Buddha in Hindu Society: Buddha Rises From Within

(Tina)Theresa Hannah-Munns
RLST 303 - Dr. Leona Anderson
December 6, 2004


Introduction

Buddha is a legendary figure that rises out of the Hindu tradition to become the founder of a religion that offers an alternative approach to that of the Vedic tradition in India. Buddha is a superhuman that had exceptional abilities that places him above humans, but not quite a god. Buddha lived a path for other humans to follow, fulfilling his Hindu dharma duty, and creating the Dharma of his teachings for others to follow. This paper will outline the contextual constructs of Buddha’s philosophy and analyze the tradition that sprouted in his wake.


Part I - Contextual Background

Creation Stories of Buddha as Deity

Buddha was born into the Hindu social fabric around twenty-five hundred years ago with a mission to break out of that background and lead many Hindus out of the samsara cycle of karma. His path was an expansion of the indigenous Sramana tradition, informally in place before the Aryan invasion. The sramanas placed emphasis on the direct experience of the Ultimate Mysteries by using oral beliefs and practices that emphasized wisdom and revelation found in the inner journey of the heart. Sramanas withdrew from society, contrary to the structured Vedic tradition of Brahminism. In the Vedic tradition, one follows dharma through fulfilling one’s social obligations, by doing one’s duty. In Vedic tradition, one obtains release from samsara by producing good karma in doing one’s social duty, as outlined in the Vedic scriptures and through the formal organization of the professional priestly caste. Buddha transformed Hindu dharma into the Dharma, his teachings on how one is to achieve enlightenment and escape the endless rounds of existence within the Vedic tradition. Rising from the past indigenous foundation of the Little Tradition of popular belief, Buddha challenged the Vedic Great Tradition by obtaining Nirvana and passing on his Dharma for others to follow his lead, bringing the Little Tradition into a religion of its own, outside of the Great Tradition of Hinduism’s construction.

Buddha takes no part in the creation of the world as many of the other gods of Hinduism do. The Buddhist textual tradition contains the Pali Canon, which includes the Jatakas, Vinayas, Sutras, and much more. These record Buddha's past lives, his immaculate conception, and his founding of the ‘Middle Way’ that is the process and philosophy of Buddhism. Also, in Hinduism, there are no myths in which Buddha is part of the creation of the world either, even though there are texts that have Buddha as one of Vishnu’s incarnations. There are even some birth stories of Buddha that can be seen as attempts to anchor an understanding of Buddhism from within Hinduism itself, yet Buddha defies the Great tradition by becoming a religion alongside Hinduism.

Buddha moves through many lives of rebirth, with over five hundred and fifty recorded in the Jataka scriptures. Buddha’s last round of birth was the climax of karmic incarnation, with the Buddha arriving through immaculate conception and birth to be recognized by the indigenous holy men of the Sramana tradition. Contrary to Buddha’s father’s attempts to shelter him from fulfilling his goal of enlightenment, Buddha realizes Nirvana and then is persuaded by some of the Hindu Gods themselves to teach his path of realization to the people of India. Buddha does so for eighty years, leaving a legacy that later becomes the Buddhist religion.

Though Buddha is not conceived as a deity, he is conceived of as a man who obtained the ultimate goal of Hinduism; to realize Nirvana and escape samsara. This is the ultimate purity within the Hindu construction.


Characteristics of the Buddha

Buddha is seen as being a super-human, who has all wholesome qualities and the full use of all human ability in living life. Buddha is also known by his immaculate conception and his ability to follow the role of his incarnation in achieving Buddhahood. This has made him the Great Teacher of Enlightenment, where Buddha is the shining mentor in which to emulate. He has well over one hundred marks of a Buddha, many of which are symbolic of him after his passing away. Many of Buddha’s past lives have become characteristics of Buddha himself, emanating the compassion, forbearance and determination that others are to gain in order to reach their individual goal of Nirvana.



Visual Images

The primary emphasis of early Buddhist art is that of symbolic icons, with no personification of Buddha . Buddha is symbolized by a vast system of icons that range from the marks found on Buddha physical body to symbols that locate geography, history and Dharma within Buddha’s life. The overarching emphasis is to locate Buddha within the act of living his Dharma, and not within the worship of his physical body. Representations were a reminder for followers to continue towards their goal of liberation. Some of the predominant images are the Dharmachakra (the wheel), the footprints of Buddha, the bodhi tree, the stupa, the empty throne, a lion or elephant, the Buddha eyes, and the eight auspicious symbols.



Part II – Intellectual Analysis



Symbol Theory


The Eight Auspicious Symbols

• Dharmachakra - Turning of the Wheel of the Buddhist Doctrine for the benefit of all; Complete purification
• Lotus - Full blossoming of wholesome deeds in liberation; spiritual achievement
• Right-coiled, white conch shell - Deep resonance of the Dharma to all people, at all times; right-coiled like the hair on Buddha’s body (a mark of the Buddha) and also the position Buddha lay when passing away; white represents spiritual purity
• Endless knot - The interpenetration of emptiness and that of dependent arising
• Two golden fish - Living life without fear and with full spontaneity; going with the flow
• Umbrella - Preserving all from the different forms of suffering
• Victory Banner - Self-control and Dharma winning over the existence of suffering in the world
• Treasure vase - Infinite long life, wealth, and prosperity for all


Some other Symbols of Buddha

• The Empty Throne – reminder of the Dharma and why Buddha has left
• The Stupa – the passing away of the physical; the impermanence of all of life
• Footprints – the path of the Buddha; the Middle Way; footprints are shown with various other symbols in combination to expand the meaning of the symbol
• Buddha Eyes – represents the second watch before full enlightenment; the all-seeing, all-knowingness of liberation; spiritual insight
• As Lion – the kingly quality of Buddha’s doctrine to guide; leadership
• As Deer – represents the First Discourse at Deer Park in Sarnath; usually shown in conjunction with a Dharmachakra
• As Elephant – Maya’s dream; Buddha’s past life; not forgetting
• As Other Animals – Buddha’s past lives and the Dharma he expounded using these as teaching tools

Assumptions of South Asian Religions

Buddha’s characteristics, and the symbols that carry these characteristics, point to both upholding Vedic assumptions, as well as transforming them altogether.


Characteristics that uphold Vedic assumptions:

• Karma – Buddha teaches about karma within the known constructs and assumptions of everyday Hindu life. He emphasizes that his path is the way to overcome karma, not by denying its existence or by transforming it, but by using practices that were already seeded by the Little tradition of the Sramanas and encouraged somewhat within the Great tradition. Buddha taught that by
extinguishing desires, one can extinguish the attachment that creates karma, both good and bad.
• Samsara – Buddha works within the assumption of samsara being a wheel influenced by karma that produces the rounds of birth, death, and rebirth in a never ending process of cycles. This wheel continues to turn within the Buddhist construction of the universe. The Dharmachakra is the process that works to neutralize, or eliminate the power of samsara on existence itself.
• Nirvana – This is a goal of all Hindu people. In Hindu society, it is expected that by doing one’s duty (dharma) throughout life, as an elderly man, one can then become a mendicant and then seek Nirvana. As for women, they can hope to produce enough good karma in their life to then be reborn as a man, preferably a Brahmin. For the lower caste men, they too must wait for a rebirth into the Brahmin caste before Nirvana could even be conceived as possible in one lifetime.
Buddha shows that by following the Eightfold Path anyone can achieve Nirvana.
• Jnana marga – Following the path of knowledge to reach enlightenment is a characteristic that Buddha has exemplified, except that his path is totally an internal one where knowledge is sought from within oneself rather than in doctrines and scriptures. His teachings and the commentaries produced from them were not written down until well after his passing, contrary to the Vedic emphasis on scripture playing an integral part in obtaining enlightenment.
• Hatha marga – Again, Buddha followed this path with his Dharma, emphasizing that moderate action is necessary in achieving Nirvana. Rather than adherence to complex yogic practices, an individual is to live the path of action through following the Eightfold Path.


Characteristics that transform Vedic Assumptions:

• Dharma – The Hindu construct is concerned with each individual fulfilling one’s social duty. Dharma in Buddha’s conception is his teachings on how to achieve enlightenment through the process of ‘The Middle Way’.
• Gender relations – Buddha taught that enlightenment was achievable by all people who work hard. Unfortunately, he still carried some of the assumptions that women are less capable to achieve the goal of spiritual fulfillment. Some of the teachings attributed to Buddha are downright sexist, seeing women as tempters to men and too earthly in their desires.
• Class/caste construction – Within Buddha’s ideology, caste or class is of no concern, since all people must drop their distinctions of position and personality in order to focus exclusively on their goal of Nirvana. This opposes the rigidity of the Hindu caste system, which is anchored firmly within the Great tradition, and fulfilling the Little tradition.
• Deities – Buddha denies the ability of any god to be able to assist an individual on reaching Nirvana since they are also under the influence of samsara. Even though they are above the human birth in the karmic hierarchy, the gods are still within the system and must also reach for the goal of Nirvana.
• Bhakti marga – Since the gods can be of no help, Buddha expresses that worship is not only unnecessary, but also takes one away from focusing on achieving Nirvana. He even emphasized that he himself is not to be worshipped in any form, except for the essence of himself that is contained in his Dharma. He felt that bhakti impedes one’s progress towards releasing all attachments in order to achieve enlightenment.


The Great and Little Traditions

All traditions have Nirvana as their goal. Brahminism (The Great tradition) teaches that one must have the assistance of the Brahmin caste, or be of the Brahmin caste, in order to move toward Nirvana within one’s life. For all other castes, they can only look forward to gaining merit through the purity of their actions and hope for a rebirth as a male Brahmin.

Within the Great Tradition, concession has been made to the Little tradition by allocating space for the sramana tradition at the end of a male’s life. After he has spent most of his life fulfilling the dharma duty of his position in society, he can then shed his responsibilities in connection with society and become a mendicant or forest dweller. Occasionally, younger males will become mendicants and this can usually be justified by labeling his choices as being part of his duty. Overall, the Great tradition does make space for the Little tradition to play out by sanskritizing some part, or all parts, of the system into its philosophy and texts while altering the Little tradition to meet the needs of the Great tradition.

Buddha took the Sramana tradition, altered it, and conceptualized it into a moderate path of aestheticism. Buddha’s path was a revitalizing and revamping of the Little tradition into a path that is original and complete within itself, thus later producing a religion on its own.


Functional Analysis

Buddha’s story is written with the philosophically creative flair found in all Hindu mythmaking. Within its storyline weaves patterns of psychological and societal philosophies that give an alternative construction to the assumptions that form the foundation of India’s caste social structure, or completely eradicates the need for some assumptions within a new social order.

The Buddhist Sangha, community, consisted of monastic members that renounced their social lives and obligations and joined the monastery. The other aspect of community members are the laity, those that continued within the Hindu caste structure while following the Buddha’s way towards enlightenment, mainly by alms-giving and by providing other support to the Buddhist monks and nuns.

Buddha is a quasi-god, a man who refused deification and thus is more worthy of emulation than that of a god. It is easier for the practitioner to psychologically identify her/himself with Buddha, especially as her/his personal struggle towards Nirvana progresses. An individual can find security and motivation by referring to Buddha’s journey rather than performing bhakti worship. The visual iconology also help to avoid the human tendency towards bhakti, an action that is easier to accomplish than to acquire the self-discipline necessary in order to reach Nirvana. The symbol of Buddha’s footprint(s) reminds the practitioner to step into the Eightfold Path of the Buddha and personally develop along a known and realized path.

By having Siddhartha (the Buddha) being immaculately born within the Kshatrya caste, the Hindu conception of purity is retained. This conception still functions within Buddhism, but with less emphasis on social distinction and more emphasis on personality distinctions. Within Buddhism, it is the individual’s intent and behaviour that produces a dichotomy of impurity/purity. When Siddhartha renounces his princely life, he is the emulation of how all practitioners can give up their social selves to join into the higher aspiration of the spiritual path. A practitioner would shave her/his head, wear a robe, and join into the monastic community as an equal. This functions to provide an environment for those Hindu individuals, especially of the lower castes, to escape any of the oppressive elements of the Vedic hierarchy.

Within expounding the Dharma, Buddha made frequent reference to his past lives, Jatakas, which he came to know and understand within the first watch on the night of his enlightenment. This teaching tool functions to perpetuate the Hindu assumption of samsara, but also to highlight the power and ability that a practitioner will possess if s/he continues on the Eightfold Path. The content of the Jatakas are set up to instill knowledge of the obstacles that a practitioner may encounter, and to pass on moral teachings that imbue values and highlight qualities the practitioner must obtain in order to fulfill her/his goal.

The Buddha continued the Sramana tradition of aestheticism, but made it more accessible to more people by producing ‘the Middle Way.’ Having been through the experience of extreme body renunciation, Buddha’s knowledge is experiential and his insight at the riverbank within the mythical construct supports this adaptation.

The Buddha myth portrays all of Buddha’s life and this allows for social modification to some of the Hindu assumptions that are deeply anchored into the Great tradition. Buddha’s conceptual reconstruction is introduced in a progressive fashion that seems natural and logical, but is also very practical. Buddha provides a system that allows any caste member to enter the Sangha and not be discriminated against. Unfortunately, women were still under some discrimination, but probably less than if remaining in the Hindu caste system.


Eliadian Analysis

Eliade’s theory of ‘the eternal return’ rests on the assumption that all religions have cosmological origin myths. Buddhism has no cosmological origin myth but does support one aspect of this theory; Buddhist practitioners do desire to be ‘out of history’. The goal of Buddhism is to reach Nirvana, thus being ‘out of history’. Buddha presented the ‘Discourse on the Four Noble Truths’ that highlights the renunciation of desire as the way to end suffering, which can be interpreted to be the renunciation of the Hindu social life and its complex menu of duties and relationships. Practitioners do leave the everyday Hindu life behind as they enter the monastic life of Buddhism, one of the steps towards the extinction of the mundane world that happens with Nirvana.

Eliade’s only research into Buddhism is Japanese Zen, which progresses the phenomenological approach beyond that of Eliade’s conception; Eliade must not have researched too deeply if he was trying to use Zen to support his phenomenological approach, since Zen would show him that his postulations and theories are as empty as the objects that Eliade deconstructs.


Specific Analysis of Ritual

Buddhism is a functional path toward a goal, that of obtaining Nirvana. All Buddhist rituals are to provide the practitioner with motivation and strength of intent so that they can be successful. For example, pilgrimage helps the practitioner to break their daily habits and step into the Buddha’s life by visiting the four holy sights of the Buddha myth. Through the use of pilgrimage, the practitioner is psychologically strengthened as to the validity of the path, both of the path Buddha has already completed and the path that the practitioner is currently on.

Initiation is a formal, yet simple act of taking the vow of ‘The Three Jewels’ – taking refuge in the Buddha, the Sangha, and the Dharma. This act gives both the monastic and laity a ritual start to a daily commitment of applying the Eightfold Path into their lives. Initiation functions to provide the practitioner with a new beginning and an opportunity to let go of the old, like a snake shedding its old skin.

Psychologically, this gives depth of intent through the action and words of the ritual and provides focus for the future. Security is found in initiating oneself into a path already walked, especially when meaning is represented through every stage of Buddha’s life. A sense of purpose is given to the individual as s/he takes part in her/his own initiation, and, as Marx would say, feelings of ‘isolation’ are put to rest as the individual becomes part of a community that has the common desire to alleviate suffering, a high moral value in almost every social system. Marx would state that this is a misdirected choice: to alleviate suffering, Marx would emphasize that individuals must join together and revolt against social injustice. The Buddhists would counter this argument through their logic of impermanence, thus the resulting emptiness of such actions.


Conclusion – Sarah Macdonald

Sarah MacDonald, the author of “Holy Cow” would have seen early Theravadin Buddhist practice as an extreme form of aestheticism in our modern day and age. Within her living a short time in India, she came in contact with Tibetan Buddhism and an experience with adapted Vipassana practice. MacDonald translated the purpose of Vipassana as being a “quest for inner peace with a brain enema” , MacDonald might have seen the early orthodox practice of Buddha’s teachings impossible for her since she enjoyed her desires, and definitely found value in her suffering. Her sarcastic sense of humour depended on having negative experiences in order to exercise itself and, even though she had a positive experience with Vipassana, she stated she would never go through something like that again. It is too bad that MacDonald cannot see the essence of the Middle Way that runs throughout Buddha’s system of enlightenment.

Buddha rises from within the context of Hindu society and proposed a mildly aesthetic (compared to the Little tradition and even to the practices of the early Vedic tradition) self-development model that is spiritually anchored within both the Great Vedic tradition and the Little Sramana tradition. The spiritual foundation lifts Buddhism up from being a mere ‘Hindu Psychology’ and into the domain of religion. Buddha’s intent was one that supports a functionalist approach to spiritual and earthly existence; he wasted no time on the meanderings of the metaphysical philosophers or on the ritualists and their bhakti. His words, the rituals he initiated, his actions - all were in support of a Middle Way that ran between the extremes of aestheticism and hedonism within India; he supported a balance between the dualities of the world, especially concerning how his disciples were to view him. Buddha was born into the physical Hindu world as a man and rises up to Buddhahood through the internal journey to reach Nirvana. For eighty more years he spread the Dharma as an enlightened man, not as a deified entity. Before he passed away, Buddha taught that he was not to be worshiped. He was a man and remained a man, even though he became trans-human because of his passing into Parinirvana.