Indian Buddhism

Indian Buddhism is regarded as the original school of Buddhism by many scholars in ancient and even modern times since it was in mystic India that Prince Siddhartha Gautam was born, attained the title of The Buddha and preached to hundreds of lost souls about the divinity within. Indian Buddhism thus took root as a platform for preaching lasting spiritual development by Lord Buddha who taught men and women about their innate, albeit un-awakened ability to conquer base desires that can end suffering and how to reach the ultimate aim of human life - complete salvation through Nirvana, by self-awareness, meditation and following the Lotus Path.

Indian Buddhism beliefs and history

Indian Buddhism was born alongside the revelation that dawned upon a wandering, soul-searching prince in need for the true meaning of life, who had renounced his kingdom to gain deeper insights into the more important factors of existence and higher living. Some thinkers believe Indian Buddhism to have started as early as the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautam, who later came to be known as Lord Buddha since the young royal was known for his profound powers of self-control and other-worldliness even at an early age. Of course, The Buddha made no such claim to divinity and true believers in Indian Buddhism or other schools of Buddhism also do not regard The Buddha as a God, but rather as a transformed human being who rose to elevated, awakened heights of discovering truths and the ideal guide who helped light their path.

Indian Buddhism: Life of Lord Buddha

Born in 563 B.C. to King Suddhodana and Queen Maya in the royal grove of Lumbini between Devadaha and Kapilvastu and named Siddhartha Gautam, the young prince had a life of comfort and ease ahead of him; or so thought the royal family belonging to the historically famed Gautama Gothra of the Sakya clan of the solar race. A rich kingdom Kapilavastu between the Nepalese foothills and the river Raptu, the Shakayas who were a priestly-warrior clan and landowners for miles along, were all for his taking, but as legend goes; the young prince was destined for another life. And this had been apparently predicted on the fifth day of his birth when the naming ceremonies were performed: the newly born was fated to be either a universal monarch or a supreme enlightened one, a Buddha!

Yes, India truly is the land of soothsayers and mystic charms still as it was then, so many thousands of years ago, perhaps more spell-binding and believable centuries ago when battles were fought and won on the basis of astrological predictions as the shocked father made preparations to turn the tide of fortune for his son. But as history records it, the soothsayer went on to forecast four signs (a man worn by age, a sick man, a dead body and a hermit) that would guide the young prince to his fate.

The very best of education and luxurious palace living, a beautiful consort in Princess Yasodhara, Siddhartha's wife at age 16 and a son soon after followed the comfortable world of pleasures for the prince, yet during an excursion, he chanced to see his fate unfolding before him - all four signs, as predicted - in physical form. These sightings led Prince Gautam to the realization of suffering in life and the transience of worldly possessions, which he then gave up at age 29, for a life of an ascetic. The wandering hermit Siddhartha Gautam, having renounced royal life, wife and son, aged father and a potential crown, found many renowned sages of the time. To learn basic doctrines of Hindu and Jain religions from, but these didn't satisfy him spiritually. Indian Buddhism had early roots thus in some parts of Hinduism and Jainism since the founder, Lord Buddha practiced these for some time, however, the path of self-mortification and extreme asceticism did not bring Siddhartha any closer to his goal of the true meaning of life.

The Enlightenment: Gautam Buddha's first step towards establishing Indian Buddhism

Close to death's door due to rigorous fasting and penance, the young seeker gave up the self-imposed torture and resume normal food intake, before giving in to the higher calling of pure meditation and in his quest for absolute truth. The awakening or self-realization that occurred with the intense meditation as Gautam sat under a Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, took place during the span of a single night (C. 528 B.C) and led to him being bestowed with the title of The Buddha. During this self-realization and absolute proximity to a higher truth, Gautam Buddha came to learn about all his previous lives and the truth about cycle of birth and rebirth and how to end the cycle of infinite misery, which is caused by desire. The awakened one set forth on a mission to heal the world, impart this knowledge and enlighten other souls through sermons; the formulation and practice of the eight fold path and knowledge of the four noble truths form the basis of Indian Buddhism.

Growth and progress of Indian Buddhism

Buddha's first sermon held at the deer garden in Benaras consisted of dwelling on "the Middle Way" because he preached a path of moderation in belief, action and speech so that a certain ideal balance could be reached in life. The four noble truths of Indian Buddhism revealed by the Buddha in his sermons were that desire is the root cause of all suffering in human life, which is an unavoidable truth but control and discipline over base desires and practicing high living can help one end suffering and gravitate towards a better, elevated existence with complete freedom from it when Nirvana, or salvation is attained. The eight fold path was preached for over 45 years that Gautam Buddha roamed and taught the Indians about a better way of living, after his enlightenment. Due to these efforts of the Buddha, he gained many devout followers who later came to establish a religious order, known as the Sangha.

Indian Buddhism gained ground with sustained efforts of Gautam Buddha's disciples, royal patronage and due to the simplicity of the religion besides its inherent goodness, based on human values.

The initial 5 disciples who were also in line for gaining enlightenment just like Gautam Buddha and who later made up the first Buddhist Council members were also regarded as Buddhas, when they took up their responsibilities as preachers. A Buddha then was also a Preacher as much as he was an enlightened being: or, as the Dhammapada, Sacred Books of East volume 10 pg., 67 says, 'Jathagatas (Buddhas) are only Preachers.' Indian Buddhism as was taught in the early stages did not confine itself to the existing practices for religion since it never instructed followers to worship God in any form; but after the release of Buddha's soul at the age of 80, his disciples who had memorized his teachings came into dissent over the interpretations of his doctrine.

Indian Buddhism links with the various Buddhism councils held

This council held at Rajagaha, for reciting and meditating on the words of Buddha led to many differences of opinion and Kayshapa and Ananda, prominent disciples of Buddha were given preference in stating their opinions. The second council held hundred years later at Vesali also ran into similar troubled waters (intellectual conflicts regarding monastic discipline, tenets etc) and it was only 400 years after the death of Buddha that his teachings and doctrines written down, so Indian Buddhism may have retained much less in terms of authenticity, genuineness and purity due to this delay factor, feel history scholars.

The Third Buddhist Council was held at Pataliputra, allegedly called by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC and organized by monk Moggaliputta Tissa, for the purpose of ridding the sangha of unscrupulous monks who had joined the order to benefit its royal patronage. Modern historians believe this council was exclusively Theravada, still a major branch of Indian Buddhism today, practiced in Southern India. The Fourth Buddhist council is a controversial subject as scholars differ on the venue (Kashmir is the second claim) of Jalandhar in Punjab being suspect, even as they mostly agree that emperor Kanishka held the council of the Sarvastivada school. Whatever the case may be the unlawful practices creeping into the Sanghas made way for many divisions to arise within the folds of Indian Buddhism even as missionaries were dispatched to Sri Lanka, China, Burma and neighboring countries to preach the message of Ahimsa (non-violence) and Love, Peace and brotherhood.

Indian Buddhism division, decline and revival

Buddhism in India declined in many regions of India around the 13th century, but had left a significant impact by then in the some Himalayan areas like Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, where it soon re-emerged as a strong faith in the last century. After the Buddha passed into a state of Parinirvana, the factions within the Sanghas led to many new Indian Buddhism schools emerging from existing religion in Indian states; the first among these divisions were the Theravada, with Mahayana Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism following soon after.

Indian Buddhism took a beating with invasions such as those by General Ikhtiar Uddin Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khilji who sacked great Buddhist shrines at Nalanda; the White Hun invasions and those by the Turkish Muslim conquerors, who suppressed both Hinduism and Indian Buddhism. Besides the violence of invasions, Indian Buddhism suffered a decline due to lack of sustained royal patronage as enjoyed in early years thanks to local Buddhist kings like those of Magadha, Kosala, Kushan and Pala empires as well as the growing popularity of Hinduism, which emerged as a populist religion due to the emotional connectivity factor of hymns and worshipping a personal God.

Indian Buddhism survived the onslaught of both outside as well as inside attempts at cracking the shell of a total spiritually development aiming doctrine with consistent efforts from the Maha Bodhi Society members in Sri Lanka (Anagarika Dharmapala was one such) and other prominent Indian missionaries keen to ignite the fires of true Buddhist beliefs. Started in 1891, the efforts to revive Indian Buddhist took new life in June 1892 with a meeting of Buddhists organized at Darjeeling where Dharmapala urged Tibetan Buddhists to raise awareness and spread the message far and wide, with the Dalai Lama also entreated for His holy blessings and devotion to the cause. More viharas and temples for Indian Buddhism followers were constructed by Dharmapala, including one at Sarnath, the place of Buddha's first sermon. Other sustained efforts by the Bengal Buddhist Association, the Tibetan Buddhism organization (presided by His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, who along with his followers lives in exile in Upper Dharamsala, or McLeod Ganj, among self-established monasteries, temples and schools in a town known as "Little Lhasa", after the Tibetan capital city) the efforts for reviving Indian Buddhism bore fruit with dedication shown by the Indian Dalit Buddhist movement in 1890s. Spearheaded by leaders such as Jyothee Thass, Brahmananda Reddy and Dharmananda Kosambi, when B. R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism along with followers in 1956, this was the last fillip that Indian Buddhism movement needed for an instant pick-up.

Happiness is not decreased by sharing, goes a famous Buddhist proverb - perhaps the heart of healing that lies deep in the essence of this belief is much of the power that revived Indian Buddhism, which preaches this message even today.