The Religions Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained

branded as unorthodox. But by Not by birth is one an HINDUISM 99
around 500 BCE a definite shift in outcast; not by birth is one
the way religion was viewed The sacred literature
throughout Hindu society had a Brahmin. By deed one of Hinduism
taken place. Rather than being becomes an outcast, by deed
seen as a means of maintaining Hindu scriptures fall into two
order, it now seemed to offer a way one becomes a Brahmin. categories, distinguished by
to escape the bondage of physical Buddha on the varnas the names sruti and smriti.
life by achieving a purely spiritual The term sruti, which means
existence. Seeking liberation determined for that individual, “that which is heard,” is used
from, rather than alignment with, according to the varnas; it had, to describe Vedic literature,
the established order became therefore, both a personal and which was heard by priests
paramount. And in the centuries a social dimension, as well as and scholars through the
that followed, the Hindu tradition an apparently rational system process of revelation, or of the
embraced the idea of personal for prescribing how the personal realization of undoubted truth.
devotion as a means of liberation, and social interacted. This canonical knowledge was
and worship became a matter then passed down via the oral
more of personal engagement than This early phase of Hinduism tradition from one generation
simply the correct performance of highlights an issue for all religion, of Brahmins to the next.
sacrifice. Over time, personal namely whether it should be based
forms of devotion and ritual mainly on the individual, or on There are four collections
developed, so much so that shrines society as a whole. Religions are of Vedic hymns, composed
became a common feature in embedded within society, and it is over a period of 1,000 years.
people’s homes, and a Brahmin sometimes difficult to distinguish The first, thought to date
was no longer required to enable truly religious ideas from beliefs back to 1200 BCE, is the
acts of devotion to take place. and attitudes that arise from the Rig-Veda. Associated with
political or cultural milieu within these, and also sruti, are
Religion and society which the religion developed. the Brahmanas, which
In the Vedic period, religion was It is also the case that religious provide instructions about
focused primarily on the individual rules and traditions may be used the performance of ritual; the
finding his or her place within the by a ruling elite to maintain Aranyakas, which outline
universe, and within society, and their own position. discussions on meditation and
living in the way that had been ritual; and the Upanishads,
Even posing the question which provide philosophical
of whether religion should focus interpretations. Vedic sruti
on the individual or society is literature is the ultimate
problematic, for it implies that authority for Hindus.
a personal experience of religion
is more valid than the social. ■ The term smriti, which
translates as “that which
The concept of varna may need is remembered” is used to
redefining in order to be workable in describe the remaining Hindu
21st-century India where newly defined literature, notably the great
roles and nontraditional careers epic poems, the Mahabharata
challenge existing hierarchies. and the Ramayana. While
not having the same status
as sruti, because they are
not thought to be divinely
inspired, these texts are
nonetheless important
because they are open to
interpretation. This significant
strand of Indian literature
is still hugely influential and
includes the Bhagavad-Gita,
probably the most popular
of all Hindu scriptures.

100

THE DIVINE
HAS A FEMALE
ASPECT

THE POWER OF THE GREAT GODDESS

IN CONTEXT W hile in many faiths the Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune,
image of the divine has beauty, and fertility, is the consort of
KEY TEXTS been mainly masculine, Lord Vishnu. She has four arms and
The Vedas Hinduism has many goddesses, hands, with which she dispenses
who represent creativity, fertility, material and spiritual gifts to devotees.
WHEN AND WHERE or power. The general term for the
From 1700 BCE, India feminine divine force is Shakti, sleeping goddess at the base of the
which means “to be able.” Shakti spine. Awareness and development
BEFORE is personified in Maha Devi, the of this force through yoga can be a
3000 BCE Figurines dating to divine mother or “great goddess.” form of spiritual release. Sometimes
this time found in the Indus She represents the active power of practiced physically, more often
Valley suggest the worship the divine, as well as its nurturing through meditation, these Tantric
of a fertility goddess. force, and in the Hindu school of rituals are used to enhance the
Shaktism she is worshipped as the union between a person’s male
AFTER supreme deity. The great goddess and female elements. ■
5th–3rd century BCE The takes on many different forms, each
Puranas, ancient Hindu texts, expressing particular qualities.
celebrate female power, and In her aspect as consort to Shiva,
the goddesses described as for example, Shakti may appear
consorts of the gods in the as gentle, loving Parvati, but she
Vedas begin to gain their is also Kali and Durga—terrible
own followings. and threatening.

300–700 CE Tantric rites The coiled serpent
use images of coupled male As well as being the creative power
and female deities as a focus of the divine, Shakti represents the
for meditation, and Shaktism feminine element within the self.
becomes a fully fledged Hindus believe that our sexual
devotional branch of Hinduism. energy and life force (kundalini)
resides like a coiled serpent or
c.800 CE Adi Shankara
composes Saundaryalahari See also: Physical and mental discipline 112–13 ■ Devotion through puja 114–15
(“Waves of Beauty”), a hymn to ■ Buddhas and bodhisattvas 152–57 ■ Shaktism 328
Parvati and her sexual power.

HINDUISM 101

SIT UP CLOSE
TO YOUR GURU

HIGHER LEVELS OF TEACHING

IN CONTEXT I s it realistic to offer the same In particular, the texts argue
religious teachings and truths that there is a single universal
KEY SOURCE to everyone? In Hinduism reality, Brahman, which can
The Upanishads there are different levels at which be known only by thought and
the religion can be understood and the analysis of experience. The
WHEN AND WHERE followed. Its earliest texts, the Upanishads thus added a highly
6th century BCE, India Vedas, and the commentaries on philosophical dimension to Indian
them that followed, provided the religious discussion. The idea
BEFORE texts, prayers, and instructions of sitting up close to your guru
From 1200 BCE The Vedas for the performance of sacrifices implies that there are levels
provide texts and instructions and other public acts of worship. of teaching which, by probing
for rituals used exclusively Later, the epic, often action-packed religious ideas for truths that are
by the brahmins, or priests. stories of the gods, the Ramayana universal and rational, can give
and the Mahabharata (p.111), new depth to conventional beliefs. ■
AFTER were used for popular devotion.
6th century BCE In India, But by the 6th century BCE, another On Earth, those who
traveling teachers, among body of literature—the Upanishads achieve greatness achieve
them Buddha and Mahavira, —had developed, offering access it through concentration.
attract their own disciples. for the initiated to a higher plane
of spiritual knowledge. The Upanishads
From 1st century BCE Six
distinct schools of Hindu Difficult concepts
philosophy, known as the The word “Upanishad” means
Darshanas, develop. “to sit up close,” and it applies to
teachings that are restricted to
800 CE Adi Shankara founds those who are accepted for religious
four famous mathas, or study by a guru, or teacher. The
monastery schools, to teach Upanishads focus on abstract
the ideas of the Upanishads. concepts concerning the nature
of the self and of the universe.
1500 CE Sikhism takes its
name from the Sanskrit word See also: The ultimate reality 102–105 ■ The self as constantly changing 148–51
shishya, “student of the guru.” ■ The Protestant Reformation 230–37 ■ The Darshanas 328

102 IN CONTEXT

BRAHMAN IS KEY SOURCE
MY SELF The Upanishads
WITHIN
THE HEART WHEN AND WHERE
6th century BCE, India
THE ULTIMATE REALITY
BEFORE
From 2000BCE The idea of
a soul that can be separated
from the body is present in
some early Indo-European
beliefs, but describes a spirit
that carries the essence of the
individual rather than a soul at
one with an ultimate reality.

AFTER
c.400 BCE Indian philosophy
influences ancient Greek
thinkers. Plato posits a
supreme being from which
all other living beings derive.

1st century Buddhist sage
Nagasena rejects the notion
of a fixed self, following
Buddha’s teaching that all
things exist in a state of flux.

The Upanishads are a series
of philosophical texts, the
earliest of which had been
composed by the 6th century BCE.
They record the highest level of
teachings, reserved for the finely
trained, meditative minds of
Hindu sages or gurus. Their central
concern is the nature of the self; in
effect they argue that to understand
the self is to understand everything.

Western philosophy has
traditionally taken two positions
on the nature of the self. For the
school known as dualist, the self is
nonphysical and distinct from the
body. Whether it is called the soul
or the mind, it is the thinking and
feeling aspect of what we are—the

HINDUISM 103

See also: Animism in early societies 24–25 ■ Man and the cosmos 48–49 ■ Seeing with pure consciousness 116–21
■ Man as a manifestation of God 188 ■ Mystical experience in Christianity 238 ■ Sufism and the mystic tradition 282–83

Conventionally, we tend But if we analyze The sage then asks his son to
to think of ourselves as material objects in divide one of those seeds, and
distinct from our bodies terms of their smallest describe what he sees inside
and separate from the elements, we end up with that. The answer is “nothing.”
an absolute reality The sage then points out that the
rest of the world. that is invisible to whole great fig tree is made of
just such “nothingness.” That is
Therefore our true self even the largest its essence, its soul, its reality.
is identical with of microscopes. And, the dialogue concludes,
“That is you, Svetaketu!”
the invisible, absolute If this is true of
reality, Brahman. all objects in the The statement, “That is you!”
world, it must also be (in Sanskrit, “Tat tvam asi!”), is
true of ourselves. probably the most famous in all
Hindu philosophy. It rests on the
idea that analysis of any apparently
solid object will eventually arrive
at an invisible essence, present
everywhere, which is Brahman.
This applies to everything, from a
fig to the human self. Beyond the
physical and mental aspects of
the self, Hinduism says there is
something greater, the atman, which
can be nothing other than Brahman,
the single, absolute reality. There
is no distinction between us and
this ultimate divine reality. ❯❯

“I” that experiences the world. It impersonal reality, Brahman. Microscopy has helped science to
is this “I” that absorbs sensory data Therefore, although we may conclude that an entire human being is
and makes sense of it. Materialists experience ourselves as separate, made from DNA—but does this include
(or physicalists), on the other hand, small, and vulnerable individuals, what we think of as our self?
argue that only physical things our true selves are actually at one
exist, therefore the self is no more with the fundamental reality
than a way of describing the of the universe.
activity of the brain.
The self as nothing
Within Hinduism, however, the The Upanishads express the idea
Upanishads explored a view that of atman by way of dialogues and
differs from both of these Western images. One of the most famous is
approaches. In these texts, the self from the Chandogya Upanishad.
is described as having three parts: It is a dialogue between the sage
a material body; a more subtle body, Uddalaka Aruni and his son,
which is made up of thoughts, Svetaketu. The sage asks the boy
feelings, and experiences; and to bring and cut open a fig. When
a pure consciousness, called his father asks him what he sees
the atman. The atman, it is claimed, inside it, the son replies, “Seeds.”
is identical with the absolute,

104 THE ULTIMATE REALITY

An endless cycle of lives is what lies
before us, unless we can be released
from the suffering of reincarnation
through the realization of the true
nature of atman or Brahman.

All this is Brahman…
He is my Self

within the heart,
smaller than

a corn of rice…
Chandogya Upanishad

14th Khanda

Understanding Brahman and pure—but bringing forth not individual. Just as making a
The Upanishad dialogue about the breath, mind, and all the senses. sacrifice in the correct way was
fig seed is followed by a second, “Its heart is the whole world. Truly, thought to align the self with the
which attempts to give us some this is the Inner Self of all.” universal order, so being aware
sense of what Brahman might be of Brahman as the true self is to
like. A bowl of water is brought and In this understanding, the way align yourself with reality itself.
the son is asked to taste the liquid we experience the world through
from different parts of the bowl. It the senses, viewing it as consisting Hindus believe that karma
tastes pure throughout. Salt is of objects separate from ourselves, (actions) produce consequences
then dissolved in the water. Now, is not the absolute truth; there is a —both good and bad—not just
although the appearance remains reality that underlies and sustains in the external world, but also for
the same, all of the water tastes of everything, which is invisible and the person who performs them.
salt. In the same way, Brahman, within our innermost self. Hinduism developed an idea of
the absolute reality, is unseen but reincarnation in which the self
present everywhere. Karma and reincarnation takes on a succession of bodies
In the earlier Vedic religion, it was over the course of many lifetimes.
The Mundaka Upanishad uses believed that the act of offering The form each life takes is
a different image for Brahman. Just sacrifices to the gods maintained determined by karma from the
as thousands of sparks fly from a the sense of order in the universe. previous life. However, knowledge
large fire and then fall back into it, The Upanishads internalized that that “atman is Brahman” can
so innumerable beings are created process. They claimed that reality release a person from the constant
from Brahman, “the imperishable,” is to be found as an absolutely cycle of birth, death, and rebirth
or “Great One,” which is described simple, still point, deep within the (which is known as samsara).
as unborn, breathless, mindless, self. And that reality is universal, Karma is generated by the actions
of the physical body and the
subtle mental body (such as an
individual’s thoughts and feelings),
but the person who is aware of the
atman, and therefore of Brahman,
residing deep within the self, will
transcend the level of the two
bodies (physical and subtle mental)
at which karma operates.

HINDUISM 105

When many candles Hinduism the aim is to be released is directly experienced—in a
are kindled from another, from the suffering that inevitably way that goes beyond reason
arises from living and dying in one and language. This wordless
it is the same flame life after another. awareness is said to produce a
that burns in all candles; state of bliss (ananda).
even so, the one Brahman A conscious intuition
The arguments presented by the It could be argued that a self
appears to be many. Chandogya Upanishad’s stories formed by sense experience and
Sage Vasishtha about the fig seeds and the salt reason alone would suffice for the
water are logical. In a sense, they purposes of a human life. This
Although Hindus hope that, by are no more than scientific analysis was challenged by the sages who
generating good karma, they will of matter, but presented in the produced the dialogues of the
improve their prospects in future language of a prescientific age. Upanishads. The Katha Upanishad
lives, there is always the threat that Today, the equivalent would be uses a chariot as an analogy of the
bad karma will lead to them being to say that everything is comprised self. The senses are the chariot’s
reborn into a lower caste, or as of subatomic particles, energy, horses and the mind is its driver.
an animal. However, this is not and the fundamental forces. But riding in the chariot is the
as important as it first appears, atman. The implication of this
because moving on to another life However, the purpose and image is that, for someone whose
(good or bad) is not viewed as a implication of the Upanishadic whole awareness is limited to
final goal in Hinduism. Unlike in dialogues and modern science are reason and sense experience,
monotheistic religions, in which quite different. In the Upanishads, the onward rush of the chariot
the prospect of life beyond death reasoned argument is not an end is without purpose, since it lacks
is a promise to be welcomed, in in itself, but a means of leading a a passenger who is making the
person to an intuition that goes journey. That is what the intuition
beyond words. The logic of the of the atman restores.
argument for the identity of
atman and Brahman represents Hinduism does not see gaining
no more than the starting point for consciousness of the atman as easy.
understanding them. The aim of It can occur only after other possible
the Upanishads’ teachings is to identities have been examined and
encourage students to internalize discarded as inadequate. It is not a
and meditate on the arguments fact to be learned, but an intuition
until the reality that they suggest that can gradually inform a person’s
conscious awareness. ■

Death and beyond

If the self, or soul, is nonphysical reality. This self takes on physical Concealed in the heart
and therefore separable from the form in a succession of lives, of all beings is the
physical body, the possibility of which is the idea of reincarnation. Atman, the Spirit,
surviving death and living on in For Western monotheistic
another form becomes logically religions, the issue is whether the the Self; smaller than the
possible. Most Western religions soul is genuinely separable from smallest atom, greater
see each individual soul as being the body, and how, if separated, than the vast spaces.
created at a particular point in it might maintain its identity. For Katha Upanishad
time, but capable of living on Hindus, the issue is to intuitively
indefinitely following the death grasp that this self and this life
of the body. Hindu thought sees are only a part of something
the self as timeless, having no much larger, and that the self is
beginning, and identified with one with the fundamental reality
the single, undifferentiated of the universe.

106 IN CONTEXT

WE LEARN, KEY TEXT
WE LIVE, The Dharma-shastras
WE WITHDRAW,
WE DETACH WHEN AND WHERE
5th century BCE, India
THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE
BEFORE
From prehistory Many early
belief systems have age-related
rules and rites of passage.

From 1700 BCE The Vedic
religion includes a tradition
of ascetic discipline, but
emphasizes social duty as the
central goal for most people.

6th century BCE As ideas
about reincarnation and
liberation become more
prominent in Hinduism;
more people reject society
and family life and choose
the path of the ascetic.

AFTER
Today The majority of Hindus
remain for most of their lives in
the householder stage.

Implicit in all religions is the
notion that there are aims in
life, and correct ways of living
that might secure these aims.
Hinduism proposes that life has
several main goals: dharma (right
living); the linked concepts of artha
(wealth) and kama (pleasure); and
moksha (liberation). The pursuit
of dharma—living as duty obliges
—keeps a person on the righteous
path. The search for wealth and
pleasure leads people to learn
valuable lessons, as well as
producing children, supporting the
family, and being in a position to
give alms. The final goal, moksha,
is a liberation from the concerns
and things of the earthly world.

HINDUISM 107

See also: ■ Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation 68–71 ■ A rational world 92–99 ■ Selfless action 110–11 ■ Finding the
Middle Way 130–136 ■ The purpose of monastic vows 145

The Four Stages of Life choice was not an uncommon one in
Hindu society at this time; the most
We learn In the first stage of life, students famous example is that of Buddha,
are expected to study the Vedas who abandoned his privileged life as
Prince Siddhartha Gautama, leaving
under instruction from a guru. his wife and baby son in order to
become a wandering teacher.
We live As a householder, a man is expected to
marry, have children, and work However, the position of the
followers of the shramana tradition—
to support family and others in society. that asceticism was more spiritually
valuable than the seeking of artha
We withdraw With the birth of a grandchild, some (wealth) and kama (pleasure)—
may retire from active work and placed them in opposition to Vedic
tradition. For around a thousand
take time to reflect and advise. years, the Vedas had been used to
teach that seeking material comfort
We detach A few men may take the final step of and personal fulfillment were noble
becoming a wandering ascetic. goals in life, if correctly pursued.
So, was it necessary to choose
between such radically different
paths? Or might it be possible for
a person to enjoy the benefits of
all four traditional goals?

Having it all
In about the 5th century BCE,
further commentaries on dharma
known as shastras offered a new
approach: instead of making one
final choice, a person might work ❯❯

By the 6th century BCE two very known as shramana (a Sanskrit Of Brahmins, Kshatriyas
different traditions in Indian word that translates as something and Vaishyas, as also the
religion existed. Most people in like “to work at austerity”) was very Shudras, O Arjuna, the duties
India followed the Vedic tradition, influential in the development of are distributed according to
offering sacrifices to the gods and both Buddhism and Jainism. The the qualities born of their
hoping for a life of wealth and Dharma Sutras—sacred texts on
pleasure, moderated by the moral the rules of correct behavior— own natures.
and social principles encoded in suggested that a person who had The Bhagavad-Gita
dharma. However, others had studied dharma (virtue or right
become attracted to a different living) was essentially faced
lifestyle—that of the wandering with three possible paths: the
ascetic, committed to serious continued study of the Vedic texts
physical and mental discipline in as the principal goal in life; a life
order to achieve spiritual liberation, seeking wealth and pleasure; or the
and shunning both wealth and renunciation of everything in order
pleasure. This ascetic tradition, to become an ascetic. The last

108 THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE

When one renounces all the about dharma—right living—in an Today it is generally a matter of
desires which have arisen in academic way, together with history, letting go of overall responsibility
philosophy, law, literature, grammar, for business and financial matters,
the mind…and when he and rhetoric. Education traditionally allowing the next generation to
himself is content within his continues until the age of around take over, but also having time
own self, then is he called a 25 or 30, and during this stage, to study and offer wise advice.
as well as showing respect to
man of steadfast wisdom. parents and teachers, students are Most Hindus never get beyond
The Bhagavad-Gita expected to abstain from sexual the retirement stage to reach that
activity, sublimating all their of the ascetic; they are only allowed
toward different goals in succession, energy into their learning. to enter the fourth stage of life
as they moved through four stages of once they have fulfilled all their
life, or ashramas: student, house- At the end of his education, a obligations to their family. This is
holder, retiree, and renunciate, or Hindu man is expected to marry the point at which the individual
ascetic. The correct aims in life, and have a family. This is the start sets aside all worldly concerns and
and correct behavior, would not of the grihastha, or householder, ties, and devotes his life to the
only depend on the individual’s stage, during which every man is pursuit of final release (moksha).
varna, or social class (pp.92–99), expected to be economically active,
but would also vary with the stage supporting not just his wife and A combined formula
reached in life. children, but also elderly relatives. The four stages of life combine
Traditional Indian households often with a person’s class in a single
Not everyone is thought able to include three or four generations concept that defines morality and
travel through these four stages. who pool their income and use a lifestyle: varnashrama-dharma,
Women are (usually) excluded, as single kitchen. This extended family literally the right ordering of life
are Shudras (the laboring class) and tends to be organized on hierarchical (dharma) according to one’s class
those outside the class system lines, both for men and women. (varna) and stage in life (ashrama).
(Dalits, or untouchables). Only men Householders are also expected to As a formula for prescribing how to
from the highest three varnas— offer support to ascetics. live correctly, it is very different to
Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas those of other religions, where one
(soldiers or protectors of the state), The householder upholds the
and Vaishyas (merchants and duties of his dharma and his varna A man measures fabric in his place
farmers)—undergo the rite, in which (class), but, unlike in the other of business. During the householder
they are about eight years old, known three stages, part of his duty is the phase of life a man is expected to
as the sacred thread ceremony, pursuit of artha (wealth) and kama pursue wealth and provide for his
where they are “twice born,” and (desire), including sexual pleasure family and for his extended family.
begin their journey through life. and procreation. To describe this
stage of life as one in which wealth
Learning and living and pleasure are the primary goals,
The first stage of life is that of the however, may give a distorted
brahmacharya, or student. The view of its obligations, for it involves
boy attends a gurukula (a school) caring for the extended family
where he studies Vedic literature and offering hospitality.
with a guru, or teacher. He learns
Withdrawal from the world
The third stage of life of is that of
vanaprastha—retirement. This
traditionally begins with the arrival
of the first grandson. Originally,
it involved becoming a “forest
dweller,” opting for a simple life of
reflection into which a man could
retire with his wife—although, at
this stage, ceasing to have sex.

HINDUISM 109

The various spiritual obligations of Hinduism
could seem difficult to fulfill in one lifetime. However,
by delineating four separate life phases, each with
a different focus and with specific duties to perform
for a limited period, the task seems more achievable.

set of moral commands applies of a man’s life, and marriage is Moral principles
equally to all. It is a moral system considered to be a contract between
that recognizes flexibility and families, rather than a matter of Hinduism has five broad
difference in people’s circumstances. romantic attachment. If a new wife moral principles: ahimsa (not
It also aims to prevent pride in those is to be introduced to an extended killing), satya (speaking the
of the higher classes, who must family home, it is clearly problematic truth), asteya (not stealing),
undergo a disciplined education if she is not well suited to the man brahmacharya (sexual
in order to develop self-detachment in terms of dharma, varna, or his continence), and aparigraha
and prepare them, mentally, to ashrama. This explains the origins (not being avaricious). The
relinquish their worldly gains and of certain Hindu social attitudes way each of these is practiced
responsibilities in later life. It and traditions—for example, the depends on the stage of life. For
confers value on the labors of arranged marriage—but many of instance, celibacy will not be
the householder, recognizing that, these now clash with the outlook of practiced by householders,
both economically and practically, some Hindus brought up in a more whose duty it is to have
those in the second stage of life individualized and secular society. children. These principles
support everybody else. And it gives define external morality, but
dignity to the elderly, with the final Hinduism is to a large degree there is also a tradition of inner
letting go of practical and domestic more about practice than belief, cultivation to practice during all
responsibilities seen as a positive and it is closely bound up with stages of life, which involves
opportunity for spiritual growth. ideas about age and class. the pursuit of five qualities:
Western concepts of individual cleanliness, contentment,
In the modern world rights and equality do not sit pure concentration, group
Until very recent times, the extended easily alongside some of the early study, and devotion to God.
family has been the dominant model Hindu teachings, and with the The five qualities reflect the
throughout Hindu society, forming Westernization of attitudes, greater progression from the early
the background against which men social mobility in modern India, Vedic tradition, based on
lived out the four stages, with their and the practice of Hinduism in ritual, to a religion of personal
moral and spiritual principles. In this communities globally, it remains spiritual development and
traditional scenario, women do not to be seen whether the the four devotion, which developed
feature in the first or last stages stages will remain a viable many centuries later.
model for Hindu life. ■

110

IT MAY BE YOUR
DUTY TO KILL

SELFLESS ACTION

IN CONTEXT T he Bhagavad-Gita is an of killing? Advice comes from his
ancient Hindu scripture charioteer, who turns out to be
KEY SOURCE about virtue and duty. It none other than the god Krishna.
The Bhagavad-Gita tells of a dialogue between Krishna
(an incarnation of the supreme god Krishna tells Arjuna that he
WHEN AND WHERE Vishnu) and the warrior-prince should do his duty and fight. The
2nd century BCE, India Arjuna. Arjuna is about to go into act of killing would only create bad
battle against another branch of his karma if it was done for the wrong
BEFORE family in a dispute over who should reasons—out of hatred or greed,
From 1700 BCE Dharma—the rule the kingdom. As a member of for example. The ideal is for the
right way of living to preserve the kshatriya class (the military individual to do his or her duty,
universal order—is a central or ruling elite), it is his duty is whatever it is and however much it
feature of early Hindu thought. to fight. Yet he despairs of killing goes against personal inclinations,
some of those on the other side— but to do it with selfless motives.
6th century BCE Buddha his relatives or those whom he Not only will such action not cause
upholds the concept of respects as great teachers. harm, but it will be a step toward
unselfish action, but teaches personal liberation.
that all killing is wrong. In the opening section of the
Gita, Arjuna says that he would Krishna argues that personal
3rd century BCE The Indian rather give up the struggle over the motives are what count when
emperor Asoka incorporates kingdom than be involved in the considering any type of action.
nonviolence and compassion slaughter. Not only does the idea of
toward all people into his rule. killing members of his family and By fulfilling the obligations
his teachers go against his deepest he is born with, a person
AFTER inclinations, but he also fears that
From 15th century Sikhism it will have negative consequences, never comes to grief.
includes the duty to protect creating bad karma for all involved Krishna
the weak and defend the faith. (in Hinduism, killing a relative is
thought to lead to the downfall of
19th–20th century a family and rebirth in hell).
Mahatma Gandhi develops
the strategy of passive Arjuna is caught between two
resistance as a nonviolent apparently conflicting principles:
weapon against injustice. should he do his duty as a member
of the warrior class or avoid the
disastrous karmic consequences

HINDUISM 111

See also: Living in harmony 38 ■ A rational world 92–99 ■ Hinduism in the political age 124–25 ■ Let kindness and
compassion rule 146–47 ■ Striving in the way of God 278 ■ The Sikh code of conduct 296–301

Arjuna Krishna The epic poems

I despair at the thought You are a prince: it is The teaching on selfless duty
of going to war. your duty to fight. is just one of the themes to be
found in the Bhagavad-Gita,
I do not wish to kill those Your feelings are a work noted for the beauty
I love and respect. immaterial; put them of its imagery and language.
aside and do your duty. It is part of the Mahabharata,
I grieve that my kindred an epic poem that chronicles
and teachers will die. The self is immortal and the rivalry between two
eternal, so it is wrong to think branches of one family.
But if I kill will I not
have sinned? that anyone will die. The other great Hindu epic
is the Ramayana, which tells
Krishna reassures Arjuna that It is only by forgoing of the relationship between
killing is the duty of a righteous your duty to fight in a just Prince Rama and his wife Sita,
warrior in a just war. war that you would sin. through her kidnap by the
demon Ravana. Its narrative,
has a wonderful, much-loved
cast of characters.

These epics offer a positive
view of the brahmins and
Vedic sacrifices, and highlight
the dire consequences of royal
rivalry. They explore moral
dilemmas and celebrate human
qualities, presenting role
models for Hindus to follow.
Both epics were created over a
long period, probably starting
in the 4th or 5th century BCE.

He applauds the willingness Vedic period, promoted social order Ravana, the vengeful demon
to act dutifully out of selfless and duty as the basis of morality. king and villain of the Ramayana,
motives, setting aside any selfish However, it had been challenged by is played by a dancer in a
preferences. Krishna then gives newer philosophies—particularly production of the Ramayana
Arjuna a second reason for going the Buddhist and Jain religions— in Kerala, Southern India.
into battle: the self is immortal and in which not killing was the first
passes through a succession of precept and foundation of morality.
incarnations, so no one is really This represented a departure from
killed. Only the body dies; the soul the Vedic class system and its
will live again in a different body. traditional obligations. Arjuna’s
dilemma reflects that clash of moral
A context of change priorities, and Krishna’s advice
When the Gita was composed, there is an attempt to maintain class
were two very different streams of obligations in the face of criticism
religious thought in India. The older from philosophies centered on the
of the two, dating from the early idea of karma and reincarnation. ■

112

THE PRACTICE OF
YOGA LEADS TO
SPIRITUAL LIBERATION

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DISCIPLINE

IN CONTEXT T he Sanskrit word yoga Although originally devised for
is used to describe a those who had taken an ascetic
KEY TEXT range of practices, both path, yoga was later developed
The Yoga Sutras physical and mental, which are as a set of practices that could be
used to help achieve spiritual used by everybody. The physical
WHEN AND WHERE insight and escape the limitations postures and techniques for
2nd century BCE, India of the physical body. breath control are not an end in
themselves. They aim to calm
BEFORE Ideas about yoga are found the mind and make it singular
Before 1700 BCE An Indus in the 6th century BCE in the early in its focus—single-pointed. The
Valley clay tablet showing a philosophical Hindu texts known mind can only become calm once
person sitting cross-legged as the Upanishads, and there is the senses have been controlled.
suggests a yoga posture. a section on yoga in the ancient It is only then that inner freedom
Sanskrit scripture, the Bhagavad- and insight may arise.
1000 BCE Indian Ayurvedic Gita. The first systematic account
medicine analyzes the body of yoga is found in the Yoga Sutras. A path to release
and promotes exercise. Some scholars attribute this text to According to the Yoga Sutras,
the philosopher Patanjali, who lived yoga enables the practitioner to
6th century BCE Daoism and in the 2nd century BCE. However, it avoid mental afflictions, such as
Buddhism promote mental is now generally agreed that it was
and physical discipline as written between the 2nd century CE
aids to harmony and insight. and the 4th century CE by more than
one author, and that it includes
AFTER traditions and practices from earlier
12th century In Japan, periods. The Yoga Sutras comprise
Zen Buddhism refines the a set of techniques to promote
pursuit of mental stillness mental calmness and concentration,
and focused thinking. which are deemed necessary for
gaining greater insight.
20th century In the West,
yoga becomes popular in a Physical postures and breath control
secular context for its physical techniques are used in yoga to still
and mental health benefits. both body and mind. More advanced
techniques can lead to the attainment
of higher consciousness.

See also: Aligning the self with the dao 66–67 ■ Seeing with pure HINDUISM 113
consciousness 116–21 ■ Zen insights that go beyond words 160–63
A godless philosophy
Both body and mind must be calm and focused
to be freed from earthly concerns. Yoga does not require belief
in any external deity, but is
Body and mind influence one another. a natural process of clearing
away the entanglements of
Thoughts and feelings Posture and control physical experience, releasing
can affect our can promote the true self to realize its
identity with the absolute. But
physical well-being. mental alertness. this makes sense only in the
context of the philosophy upon
Combining both mental and physical discipline which it is based—Samkhya.
with yoga will help us escape our limitations.
One of the oldest schools
ignorance, ego-centered views, and on that object, and arriving at a of Indian philosophy, Samkhya
extremes of emotion. It also offers state of absorbed concentration. argues for an absolute dualism
freedom from the “three poisons” These steps are progressive, of prakriti (matter) and purusha
of greed, anger, and delusion (a leading to the final release from (pure consciousness). Some
goal that Buddhism shares). a mundane awareness of self and philosophies contrast the
world, with its mental afflictions, physical with the mental,
The Yoga Sutras set out the into a higher consciousness. but Samkhya sees the mind
practice of yoga in eight steps. The as a refined form of matter.
first two are preparatory and show Today, yoga is widely practiced A person therefore comprises
the context in which yoga becomes as a healthful physical regime that three elements—a physical
effective. First is the practice of a also promotes inner calm. But it is body, a worldly self (with all
morality of restraint, particularly of important to remember that in the its mental activity and sense
ahimsa (not taking life). The second context of Hindu religion, the term experience), and a pure and
focuses on personal observances, yoga encompasses disciplines and eternal self, which is identified
such as the study of philosophical practices not only of posture, but of with the eternal purusha,
works and contemplation of a god morality, meditation, knowledge, and is free and beyond any
in order to gain inspiration. The and devotion, and that taken limitations of time and space.
next three steps aim to control the together, their aim is to release the
body and senses: adopting physical true self or consciousness (purusha) In Samkhya, rather than
postures (asanas) to control the from the entanglements of matter devoting the self to any god,
body, controlling breathing, and (prakriti), thereby restoring it to its the aim is to release the
withdrawing attention from the natural condition. So, while many self to appreciate its pure
senses. Finally, there are three in the West think of yoga as a form spiritual nature, freed from
mental steps: concentrating the of physical exercise, for Hindus it the limitations of the physical,
mind on a single object, meditating is a path to ultimate freedom. ■ and the vehicle that is used
to achieve this is yoga.

Yoga is the practice of
quieting the mind.
Patanjali

114

WE SPEAK TO THE
GODS THROUGH
DAILY RITUALS

DEVOTION THROUGH PUJA

IN CONTEXT T here has always been A devotee performs puja by
an element of ritual and offering food to the image of a deity,
KEY MOVEMENT worship in Hindu religion. as if enticing it to eat. Images such
The development of bhakti In the earliest traditions prescribed as this are believed to be filled with
by the sacred Vedic texts, it was the deity’s spiritual energy.
WHEN AND WHERE vital that sacrifices made at the
6th century CE, India sacred fires be performed in the deity that results from it. At the
exactly the right way, and solely end of an act of puja, worshippers
BEFORE by the brahmins or priestly class. may receive any food that has been
From prehistory Making However, in the early centuries CE, offered. The nature of the offering
offerings before images of the approach to worship became is less important than the intention
deities characterizes worship less exclusive, and this evolved behind the offering. Sometimes it
in many cultures. into the practice of bhakti (loving is enough simply to go to a temple
devotion). Temples were built and look at the image of the deity.
From 1700 BCE In Vedic housing images of the gods, which
religion, as in other early could be visited by worshippers,
civilizations, a priestly class and gradually, alongside the
performs religious rites on priestly rituals connected with
behalf of the people. birth, coming of age, marriage, and
death, there developed a tradition
6th century BCE The of making personal acts of worship,
Upanishads introduce more or puja, to the deities that was
abstract concepts to Hindu open to all, irrespective of class.
religious thought.
Honoring the gods
From 2nd century BCE In Puja involves making a simple
Mahayana Buddhism, images offering—vegetarian food, incense,
of buddhas and bodhisattvas or flowers—before the image of a
(enlightened beings) are used god or goddess. It can take place
as devotional aids. in a temple or in the home, and the
people performing it often mark
AFTER their foreheads with powder or
15th century Sikh worship paste in acknowledgment of the
is based on devotional songs. act of puja and the blessing of

HINDUISM 115

See also: Sacrifice and blood offerings 40–45 ■ Living the Way of the Gods 82–85 ■ The Protestant Reformation 230–37
■ Devotion to the Sweet Lord 322

The Vedas said that the But it is possible to speak Divine love
rituals performed by to the gods directly, without In worship, the god or goddess
(made visible in his or her image,
brahmins were important to recourse to a priest. or murti) is seen as a person with
maintain the world order. whom the worshipper can have
Through devotion and a relationship. Through bhakti,
We speak to the gods offerings, we can develop the devotee develops an intense
through daily rituals. personal relationships emotional bond with a chosen
deity; the divine is then seen
Through puja, people can both pay with the gods. as dwelling within the heart of the
respects to the gods and ask favors devotee. Bhakti came to dominate
of them. Hindu gods are frequently requests and thanksgiving. It may Hinduism by the 12th century:
referred to according to the tasks be performed by a large gathering temple worship involved singing
they perform, such as “Ganesh, of people at a festival, such as the and dancing, and the relationship
remover of obstacles.” This enables Durga Puja. This annual, nine-day between the devotee and his or
Hindus to choose the goddess or celebration of the goddess Durga, her god or goddess was likened
god most appropriate to the help who embodies the female aspect to a relationship between lovers.
they need, and to ask them for it of divine power, commemorates her
through puja. However, puja is not slaying of Mahishasura, the terrible Although practiced widely,
always connected with personal buffalo-demon. Devotees make many forms of bhakti were
offerings, say prayers, sing hymns, particularly focused on the god
dance, fast, and feast in her honor. Vishnu (see below left), who is
depicted in the great epics of the
Ramayana and Mahabharata as
coming down to earth to help
humankind in the guise of one of
his many avatars (embodiments
of a god). The eighth avatar of
Vishnu is Krishna, whose followers
see bhakti as the highest path
toward liberation. ■

Vishnu’s nine forms of worship

In the Ramayana, Vishnu, in the always, to practice control of With hearts filled with
form of Rama, describes nine the senses, nobility of character, love…all should satisfy me
modes of bhakti “guaranteed and selfless service, these are frequently with tears of love
to reach and please me.” “First expressions of the sixth mode flowing from their eyes and
is satsang, or association with of bhakti. Seeing me manifested with voices choked with
love-intoxicated devotees. The everywhere in this world and feelings and with dancing,
second is to develop a taste for worshipping my saints more
hearing my nectarlike stories. than myself is the seventh. music, and singing.
The third is service to the guru. To find no fault with anyone The Devi-Gita
Fourth is to sing my communal and to be contented with one’s
chorus. Japa or repetition of my lot is the eighth. Unreserved
Holy name and chanting my surrender with total faith in
bhajans are the fifth expression. my strength is the ninth and
To follow scriptural injunctions highest stage.”

THE WORLDIS AN

ILLUSION

SEEING WITH PURE CONSCIOUSNESS



118 SEEING WITH PURE CONSCIOUSNESS

IN CONTEXT Through the work of may be mistaken for a snake, or
the Indian philosopher vice versa. Further, a person may
KEY FIGURE Adi Shankara, a branch know it is possible to be fooled by
Adi Shankara of Hindu philosophy known as what is seen, heard, or touched—
Vedanta (“the end of the Vedas”) but what if the whole enterprise
WHEN AND WHERE developed in the 9th century. It of gathering information from the
788–820, India sought to systematize and explain senses is itself a form of illusion?
material found in the ancient
BEFORE scriptures of the Vedas, and to An unknowable Brahman?
6th century BCE The explore the nature of Brahman The Upanishads had taught
Upanishads describe Brahman as discussed in the philosophical that there is a single ultimate
as the ultimate reality. works, the Upanishads (the last reality, Brahman, with which
section of the Vedas). the innermost self, the atman,
4th century BCE The Greek is identified. However, the
philosopher Plato contrasts the There are various branches of problem is that Brahman is
objects of sense experience Vedanta, but the one established not an object of sense experience
with reality itself; in some later by Shankara is called Advaita because it is not part of reality
Platonic thought, this ultimate (non-dualist) Vedanta. It states (as worldly objects are)—it is
reality becomes identified with that there is only one reality, even reality itself. Ordinary objects
a “transcendent One,” or God. if we may experience it in different can be known because they are
ways. This non-dualist belief distinguished from one another
2nd century CE Nagarjuna lies in contrast to later forms of by qualities that the senses can
founds the Madhyamaka Vedanta in which the deity detect. Brahman, by contrast,
school of Buddhist philosophy, assumes a personal role. because it has no physical
which is centered on the key attributes, cannot be grasped
idea of emptiness. Shankara argued that human by rational interpretation of what
reason is limited to the objects is known through the senses.
AFTER of sense experience: that is, it
13th century Soto Zen aims is not possible to get outside or So what should be made of
to go beyond awareness of beyond the senses to see the world the idea of a supreme being, or
the world of sense experience as it really is. Even within the of the divinities used in religion?
with the development of world of experience it is possible There appears to be a profound
pure consciousness. to be mistaken, because all sensory difference between what the
knowledge is ambiguous. To use Upanishads have to say in terms
Shankara’s example, a coil of rope

Our knowledge of the world comes via We know Brahman—absolute reality—
the senses, so it is always liable to error. not through our senses but directly,
as identical with the atman,
our inner self or soul.

The world of our conventional Absolute reality is not known
knowledge is an illusion. through the senses.

HINDUISM 119

See also: Higher levels of teaching 101 ■ The personal quest for truth 144 ■ The challenge of modernity 240–45
■ A faith open to all beliefs 321

The problem for the Advaitin Brahman is real; one sun. How then might Brahman
is to solve how from the the world is an illusory be known? Shankara’s answer lies
pure Brahman the impure appearance; the so-called in the identity of Brahman and
world of men and things soul is Brahman itself, the atman, the innermost self of
came into existence. pure consciousness. He states
T.M.P. Mahadevan and no other. that Brahman cannot be known
Adi Shankara externally, via the senses, but
of philosophical argument and can be known internally, because
what is actually practiced in is nothing in the world that is not it is our innermost essence.
the Vedas, in terms of gods and Brahman—it is the basic reality;
goddesses that are addressed however, there is also nothing that Consciousness
in worship. How, for example, is Brahman: there is no separable, and knowledge
can Brahman be both personal knowable object that corresponds Shankara proposes that there
(knowable) and impersonal to the idea of Brahman. To explain is a single reality, but two very
(unknowable) at the same time? this, Shankara offers the example of different ways of understanding
How, if it is eternal and absolute, the sun shining down on a number it. From the conventional and
can it be described in any way? of pots, all of which are filled with pragmatic standpoint, we have the
water: each pot offers its own world of sense experience, with
Shankara’s answer particular reflection of the light of all its variety. From an absolute
Shankara attempts to answer the sun, and yet there is still only standpoint, however, we need to
these questions by making a recognize that the experienced
distinction between nirguna world is unreal: it is an illusion.
Brahman (unqualified reality), We can therefore only experience
known only through pure the ultimate reality, free from
consciousness, and saguna illusion, through an awareness that
Brahman (qualified reality), which comes from pure consciousness.
is more like the traditional idea
of a God who exists and acts in It is possible that Shankara
the world. Brahman remains the took this idea of the two levels of
same reality, but can be known truth from Buddhism, in which a ❯❯
in different ways. One means of
expressing this is to say that there

In Shankara’s philosophy, human
reason is limited to the information we
gather with our senses; a different kind
of knowledge, or understanding, is
needed to grasp absolute reality.

120 SEEING WITH PURE CONSCIOUSNESS

This world is transitory. One
who has taken birth in it
is living as if in a dream.
Nirvana Upanishad

Shankara proposed that (maya), although his claim is maya (illusion). Shankara’s
the world of the senses is slightly more subtle than that. philosophy is described as non-
an illusion and that we Shankara suggests there are two dualist because of this; there are
impose our ideas upon our levels of reality, which are both not two different realities—the
environment, causing us, for false in some way: the apparent world and Brahman—but just one.
example, to see things that world (which we appear to see
may not be present. and touch around us), and the When a person becomes aware
pragmatic world (which is a view of the identity of atman (the true
similar distinction was being of the world according to our own self) and Brahman (a single reality),
made at this time between preconceived notions). While there follows a recognition that the
pragmatic and absolute truth. the apparent world is derived from conventional self, as an object
For both Hindu and Buddhist our senses’ interpretation, the among other objects in the world,
thought, this distinction pragmatic world is derived from is partly an illusion. Enlightened
represented a necessary step our minds projecting outward, awareness is a realization of what
in bringing the fundamental imposing our ideas upon our we have been all along—the
philosophical ideas of religion environment (such as organizing atman of pure consciousness; and
together with actual practice. a spiky green shape into “a leaf”). compared with this idea, the ever-
During the first millennium, However, both of these ideas of the changing and superficial physical
religious practice had been moving world are incorrect since they are body is relatively unreal.
increasingly toward devotion to only our representations of the
various gods and goddesses (or, world. So we can say that the The gods point the way
in the case of Buddhism, different world of our experience is an The distinction between nirguna
bodhisattva images), each of illusion, but not that the world and saguna Brahman (unqualified
which was regarded as reflecting itself—beyond the knowledge versus qualified reality), and the
a true aspect of reality. For both given by the senses—is an contrast between knowledge
Hinduism and Buddhism, this illusion. The world of the senses is gained through sense experience,
was not an attempt to denigrate and understanding acquired
conventional religion, but to set it through pure consciousness, are of
in a broader philosophical context. fundamental importance—not just
for an understanding of Hinduism,
Not quite an illusion but for religion in general.
The most obvious way to describe
Shankara’s view of the world is These distinctions suggest
that he regards it as an illusion that there are two levels of religion.
At a popular level there may be
devotion to a chosen deity (as
in the bhakti tradition), and the

portrayal of gods and goddesses him to draw together two very HINDUISM 121
as having particular qualities different traditions into a single
or acting within the world. system: the religious ceremonies Adi Shankara
However, this devotion is no of the Vedas and the later
more than a preliminary step on commentaries on them; and the Adi Shankara, the founder of
the path toward knowledge and mental discipline of the ascetics, the Advaita Vedanta tradition
liberation. Liberation can only who saw themselves as beyond of Indian philosophy, was
be achieved through the mental the stage of religious rituals. born in 788 into a Brahmin
discipline required for a level of family in Kerala, and trained
meditation that leads to insight. Science and reality under a guru (teacher) from the
And that insight, for Shankara, Modern scientific theories are age of seven. He later moved
is of a single reality; there is no based on the premise that the to Varanasi, where he gained
separate world of the gods. This universe is comprised of objects, his first followers, and then
means that if there is only one structures, events, and sense to Badrinatha, where, aged
reality that is knowable through experiences that are measurable only 12, he is believed to have
inner consciousness, then no and knowable. However, such written a commentary on
religious ceremonies are theories—although considered the Brahma Sutras.
necessary; all a person needs by many to provide a reliable
to do is develop insight through way to understand the world— Shankara became a guru
the practice of meditation. often reflect only scientists’ and attracted many followers.
interpretation of the phenomena He was also instrumental
It is tempting to say that they examine and are always in a revival of Hinduism and
Shankara promotes philosophy open to modification. The world establishing a number of
rather than religion, but that would of sense experience, for example, monasteries. Shankara died
not be strictly true: the quest even when explored at the limits at the age of 32. A number of
for an awareness of the unity of of scientific knowledge, is just an works, mainly commentaries
atman and Brahman requires approximation of reality, measured on the Upanishads, have
disciplines of meditation that through the tools available, as been attributed to Shankara.
are more of a religious exercise opposed to reality itself. His philosophy, which offered
than a philosophical questioning. a systematic development
The sort of self-control required for In addition, the scientific of the Vedanta tradition in
insight is not merely intellectual. methods used in attempting to the Upanishads, remains
Shankara’s approach allows discover reality may actually a major contribution to
interfere with and influence the Hindu doctrine.
The pure truth of Atman, nature of what is observed. For
which is buried under Maya instance, the very act of observing Key works
and measuring an experiment at
[…], can be reached by quantum level can significantly 8th century The Brahma Sutra
meditation, contemplation, alter the outcome. Bhaysa
and other spiritual disciplines 8th century The Crest-Jewel
What science may perceive of Discrimination
such as a knower of as truth or reality would, in 8th century A Thousand
Brahman Shankara’s philosophy, still be Teachings
considered an illusion, on
may prescribe… the grounds that there are two
Adi Shankara completely different levels of truth,
and that gods and scientific laws
alike can only approximate to
an ultimate reality beyond both
reason and sense experience.
Instead, pure consciouness can
only be achieved by transcending
illusion through meditation. ■

122

SO MANY FAITHS,
SO MANY PATHS

GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS

IN CONTEXT Each person on a spiritual quest may worship a particular god
or follow a particular path or religion.
KEY FIGURE
Sri Ramakrishna But just as the different Hindu gods and goddesses all represent
different aspects of Brahman, so different religions are all
WHEN AND WHERE ways to approach a single spiritual reality.
19th century, India
It is better to allow each person to follow their own
BEFORE religion than try to convert them from one religion to another.
From 3rd century BCE As
Buddhism spreads, devotional T he idea that all religions with which the self (atman) is
images and practices diversify. lead to the same God identified. The starting point for
was put forward by Ramakrishna’s thinking was the
6th century The bhakti Sri Ramakrishna, a 19th-century idea that, in meditation, a person
tradition in Hinduism accepts mystic who practised bhakti comes to appreciate the divine
that the divine can be (Hindu religious devotion) and within, and that, to whichever god
worshipped through followed the philosophy of Advaita or goddess they might be devoted,
any number of images. Vedanta, as originally taught by there is only one spiritual reality.
Adi Shankara (p.121)—built Therefore, within Hinduism, each
15th century Guru Nanak, around the notion of of a single person is free to worship in his or
founder of Sikhism, opens his underlying reality, Brahman, her own way, while recognizing
new religion to all who love one
God, regardless of class and
traditional faith distinctions.

AFTER
20th century Interfaith
dialogue becomes common.

20th century A plethora
of new religious movements
offer a spiritual path open to
all, irrespective of cultural
and religious background.

HINDUISM 123

See also: The ultimate reality 102–105 ■ Class systems and faith 302–303
■ Cao Ðài aims to unify all faiths 316 ■ A faith open to all beliefs 321

We believe not only in as the “eternal ideal of the spiritual Sri Ramakrishna
universal toleration, but we oneness of the whole universe.”
accept all religions as true. For Ramakrishna, if religion means Born Gadadhar Chatterjee
Swami Vivekananda a process of internal transformation, into a poor brahmin family in
and if God represents the ultimate Bengal in 1836, Ramakrishna
that ultimately there is only one reality, it follows that, using became a priest in a temple
“Holy Power” (Brahman). To whatever set of religious ideas dedicated to Kali just outside
Ramakrishna, this suggested that are available, an individual can Calcutta, where he became
it might be possible to experience follow a path that is bound to well known as a charismatic
all religions in just this same, converge with all others who are figure. From an early age, he
internal or personal way, and on a similar quest. Ramakrishna experienced religious trances,
therefore all spiritual paths might believed that an individual could and saw the goddess Kali
eventually lead to the same goal. encounter “the God within” through everywhere, as mother of the
any religious tradition, and that this universe, even dancing before
An inner transformation transcended any external, cultural, her image in an ecstatic state.
What Ramakrishna understood or doctrinal differences between
by this is illustrated by his claim religions. He therefore concluded In 1866 a Hindu Sufi
that he became a Muslim for a that a truly religious person should initiated Ramakrishna into
short period. He immersed himself think of all other religions as paths Islam. He is said to have
in the teachings of Islam and that all lead to the same truth. followed that faith for a few
described the manner in which Rather than attempting to convert days, as well as possessing
he performed Islamic prayers, so people from one religion to another, an image of Christ upon
that, for a time, he felt he really each person should be encouraged which he meditated.
possessed the Muslim faith, and to follow his or her own religion,
did not even experience any desire allowing a natural spiritual His ideas were spread
to look at Hindu temple images. convergence to take place. ■ and given more systematic
form by his disciple, Swami
The majority of Muslims would An imam performs the Muslim call Vivekenanda (1836–1902), who
not consider this to be a valid to prayer within the National Cathedral emphasized that the Hindu
experience of Islam, given that in Washington D.C. during an interfaith religion was not a matter
he did not engage with its cultural service attended by a joint Christian, of trying to believe certain
and social practices. However, for Jewish, and Muslim congregation. doctrines or philosophical
Ramakrishna, this entirely internal propositions, but instead one
experience led him to conclude that of entering into an experience.
any inner journey of self discovery Vivekananda presented these
will enable a person to identify ideas to the World Parliament
with what Ramakrishna’s disciple of Religions in 1893. He also
Vivekananda would later describe established the Ramakrishna
Movement to promote
Sri Ramakrishna’s work.

124

NONVIOLENCE
IS THE WEAPON
OF THE STRONG

HINDUISM IN THE POLITICAL AGE

IN CONTEXT I t was while working to oppose injustice, a person should simply
racial discrimination in South retire into private spirituality and
KEY FIGURE Africa that Gandhi coined the avoid confrontation. Hinduism had
Mahatma Gandhi term satyagraha—“holding on to long been divided between those
the truth.” It was to become the who thought that they should follow
WHEN AND WHERE key theme of his campaigns of their social duty, as determined
1869–1948, India nonviolent civil disobedience, by their class and stage of life,
both there and later in India. and those who opted out of society
BEFORE in order to follow an ascetic path
From 6th century BCE Although raised a Hindu, of personal religious discipline.
Ahimsa or nonviolence is the Gandhi was deeply influenced Gandhi felt committed to seek
key ethical principle of the Jain by Jainism, with its emphasis on political and social justice, while
and Buddhist religions. nonviolence and the welfare of all at the same time maintaining the
creatures. However, he was opposed fundamental ascetic value of
3rd century BCE The Emperor to the idea that, in the face of social
Asoka converts to Buddhism
and initiates social reforms Inactivity and detachment allow social
inspired by nonviolence. injustice to continue unchecked.

2nd century BCE The Hindu But violence only leads to retaliation and
Bhagavad-Gita explores the further violence, which is self-defeating.
dichotomy between ahimsa
and the duty of the warrior Therefore social and political change is best achieved
class to fight in a just war. through nonviolent protest and a determination to
stand by the truth, whatever the consequences.
AFTER
1964 The Baptist minister
Martin Luther King preaches
the use of nonviolent means
to oppose racial inequality
in the United States.

HINDUISM 125

See also: Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation 68–71 ■ Selfless action 110–11 ■ Let kindness and compassion rule 146–47
■ Dying for the message 209 ■ Striving in the way of God 278

God is truth. The way regarded noncooperation and civil Unfortunately, the last year of
to truth lies through disobedience as “weapons of truth” Gandhi’s life saw bloodshed and
that an individual or society should mass displacement as Muslim
nonviolence. not be afraid to deploy, provided that Pakistan was separated from Hindu
Mahatma Gandhi negotiation had failed. To accept India. However, his teachings,
the consequences of our actions is notably his legacy of nonviolent
nonviolence. He also saw the a sign of strength, if accompanied protest, spread globally, inspiring
self-destructiveness and futility by the moral certainty of the truth. many of the world’s leaders and
of opposing violence with violence. political movements, including
Love all, hate no one antiapartheid in South Africa
He believed that an individual Gandhi emphasized that ahimsa and civil rights movements in
could only genuinely seek the (nonviolence) should be taken in the US, China, and elsewhere. ■
truth by discounting his or her its most positive sense: in other
social position and self-interest. words, that it should mean the A lone protestor defies tanks near
He therefore argued that the way cultivation of love toward all, as Tiananmen Square in Beijing, in an
to oppose injustice was to have the opposed to simply abstinence from image that became a global icon for
courage and strength to hold on to killing. This philosophy had further the principle of passive resistance.
the truth, whatever the personal social and political consequences,
consequences—and for him that since it must entail support for
included years spent in prison. He the oppressed. So, for example,
Gandhi championed the cause of
those who were outside the caste
system and called “untouchables”
since they were considered to
be ritually impure. He regarded
“untouchability” as a crime against
humanity. It was later outlawed
in India. He also argued strongly
for religious freedom and against
all forms of exploitation.

Mohandas Karamchand Born in 1869 in Porbandar, India, which he was imprisoned for
(“Mahatma”) Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi two years. He continued to
(known as “Mahatma” or “great- promote similar campaigns, and
souled”) qualified as a lawyer in suffered a further term in jail.
London. After a brief time back in He wanted to see an India free
India, he spent 21 years in South from British rule, in which all its
Africa giving legal support to the religious groups could have a
Indian community, during which stake, and when independence
time he launched a program of was finally agreed in 1947, he
passive resistance against the opposed the partition of India
compulsory registration and because it conflicted with his
fingerprinting of Indians. vision of religious unity.

In 1914, he returned to India, Gandhi was assassinated
where he opposed injustices in Delhi in 1948 by a Hindu
imposed by the British rulers. fanatic who accused him of
During the 1920s, he initiated being too sympathetic to the
civil disobedience campaigns for needs of the nation’s Muslims.

BUDDHIS

FROM 6TH
CENTURY BCE

M

128 INTRODUCTION

Siddhartha The First Buddhist Emperor Asoka A collection of the teachings
Gautama Council is held in of India converts to of Buddha, the Pali Canon,
(later known as the year following Buddhism and calls is written down in Sri Lanka
Buddha) is born Buddha’s death. the Third Buddhist
in northeast and forms the basis of
Council. Theravada Buddhism.
India.

C.563 BCE 5TH CENTURY BCE 3RD CENTURY BCE 1ST CENTURY BCE

5TH CENTURY BCE 4TH CENTURY BCE 3RD CENTURY BCE 1ST CENTURY CE

Different branches of The Second Buddhism spreads Mahayana
Buddhism evolve as Buddhist Council to Sri Lanka and Buddhism emerges
the religion spreads is held, resulting in
Burma, and probably in India, with an
across Asia. the first schism into Central Asia. emphasis on the
in Buddhism. bodhisattva ideal.

B uddhism is regarded incorporated Hindu belief in the after his death, that Gautama’s
by some as more of a idea of samsara—a soul caught teachings first appeared in
philosophical system in an eternal circle of birth and written form, in the Tipitaka. This
than a religion because it does rebirth. Buddhism proposed a was written in Pali, a Sri Lankan
not explicitly involve a god or radically different view of how dialect, rather than Sanskrit,
gods. Its origins are also atypical: the cycle could be broken. Instead the language of the scholars.
its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, of relying on Hindu religious The so-called Pali Canon was
the Buddha (“awakened one”), practices, such as worship and followed by commentaries, such
based his teachings not on any ritual, Gautama advocated a as the Mahayana Sutras, which
mystical vision or appearance, change of lifestyle; instead of interpreted Buddha’s teaching.
but on conclusions he reached after sacred texts giving divine
a long period of experience and guidance and authority, Buddhism What Buddhism lacked in
thought—enlightenment, rather offered its founder’s teachings as theology, it made up for in its
than revelation. Gautama neither a starting point for meditation. analysis of the reasons a soul
affirmed nor denied the existence might get caught up in samsara;
of deities, since they were irrelevant Basic tenets it explored how one could achieve
to his ideas, but some branches of The doctrine of Buddhism was enlightenment and nirvana—the
Buddhism have since become passed by word of mouth, at first ultimate extinction of desire,
more theistic, even if deities are to Gautama’s immediate group of aversion, and disillusionment.
not central to their practice. followers, and then through the Gautama explained that the main
teachers of the monastic order obstacle to escape from the cycle of
The India in which Gautama that he founded. It was not until the samsara was human suffering,
grew up was dominated by the 1st century BCE, hundreds of years caused by desires and attachments
Brahmanic religions, and that can never be satisfied. He set

BUDDHISM 129

The Mahayana Vajrayana, Theravada Buddhism Zen Buddhism
Sutras are or Tantric, Buddhism spreads from Sri emerges in Japan from
composed. develops in India, from the Chinese tradition of
the Theravada tradition. Lanka into Burma, meditation Buddhism.
Thailand, Laos,
and Cambodia.

1ST–5TH CENTURIES CE 4TH–5TH CENTURIES 11TH–13TH CENTURIES 12TH–13TH CENTURIES

3RD CENTURY CE 7TH CENTURY 12TH CENTURY 19TH CENTURY

Buddhism begins to Mahayana Buddhism The decline of Western
flourish in China. is adopted in Tibet, Buddhism accelerates philosophers such
with an emphasis on as Schopenhauer
imagery and ritual. as the Indian begin taking an
subcontinent is interest in Indian
invaded by Muslims.
religions.

out “Four Noble Truths”—the Theravada, with its conservative Later divisions within these two
central doctrine of Buddhism—to and austere approach, remained major traditions also occurred.
explain the nature of suffering and closer to Buddha’s original These gave rise to such contrasting
how it could be overcome: dukkha teachings, but became increasingly branches as Zen Buddhism, which
(the truth of suffering), samudaya localized to southern India and aims to clear the mind in order to
(the truth of the origin of suffering), especially Sri Lanka. Theravada allow spontaneous enlightenment
nirodha (the truth of the ending was revitalized in the 12th century without ritual, scripture, or
of suffering), and magga (the truth of when trade took it into Burma, reasoning; and the various forms
the path to the ending of suffering). Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. of Tibetan Buddhism that are
This last Noble Truth alludes to characterized by colorful temples,
the Middle Way—the lifestyle Mahayana Buddhism had a images, and rituals.
advocated by the Buddha, which is more overtly religious following,
simple in concept but hard to attain. offering its adherents temples and Today, Buddhism is estimated
rituals, as well as rich symbolism to have more than 500 million
Spread and diversification and images of the Buddha. Like adherents, and is considered to be
Buddhism spread rapidly from Theravada, Mahayana also the fourth largest religion in the
northern India southward across dwindled in India, but it was world (after Christianity, Islam,
the subcontinent and northward enthusiastically adopted in Tibet, and Hinduism). However, despite
into China. Different traditions of China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. growing Western interest in it as
Buddhism began to emerge. The A key element of Mahayana is the both a religion and a philosophy,
two main branches, Theravada and concept of religious leaders known it has been in decline since the
Mahayana, continue to the present as bodhisattvas, who have achieved latter half of the 20th century, falling
day, much along regional lines. enlightenment but remain on earth from its position as the largest single
to show the way to others. religion in the early 1950s. ■

FINDING

THE MIDDLE WAY

THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF BUDDHA



132 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF BUDDHA

IN CONTEXT I n northern India, the 6th Enlightenment came to Siddhartha
century BCE was a time of after meditation beneath the Bodhi Tree.
KEY FIGURE radical social and political A descendant of the original tree was
Siddhartha Gautama change. There was terrible planted in Bodh Gaya in 288 BCE and is
bloodshed as local rule by tribal now a site of pilgrimage for Buddhists.
WHEN AND WHERE groups gave way to the rise of new
6th century BCE, kingdoms. Cities were expanding, materialist philosophy, rejecting
northern India drawing people away from the conventional spiritual teachings in
simplicity of agricultural village life, favor of a life based on pleasure,
BEFORE and trade was flourishing. At the in the belief that there is nothing
From 1700 BCE A multitude same time, people were starting to beyond the physical world.
of gods are ritually worshipped ask fundamental questions about
in the Vedic religion of life and the basis of religion. Siddhartha seeks answers
northern India. One wealthy man, Siddhartha
On the one hand, there was the Gautama, decided, on reaching
6th century BCE In China, established Vedic religion, based adulthood, that his comfortable
Daoism and Confucianism on sacrifice and the authority of the
present philosophies in Vedic texts, to which few outside
which personal spiritual the brahmin, or priestly class of
development is cultivated. Indian society, had access. This was
a formal and conformist religion; it
6th century BCE Mahavira required obedience to tradition and
rejects his destiny as an maintained class differences. On
Indian prince and becomes an the other hand, many wandering
extreme ascetic; his teachings teachers were challenging formal
form the sacred texts of Jainism. religion. Some of these withdrew
from society to practice asceticism
AFTER (the self-denial of material comforts),
1st century CE The first texts opting for simplicity and deprivation
containing Siddhartha as a means of spiritual development.
Gautama’s teachings appear, They rejected both physical comfort
soon followed by the spread of and social norms, and lived outside
Buddhism into China. the class system. Other wandering
teachers followed the Lokayata

Siddhartha Gautama Born in 563 BCE into the ruling Siddhartha set up communities
family of the Shakya clan of of monks and nuns, and also
northeast India, Siddhartha gained a growing number of lay
Gautama was expected to take followers. He also engaged in
a prominent place in society. discussions with princely rulers
Brought up in comfort and well and religious teachers of other
educated, he was married at 16 faiths. By the time he died, aged
and had a son. 80, Buddhism had become a
substantial religious movement.
However, at the age of 29,
he became dissatisfied with his Key work
life and left home, spending years
as a religious ascetic. Following 29 BCE The Dhammapada, an
an experience he described as accessible summary of Buddha’s
enlightenment, he became a early teachings, forms part of
wandering teacher and soon the Pali Canon (p.140).
attracted many followers, mainly
in the cities of the Ganges Plain.

BUDDHISM 133

See also: Aligning the self with the dao 66–67 ■ Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation 68–71 ■ Wisdom lies with the
superior man 72–77 ■ A rational world 92–99 ■ A faith open to all beliefs 321

lifestyle was incompatible with his However many material comforts I bring into my life, they
growing awareness of life’s hardships cannot protect me from the pain of suffering.
and the certainty of death. In
addition, material comforts offered The total denial of material comforts and a life of asceticism
no protection from these harsh does not protect me from suffering either.
realities of life. So he embarked on
a religious quest to find the origin Each person needs to find a balanced, moderately disciplined
of suffering, and the answer to it. lifestyle that takes account of their individual circumstances.

For seven years he practiced Find the Middle Way.
severe asceticism, depriving
himself of all but the minimum lives forever) and nihilism (extreme reality are to be found beyond these
sustenance, but he found that this skepticism in which the value or physical things. When Buddha
did not help him find the knowledge meaningfulness of everything in rejected the eternal nature of the
he sought. He therefore abandoned life is denied). self, he was rejecting a key feature
the ascetic life, while remaining of Hindu thought and religion.
determined to discover the cause Eternalism and nihilism
of suffering. He is said to have The Vedic religion, particularly as Buddha also rejected the other
gained enlightenment (becoming it was developed in the texts extreme—nihilism, which holds
aware of the true nature of reality) known as the Upanishads (p.105), that ultimately nothing matters
during an all-night session of argued that the true self of every or has any value. Nihilism can
meditation, and this gave him an person is the atman, which is be expressed in two ways, both
answer to the problems of suffering, eternal and is reincarnated from life of which were practiced during
aging, and death. From that point to life. The atman is linked to the Buddha’s lifetime. One way is
his followers were to refer to him as physical body only temporarily, and the path of asceticism: purifying
Buddha, an honorary title meaning is essentially independent of it. the body by the harshest austerity
one who is fully awake or the possible, and rejecting everything
enlightened one. Crucially, the Vedic religion that the worldly consider to be
identified this atman with of value. This was the path that
The Middle Way Brahman, the fundamental divine Buddha had attempted and found
Buddha’s teaching is known as reality that underlies everything. wanting. The other way of living
the Middle Way. At the most Ordinary things in the world (such out nihilistic beliefs was that taken
obvious level, this suggests a as trees, animals, and rocks) are an up in India by followers of the
middle way between the two types illusion, known as maya; truth and unorthodox Lokayata school of ❯❯
of existence that he rejected: the
life of luxury, attempting to obtain
protection from suffering with
material comforts, and that of
extreme austerity, denying himself
almost everything in pursuit of
spiritual growth. The approach or
way he found involved a moderate
amount of discipline in order to live
an ethical life, free from indulgence
in either sensual pleasures or self-
mortification. But Buddha’s Middle
Way is also set between two other
extremes: eternalism (where a
person’s spirit has purpose and

134 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF BUDDHA

philosophy: the wholehearted cease. Nothing, therefore, has leads people to have a general
embrace of materialism. Their view a permanent or independent sense of dissatisfaction with life
was that if everything is simply a existence. The Sanskrit term for (dukkha), and this constitutes
temporary arrangement of physical such mutual dependence is pratitya the second mark of existence.
elements, there is no enduring soul samutpada, of which a literal Dukkha is sometimes translated
that can be influenced by good or translation might be things as suffering, but it means more
bad deeds during life. Furthermore, stepping up together. The phrase is than physical suffering or the
if there is no life after death, the sometimes translated as dependent inevitability of death—it points to
best policy is to seek as much origination, better to convey the existential frustration. Life does not
pleasure as possible in this life. idea that nothing originates in necessarily provide us with what
itself—everything is dependent we want and, at the same time,
However, in rejecting these two upon prior causes. We live in it contains things, events, and
extremes, Buddha did not simply a world in which everything is other people that we don’t want.
opt for a Middle Way in the sense of interconnected and nothing is Nothing in life gives us complete
a negotiated compromise; rather, the source of its own being. satisfaction; everything has
his view was based on an insight its limitations.
that is key to understanding the This simple but profound
whole of Buddhist teaching: the observation leads to what are The third mark of existence
concept of interconnectedness. known as the three universal marks is anata: that, because everything
of existence. The first is anicca: is constantly changing, nothing
Three marks of existence that everything is impermanent has a fixed self or essence.
Buddha pointed out that all things and subject to change. We may Conventionally, we see things
in life come about as a result of wish it were not so, but it is. (such as trees) as separate from
certain causes and conditions; one another, and define them on
when these cease, the elements The Buddha said that the quest that basis. In reality, however,
that depend upon them will also for permanence and the certainty because everything depends on
of things having a fixed essence those elements that bring it about
(trees cannot grow without soil,
water, and sunlight), nothing can
be defined or permanently fixed
in the way that our common sense
and language supposes.

The idea of interconnectedness,
as well as the three marks of
existence implied within it, is a
matter of observation rather than
argument. It is not a statement of
how the world should be, simply
that this is how it is—and that
attempts to deny it are the root
cause of our daily frustration.

Buddha’s subsequent teaching
was shaped by the concept of
interconnectedness. By relating
dukkha, or dissatisfaction, to the
process of change, the concept

Buddhist monks do not cultivate
hardship for its own sake; they are
expected to eat moderately and depend
on the gifts of lay people for their food—
a practical example of interdependence.

BUDDHISM 135

suggests that there are ways or Just as a flower lives and then dies, Buddha’s
conditions under which it could universal marks of existence hold that everything
be minimized. Buddha explained is impermanent and subject to change (anicca).
what these were in the teachings Building upon this idea is anata: nothing has a
that became known as the Four fixed essence, because everything is in constant flux.
Noble Truths and the Noble
Eightfold Path (pp.136–43).

Applying the Middle Way The Middle Way also has profound lived on after death—questions
to daily life implications for our general that are often seen to be at the
In many practical ways, the understanding of religion, ethics, heart of religious belief—Buddha
spirit of the Middle Way shapes and philosophy. In practical terms, refused to answer. In terms of
Buddhist practice. For example, it argues that the reality of life, philosophy, Buddhism argues that
some branches of Buddhism with its constant change and the knowledge starts from an analysis
emphasize the value of the inevitability of old age and death, of experience, rather than abstract
monastic life, but vows are not cannot be permanently avoided speculation. This meant that
taken for life, and many of those either by material security or self- Buddhism was able to remain
who spend either a few months or denial. Taken into a person’s heart, undogmatic, flexible, and open
years as a monk or nun later return this view can shape that person’s to new cultural ideas, while
to family life (p.145). Similarly, in values and ethics, and affect how retaining its basic insight. The
order not to cause unnecessary they choose to live their life. interconnectedness of all things,
suffering, Buddhists aim to be experienced in the balance
vegetarian. But if it is difficult A flexible philosophy between continuity and change,
to obtain a vegetarian diet, or In terms of religion, Buddhism’s is the basis upon which Buddhist
medical conditions suggest that a denial of the unchanging, eternal philosophy is built.
carnivorous diet is necessary, meat- self as defined in the Hindu
eating is acceptable. Monks, who Upanishads was revolutionary. Buddhism’s concepts also had
rely on gifts of food, are expected to It suggested that life cannot be psychological significance. By
eat whatever they are given. None understood, or its suffering avoided, suggesting that the self was not
of this is a matter of compromise; it by conventional religious beliefs. simple and eternal, but complex
is the recognition that everything Buddhism—if seen as a religion and subject to change, it became
depends on prevailing conditions. rather than an ethical philosophy— possible for people to explore the
does not deny the existence of self as a non-fixed entity. Moreover,
When this exists, that gods, or some form of an eternal Buddha’s invitation to follow
comes to be; with the soul, but regards them as an the Middle Way was open to all,
arising of this, that arises. unnecessary distraction. When making Buddhism, despite its
When this does not exist, asked if the world was eternal, or lack of interest in a god or gods, an
that does not come to whether an enlightened person attractive proposition in a society
be; with the cessation of bound by convention and ritual. ■

this, that ceases.
Buddha

THERE CAN BE

AN END TO

SUFFERING

ESCAPE FROM THE ETERNAL CYCLE



138 ESCAPE FROM THE ETERNAL CYCLE

IN CONTEXT The Blessed One Buddha thought that the search
[Buddha] is compassionate for happiness leads people in the
KEY SOURCE wrong direction. Individuals crave
Buddha’s first sermon, and seeks our welfare; things—sensual pleasure, wealth,
The Setting in Motion of he teaches the Dhamma power, material possessions—in
the Wheel of the Dhamma, the hope that these things will
and subsequent teachings out of compassion. make them happy. But the falsity of
Kinti Sutta this thought lies behind samudaya,
WHEN AND WHERE the Second Noble Truth: that the
6th century BCE, India an overview of the human problem origin of suffering is craving.
of suffering and solutions for it. Tanha, the Buddhist term for
BEFORE The Truths, which are believed to this craving, indicates people’s
From prehistory Suffering be the subject of the Buddha’s first attempts to hold on to what they
is often regarded as a sermon following his enlightenment like, imagining that if only they
punishment from the gods. under the Bodhi Tree, revolve could have a certain thing and
around this issue. keep it, all their problems would
From 700 BCE Hindus see be solved. Tanha can be translated
suffering as the inescapable The first of Buddha’s Four as “thirst,” suggesting how natural
result of karma (actions in Noble Truths is dukkha, the truth and essential this craving seems
past or present lives). of suffering. This is the idea that to us. Buddha argued that even so,
all life involves suffering, which lies this craving is counterproductive,
AFTER at the heart of Buddhist teachings, leading only to more suffering
3rd century BCE The and was the revelation that began and unhappiness.
Mauryan emperor Asoka takes Siddhartha Gautama’s long search
practical and political steps for truth. Human life, Buddha said, According to Buddha, this
to minimize suffering by is fragile and always vulnerable. craving for things goes beyond
promoting Buddhist values. What is more, life is characterized material objects and the wish
by suffering. The nature of this for power—it includes the need
2nd century BCE Nagasena suffering is very broad, meaning to cling to particular views and
argues that dissatisfaction not necessarily intense pain, but
with life may be overcome by also lesser, more widespread People are often moved to tears
recognizing the insubstantial, feelings of dissatisfaction. It at funerals and other sad events, but
changing nature of the self. may be the emotional suffering Buddhists regard such suffering as
caused by the death of a loved deriving from a mistaken wish to
T he central aim of Buddha’s one, an enduring sense that life hold on to something or someone.
teaching—the dhamma— is somehow pointless or empty,
is to overcome suffering. or simply a feeling of being stuck
Everything that does not contribute in an unpleasant situation, such
to this aim is considered irrelevant. as a traffic jam. Dukkha is the
The ideas of Buddhism are not to feeling that arises in situations
be taken as ends in themselves, nor that cause stress, discomfort, or
are they the result of dispassionate dissatisfaction. It makes us feel
speculation about the nature of the that we want to be somewhere,
world. They are observations about or even someone else.
life and principles that are to be put
into practice.

The Noble Truths
The Buddhist dhamma starts with
four statements, known as the
“Four Noble Truths,” which give

BUDDHISM 139

See also: Aligning the self with the dao 66–67 ■ A rational world 92–99 ■ Physical and mental discipline 112–13
■ The enlightenment of Buddha 130–35 ■ Sufism and the mystic tradition 282–83 ■ Tenrikyo and the Joyous Life 310

ideas, rules, and observances, The Four Noble Truths
which is equally harmful. In this
way, Buddhism takes a radically All life is impermanent, Dukkha
different view from the majority imperfect, and The truth
of religions, which tend to regard of suffering.
people’s acceptance of doctrines involves suffering.
and religious observances as
essential to salvation. While The cause of suffering is Samudaya
Buddha did not say that such desire: the craving for things The truth of the
beliefs are harmful in themselves, origin of suffering.
he warned against clinging to to be a certain way.
them in the assumption that they
will automatically help in the
path to overcome suffering.

Finding nirvana Suffering can be ended Nirodha
For Buddhists, everything arises by detaching oneself from The truth of the
from existing conditions. This ending of suffering.
means that something must craving and desire.
cause suffering; and if that cause Magga
is removed, suffering will cease. The way to stop craving The truth of the path to
The Second Noble Truth identifies is to follow the Noble the ending of suffering.
craving as the cause—so Buddha Eightfold Path.
said that if the craving were to an unconditioned, uncaused state
stop, the suffering would cease. Rather, the triple fires of greed, and is therefore an absolute truth
The Third Noble Truth, nirodha hatred, and illusion—three for Buddhists. This blissful state
(the cessation of suffering and the characteristics that perpetuate of being is accessible to us on earth
causes of suffering), refers to the human suffering—are blown out and in our lifetimes. Unlike most
absence of craving. Putting an like a candle. In other words, by religions, which encourage people
end to craving does not involve letting go of destructive craving, to live a moral life in the present in
stopping life’s normal activities the mind is liberated from suffering order to attain happiness in a world
—Buddha himself carried on and unhappiness. This leads to beyond this one, Buddhism says
teaching for 45 years after his a state of engaged happiness: a that a true end to suffering is
enlightenment, and was subject to form of happiness that results possible immediately, in this world.
all the usual problems that afflict from good moral conduct.
human beings. Rather, it refers Buddha himself attained a state
to a state in which a person Unlike everything else, nirvana of nirvana at the age of 35, and
understands and deals with life, is not thought to be the result of through his teachings sought to
without the emotional need to cause and effect, but stands show others how to reach this
crave for it to be other than it is. beyond or outside it. It is said enlightenment. The Fourth Noble
to be permanent and unchanging: Truth describes “the path that leads
With the Third Noble Truth while everything in the world to the end of suffering.” This is
comes a point of peace called, in around us, and we ourselves, are magga, the Middle Way, also known
Sanskrit, nirvana. This is a state temporary and have arisen because as the “Noble Eightfold Path.” ❯❯
beyond craving or desire for of certain conditions, nirvana is
anything or anyone. It is not the
same as extinction; Buddha was
critical of those who tried to escape
reality by craving annihilation.

140 ESCAPE FROM THE ETERNAL CYCLE

Material goods such as shoes may be
advertised as must-have items, in an
attempt to create a desire or craving
in us. This desire, which can never
be fully satisifed, leads to suffering.

The Noble Eightfold Path Wisdom, for Buddha, is made because a mere understanding
The path to the cessation of up of two directions in which to of the teaching (without also
suffering is set out as a path of turn the mind: “right view” and adopting an intention to act
eight steps. However, these need “right intention.” The first of these on it) is of no use.
not be taken sequentially as they is important in order to be able to
are eight principles, rather than see and identify the cause and Steps three, four, and five
actions, that allow Buddhists to cure of suffering, as outlined in of the path offer practical moral
overcome craving and achieve the Four Noble Truths. Without a guidelines. Buddhist morality is not
happiness. The Noble Eightfold willingness to explore that view, about rules to be obeyed, but about
Path deals with the three basic the rest of the path makes little creating conditions that facilitate
aspects of the Buddhist life: sense. Right intention could the path toward enlightenment.
wisdom (in the first two steps), equally be described as “right Step three states that we must
virtue (in the next three), and commitment”—it refers to our use “right speech”: avoid telling
concentration (in the final three). intention to follow the path, lies, speaking harshly or cruelly,
and listening to or spreading
purposeless chatter and malicious
gossip. Instead, we must cultivate
the opposite: truthful, positive,
kindly, and purposeful speech.

Step four says that we must
take “right action” by following the
five moral “precepts”: not to destroy
life, not to steal, not to misuse the
senses, not to lie, and not to cloud
the mind with intoxicants (the
last is of particular importance
for those who are engaging in the
mental training that forms the final

The Pali Canon texts are collectively referred to There are four kinds of
as the Pali Canon, and they form clinging: clinging to sensual
In the 400 years after Buddha the scriptures of the Theravada pleasures, clinging to views,
died, his teachings and the Buddhist tradition (p.330).
guidelines for monastic life clinging to rules and
were passed down orally The Pali Canon is also known observances, and clinging
using local languages, rather as the Tipitaka (in Pali) and the
than Sanskrit, which was the Tripitaka (in Sanskrit), meaning to a doctrine of the self.
language used in the Hindu “three baskets.” It is divided Sammaditthi Sutta
scriptures. However, in the into three sections: the Vinaya
1st century BCE, his teachings Pitaka, which contains guidance
were written down in Sri Lanka on monastic life; the Sutta
using a language and script Pitaka, a collection of Buddha’s
called Pali, which was closely sayings and accounts of events
related to the language that in his life; and the Abhidhamma
Buddha himself spoke. These Pitaka, a philosophical analysis
of Buddha’s teachings.

BUDDHISM 141

There is a Middle Way… to another. An important step in overcome suffering, since what
which leads to peace, to direct mental discipline is to be fully is being addressed is not physical
knowledge, to enlightenment, aware of the present moment and pain or death itself, but the
to allow the mind to be quietly sense of existential angst that
to nirvana. And what is focused on just one thing. This can accompany them. In insight
that Middle Way? It is just is seen in meditation techniques meditation, a person may calmly
this Noble Eightfold Path… such as “mindfulness of breathing” and deliberately contemplate
or “just sitting,” which generally those things that most people
Buddha form the starting point for training try to avoid thinking about, such
in Buddhist meditation. as death. In a meditation on
metta, or love, positive thoughts
The final, eighth, step on the are cultivated toward others,
path encourages us to apply “right from people we love to those we
concentration.” The practice of naturally find most difficult. This
meditation is a crucial aspect of exercise encourages benevolence
following the Buddhist dhamma. and the development of a more
This step recognizes that control of positive set of mental qualities. ❯❯
the mind is central to being able to

part of the path). The fifth step The Noble Eightfold Path, or Middle
also supports an ethical approach, Way, sets out the eight characteristics
suggesting that we must pursue that we need to encourage in ourselves
a “right livelihood.” This is the to bring an end to our suffering.
requirement to earn a living in
a way that does not go against UndeRrigshttaVniedwing and CRiogmht Imnteinttmionent
Buddhist moral principles.
12
Cultivating right mind
The last three steps advise on Right Concentration
how to carry out the right mental
training for reaching nirvana. Step PractRiigchatlAcEtitohnics
six says that “right effort” should Right Speech
be applied. This requires a person
to be conscious of and set aside TrRaigihntiMnigndtfuhlneesMs ind
negative or harmful thoughts as 83
they arise, replacing them with
their positive equivalent. So, for The Noble
example, at the beginning of the Eightfold
Dhammapada (the “Verses of
the Dhamma”), the Buddha says Path
that those who resent the actions
of others, or brood upon injuries 74
sustained in the past, will never
become free of hate. Right effort 6 5
encapsulates the conscious
intention to break the cycle of Right Effort Right Livelihood
resentment and negative response.

The seventh step tells us to
pursue “right mindfulness.” It is all
too easy for our minds to become
distracted, flitting from one thing

142 ESCAPE FROM THE ETERNAL CYCLE

If lust, anger, and delusion on to another step. The three although Buddhism takes from
are given up, man aims main aspects of understanding, Hinduism the idea of karma (that
morality, and meditation may actions have consequences), it
neither at his own ruin, nor be used to reinforce one another. does not accept this in any rigid or
at the ruin of others…and he Some steps, however, such as mechanical sense. There is always
experiences no mental pain those that deal with ethical issues, an element of choice in our actions.
may be important in setting up
and grief. Thus is nirvana the conditions in our lives in The Buddhist view of actions
visible in this life. which meditation can become and consequences is presented in
truly effective. graphic form in the “Wheel of Life,”
Anguttara Nikaya a complex piece of iconography that
The Wheel of Life depicts suffering and possible ways
The Noble Eightfold Path offers A key feature of Buddha’s teaching to overcome it. Everything within
a program of self-development. is “interconnectedness” (pp.130– the wheel represents the world of
However, Buddhism does not have 35): the idea that everything arises samsara—a world of endless
a set of commands or doctrines to because of preexisting causes and rebirth in which all beings are
be accepted; instead, it suggests a conditions. The Buddhist path is trapped as a consequence of their
way to live that will ease suffering. therefore one that works always karmic actions. The wheel itself is
Different people will concentrate with context; it aims to create held within the jaws of a fearsome
on different aspects of the path, the conditions that allow angst demon, who represents death.
depending on their circumstances. and suffering to be replaced by
In addition, the path itself is not a contentment and happiness. In the center of the wheel are
straight route that begins at step three creatures—a cock, a snake,
one and ends at step eight. It is not This means that if we look at and a pig—that represent the
considered necessary to deal with the chain of causes and effects of three poisons: greed, hatred, and
any one of the steps before moving events in our lives, we can look for ignorance. Buddha saw these as
the links that might be changed so the starting point or root of the
that our lives can take a different unwholesome life and thus of
course. If it were not possible to human suffering. Surrounding them
choose differently and alter the is a circle filled with human beings
outcomes of situations, people’s either descending or ascending,
fates and their every action would who pass by a series of realms
be absolutely determined, with depicted in the next circle. These
no escape from suffering. So, realms are those of humans,
animals, gods, asuras (warlike

The doctor’s prescription

The Buddha’s teachings on the The practical aim of Buddhism, have the arrow removed until he
Four Noble Truths are compared to much like that of a physician, is understands all the details of
a physician diagnosing an illness to eliminate suffering in the world. the arrow and who made it. The
and prescribing a treatment. The faith’s Four Noble Truths can man’s priority should be to have
be set out according to the stages the arrow removed. Buddha
involved in medical procedure: the discarded as irrelevant most of
diagnosis, its cause, the fact that the questions posed by Western
suffering will be cured if its cause philosophy, such as speculation
is removed, and the method of about why the world is as it is.
removing the cause. Buddhism is therefore seen by
some as a therapy rather than a
Buddha described the human religion: a health-giving regime
condition as being similar to a to be followed, rather than a set
man who has been wounded by of ideas to be believed.
a poisoned arrow but refuses to

BUDDHISM 143

Finding themselves
threatened by danger,
people take refuge in spirits,
shrines, and sacred trees,

but these are not
a true refuge.

Dhammapada

beings constantly doing battle), craving—that is critical. If the link The Buddhist Wheel of Life
hungry ghosts, and hell (the lowest holds, the process of re-becoming represents the universe and the
of states). The implication is that (samsara) continues forever. endless cycle of death and rebirth,
people can move from one realm If it can be broken, there is the within which humans are trapped
to another. It is from the human possibility of escape from the unless they follow the Middle Way.
realm that they may escape to a cycle of existence and suffering.
happier state of existence through the conditions to help break that
the teachings of Buddha. The breaking of the link signals nidana link, people should follow
a return to the starting point of the Noble Eightfold Path. Through
For those seeking to understand Buddha’s route to the end of taking action they may find
the process by which Buddhists suffering: the ability to engage nirvana. According to Buddhism,
can achieve this—by overcoming with life without allowing that there is no god to save humanity,
suffering—it is the outermost wheel experience to generate the craving so what people need to cultivate
that is the most important. The that arises from attachment and is wisdom rather than faith. ■
twelve nidanas, or links, in the disappointment. And to set up
outer wheel give graphic expression
to the interconnectedness that is
central to Buddhist teaching.
They feature people and buildings,
from a blind man (who represents
a starting point in total spiritual
ignorance) to a house with five
windows (representing the mind
and senses). There is a crucial
opportunity offered between the
seventh and eighth nidanas, which
show a man with an arrow in his
eye (representing feelings of pain)
and a woman offering a man a
drink (feelings leading to craving).
It is this link—between the pain or
pleasure that comes from contact
with the world and the resulting

144

TEST BUDDHA’S
WORDS AS ONE
WOULD THE
QUALITY OF GOLD

THE PERSONAL QUEST FOR TRUTH

IN CONTEXT I n most religions, beliefs are Accept as completely true
based on authority, whether only that which is praised
KEY SOURCE that of a particular leader,
The Pali Canon a priestly class, or sacred texts. by the wise and which
People who accept these beliefs you test for yourself
WHEN AND WHERE may seek to defend them rationally, and know to be good
6th century BCE, while those who feel unable to
northern India assent to the beliefs of their culture for yourself and others.
may be branded as heretics. Buddha
BEFORE
From 1000 BCE Traditional Buddhism is different. It pays meditation, the search for truth
Hindu thought is based on great respect to Buddha and other and spiritual growth, and putting
Vedic texts and the teachings religious teachers, and some Buddhist teachings into practice.
of the brahmin priests. Buddhist traditions make much of
the value of having a teacher with Early followers of Buddha
6th century BCE Jains and a particular lineage or tradition. achieved enlightenment by seeking
Buddhists reject the Vedas However, the faith also values understanding of his teaching, not
and brahmins as authorities. debate and discussion; teachers just by believing his word. Buddhism
and intellectual convictions are still argues that beliefs should be
AFTER seen as only a starting point. based on personal conviction and
From 483 BCE For more than Buddha argued that people should experience, rather than simply
four centuries after his death, not take any of his teachings on trusting external authority. ■
the teachings of Buddha are trust, but should test them out,
passed on by word of mouth both rationally and also in terms
among his followers. of personal experience.

29 BCE A written collection Buddhist wisdom is therefore
of Buddha’s teachings and acquired in three stages: from
sayings is made at the Fourth teachers or by reading scriptures;
Buddhist Council in Sri Lanka. from personal reflection and thought;
and as a result of spiritual practice.
12th century Zen Buddhists The third stage generally involves
reject the need for authoritative
scriptures of any sort. See also: Wisdom lies with the superior man 72–77 ■ Buddhas and bodhisattvas
152–57 ■ Man as a manifestation of God 188

BUDDHISM 145

RELIGIOUS
DISCIPLINE IS
NECESSARY

THE PURPOSE OF MONASTIC VOWS

IN CONTEXT Throughout his life, Buddha About a hundred years after
had two kinds of followers: Buddha died, debates began about
KEY SOURCE monks and householders. how strictly the monastic rules
Early Buddhist Councils The monks were wandering should be obeyed. As Buddhism
preachers like Buddha at first, spread, it developed different
WHEN AND WHERE but later they settled in monastic traditions, some of which,
From 5th century BCE, communities. Here, they followed particularly in China and Japan,
northern India disciplines that aimed to benefit placed less emphasis on monastic
their own spiritual progress as well life. Nevertheless, monasticism
BEFORE as the community. Householders remains an important feature of
From prehistory Most too could achieve enlightenment, Buddhism, especially in Sri Lanka
religions combine spiritual since they practiced Buddhism and and Thailand, which follow the
development with awareness helped the community of monks. Theravada tradition (p.330).
of a person’s place in society
or the religious group. Young Buddhist monks accept In Buddhism, monastic vows
monastic discipline for a short period. In are taken for a limited period, rather
7th century BCE A new their path toward greater personal and than for life. The vows are not an
ascetic tradition of extreme social awareness, they are required to end in themselves, but aim to create
self-denial arises in Hinduism. follow some, but not all, monastic rules. conditions that assist Buddhist
practice. They are not essential,
c.550 BCE Buddha advocates but helpful, in following the Middle
a Middle Way between Way. However, individuals must
asceticism and hedonism. not simply strive for personal
enlightenment, because that
AFTER would be self-defeating, implying a
From 12th century CE In measure of selfishness incompatible
Japan, Pure Land Buddhism, with Buddhist teaching. Rather,
and Nichiren Buddhism insist they must attempt to develop
that faith in Amida Buddha universal compassion and good
and chanting, rather than will, which have a social as well
following a particular lifestyle as a personal dimension. ■
or discipline, are the way to
gain enlightenment. See also: The four stages of life 106–109 ■ The enlightenment of Buddha 130–35
■ Writing the Oral Law 182–83 ■ Serving God on behalf of others 222–23

146

RENOUNCE KILLING
AND GOOD WILL
FOLLOW

LET KINDNESS AND COMPASSION RULE

IN CONTEXT If people are killed, their B uddhism arose out of
family, relatives, and Hinduism, a faith that had
KEY EVENT friends will suffer. always been ambivalent
The conversion about killing. On the one hand,
of Emperor Asoka Therefore the good leader Hinduism promoted the principle
abstains from killing of ahimsa (not killing); on the other,
WHEN AND WHERE living beings and orders Hindu society required animal
3rd century BCE, others to do likewise. sacrifice, allowed meat eating,
northern India and regarded fighting in a just
He builds a better society war as an inescapable duty. Like
BEFORE through cultivating an many other teachers of his day,
From 2000 BCE The Vedic including Mahavira, founder
religion, then Hinduism, attitude of loving-kindness of the Jain religion, Buddha
develop the doctrine of and fostering it in others. emphasized the principle of not
ahimsa, or nonviolence, killing, and it became the first of
but justify war in certain Renounce killing and the Five Precepts, principles that
circumstances . good will follow. form the ethical basis for those
following the Buddhist way of life.
6th century BCE Buddha
enjoins his followers to abstain Five rules for living
from killing; Mahavira founds The Five Precepts forbid the taking
Jainism, which forbids the of life, stealing, sexual misconduct,
taking of any life. lying, and the consumption of
mind-dulling intoxicants such as
AFTER alcohol. Each of these precepts has
17th century Sikhism a positive counterpart, effectively
allows killing in defense of generating five rules relating to
the oppressed and the faith. things one should do. The first of
these is to treat all beings with
19th century Mohandas loving-kindness (metta); indeed,
Gandhi, raised as a Hindu, one of the principal meditation
adopts nonviolence as a practices in Buddhism is the
political strategy. cultivation of goodwill toward
everyone—treating friends,

BUDDHISM 147

See also: Living in harmony 38 ■ Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation 68–71 ■ Selfless action 110–11 ■ Hinduism in the
political age 124–25 ■ Dying for the message 209 ■ The Sikh code of conduct 296–301

If there is one practice Although the principle of not killing All life is sacred to Buddhist monks.
that is sufficient to bring was a key feature of Buddhism from They believe all living beings can exist
its beginning, the first attempt to peacefully side by side, even men and
about buddhahood, apply the principle to the whole of tigers—as demonstrated at the Tiger
it is the practice of society was made by the Emperor Temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
great compassion. Asoka in the 3rd century BCE. This
is evident from the many edicts However, Buddha’s Middle Way
Dalai Lama that he issued, 32 of which have (pp.130–135) indicates that self-
been discovered carved on pillars denial must never be taken to
strangers, and even those that one or rock faces. As well as advocating life-threatening extremes, so
might find difficult with equal care the avoidance of killing, Asoka Buddhists may eat meat and fish
and concern. The broad, positive promoted support for the poor, the if it is deemed necessary for their
approach evident in this first rule protection of servants, and the health, or where there is a shortage
underpins the other four. Positive establishment of medical centers of fruit and vegetables (as in the
goodwill toward others supports and veterinary services—all mountains of Tibet). Monks and
the principles of generosity; direct expressions of metta. nuns may eat meat and fish if it
nonexploitation (the third precept is is offered to them and has not
generally taken to prohibit adultery, A peaceful ideal been killed for their benefit. ■
rape, and other forms of sexual Although there are rare cases
exploitation); honesty; and the of self-harm (as in the suicide of
keeping of a clear head to ensure Buddhist monks, who have been
corrrect decisions and actions. known to set themselves on fire
as an extreme form of political
protest), in general Buddhism has
never sought to impose its ideas
upon society by force, nor has it
ever become involved in war.

The principle of not killing
suggests that, as an ideal,
Buddhists should be vegetarian.

The Emperor Asoka Asoka was born in India in in Buddhism and, on finding
304BCE. He was the son of the them, became a fervent convert.
Mauryan emperor Bindusara and His conversion was marked by
came to the throne of the kingdom a dramatic change in attitude:
of Magadha in 268 BCE, having he began to promote Buddhist
killed his brothers and other principles throughout his
potential rivals in order to secure empire, issuing edicts on
his position. He embarked on a moral matters, banning animal
brutal campaign of expansion, sacrifice, and increasing the
extending his rule to establish provision of welfare. He sent
an empire that included all but missionaries to promote
the most southerly part of India. Buddhism abroad, but he
also took a positive view of
After one particularly bloody all religions, issuing only
battle, the sight of the dead and moral precepts that would
the grieving inspired him to be acceptable to all religious
pledge never to fight a battle groups within his empire.
again. He looked for answers

148 IN CONTEXT

WE CANNOT KEY FIGURE
SAY WHAT A Nagasena
PERSON IS
WHEN AND WHERE
THE SELF AS CONSTANTLY CHANGING 1st century CE, India

BEFORE
6th century BCE The Hindu
Upanishads make a distinction
between the physical body, the
self made up of thoughts and
experience, and an eternal self.

6th century BCE Buddha
argues that everything is
constantly changing and
nothing has a fixed essence.

AFTER
12th century CE Teachers
of Zen Buddhism distinguish
between the small mind, or
ego, and the Buddha-mind.

20th century Existentialist
thinkers, like Buddhists, argue
that individuals shape their
lives through the decisions
they make.

T he idea that a human being
comprises a physical body
and a nonphysical self, or
soul, is deeply ingrained in almost
all religious traditions. It forms the
basis of speculation about life after
death—whether we survive in
some form in heaven or hell, or are
reincarnated as the nonphysical self
takes on a new body. Belief in an
immortal soul and in God seem the
very essence of religion. Both,
however, were rejected by Buddha,
who believed we have no fixed self.

The idea that we do not have
a permanent self, but are constantly
changing, is absolutely central
to Buddhist teaching, and sets
Buddhism apart from most other