Buddhism: The Basics Cathy... · 2020. 1. 17. · as opposed to Buddhism as a religious path. The teachings may change little, but our knowledge and understandings of them change

BUDDHISM

THE BASICS

Buddhism: The Basics provides a thorough and accessible introduc-tion to a fascinating religion. Examining the historical development ofBuddhism and its presence today, this guide covers:

� principal traditions� practices and beliefs� ethical guidelines and philosophy� religious texts� community

With helpful features including a detailed map of the Buddhistworld, glossary of terms, and tips for further study, this is an idealtext for students and interested readers wanting to familiarisethemselves with the Buddhist faith.

Cathy Cantwell is an academic researcher at the Oriental Institute,University of Oxford. She specialises in Tibetan Buddhism, and hasworked on eleventh-century manuscripts, an eighteenth-centuryscriptural collection, and contemporary Buddhist ritual manuals andpractice. She has taught widely in UK Higher Education and is jointauthor of Early Tibetan Documents on Phur pa from Dunhuang.

The Basics

ANTHROPOLOGYPETER METCALF

ARCHAEOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)CLIVE GAMBLE

ART HISTORYGRANT POOKE AND DIANA NEWALL

BLUESDICK WEISSMAN

BUDDHISMCATHY CANTWELL

CRIMINOLOGYSANDRA WALKLATE

ECONOMICSTONY CLEAVER

EUROPEAN UNION (SECOND EDITION)ALEX WARLEIGH-LACK

FILM STUDIESAMY VILLAREJO

FINANCEERIK BANKS

FOLK MUSICRONALD COHEN

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSPETER SUTCH AND JUANITA ELIAS

INTERNETJASON WHITTAKER

ISLAMCOLIN TURNER

JAZZCHRISTOPHER MEEDER

JUDAISMJACOB NEUSNER

LANGUAGE (SECOND EDITION)R.L. TRASK

LITERARY THEORY (SECOND EDITION)HANS BERTENS

MANAGEMENTMORGEN WITZEL

MARKETING (SECOND EDITION)KARL MOORE AND NIKETH PAREEK

OPERADENISE GALLO

PHILOSOPHY (FOURTH EDITION)NIGEL WARBURTON

POETRYJEFFREY WAINWRIGHT

POLITICS (FOURTH EDITION)STEPHEN TANSEY AND NIGEL JACKSON

THE QUR'ANMASSIMO CAMPANINI

RELIGION (SECOND EDITION)MALORY NYE

ROMAN CATHOLICISMMICHAEL WALSH

SEMIOTICS (SECOND EDITION)DANIEL CHANDLER

SHAKESPEARE (SECOND EDITION)SEAN MCEVOY

SOCIOLOGYMARTIN ALBROW

TELEVISION STUDIESTOBY MILLER

THEATRE STUDIESROBERT LEACH

WORLD MUSICRICHARD NIDEL

BUDDHISM

THE BASICS

cathy cantwel l

First published 2010by Routledge2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canadaby Routledge270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor and Francis Group, an informa business

© 2010 Cathy Cantwell

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised inany form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafterinvented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage orretrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication DataCantwell, Cathy.Buddhism : the basics / Cathy Cantwell.

p. cm. – (The basics)1. Buddhism. I. Title.BQ4012.C36 2009294.3–dc22

2009002030

ISBN10: 0-415-40879-2 (hbk)ISBN10: 0-415-40880-6 (pbk)ISBN10: 0-203-87425-0 (ebk)

ISBN13: 978-0-415-40879-0 (hbk)ISBN13: 978-0-415-40880-6 (pbk)ISBN13: 978-0-203-87425-7 (ebk)

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.

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ISBN 0-203-87425-0 Master e-book ISBN

CONTENTS

Map of Buddhism in Asia viAcknowledgements viii

Introduction 11 The Buddha and the roots of the Buddhist tradition 192 The Dharma 563 The textual heritage and oral transmission 934 The Sangha 1075 The major Buddhist traditions 141

Glossary of technical terms 179

Bibliography 187Index 191

Map of Buddhism in Asia Showing the main directions of thehistorical spread of Buddhism, and the approximate locations of the majorBuddhist regions in the modern world

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Professor Peter Harvey for his detailed andvery helpful comments on a draft of this book. I am also grateful toothers who commented on selected sections: Frederick Chen,Lance Cousins, Angie Cantwell, and Robert Mayer, and also to thepublisher’s anonymous reviewers, who provided useful feedback atan early stage. Errors and shortcomings remain my own.

INTRODUCTION

HOW PERENNIAL ARE THE BASICS OF BUDDHISM?

A Buddhist friend of mine commented, on hearing that I waswriting on the Basics of Buddhism, that the task must be utterlydifferent from writing on many other academic subject areas. ForBuddhism, the ‘Basics’ are constant, he reasoned, quite differentfrom a subject such as Sociology, which changes all the time. Hehad a good point: as in most religions, in their attitudes to their spiri-tual heritage, Buddhists hold that the Buddha Dharma, the essentialtruths revealed by the Buddha, are timeless and unchanging. Theseteachings will certainly be explored in this book, but it is quite likelythat the Basics as presented here will look at least a little different fromhow the Basics might have looked thirty years ago – or indeed, howthey might look in thirty years’ time. Why should this be so?One reason is the state of Buddhist Studies as an academic discipline

as opposed to Buddhism as a religious path. The teachings maychange little, but our knowledge and understandings of themchange and develop. In the early twentieth century, beyond itsAsian heartlands, knowledge of Buddhism was sparse. The work oftranslating the major collections of texts into European languageswas in its infancy, and nineteenth-century archaeological discoveriesin India had just begun to uncover evidence that allowed glimpsesof the early history of Buddhism. It was not until the second part ofthe twentieth century that Buddhist Studies began to flourish invarious university departments throughout Western countries, notonly in the relative obscurity of specialist schools for classical‘Oriental’ languages, but in Religious Studies, Anthropology,

Philosophy, and Asian Studies. Much has been achieved – but thereare many more discoveries to be made, historical understandings tobe clarified, more of the extensive textual corpus to be edited andtranslated, as well as the social and practice dimensions of Buddhistcommunities to be further explored. The picture we now have ofthe Basics of Buddhism has developed a good deal, and it is inevi-table that that picture will be further added to, and perhaps eventransformed by those additions.Moreover, it is not only the expansion of knowledge in the

subject area that is responsible for our changing understandings.Modern academic work proceeds within a wider field in which thefocus and the framing of the material changes in response to theacademic climate. This is partly a result of advances and develop-ments in academic research, and also of attitudes and interestsbeyond the university ivory tower. For instance, a generation ago,few people would have expected the issue of gender to be discussedin a book on the Basics of Buddhism, but now, few would write ona major religion without some reference to gender roles! Thus, theBasics as considered here will to some extent reflect current thinkingand interests in Buddhist Studies, while not neglecting the centralpreoccupations of Buddhists themselves.A rather more fundamental reason why the Basics may not be

quite so unchanging as they initially appear, is that timeless ‘truths’nonetheless manifest or are revealed at specific historical moments.Even the most conservative Buddhist traditions historically acceptedadditions to their canonical corpus after the earliest discourses andrules on monastic conduct were collected together, and openness tocommentarial literature continued for many centuries. In theMaha-ya-na Buddhist tradition – as we shall see – textual revelationremained active in India and some traditions preserved the practice ofrevealing new texts in other Asian countries. This seems to havehappened in early Chinese Buddhism, and is still witnessed in Tibet.

BOX 1: THE MAHA-YA-NA

The Maha-ya-na (‘Great Vehicle’) Buddhist tradition first developedduring the first century BCE and the first centuries CE. It accepted theearlier Buddhist scriptures as ‘Buddha Word’, and much of the early

BUDDHISM: THE BASICS2

Buddhist heritage of teaching and practice, but it also recognisednew texts, the Maha-ya-na su- tras/discourses, as scripture, and it gavea central place to the teachings in these texts, which we will examinelater. Maha-ya-na scriptures continued to be revealed for much of thefollowing millennium, and Maha-ya-na scholars made significant con-tributions to Buddhist philosophy. The Maha-ya-na did not, however,develop its own monastic order as such. In India, monks followingMaha-ya-na traditionsmight be found within themonasteries of the earlyBuddhist orders. Later, and internationally (with the exception of Japan),where monasteries have Maha-ya-na affiliations, monks still maintainthe rule of conduct of one or another of the early Buddhist traditions.

The Buddhist scriptural heritage is vast. It does not consist of asingle book or even a few volumes, but of a number of huge manyvolumed collections, each preserved by one or another Buddhisttradition. The diverse and dynamic nature of the textual heritagemay be easily forgotten given that most Buddhist schools closedtheir canons long ago, but the principle that wisdom may manifestafresh has never been altogether eclipsed in Buddhism. In the con-temporary context of rapid social change, political and economicchallenges facing traditional institutionalised Buddhism, and increasinginternational cultural exchanges, there has been much re-thinkingand re-working of the Buddhist heritage. How Buddhism changes,evolves, and re-presents its ‘basics’ is as interesting as how its coreinterests and assumptions persist.

BUDDHISM TODAY: A SKETCH

According to modern research, the Buddhist tradition began inNorth-east India in the fifth century BCE. It developed and diversifiedover time within its original homeland, until it declined for variousreasons, including the hostility of some Hindu kings and the Islamictakeover of international trade. Except in the far south whereBuddhism lingered slightly longer, the remaining Buddhist monasterieswere destroyed by waves of Muslim invaders from the tenth to thethirteenth centuries CE. By the time its last institutions collapsed,however, it had been firmly established in many other Asian

INTRODUCTION 3

countries, having begun its internationalisation by the third centuryBCE, when the emperor Aśoka did much to encourage and promoteits expansion. Different areas in Asia received Buddhist teachings atdifferent times and from different Buddhist traditions, and varyingpolitical and social contexts in the recipient countries also some-times led to the sponsorship of one group of Buddhists at theexpense of others. Since the Buddhist order had always beendecentralised in organisation, and very early in Buddhist history,different lines of monastic descent began to preserve their scripturalcollections separately, there was little to integrate the internationalBuddhist community. Thus, we have a situation in which quitedifferent Buddhist traditions thrived in different countries, often(despite some notable exceptions) with little communicationbetween them. Western scholars once used to speculate thatnational cultural characteristics made one form of Buddhism morepopular in one country than another, or that certain forms ofBuddhism are somehow more inherently attractive to wider groupsof people than others, and that this would account for the particularspectrum of Buddhist beliefs and practices in different areas. Thereis, however, little evidence to substantiate such ideas. Historicalaccident, or particular historical events with their own complexcausal explanations – such as particular kings promoting specifictraditions for their own reasons – are entirely sufficient to explainthe patterns of religious affiliation across Asia. But an added ingre-dient to this picture is that the various received traditions were thenfurther developed or adapted in the regions where they becamerooted. Innovation did not only take place through textual revelation.As a ‘living religion’, practice traditions were adapted and developed,so for instance, there are a great many styles of Buddhist chanting inAsian countries. For our purposes, three points of significance follow:

� The Buddhist traditions that survived into modern times reflectsome but not all of the historical strands of the religious heritage.

� These traditions may appear, at least on the surface, very different,with different religious languages, texts, monastic conventions,and popular practices.

� This apparent diversity does not necessarily represent dissensionor dispute between traditions, but rather, different historicaltrajectories of separate lines of descent.


Thus, we should avoid imputing sectarian hostility between tra-ditions which have adhered to contrasting beliefs or practices. Togive just one example, it is often said that Maha-ya-na Buddhismdisputed with or is opposed to Therava-da Buddhism – the twomajor forms of Buddhist affiliation which have survived today,about which we shall say more in this book. Yet when theMaha-ya-na developed in Northern India and in Central and EastAsia in the early centuries CE, Therava-da Buddhism was alreadybased far away in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), and it did not take acentral role in Buddhism’s evolution in the northern areas. In so faras the Maha-ya-na developed an identity in opposition to non-Maha-ya-na doctrine, its debating partners were principally of theSarva-stiva-da tradition, which later died out as a separate order,although it left its mark in the monastic code used in Tibet and inthe philosophy curriculum studied by Maha-ya-na Buddhists. And theTherava-da had earlier rejected some of the Sarva-stiva-da doctrineswhich became the butt of Maha-ya-na critiques.

BOX 2: THE THERAVA-DA

The Therava-da (the ‘Tradition of the Elders’) developed from one ofthe principal ancient Buddhist orders, and it sees itself as in directcontinuity from the earliest Buddhist community. It preserves theonly surviving complete corpus of early scriptures in an ancientIndian language, Pa- li. It also draws on later commentarial works,including those of Sri Lankan scholars during the first millennium CE.

So, while we need to be aware of diversity, we also need to beaware that the major extant Buddhist traditions do not representdirect parallels to the historical schisms in Christianity or Islam.They are not equivalents to a unified Christian Church separatinginto Eastern and Western Churches, nor of Western Christianitydividing into Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, nor of Islamsplitting into Sunni and Shi’ah traditions. Buddhism has had its his-torical schisms, but the fault lines do not quite correspond to themajor traditions today, and furthermore, doctrinal differences did notalways translate into separate institutional or monastic affiliations.

INTRODUCTION 5

MAJOR BUDDHIST TRADITIONS

The diverse forms of Buddhism, which have survived into recenttimes, can mostly be categorised into three major regional groupings.None are unified into single hierarchical structures, but all havefeatures which integrate them internally and make them distinctivein relation to each other. These groupings are:

(1) Southern Buddhism, found in Sri Lanka and South-east Asiancountries, particularly Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.The main thread holding this group together is Therava-daBuddhist texts and practice. Therava-da Buddhism derives fromone of the ancient Indian schools of Buddhism (see Text Box 2).

(2) Northern Buddhism, practised in Tibet and the surroundingHimalayan areas, and in other areas where Buddhism spreadfrom Tibetan sources, such as parts of Central Asia, principallyMongolia. The Buddhism of this branch derives from laterIndian Buddhism especially of the Pa-la dynasty (Bengal, eighth–twelfth centuries CE), incorporating Buddhist monastic scholar-ship, Maha-ya-na (see Text Box 1) and tantric traditions (see TextBox 3). It preserves large collections of scriptural and commen-tarial texts in Tibetan, including a comprehensive set of transla-tions from Sanskrit sources as well as a vast indigenous literature.

(3) East Asian Buddhism, practised in East Asian countries: China,Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and in other countries withsubstantial ethnic Chinese populations. East Asian Buddhismmainly derives from theMaha-ya-na traditions which were establishedin China in the early centuries CE, although the textual heritagein Chinese includes earlier Buddhist scriptures and a few tantras.

BOX 3: BUDDHIST TANTRIC TRADITIONS

Tantric traditions built on early Buddhist adaptations of ancientIndian magical rites using sacred syllables in Sanskrit. In Maha-ya-nasu- tras, strings of such syllables were used to grant protection or toepitomise the teachings. From around the seventh century CE, sacredBuddhist texts called tantras, taught a new form of Buddhism whichused such sacred syllables or mantras as techniques for gainingEnlightenment. Parallel to similar developments in other Indian


religions, tantric Buddhism (also called the Mantra Vehicle) makesuse of visualisation, mantra recitation, and ritual meditations totransform ordinary experience into an enlightened wisdom display.

In the contemporary period, globalisation is making a significantimpact on this general classification. One striking feature of recenttimes has been cultural exchange between Western and Asiancountries, which has included the expansion of Buddhism in theWest, along with Western influences acting on Buddhism in theEast. But if on the surface less remarkable, perhaps of greater sig-nificance to Buddhism has been the increasing interplay andexchange which the traditional Asian Buddhist groups have hadwith each other. For instance, we find Therava-da Buddhismbecoming established in Nepal, and Tibetan Buddhism expandingin Hong Kong and Taiwan. This does not simply indicate that eachgeographical area is becoming more varied, but more importantly,that the traditionally established groups need to respond to the newalternatives, and the newer groups may need to adapt and re-thinktheir own traditional practices to cater for their new followers.Moreover, not only do we witness different traditions teaching andpractising in the same area, but interchanges also include the studyand training of Buddhists of one tradition in the monasteries andcountries of another.Other significant modifications to the classification today occur

due to the development and expansion of all manner of newBuddhist organisations, especially in urban areas. In part, this reflectsthe weakening (or even breakage) of ties between secular socio-political and traditional religious structures and, in part, it reflectsthe ongoing adaptations of Buddhism to modern urban life. Somenew organisations may innovate merely in terms of greater orien-tation to lay Buddhist practice than their traditional counterparts,coupled with selective choices in drawing on traditional material.But other new organisations may reflect postmodern trends to ‘mixand match’ religious teachings, and find their inspiration in newmixes of the Buddhist heritage, or even of Buddhist and non-Buddhistspiritual traditions. Buddhism in the West also varies from explicitattempts to construct a specific tradition outside its geographical base,

INTRODUCTION 7

to spiritual organisations integrating Buddhist ideas and practicesculled from many different traditional sources. Nonetheless, thethreefold categorisation remains generally valid, and it is useful inunderstanding the derivation, affiliations and religious orientationsof specific Buddhist organisations today.

WHAT THE BUDDHA DID NOT TEACH:MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT BUDDHISM

PRIOR ‘KNOWLEDGE’

I have often found that new undergraduate students may find theinitial stages of Religious Studies courses more intellectually chal-lenging than those of degrees in Anthropology, with which I amalso familiar. At first sight, this might seem surprising: mostReligious Studies students arrive at university furnished with con-siderable experience of studying Religion in a non-confessionalmanner at school, and many have qualifications in the subject. Evenmature students, who may have little or no background in theacademic study of Religion, come to the subject with relevant lifeexperiences and may be quite widely read in the subject area. Incontrast, beginning Anthropology students may never have studiedthe subject formally before, and may arrive at university with rathervague ideas about what it entails. Yet, as useful as the backgroundknowledge which Religious Studies students bring to their studiesmay be – and there is no doubt that it is helpful to begin universitystudy with prior knowledge of the subject one is embarking upon –it may also be necessary to unravel and re-think some of the ideasone has picked up along the way. Even professional academicresearchers are not immune from mistaken assumptions. I some-times suddenly discover that a specific piece of ‘knowledge’ I have,which I may have learnt and intellectually internalised when I firstbecame interested in Buddhism as a teenager, is quite simplywrong, and I need to re-examine the facts.

A LIGHT-HEARTED ALLEGORY

For Religious Studies students, and especially those studying Asianreligions, there are additional hazards. We find some rather


misleading widely held social views about what religions in general,and Asian religions in particular, are about, coupled with theunderstandable tendency for school education to seek to identifykey areas of study which are uniform across all religious traditions.Let us imagine the hypothetical example of a community of people,say, of Chinese descent, who have preserved Chinese Confuciantraditions which focus on family lineages and ancestor veneration.Suppose they have had little historical exposure to other religions,and their school educators wish to introduce children toChristianity in a sympathetic manner which draws links betweenthe familiar and the foreign tradition. They may go through theBible, selecting whatever references they can find to the respectingof ancestors – perhaps Abraham’s family lineage might make a goodstart, and the recital of Jesus’s family line of descent in the openingsections of Matthew’s Gospel would seem especially promising. Nodoubt the commandment to honour parents can also be givenprominence in presentations of Christianity. Fine – but will thisgive the pupils a good appreciation of Christianity’s main concerns?Probably not. Let’s now add another ingredient to our example.Suppose Christian groups have been active in our community ofChinese descent over the last fifty years or so. In today’s world, theChristian movements which have most success may not representthe ‘mainstream’ Christian Churches, but rather a select fewbreakaway groups, who may have their own distinctive beliefs orpractices. Those who speak for traditional Church authorities mayat best be seen as neither of greater nor lesser weight than the leadersor spokespersons of the newer Christian groups. Moreover, eventhose representing the larger Christian Churches are busilyattempting to adapt and reinterpret or modernise their practices forthe benefit of their new believers, many of whom are entirelyconvinced that their understandings reflect true Christianity. Undersuch circumstances, it would be hardly surprising if members of ourhypothetical group were to gain ideas about Christianity which wouldnot be very accurate or representative of Christianity as a whole.

CONTEMPORARY UNDERSTANDINGS OF BUDDHISM

Now, I am not suggesting that this hypothetical scenario is an exactparallel to the fate of knowledge about Buddhism in the West! It

INTRODUCTION 9

exaggerates certain tendencies within a far more complex picture,in which we also have balanced and sensitive presentations of theBuddhist tradition, serious scholarship on Buddhist texts, andincreasing engagement with Buddhist practice traditions. The pointis simply that there are bound to be some distortions in portrayals ofa religion representing a small minority in the West, which none-theless has been of long, extensive, and profound influence in Asiansocieties.A generation ago, there were very few accurate books in English

concerning the Buddhist tradition, and even fewer which wereaccessible to the educated general public as well as those specialisingin what was then seen as Oriental studies. Now, in contrast, thereare many excellent books available on a variety of Buddhist studiestopics, including useful academic introductions and surveys ofBuddhism. Much encouraged by the marvellous work my mentorsand colleagues in the subject were producing, from the early 1990s,I designed introductory courses on Buddhism, naively confidentthat the reading materials I recommended were first class, and thatstudents could hardly go wrong. Why then did I find myselfcontinuing to face essays which reiterated various misconceptionscertainly not to be found in any of the books on their reading lists?No doubt some students had failed to attend classes or to read thesuggested books, but conscientious students were not exempt fromthe misleading statements. Many generated colourful mixes of prior‘knowledge’ with the new ideas they were meeting in the lecturesand textbooks. Finally, I concluded that no matter how good thesources one uses, there is no option but to tackle explicitly themisleading ideas about Buddhism which have somehow permeatedpopular understandings of Buddhism in the West. Thus, whereappropriate in this book, I outline the limitations of certain commonlyheld ideas I have come across, as well as exploring more nuancedunderstandings of the material.

EXAMPLES OF BUDDHISM MISCONCEIVED

To give two brief examples: I have mentioned above thatMaha-ya-na Buddhism is often presented as though it were starklyopposed to Therava-da Buddhism. Presumably, the principal basisfor this view is well-meaning school educators or perhaps the


popular media, oversimplifying from an observation that the twoare different. Unfortunately, rather than inspiring some under-standing of diversity within Buddhism, we may end up with car-icatures of selfish Therava-da monks interested only in their ownEnlightenment – when in fact, practices generating love and compas-sion are central in Therava-da training, and the role of the community ofmonks includes responsibilities towards the laity. Conversely, wemay encounter misleading ideas about Maha-ya-na practitioners,perhaps focused solely on helping others or on worshipping buddhafigures, apparently with no thought of serious spiritual endeavour.Of course, ideals are not always lived up to, yet the main thrust ofthe principal Maha-ya-na teachings concerns the tireless developmentof both wisdom and compassion, and of these, it is wisdom whichalone can make compassion effective and ultimately transcendent.A rather different example is the notion that Buddhism represents

some kind of wonderful vision of spiritual evolution, in which eventragic events may all be somehow intended as teachings to inspireus to ever greater wisdom. In this kind of idea, there is perhaps ablend of Theosophy – a mystical movement which had someimpact on early Western presentations of Buddhism – and a certainstrand of New Age thinking. But all mainstream Buddhist traditionstake the view that it is all too easy to regress and to be reborn withless favourable capacities and conditions. Moreover, the morecommon Buddhist view is that there is no marvellous divine planbut simply the workings of cause and effect, tending towardsunhappy results. Thus, the aim of the spiritual path is to cut thechain of causal links and gain liberation from this sorry state ofaffairs.Perhaps some readers may have concerns that they will find here

a cold academic approach delighting in disabusing them of anynotions they may have of links between Buddhist ideas and practicesand contemporary interests such as New Age spirituality or peacefulresolution of conflicts or environmentalism. I will certainly seek toavoid spurious comparisons for which we have little evidence but Irather hope that the presentation will provide food for thoughtabout how the Buddhist heritage might be built on in the future,and which chords of contemporary culture it might chime with (orindeed, is already engaging with). It is not for an academic to dictatewhat people of the present and future may make of Buddhism and

INTRODUCTION 11

where they will take it – this is something which is dynamicallydeveloping as we move further into the twenty-first century, andthe interplay between religious tradition and modern culture is fas-cinating to observe. But first we must seek to understand what thereligious heritage is in its own terms.

A UNIFYING BUDDHIST PRACTICE: GOING FORREFUGE TO THE THREE JEWELS

The most obvious feature binding Buddhists of different traditionsand persuasions is their commitment to the Three Jewels, theBuddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The main initiation rite intothe Buddhist faith is the ritual Going for Refuge to the Three Jewelsin the presence of a Buddhist monk or teacher. The regular repe-tition of the Refuge formula, recited three times, is also used on aregular basis as a preliminary for Buddhist practice of various kinds.It may be proceeded by removing the shoes and entering a templeor shrine-room, making three prostrations before a Buddha image,arranging offerings such as flowers and small bowls of water repre-senting the offerings given to a guest in ancient India, and lightingcandles and incense. Generally the formula is recited while sittingon the ground, with the hands held up, palms together in respect.

THE REFUGE FORMULA

I go for Refuge to the Buddha,I go for Refuge to the Dharma,I go for Refuge to the Sangha.

As one might expect of such a central and ubiquitous religious act,there are many levels of symbolism and meaning embodied in thisritual formula, and we will unpack these meanings as we progresswith the book. To begin with the simplest, the Buddha is theEnlightened or Awakened One, the Teacher who is considered tohave attained the ultimate realisation and liberation from worldlyexistence. The Dharma is the teaching set forth by the Buddha, thepath to the ending of suffering and the attainment of the ultimate


peace of Nirva-n. a or Enlightenment. The Sangha is the noble commu-nity, those of advanced and irreversible spiritual understanding, whocan serve for inspiration and guidance in following the Buddha’steaching.In Going for Refuge, homage is paid to the Three Jewels and

respect should thereafter be shown to symbols of the Three Jewels.For instance, Buddha images are one symbol of the Buddha,Buddhist texts represent the Dharma, while the monastic communityrepresents the Noble Sangha. Thus, all these objects should betreated with respect and religious devotion. Going for Refuge isgenerally linked with commitment to the basic Buddhist ethicalprecepts, about which we will say more later. They may be recitedfollowing on from the Refuge formula.The act of Going for Refuge represents a statement of faith: an

affirmation of confidence in the Three Jewels as worthy of reliance,as a refuge providing a unique kind of support for one’s ultimatespiritual welfare. In so far as any universal definition of a ‘Buddhist’may have applicability, Going for Refuge distinguishes those whofollow the Buddha’s teaching from those who do not.

THE NATURE OF THE REFUGE COMMITMENT

To what extent is this commitment exclusive and final? In general,Asian religious traditions do not always demand such strict andexclusive adherence as historical Christianity, Islam and Judaismhave tended to do. Early Buddhism grew up in a plural religiousenvironment, where there were many different religious paths onoffer. Undoubtedly, the early Buddhist tradition sought to promotethe uniqueness and superiority of the Buddha and his teaching, andthe early Buddhist texts give some sense of the rivalries betweendifferent spiritual paths and how the Buddha distinguished histeachings from those of the teachers of other groups. Rivals werenot always dismissed as teaching entirely false or misleading doctrines,however. In some cases, alternative spiritual paths might be con-sidered to have some benefits, although not to lead to the ultimatetruth which the Buddhist teachings could illuminate. The impressionone receives is of the development of a core group of the highlycommitted, Buddhist monastics and devoted lay supporters, againstthe backdrop of a larger community, who might make offerings to

INTRODUCTION 13

and receive teachings from Buddhist monks on some occasions andother spiritual practitioners on other occasions.Multiple religious affiliations were less common in Asian countries

where Buddhism became the dominant religious tradition, such asin Thailand or Tibet. Nonetheless, in many parts of Asia whereBuddhism spread, Buddhism was not necessarily the only spiritualpath and, quite often, different religious traditions were consideredto have something to offer in different contexts. For instance, inChina, Buddhism became established alongside the indigenous tra-ditions of Confucianism and Daoism. In some religious practices,features of all three might be blended, while each tradition was alsoconsidered to have its special expertise in particular types of practices.Thus, Buddhist monks might be called in to perform rituals for thedead, even by those not otherwise practising Buddhism. Even inmore clearly Buddhist countries such as Thailand and Tibet, folkreligious traditions might be used to deal with some everyday problems,such as troublesome spirits apparently causing ill health. From aBuddhist viewpoint, there need not be a contradiction betweensuch alternative sources of recourse in times of trouble and theRefuge commitment. A distinction is made between the concernsof the spiritual path and those of worldly affairs. In worldly life,many objects may become one’s ‘refuge’ – inevitably, one mayhave dependence on parents and relatives, on material supports, orindeed, in traditional Asian cultures, on local gods. Yet, unlike theThree Jewels, none of these objects are considered to provide ulti-mate Refuge from the sufferings of old age, sickness and death, andto lead to spiritual liberation and lasting peace. Having Gone forRefuge to the Three Jewels, it is not considered appropriate to takeother objects as ultimate sources of solace. The ideal Buddhist mayrenounce entirely all other ‘refuges’, yet such a level of commitmentis not generally demanded of all.There is also the possibility ofGoing for Refuge for specific occasions

or different periods of time. In today’s world, where internationalspiritual seekers may wish to try out Buddhist meditation for aperiod, Buddhist teachers may teach and support such practice in acontext in which the meditator Goes for Refuge for the period of themeditation retreat. A rather more usual manner of Going for Refuge,however, is that it should represent a life-long commitment. A muchlonger period is often envisaged, especially in Maha-ya-na contexts. The


Refuge commitment may be made with the intention that one willcontinue to Go for Refuge throughout this and all future lifetimes,until Enlightenment is attained. It may seem rather unrealistic tomake such an aspiration if one is an ordinary mortal unlikely toretain clear recollection of the Refuge commitment in future lives!Nonetheless, Indian religious traditions tend to assume that sincereaspirations for positive good can in themselves create a beneficialimpact of quite incredible force, such that miracles may even man-ifest as side effects. Thus, a sincere aspiration to Go for Refuge for allfuture lives may be considered to have a powerful effect on one’scontinuum of consciousness, such that it will become possible torecover the connection with the Buddha’s teaching again and again.Other benefits may also be anticipated from the commitment.

Going for Refuge is often explained as a powerful protective force,which may support the individual throughout their life, as well asproviding spiritual sustenance beyond this life. Just what the ThreeJewels are, and why they are considered to have such effects on anindividual who makes the Refuge commitment, is a question wewill be exploring throughout the book.

NAVIGATING TECHNICAL TERMS

Readers unfamiliar with Asian religions beginning the study ofBuddhism often have difficulties with the many technical terms thatconfront them. There is no way that a serious teacher can dispensewith a technical vocabulary altogether. A religious system packsmuch symbolic shorthand into its key concepts and practices, and itwould be inconceivable to gain more than the most superficialunderstanding without tackling these code words. For instance, inChristianity, words such as the Resurrection, Justification, theEucharist, have special senses and implications which the sincerestudent has no choice but to penetrate. The student is thereforebest advised to familiarise themselves with the key terms.

TECHNICAL TERMS IN TRANSLATION

One way to ease the difficulties for an English speaker is to findappropriate English equivalents for the Buddhist terms concerned.Thus, we may speak, as above, of the Three Jewels or Going for

INTRODUCTION 15

Refuge, using ordinary English words to indicate the specific meaningsthey carry in Buddhism. However, this is not always possible, andnor does it entirely solve the problems for students. Some termshave no obvious literal equivalents in English, and in any case,finding agreement on translation in an international context ofindependent scholars and separate communities of Buddhists wouldseem a hopeless task. Even in the case of the Three Jewels, sometranslators prefer to use the Triple Gem. A long-time student ofBuddhism who was recently reading a translation of a Tibetan text,asked me who the Three Precious Ones were. The English translatorhad translated literally the Tibetan equivalent term for the ThreeJewels, and arrived at a new English term. This was admirable forcommunicating the Tibetan connotations of the term, but ratherconfusing for the international student of Buddhism! In the case ofthe Three Jewels, despite alternative translations, it seems to makesense to use English. But where a term, such as Dharma, does nothave an ordinary literal meaning at all, and carries multiple religiousconnotations, it would seem preferable to retain the Asian word,rather than to attempt an inadequate translation, such as Teaching,Doctrine, Truth, Law or Norm, all of which have been used byvarious translators, but cannot hope to do full justice to the concept.So, how is the student of Buddhism to get to grips with the Asianwords without becoming baffled or overwhelmed?

SANSKRIT AND PA-LI TERMS

The problem for students is not merely a matter of unfamiliaritywith foreign words: there are two particular reasons for confusion, andthe wary student, aware of these, can avoid pitfalls in understanding,and gain confidence in navigating the technical vocabulary.The first reason for confusion is that the most commonly used

terms in international Buddhist Studies derive from two closelyrelated Indian languages, that is, Sanskrit and Pa-li. Buddhism didnot develop an internationally recognised sacred language: on thecontrary, the emphasis of much Buddhist teaching is precisely thatone does not need to have access to a special ritual or mysticalvocabulary in order to understand the basic truths Buddhism teaches.The early Buddhist scriptures make use of ordinary language, ofsimple reasoning and encouragement to contemplate the teachings


to test their truth for oneself. Thus, there was no problem in principlewith preserving the scriptures in different languages. As mentionedabove, Pa-li is an ancient Indian language, once spoken in an area ofNorthern India where the early Buddhist teaching thrived, and theTherava-da Buddhist tradition continues to preserve its early scrip-tural collection in the Pa-li language. As Indian Buddhism developedand took part in wider cultural exchanges with followers of otherreligious traditions, Buddhist texts began to be rendered intoSanskrit, the language of the religious intelligentsia. Many of thelater Indian Buddhist texts were composed in Sanskrit, and Sanskritbecame the most widely used international language for Buddhisttexts, although Sanskrit texts were further translated into local Asianlanguages in different areas. Modern studies, much internationalBuddhist practice, and popular Western interpretations ofBuddhism, have generally favoured the use of the Sanskrit terms,such as Dharma, karma and Nirva-n.a, to such an extent that some ofthese words can be considered to have entered ordinary Englishvocabulary, even if their original Asian meanings are not fullyunderstood! Yet in the context of Therava-da Buddhism, the Pa-liequivalent terms may be used. So, having just begun to understandthe Sanskrit words, the student is suddenly confronted with thewords, Dhamma, kamma and Nibba-na. So long as one is warned andaware that a given term may be Sanskrit or Pa-li, the similarity ofthe two languages means that it is not too difficult to play a gameof guessing the most likely Sanskrit equivalent for a Pa-li term (orvice versa), and then checking in a glossary. In this book, I havesimplified matters by using Sanskrit for key terms importantthroughout Buddhism, although the Pa-li equivalents used commonlyin Therava-da Buddhist practice are noted in the Glossary.

BUDDHIST AND NON-BUDDHIST USAGE OF TERMS

The second reason that students may have trouble with under-standing Buddhist terminology is that some of the same terms maybe used in other Indian religions, but with quite different con-notations in the other religions. One needs to be aware that theterms may not always mean quite the same thing. Again, the termDharma has rather different senses in Hinduism and in Sikhism. Infact, just as early Christianity re-defined key concepts of the Hebrew

INTRODUCTION 17

religious tradition, early Buddhism seems deliberately to have takenup much of the religious and ritual vocabulary of the culturallydominant tradition of the time, and re-fashioned it in new ways. Ifone has prior knowledge of ways in which the terms may be usedin other Indian religions, however, this can help to inform one’soverall understanding of Buddhism. After all, Buddhism grew up inconstant contact with, influenced and was influenced by otherIndian religious currents. But one needs to remember that theBuddhist use of a term may represent a re-working – or even alampooning – of a term used in contrasting ways in non-Buddhistcontexts.

CHINESE AND TIBETAN TERMS

Finally, a few Chinese and Tibetan terms are used, mostly forChinese and Tibetan Buddhist schools. Confusion is possible in thecase of Chinese because there are different systems for transcribingChinese into Roman script. I have used the now more standardPinyin system, but many readers may be more familiar with theolder Wade-Giles conventions. Thus, Tao (Wade-Giles) is given asDao, Hua-yen is given as Huayan, and so forth. In the case ofTibetan, exact transliteration is the only way to indicate the Tibetanspelling, so this has been done in most cases. Unfortunately, thespellings sometimes appear unpronounceable to the uninitiated, butthe number used has been minimised since Sanskrit equivalents aregiven for most Buddhist terms. Where a word has entered Englishvocabulary, such as ‘lama’ (= Tibetan bla ma), or where a place orpersonal name now has a standard English equivalent (Lhasa, DalaiLama), these Anglicised forms are used.


�1THE BUDDHA AND THE ROOTS OF

THE BUDDHIST TRADITION

Muslims have rejected the terms Muhammadism/Muhammadans aslabels for their religion and its adherents, and these Western cate-gories have now fallen into disuse. Contemporary Buddhists havemade less fuss about the terms, Buddhism/Buddhists, even thoughsimilar objections could be made about them, and they do notneatly correspond with any Asian Buddhist category. The Buddha-Dharma is one term for Buddhism or Buddhist doctrine, which hasuniversal currency in Buddhist countries (albeit often translated intolocal languages). Here, as in the Tibetan word for a Buddhistpractitioner, which could be translated as a ‘Dharma-ist’, one whofollows the Dharma, the emphasis is on the teaching, doctrine, orpath, to which the word Buddha may be added as an adjective toclarify whose Dharma is at issue. Yet the fact that Buddhists have notobjected violently to the newly invented terms indicates that thefigure of the Buddha – the first of the Three Jewels – has a centralplace in Buddhists’ understanding of their religious tradition.

HISTORY AND RELIGIOUS MYTHOLOGY

Buddhism derived from and grew out of the teachings of the historicalBuddha, who lived for some eighty years most probably during thefifth century BCE. In modern scholarship, we are interested not only

in how the figure of the Buddha came to be understood or por-trayed by the Buddhist tradition, but also in the historical factsabout the Buddha’s life and his teachings. We have two problemshere. The first is that this is not where Buddhists themselves wouldtraditionally begin in seeking to understand the Buddha, and thesecond is that our historical knowledge remains limited. First,Buddhism has developed rich and inspiring hagiographies (religiousbiographies) of the Buddha, many of which brilliantly use accountsof the master’s deeds to inspire faith in him as the Enlightened oneof the current world system. They illustrate the pertinent points ofhis teachings, as well as generating an ideal model for the spirituallife. Aspects of these stories have entered also into symbolic andritual traditions. Just as sequences from the Gospel accounts of theministry of Jesus may adorn Christian Churches, and key eventssuch as the Baptism and the Last Supper have been immortalised inthe Christian sacraments, so, the principal Acts of the Buddha havetaken on a powerful symbolism in Buddhism, even if the Buddha isnot exactly seen as a saviour figure and nor are his Acts consideredto have saving grace in quite the same way as Christianity teachesabout Jesus.Given the religious value of the hagiographical stories of the

Buddha’s life, we should not be surprised if historical realities havebeen considerably re-worked and embellished. This is not simply amatter of adding in a number of miraculous feats or dramaticencounters with demons or gods. Modern sensibilities have led tosome new Buddhist presentations of the Buddha’s life which mayhave been purged of miraculous elements, yet otherwise preservethe same essential structure. The trouble with this is that apparentlyordinary or plausible events in the stories may be equally con-structed or take on symbolic significance to the same extent. Forexample, the early texts seem to indicate that the Buddha camefrom an elite family in a Republican area, his father perhaps anelected chief. Yet the later hagiographies have him as a nobleprince, the heir to his father’s kingdom, and one who had thepotential either to become a great ruler or an enlightened buddha.Clearly, by juxtaposing the two alternatives, the story adds to thedrama and it makes it clear that the Buddha’s choice to renounceworldly life did not stem from an unfortunate or unworthy alternativebut was made despite the strongest possible worldly incentives.


Moreover, it demonstrates that in an important sense the Buddha isthe religious equivalent of a world ruler, a similar symbolism toChristian associations of Jesus as a king. Unpacking such symbolicconnotations of traditional accounts of the Buddha will teach us agood deal about Buddhism, but not necessarily very much aboutthe historical Buddha himself.Here we meet our second problem: our factual historical sources

tell us very little. One academic introductory book on the Buddhabegins with a short section on ‘the bare bones’ of his history.Unfortunately, a skeleton may give few clues about the livinghuman’s appearance, let alone his or her personality and abilities.Something is known of the historical context in which the Buddhalived. Archaeological work has helped to give us some under-standing of the development and character of early Buddhist shrinesand institutions, and critical analysis of early Buddhist texts hasenabled some distinction to be made between earlier and laterstrands. But the fact remains that we are dependent on Buddhistsources in the attempt to build up a picture of the historicalBuddha. In addition, early Buddhist texts were preserved orally inthe first centuries, so that they were only written down manygenerations after the Buddha’s time. Besides the question mark overtheir reliability for historical purposes, such memorised scriptures donot tend to include much which might be considered extraneous tothe main business of expounding the Buddha’s teaching. There areno very early biographies: the earliest were composed on the basisof scattered comments reportedly made by the Buddha where hisown experience illustrated some point in the teaching.Some scholars have appealed to a principle of giving greater

weight to stories of incidents which would have been of marginalinterest to the religious tradition or which expressed sentimentswith which the tradition would have been uncomfortable. If thestory or anecdote did not fit well with the developing religiousmythology, perhaps it might have been recorded and preservedsimply because it was true. However, this reasoning at best increasesthe plausibility of a limited number of events. Since it focuses onmatters considered less relevant by the tradition, by the same token,it is unlikely to help us in understanding the central aspects of theBuddha’s life, let alone the early development of the religion. Forthis, we need to make the best of the available sources, bearing in

THE BUDDHA AND THE BUDDHIST TRADITION 21

mind their limits. Besides seeking to place the Buddha in his his-torical context, we can gain some sense of a likely historical scenarioby examining the legacy of the early teachings attributed to theBuddha and the emergence of the monastic order, a then new kindof religious institution which almost certainly bears the imprint ofthe Buddha’s own vision of the religious life. At the same time,examining the fully blown mythology of the Buddha’s life canenable us to appreciate what the Buddha became for later generationsof his followers and, just as importantly, how the Buddhist traditionhas conceptualised the most exemplary spiritual path.

THE SCRIPTURAL SOURCES

The earliest sources on the Buddha’s life story available to us are thePa-li canonical ‘discourses’ of the Buddha, the suttas (= Sanskritsu-tras) and texts on monastic discipline, the vinaya. Equivalent textswere preserved by the other early orders, and some of these survivein Sanskrit, but not a full collection. Recently, scholarly work onthe Chinese A- gamas, a collection of translations of early ‘discourses’,has been advancing our understanding of the earliest heritage, sincethe Pa-li and Chinese parallel texts can be usefully compared.Discrepancies can identify areas where the textual transmission hasbeen corrupted or where editorial intervention has introducedemendations. But for our purposes here, the early Pa-li scriptures arethe most accessible materials for the more ancient traditions, whilelater Pa-li texts and texts in other Buddhist languages can help us tounderstand developments.

THE BUDDHA’S CONTEXT AND HIS OWNCONTRIBUTION

Buddhism is sometimes said to have emerged out of Hinduism, andto have inherited Hindu concepts and practices. However, theBuddha’s era was before the development of the philosophical sys-tems of classical Hinduism, the widespread adoption of detailedprescriptions for segregating castes, the popular practices of Hindutemple worship and its associated Epic mythologies, and even thevarious systems of yoga practices which became distinctive ofHindu ascetic groups. The germs of all these religious features were


present, however, and it makes more sense to see Buddhism asgrowing up alongside other Indian religious groupings includingHinduism. During more than a millennium of Buddhism’s presencein the sub-continent, at each stage, it influenced and was influencedby those other religious traditions. In the Buddha’s time, there weretwo main religious contexts against which we can usefully see theBuddha’s teaching:

(1) The dominant religious culture in much of the area where theBuddha lived and taught is generally referred to by scholars asBrahmanism, based on the heritage of a hereditary religious elitepreserving a body of exclusive religious practices and oral scrip-tures called the Vedas. Early Buddhism absorbed a good deal ofthe religious vocabulary of Brahmanism, although it reinter-preted and in some cases lampooned its concepts and practices.In particular, Brahmanism’s ritualism, exclusivity and hereditaryprinciples were rejected for an emphasis on universalist ethicalprinciples and reasoned argument, with acts judged on the basisof the extent to which they reflect virtue and wisdom.

(2) A sub-culture which the Buddha joined when he renouncedworldly life, was that of a movement of itinerant ascetic hermits,the Śraman.as. The Buddha is referred to in Buddhist sources asthe Great Śraman.a or the Great Ascetic or Renouncer. The‘homeless life’ extolled in early Buddhist sources suggests acontinued self-identification with the ascetic tradition, and anopposition to the Brahmanical householder model for the reli-gious life. Other Śraman. a groups included the Jains, who werealso successful in the long term and whose emergence was alittle earlier than that of Buddhism. Jainism’s principal exponent,Maha-vı-ra, was already known as a famous master when theBuddha was teaching. The Śraman. a groups shared an asceticcode of conduct, similar ascetic and perhaps yogic disciplines, aswell as ethical universalism, spiritual and philosophical experi-mentation and innovation, with room for individual spiritualseekers regardless of social background. At the same time, theBuddha seems to have distinguished his approach from the widerrenouncer movement. The Buddhist monastic order was torepresent a ‘Middle Way’ between the hermit and householderlife, with its emphasis on monastics as a community in a close


relationship with lay patrons, and a philosophical approachwhich was frequently contrasted explicitly with the views ofrival ascetic traditions.

The social and economic setting for the new religious movementswas one of rapid economic growth in the area of the middleGangetic plain where the Buddha lived, bringing urban development,alongside social and political change, with the expansion and con-solidation of the larger regional kingdoms, and their incorporationof the small-scale republics, which included the Buddha’s ownhomeland. The rise of an urban mercantile class who lacked a stakein the older status quo may have been one reason for Buddhism’ssuccess. Trading and other well-to-do urban families providedsponsorship and recruits for the early Buddhist order, and, in thelonger term, associations with large-scale trading corporations playedan important role in the international expansion of Buddhism. In anenvironment in which political units were growing and perhapsintegrating more diverse populations, the political elite seems also tohave been exploring alternative role models for rulers than thosespecified in Brahmanical sources. The Buddha is reported to haveadvised rulers on their best strategies for successful rule as well asspiritual well-being suggesting, for instance, equanimity and non-attachment in defeat, along with upright conduct in all circumstances,including restraint and generosity even towards defeated foes.

THE BUDDHA’S LIFE STORY

PREVIOUS LIVES

For the Buddhist tradition, the starting point is innumerable life-times in the distant past prior to the Buddha’s final birth in theworld. A Buddha is one who has fully awakened to the truth of thecycle of life and death, whose Enlightenment has brought final releasefrom that cycle, and who can illuminate the spiritual path he hadrediscovered to bring others to the same realisation. An enlightenedfollower may share exactly the same insight, but a special quality of aBuddha is the ability to go where others in the world concerned havenot gone before, and to shine the torch of the spiritual teaching. Toperfect the necessary capabilities for such an achievement is


considered to take vast periods of time, spent with single-mindeddedication to the heroic pursuit of virtue and wisdom. According tothe hagiographies which developed along with the Buddhist tradition,the story begins many aeons ago, with the Buddha-to-be as theascetic Sumedha, setting forth on the path through meeting andbeing inspired by a Buddha called Dı-pam. kara. On making a firmvow to work for the complete Enlightenment of a Buddha,Sumedha thus became a bodhisattva, a being intent onEnlightenment, and Dı-pam. kara recognised the force of his resolve,predicting his eventual Enlightenment in our world system.This story is known throughout the Buddhist world, as are many

of the Ja-taka tales, a whole class of Buddhist literature consisting ofstories of the Buddha-to-be during his previous lives, meeting des-perate challenges and adversities with noble determination, wisdomand compassion, thus perfecting the virtuous qualities necessary forthe final climax of the spiritual path. These stories, some of whichwere popular fables derived from non-Buddhist sources, and somewhich were composed with Buddhist themes in mind, becamesignificant pedagogic tools in Asian Buddhist cultures, expressed notonly in story-telling but in temple art and in dramatic performancesand operas. The most well-known stories include tales of the bodhisattvaas an animal king, acting, for instance, to help members of his ownspecies from the machinations of some evil humans, and in the endteaching those humans to reform their ways by his example. Theanthropomorphism hardly fits comfortably with modern scientificmodels of ecology. Nonetheless, contemporary Buddhists interestedin animal rights or ecological ethics may justly reflect that suchstories highlight a Buddhist approach that living beings share a gooddeal in terms of their basic emotional impulses, and that creaturesmay be born in different states in subsequent rebirths, so thathuman and animal life are not to be seen as wholly separate conditions,nor are animals always to be seen as inherently inferior or less worthythan human lives.Although the fanciful stories of the Buddha’s previous lives are a

far cry from the references given by the Buddha in the earliestscriptures of his spiritual journey, they can certainly be seen as anextension of similar attitudes expressed in the early canonical textsregarding the status of a buddha, his attributes and achievement,and the ethical values of Buddhism. The idea of a succession of


endless lives predated Buddhism and in an early description of theEnlightenment experience, the Buddha recounts how he surveyedhis many previous lives, noting the circumstances and the workingof cause and effect in their progression. The Pa-li Dı-gha Nika-ya, thePa-li collection of long discourses attributed to the Buddha, containsa teaching in which the Buddha details the life history of a previousbuddha, as well as the names of a number of other buddhas andtheir parents, attendants and principal students. The main force ofthis discourse, called the Maha-pada-na Sutta (DN 14), seems to be thestress on the identical pattern by which buddhas arise in the world,attain Enlightenment, teach and pass away into final liberation.

BIRTH

The traditional hagiographies continue with an account of thebodhisattva’s conception and birth, which feature prominently inthe pan-Buddhist traditions of the Buddha’s Acts, and which areoutlined briefly but nonetheless with some flourish, in the earlyscriptures. This includes the Pa-li Accariya-abbhu-ta Sutta in the col-lection of the Buddha’s middle-length discourses, the MajjhimaNika-ya (MN 123), which gives a list of wondrous happeningsmarking the birth, and the Maha-pada-na Sutta account mentionedabove. Here, we find an outline of the pattern of every buddha’slife, matching several of the key elements of the specific storywhich developed in relation to our world’s present Buddha. SomeBuddhist modernists play down the miraculous components of thisaccount, seeking to focus on core Buddhist teachings and in somecases to contrast Buddhism with Christianity’s emphasis on Jesus’smiraculous conception and birth. Such a perspective can be seen asa development within an important strand of Buddhism today, butwe must not lose sight of historical Buddhism’s celebration of thebodhisattva’s amazing feats on entering the world.The full mythological account of what became classified as the

first three of the Buddha’s twelve Acts, his descent into and birth inour world, begins with his previous birth in the Tus.ita heaven, adivine paradise in which birth is a result of the accumulation ofgreat merits from virtuous deeds, yet this does not imply the levelof perfect wisdom or final liberation attained by a buddha. Fromthe Tus.ita heaven, the bodhisattva could survey our world and await


the right moment for the descent into his destined final body.When the beings of this world became mature enough for hispresence, he entered Queen Ma-ya-’s womb, after which she becamefree from any mental afflictions. A dream of a regal white elephantentering her womb made her aware that she was pregnant, carryingan exceptional child. The bodhisattva was born after ten lunarmonths while his mother was travelling from her husband’s to herown family home for the birth. While she stood, holding onto ablossoming sal tree in a grove in Lumbinı-, he emerged from herright side, causing her no pain and avoiding any defilement fromthe birth canal. Although still a newborn baby, he stood upright, tookseven steps and scanned the four quarters, proclaiming his status as theeldest of beings and confirming that this would be his final birth. Ahermit seer called Asita foresaw the significance of the birth, andcame to pay his respects, while admitting sadness for the fact that hehimself would pass into a heavenly realm before the Buddha wouldattain Enlightenment. Brahman astrologers examined the child andidentified a full list of auspicious marks indicating that he was agreat personage, destined either to be a righteous world ruler or anenlightened buddha. But one young yet saintly brahman realisedthat the destiny of buddhahood was inevitable, and immediatelybecame an ascetic to prepare himself to receive teachings from thegreat master. The chief of the group of the Buddha’s first five disciplesis identified with this young brahman.It is clear that at the very least, the account of the bodhisattva’s

‘descent’ and birth, portrayed as his first significant Acts, creates apicture of a person of exceptional qualities and super-human abilities.The idea of the special bodily marks most probably derives from anancient Indian list of signs for recognising a superman. It is found invirtually every version of the story, including the Maha-pada-na Suttadescription of the features of every buddha, and it is elaboratedupon at greater length in another Dı-gha Nika-ya discourse, theLakkhan.a Sutta (DN 30), which relates the specific marks to the virtuousinner qualities perfected by a buddha-to-be. The content of the listvaries in different Buddhist sources, but many remained stable –such as the shining gold complexion, the wheels on the soles of thefeet and the palms of the hands, the round protuberance on thehead, and tight clockwise curls of hair. Some, such as depictions ofthe soles of the feet, became symbols of the Buddha, and the first


Buddha images to be used in worship some centuries later, drew onthe list to generate imagery in harmony with the tradition. In theBuddha’s life story, they indicate the two possible directions whichthe great person may take, since righteous emperors share theseauspicious signs. Later they become a defining feature of a fullyenlightened buddha. They remain prominent in later Maha-ya-naimagery of celestial buddhas exhibiting subtle radiant qualities per-ceptible only to advanced bodhisattvas, and versions of them alsooccur in tantric meditations on buddhas and enlightened deities.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

Many accounts of the Buddha’s life say comparatively little abouthis youth and less about his childhood. The early scriptures madefew references to his early years, so there was less for the later bio-graphers to build on in comparison with the main story of how heattained liberation. There is one interesting story, however, whichrelates directly to his final spiritual goal, and is mentioned in thePa-li Maha- Saccaka Sutta in the Majjhima Nika-ya (MN 36). In thistext, the Buddha reflects on the course of his spiritual path, from hisdecision to renounce worldly life to his Enlightenment. Hedescribes a key turning point when he recognised the uselessness ofthe severe austerities he had been inflicting upon himself, and beganto take nourishment in order to develop the strength and mentalclarity to complete the path to awakening. He explains that therecognition came to him in recollecting a spontaneous deep medi-tative experience which he had had as a child. He had been sittingin a cool place in the shade of a rose-apple tree while his father wasworking nearby. Calm and at peace, he had entered a state offocused rapture. The adult ascetic reflects that such a blissful andpeaceful state which was entirely devoid of any sensual grasping orunwholesome mental conditions, is an appropriate basis for therealisation of Enlightenment. Already in the account, the specificmeditative state is referred to as the first of a series of four progressivelystaged deep absorptions (dhya-nas), which are then described as occur-ring in the first part of the night before the Enlightenment. As we shallsee, they have remained important in Buddhist meditation systems.The hagiographic series of the Buddha’s Acts include one on his

mastery of all the scholarship, languages, material arts and recreations


of the time, including training in warriorship and administrativerule appropriate for his status. It is through his successful feats in anorganised competition that he wins the hand of his virtuous andbeautiful bride, with whom he is considered to have had goodconnections in previous lives. The following Act relates to thebodhisattva’s enjoyment of marriage and worldly success, culmi-nating in the production of a son, born just on his departure in theearly canonical version and later in some of the other versions. Themore flowery descriptions include much detail on the delights, suchas music and dancing girls, provided by the king to distract the princefrom any sober reflections which might incline him to asceticrenunciation.What is clear, even in the earliest canonical discourses, is that the

Buddha-to-be had an early life of wealth and privilege. In an earlyaccount given in the Sukhamala Sutta of the An.guttara Nika-ya col-lection of the Buddha’s discourses (AN 3.38/39), the Buddharecounts how his father supplied him with the finest clothes andadornments from Varanasi, three lotus pools and three differenthalls in which to relax in the cooler, hot and rainy seasons, and hecomments that even the servants were given good foods. The pointis considerably embellished in later hagiographies which portrayhim as a young prince with a life of indulgence. But perhaps he wasrather like spiritual seekers today who may have experiencedmaterial well-being and found it wanting. The Sukhamala Suttacontinues that the Buddha’s intoxication with youth, health and lifefell away in the light of his reflections on the realities of ageing,sickness and death.

RENUNCIATION

There is a twist to the narrative of the alternative destinies prophe-sised at birth introduced by a further component given in many ofthe sources discussing the predictions of the brahmans. Whenquestioned about the two possibilities, the brahmans clarify that thechoice to aim for buddhahood will only arise if the prince (in laterversions) encounters four signs: an old and a sick man, a corpse, andan ascetic renouncer. The account of the bodhisattva’s reflectionsleading up to his renunciation thus take on the drama of his father’srepeated attempts to prevent his meeting with these signs and the


irony that the king’s actions in the end contribute to the inevitableconclusion. The fact that the prince is so successfully sheltered fromlife’s miseries increases his shock at the discovery of the facts ofageing, sickness and death. That he had experienced the mostindulgent excesses of life’s pleasures adds to the consequent revulsionwhen their ultimately unsatisfactory nature is revealed.Here, the story is seeking to demonstrate the fundamentals of

Buddhist teaching and, quite possibly, may well reflect the Buddhistcommunity’s earliest understanding of the Master’s spiritual journey.The pattern of the sequential witnessing of the four manifestations,while being driven by his charioteer on a series of pleasure trips, isdescribed at some length in the Maha-pada-na Sutta, where it is linkedto the life story of a previous buddha. Another Pa-li text, theAriyapariyesana Sutta of the Majjhima Nika-ya collection (MN 26),presents the Buddha’s reflections on his spiritual path in an accountwhich has been considered by modern academic scholars as likely tobe particularly early. Experiencing himself as subject to birth, decay,sickness, death, grief and defilement, the Buddha comments that herealised the futility of further seeking for birth, decay, sickness,death, grief and defilement. Knowing the dangers of these char-acteristics of life, the noble course of seeking instead for their ces-sation occurred to him. This, then, was the motive for themomentous decision to renounce the worldly life and work single-mindedly for the total appeasement and cessation of birth anddeath, and the resultant attainment of peace and Enlightenment. Ina passage occurring in both the Ariyapariyesana Sutta and also in theMaha- Saccaka Sutta referred to above, the Buddha describes himselfas having made his decision as a youth with pitch black hair, andagainst the wishes of his tearful parents, donning yellow robes andleaving the household life.This brief illustration of the noble search, apparently on the basis

of the Buddha’s own experiences, does not explicitly contradict themore elaborate descriptions of the bodhisattva’s progress. However,some modern academic scholars have suggested that it might castsome doubt on the tradition, well established in other Pa-li canonicalsources and elsewhere, of the bodhisattva’s marriage and the birthof a son, as though as a final temptation to bind him. In some laterversions, such as the Pa-lı- Nida-nakatha-, much is made of theBuddha’s agonised mental conflict as he prepares to part from his


wife and child, assuaged only by the recognition that he could be ofgreater value to them and others in winning through to spiritualpeace. The Buddha’s family members and others of the Śa-kyacommunity apparently became enthusiastic followers soon after thestart of the Buddha’s teaching career. They feature in the earlycollections of the Buddha’s discourses and monastic discipline, aswell as later texts which flesh out the material. His aunt who hadbeen his foster mother appears in the early scriptures, persuadingthe Buddha to ordain her and found the community of nuns. Hiswife, who sought to emulate her husband’s example and to live likean ascetic after his departure, also became a disciple and was said tohave reached sainthood. On the Buddha’s initial return to hishomeland, his young son was instructed to request his father totransmit to him his inheritance, so that the family succession wouldbe ensured. The Buddha agreed, but took the concept of inheri-tance to imply spiritual transmission, so he promptly ordained hisson, who became renowned for holding and transmitting theorder’s monastic lineage. One story has it that the Śa-kya commitmentto Buddhism was so total, that when the land was overrun by aneighbouring kingdom, the people put up no violent resistance andwere massacred. One wonders about the motivation for preservingan account –whether true or not – in such contrast to other religions’celebrations of their worldly achievements, such as the Muslimnotion of ‘Manifest Victory’, applied to early Muslim political successand expansion. Perhaps the only plausible explanation is in terms ofthe symbolism of the Buddha’s heritage as exclusively focused onthe monastic rather than any family lineage.The story of the ‘Great Renunciation’, the sixth of the Buddha’s

Acts, revolves around his growing awareness of the inadequacy ofordinary conditioned existence, given the facts of impermanenceand suffering, along with the conviction that the ascetic life couldprovide an alternative which would bring contentment and peace.In the hagiographic story of the four signs, it is the fourth sign ofthe happy and undisturbed ascetic, which demonstrates the wayout. Some later versions of the story add an altercation with Ma-ra, atempter-deity or Buddhist devil, personifying ignorance and emo-tional defilement, who attempts to dissuade the bodhisattva fromhis decision. The specific temptation dangled before him is thepromise that in seven days he would become a universal ruler, a


reminder of the opposition or parallel potential suggested by thebirth prophecies. Perhaps a further significance is that here thepossibilities for worthwhile beneficial involvement in worldly affairsare raised more clearly than in the episodes which focus on theyouthful indulgence of the pre-Renunciation life, and the over-shadowing presence of the bodhisattva’s father, giving little sense ofthe rewarding prospects of mature adult responsibilities.

TRAINING AS AN ASCETIC RENOUNCER

The next key event in the narratives is the sequential training undertwo meditation masters, who are named in early canonical sources,where their meditation systems are described in brief. The firstmaster taught a practice which was said to lead to a state of ‘no-thingness’, while the second master’s system was said to bring thestate of ‘neither perception nor non-perception’. The description ispreserved in both the Maha- Saccaka Sutta and the early discourse onthe ‘noble search’ (the Ariyapariyesana Sutta) mentioned above. TheBuddha reports that in each case he mastered the system, afterwhich the teacher publicly recognised his achievement and offeredhim a leadership role to the group of followers. However, whilerecognising the value of the meditation systems, both of whichrequired conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration anddiscernment, he remained dissatisfied, since neither attainment broughtliberation from the sorrows of life, so, in each case, he travelled on.After he attained Enlightenment, the Ariyapariyesana Sutta notes thatit was his two teachers he thought of first when considering whowould have the greatest potential to understand the truth he hadrealised, but he regretfully saw that both had passed away. It is quitelikely that these discourses genuinely preserve a record of theteachings received by the Buddha-to-be in his early days as anascetic renouncer. It may even be that the meditation practiceswere adopted from these previous teachers and integrated into theBuddhist system as important components of the training. This isclearly how the Buddhist tradition sees it. However, some modernacademic scholars have suggested that the story might have beenpost-Buddhist, constructed as a way of framing these Buddhistmeditation practices to make it clear that they are valuable but notto be mistaken for the highest training. They are known only from


early Buddhist sources and their presentation seems rather formulaicand standardised, to correspond rather precisely to Buddhist categoriesboth of the meditative states and of formless divine realms intowhich one can be born. It would not be easy to prove the caseeither way. But certainly, the account would seem to reflect anunderstanding of the Master’s spiritual path stemming from theearliest generation of students.The Ariyapariyesana Sutta proceeds seamlessly from the training

under the meditation teachers to arrival in beautiful countryside andthe attainment of Enlightenment, but the Maha- Saccaka Sutta continueswith a graphic description of his experimentations with varioustechniques of self-mortification. This immersion in austeritiesbecame the seventh Act of the hagiographies, said to have taken sixyears. The focus in many of the eulogised versions is on the bod-hisattva’s great determination and heroism in his self-imposed dis-cipline. The Maha- Saccaka Sutta account makes it clear that he tooksuch austerities to their limit, such that no other ascetic could takethem further. His body deteriorated, even the clear bright goldencolour of his skin, which is counted as one of the auspicious marks.Finally, he concluded that such physical punishment has no benefitand is in fact detrimental to real spiritual progress, making the bodytoo weak to meditate effectively. Thus, he began to eat again, and thisprovided strength for the meditations which led to his awakening.The juxtaposition of the excessive indulgences of the bodhisattva’s

youth and the excessive asceticism of the period of austerities in thehagiographic accounts is clearly intended to highlight the centralBuddhist teaching of the Middle Way. Although the referenceswithin the early discourses are more scattered, this was doubtlessalso the intention in these sources too: the whole point is that neitherthe self-indulgence of worldly life, nor the self-mortification ofasceticism is worthy or profitable, but the valid path is to be foundin steering between them. There is some difference in tone, however,between different versions. While the Buddhist model of the spiritualpath as a Middle Way may be clear, it is not altogether explicitwhether or not the bodhisattva’s suffering had been necessary todiscover it. The Maha- Saccaka Sutta account and, indeed, thephrasing of the teaching classified as his first discourse in which heoutlines the spiritual path, would seem to imply the asceticismsimply to have been an unprofitable dead-end. Yet as one of the


Acts of the Buddha, there may sometimes be the sense that only theyears of unremitting struggle made the final breakthrough possible.This kind of approach may especially be emphasised in Buddhisttraditions favouring contemplative meditation which may involvethe hardships of a reclusive lifestyle, and the need for perseverance.

ENLIGHTENMENT

The stories surrounding the Enlightenment generally begin withthe bodhisattva sensing that he is on the brink of realisation andsetting off to take his seat under the Tree of Enlightenment in theplace which became known as Bodhgaya, making a firm determi-nation not to rise again until he has won through. One version hasit that after taking a nourishing meal of rich milk rice, provided bya lady in fulfilment of a vow of offering to a local deity, he droppedhis alms bowl into the Nerañjara- River with the pledge that if hisresolution swiftly to attain Enlightenment was valid, then the bowlshould float in the wrong direction. Immediately, the bowl wasswept upstream against the current. The story is an example ofancient Indian ‘truth magic’, based on the idea that a pure andrighteous aspiration made with truthful determination has thecapacity to work miracles. Provided by a brahman with a bundle ofkuśa grass, a sacred grass used in Vedic ritual, the bodhisattva preparedhis seat beneath a pipal tree, and sat in cross-legged meditationposture.The most dramatic story of what followed concerns the assault of

Ma-ra, the Buddhist devil, symbolising attachment and ignorance,which began at nightfall. None of the accounts of theEnlightenment experience as related by the Buddha in the earliestof the discourses refer to Ma-ra’s preceding attack, although thePadha-na Sutta in the Sutta-nipa-ta of the Khuddaka Nika-ya (Sn 3.2)consists of a poetic description of Ma-ra’s attempts to dissuade the bod-hisattva and of the bodhisattva’s resistance, including the identificationof troops in Ma-ra’s army, such as sensual desire, discontent, hungerand thirst, and his resolution to remain firm. Various parts of thecollection of discourses feature other encounters between theBuddha or his disciples and Ma-ra and his circle. A whole division ofthe Pa-li Samyutta Nika-ya (SN 4) is devoted to Ma-ra and his ingeniousdistractions, and we meet thereMa-ra’s ‘daughters’, Craving, Disinterest


and Passion. It would certainly seem that much of the imagery ofMa-ra’s role as the ‘evil one’ seeking to distract or lead the spiritualseeker astray was developed early. In the later hagiographies, theonslaught is usually begun immediately prior to the Enlightenment,when Ma-ra perceives that his dominion over the world is underthreat, that the bodhisattva is about to escape his clutches and willthen be able to teach others likewise to gain liberation. There arenumerous variations in the tale. Popular elements include Ma-raconfiding his fears to his sons and daughters, an amassing of a hugearmy darkening the sky, with a thousand-armed Ma-ra appearing atits head, the firing of weapons, none of which can impact on thebodhisattva’s meditative absorption, the defeated Ma-ra’s resentfulchallenge, and his final flurry in sending his daughters, who miserablyfail in their attempt to charm the bodhisattva from his resolution.It is Ma-ra’s challenge which takes centre stage in many of the

narratives and, again, we have hints here of a symbolism of abuddha as an alternative kind of universal ruler. Ma-ra proclaims hisown right to rule the world, and challenges the bodhisattva to justifythe usurpation of his seat or throne. Refusing to give up his place,the bodhisattva calls the earth as his witness that his long spiritualdevelopment over many lifetimes has earned him the right to takethe seat of Enlightenment. Touching the earth with his right hand,in some earlier versions the earth itself trembles and acknowledges theclaim, while, in what became the more standard account, the earthgoddess rises up from the earth and bears witness. Ma-ra’s legions arescattered in disarray, and the bodhisattva enters his final contemplationswhich bring Enlightenment. Versions of this story became so importantin the Buddhist tradition that the ‘earth-witnessing’ gesture with thetips of the right hand fingers stretched down to touch the earthcame to symbolise the Buddha’s Enlightenment, and to be representedin Buddha images throughout the Buddhist world.Unsurprisingly, we find many different understandings in the

Buddhist tradition about the content of the final enlighteningmeditations. Even in the oldest canonical literature, slightly differentnuances can be found, but the early scriptures, which say littleabout Ma-ra’s assault, have a good deal to say about the Buddha’sdiscoveries. These differing accounts and passing references can beseen as complementary, simply emphasising different aspects of theBuddha’s realisation, although some modern academic scholars have


analysed them as indicating different voices in the early tradition.However, the most extended descriptions of the Enlightenmentexperience found in the earliest texts fairly consistently detail thesuccessive attainment of the four deep absorptions, followed bythree knowledges. Versions of this account are repeated in anumber of early sources, including the Maha- Saccaka Sutta men-tioned above and the Bhayabherava Sutta, also in the MajjhimaNika-ya collection (MN 4). They are also included in later hagio-graphic works such as Aśvaghos.a’s Buddhacarita of the first to secondcentury CE, preserved in part in Sanskrit and in full in Tibetan andChinese. According to the Pa-li sutta versions, the Buddha recountshow he became physically calm and contented, with the mindsingle pointed. Then, he dispelled sensual and evil thoughts andexperienced the bliss of the first deep absorption. Through furtherconcentration, he rested in the second, and then the third deepabsorption, in mindful equanimity, and then dispelling all pleasant-ness and unpleasantness, the mindful equanimity was purified in thefourth deep absorption. The mind thus focused, undisturbed, pure andfree from defilement, he directed the mind in the first watch of thenight to the knowledge of his previous births, recollecting the full detailsof uncountable cycles of births and deaths. In the second watch of thenight, he directed his mind to the births and deaths of beings, and per-ceived not only the innumerable different states in which they arose andpassed away, but how these changes were conditioned by the beings’own actions (karma). Finally, in the third watch of the night, he attainedthe third knowledge, by directing the mind to the destruction of crav-ing. Gaining understanding of the process of the arising and ceasing ofcraving, he knew how to bring craving to an end, ignorance was dis-pelled and he knew he was released and no longer subject to rebirth.The Buddhacarita version adds that in the fourth watch, as dawn wasbreaking, the Buddha attained the state of omniscience.

TEACHING

For some weeks, the story goes that the Buddha remained in the samevicinity. One tradition preserved in the Pa-li texts on the monasticdiscipline has it that he was visited by two travelling merchants whomade him offerings and, recognising his achievement, took refugein the Buddha and the truth he had discovered, thus becoming the


first Buddhists. At this stage, since the Buddha had not commu-nicated his teaching, refuge could only be taken in the first twoJewels since there was no enlightened community. In fact, it seemsthat the Buddha had doubts about teaching at all. The story is toldin the early Ariyapariyesana Sutta (MN 26), in which the Buddhareflects that his discoveries are hard to understand, they go againstthe stream of most people’s understanding, and are not accessible tothose governed by attachment and hatred. Any attempt to teachsuch people shroude