor fre, nor air . . . which is neither thisworld nor the other world, neither sun nor
moon. I deny that it is coming or going,
enduring death or birth. It is only the end
o suering.
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28 BUDDHISM
A Buddhist tanka painted by Tibetan monks. A tanka illustrates stories about the Buddha and events in his lie, some o which
can be seen in the arc around the head o the Buddha. Tankas are also used as a ocus or meditation.
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SETTING IN MOTION THEWHEEL OF DOCTRINE
uddha went to the city o Sarnath, where
he ound the fve ascetics who had desert-
ed him earlier. They were sitting in a deer
park. Seeing him approach, they decidednot to greet him by the respectul title they
had used to address him beore. owever
when he appeared beore them, they saw
signs on his body and head that indicated
he had risen to a higher state o holiness.
The uddha began to teach them what
he had discovered. e took a handul
o rice grains and drew a wheel on theground. This represented the wheel o
lie that went on or existence ater exis-
tence. (The symbol o the wheel is oten
used to stand or uddhist teaching.) This
preaching was called his eer Park Ser-
mon, or Setting in Motion the Wheel o
octrine.
THE MIDDLE WAYSiddhartha Gautama revealed that he had
become the uddha. e described the lie
o pleasure that he had frst known and
then the lie o severe asceticism that he
had practiced. either o these was the
true path to nirvana. nstead the uddha
advised the Middle Way, which avoids
both extremes. To satisy the necessities
o lie is not evil, the uddha said. To
keep the body in good health is a duty,
or otherwise we shall not be able to trim
the lamp o wisdom, and keep our mind
strong and clear.
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
The Eightold Path is a series o eight
stages that lead to the end o desire.
O these the frst stages are attainable in
everyday lie; the later ones require more
eort and concentration. Like many o
Buddhas teachings they appear simple at
frst but take on subtle and intricate mean-
ing when studied closely.
The Eightold Path is:
1. Right opinion
2. Right intentions
3. Right speech
4. Right conduct5. Right livelihood
6. Right eort
7. Right mindulness
8. Right concentration
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
The Four Noble Truths are:
1. Suering consists o disease, old age,
and death; o separation rom those we
love; o craving what we cannot obtain;and o hating what we cannot avoid.
2. All suering is caused by desire and the
attempt to satisy our desires.
3. Thereore, suering can be overcome by
ceasing to desire.
4. The way to end desire is to ollow the
Eightold Path.
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30 BUDDHISM
The uddha explained the Four oble Truths and the ightold
Path that were the heart o his teaching. The Four oble Truths
were the uddhas analysis o the cause o suering. The ight-
old Path was the solution. Together they ormed the dharma, or
the doctrine o uddhism.
STAGES OF THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
The frst stage, right opinion, concerns understanding the Four
Truths. Then, through right intentions, a person decides to set
his or her lie on the correct path. ight speech consists o not
lying, not criticizing others unjustly, and not using harsh lan-
guage or gossiping. ight conduct means abstaining rom killing,
stealing, cruelty, or lustul activities. To ollow right livelihood a
person must earn a living in a way that does not harm any liv-ing thing. To practice right eort a person must conquer all evil
thoughts and strive to arouse and maintain only good thoughts.
ight mindulness has a special meaning in uddhism, in which
a person becomes intensely aware o all the states o his or her
body, eeling, and mind. That leads to the fnal stage, right con-
centration, which is deep meditation that leads to a higher stage
o consciousness. person who practices right concentration
will come to the enlightenment that Siddhartha attained.
BUDDHAS TRAVELS AND TEACHINGS
The fve ascetics immediately recognized that the uddha had
ound the correct way. They became his frst disciples. For the
next 45 years he traveled through northeastern ndia, preaching
the dharma and answering the questions
o those who wished to learn it.
n his teachings the uddha retained
many elements o the religious teachings
o ndia o his time, including the con-
cepts o samsara and karma. owever, the
uddhist dharma diered rom them in
certain important respects. The uddha
challenged the authority o the rahmins,
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the highest caste in ndian society. e opposed the animal sacri-
fces to the various gods, which only rahmin priests could per-
orm. n contrast the uddha told his ollowers not to kill any
living creature. n addition the uddha did not accept the rah-
mins special role as interpreters o religious truth. nstead the
uddha stressed that anyone, regardless o caste, who ollowedthe ightold Path could achieve nirvana.
SKANDHAS
The uddha also questioned the idea o the atman, or soulthe
individual consciousness that was reborn again and again. e
denied that there was any personal, eternal soul or permanent
sel. nstead the uddha compared the individual to a cart. cart
was made up o dierent elementswheels, body, yoke. Sepa-rately they were not a cart. Only when they were together did
they orm a cart. n the same way, uddha taught, an individual is
composed o fve elements called skandhas, which were constant-
ly in a state o change. The skandhas were orm and matter, sensa-
tions, ideas, emotions, and consciousness. What was reborn over
and over were groups o ever-changing skandhas, inuenced by
karma. Thus, the skandhas reborn were not exactly the same as
the skandhas that had died.
The uddha declared that by ollowing his ightold Path peo-ple would lose their alse idea o sel and achieve nirvana. When
a person reached nirvana the cart would dissolve. ter that a
person would no longer accumulate bad karma, even i his lie
continued.
PARABLES AND STORIES
s or the concept o rahman itsel, which we might liken to a
supreme being, the uddha reused to consider whether such a
universal soul existed. Once, when a religious scholar pressed the
uddha to debate the existence o rahman, he replied that the
scholar was like a man who fnds himsel in a burning house. The
scholar wanted to fnd out who set the fre or how it started, when
he should be thinking frst o getting out o the house. The indu
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32 BUDDHISM
goal omokshaor union o the soul withrahmanwas replaced in uddhism by
the goal o achieving nirvana.
The simplicity o the uddhas teach-
ing, its emphasis on personal action, and
the uddhas opposition to the caste sys-tem soon won him many ollowers. Like
other religious teachers, uddha oten
used stories or parables to explain his doc-
trine. n the Parable o the Mustard Seed
the uddha taught the lesson o acing and
accepting suering.
BHIKKHUS
eginning with the fve disciples he
spoke to in the eer Park, certain people
embraced the uddhas teachings so com-
pletely that they accompanied him every-
where. e set rules o conduct or them,
thus organizing the sangha, which became
a community o monks (later nuns as well).
The members o the sangha are known as
bhikkhus. The sangha served two unctions. First, the monks werecharged with preserving and teaching the dharma. Second, the
sangha enabled bhikkhus to concentrate on the goal o nirvana.
Only people who spent time in meditation could achieve the last
two steps o the ightold Path.
The uddha made another break with tradition when he was
persuaded by his closest disciple nanda to permitted women to
join the sangha. The frst uddhist nun was the uddhas aunt,
who had raised him.
THE FIVE PRECEPTS
The uddha recognized that not everyone could give up his or
her everyday lie to become part o the sangha. e also accepted
the laityollowers (upasaka) who believed his teachings but did
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not ollow the strict rule o the sangha. People in everyday lie
could achieve merit by practicing good works and building good
karma. n a uture rebirth they would be able to dedicate them-
selves as monks or nuns to seek nirvana. The uddha encouraged
the laity to ollow as perect a lie as they could. s a guide to
everyday behavior the uddha prescribed Five Precepts, or rules:
1. To rerain rom taking lie.
2. To rerain rom taking what is not given.
3. To rerain rom sexual misconduct.
4. To rerain rom alse speech.
5. To rerain rom intoxicating things that cloud the mind.
THE PARINIRVANA
uring the uddhas travels he returned to his birthplace in Kap-
ilavastu. is ather, Shuddhodana, was mortifed to see his son
begging or ood. o one in our amily, said the king, has ever
lived by begging. owever the uddha kissed his athers oot
and said, ou belong to a noble line o kings. ut belong to the
lineage o uddhas, and thousands o those have lived on alms.
Shuddhodana remembered and acted
upon the prophecy at Siddharthas con-
ception and became reconciled with hisson. The uddhas wie asodhara and son
ahula both joined the sangha, as did his
cousin nanda, who became the uddhas
most aithul attendant during the later
years o his lie.
THE END OF THE JOURNEY
When the uddha was about 80 a black-
smith named uanda gave him a meal that
caused him to become ill. The uddha
orced himsel to walk on to the village o
Kushinagara, where at last he lay down to
rest in a grove o shala trees. s a crowd o
SIMPLE POSSESSIONS
Early Buddhist monks and nuns ol-
lowed the Buddhas example o wan-
dering rom place to place spreading his
teaching. They were allowed to possess
only an alms bowl, a razor, a needle, a
strainer, a sta, a toothpick, and a robe.
(The strainer was to remove insects that
ell into their drinks, so they would not be
consumed and killed.)
During Indias long, hot rainy season, themembers o the sangha settled in viharas,
or resting places. These were the begin-
nings o the great monasteries that are
today ound in many parts o Asia.
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34 BUDDHISM
A 23-oot-high granite
statue o Ananda, Buddhas
cousin and one o his major
disciples, at Polonnaruwa in
Sri Lanka. This statue is one
o a series o our carved into
the natural rock in the 12th
century.
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ollowers gathered around him, he lay on his right side. Though
it was not the season or blooming, the trees sprouted blossoms
and showered them upon him. The scene has oten been the
inspiration or uddhist artists.
BUDDHAS FINAL WORDSuddha told nanda, am old and my journey is near its end.
My body is like a worn-out cart held together only by the help o
leather straps. Three times he asked the people gathered around
him i they had any more questions about his teaching. veryone
remained silent.
The uddha spoke his fnal words: verything that has been
created is subject to decay and death. verything is transitory.
Work out your own salvation with diligence.ter passing through several states o meditation the uddha
diedor, as uddhists say, he reached hisparinirvana, the cessa-tion o perception and sensation.
uring his long lietime the uddha never traveled arther
than 250 miles rom Sarnath, the city where his teaching minis-
try began. owever, he had set in motion a religious movement
that would spread throughout the world and still remains a vital
orce 2,500 years ater his death.
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36 BUDDHISM
THE SPREAD OF
BUDDHISM
CHAPTER 3
Portrait o a Burmese novice monk in traditional robes. In
Buddhist countries young boys oten join a monastery or
several months or several years. In countries such as Thailand
and Myanmar (ormerly Burma) boys usually spend time in
monasteries during the three months o the rainy season.
The uddha urged his ollowers, Go orth or the gain o themany, or the welare o many, in compassion or the world.
Preach the glorious doctrine; proclaim the lie o holiness. y
the time o his death more than 500 monks lived in monasteries
in the area where the uddha had preached. Today this region
orms the ndian state o ihar, whose name comes romvihara,meaning uddhist monastery. From here uddhism began to
spread westward through northern ndia.
bout 200 years ater the death o the uddha political
developments encouraged the spread o the dharma. handra-gupta Maurya conquered much o northern ndia and created
a strong, centralized empire. When handraguptas grandson
soka became emperor around 270 B.C.E., the stage was set or
uddhism to move beyond the boundaries o ndia. The story o
King sokas conversion is central to the historical progress o
uddhism.
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38 BUDDHISM
ASOKA
soka was an ambitious man. Through conquest he expanded
the Mauryan mpire, absorbing central ndia as well as parts o
many o the countries on modern ndias northern border. e
waged his fercest campaign against the Kalingas, who lived in
todays Orissa, in east central ndia. The struggle was so bloodythat more than 100,000 Kalingas were slaughtered.
is experience o walking across the battlefeld and seeing
the carnage brought about a spiritual transormation in so-
ka. e became a ollower o uddhism and set up a stone pillar
expressing remorse or his deeds: ter the conquest o Kalinga,
the eloved o the Gods (soka) began to ollow ighteousness
(dharma), to love ighteousness, and to give instruction in igh-
teousness. ow the eloved o the Gods regrets the conquest oKalinga, or when an independent country is conquered people
are killed, they die or are deported, and that the eloved o the
Gods fnds very painul and grievous.
A MODEL BUDDHIST RULER
sokas conversion was no empty gesture, and thereater he car-
ried out policies designed to beneft his subjects. long the roads
throughout his empire he ordered shel-
ters built or travelers and banyan treesplanted to provide shade or the ootsore
and weary. soka banned animal sacri-
fces and became a vegetarian himsel.
e abolished many cruel punishments
or criminals. ospitals were ounded to
serve both animals and humans. is gov-
ernment undertook the fnancial support
o uddhist monasteries. sokas actions
made him the model uddhist ruler. Later
uddhist kings throughout sia would
emulate his example.
s a permanent record o his reign
soka erected pillars throughout his
ASOKAS EDICTS
On a pillar that still stands in Delhi,
King Asoka ordered his philoso-
phy inscribed in stone: In religion is the
chie excellence. Religion consists in good
works, mercy, charity, purity, and chastity.
It consists in benevolence to the poor and
to the a icted, kindness to animals, to
birds and to all creatures. Let all pay atten-
tion to this edict and let it endure or ages
to come. He who acts in conormity with
it shall attain to eternal happiness. This
indeed is a noble statement o the ethics
o Buddhism.
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Exquisitely carved with
Buddhist symbols and
Jataka stories (which
describe the previous lives o
the Buddha), this 18-oot-
(5.5-meter-) high gateway
to the largest dome stupa in
the world is in Sanchi, India.
The stupa is believed to have
been originally constructed
at the request o King Asoka.
empire. nscribed in the language o its people, a orm o the Pali
language, they proclaimed his achievements and ideals. mong
these ideals was tolerance o all religions.
BUDDHIST MISSIONARIES
Wishing to carry the wisdom o the uddha to the world, so-ka sent out missionaries in all directions. This historical event
began the spread o the religion beyond its homeland. Some o
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40 BUDDHISM
sokas missionaries went as ar west as Syria, gypt, and the
Greek world; others traveled south and north. soka began the
process o making uddhism a religion that would have ollow-
ers throughout sia.
uddhism spread along two major routesone to the north
across the landmass o sia and the other to the south acrossland and sea to southeastern sia.
SRI LANKA
y tradition sokas son Mahinda was a bhikkhu, or monk. is
ather entrusted him with carrying the dharma to eylon.
Known today as Sri Lanka, eylon is a beautiul island o the tip
o southern ndia. When Mahinda arrived he was courteously
received by the king, Tissa, at his capital at nuradhapura. Theking was impressed by the uddhist teachings and converted in
247 B.C.E. nthusiastic crowds gathered to hear Mahinda preach
the dharma. Soothsayers predicted, These bhikkhus will be lords
upon this island.
CREATING BUDDHIST ROOTS
King Tissa invited other uddhist missionaries and donated a
park or a vihara. This monastery, the Mahavihara, became the
center o uddhism on the island. n his enthusiasm King Tissaasked Mahinda whether the devotion shown by his people meant
that uddhism had struck deep roots in his country. Mahinda
answered, ot yet, our Majesty. t has certainly sprung roots
but they have not yet grown deep into the soil. Only when a sima(a monastery with the authority to ordain new monks) has been
established and when a son born in Sri Lanka o Sri Lankan par-
ents becomes a monk in Sri Lanka, only then will it be true to say
that the roots o the dharma are deeply embedded here. Within
a short time these conditions were met.
BODHI TREE AND PRECIOUS RELICS
Mahindas sister, Sanghamitta, a uddhist nun, soon ollowed her
brother to Sri Lanka. uddhist tradition says that beore she let
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ndia she picked a slip o the sacred odhi tree under which Sid-
dhartha Gautama had reached enlightenment. This was planted
at a monastery in nuradhapura. Today an enormous tree on
this site is claimed to be the same one. Later saplings rom this
tree were planted throughout the island, providing a linkage
through nature with the origins o uddhism. Over time Sri Lan-ka received other precious relics o the uddha. These included
the uddhas begging bowl, his tooth, and a collarbone.
From the beginning uddhism was incorporated as the state
religion o Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan kings and nobles practiced
uddhism and were patrons o uddhist culture. uddhisms
close relationship with the ruling class has given it a longer con-
tinuous existence there than in any other country in the world.
ecause the religion virtually died out within ndia, Sri Lankassangha takes pride in preserving the early orm o the monastic
uddhist discipline.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
The region known as Southeast sia stretches rom Myanmar
(ormerly urma) to ndonesia. istorically it has been inu-
enced to a great degree by ndiaso much so that it is oten called
Greater ndia. ndian merchants and monks brought not only
religion but also their civilizationwriting, arts, and methodso ruling. uddhism and induism oten coexisted in the same
areas, along with the preexisting belie in animism, the belie that
spirits inhabit all things.
BURMA
uddhism came to the country known today as Myanmar beore
the urmese people did. When sokas missionaries arrived the
land was inhabited by the Mon people. y the ninth century, when
ethnic urmese moved into the land rom the mountains to the
north, the Mons were practicing both induism and uddhism.
The urmese gradually established their own kingdom.
great urmese ruler, King nawrahta (r. 104477), was convert-
ed to uddhism in 1056 by a monk rom the neighboring Mon
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42 BUDDHISM
Monks and pilgrims at Shwedagon Pagoda built on Singuttara Hill in Rangoon (now Yangon),
Myanmar. The pagoda, built o brick and covered entirely in gold, houses precious Buddhist
relics and is believed to date back more than 2,000 years.
kingdom o Thaton. nawrahta sent an envoy to Thaton to ask
or scriptures o the religion but was turned down. n a very un-
uddhist manner, nawrahta invaded Thaton and carried its
king and library back to his capital at Pagan. nawrahtas con-
version was a turning point or uddhism in urma, beginning a
religious tradition that has remained strong to this day. The ur-mese people have a proverb: To be urmese is to be uddhist.
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THAILAND
n the 11th century the Thai people migrated rom southern hi-
na into todays Thailand. t that time the region was under the
authority o the Khmer king. Thai ruler, ama Khamheng (ca.
12751317), reed the country rom the Khmer power. Kham-
heng became an ardent uddhist and made uddhism the statereligion. Khamhengs grandson invited monks rom Sri Lanka, by
then amous or their learning, to come to Thailand to strengthen
the purity o the Thai sangha. From that time on Thailand has
been a staunchly uddhist country whose kings have linked their
power to the religion.
CAMBODIA
The Khmer people o ambodia were also inuenced by ndiancivilization. From the beginning o the sixth century Khmer kings
ruled a large area rom their capital at ngkor. They devoted much
o their wealth to the construction o magnifcent buildings, the
most amous o which is the temple called ngkor Wat, which
was used by both indus and uddhists. induism remained the
stronger o the two religions until King Jayavarman Paramesvara
came to the throne in 1327. e embraced uddhism, and the
ambodians have ollowed his example ever since.
LAOS AND INDONESIA
King Jayavarman had his daughter marry a king named Fa gum,
who had merged several small states into the country o Laos.
Jayavarman urged Fa gum to protect uddhism and to rule his
kingdom according to the religions principles. e sent his son-
in-law a statue o the uddha that came rom Sri Lanka. alled
the Luang Prabang, the statue was set up in Fa gums capital,
which was renamed in its honor. uddhism has remained the
predominant religion o Laos.
Many large seaaring empires were established in the islands
that today make up the nation o ndonesia. ere too induism
and uddhism coexisted; but in the eighth century uddhism
was adopted by the Sailendra ruling dynasty o the island o Java.
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44 BUDDHISM
Under the Sailendras sponsorship, mammoth uddhist temple-
monastery complexes were built. mong themstill standing
todayis the largest uddhist monument in the world, orobo-
dur. t the end o the 13th century slam arrived on the island.
Over time it became the predominant religion, although a ew
uddhists remain.
ALONG THE SILK ROAD
orthwest o the ndian heartland lies an area that was some-
times called Gandhara, or actria. Today it includes northwest
ndia, northern Pakistan, ghanistan, and parts o entral sia.
n ancient times this region was a major crossroads between
ast and West. ere the cultures o ndia, Persia, and the Greco-
oman West all mingled. lexander the Great invaded and con-quered the region in 326 B.C.E. When lexander let, some o his
generals remained as governors. The region included the western
section o the Silk oad, the ancient trail that led through ear-
some deserts and mountains to serve as the land link between
hina and the West.
THE BACTRIAN EMPIRE
ter sokas death the Mauryan mpire declined. n the chaos
o that time the kingdom o actria arose between the Oxus iv-er and the indu Kush Mountains. actria was ruled by Greek
descendants o lexander the Greats soldiers.
King Milinda (also known as King Menander), who ruled ac-
tria about 155 B.C.E., was aicted with a sense o spiritual sick-
ness. e searched vainly or some kind o cure. uddhist monk
named agasena arrived in the kingdom and brought the rem-
edy. agasena explained uddhist dharma to Milinda and gained
a convert. The record o agasenas arguments, called onversa-
tions with Milinda, became part o the uddhist sacred writings.
Milinda became an ardent patron o uddhism. is coinage
in later years holds a picture o a wheel, a uddhist symbol or
dharma. s an old man he reputedly handed over his kingdom to
his son and became a member o the sangha.
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Standing more than 75
eet (23 meters) high, thisseated Buddha is carved
into the side o a mountain
at Bingling Si Temple near
Lanzhou, Gansu Province
in China. Lanzhou lay
along the Silk Road, whose
name derives rom the
importance o Chinese silk
as merchandise carried by
the camel caravans passed
along it. Ideas as well as
goods were exchanged
along the road. The Silk
Road became the major
route or the northern
spread o Buddhism.
nvaders overran the actrian mpire and control o the terri-
tory changed hands many times. round the middle o the frst
century o the common era, ferce warriors related to the uns
established the Kushan mpire. The Kushans controlled a ar
larger territory than Milinda had. King Kanishka, who ruled in
the frst and second centuries, was a ferce warrior. uling romhis capital Purushapura (todays Peshawar), Kanishka extended
his kingdom east to Kathgar, arkand, and Khotanall oases on
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46 BUDDHISM
the Silk oad. Much like soka, however, the king experienced a
religious crisis and converted to uddhism.
Kanishka became a great patron o the religion. e had sacred
uddhist writings inscribed on copper plates and displayed in his
capital. (Today they survive only in hinese translations.) From
monasteries established during his reign (such as amiyan intodays ghanistan), monks anned out through entral sia.
They converted kings and regional leaders, translated scriptures
into the native languages, and brought the art o writing to the
area. The oases o entral sia became centers o uddhism,
and the arts ourished. n the eighth century, however, Muslim
warriors conquered entral sia. Over time uddhism was sup-
planted by slam. owever by then uddhist bhikkhus had already
gone arther east on the Silk oad, spreading their religion tohina and other lands.
CHINA
n the frst century o the common era, according to hinese leg-
end Mingdi, a an emperor o hina, had a dream: huge fg-
ure, radiant as the sun, appeared to the emperor. The next day he
ordered agents to go west to fnd the source o his vision. ter
much wandering on the Silk oad the agents came upon two
bhikkhus with a white horse, a picture o the uddha, and holyuddhist writings. The bhikkhus agreed to return with the agentsto Luoyang, hinas capital. There the emperor recognized the
fgure o the uddha rom his dream. e asked the monks to
translate their scriptures into hinese, and they set to work in a
building that became known as the White orse Temple. (Today
there is still a White orse Temple on that site.)
A THIRD TRUTH
uring the an dynasty (202 B.C.E.220 C.E.) hina was one o
the great civilizations o the world. t had already developed two
philosophies that guided its culture. oth had been ounded by
men who lived at approximately the same time as the uddha
onucius and Laozi. onucius, the ounder o onucianism,
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described the proper relationships between people, which i ol-
lowed would bring harmony to society and government. Laozi,
on the other hand, believed that harmony was best gained by ol-
lowing the way (the ao) o nature. aoism and onucianism
were equally respected by the hinese, who had no difculty in
accepting separate truths that answered dierent needs or di-erent areas o lie. uddhism neither contradicted nor replaced
either o these philosophies. n time it was accepted by the hi-
nese as one o the Three Great Truths.
CHINESE PILGRIMS TO INDIA
ter the an dynasty was overthrown hina was disunited
or the next 350 years. uring this time o conict and turmoil
uddhisms message sank deep roots among the hinese people.Sanghas were ormed and ndian missionaries came to teach.
Translation bureaus were set up to render the uddhist religious
texts into hinese.
n the early-5th century C.E. a hinese monk called Faxian
made the hazardous journey rom hina to
ndia to bring back uddhist texts. bout
250 years later Xuanzang, whom the hi-
nese call the prince o pilgrims, made
his amous journey to ndia. Xuanzangentered ndia through the old kingdom o
actria. e visited the place in which Kan-
ishka, then still ferce and unconverted,
had held a hinese hostage. Treating his
captive with special respect, Kanishka had
erected a building to hold him. This dwell-
ing was now a monastery called Serika,
which was the actrians word or hina.
The ace o the hinese prisoner could still
be seen painted on the wall. Xuanzang, as
the frst hinese visitor to the monastery,
was greeted warmly by the monks, who
explained its history.
FAXIANS JOURNEY
Chinese monks themselves made the
trek to India to bring back precious
Buddhist texts. The journey was hazard-
ous; the monks had to cross deserts and
high mountains to reach their destination.
Faxian, who traveled or 15 years (399
414) on his mission, described the ter-
rors o the Gobi Desert: There are a great
many evil spirits and also hot winds; those
who encounter them perish to a man.
There are neither birds above nor beasts
below. Gazing on all sides as ar as the eyecan reach in order to mark the track, no
guidance is to be obtained save rom the
rotting bones o dead men, which point
the way.
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48 BUDDHISM
Ruins in Xinjiang Province in
southwest China. Xinjiang
lay along the Silk Road, the
name given to the trade
routes that linked China
with India and western Asia
and Europe.
XUANZANG REACHES THE GANGES
While Xuanzang was traveling on the Ganges iver he was cap-
tured by pirates who were looking or a victim to sacrifce to a
local deity. s they began to make their sacrifcial fre Xuanzang
went into deep meditation and a miracle occurred. Suddenly a
cyclone blew up and smashed the pirate ship on the shore. Thepirates were so terrifed that they released Xuanzang.
When Xuanzang arrived at the odhi tree where Siddhartha
had achieved enlightenment, he was overcome by emotion. e
wept as he thought o his own ailings. he had not been sinul in
a previous existence he might have lived in the perect days when
the uddha was alive. wonder, he thought, in what troubled
whirl o birth and death was caught when uddha achieved
enlightenment. RETURN TO CHINA
Xuanzang returned to hina in 645 and received a heros wel-
come in hangan, the capital o the Tang dynasty. e brought
back an enormous number o manuscripts and spent the rest o
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his lie translating and teaching. e has-
tened the development o hinese branch-
es o uddhism and became a genuine olk
hero himsel. is adventures on his jour-
ney became celebrated in art and olklore.
The great hinese novel Monkey describeshis pilgrimage in allegorical ashion. The
novels mixture o earthy humor and reli-
gious philosophy exemplifes the down-
to-earth quality o hinese uddhism. n
addition the writings o Xuanzang him-
sel provide a vivid picture o uddhism
in entral sia and ndia in the seventh
century.
THE TANG DYNASTY
The Tang dynasty (618927) was a period
o hinese cultural splendor and a high
point o uddhist inuence. uddhism
was then at the center o hinese religious
and intellectual lie. Most emperors
including the only emale Son o eaven, mpress Wuwere
patrons o the religion. Some rulers maintained state temples,where uddhist rituals were perormed or the well-being o the
country. The monasteries became the most important social-
service agencies o their time. The sangha maintained hospitals,
provided aid or the poor, and distributed ood in times o am-
ine. n the year 729 a census counted 126,100 monks and nuns.
NEW SCHOOLS OF BUDDHISM
The hinese uddhists were now ready to go beyond translating
ndian texts. They began to write interpretations o the dharma
and to develop new schools o uddhism. The invention o print-
ing increased the availability o texts and helped to spread the
religion urther. The very frst printed books were collections o
uddhist scriptures.
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50 BUDDHISM
n the waning years o the Tang dynasty, however, uddhism
came under attack. Some onucian scholars criticized it as a
oreign import, polluting the true hinese ways. The uddhist
monasteries, which had grown in wealth and power, excited
envy. ecause so many men and women had chosen the lie o
the sangha, uddhism was accused o weakening the onucianideal o amily and the obligation to produce sons. n 845 the
emperor ordered the monasteries closed and all monks and nuns
to return to regular lie. lthough uddhism survived it went
into a decline over the next thousand years. t would never again
play as central a role in hinese lie. owever, hinese ideas con-
tinued to enrich newer interpretations o uddhist thought.
The hinese version o uddhism, which came rom ndia
beore 100 C.E. and was inuenced by onucianism and ao-ism, became important in ast sia during the 300s. t was this
version that eventually spread to Korea, Japan, and ietnam.
VIETNAM
hinese missionaries brought uddhism to the region o todays
northern ietnam, which was then a part o the hinese mpire.
(For this reason the ietnamese orm o
uddhism more closely resembles that o
hina, rather than that o its neighbors,Laos and ambodia.) Like the hinese, the
ietnamese blended uddhism with their
native religious practices. ach large village
had an image o the uddha, and members
o the sangha were deeply involved in vil-
lage aairs. The monks, with their knowl-
edge o medicine and philosophy, were
highly respected by the people and soon
attracted ollowers among the aristocracy.
The uddhist monks gained popular sup-
port by sharing the ietnamese struggle
against hinese domination and, much
later, against French colonial rule.
The Mogao Caves at
Dunhuang in Gansu
Province, China. The oasis
town o Dunhuang was an
important stopping point or
caravans traveling along the
Silk Road. From the ourth
century C.E. Buddhist monks
began building a monastic
center by carving cavesinto the mountainsides,
adorning them with
devotional statues and
paintings. This continued
over the next 600 years,
creating a rich and extensive
collection o Buddhist art.
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KOREA
The peninsula o Korea was requently under the sway o the hi-
nese mpire as well. y tradition a hinese monk named Shund-
ao (Sundo in Korean) brought uddhism to Korea in 372. t that
time there were three Korean kingdoms, and the northern two
rapidly accepted the religion. The southernmost, Silla, resisted,and the people there killed a missionary rom the north. ow-
ever this missionary, i hadon, predicted that his blood would
run as white as milk to demonstrate the truth o the uddhist
dharma. When this prophecy came true the Sillans also accepted
the religion. Korean uddhism experienced a golden age rom the
sixth to the 14th centuries, a time when its kings were patrons o
the religion.
JAPAN
n 552 a Korean king sent missionaries to the islands o Japan.
They carried to the Japanese court an image o the uddha and a
letter rom the king, praising the religion as the most excellent
o all teachings . . . . t brings endless and immeasurable blessings
and ruits, even the attainment o the supreme enlightenment . . .
the Treasures o the glorious religion will never cease to give ull
response to those who seek or it.
The letter started a debate in Japan. the oreign religion wereaccepted, would it oend the kami? Kami, the Japanese believed,were spirits that inhabited all nature. Simple shrines devoted
to the kami dotted the country. Japanese mythology traced the
ancestry o their emperor to the sun goddess, the most powerul
o all kami. t was only ater the introduction o uddhism that
these belies and practices were given a nameShinto, or the
Way o the Gods.
One noble amily adopted uddhism and built a temple or
worship. Unortunately, soon aterward a plague broke out, and
the new religion was blamed. The temple was ordered destroyed.
owever when the plague grew worse the uddhists petitioned
to rebuild their temple. The argument between the two sides
went on.
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52 BUDDHISM
n 592 Prince Shotoku Taishi became the chie adviser to the
Japanese empress, Suiko. Shotoku, an ardent uddhist convert,
urged the empress to adopt the religion. Two years later ud-
dhism was proclaimed the state religion. Prince Shotoku began
to build a temple complex as a center o uddhist learning. This
was the start o the structure later known as the oruji, one oJapans greatest uddhist shrines.
TRANSFORMATION OF JAPAN
Japan sent envoys to hina to study uddhist scriptures and learn
more about the religion. The mission ound more than it had bar-
gained or. t brought back hinese ideas o culture and govern-
ment, along with onucianism and aoism as well. From that
beginning Japan began to adopt and adapt much that was valu-able in hinese culture, including uddhism.
Prince Shotoku and his successors began to transorm Japan.
n 710 a new capital was built at ara, a city modeled on hinas
capital, hangan. Many uddhist monasteries were built with-
in the city, and the emperor Shomu expressed his devotion to
uddhist dharma. n an imperial decree Shomu declared: Our
ervent desire is that, under the aegis o the Three Treasures (the
Three Jewels), the benefts o peace may be brought to all in heav-
en and on earth, even animals and plants sharing in its ruits, orall time to come.
owever, the uddhist monasteries became so powerul and
at times violent toward anyone who tried to stand up to them
that the imperial amily eventually had to move away to escape
the oppressive atmosphere that had developed. This led to the
ounding o the next capital city o Kyoto in 794.
SHINTO MEETS BUDDHISM
Shomus daughter, the empress Koken, took steps to unite ud-
dhism with Shinto. She arranged a ceremony or the Shinto god
o war, achiman. uddhist monks and nuns obediently prayed
to this godan unlikely one, since the uddha preached non-
violence. The monks placed a cap on a sacred cart supposed to
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contain the spirit o achiman. n this ceremony both religions
were given equal status in Japan.
The introduction o uddhism was a spur to Japanese culture.
t provided an outlet or the Japanese love o beauty. uddhism,
as the achiman ceremony showed, was also a exible system
that could adapt to dierent ideals, because it stresses the insig-nifcance o things worldly. ndeed, not long ater its introduc-
tion uddhism in Japan would become the avored religion o the
samurai warrior class and would be reected in much o Japanese
culture.
TIBET
ow ormally part o hina, Tibet, the Land o Snows, is located
in a large plateau o the imalayas, oten called the oo o theWorld. ecause o its remote location Tibet has oten been iso-
lated rom the rest o the world. The Tibetan indigenous religion,
A bronze statue o Amida
Buddha in Kamakura, Japan.
The statue, which was cast
in 1252, is more than 38
eet (11.5 meters) high andthe second-largest Buddha
statue in Japan.
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54 BUDDHISM
Flags covered with Buddhist
prayers surrounding a
temple on a mountaintop in
Tibet. The prayer ags have
been let by pilgrims; each
utter o the ag is regarded
as a repetition o the prayer
printed on it.
known as on, was a mixture o magic and animism. The on-
po, a type o shaman, or medicine man, recited mantras, sacred
ormulas or magical words used to exorcise evil spirits or to call
orth powerul orces. n early times on-pos presided over the
death rites o the Tibetan kings.
uddhism frst arrived in Tibet in the seventh century when aTibetan king married a hinese princess. She was a uddhist and
brought with her images or which the king built a temple. ow-
ever uddhism did not become strongly rooted until the arrival
o the ndian uddhist, Padmasambhava, a century later.
ccording to Tibetan tradition Padmasambhava, or Guru
inpoche, encountered a series o demons as he made his way
toward Tibet. The demons wanted to keep him rom ending their
hold on the country. Fortunately Padmasambhava possesseda knowledge o magic and overcame the demons. e did not
destroy them. nstead Padmasambhava orced them to submit to
the dharma and become the new protectors o the religion. The
legendary deeat o the demons explains uddhisms absorption
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o local religious traditions in Tibet. Padmasambhava established
the frst Tibetan uddhist monastery, Samye, completed in 779.
To this day Padmasambhava is a culture hero in Tibet, cele-
brated in dance and song. e brought not only the religion that
is universally practiced but also the Tibetan written language.
uddhism became the single most important orce in the lives othe Tibetan people. n the centuries that ollowed, an enormous
number o monasteries and temples were built. From Tibet, ud-
dhism spread arther north into Mongolia.
DECLINE IN INDIA
ronically, as uddhism spread throughout sia it was ading in
the land o its birth. induism was going through a period o
regeneration. ew schools won greater popular support. On hispilgrimage to ndia, Xuanzang noted that at enares, where the
uddha had preached his frst sermon, most o the people were
indus. n some areas the uddha was worshipped as a reincar-
nation o ishnu, one o the indu trinity o chie gods. Only in
the monasteries was uddhism a vital orce.
The fnal blow to ndian uddhism came when Muslims rom
ghanistan invaded northern ndia around the year 1200. They
sacked and burned many shrines and monasteries. The great uni-
versity at alanda was destroyed and the invaders ed its libraryto the ames or 10 days. The great era o uddhism within its
ounders homeland was over.
Today uddhist monks live at some o the amous sites o the
uddhas lie. They welcome pilgrims rom the many lands where
uddhism has taken root. Though the message o the uddha is
still honored by millions o people in sia, less than 2 percent o
the population adhere to this aith in ndia, the land o his birth.
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56 BUDDHISM
CHAPTER 4
THE VARIETIES
OF BUDDHISM
The uddha said, The dharma which have taught you willbe your teacher when have gone. Soon ater the uddhas
death his ollowers gathered in a council to agree on his teach-
ings. century later a second council was held. y this time di-
erent viewpoints about the dharma had started to appear among
the uddhists. s uddhism spread urther and the community
grew, two viewpoints took shape that have defned the dierent
orms o uddhism to this day.
One was a conservative approach that desired to hold as much
as possible to the doctrines and practices as originally ormulated.This approach was called the School o the lders, or Theravada.
The other group chose to interpret liberally the teachings and
practices o the uddha. y the beginning o the common era its
ollowers had given it the name Mahayana, which means great
vehicle. uddha had reerred to his teaching as a rat, a vehicle
that carried pilgrims across the river to the other shore. The
name Mahayana conveyed the idea that it would carry the whole
world to salvation. Mahayanans mockingly labeled the Thera-
vada School as the lesser vehicle, or inayana.
Buddhist monks belonging to the Theravada tradition meditating inside
the shrine room o Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The temple, or
wat, was ounded in 1345, although little o the original building remains.
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58 BUDDHISM
MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
t the center o Mahayana uddhism is
the fgure o the bodhisattvaliterally,
a being o wisdom. bodhisattva is a
being who is very close to nirvana but
turns back beore reaching it to work orthe salvation o all beings. bodhisattva
will delay entry into nirvana until even the
smallest creature has reached the highest
goal. The uddha had been a bodhisattva
in his lives (or rebirths) beore he was born
as Siddhartha Gautama.
THE SIX VIRTUES
The bodhisattva is a savior. bodhisattva
gains merit or humankind by practicing
the Six irtues, or paramitas. virtue is
practiced to perection when it is carried
out with a mind ree rom sel-conscious-
ness, ulterior motives, or sel-praise.
The six virtues are:
1. The perection o giving (dana)2. The perection o morality(sila)3. The perection o patience (santi)4. The perection o courage (virya)
5. The perection o meditation
(dhyana)6. The perection o wisdom (prajna)
odhisattvas can be reborn as humans
or even animals. owever the most pow-
erul bodhisattvas are those in heaven.
The Mahayana School o uddhism devel-
oped the idea o a heaven peopled with
bodhisattvas who could be adored and
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Devotional statues on the
terrace o a temple in Hong
Kong, China.
petitioned with prayer. The heavens also include past buddhas
(enlightened ones) and a buddha o the utureMaitreya.
THE BODIES OF THE BUDDHA
The new development o the bodhisattva as an ideal raised a
question about the historical uddha. Why didnt he remaina bodhisattva instead o selfshly reaching nirvana and passing
rom existence? The Mahayana answer to this problem is ound
in a doctrine called the Three odies o the uddha.
The uddhas three bodies are the ody o ssence, the ody
o liss, and the Transormation ody. Living on earth as Sid-
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60 BUDDHISM
dhartha Gautama, the uddha inhabited
the Transormation ody. owever his
Transormation ody was really an ema-
nation, or maniestation, o his ody o
liss. n the ody o liss he dwells in the
heavens eternally as what might be calleda supreme god. The ody o liss in turn
is an emanation o the ody o ssence,
which is the Ultimate uddha. The Ulti-
mate uddha underlies the entire universe
and is identifed with nirvana itsel. The
Ultimate uddha, or ody o ssence, is
much like the World Soul, or rahman, in
induism presented in a new orm.
A PANTHEON OF BEINGS
Mahayana theology developed the idea
that there were other odies o lissall
emanations o the single ody o ssence.
These odies o liss were identifed as
bodhisattvas and other buddhas who
had lived at various times in past history.
These fgures multiplied into a panthe-on o beings who dwelled in numerous
heavens, hells, and even other universes.
Mahayana uddhist thinkers envisioned
wonderul paradises and their counterpart
hells, where the wicked suered horrible
punishments. The only limit to new creations was the human
imagination.
The most beloved odies o liss were those concerned with
lie and suerings here on earth. The most important were the
uddha mitabha (mmeasurable adiance), who resided in the
heaven o the west. e was linked with the historical uddha Gau-
tama and the powerul and compassionate bodhisattva valok-
itesvara, whose name means the Lord Who Looks own.
BELOVED BODHISATTVAS
Some bodhisattvas have been more
important or beloved than others.
Among these are:
Maitreya, the earliest bodhisattva, around
whom a cult o devotion ormed. He an-
swers the prayers o worshippers. A com-
passionate and benevolent being, he
grants help to anyone who calls on him.
Avalokitesvara, who is rich in compassion
and love because he has purifed his vows
or countless eons. He can take any orm
that will help human beings. He grants re-wards and wishes to those who remember
him and recite his name. He is the patron o
Tibet; in China, where he was transormed
into the emale Guanyin, he is the most
popular o all bodhisattvas.
Manjushri (meaning sweet or gentle),
the symbol o wisdom and eloquence. He
is young and never grows old. Manjushri
usually appears in dreams, sometimes as an
orphan or a poor man. Whoever worships
him is protected by the power o Manjushri
and is certain to reach enlightenment.
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DOCTRINE OF EMPTINESS
Mahayana theology was buttressed by two primary philosophi-
cal schools. The frst school was the Madyamika, or octrine o
the Middle Position. t was developed by agarjuna, who lived
in the frst and second centuries o the common era. agarjuna
postulated that all that exists is emptiness, or the oid (sunyata).For this reason his theory is sometimes called the octrine o
mptiness. agarjuna admitted that or practical purposes the
everyday world existed. owever because it was composed o
transitory or impermanent phenomena, it had no absolute real-
ity. Since emptiness is the only phenomenon that never changes,
the oid is absolute reality. The oid, in act, is the same as nir-
vana and the ody o ssence o the uddha.
The Madyamika doctrine included avery optimistic corollary. lthough the
existence o emptiness could not be proved
by ordinary logic, it could be directly expe-
rienced in meditation. The emptiness, or
oid, was everywhere; indeed there was
no dierence between the ultimate oid
and the world o phenomena. umans
and all beings were already part o the
emptiness or oid. Potentially they wereall buddhas i they could only, through
meditation, recognize the oid and real-
ize the true nature o things.
The Madyamika doctrine was popular
in hina and Japan. ecause it emphasized
salvation in the real world, it appealed
to the practical spirit o the hinese and
Japanese. Since the real world and nirvana
were the same, Madyamika appealed to
the love o nature that was an important
value in both countries. ndeed portrayal
o the oid became especially important
in hinese and Japanese art. Moreover the
Statue o Guanyin, the
goddess o mercy and
compassion, in the courtyard
o a Chinese temple. The male
bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
was transormed in China into
this emale deity whose help is
sought in times o need.