Buddhism- a synopsis
Some aspects of Buddhism are not commonly known. I will try to highlight some of those….in addition to which, I will also provide a brief summary of more well known aspects of Buddhism.
Buddhism is a Dharmic religion that originated in India. Siddhartha Gautama’s teachings brought about the creation of this religion. He was referred to as the Sakhyamuni (Sakhya clan sage) or Tathagata (one who is no more) as he called himself. Centuries after his death he began to be called the Buddha (enlightened one).
Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, with about 400 million followers worldwide. Buddhism is most popular in Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Cambodia and other south east Asian countries. It has also become popular in western countries in the last century.
Popularity in the West:
Buddhism is the most popular eastern religion in the western countries. Its popularity grew largely because of the book ‘The Light of Asia’ written by Edwin Arnold published in 1879. This book (a poem adapted from the Lalitavistara), was largely responsible for popularizing Buddhism and creating a Christ like image of the Buddha in the minds of the Western people.
The Jesus like image of a lone sage with ten disciples, wandering around the country side, teaching non violence and renunciation, appeals to many westerners. This, coupled with the sophisticated aspects of Indian mysticism, is a heady mixture that many find intriguing. Some schools of Buddhism also teach a form of nihilism that resonates well with materialists and atheists such that many westerners (even scientists) seem to be rather fond of quoting from Buddhist teachings. It is probably the most respected religion among many western scientists and atheists. It is also popular among many western celebrities.
Cultural environment:
It must be remembered that there was nothing called ‘Hinduism’ at the time of Siddhartha Gautama. Many spiritual paths were available in the subcontinent. Different beliefs, systems and ways of life existed side by side and most individuals could choose the path that they preferred.
It was generally a cultural melting pot of different beliefs, customs and practices…with however certain common underlying philosophical features such as dharma, karma, rebirth, spiritual development and moksha (liberation).
The different paths to spirituality such as devotion, duty, wisdom and self discipline, were well known at that time. People followed whichever path they found most suitable for themselves.
There was great diversity as follows….
1.There were people who believed in rituals and idol worship. Various deities were worshipped in temples and in homes.
2.Then there were the followers of the Samkhya and Upanishad philosophies.
3.There were also the Vedic ritualists who were nature worshippers and believers in fire sacrifices.
4.Charvaka philosophy which taught empiricism and skepticism while rejecting rituals and super-naturalism, was also quite popular at this time.
5.There were also ascetics (collectively called Sramanas), who followed self developmental practices such as yoga, tantra and other such systems.
Renunciation and asceticism were quite common. Taking up sanyas was a fairly common practice. Many serious aspirants would leave their homes to become hermits and ascetics.
All these people, their beliefs and practices existed side by side.
Agamas:
Early non- vedic literature were called Agama. Agama means ‘that which has come down’. Many diverse Agama traditions and teachings were in vogue during these early times. They contained texts on cosmology, meditation, yoga, tantra, mantras & chanting, temple construction & rituals, idol worship and so on. Temple rules (agama vidhis), worship (puja) of Shiva, Vishnu and Shakti (siddhanta). Yoga and other sramana practices, were also part of Agama teachings.
The Agama texts covered the entire gamut of religious and spiritual practices that are the fundamental features of today’s Hinduism.
Many people wrongly think of Hinduism as fundamentally Vedic in origin. Agamas are the real foundation of Hinduism. The Hinduism of today is mainly Agama in origin with idol worship, siddhanta and sramana practices. Vedic nature gods like Indra, Varuna, Vahu etc. and fire sacrifices are only a relatively small part of it.
Hinduism in some places such as in Bali, is officially called Agama Hindu Dharma.
Agama literature basically taught the practices, traditions and beliefs of the indigenous people of the subcontinent which had probably come down from the Indus Valley period (2500 BCE) or even earlier. These were different from the teachings of the ‘Aryan’ migrants who subsequently came in from Central Asia and followed the Vedic traditions of nature worship and fire rituals and which had many common features with European paganism and Persian Zoroastrianism.
It is important to note that early Jain and Buddhist literature were also called Agamas. Jain and Buddhist teachings were a part of the general philosophical teachings prevalent in the land from ancient times and were not considered different or radical at that time.
Early life of the Buddha:
The above is the environment in which Siddhartha Gautama was born.
Siddhartha Gautama was the son of a chieftain of the Sakhya clan. These clans are believed to be descendants of indigenous people. ‘Indigenous people’…. refers to original migrants into the Indian subcontinent, possibly from out of Africa about 60,000 years ago or earlier.
Siddhartha Gautama’s father was Suddhodana and mother was Maya. He was born in a garden called Lumbini very near the town of Kapilavastu where they lived.
He is believed to have been born around 563 BCE and lived for 80 years. Gautama lived and taught during the reign of King Bimbisara, of the Magada empire, and died during his son Ajatasatru’s reign.
He lead a luxurious, almost hedonistic life, in his younger days. He was married to Yasodhara and had a son called Rahula.
He is said to have become satiated with pleasure seeking and therefore developed an urge to understand life and its meaning and to eradicate suffering (dukkha).
(The stories about his magical birth and his supposed shocked reactions one day on suddenly witnessing poverty, illness and death on the streets, are almost certainly imaginary rather than true).
In his quest to understand Life and its meaning, he left his home and traveled to Kasi (Varanasi) which was the centre of religious and spiritual learning at that time.
Gurus and local influence:
Gautama travelled from Kapilavastu through places like Vaisali, Patna and Rajagriha. He travelled to other parts of that region (mainly in today’s Bihar and Uttar Pradesh) such as Gaya, Kusinagar and Sarnath among others.
At Vaishali, Gautama studied under two prominent gurus, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputra, who were experts in Samkhya philosophy and meditative techniques respectively.
Like many others, Gautama also learnt and practiced Sramana philosophies and teachings. These teachings promoted self discipline and self development as the means to spiritual growth and liberation (mukti or moksha). Some of the philosophies were atheistic and materialistic.
At this time there also lived Mahavira the 24th Jain Tirtankara, who was senior to Gautama by about 20 years. Mahavira was living and teaching in and around Rajagriha and Patna. Gautama also lived and taught in these places. It is possible that Gautama met and was influenced by Mahavira’s teachings on nonviolence and renunciation. Many similarities between Jainism and Buddhism probably arose because of this influence.
Gautama is said to have attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya (in present day Bihar) near Patna and delivered his first sermon at Sarnath near Kasi (Varanasi). He became the Tathagata.
Subsequently, he gathered many disciples and led an ascetic life teaching the people his experiences and philosophies.
Disciples:
According to the Vimalakirti Sutra, Gautama Buddha had ten main disciples who were Sariputra, Maudgalyayana, Mahakashyapa, Subhuti, Upali, Ananda, Purna Maitrayani putra, Katyayana, Aniruddha, Rahula. There were also Devadatta, Prajapati and others.
Of these, Ananda and Anirudha were his cousins and Rahula was his son. Devadatta was also a relative of Gautama (brother in law) but later he parted ways and according to legend, is believed to have plotted Gautama’s assassination. In some traditions he is shown as the evil that worked against the divine purpose of Gautama.
Councils:
After Gautama Buddha passed away at Kushinagar around 483 BCE, some councils (assemblies) were held in different places, to consolidate and pass on his teachings.
The First Council is believed to have been held soon after Gautama Buddha’s death, at Rajagriha and presided over by Mahakashyapa. There is very little information available about this council and there are some doubts about its historicity. It is believed that at this council, some disciples like Ananda and Upali recited the sutras taught by the Buddha.
The Second Council was held at Vaishali and attended by several monks. The date is not definite but could have been about 100 years after the Buddha’s death, possibly before Emperor Ashoka’s lifetime. The first disagreement and division within the Buddhist clan happened at this council. The majority of monks are believed to have supported the Mahayana interpretations of Buddha’s teachings and formed the Mahasanghika. A smaller group of Staviras broke away and maintained that their interpretations and teachings were the original ‘Way of the elders’, the ‘elders’ being the original disciples of the Buddha. Hence their teachings came to be called the Staviravada (in Sanskrit) also known as Theravada (in Pali). This sect was dubbed as Hinayana (The lesser vehicle) by the Mahayana group but is no longer used.
The Third Council was called by Emperor Ashoka at Pataliputra around 250 BCE. There are two accounts of the Third Council in different texts, so there is some confusion about it. Some accounts attribute the first major division to the third council. The Sarvastivadins got separated here. These were monks who focused on the Abhidharma.
The Fourth Council were also two in number. The Theravadins held one in Sri Lanka when they realized that the Pali Canon needed to be written down. The Sarvastivadins held a fourth council under the leader ship of King Kanishka (Kushan dynasty) around 78 CE. This was held in Kashmir. The Sarvastivada tradition was subsequently combined with the Mahayana tradition.
The Fifth Council was held in modern times in 1871 in Burma.
The Sixth Council was held in 1954, also in Burma.
Writings and texts:
No one knows what exactly Gautama Buddha taught. He has not written a single text and whatever was put down in writing was about 300 years after his death. Even his direct disciples taught orally and there is no written text that is attributed to any of them.
The lack of direct information about Gautama’s teachings has contributed to considerable confusion and conflicting philosophies.
Mahindra and Sangamitra, the children of Emperor Ashoka, migrated to Sri Lanka around 250 BCE and are said to have started the process of putting into writing the teachings of the Buddha. This is what is called the Tripitaka or the Pali Canon which is the canonical (authoritative) text in Buddhism.
Tripitaka means ‘three baskets’ and consists of the Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka and the Abhidharma Pitaka. Each of the Pitakas (baskets) contain many hundreds of sutras. These three ‘baskets’ form the basic texts that even other schools and sects refer to. Sutta in Pali means sutra (Sanskrit).
These teachings spread to most south eastern countries around 1 CE and are considered as the original teachings of the first direct disciples of the Buddha (the Elders). Though earlier referred to as the Hinayana (the lesser path), it is now known in Pali as Theravada or ‘Way of the Elders’.
The Sutta Pitaka contains details of the Buddha’s travels and teachings on the Four Noble Truths, Eight Fold Path, Mindfulness, Dependent Origination and so on. The Mahasatipatana Sutra, Samanaphala Sutra, Mahaparinirvana Sutra are some of the famous sutras. The Dhammapada, Jataka Tales, Buddhavamsa and the Milinda Panha also form a part of the Sutta Pitaka. The sutras also contain accounts of the Buddha’s death (Mahaparinirvana sutta).
The Vinaya pitaka is said to have been recited by Upali in the first council and basically outlines the rules for monks and the Sanga (group).
The Abhidharma Pitaka contains elaborate philosophical texts that are almost mathematical in their composition. The Abhidharma texts are believed to be later compositions meant to elaborate methodically the teachings of the Buddha.
Buddhist literature contains literally thousands of sutras with each running into many pages. ‘Sutras’ in Hindu tradition refer to short and concise aphorisms but in Buddhist tradition they refer to entire scriptural texts. The Mahaparinirvana Sutra for example, runs into several pages.
The Mahayana surtas are varied and many in number. The Yogakara texts, Madhyamika karika, Prajnaparamita sutras, the Lotus sutra, Lankavatara sutra. Diamond sutra, Heart Sutra, Tathagatagarbha sutras etc. are major texts in the Mahayana. People like Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubandhu have contributed to the Mahayana, besides people in China and Japan.
Schools & Teachings:
There are nearly 20 different schools in Buddhism that started forming a few centuries after the death of the Buddha. There are different lists in different documents which are too elaborate to examine in this short article.
The major schools are three, as given below.
1) Theravada: Theravada is one of the earliest schools and is believed by scholars to be a combination of certain early schools that joined together.
This is believed to be the original Buddhism that was taught by the Buddha to his immediate disciples. The adepts in this school are called Arhats. It is most prevalent in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia etc. and is also called the Southern Buddhism.
They believe in the Four Noble Truths according to which….
a) Dukkha or suffering is innate and natural. b) Dukkha is caused by craving and attachment. c) Dukkha can be ended by getting rid of craving. d) The Eight fold path is the way to end dukkha.
The eightfold path states that following certain practices and lifestyles would lead to elimination of dukkha. These are…. right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right practice. Most of these ‘right’ actions are paths to renunciation by giving up craving, desires, anger and so on.
Theravada also believes in Anitya, Anatma, Karma, Rebirth and Nirvana. Anitya means non- permanence of all things in the world. Anatma means no permanent and eternal Atma or Self. The school also teaches karma, rebirth and nirvana or liberation. Nirvana is said to be like a candle blowing out.
Dependent Origination (Pratityasamutpada) states that all aspects of life are dependent on something that causes it and this creates a cycle of dependence. Some people interpret this as giving rise to rebirth and recurrence of Dukkha, while some others think of it as referring to the working of the mind.
The Dhammapada is a part of the Pali Canon and is a collection of wise sayings on morality and disciplined living. It contains 423 short verses in 26 chapters, said to have been spoken by the Buddha on different occasions. This is one of the most popular texts of Buddhism. Very easy to refer and relate to.
2. Mahayana: Mahayana means the Great Vehicle. This school was first created after the Second Council about 100 years after the Buddha’s death. Mahayana teachings largely follow ‘Hindu’ way of thinking and are almost yogic and vedantic in nature. Even idol worship is practiced in some sects.
The Mahayana spread to countries like China, Japan, Korea etc. There are many sects (more than 50) in the Mahayana, the major ones being The Pure Land, Nicheren and Zen. These sects also differ in different countries such as China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea etc. The Mahayana is often known as the Northern Buddhism.
The Mahayana school believes in Bodhisattvas who are born again and again, striving to achieve full enlightenment. These are similar to rishis in Hinduism.
They also believe in the Trikaya or three bodies of the Buddha…Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya. These are the three forms of Buddhahood with the first being the physical form, the second being a celestial form and the third being the universal or cosmic form. This is similar to the Vedantic…. Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman.
In general, Mahayana schools believe in the Buddha as a transcendental being who is born again and again in many places….similar to the idea of avatars. In some of the Mahayana sects, Buddha is worshipped in temples.
Amitabha Buddha is worshipped in Pure Land Buddhism and they believe in a celestial world of goodness to which we all should aspire. This sect is believed to have developed in India through the writings of Buddhists like Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu.
Nicheren was a Japanese priest in the 13th century who focused on the Lotus Sutra and believed in creating a better society besides personal inner development. He believed in chanting mantras and also that everyone could attain Buddhahood in their current form and birth itself.
Zen focuses on Dhyana or meditation. Bodhidharma is believed to have travelled from India to China around 500 CE and taught Chan (later Zen in Japan). Bodhidharma is also believed to have started the Shaolin monastery where Kung fu originated. Zen has been influenced by some of the Taoist teachings in China as well. The Diamond (Vajra) and Heart sutras are important in this sect.
Avalokitesvara, a bodhisattva of compassion, is also worshipped as an Isvara or god, in some Mahayana sects. He is said to generate Brahma, Narayana, Shiva and Saraswati from himself. In some places in India, he is worshipped as Shiva and Vishnu themselves. In Pure Land sect however, he is subordinate to Amitabha.
The Mula Madhyamika Karika of Nagarjuna emphasizes Sunyata or nothingness. It states that the universe is a flux that is temporary and consciousness itself is a part of it. The ultimate reality of everything is emptiness.
Yogacara developed by Asanga and Vasubandhu focuses on Vijyanavada or the nature of the Mind and Consciousness. They believe in eight levels of consciousness. The eighth is Alayavijyana or the store house consciousness that forms the substratum.
3. Vajarayana: This is the ‘Diamond Vehicle’ which is largely Tibetan Buddhism. This is a form of Tantric Buddhism that follows many yogic practices. Some people regard it as part of the Mahayana school. It is believed to have been introduced to Tibet by Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche) who travelled from India probably before the 10th century CE.
Vajarayana is a combination of yogic and tantric teachings while also incorporating some aspects of the earlier native Bon religion of Tibet.
They believe in tantric practices, mantras and use of mandalas. Mandalas are patterns created or drawn by monks to ward off evil influences and to bring in positive energies. It is also meant to help in meditation. Their religious chief’s are the Lamas who are believed to be reincarnated forms of earlier Lamas.
Roots in the local culture:
Buddhism obviously has its roots in the local traditions, philosophies and practices of that time, like every other philosophy or religion. It is quite clear that the Buddha did not consider himself as different from other religious teachers of that time. Many of the early texts in Buddhism mention Lord Brahma, Lord Indra, Lord Yama and so on, who are puranic and vedic gods, which show the roots of Buddhism in the local religious culture.
There are some common features between the details of Lord Indra as given in the Rig Veda and that of the Buddha.…such as being born from the side of the mother…white elephant with many tusks…. proclaiming his dominance soon after birth. Clearly many Buddhist writers and historians have been influenced by vedic deities.
Buddha was not a Buddhist any more than Jesus was a Christian. Buddha was not attempting to start off a new religion at all. He was clearly a reformist (like Jesus) who sought to teach certain aspects of spirituality to the exclusion of other aspects which he believed to be misleading. It must be remembered that clear distinctions between Hindus, Jains and Buddhists did not exist at that time. These distinctions are of very recent origin.
Buddhism is one among many Sramana (ascetic) traditions that were off shoots of Yogic and Samkhyan philosophies. There are also concepts such as the Trikaya (three bodies), which are similar to Vedanta teachings. Buddha was clearly interested in focusing on the self developmental traditions of that time as opposed to ritualistic practices of vedic priests.
Most early Jain and Buddhist scriptures were known as Agamas. They were in the same category as other early non-vedic scriptures and vidhis. Many early yogic, siddhantas and temple texts are called Agamas. Buddhism was clearly considered a part of the general non-vedic teachings in those early times.
The Buddha is believed to be born in different forms and under different names in different eons, to teach the Dharma. He is believed to have been born as Dipankara in an earlier period and in other different forms at different times. In the future he is expected to be born as Maitreya. The current era Buddha is Gautama or Sakhyamuni. This is very similar to the idea of avatars in Hinduism.
It is to be pointed out that the common practice of putting Kolam or Rangoli in front of Hindu homes every morning and evening and during important Hindu festivals, is similar to the mandalas that Tibetan Buddhists use. The kolams are meant to ward off negative energies and to invite positive energies into homes. The mandalas are similar. Additionally, the mandalas are also similar to Yantras created and used by tantriks.
All these points above indicate that Buddhism, as also Jainism, are not the separate and disparate religions that the British and other Europeans made them out to be. They are branches and off shoots of the composite spiritual culture of the subcontinent.
Some general points:
1. The concept of Anatma (no soul) in Theravada is not compatible with rebirth and karma. If there is no permanent Atma that leaves the body after death, what is it that is reborn? What experiences karma and what achieves liberation? The idea of Anatma conflicts with the idea of the Buddha being reincarnated many times in different bodies. It also conflicts with the idea of the Tibetan Lamas being reincarnations of earlier Lamas with specific birth marks, specific memories etc.
2. Nirvana is said to be a ‘blowing out’. If nirvana is nothingness, why should anyone aspire for it by giving up normal living and becoming a monk? If the Buddha or a Lama has indeed achieved Nirvana, how can they be further reincarnated?
3. In most philosophical traditions including Hinduism, the concept of Anitya or impermanence is applied to the conditioned material world while the Atma and the spiritual world are seen as eternal and beyond time and space. The goal of spiritual development acquires meaning only in this context. But in certain teachings of Buddhism the idea of anitya is applied to all forms of existence and the final reality is seen as sunyata or nothingness. This goes against the very concept of spirituality, inner development, karma, rebirth and the final goal of nirvana.
4. The account of Buddha’s birth and life is given in the Buddhacharita written by Asvaghosa around 1 CE, about 500 years after Buddha’s death. This was at the insistence of Kanishka, who was the Emperor of the Kushan dynasty and a very devote Buddhist. The correctness of its contents can be disputed. As an example, if it is compared with Jesus and the Christian gospels…..the earliest Gospel of Mark was written around 70 CE, within about 40 years after the death of Jesus. The other three gospels were written within a few decades after that. But scholars still think that the life and teachings of Jesus cannot be considered historical because none of the authors were eye witnesses. How this places the life history of the Buddha written 500 years after his death, is difficult to say.
5. Rishi Kapila is an ancient Indian sage who is well known as the founder of the Samkhya philosophy. He is mentioned as early as in the Rig Veda and in many later Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts. The fact that Buddha’s hometown is named Kapilavastu and that there is a temple for Rishi Kapila in Sri Lanka where the first Buddhist canonical texts were written, are worth noting. They cannot be mere coincidences. Many scholars regard Buddhism (and Jainism) as basically reiterations of the Samkhya philosophy.
6. Buddha studied under two well known teachers of that time, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputra. Alara Kalama was well known as a Samkhya scholar at that time. The similarities between Samkhya philosophy and Buddhist teachings are obvious. Uddhaka Ramaputra was an expert on meditation techniques and it is likely that mindful meditative techniques were initially taught by him to Gautama. The influence of both these gurus on Buddha’s teachings needs to be recognized.
7. In some texts the Buddha is quoted as criticizing his gurus and boasting of his own superior accomplishments as compared to theirs. This speaks very poorly of the Buddha. Alternatively, these statements could be crass misquotes by over enthusiastic and hero worshipping followers of later periods.
8. The Buddha was a junior contemporary of Mahavira (24th Jain Tirtankara) who lived during the same period in the same place (Patna) where the Buddha also lived and travelled. Buddhism has many similarities to Jainism and it is likely that the Buddha was influenced greatly by Mahavira. This is rarely, if ever, acknowledged.
9. According to the Buddhavamsa, the Buddha is considered as the 25th and the last in a long line of Buddhas born on earth. None of the earlier 24 Buddha’s who are named in the texts, are historical. This is unlike the 24 Jain Tirtankaras, some of whom are historically identified. The claim about the Buddha being the 25th, is unlikely to be just a coincidence. It is possible that the legends actually meant the 24 Jain Tirtankaras starting with Rishabadeva and ending with Mahavira, as the earlier Buddhas. It is possible that Gautama Buddha was considered as the last in that lineage after Mahavira (24th) and hence he is considered the 25th.
10. About 1000 years after the Buddha, Buddhism travelled to regions such as Tibet, China and Japan. These teachings acquired their own personality through the culture and writings in these places. Temples are erected for the Buddha. Bodhisattvas like Avalokiteswara are worshipped. Amitabha is worshipped and a heaven like Pure Land is aspired for. The Lalitavistara sutra talks of several heavenly realms and considers the Sakhyamuni as the human form of a bodhisattva. All these are incompatible with many of the teachings of other Buddhist schools.
11. Some scholars today consider the Dhammapada as probably one of the few direct teachings of the Buddha himself. Therefore, the numerous sutras and their interpretations written by later generations of followers, in different countries and under different schools of thought, may or may not represent the actual teachings of the Buddha. Classifying all these as the teachings of the Buddha himself seems inappropriate.
12. Even though Buddhism teaches nonviolence, it does not promote vegetarianism. Most Buddhists (including the Dalai Lama) are non-vegetarians. The Buddha himself ate meat and is believed to have died after eating spoilt pork (Sukaramaddava). The Buddha is quoted as saying (Jivaka Sutta, MN 55) “Jivaka! I declare there are three circumstances in which meat can be eaten: when it is not seen or heard or suspected (that a living being has been purposely slaughtered for the eater)”. This means that one could consume meat bought from a butcher without any dharmic problem.
13. The Hindu ‘Ashrama’ system stipulates that people should follow the four stages of right living and seeking moksha. Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprasta and then Sanyasa. Sanyasa or renunciation is not advocated before a person completes the earlier stages of a householder. It only after completing ones duties that one is allowed to seek salvation. A person who abandons his dependents goes against Dharma. Buddha however abandoned his wife and son and walked away to seek Inner Peace. This goes against basic Indian Dharma.
14. Buddhism is probably the first ‘evangelical’ religion in the world in the sense that, monks traveled far and wide to promote and spread Buddhism and to convert as many people as possible to their particular school of thought. They unabashedly criticized and looked down upon other beliefs and practices of the people. Buddhists still believe in converting people into their fold. Christianity and Islam became evangelical some centuries after Buddhism.
15. It is amazing that the teachings attributed to one single individual have over the centuries, developed such multifarious divisions and self contradictory teachings and interpretations.
Please note that some of the above points could be seen as a criticism of Buddhism, which is not the intention at all. Rather, these points are meant to highlight and present a realistic picture of Buddhism bringing out the life and teachings of the Buddha, while also focusing on the cross cultural influences at that time. They are meant to show Buddhism in relatively clear light, devoid of blind idolatry and chauvinism which the Buddha himself would have surely denounced.
Best Regards.
T Sriram Rao
15.11.2020
Sriram,
Really a very interesting and illuminating summary of Buddhism. A very scholarly attempt at understanding the various facets of Buddhism. It is amazing how some simple truths (teachings) of a realized soul evolved into a religion with such complex history and esoteric practices over such a wide geographical area.
Thanks for an engaging read.
Srini
Thanks a lot, Srini. Glad you liked it.