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The Historical Buddha - Schumann H W
The Historical Buddha - Schumann H W
Tradition
Series
The Historical
Buddha
H.W. SC
H .W . S c h u m a n n s t u d ie d I n d o lo g y ,
c o m p a r a tiv e r e lig io n s a n d s o c ia l
a n th ro p o lo g y at B o n n U n iv e rs ity a n d
e a rn e d his Ph.D d e g re e fo r a thesis on
B ud dh ist philosophy. H e lectured at the
H indu U niversity in B en aras, In dia, jo in e d
th e F o r e ig n S e r v ic e s o f th e F e d e r a l
R e p u b lic o f G e r m a n y a n d s e r v e d in
consular and diplom atic capacities at the
W est G e r m a n m is s io n s in K o lk a t a ,
R angoon, C hicago an d C olom b o. H e was
incharge o f the In d ia desk at the G erm an
F oreign O ffice and retired as the ConsulG e n e r a l o f th e F e d e r a l R e p u b lic o f
G erm any in M um bai.
D r. Sch um ann who, d u rin g his twenty
years in Asia, visited all the p laces related
to the life o f the B u d d h a , le c tu r e d on
B ud dh ism at B o n n University. H e is the
auth or o f n in e books on B ud dh ism which
were translated into Five languages.
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The Historical
Buddha
The Times, Life and Teachings
of the Founder of Buddhism
H.W.
Schum ann
M. OC.
a is h e
The beginning of the Buddha's first sermon in the Pali language and in the Dcvanagari .script.
Pali can be written in all the alphabets orsoiuli and south-east Asia and also in Roman. The
Dcvanagari script is used in North India and Nepal. European Indologist* generally use
the Pali Canon in the transcriptionsol'the Pali Text Society, l.ondnn.
ISBN: 81-208-1817-2
/ nnted in India
BYJAINENDRA PRAKASH JAIN AT SHRI JA1NENDRA PRESS,
A-45 NARAINA. PHASE-1. NEW DELHI 110 028
AND PUBIJSHED BV NARENDRA PRAKASH JAIN FOR
MOTITAI. BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED,
BUNGAI.OW ROAD. DELHI 110 007
Foreword
T h is b o o k is a s p le n d id co n trib u tio n on the sch o la rsh ip a b o u t
G autam a B ud dh a, u sing various Buddhist and non-Buddhist sources.
T h e sch olarsh ip in clu d es data on the B u d d h a s era, his relatives,
etc.; the local kin g o f his city K apilavatthu; the B u d d h a s en lig h te n
m en t; m on u m en ts as in Sarn ath ; what the city B en ares was know n
fo r; the con version o f K in g B im bisara o f M agad h a with the capital
R ajagah a; and w hen Sariputta an d M oggallana becam e disciples.
T h e n a synopsis o f the B u d d h a s d o ctrin e, his o rd e r, also the laity,
follow ed by the psychological aspects o f G autam a (o r G o ta m a), then
his later years, his last jo u rn e y s; his P arin ib ban a; plus a little o f the
A fterw ards, in clu d in g his relics.
A i .k x W
aym an
Contents
v
x
xi
xv
xvi
xvii
5 6 3-52 8 BC
Y O U T H , QUEST AND E N L I G H T E N M E N T
1
6
10
13
21
24
29
34
44
49
53
58
528 BC
T H E F O U N D A T I O N OF T H E O R D E R AND T H E B E G I N N I N G
O F T H F . MI S S I ON
First sermons
Sarnath - the archaeological site
Grow th o f the com munity
Benares orthodoxy versus the samana movement
The rains retreat in Isipatana
Back in U ruvcla
6l
61
67
70
72
80
83
528 -50 8 BC
3
TH E FIRST T W EN TY YEARS
T H E D O C T R I N E , T H E O R D E R , T H E I. A I T Y
T h e doctrine
The O rder
The O rder and the laity sociologically
considered
I he Buddha and caste
5
OOTAMA
PS Y CH O LO G ICA L ASPECTS
Mis appearance
T h e development o f his personality
How the Buddha regarded himself
Em otional disposition
G otam a s dealings with lay followers
T h e M aster
6
LATER YEARS
R ival philosophies
G otam a the wanderer
A decade o f crises
88
88
93
96
98
101
105
108
1 12
115
1 17
121
1 30
130
153
187
ig i
194
194
195
197
202
206
210
215
2 15
229
232
483 BC
7
Last journeys
244
244
247
251
254
AFTERWARDS
258
258
B ib lio g r a p h y
264
In dex
269
Illustrations
Preface
N ote on Chronology
A word o f explanation is called for for the datin g o f the lustorical
Buddha adopted in this book, according to which, following the
widely recognized corrected Ceylonese chronology , the Buddha
lived from 563 to 483 b c . T h e undeniable weakness o f this chron
ology, which was recognized by some early Indologists, led Professor
P. H. L . Eggerm ont to reopen the question in four articles in Persica
between 1965 and 1979, and he has since been supported by Professor
Heinz Bechert (Indologia Taurinensia X , 1982). Both scholars believe
the Sinhalese chroniclers are wrong, and date thie Buddha about 1 15
years later. T h eir arguments are noteworthy, but need to be further
developed before they can be regarded as providing final proof, and
yielding an acceptable alternative to the previously accepted chron
ology. Accordingly, I do not (yet) accept them, but it is open to the
reader to subtract 1 15 years from the dates given for events in the life
o f the historical Buddha.
Guide to Pronunciation
Vowels have their continental values:
a is like u in cut
a is like a m father
i is like i in bit
I is like (in machine
u is like u in pul
u is like u in rule
e is alw ays long, aseh, except before a double consonant
o is alw ays long, as oh, except before a double consonant
ai is as ai in aisle
au is as ow in how.
Consonants are approxim ately as in English. T h e following should be
noted:
c is like ch in church but unaspirated
j is like j in judge
n is as in Spanish, or like ni in onion
v is like v or w
/, j are both like sh in shoe
r is a syllabic r (now usually read like ri in rid)
1, ndcrdotted d t q are pronounced with the tongue-tip turned back
Underdotted m marks a nasalized vowel, but is usually read as ng.
In the aspirated consonants kh gh ch jh th dh ph bh, the h must be
clearly sounded {note that th, ph are just aspirated t, p, and not as in
thing, phone).
Stress. I f the penultimate vowel or syllable is long, it takes the stress,
otherwise this falls on the syllable before that, ifan y : e.g. Gdtama, vinaya.
Abbreviations
A nguttara N ikaya ( P T S transl. G radual Sayin gs )
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Buddhist Publication Society, K an d y
Ghandogya Upanisad
C u llavagga (ol'Vin)
D ham m apada
Dlgha N ikaya ( P T S transl. 'Dialogues o f the Buddha )
DIpavamsa
Itivuttaka (P 'l S transl. 'A s it was S aid )
Ja ta k a
Ja l
K lip
K h uddaka Pallia
M hv
M ahavam sa
MN
M ajjhim a N ikaya ( P T S transl. M iddle Length Sayings )
M ahiivagga (of Vin)
Mv
P
Pali
Par
Pari vara (of Vin)
PTS
Pali T ext Society, London
Rv
Rgveda
Br
Satapatha-Brahm ana
Skt
Sanskrit
SN
Sam yutta N ikaya ( P T S transl. Kindred Sayin gs )
S N ip
Sutta N ipata ( P T S transl. Woven Cadences )
Sv
Suttavibhanga (of Vin)
TBr
T aittirlya Brahm ana
Thag
Th eragatha ( P T S iransl. Psalms o f the Brethren )
T h ig
Therigatha ( P T S transl. Psalms o f the Sisters )
Ud
U dana ( P T S transl. Verses o f Uplift')
Vin
V inaya Pitaka ( P T S Iransl. Book o f Discipline )
VM
Visuddhim agga by Buddhaghosa (English transl. by Ven.
^[anamoli, Path o f Purification )
Quotations are from tlie P T S editions, generally with sulta number
and subdivisions. Where necessary the reference by volume and page
o f the P T S (Pali) text is given as well. Parallel passages arc not cited.
AN
BAU
BPS
ChU
Cv
Dhp
DN
Dv
Itiv
563-528 BC
I
L A N D S C A P E A N D P O L I T I C S IN N O R T H I N D I A IN
T H E S IX T H C E N T U R Y BC
O n the platform o f the railway station in the North Indian university
town o f G orakhpur can he seen, besides the Indian travellers, visitors
from Ja p a n , Sri Lanka, Th ailand and Burm a, as well as Tibetan
exiles and westerners. T h ey are pilgrims, on their way to visit the
Buddhas birthplace at Lum bini, and his deathplace at Kusinara.
For this northern Indian plain between the foothills o f the H im alayas
and the banks o f the G anga (Ganges) is the sacred land o f Buddhism.
It was here that the Buddha proclaimed his insights between 528 and
483 b c , and where the lirst com munity o f followers arose. From here
his teaching began its peaceful conquest o f much o f Asia.
T h e landscape, which in the Buddha's lime was thickly wooded,
stretches from the T a ra i on the edge o f the H im alayas 300 kilometres
to the south in a flat plain, patterned with fields and dotted with
villages brooding under scattered trees in the hot sun, several times
broken up by slow-flowing rivers on which wooden ships with grey
sails make their leisurely way. T h e principal conurbations are A llah a
bad, V aran asi (Benares) and Patna.
T h at is how it is in M ay and June, when the temperature reaches
over 40 C , but the landscape and the towns look quite different
when the monsoon breaks in m id-June, having arrived from the
south-east in mighty cumulus clouds. Trem endous torrents o f rain
pour noisily over the land for several hours at a time, the soil turns
into a quagm ire, the previously gentle rivers burst their banks in
spate. Soon the heat becomes oppressive, ones skin develops prickly
heat and itches. But gradually the temperature drops and makes the
North o f the Ganges lay the powerful kingdom o f K osala with its
capital Savatthi (Skt Sravasti), which in the Buddhas lifetime was
ruled succe.-fsively by Kings M ahakosala, Pasenadi and V idudabha.
Im portant cities o f K osala, besides Savatthi,.w ere Saketa (Ayojjha),
the former capital, and the pilgrim age city o f V aran asi (Benares).
T h e K in g o f K osala, apart from his central territory, was lord over
two republics and three tribal areas.
South-west o f K osala, in the angle between thie Ganges and the
Y am un a, was the small kingdom o f Vam sa (or V acch a), with its
capital Kosam bi and the pilgrim age centre o f Payaga (now A llah a
bad). T h e K in g o f Vam sa was U dena, the son o f Parantapa.
Thie kingdom o f Avanti stretched below Vam sa and K osala to the
south o f the Ganges. Its king, Pajjota, resided in U jjeni, but had in
the southern part o f his kingdom a second capital, M ahissati. Avanti
lay outside the area visited by the Buddha, and was converted to his
teaching by his disciple M ahakaccana.
Finally there was the elongated kingdom o f M agadha, which
touched Avanti in the east and was bounded to the north by the
G anges. Its wealth was largely based on iron ore which was obtained
by surface mining not far from the capital o f R a jagah a, and which
served both for export trade and for the local production o f weapons.
In R a jagah a ( K in gsb u ry ) resided successively Kings Bhati (or Bhatiya), Bim bisara (who was married to a sister to K in g Pasenadi o f
K osala), and A jatasattu, who shifted the capital from R ajagah a to
Pataliputta (now Patna). A jatasattu s son and successor was Udiiyibhadda, who like his father gained the throne by parricide, and who
suffered the same fate at the hands o f his son A nuruddhaka.
Beside these four kingdoms there were in the M iddle Country
several republics, all o f them to the cast o f Kosala and the north o f
M agad ha. These were o f aristocratic-oligarchic character and were
each headed by a president or governor (raja), who presided in the
state council and, when this was not in session, carried on the business
o f government alone. O n ly members o f the w arrior caste (khattiya,
Skt k$atriya) were eligible for election as raja, that is, the nobility,
and the seats in the council were also reserved for men o f this caste.
H owever, the other castes were able to listen to the debates, as the
council-cham ber consisted merely o f a roof supported on columns.
Oi
S I D D H A T T H A S O R 1G I N S A N D B I R T H
K apilavatth u, the Buddha's home town, in which hie spent the first
twenty-nine years o f his life, lies near the border which today divides
the Kingdom o f Nepal from the Republic o f India. T he Buddha's
father was called Suddhodana ('lie who grows pure rice), and he
belonged to the Sakiyan clan. T h e Sakiyas were khattiyas: members
o f what was, at that time, still the highest caste, that o f the warriors
or, better, ministerials, who were responsible for administration and
justice in the Sakiya republic, and from whose ranks thie new raja, the
president o f the republic and speaker o f the assembly, was elected as
occasion dem anded. About the mid-sixth century u c it was S u d
dhodana who held the position o f raja.
Suddhodana was married to two sisters from Devachaha, the elder
of whom, M aya, was his principal wife and later became the mother
o f Siddhattha, the Buddha. Suddhodanas second wife, Pajapati or
M ah apajapati, gave birth to two children: a son called Nanda, who
was born a few days after his half-brother Siddhattha, and a daughter
called N anda or Sundarinanda. Like Suddhodana himself, the sisters
M aya and Pajapati belonged to the Sakiya clan. M arriage within the
clan was in accordance with the principle o f endogam y practised at
thie time, thougli (his could be disregarded in the case o f love, or o f a
sufficiently tem pting dowry.
M ore attention was paid, especially in the Brahm in caste, to the
rules o f exogam y directed against in-breeding, according to which
m arriage was nol allowed between those bearing the same family
name. Suddhodanas family name was G otam a, so he would not
have been allowed to marry any woman with that name. T h at he
obeyed custom and in fact made exogamic m arriages is probable but
not quite certain, since the family name o f neither D evadahasakka
nor A njana is recorded. A glance at the genealogical table however
reveals a close blood-relationship hietween Suddhodana and the two
fair sisters: his mother and the father o f his wives were brother and
sister, and so loo were his father and the mother o f his wives. In other
words, his wives were his cousins.
K apilavatth u was Sidd hatlhas home town, tint not hiis birthplace.
As the Nidanakatha, the introductory narrative to die book oC Jatakas
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T h e e d ict o f th e E m p e ro r A soka o n th e c o lu m n a t LumbinT. T h e scrip t
is B ra h m l a n d th e la n g u a g e M a g a d h I, w ith th e local v a ria tio n s usual in
A sokas inscrip tio n s. T h e e m p e ro r c o n sid ere d it im p o r ta n t th a t his edicts
sh o u ld be in te llig ib le w h ere th ey w ere set u p a n d th ere fo re a d a p te d th em to
local d ialects. T h e BrahmT script w as d e c ip h e re d in 1 837 by J a n ie s Irinsep.
D cvadaha was reached. N ear the village o f Lum binl (now Rum m indai), in the open air with 110 protection but that provided by a sal
tree (Shorea rohusta), and without medical assistance, the young
Siddhattha was born in M ay o f the year 563 bc.
LumbinT was uncovered by archaeologists in 1896. T h e most im
portant find at the spot was a 6.5 metre high stone pillar erected by
the Em peror Asoka in 245 b c with the inscription:
T w enty years after his coronation K in g D evanam piya Piyadasi ( =
Asoka) came here and paid hom age, because the Buddha, the sage o f
the Sakyan clan, was born here. He ordered a stone relief (?) to be
made and a stone pillar to be erected, to indicate that the Blessed One
was born here. He exempted the village o f LumbinT from taxes and
reduced its toll o f produce (from the usual quarter) to one eighth.
P R O B L E M S O F D A T IN G
T lie m ajority o f western historians o f India consider the year 563 b c
as hieing thie hiirth-year o f the Buddha and also the earliest assured
date in Indian history. How is it calculated, and how great is the
possiliility of error?*
(a)
Since thie recordsofancient India give only the intervals lietween
events but do not, like later records, date the events thiemselves, it is
necessary in order to establish dates in Indian history to call 011 Greek
historians. lndo-G reek relations developed as a result o fth e Indian
cam paign o f A lexander the G reat (327 b c ) . Ahmut 303 b c the Indian
Em peror G andragupta M aurya (P G andagutta M oriya) came to a
territorial agreement and entered into diplom atic relations with Seleukos Nikator, A lexan ders former general who ruled over Bahiylonia.
Through the reports o f the Greek am bassador M egasthenes, who was
accredited to ihe imperial court o f Pataliputta { Patna), G andragupta
(Gk Sandrokottos) became known to Greek historians, and through
them we are able to date his accession to 321 b c .
This date further enables us to give precise dates lo the sequence o f
events listed in the Singhalese chronicles Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa
{fourth to sixth centuries a d } . According to thie.se (Dv 5 .10 0 ; M hv
5 .18 ), G andragupta reigned for twenty-four years (until 297), his son
and suc cessor Bindusara twenty-eight years (until 269), after which it
took four years before Bindusaras son Asoka succeeded in elim inating
his brothers and anointing him self ruler (Dv ti.21; M hv 5.22). This
event would therefore have occurred in 265 b c .
T h e leap back to the birth o fth e Buddha is m ade possible by the
statement made in both chronicles (Dv 6 .1; M h v 5 .2 1) that Asoka
became the ruler two hundred and eighteen years after the Parinihibana (the final passing) o f the Buddha. Th is event is therefore dated
at 483 b c . Since the Teacher lived to be eighty, his date o f birth
comes out at 563 b c .
Although thie figure o f two hundred and eighteen years between
the Buddhas passing and Asokas coronation is regarded as depend
able, this reckoning has its weaknesses. On the one hand it is
Sec Note on Chronology, p. xii.
possible that the regnal years o f the kings were rounded up to full
years, and on the other, it should not be overlooked that in the
Puranas Bindusara is only supposed to have reigned for twenty-five
years. So the reckoning based on the chronicles needs to be checked
from other sources.
(b) O ne source o f information is provided by the edicts which the
Em peror Asoka (D evanam piya Piyadasi) caused to be carved on rocks
and .specially erected pillars throughout his vast empire. Rock Edict
No. X I I I , which dales Asoka's bloody conquest o f K alinga (Orissa)
eight years after his coronation, and which was probably issued twelve
years after that event, names live non-Indian rulers with whom the
Em peror was in contact: Am iochus II o f Syria, Ptolemy II o f Egypt,
Antigonus o f M acedonia, M agas o fC y re n e and A lexander o f Epirus.
T he dates o f all these are know 11, and the latesl year in which they were
all alive is 258, which is thus the latest possible date o f the edict.
Counting back twelve years to Asoka's coronation, together with the
two hundred and eighteen years mentioned by the chronicles, we arrive
at 4.8}$ bc : for the death-year, and 5(18 for the birth-year o f the Buddha.
One possible source o f error here is in the lenglh o f lime that elapsed
between Asoka's coronation and the issue o f theedici, w Inch may have
been slightly less than twelve years.
(c) Chinese historians also provide some help through the Dotted
C hronicle o f ( anion, which shows one dot lor everv year alter the
B uddhas death. Down to the year a d 489 il presents 975 dots which
would place ihe Buddha's Parinibbana in the year 48b, and his birth
in 5(>t) bc :. With all respect tor the historical accuracy o f the Chinese,
errors are not impossible here, too, especially since Buddhism reached
C hina fairly late and the Chinese chroniclers did not start their
chronicle immediately after the Indian masters death.
(d) We should also consider the Ja in tradition. T h e founder o f the
Jain religion, ihe Jirta ( V id o r ) or Mahavira (G reat H ero'), was a
contem porary o f the Buddha who lived to the age o f seventy-two and
is referred 10 in Buddhist sources as Nigantha N ataputta.
European scholars usually dale MahavTra's death at 476 b c , follow
ing the statement o f the Ja in monk H em acandra (twelfth century
a d ) that the accession o f C andragupta M au rya (321 b c ) occurred
15 5 years after the N irvana o f M ah avira. But Ja in authors
Chinese chronicles, and Asokas edicts, are well based and differ only
m inim ally, so that according to them the Buddhas birth-date must
lie between 568 and 544 b c . T h e date 563, which is supported h>y tlie
Ceylon chronicles, is significant nol merely as hieing in the middle h>ui
as being supported by two further, somewhat com plicated calcula
tions, hjased on South Indian and Singhalese king-lisis, the date o fth e
conversion o f C eylon, and also on scattered references to a very
ancient system o f dating, only fragm entarily preserved, which is
based on 483 as ihie year o fth e Parinibbana. We are thus justified in
dating the Buddha's birth with the chronicles in 563 b c , admitting,
however, on the basis o f other historical evidence, the possibility o f
error o f from plus five to minus nine years. The proljabilily o f an
earlier date is slightly higher since it is supported by two methods (b
and c), while a later date is supported by only one (d).
T H E C I 1Y O F K A P I L A V A T T H U A N D I I S R A JA
I f young Siddhattha looked out northwards, he saw a jagged range o f
mountains on the horizon. This was, as he knew, about eight yojanas
{80 kilometres) distant, but it was difficult lo reach, for K apilavatth u
was separated from the mountains t)y a tract o f reeds and jungle in
whicli roamed tigers, elephants and rhinoceros, and many men who
had ventured to cross this wild forest had died o f fever. But if one
succeeded in passing this obstacle the ground rose steadily, and one
came to the wooded hills. Behind the foothills ; today Sivalik or
C huria) there was a green valley, and behind thal again mountains
(the M aliab h arata R an ge), some peaks o f which could be seen from
K apilavatth u. Behind these, it was said, came still more and even
higher mountains - the Him avat (H im alayas), whose mighty icepeaks reached the sky, and there Ja m b u d ip a , the Rose-Apple C onti
nent, cam e to an end.
T h e prospect to the east was less forbidding. T h ere lay LumbinT,
where he, Siddhattha, liad been born under a tree, and beyond that
lay D evadaha, where hiis mother, M ay a , whom lie had never known,
and M other Pajapati, came from, and where grandfather A njana
had lived. From D evadaha one could travel a few days journey
towards sunrise, but then there was forest again and things became
l.um bini. T lie Indian-N epalese hxrder runs between these two
points. T h ey are 16 kilometres apart, but thie landscape is similar in
both.
T h e deh.>ate ahjout the Buddha s home town is not entirely Iree
from national prejudices. Nepalese scholars arguing for Tilaurakot
stress the extent o fth e ruins, and the existence o f an ancient wall with
a moat surrounding Tilaurakot: features which only a ra ja s capital
city would possess. T h ey point out thiat Tilaurakot, like the K a p ila v a t
thu o fth e Buddhist texts, lay on a river (the bed o f which has since
shifted 400 m to the north-west). In order to stress their claim to
possess the historical K apilavatthu, the Nepalese government in 1961
renam ed T ilaurakot and the entire surrounding district K apilavastu
(the Sanskrit form o f Kapilavatthu), so that the place appears under
this name on recent maps.
Indian archaeologists, on the other hand, maintain that K a p ila v a t
thu is identical with the Indian Piprava, basing their claim on the
following discoveries:
In 1898, in a brick stupa near Piprava, live vessels were discovered,
one o f whiich is described in an inscription in BrahmT script, in the
M agad h i language, as the urn o f the Exalted Buddha from the
tribe o fth e Sakiyas . T h e urn contained ashes and tiny votive offer
ings.
In 19 72, Ijehow this stupa, at a level ascribed to the fifth century
a still older stupa was found with two further urns, containing
ten or twelve fragments o f bones (of the Buddha?).
bc,
and trust towards thie small republic whiile at thie same time keeping
liim at a distance so that the semi-independence enjoyed h)y thie republic
was preserved. Suddhodana must often hiave travelled to Savatth i,
where sometimes conferences o f rajas look place.
While the state policy o f Kosala, ihe concluding o f alliances and
the waging of wars, was in the hands o f ihe king, the rajas o f ihe
republics and tribes were in charge o f good neighbour policy. This
was the second branch o f Suddhiodanas diplom atic activity. Th e
ohjject was to come to arrangem ents with the immediate neighbours
without sacrificing their own essential interests. T h e most common
problems were the regulation of pasture and irrigation rights along
the frontiers. The ra ja s skill was tested by his ability to effect satisfac
tory agreed solutions.
W arfare was not among the functions o f the raja. He had to
m aintain peace, h>ul if lie failed in this and armed conflict broke out,
this was conducted by the military com mander or general (senapati),
who held a post independent o fth e raja. In the kingdom o f K osala
all the generals, the com m ander o f ihe central forces as well as those
in the republics and tril>es, wen- under the direct command o f the
king. In this way the king prevented any o f hiis subject rajas combining
wilhi their generals to play power-politics on their own.
For the rajas this separation o f political and m ilitary power had
two aspects. On ihe one hand they knew thiat llie king had, in the
person o f tlie general, an ever-present means o f com pelling them to
do his bidding. On the other hand, they were also protected against
any attempts at a Putsch on the part o fth e general, because the king
would never liavr tolerated the deposition o f a raja hie had appointed
and the seizure o f political power by the general.
Another field o f activity for R a ja Suddhodana was that o f justice,
in both criminal and important civil actions. We have no direct
information about how criminals were seized and what form a trial
took among the Sakiyas, but we can draw conclusions from the
republics o f the K oliyas and the M allas, which adjoined the Sakiyan
republic to the south-east. These had a police, force whose members
were distinguished l>y a special w ay o f wearing their hair, and who
were notorious for arhiitrary brutality and corruption.
T h e process o f U w am ong the Sakiyas was probably little different
S ID D H A T T H A , T H K R A JA S SO N
T h at the sons o f R a ja Suddhodana enjoyed a privileged position in
K apilavatth u because o f their fathers position, goes without saying.
Whereas the m ajority o f the population lived in houses o f clay or huts
o f bam boo and reeds, which in the lower-lying parts o f the city were
built on piles lo avoid Hooding in the monsoon and the invasion o f
rats, snakes and scorpions, the rajas sons lived in their father's house
which, because it was o f several storeys, was called the Palace . 11
was probably built o f brick, stood on a slight eminence and was
surrounded by a low wall o f earth which denoted the rajas private
defensive zone. N earby was a pond with blue, red and white lotuses.
In Suddhodanas house the variations o f climate due to the three
Indian seasons (winter, summer, rainy season) were met by the
seasonal change o f slceping-quarters: in the summer they slept on the
roof-terrace. Even the numerous servants in the ra ja s house had
quite a good life. Instead o f the usual servants food o f broken rice
and rice soup they got full-grained rice and even m eal (A N 3.39).
A m ong the children o f K ap ilavailh u the young Siddhatlha stood
out: he was better cared for and turned oul than the others. His
clothes were of Benares cloth, and at least in his early days he was
continually surrounded by servants and by a nurse. In his own words
he was spoilt, very spoilt .
The Pilli Canon provides (D N 1.1 .1 4 ) a list o f ancient Indian
'I lived a spoilt, a very spoilt life, monks (in my parents home).
And, monks, in the midst o f that happy life the thought came to
me: T ru ly , the simple worldling, who is him self subject to old age,
is disgusted when he sees an old man. But I too am subject to old
age and cannot escape it. At this thought, monks, all delight in
my youth left me.
T ru ly , the simple worldling, who is himself subject to disease, is
disgusted when he sees a sick man. But.l too am subject to disease
and cannot escape it. At this thought, monks, all delight in my
health left me.
T ru ly , the simple worldling, who is himself subject to death, is
disgusted when he sees a dead man. But I too am subject to death
and cannot escape it. At this thought, monks, all delight in my
life left me.
(A N 3.38)
Even in the formal language o f ihe Canon the power o f the initial
experience can be genuinely and strongly fell. In a sub-tropical world
in which a friend with whom one has just been happily chatting may
be suddenly carried o ffb y a fever, killed by the bite o f a krait, or torn
in pieces by a tiger, thoughts like those o f the young Siddhattha are
never far distant. And in principle they are valid alw ays and every
where.
Another characteristic o f Siddhatthas appears from the records:
his lack o f interest in things m ilitary. E very khattiya boy was expected
to be keen on riding, chariot-driving, archery, fencing, wrestling and
handling elephants, and no doubt Siddhattha too must have been
instructed in these things. Bui to the disappointm ent o f all the
G otainas he seems to have been only averagely good ai such activities,
which for the son o f the R a ja was rather shameful. Suddhodana nnisl
have been quite conccrned at his sons unworldly and unmilitary
ways.
When Siddhattha reached the age o f sixteen (in 547 b c ) , Sud
dhodana decided to bind his over-thoughtful son more firmly to the
world h>y m arrying him. O f course it was an arranged m arriage in
which the partners were not consulted, but the texts do give an
indication thal they were drawn to each other. In accordance with
the customs o f endogam y and exogam y, a girl from the wider family
A N A N C I K N T IN D I A N C I T Y
Siddhattha was probably not very draw n to.agricultural activity,
being by nature a thinker. With him, periods o f retirement alternated
with those in which he sought contact with people. T he young
Siddhattha must often have wandered around K apilavatth u with his
Thie richest guild was that o f the bankers. T h eir main source o f
income cam e from m oneylending, for which there were fixed rates o f
interest. A fully secured credit, as for the m arriage and dow ry o f a
daughter, cost 15 per cent, an only partially secured credit cost 60
per cent per annum . Com m ercial credits were especially dear owing
to the high risks involved. Charges for financing a caravan were up to
120 per cent per annum , and for sea trading up to 240 per cent. T he
moneylenders, who belonged almost exclusively to the merchant
caste {vessa}, were not very high in the social scale, but in point o f
influence they were the leaders. T h eir president usually acted as
doyen (makase((hi) o f the local heads o f guilds, and was thus the most
important man in the local com mercial com munity.
A large house in the city was occupied by a certain lady who is
often mentioned in the texts. Prostitutes were common enough in
ancient India, and were contemptuously tolerated. But the artistic
city courtesan iganika) was viewed with pride. She was not only
beautiful and elegant, but also a witty if intriguing wom an who
enticed men chiefly through her artistic and literary culture. She was
generally kepi by one rich lover, who occasionally changed and
sometimes ended up less rich, and she received other gentlemen o f
society at her song and dance performances, which were accom panied
by a professional orchestra, or at her poetic, contests and conversation
parties. Y ou ng men o f the better-off classes learnt good manners and
life-style in her salon. No conventionally educated woman o f the time
had her command of the various forms o f music, and none was able
to converse in the elegant language as she could. Her appearances at
weddings and other festivities gave the city acu ltu ral tone. T h e forms
o f Indian dancing which have now become classical were partly
developed by the town courtesans.
We do not know whether K apilavatth u had a town courtesan, but
it is probable. T h e names o f the courtesans o f other North Indian
cities are known, together with accounts o f some o f their escapades,
but also o f their religious foundations. A courtesan could always
adopt a bourgeois w ay o f life through m arriage.
T h e houses in the central area were solid and well cared for,
frequently painted with figures and ornaments, but the further away
from the centre, the more this impression changed. In the outer
suburbs (he workers and servanis lived in clay huts and stilled
bam boo shelters. T h ey too were grouped according to their trade.
There were streets o f carpenters, joiners, carriage-m akers, woodcarvers and instrument-makcrs, melal founders and sionemasons,
weavers, dyers, tailors, pollers, lealher-workers and painters, florists
and garland-m akers, cattle-dealers and butchers, fishermen and
cooks, barbers, balhm en, washermen, and (own attendants. Kach o f
the more respectable trades formed a sub-caste (jati) within the
system o f the lour castes (vanna). Outside the caste system were the
casteless, with whom members o f a caste had no social contact. But
the idea o f the unlouchability o f such people had nol yel arisen.
This is only referred to in the (centuries later) Jatakas >e.g. Ja t 377).
It would be a historical error to interpret the caste system of the
sixth century b c in the rigorous lerms o f later Hinduism . I he
Buddhas contemporaries, especially in ihe M iddle I.atid, where (Inprocess of Brahmini/.aiion had advanced less than in the west, gen
erally regarded (he casie system as a secular hierarchy o f trades,
ranks and piofession.s, and o f education, which could be broken
through. Change ol profession, involving the transfer from one subcaste to another, was difficult bill possible, and even ihe ascent inio a
higher caste was not mil of the question, for exam ple if the raja took a
competent man of lowly descent into his service, or made a rich
banker his finance minister.
I f one left the city by one of the city gates, which were shut and
guarded at nigln, one came, beyond the moat, to the leafy burrows
that served as homes lor the very poorest, who probably earned a
fraction of a masaka as liiel-gatherers or dung-brick makers, or perhaps
found occasional employment cutting the grass in the parks o f the
rich. Parks o f this kind were to be found in thu- neighbourhood of
every Indian city, and one o f the pleasures of the wealthy was to
picnic there, and in summer to enjoy there the relative cool o f evening.
For the young Siddhattha, these parks had a .particular attraction,
because it was hen- in the shade o f the banyan trees that the w ander
ing mendicants cam ped. Unkempt and with matted locks, they were
often intelligent and subtle adventurers o f the spirit, w ho scorned the
sacred hymns o f the V ed a and the Brahmin sacrificial cults, and who
had adopted the homeless life in the search for enlightenment. It was
these free-thinking samanas and parihbajakas, who sought lor mystical
experience outside traditional forms, that Siddhattha liked to listen
to as they philosophized, but the G otam a fam ily, observing with
anxiety his unworldliness and his curiosity about the transcendental,
tried as far as possible to put a stop to this. When the legend tells us
that Suddhodana guarded his son from contact with the world in
order lo keep the sight o f suffering from him, the real reason may
have been to keep him from ideas o f renouncing the world.
T H K V K I) I C S A G R I F I C 1A I. C U l . T
No doubt the sacrificial religion o f the sixth century bc: disappointed
anyone with serious religious aspirations. T h e divinatory enthusiasm
that, a thousand years earlier, had enabled the Indo-A ryan seers 10
hear the wisdom (veda) o f the gods in their own hearts and to turn
that which they heard [sruti) into hymns; the literary pride with
which they had collected their hymns to form the V ed a, the sacred
science , and to chant them in solemn rhythms at the sacrifice - all
this had gone. T he hymns were still chanted at the sacrifice as before,
but in G otam as time they were regarded merely as m echanically
operating magic spells. T h e sacrifices had become more and more
com plicated and prolonged, and the sacrificial offerings and the fees
for the priests had become more and more expensive for the sacrificer.
T h e weight o f mechanical good works' had almost sullocated the
numinous.
T h e development from the inspired cults o f early times to the
ritualistic sacrificial religion o f the sixth century can be followed in
broad outline in the texts. A part from the 1028 hymns of the Rgveda,
the oldest document o f Indian culture (ca. 1500 b c :) , we have the
Yajurvtda, the Samaveda and the later canonized Athanmveda. also the
prose Brdhmanas (ca. 1000 b c ) which elucidate the ritual, the .Iranvakas
and the oldest Upanisads (ca. 700 b c). T h e Upani$ads breathe the spirit
o f a spiritual renewal, and can already be reckoned as part o f that
movement for religious independence into which Siddhattha G otam a,
the later Buddha, was to bc drawn.
For people o f our time m any o f the god-figures o f the Vedic heaven
phases o f the moon and the seasons. He was also responsible for
contracts and oaths, for a broken promise is a lie, and infringes the
sacredness o f truth which it is V aru n as task to protect. Since V aru n a is
regarded in the late Vedic period also as the lord o f oceans and waters,
he punished oath-breakers with dropsy: the diseases so common in
India, oedema and filaria. A victim ofsuch a disease implores Varuna:
I.et me 110I go to the House o f C lay, O V aruna!
Forgive, C) gracious I.ord, lorgive!
When I go tottering, like a blown-up bladder,
Forgive, () gracious Lord, forgive!
H oly One, in want o f wisdom I have opposed you.
Forgive, O gracious Lord, forgive!
Though in the midst o f waters, thirst has seized your
worshipper.
Forgive, O gracious Lord, forgive!
W hatever sin we mortals have committed
Against the people o f the gods,
If, foolish, we have thwarted your decrees,
Oh god, do not destroy us in your anger!
(R v 7.89, transl. A. L . Basham)
V aru n a is frequently accom panied by M itra, and in this combination
V aruna denotes the night sky, and M itra the day sky and the sun.
Elsewhere V arun a is addressed as the strict pursuer (oflaw breakers),
and M itra {'Friend') as the uniter o f mankind.,
T h e heavenly bodies and natural phenomena played a predomi
nant role in the Vedic pantheon. Usas, the daw n, was represented as
a tender young maiden. T h e sun-god was called S avitar or Surya; he
was worshipped as the originator o f vegetable and anim al life, and
also as the dispeller o f ignorance. T h e M aruts were the storm-gods o f
monsoon and rain-bearing winds, friends of Indra. V ayu was the
name o f the wind-god, who was credited with purifying power and
the ability to blow misfortune aw ay. Parjanya, the rain-god, creatcd
the germ o f life in plants and other beings. PrthivT was the earthgoddcss, big-bosomed, broad-hipped and fruitful.
But how could one have sacrificed to the gods without Agni, the
god o f fire, who carried the sacrifices up to heaven with his tongues
o f flame and smoke, and persuaded the heavenly ones to visit the
sacrificers on earth?
Agni, the sacrifice that you
Surrounding it, upwards bear,
T h at alone reaches heaven.
A gni, powerful with prayer,
Faithful, hjright in glory,
O G od, bring the gods to us!
(R v 1 . 1 . 4-5)
Agni was the god o f the sacrificing Brahmins, and also the sacrificial
priest o f the gods. As bodily warmth he was a condition o f life, but he
was also a destroyer. T h e last sacrifice a man lays 011 A gn is altar is
him self on the flam ing funeral pyre. And then the grim god o f death,
Y am a, carries the deceased off to his realm in the sky.
In early Vcdic times the sacrifice had been understood as a
ritual feasting o f the gods. T h e word arya, with which the IndoA ryans described themselves, means hospitable and is - since the
gods are included in their hospitality - also a name for their religion.
Invisible to profane eyes, the gods visited the sacrificer, descending
on the open-air altar-like sacrificial seat. T h ey were solemnly enter
tained by him to food and soma drink, and showed their gratitude
with counter-sacrifices, such as causing the sun to rise every day,
sending rain and assuring victory and wellbeing, and granting the
sacrificer success, progeny, plentiful cattle and long life and strength.
T h is counter-sacrifice o f the gods could h>e depended on, provided no
mistake had been m ade in the invocation and entertainment o f the
radiant ones .
It was just this fear o f ritual error which led to a fundamental
change in attitude towards the sacrifice. For if it was no longer the
intention o f thie sacrificer, but the observation o f the correct forms
that was o f decisive importance, it was advisable for the lord o f the
sacrifice to entrust the feeding o f the gods to an expert. T h e men who,
on the basis o f their command o f the formalities and their knowledge
o f the magic word {brahman), undertook the carrying out o f sacrifices
(ChiU 8 . l a. i ) , and dies as soon as the alman leaves it (ChU 6,t 1,3).
But the alman is unborn (hjccause eternal), not subject to ageing or
death, invulnerable, immortal ( B A U 4.4.30). It can only be spoken
o f in negations ( B A U 4.4.27).
The alman, it is true, is the self, the soul, bui it is not confined to the
individual, being identical with all almans: This alman o f yours is
the alman present in all (B A U 3 .4 .1). T h ere is no difference between
the souls o f beings; they are all one. E very other is in essence
m y self.
The parallelism o f the statements about Brahm an and the atman is
obvious, and suggests to us that the Brahm an, the Absolute, the
W orld-SouI, and the atman, the individual soul, are lo bc regarded as
identical. A nd in fact this is the great recognition and central message
o f the Upanisads, thus making them the basic texts o f ihe Indian
doctrine o f all-unity. T h e relation between the multiplicity o f the
em pirical world and the unity o f the Absolute is a problem with
which all subsequent Indian philosophy has been concerned.
O ver and over again, in the Upanisads, the identity o f Brahman
and atman is stressed: T ru ly , (his great unborn alman, ihe unageing,
deathless, invulnerable, immortal is Brahm an ( B A U 4.4.25). Ju st
as a snake-skin, dead and cast-off, might lie upon ail anthill, so the
body lies after death. But this non-physical, bodiless alman, consisting
o f knowledge, is Brahm an (and lives on) ( B A U 4.4.7). Th is alman is
Brahm an (C h U 3. [4,4). T h e unity o f alman and Brahm an is most
readily perceptible in dreamless deep sleep. In the withdraw al o f
such sleep, when the alman tem porarily rests, inactive, in Brahm an, it
becomes clear: T h at is the iilman, lhai is ihe deathless, the invulner
able, that is Brahm an (C h U H.i i.t).
I f this mystic monism was one great discovery o f the Aupanisadas,
the doctrine o f transmigration was the other. T h e idea that ihe
individual survives death in one form or another had already made
its appearance in the Rgveda and the Brahmanas. But it was the
Aupanisadas who recognized the compulsion and regularity o f rebirth,
and the decisive function o f ones deeds in determining the outcome.
He who is unliberated circles round in the cycle o f metempsychosis
i B A U 6 .2 .16 ), driven 011 by lusl (kdmayamana: B A U 4.4.6) and
ignorance (avidyil), i.e. ignorance o f the iilman (B A U 4.4. t o - 13). I f lie
with the sacrifice o f his own pleasures, that there was a w ay o f self
em ancipation, thereby reducing the value o f the old sacrificial re
ligion. In the eyes o f the Brahmins, adopting the life o f an ascetic or
wandering mendicant could only be justified in the case o f a man o f
advanced years, who had looked after his fam ily, observed his caste
duties, and whose son had taken over his functions in domestic and
social life.
T h e outward signs o f an ascetic were the rejection o f possessions
and family, wild hair, and, frequently, total nakedness. Ascetics
lodged as hermits alone in the jungle, or in small groups in asceticgroves, in any case far from villages and towns in order not to be
disturbed by householders or inflamed by their daughters. I f an
ascetic practised his observances rigorously for a long time, he was
regarded as holy, and the nearest village was proud to supply him
with the little he needed.
T h e aims o f some o f those who imposed severe ascetic observances
on themselves were sometimes not very elevated. There was a proverb,
What you do without, will be repaid tenfold , and m any an ascetic
may have aimed, as the final goal o f his efforts, at precisely those joys
he renounced for the present. For others, a half-way goal provided
the motive, the development, by the accum ulation o f tafias, o f para
normal powers such as flying like a bird, walking on w ater, passing
through walls, and gaining knowledge ofdistanl or concealed objects,
or o f past and future. T h e power to overcome natural laws and
physical limitations was assumed by the populace with any advanced
ascetic, and admired even without proof. But for those with insight,
the real and only worthy goal o f asceticism was em ancipation,
whether this was thought o f as acceptance among the gods, as
unification with one particular god, or as understanding o f the
Absolute, and absorption in it.
T h e goals o f the ascetics were more or less conventional, but not
their methods. T h e scale reaches from subtle meditation exercises,
through various peculiar practices right down to revolting forms o f
self-torture, in which a form o f exhibitionist vanity is apparent.
Am ong the odder forms may be reckoned the cow- and dog-ascetics
mentioned in M N 57. T h e former, according to the com m entary,
had put horns 011 his head and fastened a cow s tail to his body, and
lived for preference am ong the cattle, while the naked dog-ascetic ate
off the ground, barked and slept curled up like a dog.
T h e most elem entary form o f ascetic observance was fasting, some
times till death. Som e ascetics ate only fruit or w hatever grows
beneath the earths surfacc; others took only liquid nourishment. An
original idea was fasting according to the moon: the ascetic ate
nothing at new' moon, and from then on till full moon he ate one
mouthful more each day, and then reduced his intake in the same
w ay till the next new moon.
Posture could also be made an ascetic practice. Som e stood all day
up to the hips in water, while the hjat-ascetics preferred to spend
several hours each day hanging by their knees dow nwards from a
tree. There were ever-sitters and ever-bent ascetics who never straight
ened out, and there were others w'ho spent their time standing, often
on one leg, till creepers grew round them. Some ascetics never slept,
or lay on beds o f nails or heaps o f thorns. There were occasionally
five-fire ascetics who sat in the lotus posture between four fires with
their face, the eyes long since blind, turned towards the fifth fire, the
sun.
T h e number o f self-mutilators was great. Some had cut o ff a limb,
others had broken it and allowed it to grow at a strange angle. Quite
frequently some deliberately allowed one arm to rot aw ay by holding
it aloft, while others bored a hole through their penis, generally
attaching a heavy stone to it and thereby simultaneously demonstrat
ing chastity and painful asceticism. Often ascetic practices were
accom panied by a vow o f silence, sometimes so strictly observed that
the ascetic would not answer even by a gesture or a nod.
M ore important, however, than all these physical practices w'ere
the exercises in spiritual self-mastery. Practisers o f breathing exercises
used an artificial rhythm for in- and out-breaths, thereby inducing
states o f exaltation. In meditation the ascetic plunged deep into his
own mind. T h e deepest stage of meditation consisted o f a trancestate, which was regarded as a tem porary em ancipation.
4 M ore numerous than the Aupanisadas, Lokayatas and selfmortifying ascetics were the fourth group o f seekers after salvation,
that o f the wandering mendicants. Buddhist sources speak o f them as
S ID D H A T T H A S PA T H T O T H E H O M E L E S S L IF E
These philosophical disputations must have made a deep impression
on the young Siddhattha Gotam a. He felt the powerful pull o f the
anti-Vedic movement, and the strong temptation to jo in the samanas.
As he pul it more than once later: T h e household life, this place o f
im purity, is narrow - the samana life is the free open a ir.
We possess a description ol'his departure for the homeless life in the
NidanakathU already mentioned, which dates from the fifth century
a d at the earliest. Despite its legendary character, il contains state
ments which could well he derived from a genuine tradition. I f we
place this text side by side with the scanty but reliable autobiogra
phical statements o f Siddhattha after he had become the Buddha, we
can gain some impression o f how his abandonment o f worldly life
may have occurred.
T h e Nidanakatha has adopted a narrative from die Digha Nikaya
(D N 14.2), which tells o f the four excursions o f the (unhistorical)
Vipassi, a previous Buddha, and applies them to the historical Siddhat
tha G otam a. Il lells how Siddhattha, who was living a life o f luxury
in K apilavatth u, desired to visit a park outside the city. R idin g in his
four-horse chariot, driven l>y a charioteer, hie saw an aged man by the
wayside, bent, trembling, grey-haired and with rolling teeth.
Dismayed at this sight, he asked the charioteer what kind o f a man
this was, and was told he was one whose life-span was approaching its
end. Deeply shaken by the realization thal he loo would one day be
old, the R a ja s son returned hiome.
On three further outings, tlie legend declares, Siddhallhia saw a
sick man, a dead man, and a monk. T h is last meeting made him wish
to become a monk, so thal he decided to renounce the world that
very night. Ju s l in that night his wile Bhaddakaccana for Yasodhara)
gave birlhi to a son, who was called Rahula.
Whien the time to renounce the world had come, Siddhattlia had a
horse bridled by his servant C hanna, but he wanted to see hiis newh)orn son before his departure. When he entered the room o f the
sleeping Bliaddakaccana the oil lam p went out, and as the young
mother held her hand protectively over her child's head, il was
impossible for Siddhattha to have a look at hiis son. Without having
seen him, he left the city o f K apilavatth u at midnight riding his horse
K anthaka and accom panied by Ohanna: the (east) gate o f the city,
which was closed and guarded, was opened for him by the magical
aid o f the gods.
Touching the territories o f three rajas, Siddhattha reached the
river A nom a in the same night, and on the other bank he cut o ff his
hair in monkish fashion and put on the robe o f a samana. He entrusted
his horse and ornaments to C hanna, who brought them back to
K apilavatth u. Siddhattha spent the firsl week o f his new life in a
mango-grove near the village o f A nupiya, and then made his way
towards R ajagah a.
Thus far the legend, lold here in somewhat demythologized form.
T h e probably historical features are that Sidd h atlh as renunciation
o f the world took place imm ediately after the birth o f his son R ahula,
and that he spent the first days o f his open-air life near A nupiya. T he
Anom a river is probably the modern Aum i, a tributary o f the G andak
in what was then the M alla republic, but the M alta village of
A nupiya cannot be identified. T h at he touched the territories o f three
rajas to get there is correct, because in order to reach the M alla
republic to the south-east o f the Sakyan republic, he had to pass
through the territory o f the K oliyas.
T h e midnight departure and Sidd h atlh as cutting off his hair on
the banks o f the Anom a, are features o f the legendary narrative, but
not o f the Buddhas own account. This makes it clear that at least his
father Suddhodana and his foster-mother Pajapati knew o f his inten
tions, but were unable to hold him back:
When I was still a Bodhisatta (one bound for Buddhahood), the
thought cam e to me: T h e household life, this place o f im purity, is
narrow - the samana life is the free open air. Il is not easy for a
householder to lead the perfected, utterly pure and perfect holy
life. W hat if 1 were now to cut off my hair and beard, don yellow
isamana) robes, and go forth from the household into home
lessness?
And I, being young, a youth with black hair, in the prime o f my
youth, in the first stage o f manhood, cut o ff m y hair and beard,
although my father and (foster) mother opposed this and wept
with tearful laces, donned the yellow robes and went forth from the
household life into homelessness.
(M N 2 6 .1 6 = M i\ 36.10)
I f we put this simple narrative beside the statement in the Nidanukathd
that Siddhatthas renunciation ipahhaja) followed imm ediately 011 the
birth) o f R ah u la, the assumption seems plausible that he had long
been urging his parents to agree to this step, and that thiey had made
their consent dependent on ihe birth o f a grandson. Th is might even
explain Siddhiatthas hjelated fatherhood - after thirteen years of
m arriage, when both he and Bhaddakaccanii were twenty-nine: per
haps Bhaddakacciina, in order not to lose her husband, had long
refused lo have children. A i any rale, once the son demanded by
Suddhodana and PajapatT was born, Siddhatlha lost no time in
realizing his intention to renounce ihe world. Thus this spoilt young
man who, as the son o f the Sakiya R a ja , could have had a political
career in front o f him, adopted, in 534 u c at the age o f twenty-nine,
the hard life o f a w andering mendicant.
Where he weni first is not made clear by the sources, though thiey
are nol contradictory. According lo the summary account he gave
many years later (in M N 26 and 3(1), he went imm ediately alter
leaving K apilavatth u lo A ja r a K filam as hermitage, but according to
ihe .X'irfiinakalha he first spent a week ai A nupiya, and then went on 10
R ajagah a. This visit to R ajagah a, during which Siddhattha met the
young K in g Bim bisara o f M agad ha, is confirmed h>y the Sutta Nipdta
(S Nip 3 .1) . The king was then twenty-four and had already ruled for
nine years.
T h e story goes, (hat w'hile tlie ascetic (iotam a was going on his
alms-round in (iliribbaja, thie old fortress kernel o f R a ja g a h a ( K ings
bury ), K in g Bimbisara saw him from the terrace o f his palace.
Rendered curious by the m endicants noble appearance, the king
had inquiries made, and then went to meet him at the Pandava hill the north-easterly o f ihe five hills surrounding R aja ga h a . On being
asked ah>oul hiis origins. Siddhattha replied that he hiad come from
the Kingdom o f K o sala in the foothills o f the H im alayas, and
belonged 10 the Sakiya clan. He had renounced sensual pleasures and
become a wandering mendicant in order to gain self-conquest. With
that, the narrative breaks off. It is precisely its paucity o f content that
S ID D H A T T H A T H E A S C E T IC
Leaving behind U ddaka R am ap u ttas hut and school, which were
probably somewhere near R a jagah a, Siddhattha journeyed southwestward till, near L ruvela, a garrison city for the troops o f the K in g
o f M agadha, he found a charm ing plot o f land, a lovely wtwd and a
clear-flowing river whichi was good for bathing and quite delightful,
with villages all about for gathering alm s' (\1 N 26). At this spot on
the bank o f tlie N eranjara (today N ilajan a), which combines with
the M oliana to form (hie Phalgu, he settled down to practise as
ceticism. Yoga and Upanishadic teachings had proved unsuitable to
him to gain the em ancipatory vision; perhaps asceticism was the
proper w ay. Later, he gave his monks a full description o f his adven
tures o f those six years, because we do not like to speak o f anything so
much as o f hardships surmounted.
T h e passage quoted describes the forest chosen l>y Siddhattha as
lovely however, it would h>e wrong to form too idyllic an impression
o f an Indian forest. Thie tree coverage which, in the Buddhas time
spread over the'greater part o f the sub-c.ominent, varies from zone to
zone. In tlie region o f present-day Bihar it look and takes thie lorm o f
scattered dry deciduous forest, whichi shieds its leaves in the summer
and is only green in the rainy season. T h e predominant type o f tree is
the sal iSharea rohusta), some specimens o f which reach a height o f 30
metres. The clearings are full o f undergrowth and clumps o f bamboo
line the river banks.
There is a rich fauna. Bats and Hying foxes hang in dozens like soft
velvet l>ags from tlieir favourite trees. Rcd-l>rown and black monkeys
chase each other through the branches, and a family o f light brown
gazelles stalks gracefully past. Predators are scarcer than is often
supposed, h)ut there are enough lo cause one alarm . 11 is not for
nothing that tlie Indian peasant is deeply suspicious o f ihe forest,
whicli he peoples with spirits and whose semi-darkness he penetrates
only to colled firewood or lo look for a runaw ay goal or cow.
T h e first period in thie forest was very hard for the thirty-year-old
nobleman from K ap ilavaitlm . 'Thie loneliness o f tlie forest is hard to
bear, it is hard lo lake pleasure in being alone . . . When at night 1
stayed in such frightening and fearful places, and an animal passed
by, or a peacock broke a twig, or thie wind rustled am ong the leaves,
I was filled with (error and panic. It look time, as he told thie
Brahmin Janussoni (M N 4), before lie succeeded in overcom ing this
fear through mental self-discipline.
We can clearly perceive various stages in the course o f Siddhatthas
ascetic practices. He made several different starts, and he was not
alw ays alone. Descriptions o f that period which the Buddha gave to
the Ja in lay follower Saccaka Aggivessana and his own disciple
Sariputta are given in ihe Majjhima Nikava (M N 36 and 1 2).
T h e young ascetic began his quest for truth by trying to compel
understanding with his mind: With teeth clenched, my tongue
pressed against the palate, my mind subdued, ( I endeavoured to)
restrain and subjugate my thinking. 'I he result was sweat pouring
from the arm pits, and the realization that though the mind, as an
instrument, can be disciplined, conclusions and insights cannot be
obtained by force and without intuition.
Equally fruitless was the non-breathing meditation , i.e. holding
the breath lor as long as possible. T h e result was not any ecstatic state
or higher insight, but a roaring in the ears, sharp-pains in the skull,
headache, stomach-cramps and a burning sensation in the entire
body.
T h e double failure o f such internal methods led Siddhattha to go
on to external methods. I f we are to believe ihe lext (M N 12), he
tried out practically the entire list o f ascetic self-tortures. He went
naked and accepted no food brought to him, but begged his own
food, which had lo be vegetable. At each house he would accept only
a hollow h ands full, and at times limited himself to an alms-round
only every seven days. At other times he ale only what grew wild.
When, in the cool season, he wore clothing, il consisted only o f rags,
shrouds from corpses, old skins, grass and bark. He did not cut his
hair and beard, but pulled out the hairs. He refused to sit down,
standing, leaning or squatting on his heels. I f he had to lie dow n, he
did so on thorns. He gave up washing, trusting that the thickest dirt
would fall off by itself. At the same lime he exercised extreme
compassion, tried lo harm 110 creature and felt compassion even
for a drop o f water: I f only I can avoid harm ing the little creatures
(in it)! He lied aw ay from the cowherds, grass-cutters or firewoodgathcrers who entered the forest, and hid himself.
As for his lodging, he spent the days o f the Indian winter
(D ecem ber-January) in the woods and the nights, when the tem pera
ture was only a little above freezing-point, in the open air, while in
the sum m er (M ay -Ju n e) he did the opposite, spending the night in
the suffocating atmosphere o f the forest, and the days outside in the
S ID D H A T T H A
TH E BU D D H A
But the five ascetics were disillusioned, shocked and angry: Siddhat
tha, their model and hero, had become unfaithful to his quest, he had
broken o ff his ascetic practice and accepted adequate nourishment a whole bowl o f rice. It seemed that the ra ja s son wanted to live a
life o f luxury. Shaken, the five turned from him and left him alone.
Siddhattha was 110 longer their guide, and should no longer be their
com panion. What had happened? We have an explanation from his
own mouth:
'B y this method, on this path, by this severe asceticism I did not
attain to the highest goal o f human striving, the true A riyan
knowledge and wisdom. Why not? Because I had not gained that
wisdom (paM a) which, when one has it, is the noble guide (out o f
the circle o f rebirth), leading the practiser to the total destruction
o f suffering.'
(M N 12.56)
W hatever ascetics and Brahmins have ever felt feelings that were
painful, sharp and severe, it cannot exceed this. And yet even with
this extreme asceticism 1 did not gain the highest goal o f human
striving, the true A riyan knowledge and wisdom. M ight there not
be another way to awakening?
(M N 36.22)
Pondering 011 this other w ay, he remembered an incident from his
youth. M an y years ago, when his father the R a ja had ploughed the
field with his own hand, he, Siddhattha, had been sitting at the edge
o f the field in the cool shade o f a rose-apple tree, and had unexpectedly
entered a state o f aloofness from unwholesome states o f mind, into a
slate o f absorption (jhana) accom panied by thinking and pondering,
delightful and happy. Could it be that this type o f contemplation was
the w ay to enlightenment? And, since an emaciated body showing
every sign o f deprivation is not the best equipment for a spiritual
caste, my way o f life. I experienced such and such good and bad
fortune, and such was my end. H aving died, I came to life again
there, such was my name . . . and such was my end. In this w ay I
recalled many previous existences with their various characteristic
features and circumstances. This knowledge (vijja) I gained in the
first watch o f the night (i.e. between 9 p.m. and midnight).
(M N 36.26)
In ihe middle watch o f the night, Siddhattha gained the second kind
o f knowledge: the natural law o f ethical causality [kamma), in accord
ance with which good {i.e. wholesome) deeds are followed by good
rebirth, and bad (i.e. unwholesome) deeds by evil rebirth:
With the heavenly eye, purified and beyond the range o f
human vision, I saw how beings vanish and come to be again. I
saw high and low, brilliant and insignificant, and how each
obtained according to his kamma a favourable or painful rebirth.
1 recognized: Those beings who make evil use o f body, spcech
and thought will obtain after ihe breaking-up o f the body at
death a painful rebirth, they will sink down, perish, and (go to)
hell. But those who make good use o f body, speech and thought
will obtain a favourable rebirth, and (go to) heaven.
M X 36.27)
Finally, in the last watch, when the horizon was already becoming
visible in the east as a white line o flight, Siddhattha broke through to
the third knowledge, the understanding of.suffering and the Four
Noble T ru th s' which form the framework o f his doctrine:
I direc ted my mind to ihe knowledge o f ihe destruction o f ihe
influences :dsava: and knew as it really is: This is suffering (dukkha),
1 his is its cause, this is its cessation, and this is the path that leads to
its cessation." And as I recognized this, my mind was free from the
in Hue 1ices o f sense-desire, o f becoming and o f ignorance. And the
knowledge arose in me: Rebirth (for me: is destroyed, I have
completed the holy life, done is what had lo be done, there is no
more o f being lor me! "
(M N 36.28)
And he uttered the cry o f jubilation:
M y em ancipation is assured,
T liis is my last h>irth,
Thim* will l>e no more rc-becoming!
( M X 26 .21)
In this uiglil o f the year 528 b c Siddhattlia G otaina, the thirty-fiveyear-old soil o f the R a ja o f K apilavatth u, bad gained enlightenment
(bodhi). He had become a Buddha, an enlightened' or aw akened
one, and was thus freed from the cycle o f rebirths. T radition dales
this event (like G otam as birth) in the first lull-moon night o f the
month Vesakha {A p ril-M a y ), and locales il near U ruvela (today
Bodh-G aya) under a particular assallh'a or pipal tree (Ficus religiosa).
T he full moon o f Vesakha is accordingly the most important festival
o f the Buddhist world, and the assatlha is the sacred tree.
As an event which originated a new school o f thinking and a new
religion, the enlightenment o f thie Buddha deserves psychological
analysis. Under ihe influence o f Zen Buddhism modern writers have
- wrongly
described this enlightenment as like a lightning-flash.
From G o ta m a s account in M X 36 wc learn that the enlightenment
was spread over three night-watches (about nine h ou rs;, and was
thus a gradual process. This agrees with his statement that in his
doctrine progress is gradual and there is 110 sudden, spontaneous
understanding {anild), just as the seashore does not lead abru plly into
deep water, tml slopes aw ay gradually (Ud 5.5 p. 54). In addition,
the process o f enlightenment was guided by reason, as appears clearly
from the words, three limes repeated: I directed my mind lo the
understanding o f . . . We must therefore picture G o tam as enlighten
ment as a happy condition, lasting several hours, o f extreme mental
clarity, which activated all the intellectual abilities and focused
them, like a burning glass, on one point at a time. There was nothing
ecstatic about this bodhi, it was not an out-of-the-hjody state or a
trance.
Nor was G otaina's search at this point a blind fum bling in thie
dark. He knew precisely on what objects to direct his attention. Since
he liad been fam iliar with Upanishadic ideas o f rebirth from his stay
with L.ddaka, he was able to dircct his mind to thie profounder
penetration o f this theme. T h e same applies to the system o f four
truths, which lie will have known from the well-developed medical
theory which already existed in the India o f the sixth century b c .
According to this one asked first about the disease, then about its
cause, ihen about the possibility o f annihilating that cause, and
finally about the medicine. G o tam as enlightenment consisted largely
in ihe analytical understanding o f pre-existing thought.
Hut it went further, because it was also synthetic, i.e. an understand
ing which opened up new areas o f knowledge. T h e 'ah a' experience
of analytical penetration was accom panied by the oh experience o f
joyous creative intuition, in which accepted opinions and fresh in
sights combined in G otam a s mind like crystals to form a new truth
and doctrine [dhamma). In the glorious clarity o f bodhi a new' system o f
thought was formed out o f elements old and new, which explained
the world as il is (yathdbhutam), pointed out a w ay from suffering lo
deliverance, and finally transcended all previous insights into one allcomprising truih. 11 is just this overriding element o f illumination
which points to beyond ihe visible and gives the Buddhas teaching
that magical fascination that still moves mankind and leads people
towards the good. There is no contradiction between G o tam as state
ment on the one hand that his doctrine is like an old, overgrown path
tha I he has rediscovered, leading through the jungle to a forgotten
ciiy S N 1 2.(15.19 If. 1, and his insistence elsewhere that it is something
new, never heard before 'M v 1.6.23).
We must distinguish the rational element o f the enlightenment,
which forms the content ofthe doctrine \dhamma) from its psychological
effect on himself. It has alw ays been a basic conviction o f Indian
religions that knowledge, understanding or wisdom could remove the
factors that bind us to suffering and rebirth. The Buddha, too, never
doubted this. How did he justify breaking off his ascetic practices?
Because, he says, they do not lead 10 that wisdom which, when one has
it . . . leatls ihe practitioner to the total destruction o f suffering {M N
12.56}. Lack o f knowledge (avijja) binds us to (he cycle o f rebirths,
while understanding (Hanoi, knowledge (vijja) or wisdom ipanfta)
liberate us from it: T h ey are ihe means o f em ancipation. And therefore
it was clear to the Buddha that his enlightenment had definitely freed
him o f ihe burden o f rebirth and delivered him: T h ere will be no more
re-becoming (for me)! was his cry alter attaining Buddhahcxid.
Thie assattha or pipal free ;Ficus religiosa) is easily rccognized by its leaves. In
Buddhist countries it is generally known as the bo(dhi) tree.
natural that a hiomeless wanderer, wherever he is, would sit down
under a tree that would shield him from the dew by night, and from
the sub-tropical sun by day? We ran take it as a m atter o f course that
Siddhattha pursued his speculations leading to enlightenment at the
foot o f a tree. And the fact that the tree was an assattha tree, easily
recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves with the long curved point, is
something that the Buddha could so easily have mentioned to his
monks in passing that we ran readily regard it as a historical fact.
'Yhchodfii tree behind the 5 1 m-tall M ahabodhi temple at Bodh-Gayii
(the ancient U ru vela;, which was erected in the first century a d , is
visited daily by some dozens o f pilgrims. But only the very credulous
believe that it is the original assattha under which G otam a gained his
enlightenment 2,500 years ago. It can be shown thiat the tree was
replaced several times in thie course o f time, though alw ays with
descendants o f the original tree. Th u s the present tree is descended
from thie original one in a direct line.
T h e bodhi tree was placed under special protection by the Build hist
Em peror Asoka, who reigned over India as a peaceful ruler from 265
to 232 b c . Me not only had a stone fence ;no longer existing) built
round thie tree, and marked the sarred spot with a [likewise vanished;
edirt-pillar with a lion capital; he also arranged for K in g Devanam piyatissa o f Ceylon (Lan ka), who had been converted to Bud
dhism about 242, to receive a shoot o f the bodhi tree to plant at his
capital o f A nuradhapura. The tree that grew from this shoot, and its
successors, have repeatedly furnished the shoots or seeds with which
the Indian tree was replaced after being destroyed.
T h e destruction o f the original bodhi tree o f B odh-G aya is supposed
F IR S l' SE R M O N S
According to tradition, the young Buddha spent the first seven days
after his enlightenment at the foot o f the bodhi tree, enjoying the delight
o f liberation (M v 1.1.1,). We can accept this statement as true, because
the fram ework o f the teaching still needed to be filled out with detailed
recognitions, and a partly joyous, partly sentimental mood m ay have
kept the Enlightened One at the spot which meant so much 10 him. We
can give less credence lo the statement (hat, after the seven days under
the bodhi tree, he spent seven days under each of a number o f other trees
at Uruvclii. U nder the G oatherd's Banyan (Ficusindica) he explained lo
a Brahmin who had questioned him the true nature o f Brahminisrn,
consisting o f a pure and virtuous life and a good knowledge o f ihe V eda
(M v 1.2). Still more fabulous is the event which is supposed to have
occurred in the third week after his enlightenment under a mucalinda
tree (Barringtonia acuiangula). According lo M v 1.3 , when a pre-monsoon
storm broke nut, the cobra living in the root o f the tree wrapped its body
round him arnd protected him from the rain with its outspread hood.
T he root o f the legend could be that the reptile, being driven out o f its
hole by the rain, inflated itselfbefore die Sam an a, bui did him no harm.
From the m ucalinda tree the Buddha moved to a rajayatan a tree
(Buchanania talifolia), under which he also stayed for a week. It was
here lhai the merchants Tapussa and Bhallika, who were travelling
from U kkala (in Orissa?), presumably to R aja ga h a , gave him barley
gruel and honey as alms, so that it might bring them happiness and
good fortune'. He ate the proffered food, and the two merchants
'took refuge in the Enlightened One and his teaching - which he had
not yel promulgated - thus becoming his first lay followers (M v 1.4).
'Hie fifth week after his enlightenment h<' .spent once more in the
shade o f the G oailiord's Banyan. Possibly inspired l>y a request from
Tapussa and Bhallika for instruction, lie considered whether hiis
doctrine, which was 'profound, hard to see, liard to grasp, factual,
excellent, inacccssible to .'mere'! logic, subtle, to be apprchiended by
the wise (only )", should be kept to himself or revealed to other people.
The Pali texts (M v 1.5 and M N 1261 record these doubts in the form
o f a conversation w'ilh the God Brahm a Saham pati :'l,o rd over
himself ). Apparently the Buddha, in order lo make his inner conflict
understandable, made use o f this well known god-ligure to present
the counter-arguments when lie hesitated to teach. T h at he. like the
m ajority o f his contemporaries, believed in the existence o f gods
(who, too, were mortal and suhject to the law o f rebirth), is un
doubted. But that he really saw Brahm a so vividly with his own eyes,
as the texts declare, is probably the interpretation o f later monks.
In the following "dialogue , which has been cut dow'it to essentials,
personal and quieiisl arguments are opposed to altruistic ones. The
latter win the day.
The liuddha 'This world delights in the pleasures o f the senses, but
my leaching Dhamma) aims at the renunciation o f all attachments
and the destruction o f craving. I f I were to teach this doctrine,
which goes against the siream , and people did nol understand me,
that would be a weariness and a trouble to me.
Hrahma T h e world will perish if the Fully F.nlightened One does
not decide to teach his doctrine. M ay the Kxalted One therefore
leach it! There are some beings with little dust 011 their eyes. If
they do not hear the Dhamma they will be lost. But if they hear the
Dham m a they will attain [to liberation]!
Brahm a's arguments aroused G otam a's compassion for the beings,
and with the cry: I.ei the doors to Deathlessness be opened to all who
are able to hear!' he agreed to leach. Satisfied, Brahm a bowed to the
Buddha, circled round him to the right according to Indian etiquette,
and vanished. The gods, too, know' how to behave towards an
enlightened one.
When he came to consider to whom he should first declare his
teaching, the Buddha thought first o f his one-time teachiers A jara
that craving {lanha) whiichi gives rise lo rebirth and, bound lip
with pleasure and passion, now here now there, finds ever (reshi
delight: it is Sensual C ravin g {kdmatanhd), C ravin g for Existence
(.bhavalanha), C raving lor Non-Existence (vihhavatanhd).
(3) This, monies, is the Nol>le Truth o f the Extinction o f Suffering:
il is ihe complete removal and extinction o f this craving, its forsak
ing and giving up, abandonment and detachment from it.
(4) This, monks, is the Noble Truth o f the Path Leading to the
Extinction o f Suffering. It is this Nol>le Eightfold Path, namely:
Right
Right
Right
Right
Right
Right
Right
Right
V iew (savimd-ditthi)
Resolve (samma-sankappa)
Speechi isamma-vacd)
Action (.uimmd-kammanta)
Livelihood (samma-ajTvaj
Effort fsamma-vayama)
M indfulness [samma-sali)
Concentration (sammd-samddhi)
i M v 1.(. 17 + 19 -2 2 = S N 5 6 .1 1 .5 8)
The five listened to his words with breathless attention, and even
as he spoke, Kondaniia gained full understanding o f the teaching:
'W hatever is subject to the law o f origination, is also subject to the
law o f decay (M v 1.6.29). Soon afterwards, he asked the Buddha
to accept him as a disciple, and the Buddha, with the formula:
Come, monk, the doctrine has ln*en well explained: lead a life o f
purity in order to attain to the end o f suffering!, acccpted him as
a monk (bhikkhu) (M v 1.6 .32). K oiidanna was thus the first monk
in the history of Buddhism, and his ordination marks the beginning
o f the order o f monks (sangha} which exists to this day. In Buddhist
Asia thie turning o f the Wheel o f D ham m a is celebrated annually
at ihe full moon o f the month o f A sajh a (.June-July). Thus a period
o f two lunar months (fifty-six days) is assumed to have occurred
between G o tam as enlightenment in Vesakha and the sermon at
Isipatana.
Soon the B uddhas instruction led to V a p p a san d Bhaddiyas under
standing o f the T ru th (the D ham m a), and they too were accepted as
monks. While the bliikkhus (literally mendicants) K ondaniia,
S A R N A T H - THE A R C H A E O L O G I C A L S I T E
After the noise o f car-horns and rickshaw-bells in Benares, Sarnath
seems like an oasis o f peace. T h e busy Hindu city is only 8 kilometres
from the quiet o f the deer-park of Isipatana, the modern Sarnath
(Skt Sarungandtha, Lord o f the Deer ), but how different the world
seems here - ordered and solemn. T h e last part o f the asphalt road is
fringed by mighty mango and tamarind trees. T h e site, which is
enclosed by a stone wall, is carefully tended by the Indian A rchae
ological Service. Between the >mplexes o f ruins are grassy law-ns,
dotted here and there with ihe red and violet blossoms o f bougain
villaea.
T h e most striking monument at Sarnath is the 44 m-high Dhamekh
Stupa, a round tower, 27 m in diameter, standing on a stone base,
built o f brick with, in places, ornamental stonework, narrowing half
way up to two-thirds o f its base diameter. This all grew through
numerous claddings and vertical extensions out o f a small brick and
clay stupa from A sokas time (third century b c ).
T h e origin o f the name Dhamekh was disputed until the discovery
o f a burnt-clay votive tablet settled ihe m ailer. Its inscription denotes
the stupa as Dhamaka {Ski dharmacakra). This means that it marks the
spot where the Buddha, in addressing the five ascetics, set the Wheel
o f D ham m a (Pali: dhammacakka) in motion. Pilgrims venerate the
stupa, which like all stupas is solid and so cannot be entered,, by
right-handed circum am bulation, an ancient Indian w ay o f paying
respect to highly placed persons.
Passing the remains o f old monasteries and numerous votive stupas,
thie pilgrim proceeds from the Dhamekh Stupa to tlie former main
temple o f Sarnath. whose 2 m-thirk brick walls remain standing to a
height o fah o u l 5 m. Judging hy the strength o f the masonry and the
statements o f Hsiian-tsang, the original temple tower must have been
ah)out 60 111 high. I he remains o f the walls enclose an area o f 13 by
13 m. Th is is tlie floor o f thie former inner hall o f the temple which, as
Hsiian-tsang descril>es it in tlie seventh century a n, contained a metal
statue o f tlie Buddha. I he temple probably dates from thie second or
third century a d , and stands on the site where the five monks erected
a hut o f leaves lor the M aster, in which lie spent the rainy season of
528 m;. T h e spot is a favourite meditation-place for pilgrims from Sri
Lanka, Burma and T h ailan d. Often, too. Tibetan monks in their
purple robes can be seen here holding a lJ uja >:religious cerem ony), or
venerating the memory o f the Teacher by 108-lbld prostration and
the setting-up o f oil lamps.
T o the west o f the main temple ihe visitor finds a monolithic edictcolumn o f the Em peror Asoka (third century b c ). Seventy cm thick ai
the l>ase and 55 cm al)ove, originally 16 m high, the column is now
broken into several pieces as tlie result o f the destruction o f Benares
and Sarnath by General Q iub-ud-D in in 119 4 . T h e capital o f the
column, now in the local museum, is rightly famous. It represents
four finely sculptured lions, sitting hwck-to-back, for, just as thie lion
has the loudest voice am ong l>easts. and roars in all directions, so too
the Buddha was the teacher most clearly heard in his time, and he
spread hiis Dhamma in all directions. T h e lion capital is today the
state crest o f thie Republic o f India, and the twenty-ibur-spoked
wheel which appears four times in tlie base o f the capital - whiich is a
symbol both o f the Buddhas leaching and o f just government - now
appears 011 the Indian national flag.
'Ihe imperial edict engraved in BrahmT script on the still-standing
portion o f the pillar does nol really fit in with the dignity o f the place.
It warns monks and nuns against schiism, and commands that schis
matics must put 011 white clothing (instead of the yellow robe o f the
O rder; and must leave tlie community o f the O rder. L a y followers
are urged to observe special rules on the Uposatka days (new moon,
full moon, and the days at the mid-point between the two). Since the
edict makes no reference to the events o f Isipatana, it has been
Sarnath (Isipalana), the site of the Buddhas first discourse and of the
foundation of the order of monks (present-day archaeological state).
concluded that the pillar was brought to Sarnath from somewhere
else. T he content o f the edict is consistent with its having come
originally from Kosam bi.
A few metres south o f the main shrine and the Asoka pillar the
visitor observes a circular platform. This is the basis o f the former
B E N A R E S OR T H O D O X Y V E R S U S
MOVEMENT
THE S A M A R A
water! Besides, if these rivers were to wash aw ay the evil you have
done, they would also wash aw ay your religious merits, leaving
you behind, hollow and em pty!
(ThTg 240-3)
T he argument is easy to follow, hut only applies to those who hjelieve
in the mechanical purification by water.
2 T he B uddhas attitude to the fire-cult is nol so widely attested. T o
the Brahmin Sun darika-B haradvaja previously mentioned, who
believed in purification by fire as well as by water, he declared:
Think not. Brahm in, that by laying wood
C an purity be gained, '[hats external.
He who seeks it by such outward means
Will nol be purified, so say the wise.
I reject the heaping oflogs on the altar,
The fire I kindle is within myself.
M y fire burns alw ays, ever clear and bright:
An A rahant, I lead the holy life.
.
1
(S N 7.1.9 )
T h e versification is o f a laier date, but doubtless correctly reflects the
meaning o f the saying.
Fire rituals existed in various forms in ancient India. T h e most
important was tlie Vedic-Brahm in fire-sacrifice, which was carried
out to order by professional Brahmins while observing elaborate
cultic prescriptions, in order that the fire-god Agni would carry the
sacrifice,up to thie gods. O ther fire-ritualists tried to purify their own
souls by burning their impurities in the sacred flame. Am ong these
were the m attrd-hair ascetics [jatila), several groups o f whom went
over to the Buddha. One former leader of the Ja tila s , NadT-Kassapa
(Kassapa o f the R iver), reproached himself, having become a bhik
khu, for his former belief in the effectiveness o f the fire-cult.
M any an offering I ve made,
Poured upon the sacred flame.
Thus I m purified! , I th ou gh tFoolish worldling that I w as.
that neither human nor anim al sacrifices bore an y fruit. The wise kept
aw ay from vast sacrifices at which goats, cattle and other anim als were
killed. On the other hand, sacrifices without bloodshed and without
great expense helped the sacrificer and pleased the gods (S N 3 .1.9 ).
T h e rich Brahmin K utadanta o f Khanum ata planned an even
greater sacrifice o f 700 of each kind o f anim al, but the Buddha talked
him out o f it. By telling him a tale in the style o f the patakas (stories
o f the Buddhas previous lives ), he convinced K u tad anta that regular
gifts to samanas, building monasteries, taking refuge in the B uddhas
teaching and keeping the precepts (refraining from killing and steal
ing, sexual misconduct, lying and drunkenness), and meditation were
sacrifices not only easier to make but more effective, in fact the most
beneficial o f all sacrifices (D N 5 .2 2 -7 ).
He used additional arguments against blood-sacrifices when he
was asked by some professional Brahmins from K osala whether there
were still today (i.e. in the sixth century tic) Brahmins who lived
according to the old rules. He denied this, and described the Brahmins
o f earlier times as celibate men without possessions, living entirely on
alms, who would not let cows bc killed, regarding them as their best
friends who provided them with ointment, food, strength, beauty and
happiness (S N ip 2951!'.']. Later on the Brahmins, led astray by the
exam ple o f the rulers splendid life, had urged these to perform horse
and human sacrifices, for which they could demand a fee. Then the
king had had m any hundred thousand head o f cattle killed with the
sword, which even the gods regarded as sinful. Through this slaughter
o f innocent living beings the sacrificial priests had fallen aw ay from
the right path, and the wise and the general population for good reason
reproached the offerers o f such costly sacrifices (S Nip 2 9 9 -3 13 ).
4 Another thing the orthodox held against the Buddha was his
opposition to ritual. It was not that he objected to all rules and
customs - there were rules and customs within the Buddhist com
munity as well. W hat he objected to was the idea that rites and
rituals were important for salvation - that one could even compel
salvation through them. He expressly included 'attachment to riles
and ritual as one o f the ten fetters (samyojana) to be broken, and one
o f the four attachments (upadana) in his system. Il is easy to imagine
T H E RAIN' S R E T R E A T IN I S I P A T A N A
Unloved by the citizens o f Benares, in so far as they noticed him at
all, and without the expectation o f finding much acceptance o f his
teaching in Benares outside the ranks o f the Y asa fam ily, the Buddha
and his little band o f monks spent the rainy season 528 in the deerpark at Isipatana (Sarnath). There was not yet a proper monastery.
T h e only accom modation consisted o f a few leaf-huts or at best huts
o f bam boo and reed-mats, which the bhikkhus had constructed for
the M aster and themselves.
'The monsoon is more than a period o f rainfall. It is an event that
one longs for from April or M ay onwards as a clim atic relief, and
which then comes step by step and far too slowly. A natural phenom
enon that precedes the monsoon is the blossoming o f beautiful flower
ing trees, although m any o f those which grace the Indian scene today
were brought by European seafarers. India in the Buddhas time W'as
poorer botanically speaking. But the orange-coloured blossoms o f the
kadam ba {.S'audea cordifolia), the cam paka (Micheiia champaka) with
its scented golden yellow blossoms, the brilliant red flame o f the forest
(Butea frondosa), the queens tree (iMgerstroemia Jlos-reginae), covered
with pale blue candles, the golden shower (Cassia fistula) with its
magnificent cascades o f yellow, the shining red coral tree (Erythrina
indica), and the Asoka tree [Saraca indica) with its balls o f blossoms
which turn from orange to red - all these must have already existed
to delight the Indians o f the sixth century h c ,
'The glorious spectacle o f flowering trees in A p ril-M ay is followed
by a short period o f leaflessness, during which the branches reach
skywards thirsty and skeleton-like. 'The dew that had hitherto
supplied trees and bushes with a little moisture in the early mornings
no longer falls. 'The fields are grey beneath a merciless sun. T h e earth
is like dry clay, and shows a pattern o f deep cracks. In places the hot
air rises up in spirals which, like funnels, draw up dust from the fields
into the air.
Some days later, heralded by falcons and crows fleeing h>efore it, a
storm breaks out. Huts lose their roofs, trees are bent over, but just as
quickly as it came, thie storm passes. And then at last, about the
middle o f Ju n e , the longed-for monsoon rain begins. From mighty
clouds thick individual drops fall and quickly hiecome more frequent,
and suddenly, with lightning and thie roar o f thunder, a downpour
breaks out, which soon turns into continuous rain. Naked children
run delightedly through the sheets o f rain, and even the adults are
glad to expose their faces briefly to the refreshing wetness.
After a period o f continuous rain the clouds reach a compromise
with the sun, eacli dom inating the scene in turn for a few hours. In
the intervals between rain showers the landscape is steaming, and an
oppressive closeness takes the place o f the previous lieat.
T h e change in the landscape is enormous. T h e previously sluggish
rivers are now broad streams, brown and gurgling, which threaten
the riverside dwellings by their rapid rise; roads and paths sink in the
mud and become impassable. M any clay huts dissolve and causc the
(anyway not very watertight) rush roofs to sink down on thie inhabi
tants. T h e animal kingdom, too, presents a new aspect: snakes,
scorpions and millipedes that have been driven out o f their holes hiy
the water are frequently to be seen, jolly little frogs hop across the
road, and the mooing o f the ox-toad is heard. In the houses the
geckos that run about the walls and ceilings in search o f mosquitoes
and moths develop fat tummies.
T h e atmosphere o f the approach and arrival o f the monsoon and
the transformation it hirings about was later to inspire more than one
Buddhist poet, and assuredly the M aster and his pupils too will have
observed this natural spectacle in the deer-park at Isipatana. Hut this
first rains retreat o f 528 was mainly devoted to the training o f the
monks. Besides the Sermon on (he Turning o f the Wheel o f D ham m a',
and that on thie N ot-Self (both M v 1.6), three further discourses
from thiose weeks are preserved in (he Canon. In one (M v i . I 3 = S N
4.1.4) he recommends to his monks - although they were supposed to
lie Arahants already - systematic thought (yoniso manasikara), which
he declares had brought him to enlightenment; in the second (M v
i . i i = S N 4 .1.5 ) he declares that he and his monks are freed from
heavenly and earthly snares; and in the third (A N 3 .(5 ) he gives
B A C K IN U R U V E I . A
G o tam as reason for visiting the scene o f his enlightenment once more
was to teach the Dham ina to the householders who had once sup
ported him with alms while he was an ascetic. T h e Pali Canon (M v
1. 14) reports a charm ing episode o f his walk back there, which is said
to have occurred in a grove called K appasiya. As the Buddha rested
at the fool o f a tree, some excited young men, obviously o f better
class, ran to him and asked him if he had seen a woman hurrying
past. T h ey explained dial lhere were thiirty o f them whio had come lo
thie grove witli thieir wiv,s for amusement. One o f them, hieing
unmarried, hiad brought a prostitute along. T h ey were in pursuit o f
lier, because slie had stolen tlieir'properiy and disappeared.
The Buddha What do you think, young men? Is it better lo look
for this wom an, or for yourselves?
Young Men I.ord, it would h)e better for us to look for ourselves.
The Buddha Well then, young men. sit down, and I will teach
you D ham m a.'
Then he gave them the graduated instruction and explained the
Four Noble Truths to them. Won ov er lo the Buddha's teaching, the
thirty young men requested ordination as monks, which the Buddha
immediately grunted.
The episode is probabls historical; only the end seems to have been
"improved by the redactors o f the Pali Canon. That all thirty young
men, full o f the joy o f life, became not lay followers but monks, so
that twenty-nine young wives had to return to their village as monks
widows , is hard to hjelieve.
A part from the historicity o f ihe episode, the ordination formula
lhat the M aster used should be noted. Il was-nol the triple refuge the
Buddha had prescribed, but the words: Com e, monk . . . , the same
as he had used when he accepted Kondaniia as the first bhikkhu
(M v i .(>.32). It seems lhat this was the ordination formula that only
the head o f the school was allowed to use.
The M ahavagga relates the incidents lhat occurred on ihe
Buddhas return to U ruvela with pedantic stillness and a determina
tion to turn everything into a miracle. We will confine ourselves to
those episodes from which a crum b o f historical information can be ex
tracted.
N ear U ruvela were three brothers called K assapa w'ho led the life
o f m atted-hair ascetics (jatila) and practised the fire- and waler-cult.
Each o f them was the head o f a school. U ruvela-K assapa had five
hundred jatilas as his pupils, N adl-K assapa ("Kassapa o f the R iv er )
had three hundred, and G aya-K assap a ( K assapa o f G a y a ) two
hundred, though these figures are not to be taken literally.
As the Indian winter had already started and night temperatures
were not much above zero, the Buddha went to the hermitage o f
U ruvela-Kassapa. and asked if he could spend the night in the cult hut
in which the fire maintained by the jatilax was burning. T aken by
the stranger's self-confidence and personality U ruvela-K assapa did
not dare refuse, but declared that the hut contained a large and
venomous serpent. But the Buddha did not allow him self to be
frightened off, and spent the night in the hut safely owing to his
magic powers i M v 1. 1 5).
He passed further nights in the forest near U ru vcla-K assap as
hermitage, and three times the forest around him was illuminated.
K assapa, who invited the Buddha to a morning meal in his hermitage,
was deeply impressed to learn thal G otam a had been visited by
radiant deities: in the first night by the Four G reat K in gs , in the
second by Sakka iln d ra ), and in the third by Brahm a Saham pati
; M v 1.16 - 18). The historical kernel o f this legend could be that the
Buddha lit a lire at night as a protection against the cold and against
wild beasts.
M eanwhile, the great annual sacrifice was due at llru v elaK assapas hermitage, and visitors were expected from the whole o f
M agadhu and the land o f Anga which lay to the east. Fearing that
the Buddha might attract some supporters o f the jatilas to himself,
Kassapa secretly wished that G otam a might not be present at the
sacrifice. Sensing what K assapa was thinking, the Buddha tactfully
stayed aw ay from the hermitage on the day o f the sacrifice. Kassapa
was astonished that G otam a could read his thoughts (M v 1.19 ).
After the Buddha had observed U ruvela-K assapa and his pupils
for some time, he look the occasion o f a boastful utterance on ihe part
o f the aged ascetic to bring him down to earth. Speaking directly lo
his conscience, he said: K assapa, you are not an A rahant or even on
the road lo Arahanlship. Y ou r way o f life is not such that you can
become an A rah anl by it, or even enter on (he road lo Arahantship!
Kassapa, to whom nobody had ever spoken like that before, was
completely shattered. Falling at the Buddhas feel, he begged to be
accepted into his O rder (M v 1 .->0.17).
It says much for G otam as sense o f justice that he did not al once
accept K assapa s submission, but warned him to consider ihe consequ
ences o f such a step for his followers: K assapa, you are the head o f a
school o f five hundred jatilas. Discuss the m atter with them, so that
they can do what they think right! Kassapa took his advice, with the
result that all (?) his disciples were converted with him to the
Buddhas school. T h ey cut of!' their matted locks, and threw their
shoulder-polcs and ihe implements used lor the lire-cult into the river
N eranjara. Then the Buddha gave them ordination as monks o f his
O rder (M v i . j o . i 7).
When the locks o f matted hair and the wooden cult utensils floated
down the N eranjara past the hermitage o f N adi-K assapa, he was
frightened that some misfortune had befallen his brother He went to
the latter's hermitage, and L ruvela-K assapa explained lo him the
benefits o f joining the Buddhas com munity, and he too joined the
Sangha with all (?) his ihree hundred followers (M v 1 .v>o.2of.i.
T h e same thing occurred in the case o f G aya-K assap a, who had
also gone to see if his broiher was all right 011 seeing the cult objects
floating by. He too joined the O rder with all (?) his two hundred
followers (M v 1 ,20.22f.).
With his numerous new followers (even if they probably did not
number a thousand), the former jatilas whom he had ordained as
bhikkhus in I'ru v ela, the Buddha proceeded to G a y a, which was not
far distant, where the group camped on a hill 1 kilometre south-west
o f the city called G aya Head ;G ayasIsa, now Brahinayoni). Here the
M aster delivered a sermon which alluded them atically to the practices
of Ihe jatila cult. It is the l'ire Sermon (M v i . 2 i = S N 35.28 ), which
begins with the famous words: Everything is ablaze! T h e sutta is
hased 011 the Buddhist theory o f perception, according to which there
arc not five senses but six: besides eye, car, nose, tongue and body as
tactile organ there is also the mind (manas) or, better, the organ of
thought. Corresponding lo these six sense's are the sense-fields which
are external to the person: forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensa
tions and concepts (dhamma) or objects o f thought. As soon as an
organ o f perception (e.g. the eye) and the corresponding sense-field
(e.g. forms) come into contact, a consciousness o f perception (e.g.
sight-consciousiiess; arises. In this way the object is taken into con
sciousness, and perceived by man. All reality is brought lo Us by the
six senses: the senses create our individual world.
It follows that the way in which we see ihe world depends on the
nature o f our senses, and on whether they convey the im age o f the
object to consciousness without distortion and in its true colours. I f
anyones senses are ruled by greed, haired and delusion, all his
perceptions will kindle, because they arouse further desires and aver
sions in him: for him the world is on fire. But whoever exerts control
over the six senses is free from lusts and passions, and will gain
freedom from rebirth.
It must have made a deep impression on the bhikkhus who were
former followers o f the fire-cult, to hear fire spoken o f in this profound
philosophical sense.
T H E C O N V E R S I O N O F K I N G BI M B I S A R A
t
T h e Buddha was very well aw are that the attitude o f the kings
towards him would he o f decisive im portance for the spread <)f his
teaching. H e therefore made R aja ga h a , the capital and residence o f
K in g Bim bisara of M agad h a, in whose kingdom he was, his next
goal.
There were some points o f contact. He could not only refer to his
first, somewhat cool meeting with the king at the beginning o f his
quest (534 b c ); he could also count on the fact that Bim bisara would
regard the leader o f an order as a former o f opinions, and therefore a
potential political influence whom it would pay him to get to know.
R a ja g a h a , 70 km south-west o f Patna near the modern small town
o f R a jg ir, was the most powerful royal city o f northern India after
Savatthi, the capital o f the kingdom o fK o s a la . Its im portance was o f
recent date, as only Bim bisara had extended the older city o f Giribbaja (m any mountains ) and raised it to the status o f a royal capital
as R a jagah a ( K in gsb u ry ).
T w o things had been decisive in the choice o f this place, despite its
unfavourable situation as regards communications, as the capital of
M agadha. South o f R a ja g a h a there was iron ore which was obtained
as iron oxide by open-cast mining, and which was largely turned, into
weapons and tools in the city. And lo the south-east there was also
copper ore. T h e wealth and power o f M agad ha depended 011 these
mineral resources and the small industries involved with their proces
sing.
Th e second factor was strategic. The city lay between long chains
of mountains which formed a /-sh aped valley with good defensive
One, to the Dham m a and to the San gha o f monks for refuge.
M ay the Blessed One accept me from this day forth as a lay
follower as long as life shall Iasi!
(M v i .22.9 1 1 , abridged)
He then invited the Buddha and his monks to a meal the following
day, and the M aster indicated his acceptance by silence.
Next morning, Bimbisara served the Buddha and his monks with
his own hands - a high honour seldom accorded to anybody. But the
king had a still greater surprise in store: he presented, in the words o f
the declaration o f gift, 'to the O rder o f monks with the Buddha at
their head , his recreation park V eluvana ( Bamboo W ood ), whicli
lay before the north gate of R ajagah a, so that the M aster might settle
there, near the city but in a quiet place, accessible to visitors but
suitably withdrawn. The donation was given legal force with the
usual ceremony: the donor poured water over the hands o f the
recipient into a bowl (in this case, naturally, a golden one). T h e
Buddha did not utter any formal thanks, because this would have
counterbalanced, and therefore cancelled, the religious merit which
the donor had acquired for himself. Instead, he expressed his pleasure
by delivering a discourse to Bimbisara (M v 1.2 2 .15 - 18 ) .
T h e conversion o f the K in g of M agadha can be dated to the last
month o f 528 or the first two months o f 527 b c . T h e second date is
the more probable. Bim bisara was five years younger than the Buddha
and at thirty-one had already been king for sixteen years.
There was 110 question o f the kings conversion lo the teachings o f
Gotam a arousing the envy o f other religious teachers. It was and is in
the spirit o f Indian tolerance for one to be a follower o f one school o f
thought, without rejecting the others. No Indian religious doctrine
has ever laid claim to exclusivity. T h ere were disputes between the
schools, but 110 lights, and the Buddhas religion, too, is based on
peaceful co-exislence. We hear several times of how G otam a in
structed new followers to continue to give alms to the monks o f the
school they had left (e.g. M v (>.;$ I . iof.).
There are many signs, not least his loyalty 10 the Buddha over the
decades till his murder, that show that K in g Bimbisara was deeply
stirred by the Sakiya's leaching. I he charism a o f the Buddha, the
conviction carried by his very presence, his nobility and eloquence, as
well as the balanced nature o f his views, which were expressed in the
M iddle W av, his high rlhical standards and, not least, the mystical
fascination o f his goal o f deliverance - all these things fascinated the
king: he experienced an encounter with the numinous such as (ills a
man with bliss and kindles in him an inner light for life. At thirtyone, Bimbisara was young enough to be inspired by religion, and yet
old enough not to lose rational control over his enthusiasm.
T h e im portance o f Bim bisaras conversion for the success o f the
Buddhas mission can scarcely be exaggerated. Thousands o f citizens
o f M agad ha followed their kings exam ple and adopted the Dham m a
as their guide. M an y will probably have done this to gain favour with
Bim bisara, but most did so from conviction. In fact, the new doctrine
had something to offer everyone, and every caste. It appealed to the
warrior-nobles by its lofty tone and its com patibility with the duties o f
state service, and to the Brahm ins by its rationality and philosophical
precision. It impressed the merchants by its rejection o f costly sacri
fices, supposed to ensure com mercial success, and by its understanding
o f mercantile thinking; for the artisans and the casteless, its attraction
was its devaluation ofhered itary privilege. Despite its negative judge
ment o f the world, it was felt to be a religion o f hope, which showed
everyone how he could make use o f the law o f K am m a to work his
way up within the social hierarchy, and finally gain liberation. With
K in g Bim bisaras conversion the Buddhas teaching had bccome
socially acceptable and a subject o f discussion on everyones lips. T he
way was open for it to spread over the whole o f India.
sisters. Mis fathers name was V a iigan la, and his mother was called
RupasarT. lie was called alter her Siiripu iia (Son o f S a ri). M oggallana, who was often called Kolitu because hr lived in K oliiagam a
(now K ill?), the next village to Nalaku, was the same age as Sariputta,
and they had played together as children. His mother M oggallanI,
after whom he was named, was from the Brahmin caste, while his
father, the village chicftain o f K oliiagam a, belonged lo the warrior
(khattiya) caste which at lliai lime was still considered ihe highest. It
is said thal the two friends had decided at the annual mountain-peak
meeting' - perhaps a kind o f fair to become wandering mendicant
followers o f S a n j a y a , which they shortly did. T h ey had promised that
if either o f them should attain lo insight, he would leach ihe other.
It was while he was a disciple o f San jaya's that S arip u u a , during
an alms-round in R aja ga h a , met the bhikkhu Assaji, who had once
been (io tam a's companion during his ascetic practices and had later
been ordained in ihe deer-park at Isipatana as one o f ihe lirsi five
bhikkhus. S arip u u a was so struck by the noble and restrained bearing
o f the strange monk that he wailed until Assaji had finished his almsround, and then asked him who was his master. T h e bhikkhu replied
that he was a disciple o f the samana o f the Sakiya clan, and Sarip u u a
asked him about this m asters teaching. Although (according lo M v
1.6.47) *,e was an A rah ani, Assaji was not able (o give a full account
o f the teaching. He said he was new, having only recently accepted
the Buddha's teaching, bul that he could give its contents in brief
form. Then he tillered ihe famous verse which has since been adopted
as the creed o f Buddhists o f all schools:
O i dhammas* arising from a cause,
T he Perfect One has explained the cause.
And how they come to cessation,
That too the (Jreat Sage has taught.
(M v 1.23.5)
Sariputta, whose analytical and philosophical intelligence is often
praised in the sources, at once grasped the sense o f this statement:
W hatever is subject to the law o f origination (e.g. the empirical
H e r e 'facto rs ofrxislrn ceV
person and its suffering) is also subject to the law o f destruction. This
means that it can, if no cause for further rebirth is created, be
iranscended in the slate of cessation, which is N ibbana. Overwhelmed
by ihis insight, Sariputta hastened to his friend M oggallana in order
lo acquaint him with this new truth (M v 1.23.5 6).
M oggallana, an especially gifted meditator, grasped the meaning
no less quickly than Sariputta, and he proposed that they should
both at once go to the Buddha and become his pupils. Sariputta,
however, declined as they first had to consult iheir samana companions
and Sanjaya. T h ey did so, and their IVIlow-.vr;mrtnfl.i declared their
readiness to go over to the Buddha; Sanjaya, 011 the other hand,
promised that if they stayed with him they would share in the
leadership o f his school. When Sariputta and M oggallana refused his
offer, and went with all two hundred and fifty (?) o f his followers to
the Vejuvanu Park to request acceptance, into [he Buddhas order,
San jaya was so disappointed that hot blood issued from his mouth.
M eanwhile, the two friends were ordained by the Buddha (M v 1.24),
and soon became Arahants: M oggallana in a week, and Sariputta
shortly after. T h ey soon became G otam as two chief followers, and
remained such for more than forty years.
Not long after Saripuita and M oggallana had become monks in his
order, the Buddha received a visitor from his home-town o f K a p ilava t
thu. This was K aju dayin , dark U d ayin , as he was called on
account o f his dark complexion. He was a friend o f the Buddhas
youth whom R a ja Suddhodana had sent out to look for his son and
try to persuade him to visit K apilavatthu.
K aju dayin carried oul his mission with great skill. He joined the
Sangha and (Inis had access to the Buddha al any time. Then
through vivid descriptions he tried to make the M aster homesick
for the Sakiya land. With lyrical enthusiasm he described the
beauty o f trees in full blossom, as the wanderer sees them at the
side o f the road:
Trees are there, Lord, which glow in crimson now,
In quest o f fruit theyve cast aside their leaves.
But still the blossoms hang (here, red as blood.
Now is the time, o Lord, to travel there.
T H E R A I N S IN R A J A G A H A
According to plan the Buddha spent the rains o f 527 b c in R ajagah a,
where, in the meantime, huts for the monks had been erected in the
V ejuvana park - the beginnings o f a monastery. This was the second
rains period since the beginning o f his mission, and it was not without
its problems. T he continued growth o f the Sangha raised unexpected
difficulties for the leader.
T he concentration o f so many wandering mendicants doing the
rounds in R a jagah a every morning and standing silently before the
doors with their alms-vesscls - which were not mere bowls but pots waiting for food, had the effect that m any o f R a ja g a h a s possibly
60,000 inhabitants were sick o f the sight ofalms-seekers and considered
the bald beggars and scroungers a nuisance, whatever school
they belonged to. In addition, there was the negative social effect o f
mendicancy. Men who had previously earned their living and led a
normal fam ily life with wives and children suddenly took a fancy to
the life o f a samana, joined the Sangha, and left their families
destitute. T h e com plaint was heard: 'T h e samana Gotam a lives by
making (us) childless, making (wives into! widows and splitting up
families. He has converted a thousand m atted-hair ascetics and the
two hundred and fifty followers o f San jaya, and even cultured young
men from the best families in M agadha are following the path o f
purity under his leadership!
Often the monks were teased, especially by children, with a verse
they had picked up from their elders:
He came to G iribb aja, the master on his w ay,
Leading the (bhikkhus) which he took from S an jaya aw ay.
Who. will be next (converted and : fall under his sway?
T h e Buddha, who heard this invective stanza from his monks, was
unperturbed. T h e noise would not last long, he said, but as a smart
tactician, knowing human nature, he resorted to a counter-measure.
He uttered a reply in verse, which the monks promptly spread about
with success:
T h e mighty heroes, truth disdosers,
T h ey guide by dham m a, true in sooth.
Who could be jealous o f wise (masters)
Who lead men on by teaching Truth?
As the M aster had foreseen, the criticism ceased after a few days (M v
1.2 4 .5 -7 ). Perhaps, too, K in g Bim bisara had taken steps to restrain
popular discontent with the yellow-robed samanas.
Hand-in-hand with his efforts to gain respect lor the Sangha
among the general population went the B uddhas inward-directed
efforts for the disciplining o f his monks. It had become clear that
through the mass conversion o f matted-hair ascetics and followers o f
San jaya, a number o f men had come into the O rder who lacked the
most elementary breeding, and who by their bad behaviour and
aggressive demands for alms were causing offence. T o teach them
manners, the M aster issued a series o f instructions. He ordered the
monks to dress in proper monastic style, to behave modestly in front
o f those who gave them alms, and to eat in silence (M v 1.25 .5 ). Cases
o f disrespect towards those who instructed the new monks led him to
issue rules 011 this subject too. He ordered ihe bhikkhus to obey their
preceptor ;M v 1.25.8H'.), to look after his robe (M v i . 2 5 .1 0 + 2 3 ) , to
wash his ahns-bowl (M v 1.2 5 .1 1;, and to dean his lodging (M v
1.2 5 .19 ).
As we learn from (he introductory descriptions o f m any suttas, the
Buddha also expected ihe same services for himself. Almost alw ays he
was accom panied by a dul y monk 1upalthaka;, whose job it was,
among other things, to fan the M aster while he preached in the hot
weather ( M X ta. i , p. 83); if no young monk was present, prominent
monks like Sariputta were not ashamed lo do this. T he duty monks
frequently changed, until, in ihe twentieth year o f the Buddhas
mission, his cousin Ananda look on this post and devotedly served in
it till the end o f the M asters life.
T H E B U D D H A V I S I TS H I S H O M E T O W N
True to his promise to K iilu dayin, the Buddha set out for K a p ila v a t
thu as soon as the monsoon was over. He did not go alone: Sariputta
and some other monks accom panied him. T h e distance was fio oxstages (yojana): one such stage being about the distance a yoked ox
could go - roughly 10 km. For the (>00 km between R ajagah a and
K apilavatth u, G otam a allowed sixty days. After the first quarter o f
ihe journey north-westwards, the Ganges had to be crossed.
We can obtain some idea o f what such journeys were like if we
think o f ihe long marches undertaken, in our own day, by M ahatm a
Gandhi and Vinobha Bhave. T h e master generally goes on alone or
occasionally in conversation with one o f his supporters. Five steps in
front are a tew resolute disciples who clear the way for him and guard
him against pestering watchers, and behind him come the resi, some
in atlitudes o f devoted attentiveness or mental concentration, others
tired and resigned. Only three outward signs distinguished the
Buddha from the M ahatm a and Vinobha: his garment was not
white, but coloured yellow-brownish with kasaya clay, he walked
barefoot, and did not carry a stick. In ancient India sticks were
regarded as weapons, and G olam a refrained from using them.
T h e events following his arrival at K apilavatth u are narrated in
the Pali C anon only in fragmented form, out o f chronological order,
latter was also a cousin o f the Buddhas, the son o f his mother s
brother Suppabuddha, and so a brother o f Siddhattha's ex-wife
Bhaddakaccana.
T h e most prominent o f the seven was Bhaddiya, the son o f K ajigodha, dark G o d h a, who as the eldest o f the Sak iya ladies had the
position o f a dow ager. She m ay have been the widow o f a R a ja who
had for a time ruled the Sakiya republic either before Suddhodana or
as his representative. This would explain why Bhaddiya is described
(C v 7.1.3 ) as the raja ruling over the Sakiyas, through confusion with
his father.
From A nupiya, we are told (C v 7 .2 .1), the journey went to
Kosam bi, capital o f the kingdom o f Varrisa, where the M aster and
his com panions lodged in the grove o f the m erchant and banker
Ghosita. T h is grove was open to wanderers o f all denominations.
Som e time later Ghosita presented il 10 the M aster when, after
visiting Savatthi on business and hearing the Buddha there, he
became his disciple.
BACK IN R A J A G A H A
T h e year 526 b c saw the Buddha once more in R ajagah a, where, as
before, he spent the rains in the V ejuvaiia m onastery . One o f the
places he visited most frequently was the V ultures' Peak (Gijjh aku ta), a natural platform on the southern slope o f M ount C hatha
wiih a fine view of the southern part o f the R a jagah a valley, where it
was possible to enjoy the breeze which is so seldom fell in the valley
below. 'I he V ultures Peak soon became a favourite spot for the
M aster, and he ascended it sometimes even in the rain and at night.
Here he could conduct conversations undisturbed and devote himself
to the instruction o f the monks, and dozens o f discourses were de
livered here. T h ere were two natural caves on the north side o f the
mountain, the larger o f which was the so-called B oars C ave , and
these gave protection from storms and could be used in an emergency
for a nights lodging.
In the second R a jagah a rains period the Buddha had two encoun
ters which were to prove important and valuable for him and his
O rder. Th ey were with JTvaka and with Anathapindika.
No, L ord .
( If you speaJt o f deliberate destruction by me, JTvaka, that is
true in only one sense:) I have destroyed greed, hatred and delusion
in m yself so that they cannot arise again. Anyone who kills for my
sake or for that o f one o f my disciples commits a fivefold evil: by
leading up the anim al, tormenting it, killing it, and thereby tor
menting it again, and finally by treating me or one o f my disciples
in an improper m anner.'
(M N 55, paraphrased)
Won over by G otam as words, JTvaka declared his accession to the
lay community. And when the Buddha 011 a later occasion again
rested in his mango grove, he sought instruction in the duties o f a lay
follower (A N 8.26).
JTvaka henceforth gladly undertook the task o f medical attendant
to the Sangha, though it gave him a great deal o f work for no fee.
T he Buddha once consulted him about a disharm ony o f the bodyfluids , which JTvaka cured with oil-massage, laxatives, warm baths
(in the hot springs near R a jagah a), and fruit-juice (M v 8 .1.3 0 -3 3 ) .
T o monks who looked pale he recommended physical exercise and a
heatable bathing-hut (C v 5 .1 4 .1) - 110 doubt a reasonable prescrip
tion.
JTvakas appointment as physician to the Sangha had one undesir
able side-effect, when men with various disorders joined the Sangha
as bhikkhus in order to get free treatment from the famous doctor.
JTvaka, therefore, begged the Buddha to exclude the sick from ordina
tion. T h e M aster accepted this suggestion and issued appropriate
instructions (M v 1.3 9 .5 -7 ).
Deducing from his frequent visits to his mango grove that G otam a
was specially fond o f this place, JTvaka presented it to the M aster
(JTvakam bavana). O f the monastery which once existed there, the
foundations can still be seen o f four long halls with smaller sidcbuildings, all once spanned with vaulted roofing.
T h e second especially prominent lay follower who declared himself
a supporter and friend o f the Buddha in that same year 52G b c was
Sudatta A nathapindika, the Feeder o f the Poor , as he was called
because o f his generosity. A naihapindika lived in Savatthi and was
married to the sister o f a merchant from R ajagah a. A gold-dealer
K IN G P A S E N A D I B E C O M E S A L A Y F O L L O W E R
A nathapindika's promise to provide the O rder with a home in Savatthi
: 1 to km north-east o f Lucknow; induced the B uddha, not long afterhis
conversation with the banker, to set out for the capital o f K osala. His
inarch followed the usual caravan route via Vesali (C v 6 .5 .1), capital o f
the LicchavT republic, and presum ably also through K apilavatth u,
where however, realizing that a prophet is without honour in his own
country, he did not stop this time. Arrived in Savatthi, he took up
residence in th ejeta va n a ( P rin c e je ta s Park'), which A naihapindika
had just acquired, and which was apparently open to representatives
o f all religions. N exl morning there was a meal for the monks at
A nathapindikas house, at which the following conversation took place:
Anaihapindika Lord, how shall I arrange matters with t h e je t a
vana?'
The Buddha H ave it arranged for the O rder o f the four points o f
the compass, both present and future.'
Anathapindika V ery good, L o rd .
(C v 6.9)
T h ere was no water-pouring ceremony for the formal transfer o f
ownership, simply the grant o f the right o f use lo the Sangha - but
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right o f use in the hands o f the Sangha (C v 6 .9 .1), it seems that rain
proof buildings were only very slowly erected over the years. It was
not till eleven years later (5 15 b c ) that G otam a - after various short
stays in other seasons passed the rains in Je ta v a n a . From 508
onwards he m ade Savatthi his annual rains residence, and spent
eighteen monsoon periods in succession at the Je ta v a n a . A further six
he spent in the Hast G rove M onastery (pubbardma) at Savatth i, a
foundation o f the generous female lay follower Visakha M igaram ata.
T h e je ta v a n a lay about 500 in south-west o fSavat thi (now M aheth),
and is now known as Saheth. T he old books describe it as being thickly
planted with shady trees, partly mangoes. Children used to play near
the park, and sometimes came to paddle in the pond which the Buddha
used for bathing in. T h e pond, in a ruinousstate, now liesoutside (to the
e a si) o f the area that is shown to visitors to Saheth as th ejeta va n a. No
trace remains o f the buildings from the Buddha's time.
Am ong the inhabitants o f Savatthi who did not shirk the walk to
the Je ta v a n a to hear the Buddha and rejoice in his sight (dar.iana),
was K in g Pasenadi o f Kosala, who was about the same age as
G otam a. lie approached the Buddha in a sceptical spirit:
Pasenadi Do you also, G otam a, claim to have attained perfect
enlightenment as a Suprem e Buddha?'
The Buddha 1 do indeed make such a claim .'
Pasenadi T h e samanas and Brahm ins known lo me as heads o f
schools have all replied, in answer to my question, that they are
perfectly enlightened. How can you be such a one, since you are so
young in years and ju n ior in ordination?
The Buddha There are four beings (and things), Y o u r M ajesty,
that should not be despised because they are young: a warrior, a
snake, a fire, and a monk.
(S N 3 .1 , paraphrased)
T h e king, who understood I lie reference to his own youthful age, was
impressed by this quick reply, and declared himself a lay follower o f
G otain as by pronouncing the Three Refuges.
W hether we believe lliat Pasenadis conversion took place immedi
ately following their first conversation, or not, il is a faci that a feeling
o f trust and friendship soon grew up between the king and the great
samana. T h e Sam yutta N ikaya alone contains (in Saniyutta 3) no
fewer than twenty-five dialogues, spread over the years, between the
two, in which Pasenadi reveals his thoughts, observations and experi
ences, and the Buddha states his opinion. Som e o f these conversations
have a pastoral character, as when the Buddha calms the kings
disappointment when Ins ch ief wife M allika bears him a daughter
instead o f the hoped-for son (S N 3 .16 ), when he consoles him at the
death o f his grandm other (SN 3.2a ), and helps him overcome his grief
at the passing o f his beloved M allika with reflect ions 011 the inevitability
ofdealh (A N 5.4.9). On other occasions the Buddha gave him a friendly
warning, rims it is recorded that Pasenadi, who was a glutton and had
developed a large corporation, once came to see the Buddha pulling and
blowing so much that the Buddha warned him:
A man who alw ays lives with care.
And shows restraint while taking food,
His sensualitys reduced,
He grows old slowly, keeps his strength.
At once the king ordered the young man who was fanning him to
remind him o f this verse before every meal (S.N 3 .13 ) .
Ju st as the acceptance o f the Dham m a by K in g Bim bisara had
initialed a missionary breakthrough for the Buddha in the kingdom
of M agadha, so now Pasenadis conversion assured equal success in
the kingdom o f Kosala. The news o f the kings taking refuge' in the
leaching of ihe samana G otam a spread like wildfire, and soon reached
the subject republics, including that o f the Sakiyas.
P A S E N A D I A N D T H E K IN G D O M O P K O S A E A
T h e portly K in g o f Kosala comes to life in the descriptions o f him in
the Pali Canon - a very human mixture o f rich living, bonhomie,
philosophical reflection and political cunning.
He was the son o f K in g M ahakosala. His father had handed the
rulership over to him soon afier his return from his studies o f Takkaslla, and after he had proved himself as governor o f Kiisi (Benares).
T h e University o f T akkasila, the capital o f G an d h ara, was jho finest
educational establishment in south Asia, with an attractive syllabus.
Besides philosophical and theological subjects (study o f the V edas,
philosophy, riiual skills, magic, Vedic gram m ar; and the secular
studies o f law and politics, various practical skills were taught (medi
cine, elephanl training, fencing and archery). T h e university was open
to any member o f the w arrior or Brahmin caste with the necessary
qualifications. T he fees were high, but poorer students could have their
lees remitted in return for services to their teachers ( Ja l 252). All
students lived 011 the university cam pus under strict discipline. T h e
penally for breaches o f order was corporal punishment.
Both Pasenadis addiction to the pleasures o f the table, and his
urge to make up for lost time in love-affairs, can perhaps be traced
back to his spartan existence as a student in Takkasila. f lis numerous
wives are often mentioned. Casting aside all social and caste conven
tions, he had chosen for his ch ief wife the lovely M allika, the
daughter o f a garland-m aker, who had successfully consoled him
with her charm s after the loss o f a battle. T h e king had a high regard
lor her common sense, and consulted her often before f k in g political
decisions. We know the names o f four further wives o f his: the sisters
Som a and Sakula, and U bbiri and Vasabhakkhattiya, who was o f
Sakiyan birth. When Pasenadi had wanted to have a wife also from
the Sakiya clan, she had been sent at his request from K apilavatth u.
She became the mother o f the crown prince V idiidabha.
Pascnadis studies in Takkasila had sharpened his intellect, but
had scarcely filled him for government. Sometimes philosophical
ideas inhibited his decision-making, and such thoughts occasionally
arose in the midst o f state business, which then bored him. He told
the Buddha that he was so upset by the many lies he had to listen to
as preside-nt o f the law court that he handed over the conduct o f the
case to another ju dge (SN 3.7.2). He several times used the expression
to G otam a: When 1 was quietly sunk in meditation, the thought
occurred to me . . . (SN 3.4.2, etc.) - a formulation that clearly
reveals his contem plative nature.
I f reasons o f state had permitted, Pasenadi would probably have
devoted more time to his philosophical-religious interests. However,
political considerations compelled him to exercise restraint, and to
distribute his favours evenly am ong those religious schools that were
able to influence popular opinion. He balanced his gifts for the
Buddhas Sangha - o f which the most evident was the monastery hall
in the Jc ta v a n a compound, and the K in g s G rove M onastery (rajakarama) - by granting the tax-incomc of three villages lo three profes
sional Brahmins famous for their learning in the Y'edas. In fact he
never renounced the Vedic sacrificial religion, and once, without
caring about the Buddhas abhorrence, he arranged a great bloodsacrifice iS N 3.9).
This furtherance o f religion demanded a great deal o f money. In
one case, when the king wanted lo dig deep into the state purse for
the benefit o f the Buddhist O rder, his minister K S la tried to stop him.
His courage cost him dear. T h e Buddha showed by his behaviour
disapproval o f Kfda, whereupon Pasenadi dismissed his minister from
office. This case shows G otam as influence on the king, and dem on
strates that he knew how to defend his interests.
Pasenadi's kingdom of K osala was 350 km long from west lo east,
and 270 broad from north lo south. Its most westerly point lay 70 km
west o f modern Lucknow. From here the frontier swung north and
north-east, taking in the central T a ra i, and then bent eastwards to the
G andak ( = Sadfm lra) river, which il followed for a while southwards,
then continued southwards to the Ganges, running parallel with this
upstream till it left the river north-east o f Benares, continuing north
westwards to the starting-point. A third o f the. oval described by this
boundary-line, the whole north-eastern and eastern part, was not the
heartland o f K osala, but consisted o f territories ruled over by locally
elected ra jas. These were the republics and tribal territories o f which
Pasenadi was overlord.
T he adm inistrative apparatus that Pasenadi had received from his
father for ruling this extensive realm was not very effective, and did not
make the task easy. Apart from the two dependable chief ministers,
L'gga and A ro h a n ta , without whose advice the king seldom decided a
political issue, there was generally disunity am ong his ministers, and
their quarrelling was more than once the talk o f the town. It was also
because these ministers insinuated to the king that General Bandhula
was aim ing at the crown, that the king was led to have the general killed,
with consequences which will be mentioned later.
The quarrels among his ministers, and Pasenadis ever-watchful
suspicion o f their loyally, make it understandable that he reserved to
himself all dealings with the republics and tribes under his overlord
ship. In m ailers concerning the vassal slates ihe ministers hail no say.
T h e kingdealt direct and personally with the rajas, and compelled their
obedience because he had placed their generals under his personal
com mand. T h e rajas reported a i intervals at raja conferences, which
took place in Savatthi under Pasenadis chairm anship. On csutta o f the
S am yu ita N ikaya (3.12 ) tells o f a conference o f five rajas, but does not
say who the four rajas assembled around the M ah araja Pasenadi were.
They were probably the raja o f the Sakiya republic from K apilavatth u,
the raja o f the K oliya tribe from R am agam a, the raja o f the M oriya
tribe from Pipphalivana, and one o f the two rajas o f the M alla republic,
either from K usinara or from Pava. Instead o f one o f these, the raja o f
the K alam a tribe from Kesaputta could have been present.
The
does not tell us what the political purpose o f the conference
was, but merely lets us see that the kings occasionally also discussed
philosophical matters - in this case the question o f which sense-organ eye, ear, nose, longue or sense o f touch provides the greatest pleasure.
At Pasenadi's suggestion the question was pul to the Buddha, who
replied that each sense-organ was the bearer o f both pleasant and
unpleasant sensations. No one sense-organ could be raled higher than
another, but in the case o f com peting sense-pleasures that which gave
the strongest pleasure must be considered chief, irrespective o f which
organ it was that provided it. We can assume that this consultation, at
Pasenadi's proposal, increased the prestige o f the Buddha in the rajas
countries o f origin, and eased the way lor the acceptance o f the
Dham m a.
We should not overestimate the si/e o f the capital o f Kosala. T h e
city wall o f Savatthi (Skt &ravasti, now M aheih) can still be made
out. It forms an oblong which borders in the north on the river
AciravatT ;R a p i 7), and which lakes in about 3 square kilometres. A
dip in the ground, south o f the city, seems to suggest that Savatthi
used to be surrounded by a moat.
T h e city owed its prosperity less to its function as seal o f government
than to its favourable communications. The* AciravatT linked Pasen
a d is capital with the Ganges river-tralTic. T h e caravan road from
Takkaslla in the west forked at Savatth i, the south-eastern branch
leading to R aja ga h a , and the southern one to KosambT. Savatthi
thus lay on one o f ancient Indias most important trade-routes.
R A I N R E T R E A T 'S I N R A J A G A H A A N D V E S A L I
T h e simplest thing would have been for G otam a to spend the rains o f
525 b c in Savatth i, where A nathapindikas Je ta v a n a would have
been at his disposal. But, either because the accom modation in the
Je ta v a n a seemed still too provisional for him, or because he had
promised K in g Bim bisara to spend the monsoon this year, too, in
R a jagah a, at any rate all sources agree that he again spent the rainy
months o f 523 at R ajagah a. This was the third monsoon from which
he had sheltered in the capital o f M agadha.
The Buddha also spent the monsoon o f the following year in
R ajagah a, although disturbed by unforeseen circumstances. In that
year (524 ho ) the great rains had already set in south o f the Ganges,
and the Buddha was preparing to spend three quiet months in the
V ejuvan a in meditation and the systematic training o f the monks,
when a messenger arrived in R ajagah a from Vesali, the capital o f the
LicchavT republic. It was M ahiili, a friend o f K in g Bim bisaras, and
he reported that there was great distress in Vesali (now Vaisali):
there was no sign yet o f the rains, and it was feared that they would
pass by the LicchavT republic. A famine had broken out, and many
people had died, and now in addition a stomach and intestinal
disease was raging (cholera from the polluted wells), which had
claimed further victims. M ahiili therefore begged Bim bisara lo per
suade the Buddha to go to Vesali to help the city and the republic.
I f this account (reported in ihe commentaries) states M ah alis
arguments correctly, it points to a new w ay o f viewing the Buddha. Me is
here no longer viewed as a teacher proclaim ing a way to liberation from
the round o f rebirths, but as a man who can influence nature and cause
rain to fall. Five years after his enlightenment, the Buddha had in the
eyes o f the people become a superman (mahapurisa).
The text does not say whether G otam a tolerated or rejected this
view o f himself. He complied with M ah alis request at the prompting
o f Bimbisara, left with some followers for Vesali, and crossed the
Ganges five days later. Scarcely had he landed on the north bank, in
the LicchavT republic, than the floodgates o f the sky opened, and the
longed-for rain cam e down over this country as well.
T h e Buddha left the task o f com bating the cholera to his disciple
A n a n d a , lo whom, we are told, he gave the 'Jew el S u lla (Ratana Sutta)
for the purpose. Indologists may doubt whether this sutta (S N ip 2 2 2 38) goes back to the Buddha himself; but it is significant that il was just
to this sutta that a curative effect was ascribed. 11 is one o f those Buddhist
texts which are based on the previously mentioned, pre-Buddhist idea
that every truth, irrespective o f the importance o f its contents, possesses
magic power, and that through the pronouncement o f this truth,
through itsactivation (saccakiriya), any desired d i e d can be achieved even if the truth involved is an article o f faith:
W hatever wealth there is, here or l>cyond.
W hatever jew els there may be in heaven:
There is none equal to the Perfect One.
T h e greatest o f all jewels is the Buddha:
Through this truth m ay there happiness prevail.
(R atan a Sutta, S N ip *24;
Within a short time, A n a n d a succeedcd in m astering the cholera with
this truth-spell. Modern interpreters, o f course, will rather ascribc
this success to the plentiful supplies o f fresh water which again
became available with the com ing o f the monsoon.
The LicchavT republic (with Vesali as its capital), which had joined
together with the Videha republic (with itscapital at M ithila) and some
tribes as the so-called V ajji Federation, is sym pathetically described in
the Pali C anon. T h e 14,000 or so members o f the LicchavT warriornoble caste who managed the affairs o f the estimated 250,000 inhabi
tants of the republic, and provided the rajas, are several times praised
for their sense o f political responsibility. T h e public council sessions in
Vesali which were called by the sound o f drum s and at which one or
other o f the three LicchavT rajas presided, were well attended, and the
measures agreed on by consensus were energetically translated into
actions. Ju stice was dispensed swiftly and objectively.
In spile o f their relative prosperity, the LicchavT nobles lived
modestly. M an y o f the young warriors slept on straw mattresses and
practised their military skills (S N 20.8). They also trained fierce dogs
for w ar and were especially feared as archers. However, occasionally
their high spirits came to the fore, and they tussled and snatched
things like sugar-cane, candy, cakes and sweets from the goods enter
ing the city. Sometimes - perhaps as a test o f courage? - they slapped
women and girls on the bottom (A N 5.58).
Although the people o f V esali took trouble to make the Buddhas
stay in their city a pleasant one, and though he was com fortably
accommodated in the Gabled Hall in the G reat Forest (M ah avan a),
G otam a did not feel entirely at home 011 this visit to Vesali. We do
not know the reason, but we are told that, although he had been
invited and was hailed as a saviour from disaster, he left the city alter
seven days (or, in another version, a fortnight) and returned to
R ajagah a, where he spent the rest o f the rains retreat.
F O U N D A T IO N O F T H K O R D E R O F N U N S
Allegedly, while the Buddha was still in Vesali he heard the news
that his father Suddhodana was dying in K apilavatth u. In order to
reach his father before he died, the .Master Hew through the air lo
K apilavatth u, and was just in time to deliver a discourse to Sud
dhodana by which he became enlightened, so that the old raja was
able to enter N ibbana on his deathbed. Such is the legendary story
according to one com mentator.
T h e historical truth is that Suddhodana died in the second h alf o f
524 b c , and that Siddhattha visited his home town again in 523, by
which time Suddhodana had long been cremated, and a new raja
elected. VVe do not read anywhere in the Canon that this new raja
was a member o f the G otam a family.
It was probably on this second visit to K apilavatthu that the
Buddha acted as m ediator in a conflict over the use o f the water o f
the river RohinT. T h e Rohinl (now Rowat) formed the frontier
between the Sakiya republic and the tribal territory o f the K oliyas,
and was blocked by a dam built jointly by Sakiyas and K oliyas, from
above which they drew off water for their fields. When in M ay-Jun e
523 the water-level was so low that it only sufficed for the irrigation o f
one side or the other, a quarrel broke out between the Sakiya and
K o liya lieUl labourers. Insults were hurled back and forth and a
struggle - the text calls it a w ar - seemed inevitable. Then the
Buddha stepped between the fronts as mediator. His lame as an
enlightened one , his position as an intimate o f K in g Pasenadi, to
whom both Sakiyas anti K oliyas were subject, and his eloquence
brought about the scarcely-to-be-expected miracle. Using the argu
ment that water was o f less value than human lives, he succeeded in
preventing bloodshed and calm ing the angry contestants ( Ja t 536).
On the occasion o f this visit o f the Buddhas to K apilavatth u, his
stepmother M ah apajapatl approached him with a proposal which he
found extremely unwelcome and irksome. Through the renunciation
of Siddhattha, R aliu la and her son N anda, she had no one lo care for
but her daughter Sundarinanda; after the death o f Suddhodana she
had no more domestic duties, and so at an advanced age she turned
to religion. O ne day she sought-out the Buddha in the Nigrodha
Grove outside the city and said: It would be good if women loo
could go forth into homelessness (i.e. as nuns) in the Dham m a
proclaimed by you.' T he Buddha was evasive and negative, and even
kept to his refusal when M ahapajapatT twice repealed her request. In
tears at this refusal, which she interpreted as base ingratitude, M ah a
pajapatT returned lo K apilavatth u (C v i o . i . i ).
A little later the Buddha left his home lown and by easy stages
reached ihe LicchavT capital o f Vesali, where he was put up, as in (he
previous year, in (he Gabled Hall. M eantim e, M ahapajapatT had
plucked up fresh courage, had cut off her hair and put on yellow
robes like a monk, and had followed the Buddha 011 his journey,
accompanied by a few Sakiya women. With swollen feel and covered
with dusl, she arrived in Vesali, where A n a n d a found her at ihe
approach to the Gabled Hall. With tears in her eyes she told A n a n d a
o f her wish that the M aster might permit the foundation o f an order
o f nuns (Cv 10 .1.2 ).
She could not have found a more skilled advocate. Touched,
A nanda passed on M ahapajapatTs dearest wish to the Buddha, who
again refused. So A nanda began to argue the case:
Lord, would women who should go forth into homelessness in
your D ham m a and discipline be able to attain perfection (i.e. en
lightenment)?
Yes, A n a n d a .
Lord, sincc they are capable o f this, and since M ahapajapatT
GolamT has been o f great service lo you, both as the Blessed O n es
aunt and also, after the death of your real mother as stepmother,
guardian and wet-nurse, for thal very reason il would be good if
(you would permit) women to go forth into homelessness in your
Dham m a and discipline.
A n a n d a , if M ahapajapatT promises lo observe eight additional
rules, let this count as her ordination.
(C v 10 .1.3-4., abridged)
And he nam ed the eight points to A n a n d a , all o f which are aim ed al
P R O B L E M S W IT H K O S A M B T
T h e greatest Indian rulers o f his time, the K ings o f M agadha and
Kosala, were G o tam as friends and the number o f his followers ran
into several thousand. He felt that the time was ripe to establish
relations also with R a ja Udena who resided in Kosam bi and ruled
the kingdom o f Vam sa, between the rivers Ganges and Yam una.
bhikkhu Pindola. When the king woke up, he was furious and
threatened to have Pindola thrown into a nest o f red ants (Ja t 497),
a threat which he might have carried out, but for the fact that
Pindola was the son o f the court Brahm in B harad vaja, whose loyalty
he did not want to lose.
With increasing age, Udena became more tolerant towards Bud
dhism, perhaps for political reasons, since the Dham m a had by this
time turned into a political factor even in the Vam sa kingdom, and
perhaps also because his own son Bodhi (raja) had become a supporter
o f the Buddha. T h e question o f what motives could induce a vigorous
man to subject himself lo self-discipline once even induced him to
seek out the bhikkhu Pindola, and Pindola explained to the
king the impurity o f desires, o f the body and o f sense-perceptions,
and the advantages o f self-control (S 35. t '^7). M uch later, after the
Buddhas death, U dena gave his concubines permission to receive
instruction in the U daka park from the aged A n a n d a . But when they
told him how m any cloths for robes they had given A n a n d a , he was
annoyed. He wondered whether A n a n d a wanted to set up in business
with the material, and in spite o f his advanced years he did not scorn
the exertion o f going out to confront the bhikkhu (C v 1 1 . 1 .1 2 - 1 4 ) .
When G otam a arrived in Kosam bi in 520 b c .-, all such things still
lay in the future. T h e kings indifference lo the Sangha, however,
was obvious and was reflected in the low morale o f the local monks.
How em barrassing for the Buddha to find the bhikkhu Sagata lying
before the city gate o f Kosam bi, dead drunk! On his alm s-round, he
had drunk a cup o f pahn-wine at every door. It was not exactly a
triumphal procession in which the monks carried their intoxicated
confrere back to the monastery, doubtless to the accom panim ent o f
witty comments from the citizenry. This event provided the occasion
for the Buddha to issue an order prohibiting alcohol lor the monks
: Sv 5 1 . 1 ) . I -ater he decreed that novices who were found to be
drinkers should be refused the full ordination (M v t.(io).
I f we are to believe the com m entary, il was a lavatory w a ie r - ja r water being used in Asia for the same purpose as we now use paper that nearly led to a schism in the O rder. A monk o f the Ghosita
monastery in Kosam bi had left it outside the latrine without throwing
out the remaining water - an offence against cleanliness. T h e V inaya
information - the three dozen volumes o f the C anon and the com
mentaries are full o f material - hut this consists m ainly o f edifying
slories and discourses explaining points o f doctrine, with scarcely any
historical details. Also, the first decade had marked out the area o f
the Buddhas activity. From now on the same places recur again and
again, so that the M asters traces are confused and indistinguishable.
O ne exam ple o f a historically unproductive episode, which never
theless illustrates G otam as life and his self-assuredness, is the follow
ing, which can be dated to the eleventh year o f his mission (5 18 b c ).
On his alms-round the Buddha had reached the edge o f the village
o f Ekanala, south o f R aja ga h a , just as the rich Brahm in Bharad vaja
was giving out m ilk-rice to his ploughmen for their breakfast. Silently,
the Buddha joined their ranks and wailed to see if he would be given
food.
Bharadvaja I plough and sow, and having finished work, I eat. You
too, samana, should plough and sow, and then you would have food.
The Buddha I too, Brahmin, plough and sow, and when I have
done that, I ea t.
Bharadvaja We see do nol see M aster G otam a use yoke or plough,
and yet he speaks thus?'
The Buddha I sow faith, my plough is wisdom, energy is my
draught-ox, the fruit o f my labour is Deathlessness. W hoever per
forms such work, is freed from all sorrow .
But when B h arad vaja then offered the Buddha a bowl o f milk-rice,
G otam a refused it. A gift won by rhetoric was no proper alms and
brought the giver no merit. B harad vaja, however, would not take the
rice back. It was beneath his dignity to eat what had been rejected or
to offer it to his labourers, so he poured it into a nearby rivulet.
How very applicable the parable o f the sower was to B h arad vajas
own case became apparent before long. T h e word-seeds that G otam a
had sowed in the B rahm ins heart ripened, Bharad vaja was convened
to the Dham m a and became a monk (SN 7.2 .1).
I
he year 5 17 h c was a year o f famine. At the invitation o f a
Brahmin lay follower, the Buddha an<l some of his com panions spent
the rainy season near V'eranja, a place to the south o f Savatthi ISv
Par 1. t .9). T h e village council had issued ration-tokens to the starving
population, and alms were so hard to come by that the monks often
returned with em pty bowls. Fortunately some horse-traders from
northern India were also staying at V eranja with their beasts, and
they gave the monks some bran. A nanda supplied the Buddha with
this food, who calm ly declared that one day there would be better
times again (Sv Par 1.2 .1) .
In 5 1 5 b c R ah u la, the M asters son, attained the age o f twenty
(from conception), and having reached the minimum age he was
ordained from novice lo bhikkhu. After the Buddha had spent the
rains in the Je ta v a n a monastery near Savatthi, he one day asked
R a h u la to accom pany him on an excursion into Blind M an s Forest,
and R ah u la readily agreed (M N 147).
As is often the case with the sons o f great fathers, R ahu la was a
nebulous personality. A certain tendency to romance and fantasize,
which possibly pointed to a gift lor story-telling, had been driven out
o f the youth when he was fifteen, as lying (M X (it), and likewise the
eiglueen-year-olds feeling o f self-confidence based on pleasure in his
own handsome figure (M N 62). R ahu la had none o f the urbanity,
political skill and power o f conviction o f his father, let alone his
charism atic radiance. But how, indeed, could he have developed
such qualities, which only grow in confrontation with the world?
Brought up from the age o f nine exclusively in the male com pany o f
the .Sangha, trained by Sariputta and the Buddha to concentrate on
liberation and conform to the monastic ideal o f self-discipline, be
could not enjoy his childhood in play. Prevented from developing his
capabilities and brought up in a narrow line o f development, he had
become a man gifted with understanding, but receptive and trained
lo obedience: the only qualities he had been allowed lo develop were
diligence and strictness o f monastic observance. He was, as ali agreed,
a clever and charm ing young man, but nothing more than that.
T he relationship between the Buddha and R ahula was trusting
and friendly, but not cordial or intimate, since this would in the
B uddhas view have meant creating an inner bond which could only
be productive o f suffering. U nderstandably, the C anon docs not
report really private conversations between father and son: the dis
courses to R ahu la are not distinguished in any way from those which
the M aster gave 10 other monks. Such, for instance, is the instruction
him when invited, but to tell him the contents o f all discourses that he
gave in A n a n d a s own absence. 'Ihe Buddha agreed lo all these
points. For twenty-five years. A n a n d a remained the M asters faithful
and devoted shadow (T hag 10 39 -4 5).
prepared his nights
resting-place, brought him water, washed his alm s-bowl, protected
him against curious intruders, presented worthy visitors to him, and
informed him o f the events o f the day, until the M aster's death (483
bc) made such services unnecessary.
T H E D O C T R IN E
Suppose we could go hack two and a h alf thousand years in time and
converse with the Buddha, and we were to call him a philosopher .
He would only accept such a label with reservations. He would
approve o f it in so far as a philosopher is literally a friend o f wisdom ,
but would qualify this by saying that as a pragmatist he valued only
such wisdom as pertained to liberation from suffering. He would also
approve o f the title o f philosopher in the sense o f a seeker after the
nature o f the world and the principles that govern it. But if by
philosopher we meant the creator o f a speculative system, he would
reject the title for himself as unsuitable.
He did not regard himself as the inventor o f an ideological struc
ture, but as the revealer ofdiscovered natural laws. He (irmly rejected
the reproach put about by the LicchavT nobleman Sunakkhatta, who
had left the Sangha (M N 12; i.68), that he had invented a theory or
proclaimed a dogm a o f his own devising. He was convinced that in
the law o f K am m a (i.e. o f rebirth according to the quality o f ones
deeds) he had described an objective truth, and that with the Eight
fold Path he had draw n the proper conclusion in terms o f liberation
from this law. A ccording to the Buddha, everyone is subject to the
natural law o f rebirth according to his deeds, even if he denies the
teaching.
T h e fact that partial aspects o f the truth revealed by him had
already been recognized by others did not worry G otam a in the
slightest: wha'tever knowledge which served the cause o f liberation
was passed on, was welcomed by him. Nevertheless, his con
temporaries found his doctrine novel. No one had previously
combined the deni.il o f a self with ihe apparently incom patible idea
o f rebirth, no one had so clearly formulated the pa in fill ness o f all
existence and preached it with such eloquence. In G o tam as Dham m a
old and new insights were combined to form a harmonious system,
which was readily intelligible, and yet, since it pointed beyond the
world o f the senses, profound and mysterious.
Its principles can be set out in a few propositions:
Existence in all its forms is suffering {dttkkha), for whatever has life
is subjcct to the phenomena ofsufTering: pain, impermanence, loss,
separation and unattainability.
All unliberated beings arc subject to rebirth: their suffering does
not end with death, but continues as and in the next form o f exist
ence.
Rebirth is regulated by the natural law o f ethical conditionalism,
according to which good deeds [kamma) or, more precisely, inten
tions (sankhara), condition rebirth in belter circumstance, and bad
deeds in worse. Good deeds are wholesome, bad deeds are un
wholesome.
Since there is no soul that survives the body, rebirth takes place
not in the form o f metempsychosis, but through a series o f condition
ings.
T h e forces that keep the cycle o f rebirths in operation are craving
ilanha) and ignorance (avijjd), the destruction o f which each can
bring about in him self through self-control.
Em ancipation consists in the stopping o f the cycle o f rebirths and
in the cessation {nibbana) o f ihe em pirical personality.
His conviction that he had found, with these recognitions, the
key to deliverance from suffering, is the reason for the Buddhas
self-confidence; the optimism of his followers stems from the con
viction that everyone who strives for em ancipation will gain it.
Despite regarding existence as suffering. Buddhism is not pessi
mistic; in its followers it establishes confidence and relaxed mood. A
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
has proceeded for aeons from life lo life, unaw are that jo y is ephemeral
and suffering constant, and therefore ever desirous o f a new existence.
O nly those who have developed higher mental faculties are able to
remember their past lives in detail.
Since every existence is conditioned by the preceding one, the
question arises as to the origin o f this cycle o f rebirths. In a discussion
with the monks in Savatth i, the Buddha dismisses this question as un
answerable:
M onks, this w andering (of beings in the cycle o f rebirths) comes
from beginningless time. No beginning can be found from which
beings, trapped in ignorance, fettered by craving, have wandered
and rushed around (in samara). W hai do you think, monks, is ihe
greater - the w ater in the four great oceans or the tears that you
have shed as you fared on and wandered round on this far path,
weeping and w ailing as you hated what was allotted to you and as
you did not get w hai you loved?
(S N 15 .1.7 )
T h en , from the past, ones look turns to the future: C an further
existences be avoided? Is there a chance to untie oneself from the
im placable wheel o f rebirths that perpetuates our misery?
T h ere is, the Buddha replies - and this is where his doctrine o f
em ancipation takes its start - for the process o f rebirth follows a
law that one can gel It) know and utilize so lhat, if one is compelled
to undergo rebirth, it can at least be into better (though not
sorrow-free) conditions. T h e natural law o f cthical condiiionalism ,
the Law o f Kamma, is the reason why good deeds (kamma) lead to
rebirth in a better state, and bad deeds to rebirth in a worse state.
Good deeds are wholesome fpufifia, kusala) bad deeds are un
wholesome !apunna, akusala). For what anyone is now, he can only
blame himself. W hatever he does now in the w ay o f good or bad
deeds, he will reap in the future in the form o f a corresponding
higher or lower rebirth. Deed divides beings into lower and higher"
! M 13 5 ; iii, 203). As an oft-quoted verse puts it:
Safely returned from distant lands a man
With jo y is welcomed by his friends and kin.
and delusion (moha) are kam m ically binding for the doer. But w hat
ever one does without the spur o f these unwholesome states, and free
from inner attachm ent, is without kammic consequences.
W hatever deed, monks, is done without greed, hatred or delusion,
when one has destroyed (these three affects), that deed is annulled,
cut off at the root, made like an uprooted palm -tree, prevented
from becoming fi.e. the kammic m aturing), and not subject in
future to the law o f becom ing.
(A N 3 -33 .i )
With this, the Buddhist path to liberation is outlined in principle: to
act without desire for success, with goodwill towards all, and clearly
aw are. In so disciplining his mind eVeryone possesses an instrument
to gain a better rebirth existence and finally lo liberate himself from
the compulsion o f rebirth.
In Europe the law o f kamma has sometimes been interpreted deterministically, as if a being whose existence was determined by his
past kamma were also equally determined in his thinking, so that there
was no room for freedom o f will and action. M an y utterances o f the
Buddha indicate that this interpretation is wrong. Actions, or more
precisely, intentions to act, determine the sphere o f rebirth, the
circumstances o f life, the physical appearance and the mental qualities
o f the being to be reborn, but not that beings thinking and action.
W ithin the framework o f his character, everyone has the liberty to
choose the kammic intentions that will fix his kam mic future. E very
one has control over his future, although the degree o f such control
depends on the sphere o f existence in which one is. O f all beings,
mankind has the best chances o f turning consciously towards the
positive, and in the direction leading lo liberation, and for this reason
rebirth in human form is considered favourable. For the Buddha, the
gods were considered as too intoxicated with happiness lo be able lo
see the need for liberation.
Anatta (non-self)
Father
Intentions
Consciousness
iSahkhara)
( Viiindna)
N ew Being
M other
T h is scheme explains not only the mechanics o f rebirth, but also how
kamma exercises its influence on the newly-born being. T h e conscious
ness that seeks a wom b does not choose any wom b, but one that
corresponds to its own kammic quality. A kam m ically good con
sciousness will set in motion the development o f an em bryo in a
mother who guarantees to the child good hereditary qualities and
good social circumstances. Kamma takes effect not in but as the new
being. T he body is action o f the past, brought about by intentions
( S N 12 .3 7 ).
IG N O R A N C E
(avijja), i.e.
unawareness o f tlie fact
dial all existence is painful (dukkha) and therefore not worth
seeking. Due to this ignorance, man develops
IN T E N T IO N S
{saiikhara1:he creates kamma which
must take effect as rebirth and a new existence. As explained
above, the quality o f these intentions colours the
C O N S C I O U S N E S S (viMdna), which after the death
o f a being leads to the development in a qualitatively ap
propriate womb o f
N A M E - A N D - F O R M (nama-rilfia), that is, a new em
pirical person (but without passing over into this). With this,
the second being in the conditional nexus comes into existence.
Since the new being thus reborn, like every other being, is equipped
with six senses sight, hearing, smell, taste, tactile sense and thinking
- it perceives the world about it as a six-sense correlation, as
5
(i
7
<)
TH E
S IX
S E N S E -S P U E R E S
{.saldyatana).
With
these, through the sense-organs, there is established
C O N T A C T iphassa) with objects in the world. On this
basis there arise in man
F E E L IN G S
(vedana). O wing to his tendency (due to
continuing ignorance), to repress unpleasant feelings and to be
seduced by pleasant ones, he develops
C R A V IN G
(tanha), i.e. wanting to have, to enjoy, to
be. This is the reason why he does not gain liberation, but
continues his sainsaric existence through
G R A S P IN G
(upadana) at a new em pirical person. He
thus enters into a third rebirth existence within the framework
o f the conditional nexus.
Alter the philosophical mountain tour in the first three Noble Truths,
in the Iburth vve enter the open plain o feih ics. This truth describes
i lie modes o f behaviour which lead to the end o f the 'defilements" and
thus o f the suffering they cause, for each individual. Il draws the
practic al consequences from (he understanding of the true nature o f
ihe world.
This, monks, is the , \oble 'I ruth oj the Path leading lo the Cessation o f
Suffering. It is this .Xohlr Eightfold Path, namely:
I Right View.
5 Right Livelihood,
'2 Right Resolve,
li Right Ktfori,
3 Right Speech,
7 R iglil Mindlulne.ss.
j Right A d io n ,
8 Right Com m ira tio n . i.\lv 1 .fi.a-i)
The rules [stla) are nol com mandments' but rather recommendations
lor a wholesome way o f life. As a man develops eiliical self-control by
practising them, he improves his lot with every rebirth. Al the same
time he reduces craving and ignorance in himself, until he succeeds in
bringing them lo a com plele halt, and lluis to bring about his
em ancipation from Samsara. Whether, and how far, he keeps to the
rule's, is his own business. T h e natural law o f kamma operates mech
anically and iricorruptihily to ensure thal each one receives ihe ap
propriate Iruils of keeping or breaking the rules.
Ju st as these rules work inwardly on the individual, so loo out
w ardly, because when all practise self-control, society also benefits.
T he relationship o f mutual support is like that between two acrobats,
one o f whom balances a bam boo rod on his shoulder while the other
performs tricks at ils end. As long as each one looks after himself, he
protects the other, and when he looks after the other, he protects
himself ( S \ J.8.1C)).
II is noteworthy ihiat none o f ihe rules makes demands o f a ritualist
character. T h e Buddha rejected rilual and cull observances; he con
sidered that they only tended to attach us more firmly to Samsara.
And lo whom in (early; Buddhism should a cult have been directed?
The destruction o f sullering is, according lo the Dham m a, nol a
numinous affair. All ihe eight steps o f the Path are related in a clearly
visible w ay to their intended effect, liberation from suffering.
In the four and a h alf decades o f his ministry ihe Buddha provided
numerous explanations o f ihe Noble Eightfold Path, which made
clear what was to he considered right' in each rule. In addressing the
laity he often started from the questioner's occupation, explaining the
rules in relation to his means o f livelihood and social status. Addres
sing the monks in K am m asadham m a, the provincial capital o f the
K u ru tribe ( I) X 22 .2 1 i, he defined the Eightfold Path as follows:
t
3
4
9
10
Nibbana
Legal basis
Monks, I will teach you seven conditions of the welfare :.of the
Sangha). Listen, and pay careful attention.
As long as the monks hold frequent and well-attended assemblies
(the Sangha) will prosper, and not decline.
As long as they meet in harm ony, take decisions in harm ony (i.e.
by consensus), and carry out their functions in harm ony;
As long as they do not authorize innovations and do not abolish
what has been authorized, but proceed according to the rules o f
discipline;
As long as they honour, respect and listen to the elders o f great
experience who are long ordained, fathers and instructors o f the
order;
As long as they do not fall prey to craving which leads to rebirth;
As long as they are devoted to forest lodgings;
As long as they appreciate that like-minded companions will
come to them, and those who have already come will leel at ease
with them:
As long as the monks hold to these seven conditions, .the San gha;
will prosper and not decline.
; D N i(>. 1.6, abridged)
T he code which set out the rules o f the O rder, and the penalties for
infringement, is the V in aya Pitaka, the 'Basket of Discipline . Its
present form in five books is the product o f a later period, but there is
little doubt that its material is very old and that the m ajority of its
rules and decisions go back to the Buddha himself. Each rule repre
sents G otam as conclusion in regard to a particular case. I hus, the
Basket o f Discipline is not a systematically constructed legal code, but
the result o f accum ulated case-law. T h e Buddha's disciple Upali was
the one who specialized in memorizing the M aster's legal decisions,
although in doing so he perpetuated some things which were only
meant for the moment.
Its unsystematic origin is readily observable in the V in aya. Th e
Patim okkha, which is extracted from the Suttavibhanga section,
represents the code o f behaviour and o f offences for the O rder, and
An exam ination o f the rules in detail shows that m any are common to
both Brahm anism and the samana movement and were simply taken
over by the Buddhist Sangha. 'The ascetic tradition ofancient India and
the objects o f the O rder make the rules about sexual behaviour
understandable. Nevertheless the number and minuteness o f the rules
on sexual discipline are noteworthy, as well as the severity o f the
penalties for contravention. We are also struck by the extensive rules o f
etiquette and behaviour. 'They prove not only that the Buddha was
concerned to make his O rder acceptable to the general public by the
good behaviour o f its members, but also that some o f the monks were in
need o f elem entary instruction in conduct and behaviour.
The suggestion o f using the two hundred and twenty-seven rules
for monks, and the three hundred and eleven rules for nuns from the
Suttavibhahga section o f the V inaya as a confessional formula came
to the Buddha indirectly by K in g Bim bisara o f M agadha. 'The king
had noticed that the non-Buddhist mendicants met regularly to
recite their doctrine and that such meetings drew a considerable
crowd o f interested people. He recommended to the Buddha to hold
similar periodical assemblies, and the M aster immediately prescribed
this for his monks (M v a .i) . From then on the monks met on the
fourteenth or fifteenth day o f the lunar month (i.e. at full moon), as
well as on the eighth day o f the waxing and the waning moon, but sat
in silence. The local population, however, scoffed at them for sitting
there like dum b pigs . Accordingly, G otam a ordered them to discuss
Dham m a when they met (M v 2 .a). Later, he specified that they
should recite the rules (M v 2.3. if.), but not more than twice a month
(2.4.2). Presumably the canon o f rules was not yet complete, and
therefore shorter than now.
T h e Buddha gave exact instructions for how these recitations were
to be performed:
T h e O rder shall be informed by an experienced, knowledgeable
monk, who shall say: Venerable assembly (sangha), listen to me.
T o d ay is the fifteenth (of the lunar month), and therefore an
O bservance day (uposatha). I f the O rder agrees, let it carry out the
O bservance and recite the confession-formula (patimokkha).
What is the S an gh as first duty? It is to ascertain thal it (i.e. the
assembly) is perfectly pure (i.e. that no one who docs not belong to
it has slipped in).
I
will now recite the Patimokkha, while all those present listen
properly and pay attention. I f anyone has committed an offence,
he should at once (when that ofTence is mentioned) reveal it.
W hoever has committed no offence should keep silent. By their
silence I shall know thal the Venerable monks are pure (guiltless).
Ju s t as anyone who is individually asked gives answer, so any
(guilly) monk, when ihe Patimokkha has been recited in this
assembly three times, should give an answer. W hoever avoids
revealing an offence committed by him is guilty o f an intentional
lie. Intentional lying, your reverences, has been called by the
Blessed One a hindrance (to em ancipation). So whoever has com
mitted an olTence not yet revealed, and wants to be purified o f it,
should reveal it. T o have revealed it will be a comfort to him .
(M v 2.3.3)
A fter this introduction the formula o f confession is recited, and
everyone present is given an opportunity to admit to his fault. 'The
practice o f patimokkha recitation is still observed in all Buddhist
monasteries.
Th is periodical rccitation o f the confession formula is nol the same*
thing as the meetings o f the chapter, which are for the purpose o f
considering measures to be adopted. 'These assemblies are called for
as required, and are purely adm inistrative in character. On the other
hand, the patimokkha observances on uposatha days are ceremonies o f
solemn exculpation and disciplinary purification.
(Ucl 1.8)
A man who wanted to join the O rder had to pay more regard to his
parents than to his wile and children. This was the concession thal
R a ja Suddhodana had obtained from his son, ihe new leader o f an
Order, after R a h u la s ordination as a novice, thal 110 one might be
accepted into the O rder without his or her parents consent [M v
t.54.(i). T h e rule applied 10 men (M v t ./ f i.i) and women. Women, if
they were m arried, also had to obtain iheir husbands consent {Cv
10 .17 .1) .
Whereas at first the Buddha had ordained every applicant as a full
monk with the words: Com e, monk, the doctrine is well taught, lead
a life o f purity in order to realize ihe end o f suffering {e.g. Sariputta
and M oggallana in M v 1.24.5), he latl'r ordered that the w ay o f
eniry into the O rder should be in two stages. By the ceremonial
going forth (pabbajjaj, i.e. renunciation o f the world, one was
accepted into the ranks o f the samanas, and became a novice (samanera)
in the Buddhist O rder; then, by the ordination proper, the attain
ment (upasampada) one gained the rights o f a full monk [bhikkhu). For
the going forth the minimum age was fifteen (M v 1.50), and for full
ordination it was twenty {M v 1.49.6), ages being reckoned from
conception (M v 1.75).
T h ere is no particular prescribed interval between ordination as a
novice and full ordination, according to the sources, except when the
applicant was previously a member o f a different school. Since it was
assumed that such a person would need some time to give up his
previous religious ideas and practices, a probationary period o f lour
months was made obligatory in such a case (M v t.38), during which
he was observed by the members o f the Sangha to see if he was
suitable. There was no probationary period if the applicant had
previously been a m atted-hair ascetic {jatila), or if he belonged to
the Sakiya tribe (M v 1 .3 8 .1 1 ) . T h e favoured treatment o f the jatila
ascetics m ay have been because G otam a had once been their special
guest, and was grateful to the leader o f the jatila sect, U ruvelaKassapa.
T h e procedure for ordaining a novice is simple: it is described in
the V in aya (M v 1.54.3) as follows. T h e applicant shaves o ff his hair
and beard and dons yellow robes, which are usually donated. C rouch
ing at the feet o f a monk, he puts his palms together in the attitude o f
greeting and recites ihe formula: I go for refuge to the Buddha, I go
(M v i .7b. 1}
Lower robe
(loin-cloth)
Upper robe
(shou)der-toga)
Outer robe
(folded)
(H indi mm, Azadirachta indica, Margosa) was used. T h e end was chewed
to form a small brush with which the teeth were rubbed (C v 5 .3 1) .
Th e bitter-tasting nimba-wood has an astringent effect.
T h e rules for the collection and consumption o f alms-food were
elaborate, but basically liberal. T h e alms-round alw ays took place in
the morning. Alone, or in small groups, the monks marched with
downcast eyes from house to house and waited silently before every
door to see if food would be put in their alms-bowl. O nly prepared
food could be accepted, not simply the makings o f a meal. I f there
was not enough, the procession continued in single file to the next
house. It was not permitted to leave houses out, or to favour streets in
more prosperous districts: poor and rifch householders were to be
given an equal opportunity to gain kammic merit, and also the
monks did nol wish to give ihe impression that they favoured the
houses o f the wealthy because the food was better there. T h e idea
which soon gained ground, that it wras not the monk as the receiver o f
ihe food who benefited from the gift, but the giver who gained merit
(puHna) thereby, had the efTect o f ensuring a plentiful supply, so that
the O rder seldom suffered from hunger. This idea also gave the
monks a chance to show their displeasure at a lay follower who had
misbehaved towards the Sangha, by sim ply inverting the bowl, i.e.
not accepting his gift. In this w ay the San gha deprived the person to
be punished o f the chance o f m aking good kamma for himself by
giving.
It is a sign o f G o tam as practical common sense that he did not
insist on his monks being strict vegetarians. T h ey only had to refuse
meat or fish when they had reason to assume that the animal had
been specially slaughtered or caught lor them (M v 6 .3 1.14 ) . T he
compassion that every follower o f the Buddhas teachings must display
to all beings demands that his consumption o f meat should be kept to
a minimum. On the other hand, it would have been difficult for the
monks to observe a total ban on meat, because since they did not
cook for themselves and the monasteries had no kitchens, they were
dependent on what was offered them. A monk had to eat what was
put in his alms-vessel. There is a story in the Canon concerning the
bhikkhu M ahakassapa, who even ate the rotten thumb o f a leper,
which had dropped into his bow! (T h ag 1045-56) . Kven if different
donors gave him quite different kinds o f food, a monk was bound to
accept them all. It is not surprising that stomach troubles and
dysentery were common in the Sangha, being practically an occupa
tional disease. N or was the sudden overloading o f the stomach very
good for health.
It was a relaxation o f the bhikkhu life that G otam a accepted
invitations from patrons and allowed his monks to do the same. In
the house as well they ate from the alms-vessel. T h e meal had to be
over before m idday, because the monks were not allowed to eat later,
and it usually ended with a discourse to the host. W hatever remained
in the vessel was put out in a sandy place for animals, and the vessel
was washed out in running water.
T h e daily routine for the monks permitted o f few variations.
M orning toilet was followed by the alms-round, often involving visits
to particular houses by arrangem ent with the laity. T h e alms-round
sometimes caused emotional irritations for the younger monks as the
m ajority o f donors were women and young girls. Accordingly, in
creased self-control was necessary when going the rounds, as the
M aster stressed:
Here is a monk who has dressed in the morning, has taken his
upper garm ent and his alms-vessel and now he goes into a village
for alms. But his body, his speech and his thoughts are uncontroller
There (in the village) he sees a wom an, scantily dressed, scarcely
covered, and his heart becomes polluted with desire. 'Therefore,
monks, thus must you train yourselves: O nly with restrained
body, restrained speech, restrained mind, practising mindfulness
and with controlled senses will we enter a village for alm s.
(SN 2 0 .10, abridged)
On returning from the alms-round, the monks look their meal at the
edge o f the village, in (he shade o f a tree. 11 was their only meal o f the
day. After that they set o ff for another place, for the early Sangha
took seriously the samana tradition o f wandering. When the m idday
heat made it impossible to continue on the move, a rest period
ensued, which could be spent in meditation or sleep. In the afternoon
the wandering continued till a place was reached near some settle
ment, and here the little group settled down for the night. T h e late
afternoon was a period for conversations about the D ham m a and for
the instruction o f the monks, and the evening was given over to m edita
tion.
D uring the monsoon period (Ju n e to September) the monks lived a
settled life. By a decree o f the Buddhas, which confirmed an old
samana custom, they had to keep the 'rains (vassa) under a roof (M v
3 .12 .6 ). T h ey had the choice o f building themselves a rain-hut or
staying at an already existing monastery.
T h e rains retreat, which occupied three o f the four monsoon
months, generally began at the full moon o f A-sajha (Ju n tJu ly ) ,
hut it was allowable for any monk to start it one month later, at the
Ju ly -A u g u st full moon (M v 3.2.2). T h e ban on wandering ended with
the third following full moon, A ssina (Septem ber-O ctobcrj or, for
those who had started a month later, K attika (O ctober-N ovem ber).
Especially solemn uposatha confessional assemblies (pavarana) con
cluded the rains retreat. Im m ediately afterwards the monks who
were declared freed o f their obligations set forth on their wanderings
again.
O f course the custom o f keeping the rains had not only traditional
but also practical reasons. When the heavens burst open and the
rivers flood their banks in gurgling brown streams, when the roads
sink in mud and the unflooded patches serve as refuges o f snakes and
scorpions, wandering and cam ping in the open are next to impossible.
Also, the steaming wetness o f the monsoon created further health
risks, and if a monk was ill, it was easier to tend him in a monastery
than 011 the move.
T h e practice o f keeping the rains was o f benefit to the Sangha in
various ways. During the months o f wandering about on their own,
it could happen thal the one or other bhikkhu became too lax in
his ways. T he rainy period spent under the watchful eye o f older
fellow-monks forced the monks to pay attention again lo etiquette,
and made them loe ihe line. T h e vassa also strengthened the feeling
among ihe monks o f belonging to one great brotherhood. This
living together in one place and joint study o f the M asters words,
the exchange o f experiences and knowledge, led to the establish
ment o f friendships whose educational value the Buddha rated
highly:
T a b le 1
Tear l i d
528
Year o f
mission
t
2-4
52 7~ 5a5
5a4
5*3
<>
522
5* '
520
5'9
5 18
9
to
11
5* 7
5 16
t2
5'5
5'4
5' 3
14
5' *
51 I-MO
5!>
308-485
484
3
'5
t(j
'7
18- 19
20
2 1-4 4
45
Rains retreat in
Notes
Isipatana
R a jagah a (V ejuvana)
Vesali (only 8 days,
the rest in R ajagaha)
Mount M ankula
Heaven o f the 33
Gods
Sum sum aragiri
' Crocodile
M ountain )
KosambT
Parilcyya
X ala
V eranja
Mount C alika
Savatthi (Jetavan a)
K apilavatthu
AjavT
R ajagaha
M ount Ciiiika
R ajagah a
Savatthi
Vesali
location unknown
legendary
City o f the Bhaggas
tribe in Kingdom o f
Variisa
V illage near KosambT
V illage in M agad ha,
near G aya
south o f Savatthi
location unknown
85 km north o f Benares
(unidentified)
(see 5 16 )
3 M o n a s t e r ie s
In tlx- early days ol' the O rder we can distinguish two types o f
monastery: settlements established l>y the monks themselves irlrasa),
which were pulled down again alter the rains, and donated monasteries
1drama), which were available to the bhikkhus throughout the year.
c-
V *
q ftr -i-x * r t
L
fl
,V
'V; /!
/*
A
___ L
a
' f v ;
/
*.
I - , '*
;
V -
'+
'
v,
;
<:
V, V
i v,
>
'*
A few poles stuck in the ground al both ends and joined by roof-poles formed
the skeleton of the original monk's hut, which each bhikkhu erected for
himself for the monsoon period and then took down again. Later lay followers
built and donated to the Sangha larger huts, made from the same material,
that permitted standing upright. In this way they created the typical Buddhist
building style with a gabled entrance, vaulted roof and round apse, which
was subsequently executed in wood.
T h e fivasa areas were established at the beginning o f the monsoon.
1'his was done by noting outstanding points in the landscape ihills,
rocks, curious trees, roads, rivers, etc.) and connecting them by an
im aginary line. T h e bhikkhus then agreed to regard the area de
limited by this boundary tsTm<i) as their (temporary) aviisa (M v a.(>).
T h e circumference o f this area must not exceed three yujanas (30 km)
(M v 2 .7 .1). T h e monks who built their huts in this area formed, for the
period o f the rains, a chapter o f monks \sangha 1, and held their
uposatha and consultative sessions together.
T he site o f such a seasonal monastery would be a spot not liable
to flooding, and not too far from a village where alms could be
collected. T he huts, built by the monks themselves, were just high
enough for squalling, and jusi long enough for lying down. A few
flexible poles were bent over so that both ends could be stuck in
the ground in a line. The arches were linked b\ longitudinal poles,
and the resultant vaulting covered over with leaves, grass or mats:
that was all. When the bhikkhu D haniya, who was fam iliar with
clay from his former profession as a potter, built himself a hemi
spherical hut o f clay and, by firing il from inside, created a solid
brick igloo, the Buddha disapproved and ordered its destruction
(Sv 2 .1- 2 ) . He not only wanted to prohibit the practice o fb u rn in g ,
which killed many small creatures, for the future, but he probably
also wanted to stop D haniya, who had stayed there for nearly a year,
from establishing a permanent residence. Those monks did better
than D haniya who built huts on the slope o f the Isigili mountain
(near R ajagaha) and took them down again after the rains (Sv a .i) .
We almost hesitate lo use the word monastery (vihara) for such
llimsy huts o f leaves and mats, but that is precisely the word used in
the Pali texts.
The name o f monastery seems more suitably applied to the groves
[drama; that rich patrons gave to the Sangha by publicly dedicating
them for monks dwelling. T h e boundary o f such monastic parks,
sometimes o f flowering trees, but usually o f mangoes, was marked by
a bam boo fence, a thorn-hedge or a ditch.
At first ihe donors o f dramas seem to have merely given the land,
and left it to the monks themselves to erect their rain-huts. Later the
donors also had dwelling places and assembly halls built. Especially
for the latter, they moved with the years lo more stable constructions,
using beams instead o f bamboo, but keeping the vaulted roofing. We
know what these looked like from the west Indian caves at A janta,
Nasik, Kanheri, Ju n n a r, K arla and Bhaja, which copied the vaulting o f
the early period and minutely imitated in stone the ribs o f the now van
ished wooden buildings. The caves at NTasik and K a rla even reproduce
in stone the clay vessels into which the wooden columns were originally
set in order to protect them against the depredations o f white ants.
As a result o f the increasing construction o f such solid buildings in the
monastery groves, some monks stayed in the monastery after the end o f
the rains. T h e Buddha did nol forbid this, although he was not pleased
with such departures from the samanas' w ay of life. But he himself adop
ted another custom w hich crept in, nam ely to spend the rains retreat
usually at thesam e place, and preferably in the same monastery. Apart
from the year .184, when he spent the monsoon months in Vesali,- from
50!! b c onwards he alw ays took rain refuge in the viharas o f Savatthi.
These donated monasteries posed a problem in so far as the monks
and the Sangha were pledged to poverty. T he first monastery that
the O rder received, the V ejuvana near R ajagah a, had been donated
with a solemn ceremony by K in g Bim bisara to the O rder o f monks
with the Buddha at their head (M v 1.2 2 .18 ). But G otam a, to whom
the duties o f possession were irksome, and who had learnt from
The western Indian rock-caves copied the ribbed structure of the early
monastic buildings. The peaked frontal arch is reminiscent of the bamboo
constructions of the early period. This cave at Bhaja, west of Poona (Pune)
was carved out in the second century bc and remained in use until the sixth
century a d .
Is difficult to make.
A lw ays do hear in mind
(The w orlds) impermanence.
(Thag i n )
As full-time seekers after liberation, some monks looked down on the
lay followers who they assumed were bound to the world by desires.
T h is is apparent in two verses by the monk Isidinna:
I know lay followers who praise the Law ,
All worldly joys are transient , they say.
Y et ornaments and jew els fill their hearts.
T o wives and sons and daughters cling their minds.
T h ey truly do not know the D ham m as depth
When saying that all joys are transient.
Th ey lack the strength to chop their passions off:
T h at is why children, wives and wealth keep them in bonds.
( T h a g 18 7- 8 )
The hymns o f the monks and nuns devote much space to the theme o f
the change from worldly life to that within the O rder. T h e turning
away was both outward and inward: the abandonment o f professional
and domestic life, and the rejection o f the world o f Samsara. The
monk Sum angala from Savatthi sees the greatest advantage o f the
monk's life in the liberation from back-breaking work in the fields.
He makes no claim to be near the goal o f liberation from suffering,
but spurs him self 011 to renewed endeavours:
I m freed, I m freed, I m truly freed
From these three crooked things:
I m rid o f sickle, plough and stooping
M y back when turning up the soil.
Those (drudgeries) are ours forever,
Hut / declare: Enough! Enough!'
Do meditate, Sum angala,
And stay, Sum angala, alert!
O 'hag 43)
Likewise liberated from three crooked things through joining the
O rder was the nun M utta, who as a young girl had been married ofltoa
happens will not afiect him ? W hoever holds such a view cannot be
touched by anything,-and has good reason to regard his condition as
happy.
T h e contrast between life in the Sangha and their one-time
worldly life often led monks and nuns to think back to their previous
existence in the world. And so the group o f before and after' poems
in the collections o f monks and nuns poetry is especially numerous.
In the next exam ple, the former prostitute V im ala reflects on her past
life. From her description, it seems that she was not one o f the
educated city courtesans, but a common prostitute o f the streets:
Conceited was 1 once o f my complexion,
M y figure, beauty, popularity,
I trusted that my youth would never dwindle In short: I was unknowing and naive.
H aving adorned with jew ellery this body
And with make-up, enticing for young men,
I waited at the brothel door, desirous
For victims, like a hunter setting snares.
I showed m yself when I put on my jewels
And (shamelessly) revealed my hidden charms,
In practising diverse tricks o f seduction
I had my fun with a great m any men.
T od ay I am bald-shaven, clad as nun
And live on alms-food from my daily round.
W'hile sitting at a trees foot (in the shadow)
I reach the state where thought-conceptions cease.
From all entanglements which bind the gods
As well as men, have I cut free myself.
With all the asavas destroyed (forever)
I rest in calm , have reached N'ibbanas peace.
(ThTg 72-6)
V im ala dwells with such pleasure on her former street-life that the
hearer o f her poem might have doubts about the destruction o f the
influences (asava). T h e thought of an insurance for her old age may
have played at least some part in her desire to be ordained.
into a fixed monastery to spend the rains retreat . Im patience for the
rains to begin is described by the monk Subhuti, brother o f the
merchant Anathapindika. T h e little le a f hut that he built is ready,
and he him self is inw ardly firm. Boldly, he challenges the (Vedic)
rain-god Parjanya to open the sluice-gates o f heaven:
Well-roofed and pleasant is my little hut,
And screened from winds, so rain, god, when you like!
M y mind is well collected, and is free,
And keen my mood - so rain, god, send your rain!
( T h a g .)
All the poems quoted are in the l-form , none o f them is in the weform, and this is characteristic o f the basic attitude o f the San gha. Since
everyone must work out his own salvation, Buddhism is essentially
individualistic. T he Sangha is not a cult-com m unity or a sacral
fraternity, but a union o f individuals who, each for himself, seek the
same goal ofem ancipation by the same methods. When the Buddha lays
so much stress on friendship among the bhikkhus (S N 3 . 1 8), one reason
certainly is to prevent the monks from inner isolation.
T h e group-spiril, then, took second place in the San gha to in
dividualism . Nevertheless it did (and does) exist. T h is is shown in the
following poem by the bhikkhu K im bila. Born o f Sakiyan stock in the
Buddhas home town o f K apilavatth u, K im b ila uses the expression
Sons o f the Sakiyan , which denotes all ordained followers o f the
Buddha, in a double sense:
Here in the Eastern Bamboo G rove we dwell,
Sons o f the Sakiyan, in close com radeship.
No little wealth have we renounced for this.
Contented with what alms-food fills our bowl.
W'ith energy and with determined minds
We unrelentingly strive (for the goal).
Love for the Dham m a, that is our delight:
Delight in m undane things we have forsworn.
( 1 hag 155-6 )
Although every monk must gain for him self the victory over greed,
hatred and delusion, as Sons o f the S ak iyan all monks are brothers.
T h eir parallel striving forms a common bond o f friendship and trust.
TH E O RD ER AND TH E LA ITY SO C IO LO G IC A LL Y
CONSIDERED
Entry into the Sangha abolished all distinctions o f caste for the monk,
just as all rivers lose their identity as soon as they enter the sea (A N
8 .19 ). It might therefore be thought that especially the lower castes and
the casteless would take advantage o f ordination to escape from their
restricted surroundings, and that the O rder would form an asylum for
people o f the lower social classes. Such was not the case: the Buddhas
O rder attracted the upper levels o f society more than the lower.
T h e Pali C anon names 457 historical persons as contemporaries o f
the Buddha, who declared themselves followers o f the Dham m a: 291
monks, 61 nuns, 74 male and 3 1 female lay followers. We cannot in
all cases determine their caste. In the case o f 92 monks and 22 nuns,
their social origins are uncertain, and they are therefore unavailable
lor sociological analysis. T h e remaining monks and nuns are divided
among the different castes as shown in T a b le 2.
Since it depended on various chance circumstances whether a name
came to be preserved in the Pali Canon or not, we cannot give much
weight to the absolute number ofmonks and nuns. But the proportion of
the castes, both for monks and for nuns, is significant, displaying as it
does a preponderance o f Brahmins. Th e caste o f those who had been
brought up to take a particular interest in religious questions also took
the largest part in adopting the teaching o f tlx* Buddha, despite the fact
that this teaching ran counter to the interests o f thr professional Brahmins
who practised the rituals for a living. Brahm ins were best equipped to
appreciate the originality o f the Dham m a, and most easily ready to
leave house and home for its sake. A canonical list o f pre-eminent
disciples' (A N t.t.|j m entions4t prominent bhikkhus; 17 ( = 4 1.5 per
cent) o f these were o f Brahm in stock. A sim ilar result is obtained from
the 259 monks whose poems are recorded in the T h eragatha; 1 1 3 ( = 44
per cent) o f them were o f Brahmin origin. However, the com parable
figures for Brahm in-born nuns are considerably lower.
While khattiyas (Skt ksatriya, the w arrior nobility) and vessas (Skt
Table 2
Monks
. \'uns
No.
O.
/O
No.
0
,0
Brahmins
K h attiyas
Vessas
Castelfcss
Suddas
96
48.2
28.6
5
3
38-4
33-*
>3-5
(i.ti
10
i
3'
25.8
2 A)
0
Total
*99
100
39
100
57
27
<3
vaisya, the bankers anrl merchants; lake the second and third place in
the Sangha, as might have been expected, one is surprised lo find that
the num berofordaincd castelessexceeds that of'thesuddas. Apparently
a number ofcasteless really did seek to escape their poverty and socially
conditioned disadvantages through ordination. That their share in the
Sangha was not even greater has probably two reasons: the special
frequency among them o f diseases which prevented ordination, and
fear o f the unaccustomed intellectual effort that was associated with the
monastic life. Casteless men who did join the Sangha often had
ditliculty, owing to their lack o f elem entary education, in grasping the
Buddhas teaching. It is noteworthy that it was alw ays monks of
casteless origin whom the M aster had to reprove for misinterpretation
o f the doctrine. This does not, o f course, mean that simple origins were
necessarily a hindrance to em ancipation, because self-discipline does
not demand any formal educational qualifications.
Th e smallest group am ong those ordained cam e from thesuddas (Ski
siidra, ihe class o f dependent workers and servants). There were special
reasons for this. Suddas, because o f their manual skills, were called up
more frequently than others for forced labour for the king i rdjakariya)
and for the com munity, lor specialized work stlch as digging wells,
building dams and government buildings, hi order to maintain this
skilled work-force the royal officials tried to hamper members o f the
sudda caste from joining the Sangha, and sometimes may have
Table 3
Male
No.
Brahmins
Vessas
K hattiyas
Suddas
Casteless
Total
18
>5
11
5
3
52
lay
followers
0.
O
Female
No.
5-9
K hattivas
Vessas
Brahmins
Casteless
Suddas
100
T otal
34-5
*9
21
9.6
3
2
2
1
16
lay
followers
' 0
5<>
18.8
'*5
*5
6.2
100
deeds and have their home in their deeds. Kamma divides beings
into lower and higher (rebirth-forms and castes).
(M N 13 5 .3 ; iii, 203!
Social inequality is the result o f previous deeds; everyone has earned
his social position by kamma. T o rebel against the castc system would,
according to G otam as view o f the world, be as pointless as it would
be futile.
In addition, the people o f the M iddle C ountry did not feel the
caste system as particularly oppressive. T h e castes (vanna) and sub
castes (jati) formed a hierarchy o f estates and occupations which
had arisen from the division o f labour, and in which the in
tellectuals who for historical reasons were largely the descendants
o f fair-skinned Indo-A ryan invaders - occupied the higher posi
tions. T he caste system grouped people according to their w ay o f
livelihood and their education, and a boy was expected to adopt
his fathers profession and, eventually, to m arry within the caste.
But no one was forced either to adopt his father s occupation or to
enter into a caste-endogamic m arriage. Nor was it impossible for
members o f the two lower castes to rise in society. Whoever
accum ulated wealth, or gained political influence, could rise above
his origins and ensure, if not for himself at least for his descendants,
recognition as members o f a higher sub-casle or caste. T h e time of
the Buddha was still far removed from the rigidity that the caste
system assumed in the Hindu M iddle Ages, and from the cruelty
with which those engaged in dirty work were banished from society
as Untouchables .
T h at, o f the four castes, thal o f the warrior-nobles ikhattiya) was
the highest, thus ranking above the Brahm ins, was taken as a matter
o f course by G otam a and most o f the inhabitants o f the M iddle
C ountry . Even many Brahm ins did not hesitate to recognize ihe
khattiyas as the highest class, although the struggle for suprem acy
between Brahmins and khattiyas had already begun and had further
west already been decided in favour o f the Brahmins. It is characteris
tic of the transitional period that the young Brahmin A m battha, in
speaking to the Buddha, referred to the hierarchy o f castes from the
top downwards as K h attiyas, Brahmins, Vessas, Suddas and then,
in the same breath, asserted that the other three castes existed in
order to serve the Brahmins (D N 3. 1 . 1 5) .
How the Brahmins regarded themselves appears clearly from the
words o f the Brahmin-caste novice V asetjha, who told the Buddha o f
the abuses he had to endure w'hen he joined the Sangha: T he
Brahmins say: T h e Brahmin caste is the highest . . . O nly a Brahmin
is white, the others are dark. O nly a Brahmin can become pure, and
not the others. O nly Brahmins are the children o f Brahm a . . (D N
27.3). One o f the arguments with which the Brahmins tried to
prejudice their caste fellows against the samana G otam a was that he
recognized the purity o f all four castes \M N 93 .a; ii, 147).
It was not the caste system in itself that the Buddha opposed, but
the false attitude o f mind that people had towards members o f
another caste. His objection was to the conceit o f the Brahmins and
to the idea that ones caste allegiance had any relevance to ones
worth as a person. Dozens o f times, he stressed that the social
differences between people were not due to any essential difference.
All four castes had the same capacity for deliverance, just as from
four fires, fuelled with different kinds o f wood, the same flame shoots
up (M N 90.24; ii, lagf.). Irrespective o f caste, all men face falling
into hell for evil deeds. Likewise, all are equally capable o f developing
benevolence and loving-kindness (M N 9 3.10 ; ii, 149^.).
It was a clever move o f the Buddhas to oppose the Brahmin castes
pride o f birth, and at the same time to show respect for the spirituality
o f the Brahmin caste, by turning the notion o f Brahm in into an
ethical concept. He declared that one was a Brahm in, not by birth
but by worthy behaviour and ethical conduct. W hatever caste anyone
belonged to - whoever had the necessary self-discipline deserved to
bc called a Brahm in. Once when he saw some advanced monks from
the khattiya caste approaching, he cried: Here come Brahm ins! And
at the question o f a monk who was standing there (and who was a
Brahmin by descent), he explained:
H aving banished evil things,
T read ing mindfully the path,
Awakened and from fetters free Such in the world are Brahm anas.
,,,,
(Ud 1.5)
H IS A P P E A R A N C E
T h e Pali Canon contains a description o f the Buddha by the Brahmin
Sonadanda. T h e Brahmin had not, it is true, seen the M aster at
the time o f giving this description, he was merely repeating what
he had heard, but later when he did meet him, he found that it was
accurate:
Indeed, the sam ana G otam a is handsome, good-looking, inspiring
trust, gifted with lotus-like com plexion, in complexion sim ilar to
(the god) Brahm a, radiant like Brahm a. He is o f no mean appear
ance . . . His voice is cultivated and so is his w ay o f expressing
himself, which is urbane, elegant, clear and precise.
(1)N 4.6)
T he Buddhas fair skin was noticcd by many o f his contemporaries.
He is often described as gold-coloured , and after a vigorous debate
with the Ja in laym an Saccaka Aggivessana, the latter noted (M N
36.49; i, a 50) that G otam as complexion had remained clear. In a
country like India in which people are so conscious o f skin-colour,
and where wheat-coloured complexion is regarded as a sign o f both
higher caste (vanna, lit. colour ) and a better-class fam ily, this
remark implies not only praise o f the Buddha s composure, but also a
compliment to his ancestry.
Nevertheless it is not possible to draw conclusions as to G otam as
racial origins from his colour. T h e inhabitants o f the Sakiya republic
were partly Indid - many o f them o f lndo-A ryan stock - who had
immigrated from the south and west, and partly M ongolid, having
come down from the north along the river valleys. In the Buddhas
time these two races - brown Indids and yellow-brown M ongolids
HOW TH E B U D D H A R E G A R D E D H IM S E L F
As mentioned before the enlightenment that took place in the thirtyfive-year-old Sakiyan nobleman was not only an act o f understanding,
but also o f a change o f personality. M oved to his depths through his
bodhi, G otam a was convinced that as a Buddha he no longer belonged
to any worldly category, but rather him self represented a special
category o f being (A N 4.36). Do not address me (with the old
fam iliarity) as brother , he said to his former companions in
asceticism, when he met them again after his enlightenment. I am
(now) an A rahant, a Fully-Enlightened Buddha (M v 1.6 .12 ).
Distinguished alike by Buddhahood, noble birth, good education and
high intelligence, G otam a saw no reason for bashfulness. With kings
and rajas o f the M iddle C ountry he spoke upright and without
inhibitions, and conversed on an equal fooling with the most learned
Brahmins o f his time. C ountering the arrogance o f some o f the
Brahmins, who had once shown their scorn in rude fashion ! D N 3), he
made a point o f not being treated by them as inferior. When one oft hem
reproached him for not saluting high-ranking professional Brahmins,
not rising for them or offering them a seat, the M aster replied that he
saw nobody in the world to whom he owed such respect (A N 8. i t). He
just wanted to dispute like with like, and nothing more. An A rahant, he
once declared, felt neither better nor worse than anyone else (A N 6.49).
camel, donkey . C alm ly G otam a let B h arad vaja curse and then
suddenly asked him if he sometimes invited friends home to dine. On
receiving an affirm ative answer, he next inquired what happened to
dishes that the guests did not eat. Th ey were for himself, the Brahmin
replied. It is just the same with abuse, declared the Buddha. 1don t
accept it, and it returns to you!' (SN 7.1.2 ).
During a discourse to the monks in the Je ta v a n a at Savatth i, the
M aster described his im perturbability, and urged the monks to strive
for similar equanim ity:
'If, monks, others revile, abuse and annoy (me), the Perfect One,
then I bear no resentment, distress or dissatisfaction . . . And if
others revere, esteem and honour (me), the Perfec t One, I feel 110
jo y , gladness or elation.
1 M N 22; i, 140!
Dozens o f episodes in the Pali Canon confirm thisself'-characteri/ation.
There were, however, cases when the Buddha did not simply
accept what was said, but made a sortie from his bastion o f equanim ity
and went over to the attack. This was the case when it was a question
of defendin g the teaching against misunderstanding and wrong inter
pretations by his own disciples. T h e Dhamma was his great discovery,
his lifes work and his gill to ihe world; he did not tolerate in the
Sangha, whose task it was to hand the message down lo later
generations, the presence o f bhikkhus who misrepresented it through
carelessness or ill-will. When the monk Sati interpreted the Dham m a
in the sense that consciousness (vifiiiana) survived the body and look
on a new lorm o f life, thus constituting an immortal soul, the M aster
sent for him and asked him if that was his opinion. When Sati
confirmed that it was, G otam a cried:
From whom have you heard, you foolish man imoghapunsa. that I
have explained the Dhamma in that way? Foolish man, have I not
in many ways declared that consciousness is dependently arisen
(and therefore perishing at death)? . . . Y ou, foolish man, have not
only misrepresented me by your wrong grasp, but have also done
yourself(kam m ie) harm !
(M .\ 38; i, 258;
And he went on lo seek confirmation from ihe monks present that
Sati the fisherman's son had no glimm er o f understanding o f the
Dham m a. We can almost pity the- wretched monk who, as the Sul l a
describes it, sat down silent, dism ayed, with drooping shoulders,
brooding and speechless.
T h e monk Arittha, a former vulturc-trainer. fared no better. He
had understood the Dham m a to mean that actions described as
stumbling-blocks by the Buddha did not in all cases lead to tribulation.
He too was upbraided by the M aster as a foolish man M N .22; i,
132). It is noteworthy that in both cases ihe Canon mentions the
humble origins o f ihe monks so blamed. Il seems that G otam a
expected men o f no education to have ethical qualities, but not much
power o f understanding.
At first sight surprising is the Buddhas negative attitude towards
the arts. Perhaps, as a rajas son, he had had more than enough o f
music and dancing displays. M ore probably, however, his objection
was to the seductive quality of all the arts. T he function o f art is lo
move the emotions and carry them aw ay, to evoke a response, and to
distract the mind from self-observation. It tends towards arousing the
passions whereas the Dhamma serves to calm them. T h e artist creates
an enticing world o f the im agination, but the Dham m a seeks to
penetrate the real world. As head o f a religious order the Buddha was
therefore bound to be inimical to the arts: Like a wailing, monks,
singing is regarded in the discipline o f the Noble Ones, like madness
is dancing, and childishness is laughter showing the teeth (A N
3 .10 3 ). T h at G otam a despite his rational rejection o f music had a
feeling for artistic quality emerges from one sutta o f the Digha N ikaya,
though a legendary one. H aving heard a lovc-song from the
heavenly musician (gandhabhaj l ancasikha, he praises the performer
lor the harmony between song and strings and also because in the
song the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Arahants are mentioned (I) N
21 . 1 .(>).
G otam a was equally opposed to theatrical performances, which in
ancient India were a cross between pantomimic dance and lofty or
comic declam ation. Near R ajagah a there was a theatre director
named T alap u ta, who maintained a travelling theatre with a large
com pany o f performers and assistants. On meeting the Buddha,
T a lap u ta asked the M aster if it was true that actors who made the
audience laugh and delighted them with stage effects were reborn in
T h e Hindu god Brahm a, who looks in all directions with his four
faces, gave his name to the four Abidings in Brahm a (brahma-vihara).
I f the meditations described above direct the mind inwards or to a
particular theme, the Brahma-vihara's are directed outwards into the
world and society. T h e term m editation therefore appears only
partly appropriate for them; they arc belter described as irradiations.
How they should be practised was explained by the Buddha to the
young Brahmin Vasettha. The monk seats himself in the meditation
posture in a solitary place, and calms his mind so that il is no longer
affected by external influences. In this w ay he experiences feelings o f
happiness and concentration. So tuned, he then radiates with a mind
full o f loving-kindncss (metta) first one direction, then a second, a
third and a fourth, then upwards and dow nwards he irradiates the
whole world with thoughts o f loving-kindncss, with a mind that is
wide, free, boundless and em pty of hostility or hate (D N 13.76 ). In
the same way he irradiates the various directions with compassion
(karma;, sympathetic joy (muditd) and equanim ity (upekkha). T he
irradiations are not only regarded as beneficial to the monk who
practises them, but also have an observable effect in the world. Once,
when G otam a was attacked by a bull-elephant, we are told that he
radiated loving-kind ness towards the great b eastan d so calmed him
(C v 7 .3 .12 ).
India is a land o f belief in miracles, and even in his own lifetime
exaggerated tales were spread about the 'samatia G otam a . It is
therefore not surprising that many regarded him as omniscient.
Since, as an Enlightened O ne, he had destroyed ignorance, the idea
o f his omniscience was a plausible conclusion. On being asked about
this, the M aster replied:
W hoever says, the samana G otam a knows and sees everything,
claims to possess omniscience and omnivision, whether walking,
standing, sleeping or waking, whoever says that, misrepresents me
. . . Bui if anyone were lo say: T h e samana G otam a possesses the
Threefold Knowledge (i.e. o f previous lives,' o f the working of
K am m a, and o f the destruction o f the asavas)'', he would state the
position correctly.
(M N 7 1, abridged)
He did not claim to have spontaneous knowledge o f everything that
happened in the world, but only to know what was important for
liberation from suffering. It was only in questions relevant to libera
tion that he was omniscient.
T h e Buddha did not deny possessing magic powers (iddhi), which
according to Indian belief autom atically developed in every genuine
religious as a result o f self-discipline. T h e Sam yutta N ikaya
( 5 1 . 7.2.1) lists the following powers: to multiply oneself, to pass
through solid objects, to sink into the earth as if into water, to walk
on water, to sail cross-legged through the air and to touch the sun
and the moon with ones hand, to hear the voices o f distant gods and
men, 10 recall past existences, and, with divine, paranorm al vision to
observe the passing aw ay and kammic re-arising o f beings. Once
Ananda asked the M aster whether he was able by means o f super
natural powers to reach the Brahm a world. T h e M aster replied:
W hen the T a th a g a ta concentrates body in mind and mind in body,
he abides in the feeling o f bliss and lightness . . . With little effort his
body rises in the air. Then he enjoys the various forms o f magic
power (S N 5 1.7 .3 .2 ). We are surprised that A nanda asked the
question, because according to various passages he had been present
when the M aster performed miracles (e.g. Ud 7.9). We m ay conclude
from this that the tales o f miracles in the C anon were added later by
editors.
Th is is all the more likely because the Buddha, while not denying
his ability to work miracles with regard to the masses who were
alw ays seeking a miracle, nevertheless had a poor opinion o f such
capabilities, and allowed them no place in his system. He regarded
them as by-products o f the search for enlightenment, which proved
nothing about the correctness o f a doctrine, and could lead people
astray because some might believe they were the goal o f religious
striving. He accordingly expressly described them as dangerous, unpleasing to him, and to be rejected (D N 1 1.5). M onks were forbidden
to perform miracles before householders (i.e. lay people), even for the
sake o f conversion, and he imposed a penalty for infringement o f this
prohibition (C v 5.8.2).
W hat was the relation o f the monks to the Buddha? W hat were
their feelings for him? We can scarcely say that they loved him. A
teacher who untiringly preaches that suffering arises from every kind
Later years
RIV A L PHILOSOPHIES
Between about 5 1 5 and 500 b c there were in the M iddle (Country
am ong the great numbers o f samana teachers seven who had par
ticular influence. O m itting the Buddha, the Buddhist sources (D N
2.2 -7 ) *ve a l'sl
1
2
3
4
5
6
them:
Purana K assapa.
M akkhali G osala.
A jita K csakam balin.
Pakhuda K accayan a.
S an jaya Belatthiputta.
T h e N iganfha N ataputta.
the ground. Som e time later they came to the same placeagain and
saw that the plant, though pulled out, had not perislu-d. A shower o f
rain had caused it to take root again, and it had even produced seedpanicles. Although M ah avira was thus proved riglii with his predic
tion M akkhali's experimental prank was sufficient reason for him to
chase aw ay his cranky disciple.
Left to his own devices, M akkhali made great efforts to gain magic
powers and knowledge, goals which he is said to have attained within
six months. Th is can probably be dated 5 1 7 b c . T ill his death
M akkhali lived as a wandering samana, but alw ays kept his rains
retreat in S ava u h i in the house o f a woman potter. In the course o f
time he suc.cccded in gaining a considerable following o f lay people
and disciples. He must have had some personal charisma for he even
impressed Pasenadi, K in g o f K osala and friend o f the Buddha.
T h e Ja in books give details o f M akkhalis life once again for the
twenty-fourth year o f his wanderings, which was the year o f his death
(501 b c ). In that year he gathered his six main disciples around him
in order to codify his doctrine. When M ah avira, his former mentor,
heard o f this assembly, he remembered M akkh alis follies from the
time o f their life together, and frankly told his monks all about them.
T h e story spread like wildfire - to M akkhalis great annoyance.
A ngry at being made a fool of, he appeared before M ah avira,
declaring that he was no longer the old M akkhali Gosala from the
past: several spiritual rebirths had made a new man o f him. When
M ah avira scornfully rejected this argument, M akkhali completely
lost his temper. Y ou are bored through by my magic pow er!', he
shouted al M ah avira. In six months you will die o f fever! M ah avira,
however, was unshaken: magic could not afTect him and would recoil
on its user: In seven nights from now, you yourself will die o f lever!
And indeed, the Ja in sources go on, M akkhali, who had returned
to the potiery at Savatthi, began to sicken. H e fell into a feverish
delirium, danced and sang and smeared his body with cooling potter s
clay. T o an adm irer who saw him in this condition he spoke confused
words. A little later on he gave his followers instructions for his
cremation, which was to be performed with pomp.
I f we may believe the (no doubt prejudiced) Ja in books, M akkhali
in the seventh night after the duel o f curses made a confession o f his
wanderings) fools and wise alike will find the end o f suffering . . .
One should not think: By this discipline or practice or penance or
holy life I will bring my imripened kamnm to fruition, and will get
rid o f my kamma that has m atured. Neither o f these things is
possible. Pleasure arid pain are apportioned and neither shortening
1101 extending o f sarmiiric wandering is possible. Ju s t as a ball o f
string when thrown runs till the string is fully unwound, so fools
and wise alike will reach the end o f suffering when they have
completed (heir circle o f rebirths.
(I)N 2.20, abridged)
T h e central conception o f this philosophy is that o f fate {niyali) which
determines every beings path through the chain o f rebirths. Fate is
his fixed life program me. It cannot be influenced, and therefore
deeds, good or bad, are o f no consequence for the quality o f rebirth.
In the same w ay, religious observances are valueless, and even being
an A jivika does not speed up the process ofliberation. Ajivika samanas
are monks because fate has assigned that role to them, not from any
hope of im proving their future lot. However, one motive common
with them was to learn the art o f prediction. I f the fate o f every being
is predestined, so they thought, it must be possible to get to know at
least the near future.
As everyones course through Samsara is program m ed, the amount
o f happiness and suffering he gets is preordained by late. Therefore,
the only sensible altitude is to take everything as it conies and put up
with it wiihmil com plaint. Liberation will take place autom atically,
as soon as a being has passed through 8,400,000 aeons. There was an
A jivika saying:
T o heaven 1 heres no gale just live down your fate.
Joy and sorrow come to you, all as late decrees.
T h e c \ d e o f rebirths at last makes all men pure,
Be not loo keen 10 know w halever's com ing next.
ija i 344, V I , 229)
Especially the soldiers li'li draw n to 1his fatalism, Inil many another,
too, will have remembered some Ajivika saying when things, went
wrong.
With the disappearance o fih e Ajivika school fin the second century
in North India and the fourteenth century a d in the South), all its
books disappeared too; our knowledge o f the A jlv ik a philosophy is
derived from quotations in the writings o f opponents. Some funda
mental questions, such as to the nature o f the soul (jTva) that forms
the link between different existences, and the nature o f liberation at
the end o f the long path mapped out by late, are, therefore, without
precise answer.
bc
3 T h ere are no biographical details preserved about Ajita Kesakam balin, beyond the fact that he was much older than the Buddha.
His cognomen indicates that he wore a cloak f kambala) o f human hair
(.kesa), a garment which, as the Buddha remarked (A N 3 .13 5 ) was
singularly inconvenient: cold in cold weather, hot in the heal, ill
smelling and scratchy. W hy he wore this penitential garment is
obscure, since, as he denied the value o f ascetic practices, he could
not expect that it would do anything towards his liberation.
A jita s nihilislic-materialistic doctrine is identical with that o f the
Lokayatas, C arvakas or Nastikas, and (according to Ajatasattu)
was summarized by him as follows:
There are no alms or sacrifices or offerings (that might be o f value
for em ancipation), there is no f ruit or result o f good or bad deeds
{kamma), there is not this world or the next (bill only what meets
the senses). 'There is no mother or father and there are no spontan
eously arisen beings. There are in ihe world 110 samanas or B rah
mins who have attained (the goal), who are perfect and proclaim
this world and the next after having realized them by their own
superknowledge. R ather, this human being is composed o f ihe four
elements. When he dies his solid part returns to earth, the liquid
part to water, the temperature to lire, the brealh-part to air, and
the faculties pass aw ay into space. 'The five o f them, i.e. the four
bearers and the corpse 011 the bier as fifth, march to the cremation
ground, and the bearers sing praises until they reach there. There
the bones whiten, and the offerings become ashes. O nly fools
propagate gifts. When people say they are useful, this is nothing
but false talk. Fools and wise, at the breaking-up o f the body, are
destroyed and perish, they do not exist any more after death.
( D N 2 .2 3 )
so thai the overland journey o f the bhikkhus was not without danger.
There were very few pleasant gardens, groves, Helds and ponds, and
m any more clilfs and gorges, almost impassable rivers, areas o f heavy
undergrowth and insurmountable mountains, tlie Buddha stated in a
simile fA N 1.3 3 ). And the anim als loo, which included tigers and
bears, did not alw ays give the yellow-clad monks a friendly welcome,
liven in the cities, the wanderer was not safe from mad cattle: four
cases of death from raging cows are recorded in the Pali Canon.
Once the monk had reached his goal for the day, on the edge o f a
settlement, he had to find out what was the attitude o f the inhabitants
towards his alms-round the following morning. M an y places disap
proved o f the mendicant way o f life. Th e citizens o f'T ln m a in the
M alla republic, for exam ple, even blocked the well with straw, in
order to dissuade the samana G otam a and the whole shaven-headed
bunch o f samanas' from slaking their thirst and stopping there (Ud
7.()j - a truly shocking step as it is part o f the Asiatic code o f decent
behaviour never to refuse water to the thirsty. T h e father o f the
devotee RohinT from Vesali, who could not understand his daughters
enthusiasm for the Sangha, summed up his opinion o f the monks in
this verse:
Work-shy they are, a lazy bunch
Who live on other peoples gifts,
Sweet-toothed and parasites they are How can you like the samanas?
(ThTg 273)
M any o f his contemporaries agreed with him, and let the bhikkhus
stand in vain on their doorsteps waiting for alms. Fortunately, these
were in a minority. O ur sources do not mention that any bhikkhu
died o f hunger.
G otam as missionary successes took place in the M iddle C o un try ,
which is only vaguely defined by means o f places not all o f which can
now be identified (M v 5 .1 3 .1 2 ) . Presumably it was never, even in the
Buddhas clay, geographically precisely defined. Probably the ex
pression denoted simply the cultural province that was felt to be
intellectually in the lead. T h e G an ga (Ganges), between about the
present-day K a n p u r in the west and Sahibganj in the east, formed its
A D E C A D E O F OR IS E S
In 493 b c the Buddha was seventy years old. He was weary, and it
occurred mure and more often that he bade his disciples Sariputta,
M oggallana and M ahakassapa deliver the addresses that were
expected o f him. His fame, which led to his being frequently invited
to speak at opening ceremonies - as when the M allas o f Pava (D N
3 3 .1.2 ) or the Sakiyas o f K ap ilavatth u (M N 53) inaugurated new
am bition like the banana tree that is killed by its own fruit (Cv
7-2-5)D evadatta had the courage not to pursue his aim solely by intrigue,
but to proclaim it openly. Once, when the Buddha was preaching the
Dham m a before a large congregation including the king, D evadatta
got up, bowed to the leader o f the O rder, and said: 'Lo rd , you are
now old, worn-out, an aged man, you have lived your allotted span
and are at the end o f your existence. Lord, fnay you be content to live
in this world henceforth unburdened. Hand over the O rder to me - 1
will lead the San gh a! 'Ih e Buddha declined, but D evadatta
repeated his plea a second and a third time. Th is obstinacy stirred
the aged G otam a to a rebuke: I would not even hand over the O rder
to Sariputta and M oggalliina, still less to you, D evadatta, a common
lickspittle! Gut to ihe quick by this insult before so many witnesses
and referring to his role with the prince, D evadatta took his d epar
ture. By his sharp reaction, the Buddha had made himself an enemy
with whom he would have to reckon in future (C v 7 .3 .1).
He was not satisfied with hum iliating D evadatta. Thinking in legal
terms, he arranged for the chapter o f the Sangha in R a jagah a to
pass a vote o f no confidence in D evadatta, and instructed Sariputta,
with other monks, to proclaim this decision in the city. Th is task was
very em barrassing lor Sariputta, because he had once publicly praised
D evadatta on account o f his magic powers. However, the Buddha
insisted, so there was nothing for it for Sariputta but to announce
everywhere that the O rder had withdrawn its confidence from De
vadatta, who henceforth, in w hatever he did or said, would bc acting
not in the nam e o f the Buddha, the D ham m a and the San gha, but
purely as a private individual (C v 7 .3.2-3 ).
As for both D evadatta and A jatasattu, one man stood in the w ay o f
their ambitions for leadership, and their friendship soon assumed a
conspiratorial character. T h e Pali Canon declares that D evadatta
egged the prince on to m urder his father, but in reality the idea lay in
the air. In any case, one night Ajatasattu arm ed him self with a
dagger and sneaked, trembling but brutally determined, into Bimbisaras rooms in order to stab him in his sleep. T h e guards were
suspicious, seized the prince and forced a confession from him, in
which he blamed D evadatta as the author o f the plot.
him to go back a different way from that which he had been ordered
to take. Thus each saved the others life (Cv 7 .3.6 -7).
I
he V in aya Pitaka ascribes two further attempts on the M asters
lifr to D evadatta. Whether they are historical events or cases which
have been transferred to D evadattas account cannot be established.
One o f these attempts took place on the way up to V ultures Peak.
A ccording to the text, D evadatta caused a huge stone to roll down
the mountainside, intending it to kill the Buddha, but in fact only
injuring his foot :C v 7.3.9). T he injury may be historical, and may
have given rise to the story o f the attempt. Falling stones are a
frequent occurrence on M ount C halha, the south slope o f which
must be ascended to reach the Vultures' Peak.
T h e third attempt on the Buddhas life - if it was one - took place
within the city ot R ajagah a. T h e Pali Canon reports that D evadatta
bribed with promises certain mahouts to let the working elephant
Nalagiri loose against the Buddha. T he mighty bull-elepham , which
had already killed one person, stormed through the streets 011 the
exact path along which the Buddha was coming on his alms-round.
With raised trunk, ears spread out and tail stretched behind him, the
brute rushed a 1 the yellow-robed samana who, unafraid, radiated loving
kindness (metla) towards him. Suddenly the mighty elephant slopped,
lowered his trunk, and allowed G otam a to stroke him. Then he picked
up dust from the ground, blew it over his head and backed aw ay,
keeping his eyes fixed on the Buddha, and finally trotted back to his stall
(C v 7.3.1 1 - 1 2 ) . At leasf the story o f ihe working elephant that broke
out and endangered the Buddha has some historical probability.
T he failure o f such attacks led D evadatta to consider other means.
I f he could not gain control o f the whole O rder, he would split it and
become the leader o f one half. He knew that the Buddha rejected
strict asceticism, but that there were in the Sangha others who
favoured more rigid rules: These he wanted to win over for his plans.
In spite o f all that had happened between them, D evadatta appeared
before the old M aster and proposed that he should make the rules
stricter in five points: (1) T h e monks should in future live only in the
forest; (2) they should eat only alins-food (i.e. accept no invitations);
(3) they should dress in robes made from rags they had collected
themselves; (4) they should 110 longer sleep under a roof (even during
the monsoon), hut under trees: and (5) they should be strict vege
tarians. T h e Buddha replied that every bhikkhu was free to keep the
first three observances, but that he saw no reason to make them
obligatory. As for points 4 and 5, it remained that the monks could
sleep under trees for only eight months o f the year (but that they
should spend the rains in a vihara\, and that meat and fish were not
forbidden them, provided the anim als were not specially killed for
them (C v 7 .3 .14 - 1 5 ) . This was the answer D evadatta had expected,
and which enabled him to drive a wedge into the Sangha. He
publicly declared that the Buddha had rejected the five points, but
that he, D evadatta, regarded them as binding. He succeeded in
creating the impression in some quarters that G otam a was loud o f
easy living and did not take the monastic self-discipline seriously.
Although the Buddha warned him that schism was an offence that
created evil kamma and prolonged suffering, he continued his polemics
(C v 7.3.16 ). One morning, meeting A n a n d a on the alms-round,
Devadatta told him that in future he would keep the uposatha (fullmoon) day without regard to the Buddha and the Sangha (i.e. in his
own w ay), and that (with a chapter o f his own monks: he would
conduct legal acts for the O rder (sanghakamma). T h e M aster was
indignant when A n a n d a told him the news (Cv 7 .3 .17 ; I 'd 5.8).
D evadatta did as he had said. A number o f newly ordained
bhikkhus from Vesali, who were not yet lirmly established in the
vmaya rules, followed his lead and supported the five points, without
realizing that this was a breach o f the Buddhas code o f discipline.
With these, now his monks, D evadatta made for M ount G aya Head
at G a y a, which he chose as the headquarters o f his new Order.
T h e news o f D evadattas successful schism reached the Buddha
through Sariputta and M oggallana. He at once ordered these two to
follow in D evadattas tracks and fetch the young monks back. The
two o f them set out, and were welcomed by D evadatta. who took it
for granted that they wanted to join him.
T h e night had commenced, and D evadatta had gone to sleep
when Sariputta and M oggallana addressed themselves to the young
monks. With instruction in the true Dham ina o f the Buddha, they
succeeded in inspiring the bhikkhus, and when the two great disciples
declared that they were now returning to the M aster, the m ajority
his fortified capital Savatthi. T h e Buddha heard with regret that the
unjust had defeated the just. T w o further battles took place, but
A jatasattu was victorious in both. In a fourth battle Pasenadi took
good advice, and cunningly enticed A jatasattu into an ambush ( Ja t
282), not only defeating him, but taking him prisoner.
O nce again, Ajatasattu owed his life to the gentle disposition of
another. Pasenadi kept A jatasattus elephants, horses, chariots and
infantrymen as booty, but did not harm his nephew (S N 3 .3 .4 -5 ).
A jatasattu had to swear with the holiest o f oaths never in future to
make w ar on the kingdom o f K osala, and in order to seal the pact,
Pasenadi gave his nephew his daughter V ajira in m arriage. As her
dow ry, she received the taxes o f the very village the w ar had been
fought about. Q uite quickly, a friendly relationship established itself
between the two kings. We even hear mention o f a magnificent cloak
which Ajatasattu sent his uncle as a present (M 88, II, p. 116 ).
A jatasattus one and only meeting with the Buddha came about
through a romantic mood o f the kings. A brilliant full-moon night o f
the month o f K attika (O ctober-N ovem ber) awakened in him the
wish to hear an edifying discourse (I)N 2 .1) . Various samanas were
mentioned, till finally JTvaka, the old court physician and a follower
o f the D ham m a, suggested to the king that he visit the Buddha, who
was at the time staying in the mango-grove monastery in R ajagah a
that JTvaka himself had founded. Mounted on his elephant, the king
set out (D N 2.8), not without being overcome with fear on the way
that JTvaka might have laid a trap for him in order to deliver him
into the hands o f his enemies (D N 2 .10 ).
T h e king greeted the Buddha, who, in order to spare his weak
back, was sitting leaning against the central pillar o f the monastery
ball, and sat down on the ground, aside from the monks. He then
asked the M aster: Is there any fruit o f the life o f a wandering
mendicant to be gained in this very life? (D N 2 .14 ). T h e Buddha
replied in the affirm ative, and explained the advantages o f the monas
tic life to the king with various parables (D N 2.36-98 }. T h e conversa
tion ended with A jatasattu s repentance at having murdered his
father (D N 2.99).
In 484 b c Ajatasattu took it into his head to make w a r on the eight
republics and tribes that formed the V a[ji federation - the most
Buddha begged him to spare the people. Allegedly, the aged M aster
managed to restrain V idudabh a a second and third time, but then
the king could not be held in check any longer. He took K ap ilavatthu, and had the citizens o f m ilitary age executed. Finally he set fire
to the city in which the Buddha had spent his youth (the modern
T ilau rak o f in N epal). T h e destruction o f K apilavatth u probably
took place in 485 or 484 b c , shortly before G otam as death.
U nderstandably, many Sakiyas had fled before V'idudabhas
approach and taken refuge with the neighbouring tribes o f the M oriyas and M allas. When they heard that V idudabha had finished his
work o f destruction and regarded his revenge as com plete, they
returned from their exile. Since not much was left o f the old K a p ila v a t
thu (Tilaurakot in Nepal = K apilavatth u 1), they settled in another
place (Piprava in India = K apilavatth u II). T h ey called the place
A/aAa-Kapilavatthu { G reat K ap ilavatth u ), and it was here, after
the Buddhas crem ation, that they deposited in a stupa their share o f
his relics.
L A S T JO U R N E Y S
As had been his custom for more than twenty years, the Buddha
spent the rains o f 485 b c in Savatthi. He did not consider that the
anger o f K in g V idudhaba against the Sakiyas concerned him.
While staying at A nathapindikas Je ta v a n a monastery, the
M aster received the news that his principal disciple Sariputta had
died o f a sickness in N alagam aka, not far from R ajagah a. It was
C unda(ka), Sarip ilttas younger brother, who brought the news, and
also the dead monks legacy: his alms-bowl, his outer robe, and,
knotted in the cloth used as a water-strainer, his ashes (SN 47.3.2.3).
When the rains had ended the Buddha started his wanderings
again, this time towards the south. As he stopped in the village o f
Ukkacela (or U kkavela) on the G anges, il seems that the news o f the
death o f his second main disciple, M oggallana, reached him. M oved,
he declared to the monks that the Sangha was now the poorer. Ju st
as in a great and healthy tree individual branches die off, so Sariputta
and M oggallana had died aw ay from the Sangha. But how could it
be that anything that had come to be should not perish? (SN
47.3.2.4).
A ja ta k a (No. 522) gives details about M oggallan as death. A ccord
ing to this, the great disciple was murdered near R ajagah a, at the
Black Stone on Isigili ( Seer's H ill - the modern U d aya Hill?). As he
had attracted so m any followers aw ay from other sarnana schools,
they had hired a robber, who killed him. T h e day o f Sariputtas
death is given as the full moon o f K attika (O ctober-N ovem ber), and
that o f M oggallana as the following new moon ( Ja t 95). According to
this, then, both disciples died in 486 bc.
T h e year 484 had long since started when the yellow-robed monks,
having passed through Kotigam a and N adika, reached Vesali (now
V aishali), the capital o f the Licchavi republic, where they stayed in
ihe niango-grove o f the ageing but still attractive town courtesan
A m bapali. A m bapali had had a son by (he former K in g Bimbisara,
called V im alakondanna, who had become a bhikkhu. As soon as she
heard that her son's teacher was cam ping out in her grove, she
hastened to him and invited him to a meal for the following day.
G otam a accepted by silence.
O ther citizens o f Vesali also wanted lo entertain (lie M aster, and
were very disappointed lo learn that A m bapali had stolen a march
on them. The courtesan rejected their oiler o f money lo yield up the
meal for ihe honoured guesl to them. Next morning, she gave a
splendid meal to the Buddha and his bhikkhus. and afterwards
presented her grove (A m bapalivana) to ihe M aster and the Sangha
as a monastery (D N 16 .2 .1 i-i<)) - partly 110 doubt in the hope that
her son might spend the rains there. In her prime she had charged 30
kahapanas, the price o f five rnilch-cows, lor a night o f love, so she
was well able to a (ford expensive gifts. Subsequently, she joined the
order o f nuns and is even supposed to have reached sainthood (Thig
252-70).
As far as Vesali, the M aster had travelled with a following of
to rest. Because the cold sweat that is associated with colic and
intestinal troubles m ade him feel cold, he sent the bhikkhu U p avan a,
who was fanning him, aw ay (I)N 16 .5 .1-4 ).
He now no longer doubted that from this place in the sala grove
near K usin ara he would not rise again. Clear-headedly, he instructed
A nanda about what was to be done with his body. T he monks were
not to concern themselves with his funeral, but only strive for their
own liberation. T h ere were plenty o f people who had faith in the
T ath agata, and they would do all that was necessary (1)N 16 .5 .10 ).
W eeping, Ananda went aside and gave way to grief: A las, 1 am still
only a learner, I still have much to do (in working 011 m yself), and
now the M aster who took pity on me is about to enter Parinibbana!
When the Buddha noticed that his faithful servant was not there,
he sent for him and comforted him:
Knough, A nanda, do not weep and wail! H ave 1 not alw ays told
you that we must part with all things that are dear and pleasant to
us, that we must say farewell to them, that nothing can remain
eternally as it is? T h at something that is born, become, conditioned
(by the kamma o f previous existences and, therefore, is) destined to
perish - that such a thing should not pass aw ay, that cannot be.
For a long time, A nanda, you have been in the T a th a g a ta s
presence and have with patient kindness looked after my wellbeing.
Y ou have gained much merit by that. M ake the effort, and you
will soon destroy the influences!
(D N 16 .5 .14 , end abridged)
1 1 was presum ably on the alms-round next morning, and allegedly on
the Buddhas instructions, that A nanda made the M aster's sickness
known in K usinara. Thereupon, numerous citizens o f the town made
their w ay to the sala grove to see the venerable head o f the O rder, o f
whom they had heard such wonderful things for the last forty-five
years. Ananda did everything he could to prevent the exhausted old
man from being disturbed. Subhadda, a samana o f another school,
who came in the evening to see the M aster, was sent aw ay, but the
M aster, who had overheard the conversation, told Ananda to let the
visitor in. At the end o f his conversation with the Buddha Subhadda
requested the M aster to ordain him in the Sangha, and Ananda gave
him the going forth (pabbajja). Subhadda was the last person to be
T H E C R E M A T IO N
T h e most composed was A n uniddha, a cousin o f the Buddha and
A n a n d a s half-brother, who consoled the monks, some o f whom were
weeping, repeating to them the words o f the deceased M aster about
the transitory nature o f all life. Tow ards the morning he told A n a n d a
to go to K usin ara to announce the T a ih a g a ta s death to the citizens.
W illingly as ever, the aged A n a n d a carried out this mission. He
reported the decease o f the teacher in the assembly hall, where the
M allas were just in session. At once the assembly ordered ceremonies
for the funeral (D N 1 6 .6 .1 1 - 1 3 ) .
T h e canonical account o f the cremation conveys the impression o f
utter confusion. As the little group o f monks, consisting o f A n a n d a ,
C undaka, A nuruddha, U pavan a and possibly one or two others, had
received instructions from the Buddha to leave his funeral arrange
ments to his lay followers who, however, were apparently not numer
ous in K u sin ara, nobody felt really responsible. Tokens o f mourning
in the form o f flowers and incense cam e in plenty, but it seems no one
was prepared to bear the cost o f the wood for the pyre. T h e cremation
was postponed from one day lo the next, it is said for a week.
Further, there was confusion about the form o f ritual to be used.
T h e dead man was a Sakiya and a khatliya, but also a samana and an
opponent o f Brahmin ritualism - so what form o f ceremonial was
suitable for him? Should he bc cremated lo the south or to the east o f
ihe city? Finally they decided on the latter, and bore the clothwrapped corpse in through the North G a le and 0111 again through
the East G ate 10 the M akuta-bandhana, by which is probably meant
a m ortuary, open at all sides, at the cremation place (D N 16 .6 .13 16 ;.
In the meantime the monk M ahakassapa or K assapa the G reat
was 011 his w ay to K usinara with a com pany of bhikkhus, presumably
intending to spend the com ing rains in Savatthi. M ahakassapa was,
after the deaths o f Sariputta and M oggallana, the most prominent
monk in the Sangha, and if the Buddha had nominated a successor.
the same name to whom the Buddha, on the eve o f his death, had
granted the going forth. 'Phis Subhadda, a former barber from the
village o f A tum a, who had only gone forth into homelessness at an
advanced age, declared: Enough, brothers, do not weep and wail!
We arc well rid o f the G reat Sam ana. We were alw ays bothered by
his saying: You are allowed to do this, you are not allowed to do
that! Now we can do what we like, and not do what we don t like!
(D N 16.6.20). M ahakassapa made no reply lo these words, but was
soon to have occasion to remember them.
Instantly he hastened forward with his group to K u sin ara, reaching
the cremation place just in time to find the pyre o f the Buddha not
yet lit. T h e small quantity o f wood that had been collected is clear
from the fact that the wrapped-up feet o f the corpse were still visible.
After M ahakassapa and the oilier monks had circum am bulated
the body three times in a clockwise direction, and had paid homage
by bowing with palms together, the wood was set alight. When the
pyre had burnt down, the embers were quenched with water. O f the
B uddhas body, only a few fragments o f bone remained. T h ey were
buried in an earthen pot ai the cremation place, and the M allas
marked the spot by planting spears in (he ground all round (D N
16 .6 .2 2 -3 ).
It seems not to have occurred to any o f the Kusinara M allas ihat
any other tribes might lay claim to relics o f the Buddha. T h ey were
therefore very surprised when messengers arrived in K usinara from
all directions, requesting a share o f the Buddhas relics. At first they
were unwilling to give aw ay any part o f the bones, bul finally heeded
the advice o f the Brahmin in charge o f ihe crem ation, Dona, who
pointed out that a selfish attitude to the relics would lead to trouble,
besides being contrary to the teachings o f the deceased, who had
alw ays stood for peace (I)N 16.6.25). Accordingly, Dona divided
the bone remains into eight parts, o f which one part each went to:
K in g A jatasattu o f M agad ha in R ajagah a,
the Licchavis o f Vesali,
the Sakiyas o f K apilavatth u (i.e. New K apilavatth u ),
the Bulls o f A llakappa,
the K oliyas o f R am agam a,
and the latest from the twelfth. T h e walls are partly preserved to
shoulder height, enabling one to identify the inner courtyard and the
monks cells surrounding it. T h e strength o f the brickwork in some o f
the buildings makes it seem likely that they were originally multistoreyed.
Archaeological research has shown that the com plex was destroyed
by fire in about the fourth or fifth century a d . T h e Chinese pilgrim
Fa-hsien still found a few monks in residence in the fifth century, but
the other Chinese traveller, Hsiian-lsang, in the seventh century,
describes the place as destroyed and deserted. Later it cam e to life
again, and between the ninth and the twelfth centuries some new
monasteries were founded. In the thirteenth century all religious
activity seems to have come to an end.
T h e stupa m arking the cremation place o f the Buddha and the
distribution o f his relics is 1.5 km to the east o f the N ibbana Stupa
and is called by the local inhabitants either by the Sanskrit name o f
A ngarastupa ( Stupa o f the Ashes ), or, in H indi, R am abh ar-{ila
( R am ab h ar H ill ), after the R a m a b h a r Lake to its east. It stands
on a flat base and has a diam eter o f 34 m. Its original height cannot
be ju dged , because treasure-huntcrs and brick-robbers have over the
centuries removed more and more o f the upper part. Archaeologically
speaking, the stupa is o f no great significance, but for any visitor
fam iliar with the story o f the B uddha s life it is a moving memorial.
Kusinara
and the latest from the twelfth. T h e walls are partly preserved to
shoulder height, enabling one to identify the inner courtyard and the
monks cells surrounding it. T h e strength o f the brickwork in some o f
the buildings makes it seem likely that they were originally multistoreyed.
Archaeological research has shown that the com plex was destroyed
by fire in about the fourth or fifth century a d . T h e Chinese pilgrim
Fa-hsien still found a few monks in residence in the fifth century, but
the other Chinese traveller, H siian-lsang, in the seventh century,
describes the place as destroyed and deserted. Later it cam e to life
again, and between the ninth and the twelfth centuries some new
monasteries were founded. In the thirteenth century all religious
activity seems to have come to an end.
T h e stupa m arking the cremation place o f the Buddha and the
distribution o f his relics is 1.5 km to the east o f the N ibbana Stupa
and is called by the local inhabitants either by the Sanskrit name o f
A ngarastupa ( Stupa o f the Ashes ), or, in HindT, R am abh ar-p la
(R a m a b h a r H ill ), after the R am ab h ar Lake to its east. It stands
on a flat base and has a diam eter o f 34 m. Its original height cannot
be ju dged , because treasure-hunters and brick-robbers have over the
centuries removed more and more o f the upper part. Archaeologically
speaking, the stupa is o f no great significance, but for any visitor
fam iliar with the story o f the B uddha s life it is a moving memorial.
Afterwards
It was probably still in K usinara that the O rder agreed to M ahakassapas list, and decided on R ajagah a as the venue for the synod. I he
date was fixed for the forthcoming rains ( 4 8 3 b c -. ) . N o other monks,
apart from these five hundred, were to be allowed into R ajagah a for
the monsoon, so that ihe council might meet undisturbed.
Arrived in the M agadha capital, the monks spent a month building
themselves rairi-huts and restoring ruined older lodgings. T h e fact
that after the long journey from K usinara to R ajagah a they still had
so much time before the outbreak of the rains (usually m id-June) is a
further indication that the Buddhas Parinibbana must be assumed
to have taken place in M arch or April 483 b c .
Eventually everything and everyone was ready for the council to
begin - all except A n a n d a , who had not yet become an A rahant.
Ashamed, he meditated almost the whole night through, until in the
early morning before the beginning o f the council, when he wanted
to take a little rest, suddenly, between lifting his feet o lf the floor and
laying his head down on the bed , he achieved the destruction o f the
influences (asava) and liberation from rebirth (Cv 1 1 .1 .3 - 6 ) . Now he
too was a Holy One, an A rahant, which naturally increased the
standing o f the council. Perhaps it was for the sake o f giving the
council greater authority that the members decided to ascribe Arahantship to the aged bhikkhu, who had been in the robe for
Afterwards
old monks being recalled. For the sake o f peace, A nanda m ade a
formal confession o f guilt (C v 1 1. t . 10).
T h e language used by the R ajagah a council, and in which it
canonized the word o f the Buddha, was Pali, an elevated form o f
M agadhI, avoiding dialect forms and with its vocabulary enriched
through expressions borrowed from related Indian languages. Pali
was a supra-regional lingua franca, spoken only by the educated, but
understood also by the common people. T h e Northern Indian rulers
used it as the language o f administration and o f the courts, so that
Siddhattha G otam a the raias son was fam iliar with it from youth.
Upali and A nanda, too, presum ably spoke it fluently.
T h e council had just ended and the original form o f the Pali
Canon had been established when the bhikkhu Purana with a
group o f friends came to R ajagah a to collect alms. Proud o f the
task they had achieved, the monks from the council asked him to
agree to the text as they had codified it. Purana replied: 'T h e
elders o f the O rder have well recited and canonized the Dhamma
a n d . Discipline. But 1 prefer to remember them as 1 m yself heard
and received them from the Blessed O n e (Cv i i . i . i i ) . This does
not necessarily imply that there were any factual differences be
tween his conception o f the Dham m a and those o f the synod.
Probably P u ran as words just mean: Why should I, who have
heard the M aster speak and who am still under the immediate
impression o f his personality - why should I accept a second-hand
literary fixation o f his words?
One hundred years after the First Council, in 383 no, a Second
Council undertook a revision o f the original Canon. T h e occasion of
this council was disagreement in regard to the discipline (vinaya).
Alter much toing-and-froing, a committee had decided against the
acceptance o f ten proposed innovations, and in order to confirm this
decision the Canon in the course of eight months was once again
recited by a synod o f seven hundred theras in Vesali, under the
chairm anship o f the bhikkhu Rovata (C v 12 .12 .8 -9 ). In order to
make clear their adherence to tradition, the participants in the
council called them selvesTheravadins, i.e. supporters ol the Doctrine
o f the Elders . T h e innovators, who claimed to be in the m ajority,
called themselves M ahasanghikas, i.e. members o f the Great
baskets (pitaka), and the Pali Canon is therefore often called the
triple basket' (tipilaka).
It is due to the successful missionary activity o f Asoka (ruling as
sole ruler 26 9 -232 bc) that the Pali C anon has been preserved to us.
It was Asoka who, through his son M ahinda, converted the island o f
Ceylon (Lanka) to Buddhism, thus assuring to the B uddhas teaching
a home in which it survived all historical crises. In the monasteries o f
this island, the Pali C anon was preserved in the memories o f the
monks until, in the first century b c , they wrote it down on the dried
leaves o f the talipot palm (Corvpha umbraculifera) (D v 20.20!'.; M hv
33-io o f.). Th e rock-monastery A lu vih ara (P A lokavihara), where
this was done, lies 3 km north o f M atale. When the visitor to Sri
Lanka journeys by car northwards from K a n d y he should not fail,
after passing M atale, to cast a thankful glance to the left at the great
rock o f A luvih ara, where, two thousand years ago, the timeless
doctrine o f the Buddha wras put into writing.
Bibliography
All the most important works o f the Pali Canon have been translated
into English, mainly by the Pali T e x t Society ( Sacred Books o f the
Buddhists , later P T S Translation Series ). A part from these, a new
translation o f the l)Tgha Nikaya by M .O C. W alshe appeared in
1987 under the title Thus bane / heard The I.oni Discourses o f the
Buddha (London). A translation o f the M ajjhim a N ikaya, by the late
Ven. Nanam oli, will appear shortly. See also: Russell W ebb, An
Analysis o f the Pali Canon, B PS, 1975.
A N C I E N T B I O G R A P H I E S OF T H E BUDDHA
A p art from the biographical information contained in the Pali (.'anon,
there are four Indian biographies, all o f which contain much legen
dary material:
1 Nidanakathii ( = Introduction to the Jiitak as), transl. from Pali by
T . W. Rhys Davids in Buddhist Birth Stories, and edn, P T S , 1925.
2 Mahavastu, transl. from Sanskrit by J . J . Jon es, 3 vols, London,
3
' 949- 56I m UIu Vistara, French transl. from Sanskrit by P. E. Foucaux, 2
vols, Paris, 188 4-9 2; partial English transl. ( 15 chapters) by R . L.
\ litr a , C alcutta, 18 8 1-6 .
Buddhacarita by Asvaghosa, English transl. from Sanskrit by E. B.
Cowell, in Sacred Books o f the East, vol. 49, O xford, 1894.
MODERN BIOGRAPHIES
a . i >.,
London
' 965A . L . Basham, The Wonder that was India. A Survey o f the Culture o f the
Indian Sub-Continent before the Coming o f the Muslims, 2nd edn, London,
1967.
A. P. de Zoysa, Indian Culture in the Days o f the Buddha, Colom bo, 1955.
M . Edw ardes, Everyday Life in Early India, London, 1969.
D. D. Kosam bi, Ancient India. A History o f its Culture and Civilization,
New York, 1965.
G . S. P. M isra, The Age o f Vinaya. A Historical and Cultural Study, New
Delhi, 1972.
T . VV. Rhys D avids, Buddhist India, London, 1903; 7th edn, Calcutta,
957N. YVagle, Society at the Time o f the Buddha, Bom bay, 1963.
P O L I T I C S IN T H E T I M E OF T H E B U D D H A
B. C . L aw , The Magadhas in Ancient India, 2nd edn, Delhi, 1976.
Y . M ishra, An Early History o f VaiSali, Delhi, 1962.
V . Paihak, History o f Kosala up lo the Rise o f the Mauryas, Delhi,
>96 3B. C . Sen, Studies in the Buddhist Jatakas, C alcutta, 1974.
J . P. Sharm a, Republics in Ancient India c. 1500 11. c . - 5 0 0 a. p., Leiden,
1968.
T H E S A N G H A , C U L T U R A L I N F L U E N C E OF
BUDDHISM, COUNCILS
D. K . Barua, Viharas in Ancient India. A Survey o f Buddhist Monasteries,
C alcutta, 1969.
H. Bechert and R. Gom brich (eds), The World o f Buddhism. Buddhist
Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture, London, 1984.
B. N. C haudhury, Buddhist Centres in Ancient India, C alcutta, 1969.
N. Dutt, Buddhist Sects in India, C alcutta, 1970.
N. Dutt, Early Monastic Buddhism, 2nd edn, C alcutta, i960.
S. Dutt, The Buddha and Five After Centuries, London, 1957.
S. Dutt, Buddhist Monks and Monasteries o f India. Their History and their
Contribution to Indian Culture, London, 1962.
M . Edw ardes, In the Blowing Out o f a Flame. The World o f the Buddha
and the World o f Man, London, 1976.
I. B. H orner, Women under Primitive Buddhism. I.aywumen and Almswomen,
2nd edn, Delhi, 1975.
T . Ling, The Buddha. Buddhist Civilization in India and Ceylon, London,
I9 7 3
P. O livelle, The Origin and the Early Development o f Buddhist Monachism,
Colom bo, 1974.
L. de la V aliee Poussin, The Buddhist Councils, 2nd edn, Calcutta,
1976.
BU D D H IST LAW AND D IS C IP L IN E
D. N. Bhagvat, Early Buddhist Jurisprudence. Theravada Vinaya-lMWs
M O N O G R A P H S AND H A N D B O O K S ON O T H E R
R E L I G I O N S IN T H E B U D D H A S T I M E
A. L . Basham, The Ajivikas. A Vanished Indian Religion, London, 19 5 1.
K . K . D ixit, Early Jainism , A hm edabad, 1978.
J. Dow.son, A Classical Dictionary o f Hindu Mythology and Religion,
Geography, History and Literature,, fith edn, London, 1953.
P. S .Ja in i, The Ja in Path o f Purijieation, D elhi-V aranasi-Patna, 1979.
G . L ich en , Iconographic Dictionary o f the, Indian Religions, HinduismBuddhism-Jainism, Leiden, 1976.
W. Schubring, The Doctrine o f the Jainas Described after the Old Sources,
2nd edn, Delhi, 1978.
M . and J . Stutley, A Dictionary o f Hinduism its Mythology, Folklore and
Development, Bom bay-D elhi, 1977.
B. W alker, Hindu World - An Encyclopaedic Survey o f Hinduism, '2 vols,
L o n d o n ,1968.
A R C H A E O L O G Y OF BU D DH ISM
D. M itra, Buddhist Monuments, C alcutta, 1971 .
B. K . R ijal, Archaeological Remains o f Kapilavastu, I.umbini and Devadaha,
K athm andu, 1979.
D. Valisinha, Buddhist Shrines in India, Colom bo, 1948.
F L O R A AND FAU N A OF INDIA
S. A li, The Book o f Indian Birds, 6th edn, Bom bay, 19 6 1.
E. Blatter and W. S. M illard, Some Beautiful Indian Trees, 4th edn,
Bom bay, 1977.
D. V . Gowen, Flowering 'Frees and Shrubs o f India, 6th edn, Bom bay,
1970.
C. M cC an n, nx> Beautiful Trees o f India, 3rd edn, Bom bay, [966.
S. H. Prater, The Book o f Indian Animals, 3rd edn, Bom bay, 1 971 .
Index
Buddhism has for its main subjects the Huddha, Ilie Dhamma, and
the Sangha. I he headwords Buddha 'also Siddhattha), Dham m a,
and O rder have, therefore, been treated more in detail than ihe rest.
A ni. nil'., 77
A ja ta sa ttu . 233II'..
A jila K e sa k an ib iilin . e tc, 221
A jivikas, 43, 63, 2 1
Alara Kalama, 4(1!'., 2 |8
alco h o l. 1 i()
alm s, if>8f.
A lu v ih a ra , 263
A m b a p a li, 177, 345
Ananda. 100, 113, 1 i(>, 128I"., 1j t ,
A ssaji, j2 ,
<14
A ssattha tree. ",<i
a lia , r)8: see also a n a ila
a im a n : in ja in is m . 22r,; in llie
I'p a n is a d s . 3W.
A tom ism , 222
A u p a n isa d as. 315
A v a n li. 3
t>8
B a n d h u la , 1 10, 241
b an k ers, 26I'.
I>athini> ritu a l. 72, 75I.
b ecom ing. 143
B eluva, 24O
B enares, (17, 70. 72II.
B h a d d a k u c c a n a , 24, <)<)
B haH diya. 52. (13!.
R hallika, Oil'.
Iiliikktiuills. 1 17: see also ( )rd c r o f
nuns
B iinbisara, 8 8 , i> i , ()7, 101, 113, i f , 4,
174, 207, 234I.
blood-sacrifices, 7HI.
'45
diseases, 161
d o c trin e , 130H ; see also D h a m m a
D o n a , 253
d o n a tio n cere m o n y , 92, 105c.
d rin k in g , 119
E ast G ro v e m o n a ste ry , 107, 125,
77
eig h tfo ld p a th , 65, 147f.
e n lig h te n m e n t, jfiff.
e q u a n im ity , 203, 212
F a -h sic n , 14, 238, 256
fa ta lism , 220
feelings, 133, 143
fire-c u lt, 77f., 84f.
fire se rm o n , 86
forced la b o u r, 19, 188
frien d sh ip , i7of., 18(1
ju stic e , 2of.
245
G h o sita , 101
G h o s ita ra m a , 119, 177
G o ta m a , the B u d d h a : before
e n lig h te n m e n t see S id d h a tth a ;
a fte r e n lig h te n m e n t stt
B uddha
G o ta m a , th e G . fam ily, fid',
g reed , 137f.; stt also c ra v in g
G ro u p s, th e five, 133, 139, 152
guilds, 26f.
h a p p in e ss, 22, 132, 151
h a te , 137, 146
H siia n -tsa n g , t4 , 18, 256
h u m o u r, 2o6f.
h u ts, 173f.
id e n tity in re b irth , 1391ig n o ra n c e , 143, 146, 178\ set also
d elu sio n
im p e rm a n c n c c , 23. 132II., 139, 180,
244, 249, 250
In d ia , p o litica lly , 2tT.
In d ra , 30
in stru c tio n , g ra d u a te d , 71, 84, 91
in te n tio n s, 137, i4of., 143
in v ita tio n s, 169
Is ip a ta n a , 63, 75; stt also S a rn a th
J a in is m , 224ir.
Ja in s , 224
Ja fila s , 7 6 ,7 7 ,8 4 , 89, 163
J c ta v a n a , losff., 127, 176, 244
J i n a , 11, 222fT.; see also M a h a v lra
J iv a k a , lo af., 161, 239
J iv a k a m b a v a n a , 103, 176, 239
ju n g le , 50
K a la m a s, 200
k a m m a , 130, 136(1., 139ft'.,.147, 149,
191, 202
K a p ila v a tth u : P ip ra v a , 15, 1 7 ,2 4 3 ,
254; T ila u ra k o t, 4, 6, I3f., 17,
25, 96. 98, 115, 242f.
K a ra y a n a , 241 IT.
K a ssap a , b h ik k h u , 251; see also
M a h a k a ssa p a
K a ss a p a b ro th ers, 84IT.
k h a n d h a , 133; see also G ro u p s, the
five
k h a ttiy a caste, 3, 6, 17, 155, 188,
' 92- 25 1
know led g e, 178
K o liy as, 4, 115, 253
K o ru la n n a , g, 52, 63f.
K o sala , 3, 17, 105, 110, 239, 241; see
also P asen ad i
K o sam b i, 101, 11/AT., 179
K u s in a ra , 248)]'., 2 5 4 II
L a n k a , 59, 263
law codc, 21, 154
lay follow ers, 61, 71 f., i87ff.
lib e ra tio n , 57, 138, 150, 182; see also
n ib b a n a
I.icchavls, 4, 114, 240, 253
L o k a y a ta . 39, 221
loving-kindness, 102, 152, 193, 203,
212, 236
LumbiiiT, 8f., 13
M a g a d h a , 3, 88, 113, 231; see also
B im bisara
M a h a k a ss a p a . 168, 232f., 2 5 iff.,
26ofT.
M a h a n a m a , 52, (>3f.
M a h a p a ja p a ti, 6, 13, 115II'.
M a h a v ira . 1 1. 217!., 222II.
M a h in d a , 263
M a k k h a li G osala, 21 fill'.
M allas, 4, 251, 254
M a llik a , 108, 209
m ate ria lists, 35, 38(1., 221
M a y a , (ill., 9, 13
m e d ita tio n , 48, 53!'., 148I., 17(if.,
a 1 if.
m e rc h a n ts, 189H'.
m e tta , 102, 152, 2(13, 212, 236
m id d le c o u n try , 28, 1911., 230
m id d le w ay, 64, 228
M o g g a lip u tla T issa, alia
M o g g a lla n a ,
, 156, 232!., 237.
*44
m o n arc h ie s, 4
monasteries, 172!'., 176!.
m onks, see O rd e r
m o n k s' w idow s, 99, 162, 209
m on so o n , 81, 170; see also seasons
M o riy a s, 4, 254
m ysticism , 198I'.
n a m e -a n d -fo rin , 143; see tilsn G ro u p s.
the five
N a n d a , 6, 9, 22, too
N e ra n ja ra , 50
n ib b a n a , 57, 131, ifjofi'., 1 98,209;
see also p a rin ib b a n a
N ig a n th a N a ta p u tta , 222: see also
M a h a v ira
n o n -e n m ity , 202I.
non-self, 66, 1 3 1 ,1 3HH".; see also
a n a ita
non -v io len cc, 102
noviccs, 163
Udcna, 3, 117fT.
untouchability, 28, 192
Upaka, 63
Upali, 100, 157, 260
Upanisads, 35^., 49, 74, 137, 144,
'50
Upavana, 251
uposalha, 68, isgf., 170
Uruvela, 49, 52, 83
Uruvcla-Kassapa, 8g(T.
Vamsa, 3, 118
Vappa, 52, 63c.
Varanasi, 73; see also Benares
Vardhamana, 229f.; set also
Mahavira
vassa, 170; see also rains retreats
Vassakara, 240, 245
Veda, 29, 34, 74, 78, 189!".
Buddhist
Tradition
Series
1
2
3
4
5
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