The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Buddhism: Explore Buddhism and Keep the Faith!

Introduction

This is perhaps the appropriate place to comment on what you, as the reader, hold in your hands. It is a key to the treasures of one of the oldest and most fascinating religions of humanity. As such, it is aimed at providing the novice reader with a brief overview of philosophy, history, and (most important) the feel of Buddhism. But it is only the first of many keys to a vast treasury.

Because, as you are about to find out, Buddhism has changed and developed considerably over the 2,500 years of its existence, the treatment of each individual topic must necessarily be brief. Fortunately, the reader who wants to delve more deeply into the ocean of Buddhism will find no lack of more detailed studies on almost any conceivable topic of interest.

The Buddhists have a saying to the effect that after people have had the moon pointed out to them, the help of a pointing finger is no longer required. It is our hope that this small offering will be like that pointing finger, useful for your discovery of one of the noblest products of the human spirit.

Extras

The sidebars in this book offer extra information and help to explain the topics and terms throughout the book. Use these as road signs on the journey to understanding Buddhism.

On the Right Path

These boxes provide guidance about Buddhism, which supplement the materials in the text. They take a topic one step further toward understanding the religion.

Enlighten Me

These boxes will be filled with tips about the text to supplement information on the topic at hand.

What’s It All Mean?

These boxes define terms familiar to Buddhism that are used in the text. Understanding the typical vocabulary and jargon of the religion helps you better understand the general subject when you encounter these terms in another context.

Bet You Didn’t Know

These boxes are extra tidbits of background information that are informative or just plain interesting.

Trademarks

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be or are suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Alpha Books and Penguin Group (USA) Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Chapter 1

The Roots of Buddhism

In This Chapter

• India’s role in Buddhism

• The importance of the Vedas

• The Sramana movement

• The Jains and nonviolence

To understand the roots of Buddhism and how the various Buddhist practices and beliefs came into being, you must first understand the historical development of Buddhism. In this chapter, we’ll look at the schools of thought that influenced the development of this ancient religion that is still valuable to many people today.

Where It All Began

Most religions originated in a particular place at a particular time, and the ideas of that environment influenced the beginnings of the religion itself. Therefore, when looking at the roots of Buddhism, it is necessary to look at India and the development of other religions there.

India is a large country isolated from the rest of Asia by oceans and high mountains. These features also contribute to India’s monsoon climate, which has three distinct seasons: the hot season, the cool season, and the rainy season. During the rainy season, which lasts roughly from May to October, heavy rainfall severely limits travel through the countryside; therefore, new customs and religions are slow to arrive, spread, and even depart.

India is also crisscrossed by mountain ranges and rivers that divide it into distinct areas. At around 500 B.C.E. (the time of the Buddha; see later in the chapter for more on him) the most important of these areas was the valley of the Ganges River, which flows from west to east across most of Northern India. It was here that the great religions of India first arose and flourished. Only later did they spread to the south.

On the Right Path

The actual dates of the Buddha and of the early events that shaped Buddhism are still matters of serious debate among scholars today. The dates given in the following chapters are those the majority of scholars agree on. But even these dates are approximate (approximate dates are preceded by c.).

In the time of the Buddha, the Ganges River Valley was undergoing a period of vigorous religious development. Of the various intellectual currents flowing there, three schools of thought, or Indic religions, influenced the development of Buddhism:

• The Vedic religion

• The Sramanic movement

• Jainism

The Vedic Religion

The first and oldest of the philosophies that led to Buddhism was the ancient Vedic religion. The Vedas were the sacred books that this religion, practiced by the Aryan people, was based on. Most scholars believe the Aryan people came to India from the plains of southern Russia sometime between c. 2000 and 1500 B.C.E.

The earliest Aryans spoke a language that was the remote ancestor of other present-day European languages, including English, of course. That language developed in India into Sanskrit, the sacred language of Hinduism. Today Sanskrit, much like Latin, is not spoken, but read by priests in its ancient written form.

Bet You Didn’t Know

Three priests would use the Vedas during religious ceremonies. The Rig was used for the reciting, the Sama was used for the singing, and the Yajur was used for the ritual performance.

What’s It All Mean?

Sanskrit is to the Dravidian languages what Latin is to the Romance languages—both are also dead. The relationship between Sanskrit and other European languages is close and can be seen in the comparison of key words. For instance English brother is phrater in Greek and bhratar in Sanskrit. Veda is a Sanskrit word that means knowledge or wisdom.

The Vedas consisted of the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, and Yajur Veda. The oldest, and most important, religious document from the time of the Aryans is the Rig Veda. Made up of hymns that included blessings, praises, curses, and sacrifices, the Rig Veda became the main way the Aryan people praised their gods.

Cattle and Castes

When the seminomadic, cattle-herding Aryan tribes arrived in India, they dominated the agricultural people who were already living there. They created a social division known as the caste system, which consisted of the following, from the highest caste to the lowest:

• Priests (Brahmins) and scholars

• Warriors and nobles (Kshatriyas)

• Common people (farmers and merchants) (Vaisyas)

• Slaves and serfs (Sudras)

Each caste group had a particular duty to perform in society; and, in later times, when the system became more rigid, a person of one caste could not marry or even eat with individuals from the other castes. Religion was the particular province of the priestly class, the Brahmins, the highest of the castes.

Bet You Didn’t Know

A fifth class is also thought to be part of the Aryan caste system and is known as the Untouchables. These individuals had jobs in which they handled unclean objects; such lowly tasks could only be assigned to people of non-Aryan origins.

The Rig Veda shows us that their religion was not static. Rather, it was a living entity that changed and developed over time. Even the Indian society was shaped by the religion that came from the Vedas.

Out with Sacrifice, in with Brahmanism

Initially, the Aryans seem to have practiced a very straightforward religion in which the key element was sacrifice. The gods, such as Indra (the warrior king of the gods) and Agni (the god of fire), were believed to be the personification of nature’s power. The Aryans believed that the gods were motivated by more or less the same things that motivated humans. Sacrifices were, thus, seen as a kind of commercial transaction in which the person who was offering the sacrifice was trading something to the god. In return, the sacrificer hoped to receive some favor, usually of a worldly nature, such as long life, many sons, or success in war.

Performing the sacrifice was the job of the priestly class. In the earliest portions of the Rig Veda, written between c. 1500 and c. 1000 B.C.E., these sacrifices seem to have been relatively simple affairs. A cow or some other animal was slaughtered, and the god was invited to come down from the heavens and join the worshippers in the feast.

Enlighten Me

The Rig Veda and Vedic literature aided in the development of the caste system. For example, the god Purusha was described as having sacrificed himself to himself. When divided, each part of his body became a different part of society. Purusha’s mouth became the priests, his arms became the warriors, his thighs became the working class, and his feet became the slaves. This was all in keeping with the notion that although each part of the caste system had its role in society, it was still part of a greater whole (one body).

As time went on, the sacrificial rites became more and more complex. By the time of the Buddha in c. 500 B.C.E., some of these rituals could extend over as long as a year and require a staggering outlay of wealth and the employment of a large number of priests.

The offering of larger and more elaborate sacrifices had two effects on the development of Brahmanism. First, it meant that the poorer and less powerful members of Aryan society were excluded from many of the more elaborate rituals of their religion. They simply could not afford to perform the complex and expensive rituals. Moreover, the conquered peoples of the land were also excluded from the sacrifices. In effect, they were completely cut off from the religion of their conquerors. Second, it allowed the Brahmin priests to wield more and more power within Aryan society.

What’s It All Mean?

Brahmanism is the term used for the later phase of the Vedic religion. This is also known as the first phase of Hinduism, which was characterized by elaborate sacrificial rituals presided over by the Brahmins (priests).

In the Brahmanic texts written between c. 1200 and 900 B.C.E., the focus of attention is not on stories about and hymns to the gods. Rather, the major theme is the correct performance of the sacrifices. Because sacrifices had become so complicated, these texts were meant to give clear instructions on how to perform them correctly.

Mixed in with these instructions, however, you can begin to see the start of a long Indian tradition of religious and philosophical speculation. These speculations centered on the creation of the world, the nature of reality, and more pragmatic questions such as the role of the sacrifices in maintaining cosmic order.

Enlighten Me

Buddhism was partially a revolt against the complicated and expensive rituals required to serve the Hindu gods.

The Sramana Movement

As time went on, the priests of the time became more convinced that their actions were not only pleasing to the gods, but that they actually compelled the gods to grant their desired results. As you might expect, the Brahmins (priests) now saw themselves as the preeminent members of Aryan society. They believed the rituals that they alone were able to perform actually generated the forces that sustained and moved the cosmos.

Meanwhile, other groups in Aryan society were considering the same basic religious questions as the Brahmins. Their conclusions were radically different from those of the priestly class, however.

These other thinkers, who seemed to have lived between c. 900 and 600 B.C.E., were known collectively as the Sramanas.

Not Superman, but Atman and Brahman

Instead of viewing sacrifice as concrete ritual action, the Sramanas believed that sacrifice was a symbolic and figurative representation