LESSON 9
Minimum reading time 1 hour. Remember that it is the essence that you are to capture. We are not interested in developing an intellectual understanding. We want you to see deeper so that comprehension is more complete.
Our objective in this lesson is not to trace the life of Buddha but to look at prevailing asceticism an alternative to Brahmin practices. We see Gotama, the Buddha, still on his first Mission, to discover the Truth, and use his own reports of his life as an ascetic after he had left his two masters, finding that he needed to go further than what they had presented.
Try to capture at this point the ambience of India at the time. It is not easy, for anyone who has not been to India to capture the incredible aura of the Transcendental that has lasted for thousands of years and is now beginning to fade under the onslaught of “progress”.
While there is great intellectual exchange, put yourself in contact with what lies behind. Now there is a tendency to intellectually build ideas and form them into a philosophy, which one tends then to try and fill by corresponding experiences. That was not the case then the intellectual dialogues stemmed from the experiences not the reverse.
LESSON NINE FROM SRAMANA TO SAMANA
At the time of the Sramans there was already in existence a broad and diverse range of cultures in Northern India, from the Indus to the Ganges. There were both nomadic pastoral communities and settled agricultural communities in which urban Aryan centres were rapidly developing. Within a short time a plethora of new towns had radically altered Northern Indian culture. Indeed there were trading relationship between the towns and accounts of merchants leading caravans of pack animals laden with goods, or making river voyages.
The towns and their rulers were also involved as partners by ensuring peace and order within their territory by keeping down the number of robbers, pirates and bandits.
To maintain stability in their regions, the rulers had a small standing militia who were also used at times to extend their dominion.
Gotama came from the Sakyan ‘republic’ in the foothills of the Himalayas. Most of these republics seem to have been semi-tribal rural communities in which the leaders were elected by the community, while others seemed to have been hereditary kingships.
The religious cultures of India at the time of the Buddha show a great diversity of traditions that, for convenience, are best divided in two groups: The Vedic traditions which accepted the authority of the Vedas, and the Sramana traditions which rejected or departed from the authority of the Vedas. There were Jivakas, Lokayatas and Jatilakas, Tedantikas, Devadhammikas, Jains and many other groups.
The Jivakas were a significant ascetic community that were later highly criticized by Buddha because they did not believe in karma but rather in fate ( niyati). They declared that life was like a ball of string unrolling. Everything on the string was already determined and it only appeared to be changing, from the position of the beholder with limited vision. It is with the Jivakas leader, Makkhali Gosala, that Mahavira trained for almost two years.
Gosala, supporting the practices of renunciation, thought that the world and its Phenomena are best studied in terms of its constituent elements and atoms.
The Lokyatas, the ‘followers of the way of the world’, were another significant ascetic community. They were essentially materialists who argued that there was no spirit and that there was no consciousness after death. They were universally censured by other groups for teaching a doctrine that rejected karma and accused of linking themselves to selfish enjoyment of the senses and sensuality.
Alongside these Sramana traditions and the Vedic and fringe traditions, there were also developing in India at this time the Upanishad traditions.
These were ascetic forest based traditions that accepted the validity of Vedic authority but were concerned with enquiry into the nature of the spirit. One of the characteristics of the Upanishads was a common belief in the existence of a supreme spirit (paramatman) which exists in all beings. They accepted this concept as fundamental.
They believed that it was the erroneous vision of individuals that separated Atman from the supreme spirit. The aim of the practices described in the Upanishads is, through yoga, meditation and asceticism, to gain insight (jñana) into the true nature of reality and to overcome this duality.
The Brahmanic sages of the Upanishads, which had not yet become a significant political force with the people, do not appear to have been opponents of the Sramanic traditions and there was a free and generally cordial interchange of ideas between them.
There was also a community called the Jatilaka, who wore their matted hair in braids (dreadlocks), the normal rule for those of the Hermits who were Brahmins. They were very active in the Gaya area as well as in other areas and were ascetics who lived in the forest, involving themselves with sacred fires clearly related directly with the Vedic tradition.
Tedandika, “the bearers of the triple staff", were wanderers who were the most closely linked to the Brahmic tradition. They were not allowed, by their rules, to wear their hair in braids, but either had to have their heads shaved entirely, or be shaved so as to leave a forelock only.
There were those too, who were devoted to a single manifestation or multiple manifestations of Brahma, called Devadhammika, and many small groups who practiced, each in their own way. There were groups, for example, who adopted the lifestyle of oxen and dogs. There is a sutra, the Kukkuravatika, which speaks of Punna and Seniya, two ascetics who used these practices, and their question regarding the outcome of their practices.
Majjhima Nikaya 57 Kukkuravatira Sutra
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living in
the Koliyan country: there is a town of the Koliyans called
Haliddavasana.
2. Then Punna, a son of the Koliyans and an ox-duty ascetic, and
also Seniya a naked dog duty ascetic, went to the Blessed One, and
Punna the ox duty ascetic paid homage to the Blessed One and sat
down at one side, while Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic exchanged
greetings with the Blessed One, and when the courteous and amiable
talk was finished, he too sat down at one side curled up like a dog.
When Punna the ox-duty ascetic sat down, he asked the Blessed One:
"Venerable sir, this naked dog-duty ascetic Seniya does what is hard
to do: he eats his food when it is thrown on the ground. That dog
duty has long been taken up and practiced by him. What will be his
destination? What will be his future course?"
"Enough, Punna, let that be. Do not ask me that."
A second time ... A third time Punna the ox-duty ascetic asked the
Blessed One: "Venerable sir, this naked dog-duty ascetic Seniya does
what is hard to do: he eats his food when it is thrown on the
ground. That dog duty has long been taken up and practiced by him.
What will be his destination? What will be his future course?"
"Well, Punna, since I certainly cannot persuade you when I say
'Enough, Punna, let that be. Do not ask me that,' I shall therefore
answer you.
3. "Here, Punna, someone develops the dog duty fully and
unstintingly, he develops the dog-habit fully and unstintingly, he
develops the dog mind fully and unstintingly, he develops dog
behavior fully and unstintingly. Having done that, on the
dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of
dogs. But if his view is such as this: 'By this virtue or duty or
asceticism or religious life I shall become a (great) god or some
(lesser) god,' that is wrong view in his case. Now there are two
destinations for one with wrong view, I say: hell or the animal
womb. So, Punna, if his dog duty is perfected, it will lead him to
the company of dogs; if it is not, it will lead him to hell."
4. When this was said, Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic wept and
shed tears. Then the Blessed One told Punna, "Punna, I could not persuade you when I said, 'Enough Punna, let that be. Do not ask me that.'"
"Venerable sir, I am not weeping that the Blessed One has spoken
thus. Still, this dog duty has long been taken up and practiced by
me. Venerable sir, there is this Punna, a son of the Koliyans and an
ox duty ascetic: that ox duty has long been taken up and practiced
by him. What will be his destination? What will be his future
course?"
"Enough, Seniya, let that be. Do not ask me that." A second time
... A third time Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic asked the Blessed
One: "Venerable sir, there is this Punna, a son of the Koliyans and
an ox-duty ascetic; that ox duty has long been taken up and
practiced by him. What will be his destination? What will be his
future course?"
"Well, Seniya, since I certainly cannot persuade you when I say
'Enough, Punna, let that be. Do not ask me that,' I shall therefore
answer you."
5. "Here, Seniya, someone develops the ox duty fully and
unstintingly, he develops the ox habit fully and unstintingly, he
develops the ox mind fully and unstintingly, he develops the ox
behavior fully and unstintingly. Having done that, on the
dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of
oxen. But if his view is such as this: 'By this virtue or duty or
asceticism or religious like I shall become a (great) god or some
(lesser) god,' that is wrong view in his case. Now there are two
destinations for one with wrong view, I say: hell or the animal
womb. So, Seniya, if his ox duty is perfected, it will lead him to
the company of oxen; if it is not, it will lead him to hell."
6. When this was said, Punna, a son of the Koliyans and an ox-duty
ascetic, wept and shed tears. Then the Blessed One told Seniya, the
naked dog duty ascetic: "Seniya, I could not persuade you when I
said, 'Enough, Seniya, let that be. Do not ask me that.'"
"Venerable sir, I am not weeping that the Blessed One has spoken
thus. Still, this ox duty has long been taken up and practiced by
me. Venerable sir, I have confidence in the Blessed One thus: 'The
Blessed One is capable of teaching me the Dhamma in such a way that
I may abandon this ox duty and that this naked dog-duty ascetic
Seniya may abandon that dog duty.”…
18. Seniya the naked dog duty ascetic received the going forth
under the Blessed One, and he received the full admission. And not
long after his full admission, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent,
ardent, and self-controlled, the venerable Seniya by realization
himself with direct knowledge here and now entered upon and abode in
that supreme goal of the holy life for the sake of which clansmen
rightly go forth from the home life into homelessness. He had direct
knowledge thus: "Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived,
what had to be done has been done, there is no more of this to
come."
And the venerable Seniya became one of the Arahants.
There were also animistic ascetic traditions active, involving numerous local deities and spirits of trees, lakes, rivers, hills, boundaries, and hearths, among others. These specialised minor deities seem to have been a constant feature of village level religious cultures.
One aspect of these local deities was that they were not always friendly and were, according to local traditions, difficult to mange, often becoming wrathful. The spirits needed to be kept appeased by making offerings to them. Happy spirits, it was thought, sent bountiful harvests, good health, peace and harmony. Wrathful spirits sent natural calamities, sickness and strife, so the deities needed constant propitiation.
There are numerous references in Buddhist texts to female and male tree spirits, (yakshini, yaksha). We see that even in the Buddhist Monastic Code of Conduct (Vinaya) it explains the prohibition on cutting down trees in that it harms the tree spirits. Showing the prevalence of that practice, we see that when Buddha received his Awakening, a young woman who brought him food thought that he was spirit of the tree.
Book of Ones (258)
“At the top, Beggars, of those of my Female Upasakas who first took
Refuge (saranam gacchantinam) is Sujata Senanidhita.”
The Book of Ones tells us that Sujata Senanidhita, a young woman, lived near Uruvela where Buddha received his Awakening. She made a promise to the god of the Banyan-tree nearby that she would offer a meal of milk-rice to the god if she gave birth to a son. The boon was apparently granted, for the son was born. She sent her maid, Punna, to prepare the place for the offering.
This occurred on the very day of the Buddha's Awakening after he had rejected extreme asceticism. Punna, finding Gotama sitting under the Banyan, thought that he was the tree-god present in person to receive the offering.
She brought the news to Sujata, who, in great joy, brought the food in a golden bowl and offered it to him. Gotama took the bowl to the river bank, bathed at the Suppatitthita ford and ate the food. This was his only meal for forty-nine days.
Later, when Buddha had begun preaching, a young man named Yasa joined him, becoming an arhat at Isipatana in the Deer Park. His father, Senani, came to find him and took refuge. Buddha was then invited to Senani’s home to eat and he accepted. It appears that Yasa was the son of Sujata. After the meal, Buddha, as was the custom, preached the Dharma and afterwards Sujata and the wife of Yasa became sotapannas. Sujata took the threefold refuge, thus becoming the first lay woman to take full refuge.
The richness of the milieu in spiritual terms was very evident, not only by its variety, but by the involvement of the people. Try to imagine what it might be like in the United States if everyone, acting with a truly liberal attitude, was actually involved in one of the multiple religious groups which is available.
The conversation among the more verbose would less likely be what quarterback had completed the most passes that week, or what the latest “look” was, as a genuine interest in what the most illustrious of various groups had recommended as litanies that week, who was going to be in town giving preachings, or who was going to be debating abortion in the Rose Bowl.
It was in such a spiritual atmosphere of daily practice and diversity of thought that Mahavira lived and which Gotama entered, albeit on a smaller and less publicized scale than might evolve in America.
The Elected Asceticism of Mahavira
Mahavira, whom we encountered in the last lesson, left his wife, consorts and family to find out why life was so apparently absurd. He went into the forest as an ascetic, as so many had done before, to discover what truth could be found. Life and its suffering and the civilization which existed made no sense at all. Was there really a need for suffering, aging and death, or was there available the immortality that was spoken of by the learned?
If the Brahmins were correct, there must exist another life beyond this, which it was then imperative for him to reach. First he decided to encounter masters to guide him upon his ascetic path. Then, seeking to go further, he took up the ascetic life in the forests in his own way, just as thousands of others had done. It is this asceticism which is our focus here.
In the Buddhist Akaranga Sutra we actually hear about his practice.
Akaranga-sutra, I,8,1 – I,8,3 – IV,8
I, 8,1
1. In the span of the Buddha’s life, almost all of the ‘republics’ were swallowed up by the rapidly expanding kingdoms based in towns. Indeed, the kingdom which ruled from Rajgir and then Patna in the space of a thousand years expanded from a small area of central Bihar to an empire under Asoka that stretched from Gujarat to Bengal and from Nepal to half way down the Deccan.
2.The Brahmins left much of the rural field open to the Sramic traditions while they maintained control and performed their priestly function in the urban areas.
3.For a year and a month Buddha did not leave off his robe. Since that time the Venerable One, giving up his robe, was a naked, world relinquishing, houseless (sage).
4. Then he meditated (walking) with his eye fixed on a square space before him of the length of a man. Many people assembled, shocked at the sight; they struck him and shouted.
5. Knowing (and renouncing) the female sex in mixed gathering places, he meditated, finding his way himself: I do not lead a worldly life.
6. Giving up the company of all householders whomsoever, he meditated. Asked, he gave no answer; he went and did not transgress the right path.
7. For some it is not easy (to do what he did), not to answer those who salute; he was beaten with sticks, and struck by sinful people. . . .
10. For more than a couple of years he led a religious life without using cold water; he realized singleness, guarded his body, got intuition, and was calm.
11. Thoroughly knowing the earth-bodies and water-bodies and fire-bodies and wind-bodies, the lichens, seeds, and sprouts,
12. He comprehended that they are, if narrowly inspected, imbued with life, and avoided injuring them; he, the Great Hero.
13. The immovable (beings) are changed to movable ones, and the movable beings to immovable ones; beings who are born in all states become individually sinners by their actions.
14. The Venerable One understands thus: he who is under the conditions (of existence), that fool suffers pain. Thoroughly knowing (karman), the Venerable One avoids sin.
15. The sage, perceiving the double (karman), proclaims the incomparable activity, he, the knowing one, knowing the current of worldliness, the current of sinfulness, and impulse.
16. Practicing sinless abstinence from killing, be did no acts, neither himself nor with the assistance of others; he to whom women were known as the causes of all sinful acts, he saw (the true sate of the world). . . .
I,8,3
7. Ceasing to use the stick against living beings, abandoning the care of the body, the houseless, the Venerable One, endures the thorns of the villages (the abusive language of the peasants), perfectly enlightened.
8. As an elephant at the head of the battle, so was Mahavira there victorious. Sometimes he did not reach a village in Ladha.
9. When he who is free from desires approached the village, the inhabitants met him on the outside, and attacked him, saying, 'Get away from here.'
10. He was struck with a stick, the fist, a lance, hit with a fruit, a clod, a potsherd. Beating him again and again, many shouted.
11. When he once (sat) without moving his body, they cut his flesh, tore his hair painfully, or covered him with dust.
12. Throwing him up, they let him fall, or disturbed him in his religious postures; abandoning the care of his body, the Venerable One humbled himself and bore pain, free from desire.
13. As a hero at the head of the battle is surrounded on all sides, so was there Mahavira. Bearing all hardships, the Venerable One, undisturbed, proceeded (on the road to Nirvana). . . .
VI,8
1. The Venerable One was able to abstain from indulgence of the flesh, though never attacked by diseases. Whether wounded or not wounded, he desired not medical treatment.
2. Purgatives and emetics, anointing of the body and bathing, shampooing and cleaning of the teeth do not behoove him, after he learned (that the body is something unclean).
3. Being averse to the impressions of the senses, the Brahmana wandered about, speaking but little. Sometimes in the cold season the Venerable One meditated in the shade.
4. In summer he exposed himself to the heat, he sat squatting in the sun; he lived on rough (food); rice, pounded jujube, and beans.
5. Using these three, the Venerable One sustained himself for eight months. Sometimes the Venerable One did not drink for half a month or even for a month.
6. Or he did not drink for more than two months, or even six months, day and night, without desire (for drink). Sometimes he ate stale food.
7. Sometimes he ate only the sixth meal, or the eighth, the tenth, the twelfth; without desires, persevering in meditation.
8. Having wisdom, Mahavira committed no sin himself, nor did he induce others to do so, nor did he consent to the sins of others.
We have seen the Jain path of asceticism, but remember that asceticism was a clear part of the Aryan Brahmic way and accompanied all their meditations.
We see only veiled references to asceticism in the Vedas, but the Laws of Manu makes the position very clear.
('The Laws of Manu,' VI, 33-65)
33. But having thus passed the third part of life in the forest, he may live as an ascetic during the fourth part of his existence, after abandoning all attachments to worldly objects.
34. He, who after passing from order to order, after offering sacrifices and subduing his senses, become tired with alms and offerings of food, an ascetic, gains bliss after death.
35. When he has paid the three debts, let him apply his mind to final liberation; he who seeks it without having paid (his debts) sinks downwards.
36. Having studied the Vedas in accordance with the rule, having begat sons according to the sacred law, and having offered sacrifices according to his ability, he may direct his mind to final liberation. . . .
41. Departing from his house fully provided with the means of purification (Pavitra), let him wander about absolutely silent, and caring nothing for enjoyments that may be offered.
42. Let him always wander alone, without any companion, in order to attain (final liberation), fully understanding that the solitary neither forsakes nor is forsaken, and gains his end.
43. He shall neither possess a fire, nor a dwelling, he may go to a village for his food, indifferent to everything, firm of purpose, mediating, concentrating his mind on Brahman. . . .
45. Let him not desire to die, let him not desire to live; let him wait for a time, as a servant for the payment of his wages.
46. Let him put down his foot purified by his sight (Lest he injure any small animal, or step on something impure), let him drink water purified by a cloth, let him utter speech purified by truth, let him keep his heart pure.
47. Let him patiently bear hard words, let him not insult anybody, and let him not become anybody's enemy for the sake of this body.
48. Against an angry man let him not in return show anger, let him bless when he is cursed, and let him not utter speech, devoid of truth, scattered at the seven gates.
49. Delighting in what refers to the Soul, sitting, independent, entirely abstaining from sensual enjoyments, with himself for his only companion, he shall live in this world, desiring the bliss (of final liberation). . . .
60. By the restraint of his senses, by the destruction of love, and hatred, and by the abstention from injuring the creatures, he becomes fit for immortality.
61. Let him reflect on the transmigrations of men, caused by their sinful deeds, on their falling into hell, and on the torments in the world of Yama,
62 On the separation from their dear ones, on their union with hated men, on their being overpowered by age and being tormented with diseases,
63. On the departure of the individual soul from the body and its new birth in (another) womb, and on its wanderings through ten thousand millions of existences,
64. On the infliction of pain on embodied (Limits), which is caused by demerit, and the gain of eternal bliss, which is caused by the attainment of their highest aim, (gained through) spiritual merit.
65. By deep meditations, let him recognize the subtle nature of the supreme Soul.
So we see here that asceticism was practiced as a natural part of existence in the life of a Brahmin, in which it was accepted as a natural fourth stage (ashram). The first was that of student (brahmacarin), the second a householder (grihastha), the third a hermit or forest-dweller, (vanaprastha), and finally, ascetic or mendicant (yati, bhikshu, parivrajaka, samnyasin). Thus it was considered a sacred duty to follow that path, and that path alone.
Upanishad Asceticism
The later Upanishads, which post-date Buddha, actually mention in numerous verses the path of ascetics. That way we can get a good idea of the prevalent Brahmin thought at the time of Buddha, as it would not have changed much.
The Bhikauka Upanishad (233)
[233] There are four types of mendicants who aspire to liberation: Kuṇḍcakas, Bahādakas, Haṃsas, and Paramahaṃsas
Kuṇḍcakas are people such as Gautama, Bharadvṃja, Yājāavalkya, and VasiṂha, who, eating eight mouthfuls, seek only liberation by the yogic path.
[234] Bahādakas are those who carry a triple staff and a water pot; who wear a topknot, a sacrificial string, and an ochre garment; who, avoiding honey and meat, beg eight mouthfuls of food from the house of a Brahmin seer; and who seek only liberation by the yogic path.
Renouncers are expected to eat just eight mouthfuls of food a day, according to the frequently repeated verse: "A sage should eat eight mouthfuls, a forest hermit sixteen, a householder twenty-two, and a student an unlimited amount." Here too you see the roots of the garments which Buddhist monks and teachers wear and the vegetarian tendency. (“an ochre garment; … avoiding honey and meat)
HaṂsas are those who do not stay more than one night in a village, five nights in a town, and seven nights in a sacred place; who consume cow's urine and dung; who are always given to the lunar fast; and who seek only liberation by the yogic path.
Ascetics sometimes took the urine and dung of cows in lieu of medicine, and it was a common practice to consume the five products of a cow (milk, buttermilk, ghee, urine, and dung), which were, and still are today, considered purifying.
What of the forth group, the Paramahamsas? We see a good description in the Paramahamsa Upanishad
Paramahaṃsa Upanishad Chapter I
[45] Once Nārada went up to the Lord and said to him: "What is the way of Paramahamsa yogins? What is their state?"
The Lord said to him: "The way of Paramahaṃsas is extremely rare in the world and not at all common. If there is one such person, he alone abides in the eternally pure Being,
[46] and he alone is the man of the Vedas: 1 that is the opinion of the wise. He is a great man whose mind always abides in me alone. Accordingly, I also abide in him alone.
"That man should renounce his sons, friends, wife, relatives, and so forth, as well as the topknot, the sacrificial string, Vedic recitation, and all rites. He should forsake also the entire universe, and take a loincloth, a staff, and a garment for the good of his own body and as a favor to the world.
We see that the Brahmin ascetics of a Hermetic style and the Wandering ascetics, the Sramanas were fully accepted. But we find in the Tiriyitatadhata Upanishad that these four apparently separate groups represented various stages upon one path, the way of Turīyātātāvadhātas
Turīyītātāvadhāta Upanishad
[241] Once the Grandfather went to the Blessed Father, īdiNĀrīyaḍa, and said to him: "What is the way of Turīyātātāvadhātas? What is their state?
The Blessed NĀrīyaḍa said to him: "The way of Avadhātas is extremely rare in the world. It is not common at all. If there is one such person, the wise consider that he alone is eternally pure,
[242] that he alone is the embodiment of detachment, that he alone is knowledge incarnate, and that he alone is the man of the Vedas.
He is a great man whose mind abides in me alone. I also abide in him alone.
"At the outset, then, such a person becomes a Kuṇḍcaka. Then in due order he advances to the Bahādaka state, and when he is a Bahādaka he proceeds to the HaṂsa state. Once he is a HaṂsa he becomes a ParamahaṂsa. He comes to know the entire universe by the deep contemplation of his own nature. Staff, water pot, waistband, loincloth, and garment -- all these he throws into water after performing the rites prescribed in his own rule. He then becomes naked, giving up even the use of clothes.
Review those states and put yourself in the shoes (in this case, the bare feet) of someone upon this long and lonely path. Can you imagine the dedication and force necessary? It is a temptation to see them as crazy, perhaps more so than those who flagellate themselves in our times for pleasure, but we are speaking here of men and women who sought the powerful drug of truth.
Those Brahmins who chose the ascetic path did not simply walk out of the traditional system. There was ritual to be fulfilled, and this was an important concern for the Brahmins.
Āruṇi, for example, asks Prajāpati: "By what means, O Lord, can I give up rites completely?" (ĀrUpanishad 3).
When Saunaka and the other seers ask Nārada: "Lord, tell us the procedure of renunciation," Nārada replies: "It is only proper that we learn all its features from the mouth of the Grandfather himself" (NpUpanishad 132).
The procedure is presented as a profound secret -- an Upanishad -- that can be learned only from the creator god himself. But lest we think that these secrets are a little absurd, for we can read them ourselves and understand them with little difficulty, know that the secrets lay not in the Upanishads, but in the method by which one performed the practices and transcended the Identity in doing so.
It is the same today. In the most of even simple meditations that one finds written in books and discussed among apparently learned lay people and masters, no truth can be found unless there is a deeper understanding of “how” the practice is to be performed in a way “beyond the sense of words used to express that way.”
It may seem also quite silly that a ritual was necessary to abandon the rites. The abandonment of rites, paradoxically, can only be accomplished through an appropriate rite that leaves the mind free from prior attachment to the rites and ceremonies. It was not a matter, once more, of Brahmic control, but an understanding of what was necessary.
So renunciation is not a mere refusal to perform rites, for that would constitute an offense against one's dharma. It is a state in which rites are absent, and that balanced state can be attained only through the proper ritual process. Even a learned and important Brahmin had to renounce, following the proper advantageous procedure (vidhinā).
Āruṇi Upanishad
Chapter I
[3] Āruṇi went to the world of Prajāpati, and, going up to him, he said: "By what means, O Lord, can I give up rites completely?" Prajāpati said to him: "A man should forsake his sons, brothers, relatives, and so forth; he should give up the topknot
,[4] the sacrificial string, the sacrifice, the ritual code, and Vedic recitation; and he should disregard the worlds of Bhūr, Bhuvas, Svar, Mahas, Jana, Tapas, Satya, (Earth, Atmosphere, Sky, Great Gods, People, Ritual Austerity, and Brahmic Truth), Atala, Pātāla, Vitala, Sutala, Rasātala, Talātala, and Mahātala (the seven Hell Worlds), and the entire universe.
[5] Let him take a staff and a garment; and let him give up everything else."
Kaṭhaśruti Upanishad
CHAPTER ONE
[31] "He who renounces in the proper order becomes a renunciant."
"What is it that people call renunciation? And how does one become a renunciant?"
“A man who has protected himself well by rites should obtain the cheerful approval of his mother, father, wife, sons, friends, and relatives. Having invited, as before, all the priests who usually officiate for him, he should offer a sacrifice to Agni Vaiśvānara and give up all his possessions…”
There were then Brahmic and Non Brahmanic ascetic wanderers, Brahmic and non Brahmic Sramanas, young men seeking a personal liberation and elders seeking Brahma all residing throughout the countryside. From Buddhist and Jain texts we learn that there were actually more than twenty different sects, many only known by the name used to describe them, while the Aryan priests, always present and in power in the urban areas, ruled everywhere.
In early times, each of these various wandering and ascetic schools preserved their traditions verbally and, though they were familiar with the ideas of other schools and debated with them on prime issues, they clearly made no effort to remember the tradition as it was practiced by other groups. Thus if a school disappeared, so did all record of its beliefs, except where they are mentioned in the various opposition sutras. Some, like Mahavira, learned the tradition of two schools before passing on to their own individual system.
In the forests adjoining the settlements, the disciples of the various schools, living a hermetic life, occupied themselves, according to the various tendencies of the schools to which they belonged, either in meditation, sacrificial rites, ascetic practices, or in repetition of specific sutras and verses. The masters taught and the sutras were passed on to their followers, who learned them by rote, while supposedly attempting to see beyond the mere words. Time was spent in gathering fruits and roots for their sustenance, or in going into the village for alms.
The Sramanic Ascetics were varied and totally disconnected formally from Brahmanic ideas, but even if one rejects ideas formally, one cannot be uninfluenced by them, thus we see many Sramanic practices “borrowed” from the Brahmins.
The Brahmin Hermetics, who chose the Ascetic path with great spiritual dedication, did so, we saw, in four clear stages. First they studied under a teacher while young, second they became a householder and raised a family, third they turned over daily affairs to a son and, taking up meditative practices, finally they left home, giving up everything and going upon the full ascetic path, living in the forest until death, seeking Brahma.
The Wanderers were ascetic sophists, who spent eight or nine months of every year wandering about precisely with the object of engaging in conversational discussions on matters of ethics and philosophy, nature lore and mysticism. Their ascetic discipline was not as severe as the strict Brahmin ascetics.
When Buddha finally left his palace life when Mahavira was sixty-two. Then the spiritual panorama which enveloped him must have at first been bewildering. He had a strong mind and his decision was easy. He would find proper masters, for he was not in any way attracted to the ascetic way, although he respected those ascetics who practiced.
There is an account of Buddha’s meeting with a Brahmin Hermit called Brighu on his way to find Arada Kalam, his first master. It was here that he obtained his first insights into the promised benefits of asceticism.
“He left Rajagraha and on his way saw the hermitage of Brighu and entered it out of curiosity.
3. The Brahmin inmates of the Ashram who had gone outside for the sake of fuel, having just come back with their hands full of fuel, flowers, and kusa grass, pre-eminent as they were in penances, and proficient in wisdom, went just to see him, and went to their cells.
4. Then, he being duly honored by those dwellers of the hermitage, paid his homage to the Elders of the Ashram.
5. He, the wise one, longing for liberation, traversed that hermitage, filled with the holy company desirous of heaven, -gazing at their strange penances.
6. He, the gentle one, saw for the first time the different kinds of penances practised by the ascetics in that sacred grove.
7. Then the Brahmin Brighu, well-versed in the technique of penance, told Gautama all the various kinds of penances and the fruits thereof.
8. "Uncooked food, growing out of water, and roots and fruits, - this is the fare of the saints according to the sacred texts; but the different alternatives of penance very,
9. "Some live like the birds on gleaned corn, others graze on grass like the deer, others live on air like the snakes, as if turned into ant-hills.
10. "Others win their nourishment with great effort from stones, others eat corn ground with their own teeth; some, having boiled for others, keep for themselves what may chance to be left.
11. "Others, with their tufts of matted hair continually wet with water, twice offer oblations to Agni with hymns; others, plunging like fishes into the water, dwell there with their bodies scratched by tortoises.
12. "By such penances endured for a time, -by the higher they attain heaven, by the lower the world of men, by the path of pain they eventually dwell in happiness, -pain, they say, is the root of merit."
13. On bearing this Gautama said : "Today is my first sight of such a hermitage and I do not understand this rule of penance.
14. "This is all I would say at the moment. This devotion of yours is for the sake of heaven - while my desire is that the ills of life on earth be probed and a solution found. Will you allow me to take your leave? I wish to learn the Sankhya Philosophy and train myself in the Samadhi marga, and see what help it can give me for the solution of my problem.
15. "There is sorrow to me when I reflect that I shall have to depart, leaving you who are thus engaged, you who are such a refuge and who have shown such excessive kindness to me, -just as there was when I had to leave my kindred behind.
16. "It is not, therefore, any dislike on my part of the wrong conduct of another which makes me go away from this wood; for ye are like great sages, standing fast in the religious duties which are in accordance with former sages.
17. "I wish to go to Muni Arada Kalam who is known to be the master of the subject."
18. Seeing his resolve Brighu, the chief of the hermitage, said : "Prince, brave indeed is thy purpose, who, young as thou art, having pondered thoroughly between heaven and liberation have made up your mind for liberation, ye are indeed brave!
19. "If what you have said is thy settled purpose go quickly to Vindhyakoshtha: the Muni Arada lives there who has gained an insight into absolute bliss.
20. "From him thou wilt learn the path, but as I foresee, this purpose of thine will go further, after having studied his theory."
21. Gautama thanked him, and having saluted the company of sages, he departed; the hermits also having duly performed to him all the rites of courtesy, entered again into the ascetic grove.
This seemingly trivial story has greater significance than one may imagine, as it was a part of the development of Buddha’s path. Too often we fail to see that there is not one cause to one’s own behavior or that of others. There are many contributing factors, many subliminal, that lead to each action, each decision. Note the suggested seed that may have really been placed in Gotama’s mind, with the words, "From him thou wilt learn the path, but as I foresee, this purpose of thine will go further, after having studied his theory." And indeed we do see that Gotama, after rejecting the theory and practice of his two first masters, took up the Asceticism which eventually led him to the middle path.
The Brahmin Brighu was a renowned and revered hermit, but you can see that he had developed disciples and a regular hermitage. They seemed well served with a place to stay where they would not be interrupted by the normal events of village life.
Did the Wanderers and Ascetics fare as well with this “social acceptance and respect”? Indeed they did. Remember that these Paribbajaka (Wanderers) were sophists who spent eight or nine months of every year wandering about, precisely with the object of engaging in conversational discussions on matters of ethics and philosophy, nature lore and mysticism.
They differed in their capacity and understanding, and Buddha particularly was quite opposed, not to the ideas they presented as much as the basic dishonesty of many in their practices, which was contrary to the proclamation of their beliefs.
In other words, it was hypocrisy which he resented. This again was consistent with his character of aversion to what the world was in comparison to his view of what the world could be.
Buddha refers to one group as "Eel-wrigglers," in the Brahmanet Sutra. There were many of that type of Wanderer making his living on the Wanderer bandwagon. But they enjoyed generally a reputation as honorable learned men and halls and hostels were put up for their use. The Great Wood adjoining the capital of Vesali is often mentioned as a meeting place for the Wanderers and no doubt Mahavira spent many a night sleeping there.
Buddha himself, after his Awakening, used them, as we see in this extract from that same Brahmanet Sutra.
“Thus I have heard:
Once the Lord was travelling along the main road between Rajagaha and Nalanda with a large company of some five hundred monks and the wanderer, Suppiya was also travelling on that road with his pupil the youth, Brahmadatta. And Suppiya was finding fault in all sorts of ways with the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, whereas his pupil, Brahmadatta was speaking in various ways in their praise. And so these two, teacher and pupil, directly opposing each other's arguments, followed close behind the Lord and his order of monks.
“Then the Lord stopped for one night with his monks at the royal park of Ambalatthika. And Suppiya too stopped there for the night with his pupil Brahmadatta. And Suppiya went on abusing the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, while his pupil Brahmadatta defended them. And thus disputing, they followed close behind the Buddha and his order of monks.
Now in the early morning a number of monks, having got up, gathered together and sat in the Round Pavilion, and this was the trend of their talk…”
At that time, there were many facilities and the asceticism was completely voluntary, not forced by any rule of the order. One could simply leave whenever one wanted. But becoming the disciple of a master was a different proposition altogether. As a result, there arose a tradition of younger men who broke with the Brahmin way and with fervor, went early in their lives to meditation and asceticism to follow older experienced Masters. Normally these young men were of wealthier families who could afford to leave their wives and children while in their late twenties and early thirties.
The goal of all their efforts was Liberation, which gradually became defined differently depending upon personal experiences and objectives. But there is perhaps something that we should see here. A new type of religious life had developed even before Buddha entered his path, free of rules, law and prejudice. It was not in any way a priestly practice, but rather a laity practice.
Thus Buddha, whom we see as a great sage, was fundamentally layman, a sage and a teacher, unlimited and unconfined by the Brahmic tradition. He was free to take what he wished and leave what he deemed useless and, as we can see, that is precisely what he did. Lest others think that they too should take this privilege, let it be realized that the rules in art, music, architecture, and the sciences can only be broken once they have been practised and understood. It is not simply a matter of egoistic like and dislike, but a rejection and acceptation based upon experience.
The question first becomes, what sort of asceticism did Gotama practice? He did not go with a Master and was not a disciple of Mahavira, but he chose to practice in the company of a newly formed group of six consisting of himself, Kondanna, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, and Assaji. Gotama, by his nature, became the leader, but not the head of the group.
So this spoilt Prince entered the forests to practice the greatest austerities of self-mortification. His companions followed, but always behind Gotama to watch where he had gone in his practices so they might decide to follow or not. He went to extremes which they saw with great admiration, but they practiced at a level less stringent and watched and waited for some sign of great Awakening and Liberation from Gotama.
In the Buddhist Majjima Nikaya XII, Gotama Buddha speaks to Sariputta, telling about his ascetic life and its ordinances.
Majjima Nikaya XII
“Aye, Sariputta, I have lived the fourfold higher life; I have been an ascetic of ascetics; loathsome have I been, foremost in loathsomeness, scrupulous have I been, foremost in scrupulosity; solitary have I been, foremost in solitude.
(I) To such a pitch of asceticism have I gone that naked was I, flouting life's decencies, licking my hands after meals, never heeding when folk called to me to come or to stop, never accepting food brought to me before my rounds or cooked expressly for me, never accepting an invitation, never receiving food direct from pot or pan or within the threshold or among the faggots or pestles, never from (one only of) two people messing together, never from a pregnant woman or a nursing mother or a woman in coitu, never from gleanings (in time of famine) nor from where a dog is ready at hand or where (hungry) flies congregate, never touching flesh or spirits or strong drink or brews of grain.
I have visited only one house a day and there taken only one morsel; or I have visited but two or (up to not more than) seven houses a day and taken at each only two or (up to not more than) seven morsels; I have lived on a single saucer of food a day, or on two, or (up to) seven saucers; I have had but one meal a day, or one every two days, or (so on, up to) every seven days, or only once a fortnight, on a rigid scale of rationing. My sole diet has been herbs gathered green, or the grain of wild millets and paddy, or snippets of hide, or water-plants, or the red powder round rice-grains within the husk, or the discarded scum of rice on the boil, or the flour of oil-seeds, or grass, or cow-dung. I have lived on wild roots and fruit, or on windfalls only.
My raiment has been of hemp or of hempen mixture, of cerements, of rags from the dust-heap, of bark, of the black antelope's pelt either whole or split down the middle, of grass, of strips of bark or wood, of hair of men or animals woven into a blanket or of owl's wings. in fulfilment of my vows, I have plucked out the hair of my head and the hair of my beard, have never quitted the upright for the sitting posture, have squatted and never risen up, moving only a-squat, have couched on thorns, have gone down to the water punctually thrice before nightfall to wash (away the evil within). After this wise, in divers fashions, have I lived to torment and to torture my body-to such a length in asceticism have I gone.
(ii) To such a length have I gone in loathsomeness that on my body I have accumulated the dirt and filth of years till it dropped off of itself-even as the rank growths of years fall away from the stump of a tinduka-tree. But never once came the thought to me to clean it off with my own hands or to get others to clean it off for me;-to such a length in loathsomeness have I gone.
(iii) To such a length in scrupulosity have I gone that my footsteps out and in were always attended by a mindfulness so vigilant as to awake compassion within me over even a drop of water lest I might harm tiny creatures in crevices;-to such a length have I gone in scrupulosity.
(iv) To such a length have I gone as a solitary that when my abode was in the depths of the forest, the mere glimpse of a cowherd or neatherd or grasscutter, or of a man gathering firewood or edible roots in the forest, was enough to make me dart from wood to wood, from thicket to thicket, from dale to dale, and from hill to hill,-in order that they might not see me or I them. As a deer at the sight of man darts away over hill and dale, even so did I dart away at the mere glimpse of cowherd, neatherd, or what not, in order that they might not see me or I them;-to such a length have I gone as a solitary.
When the cowherds had driven their herds forth from the byres, up I came on all fours to find a subsistence on the droppings of the young milch-cows. So long as my own dung and urine held out, on that I have subsisted. So foul a filth-eater was I.
I took up my abode in the awesome depths of the forest, depths so awesome that it was reputed that none but the passion-less could venture in without his hair standing on end. When the coil season brought chill wintry nights, then it was that, in the dark half of the months when snow was falling, I dwelt by night in the open air and in the dank thicket by day. But when there came the last broiling month of summer before the rains, I made my dwelling under the baking sun by day and in the stifling thicket by night. Then there flashed on me these verses, never till then uttered by any:
Now scorched, now froze, in forest dread, alone, naked and fireless, set upon his quest, the hermit battles purity to win.
In a charnel ground I lay me down with charred bones for pillow. When the cowherds' boys came along, they spat and staled upon me, pelted me with dirt and stuck bits of wood into my ears. Yet I declare that never did I let an evil mood against them arise within me.-So poised in equanimity was I.
[80] Some recluses and Brahmins there are who say and hold that purity cometh by way of food, and accordingly proclaim that they live exclusively on jujube-fruits, which, in one form or other, constitute their sole meat and drink. Now I can claim to have lived on a single jujube-fruit a day. If this leads you to think that this fruit was larger in those days, you would err; for, it was precisely the same size then that it is today.
When I was living on a single fruit a day, my body grew emaciated in the extreme; because I ate so little, my members, great and small, grew like the knotted joints of withered creepers; like a buffalo's hoof were my shrunken buttocks; like the twists in a rope were my spinal vertebrae; like the crazy rafters of a tumble-down roof, that start askew and aslant, were my gaunt ribs; like the starry gleams on water deep down and afar in the depths of a well, shone my gleaming eyes deep down and afar in the depths of their sockets; and as the rind of a cut gourd shrinks and shrivels in the heat, so shrank and shriveled the scalp of my head,-and all because I ate so little.
If I sought to feel my belly, it was my backbone which I found in my grasp; if I sought to feel my backbone, I found myself grasping my belly, so closely did my belly cleave to my backbone;-and all because I ate so little.
If for ease of body I chafed my limbs, the hairs of my body fell away under my hand, rotted at their roots;-and all because I ate so little.
Other recluses and Brahmins there are who, saying and holding that purity cometh by way of food, proclaim that they live exclusively on beans or sesamum rice-as their sole meat and drink.
[81 ] Now I can claim to have lived on a single bean a day- on a single sesamum seed a day-or a single grain of rice a day…
Note Gotama’s conclusion
“…and [the result was still the same]. Never did this practice or these courses or these dire austerities bring me to the ennobling gifts of super-human knowledge and insight. And why?-Because none of them lead to that noble understanding which, when won, leads on to Deliverance and guides him who lives up to it onward to the utter extinction of all ill.”
('Majjhima-nikaya,' XXXVI ['Maha-saccaka-sutra'])
Thought I then to myself:-Come, let me, with teeth clenched and with tongue pressed against my palate, by sheer force of mind restrain, coerce, and dominate my heart. And this I did, till the sweat streamed from my armpits. just as a strong man, taking a weaker man by the head or shoulders, restrains and coerces and dominates him, even so did 1, with teeth clenched and with tongue pressed against my palate, by sheer force of mind restrain, coerce, and dominate my heart, till the sweat streamed from my armpits. Resolute grew my perseverance which never quailed; there was established in me a mindfulness which knew no distraction,-though my body was sore, distressed and afflicted because I was harassed by these struggles as I painfully struggled on. Yet even such unpleasant feelings as then arose did not take possession of my mind.
Thought I to myself: Come, let me pursue the Ecstasy that comes from not breathing. So I stopped breathing, in or out, through mouth and nose; and then great was the noise of the air as it passed through my ear-holes, like the blast from a smith's bellows. Resolute grew my perseverance . . . it did not take possession of my mind.
Thought I to myself: -Come, let me pursue further the Ecstasy that comes from not breathing. So I stopped breathing, in or out, through mouth and nose and ears; and then violent winds wracked my head, as though a strong man were boring into my skull with the point of a sword. Resolute grew my perseverance . . . it did not take possession of my mind.
Thought I to myself: -Come, let me pursue still further the Ecstasy that comes from not breathing. So I kept on stopping all breathing, in or out, through mouth and nose and ears; and then violent pains attacked my head, as though a strong man had twisted a leather thong round my head. Resolute grew my perseverance . . . it did not take possession of my mind.
Thought I to myself: -Come, let me go on pursuing the Ecstasy that comes from not breathing. So I kept on stopping breathing, in or out, through mouth and nose and ears; and then violent winds pierced my inwards through and through,-as though an expert butcher or his man were hacking my inwards with sharp cleavers. Resolute grew my perseverance . . . it did not take possession of my mind.
Thought I to myself: --Come, let me still go on pursuing the Ecstasy that comes from not breathing. So I kept on stopping all breathing, in or out, through mouth and nose and cars; and then there was a violent burning within me,-as though two strong men, taking a weaker man by both arms, were to roast and burn him up in a fiery furnace. Resolute grew my perseverance . . . it did not take possession of my mind.
At the sight of me, some gods said I was dead; others said I was not dead but dying; while others again said that I was an Arahat and that Arahats lived like that!
Thought I to myself: Come, let me proceed to cut off food altogether. Hereupon, gods came to me begging me not so to do, or else they would feed me through the pores with heavenly essences which would keep me alive. If, thought I to myself, while I profess to be dispensing with all food whatsoever, these gods should feed me all the time through the pores with heavenly essences which keep me alive, that would be imposture on my part. So I rejected their offers, peremptorily.
Thought I to myself:-Come, let me restrict myself to little tiny morsels of food at a time, namely the liquor in which beans or vetches, peas or pulse, have been boiled. I rationed myself accordingly, and my body grew emaciated in the extreme. My members, great and small, grew like the knotted joints of withered creepers . . . (as in Sutra XIII) . . . rotted at their roots; and all because I ate so little.
Thought I to myself:-Of all the spasms of acute and severe pain that have been undergone through the ages past or will be undergone through the ages to come-or are now being undergone-by recluses or Brahmins, mine are pre-eminent; nor is there aught worse beyond. Yet, with all these severe austerities, I fail to transcend ordinary human limits and to rise to the heights of noblest understanding and vision. Could there be another path to Enlightenment?
Once more look at Gotama’s response.
A memory came to me of how once, seated in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree on the lands of my father the Shakyan, I, divested of pleasures of sense and of wrong states of mind, entered upon, and abode in, the First Ecstasy, with all the zest and satisfactions of this state bred of inward aloofness but not divorced from observation and reflection. Could this be the path to Enlightenment? In prompt response to this memory, my consciousness told me that here lay the true path to Enlightenment.
Thought I to myself:-Am I afraid of a bliss which eschews pleasures of sense and wrong states of mind?-And my heart told me I was not afraid.
Thought I to myself: -It is no easy matter to attain that bliss with a body so emaciated. Come, let me take some solid food, rice and junket; and this I ate accordingly.
With me, at the time, there were the Five Almsmen, looking for me to announce to them what truth I had attained; but when I took the rice and junket, they left me in disgust, saying that luxuriousness had claimed me and that, abandoning the struggle, I had reverted to luxuriousness.
Having thus eaten solid food and regained strength, I entered on, and abode in, the First Ecstasy. Yet, such pleasant feelings as then arose in me did not take possession of my mind; nor did they, as I successively entered on, and abode in, the Second, Third, and Fourth Ecstasies.
The question is why did he choose such an extreme form? There were so many more options available. He could have joined a white clad group or even Brahmanic ascetics.
First, in terms of modern Buddhism, we would call him a person of aversion, therefore, the path he would naturally choose would be the most difficult. Naturally too, he would enter with all his force and, more than that, with a great passion. That he sought this liberation for the good of mankind is legend. It is also certain that a person of aversion never gives up until there is success.
This look at his real state and character allows us to see him as a person who was essentially no different from many others. He went, saw and conquered and found his true nature as a Bodhisattva.
One of the things that you can be sure of is that when Buddha said that Awakening was impossible by asceticism, that is certain, but we must realize too that in those days, asceticism and meditation went hand in hand. It mattered not what your spiritual base was; meditation was essential. Some meditated on the old gods, some on Brahmin alone and some, like the Jains, on no God at all.
It is true that Buddha claimed that one cannot encounter the truth using intelligence and discussion, but certainly encountering the truth did lead to clear and correct intelligent discussion.
Let us now look at the type of mental state that was likely to go with Buddha’s choice.
It is certain, because it formed a part of his tradition, that Buddha had done the customary visualizations in his meditations as a child, using Brahmin as a tool of introspection. When he decides to return to this first meditative path, there is a great difference in the essential ingredient that goes beyond the words that had described for him earlier how to perform the practice.
His new Middle Way embraced more than the simple idea of a practice that is neither seated in the extreme of asceticism nor in the extreme of sense indulgence as a way of life. He had discovered another way, which is seldom understood, even among Buddhists. Having seen the meditative path of the Jhanas and the meditative path of asceticism, he saw the Middle Path of meditation, which is subtle and difficult, practiced by few.
Thus Gotama, now Buddha, moved with his new disciples from Sramanic practice to what was, as a result, called Samanic practice, to coincide with the “stilling of the mind” meditations of the Buddhist ascetics, the renunciants.
Dhamapada Chapter XIX
258. A man is not learned because he talks much; he who is patient, free from hatred and fear, he is called learned.
259. A man is not a supporter of the law because he talks much; even if a man has learnt little, but sees the law bodily, he is a supporter of the law, a man who never neglects the law.
260. A man is not an elder because his head is grey; his age may be ripe, but he is called 'Old-in-vain.'
261. He in whom there is truth, virtue, love, restraint, moderation, he who is free from impurity and is wise, he is called an elder.
262. An envious, greedy, dishonest man does not become respectable by means of much talking only, or by the beauty of his complexion.
263. He in whom all this is destroyed, and taken out with the very root, he, when freed from hatred and wise, is called respectable.
264. Not by tonsure does an undisciplined man who speaks falsehood become a Samana; can a man be a Samana who is still held captive by desire and greediness?
265. He who always quiets the evil, whether small or large, he is called a Samana (a quiet man), because he has quieted all evil.
266. A man is not a mendicant (Bhikshu) simply because he asks others for alms; he who adopts the whole law is a Bhikshu, not he who only begs.
267. He who is above good and evil, who is chaste, who with knowledge passes through the world, he indeed is called a Bhikshu.
269. A man is not a Muni (sage) because he observes silence ( mauna), if he is foolish
EXERCISE 9
The ninth exercise for this course 101 is to review all the different ascetic ways. Now imagine that you, living today, knew as a certainty that you could discover the truth ONLY by ascetic practice. In one page, honestly explain the ascetic practices which you would really be prepared to endure, and for how long, in order to encounter an Awakening. Remember, it is a certainty that at some point they will work if you go far enough.
If you would not go far, then explain why.
All answers reflect your personal understanding. There is no correct answer with which you will be judged. Thus your answer is part of your own learning process.
As an appendix, we add a commentary that is not a part of the lesson, but which may interest some who were shocked by the dates presented of Buddha and Mahavira.
Appendix to the Eighth Lesson:
A Polemic Conflict
We have seen that Mahavira lived during the development and writing of the early Upanishads. This is in conflict totally with the idea that he was born and lived more than a thousand years later. But if Mahavira indeed lived more than a thousand years before it is claimed, and Gotama, the future Buddha, was born just 36 years after, then the date generally given for Buddha’s birth, awakening and death must also be an error.
The date traditionally given in the Theravada tradition is that Buddha’s birth was in April in the year 563 BC and his death in 483 BC. (The Northern Buddhist tradition dates Buddha just 100 years before Asoka, but dates in the Northern tradition play little importance in the scriptures and the 100 years may just as easily refer to “many years”, which seems in many ways more sensible.)
It appears then that this 563 BC date then is an error and that the correct date of Buddha’s birth is 1887 BC, his Awakening in 1858 BC and his death in 1807 BC.
In other words, Buddha lived 1324 years earlier than is traditionally claimed. This is more consistent with Chinese Buddhist tradition, which dates Buddha back before 1100 BC.
Now there will be many who will cling to and crave tradition and will be offended by this idea, but from the standpoint of a Buddhist who is interested in the path and ideals of Buddhism and not a date on a calendar or in historical records, then it makes not one bit of difference which is correct.
For those who like mystery, without clinging, I present the following data.
Normally the calendar systems in ancient India worked on the number of years elapsed in a particular ruler’s reign as monarch. Even when inscriptions from ancient India are found, -and none are as old as the Buddha’s period-, dates are mentioned as, ‘so many years have elapsed in the reign of such and such a ruler’.
It can, therefore, be a problem to determine when a particular ruler came to power. Even if we know the date in a ruler’s reign, we may not be able to determine the absolute date. Fortunately for historians, the ancient Greeks had contact with India, and the original historians dated the periods of the rule of both Chandragupta Maurya and of Chandragupta Gupta in reported contacts made between the two cultures. It was during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya that Buddha was born.
Using a Sri Lankan tradition, which says Buddha died 215 years before the Asoka consecration, the consecration of Ashoka as emperor is given as 268 BC. Buddha’s birth was then calculated working backwards from the Asoka date. Buddha, they say, died in 483. Thus we have a date of 563 BC for Buddha’s birth.
But there is controversy even here, for the Northern Buddhist tradition says that only one hundred years had elapsed between the Buddha’s death and the consecration of Ashoka. That makes an alternative date of 448 BC to 368 BC.
The negation of these dates rests upon two principle sets of data:
Modern investigation shows an error in the original point of view, for it is demonstrated that it was Chandragupta of the GUPTAS, not the MAURYAS, who reigned over the Indian empire around 325 B.C., a time when Macedonian Alexander invaded India.
It was originally proposed by Sir Jones, and readily accepted by other historians, that Sandrocottus (325 BC), mentioned by the Greeks, was actually Chandragupta Maura.
But the Greek records mention Xandramas and Sandrocyptus as the kings immediately before and after Sandrocottus. These names are not in any way phonetically similar to Mahapadma Nanda and Bindusar, who were the predecessor and successor of Chandragupta “Maurya”, respectively.
However, if Sandrocottus refers to Chandragupta "Gupta", the Xandramas reckoned to be his predecessor is Chandrashree, alias Chandramas, and Sandrocyptus must be Samudragupta. The phonetic similarity becomes quite apparent and this, with the assistance of other evidence, confirms the identity of Sandrocottus as Chandragupta Gupta and not as Chandragupta Maurya.
It is also interesting to note that the accounts in the life of Sandrokotus of the Greeks, and the political and social conditions in India at that time, match those in the Chandragupta Gupta era. With this observation, therefore, the Greek and Puranic accounts unanimously agree on the issue of the identity of Sandrocottus as Chandragupta Gupta.
There are also many corroborating observations. Thyagaraja Aiyer in his book "Indian Architecture", for example, made an observation about a Shakya monk, Sramanacharya from Bodh Gaya, taken to Greece by his Greek pupils. The tomb marks his death at about 1000 B.C. If the Buddhist monk went to Greece in 1000 B.C., then the traditional dates presented for Gautam Siddharta are impossible.
It is by such data that the traditional dates are refuted:
The Chandragupta of the Gupta dynasty belongs to 327-320 B.C., but the Chandragupta of the Maurya dynasty belongs more than 1000 years before.
Due to the wrong identification of Chandragupta “Maurya” as the contemporary of Alexander, the history of Bharat has also, in error, been shifted by 12 centuries.
The second calculations which show the actual earlier date rests upon the dating of the Mahabharata war.
The Mahabharata War Dating
The Indian Puranas provide a chronology of the Magadha rulers. Let us assume for the moment that the Mahabharata war took place in 3138 BC, a date with which most modern serious scholars agree.
During the time of the Mahabharata war, Somadhi (Marjari) was the ruler. He started a dynasty that included 22 kings that spread over 1006 years. They were followed by five rulers of the Pradyota dynasty that lasted over 138 years. Then for the next 360 years were the 10 rulers of the Shishunag family. Kshemajit (who ruled from 1892 to 1852 B.C.) was the fourth in the Shishunag dynasty, and was a contemporary of Lord Buddha's father, Shuddhodana. It was during this period in which Buddha was born. It was during the reign of Bimbisara, the fifth Shishunag ruler (1852-1814 B.C.), when Prince Siddhartha became the enlightened Buddha. Then it was during the reign of King Ajatashatru (1814-1787 B.C.) when Buddha left this world. Thus, he was born in 1887 B.C., renounced the world in 1858 B.C., and died in 1807 B.C.
Furthermore, when the Puranas, especially the Bhagavat Purana and the Kaliyurajavruttanta, are consulted, we see the description of the Magadha royal dynasties, which can also determine the date of Lord Buddha.
Buddha was the 23rd in the Ikshvaku lineage, and was a contemporary of Kshemajita, Bimbisara, and Ajatashatru, as described above. Buddha was 72 years old in 1814 B.C. when the coronation of Ajatashatru took place. Thus, the date of Buddha's birth must have been near 1887 B.C., and his death in 1807 B.C.
Astronomical Data
The truly strong evidence for a high chronology is the textual information about the position of the equinox. The phenomenon of the “precession of the equinoxes” takes the elliptical constellations (also known as the sidereal Zodiac, i.e. those constellations through which the sun passes) slowly past the vernal equinox point, i.e. the intersection of ecliptic and equator, rising due East on the horizon. If data about the precession are properly recorded, they provide the best and often the only clue to an absolute chronology for ancient events.
If we read the Vedic and post-Vedic indications properly, they mention constellations on the equinox points which were there from 4,000 BC for the Rg-Veda (Orion), through around 3100 BC for the Atharva-Veda and the core Mahabharata (Aldebaran), down to 2300 BC for the Sutras and the Shatapatha Brahmana (Pleiades), each with errors which could amount only to a few centuries.
Other references to the constellation position of the solstices or of solar and lunar positions at the beginning of the monsoon confirm this chronology. Indeed, the regular references to the full moon’s position in a constellation at the time of the beginning of the monsoon, which nearly coincides with the summer solstice, provide a secure and unambiguous chronology through the millennial Vedic literature.
This moves the Vedic age from the post Harappan to the pre-Harappan period, from 1200 BC as calculated by the astronomers, to 4000 BC, which is contrary to the original assumption by the European Indologist Friedrich Max Müller. To the extent that there are astronomical indications in the Vedas, these form a consistent set of data detailing an absolute chronology for Vedic literature, in full agreement with the known relative chronology of the different texts of this literature. This way, they completely contradict the hypothesis that the Vedas were composed after 1500 BC.
Müller interpreted the astronomical evidence to prove that the observations recorded in the Hindu scriptures were imaginary, "pious frauds" created by the cunning Brahmanas. Numerous references, which were anachronous to the particular time-frames, were either considered as unauthentic or unreliable. No attempt was made to recheck and re-evaluate the presumptions and basis on which the chronological structure was built.
More evidence
There is other evidence contradicting the post Harappan dating for the Vedas. Cotton is found mentioned in the earliest Sutras but is absent from the Vedas, Brahmanas and Aranyakas. Hence, if the Rigvedic people came after the Harappans, how can they have been ignorant of cotton?
Similarly, rice is not known to the Rigveda and the Avesta, while it is present in several Harappan sites within and outside the Indus valley. Therefore, the Rigveda has to precede the Harappan Culture.
If you enjoyed this short potpourri of ideas which I have gathered on bits of paper over the years, without the original authors’ reference, but as close as I can get to the original words, I present another possible error in Buddhist history. How clearly this shows that we must go beyond the words to encounter the essence of truth. Are dates and names important? If the truth were presented allegorically from the mouth of a fish in the Ganges, or carved upon stone by the rays of the sun, would it really change the essence of that truth?
ASHOKA
The misplaced identification of Sandrocottus with Chandragupta Maurya, which was considered to be the "sheet anchor" of Indian chronology, has led to further chronological fallacies in the dating of Ashoka Maurya, the grandson of Maurya-Chandragupta.
This Ashoka supposedly became a Buddhist, as is confirmed from a variety of inscriptions and rock edicts found. It is interesting to note that these edicts were summoned in the name of one "Devanam Priyadarshi Raja" and the name Maurya Ashoka is nowhere mentioned.
This identification of "priyadarshin" with Maurya Ashoka was entirely based upon Ceylonese Buddhist chronicles
The names of kings found on Ashokan inscriptions namely, Amtiyoka, Tulamaya, etc. are ascribed to distant lands (Syria, Egypt, etc.). It is known that the kings mentioned bordered Ashoka's own lands. These alien kings were definitely not what they are construed to be.
According to Agarwal, "In the Piyadassi inscriptions, the five names which are believed to be of the Greek kings are of the Jana-rajyas of the very country beyond the Indus." (Age of Bharata War, Delhi, 1979). Amtiyoka was a Bharatiya prince ruling Afghanistan around 1475 B.C., which then appears to be the approximate date of Priyadarshi Ashoka: the grandson of Maurya Chandragupta. It should also be noted that there is also no evidence of the time when these edicts were inscribed.
Maurya Ashoka was respectful and supportive of Brahmana and Shramana, equally alike and favoured none, as known from the Girnar rock edicts. Also, he is not recorded to have become a follower of Buddha, and nowhere does it appear that he erected great stupas and vihars.
So there arises the question of the Ashoka who had embraced Buddha's path. Kalhan's Rajatarangini provides details of one Ashoka of the Kashmiri Gonanda dynasty who is said to have freed himself from sins by embracing the faith of Gautam Buddha and by constructing numerous Vihars and Stupas and by building the town Shrinagari with its 96 lakhs of houses resplendent with wealth. He was a peaceful ruler who had lost all his land and wealth because of his innate pacifism. This description of Gonandiya Ashoka matches with one of the inscriptional Ashoka.
The major rock and pillar Ashoka edicts, differ in tone and message from those of the 8 minor rock inscriptions. Strangely enough, all 26 inscriptions appear to be carved out during the same period. If studied and analyzed carefully, a compelling inference needs to be drawn. The edicts with the proclamations in morality belong to Maurya Ashoka (1482-1446 B.C.) and those on the conversion of Buddhism are those of Gonanada Ashoka (1448-1400 B.C.).
Life is full of surprises is it not? Unimportant, but surprising.