Prologue Book I

IN SEARCH OF NEW LIGHT

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16. To such a length in loathliness did he go that there became accumulated on his body the dirt and filth for years till it dropped off by itself.

17. He took up his abode in the awesome depths of the forest, depths so awesome that it was reputed that none but the senseless could venture without his hair standing on end.

18. When the cold season brought chill wintry nights, then it was that in the dark half of the months he dwelt by night in the open air and in the dark thicket by day.

19. But when there came the last broiling month of summer before the rains, he made his dwelling under the baking sun by day and in the stifling thicket by night.

20. In a charnel ground did he lay down with charred bones for pillow.

21. Thereafter Gautama lived on a single bean a day—on a single sesamum seed a day—or a single grain of rice a day.

22. When he was living on a single fruit a day, his body grew emaciated in the extreme.

23. If he sought to feel his belly, it was his backbone which he found in his grasp ; if he sought to feel his backbone he found himself grasping his belly, so closely did his belly cleave to his backbone and all because he ate so little.

§ 5. Abandonment of Asceticism

1. The austerities and mortification practised by Gautama were of the severest sort. They lasted for a long period of six years.

2. At the end of six years his body had become so weak that he was quite unable to move.

3. Yet he had seen no new light and was no nearer to the solution to the problem of misery in the world on which his mind was centred.

4. He reflected to himself : “This is not the way, even to passionlessness, nor to perfect knowledge, nor to liberation.

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5. “Some undergo misery for the sake of this world, others meet toil for the sake of heaven ; all living beings wretched through hope and always missing their aim, fall certainly for the sake of happiness into misery.

6. “Has not something like this happened to me ?

7. “It is not the effort itself which I blame,— which flinging aside the base pursues a high path of its own.

8. “What I ask is, ‘Can the mortification of the body be called religion ?’

9. “Since it is only by the mind’s authority that the body either acts or ceases to act, therefore, to control the thought is alone befitting—without thought the body is like a dog.

10. “If there was only the body to be considered, merit may be gained by purity of food, but then there is merit also in the doer. But of what good is it ?

11. “New light cannot be attained by him who has lost his strength and is wearied with hunger, thirst and fatigue with his mind no longer self-possessed through fatigue.

12. “How could he who is not absolutely calm, reach the end which is to be attained by his mind ?

13. “True calm and the self-possession of the mind is properly obtained by the constant satisfaction of the body’s wants.”

14. At this time there lived at Uruvela a house-holder by name Senani. Sujata was his daughter.

15. Sujata had uttered a wish to a Banyan Tree, and vowed a yearly offering to it if she should have a son.

16. The wish having been fulfilled, she sent her maid Punna to prepare the place for the offering.

17. Punna finding Gautama sitting beneath the Banyan Tree, thought he was the god of the tree who had come down.

18. Sujata came and offered Gautama the food prepared by her in a golden bowl.

19. He took the bowl to the river bank, bathed

IN SEARCH OF NEW LIGHT

I at a ford or a bathing place called Suppatitthita and ate the food.

20. Thus ended his trial of asceticism.

21. The five ascetics who were with Gautama became angry with him for having given up the life of austerity and self-mortification and in disgust left him.

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PART IV

Enlightenment and the Vision of a New Way 1. Meditation for New Light. 2. Enlightenment. 3. The Discovery of a New Dhamma. 4. Gautama who was a Bodhisatta after Sammabodhi becomes a Buddha.

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ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE VISION OF A NEW WAY

I § 1. Meditation for New Light

1. Having refreshed himself with food Gautama sat thinking over his past experiences. He realised that all paths had failed.

2. The failure was so complete that it could have led anyone into a state of frustration. He was, of course, sorry. But frustration as such did not touch him.

3. He was always hopeful of finding a way. So much so that on the night of the day on which he partook of the food sent by Sujata, Gautama had five dreams and when he awoke he interpreted his dreams to mean that he was sure to attain enlightenment.

4. He had also tried to forecast his future. This he did by throwing the bowl of food, Sujata’s maid brought, into the river Nairanja, saying : “If I am to have enlightenment let the bowl ascend the stream; if not let it go down.” The vessel, indeed, began to float against the current and at last sank near the abode of Kala, a Naga king.

5. Fortified with hope and determination he left Uruvela and towards evening went along the wide road to Gaya. There he saw a Banyan Tree. He thought of sitting under it in meditation in the hope of a new light dawning upon him and enabling him to find a way which would solve his problem.

6. After trying each of the four directions he chose the East which is always chosen by all the great sages for the removal of all defilements.

7. Gautama sat down cross-legged and upright under the Banyan Tree. Determined to achieve enlightenment, he said to himself, “Skin, sinew and bone may dry up as they will, my flesh and blood may dry in my body, but without attaining complete enlightenment I will not leave this seat.”

8. Then Kala, the king of the Nagas, whose majesty was like the lord of elephants, and his wife Suvarnaprabhasa, having been awakened by the vision of Gautama sitting under the Banyan Tree, uttered this in praise of him being sure that he was destined to attain perfect knowledge.

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9. “Inasmuch as the earth, pressed down by thy feet, O Sage, resounds repeatedly, and inasmuch as thy splendour shines forth like the sun, thou shalt assuredly reap the desired fruit.

10. “Inasmuch as flocks of birds fluttering in the sky offer thee reverential salutation, O Lotus-eyed One ; and inasmuch as gentle breezes blow in the sky, thou shalt certainly attain thy object.”

11. As he sat down for meditation a crowd of evil thoughts and evil passions—mythologically called the children of Mara (Kama), which is another name for evil passions, entered his mind.

12. Gautama was greatly frightened lest they should overpower him and defeat his purpose.

13. He knew that in this battle with evil passions many Rishis and Brahmins had succumbed.

14. So he summoned all the courage he had and said to Mara, “Faith is found in me, and heroism and wisdom. How can ye evil passions defeat me ? The streams even of rivers may this wind dry up. Ye would be unable to dry up my resolutions, when I am so intent.” Better to me is death in battle than that I should be defeated in life.

15. The evil passions entered the mind of Gautama as a crow goes after a stone that looks like a hump of fat, thinking surely, “here I shall find a tender morsel, here perchance is something sweet.”

16. And finding no sweetness there, the crow departs thence. So like a crow attacking a rock, the evil passions left Gautama in disgust.

§2. Enlightenment

1. To feed himself during the period of meditation Gautama had collected enough food to last him for forty days.

2. Having routed the evil thoughts that disturbed his mind Gautama refreshed himself with food and gained strength. He thus prepared himself for meditation with the aim of obtaining enlightenment.

3. It took Gautama four weeks of meditation

ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE VISION OF A NEW WAY

I to obtain enlightenment. He reached final enlightenment in four stages.

4. In the first stage he called forth reason and investigation. His seclusion helped him to attain it easily.

5. In the second stage he added concentration.

6. In the third stage he brought to his aid equanimity and mindfulness.

7. In the fourth and final stage he added purity to equanimity and equanimity to mindfulness.

8. Thus with mind concentrated, purified, spotless, with defilement gone, supple, dexterous, firm, impassionate, not forgetting what he is after, Gautama concentrated himself on the problem of finding an answer to the question which had troubled him.

9. On the night of the last day of the fourth week light dawned upon him. He realised that there were two problems. The first problem was that there was suffering in the world and the second problem was how to remove this suffering and make mankind happy.

10. So in the end, after meditation for four weeks, darkness was dispelled, light arose, ignorance was dispelled and knowledge arose. He saw a new way. § 3. The Discovery of a New Dhamma

1. Gautama when he sat in meditation for getting new light was greatly in the grip of the Sankhya Philosophy.

2. That suffering and unhappiness in the world he thought was an incontrovertible fact.

3. Gautama was, however, interested in knowing how to do away with suffering. This problem the Sankhya Philosophy did not deal with.

4. It is, therefore, on this problem—how to remove suffering and unhappiness—that he concentrated his mind.

5. Naturally, the first question he asked himself was— “What are the causes of suffering and unhappiness which an individual undergoes?”

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6. His second question was—“How to remove unhappiness ?”

7. To both these questions he got a right answer which is called ‘Samma Bodhi’ (Right Enlightenment).

8. It is because of this that the Banyan Tree has come to be known as the Bodhi Tree.

§ 4. Gautama who was a Bodhisatta After Sammabodhi Becomes a Buddha

1. Before enlightenment Gautama was only a Bodhisatta. It is after reaching enlightenment that he became a Buddha.

2. Who and what is a Bodhisatta ?

3. A Bodhisatta is a person who is seeking to be a Buddha.

4. How does a Bodhisatta become a Buddha ?

5. A Bodhisatta must be a Bodhisatta for ten lives in succession. What must a Bodhisatta do in order to qualify himself to become a Buddha ?

6. In his first life he acquires Mudita (joy). The Bodhisatta having blown off his impurities, as the smith blows the dross from silver, reflects that man who has been reckless and becomes sober brightens up the world like the moon freed from clouds. Joy springs up in him realising this, and he is fervent in his desire to benefit all beings.

7. In his second life he acquires Vimala (Purity). The Bodhisatta has now removed all thoughts of lust ; he is kind ; he is kind to all ; he neither flatters the vices of men nor disparages their virtues.

8. In his third life he acquires Prabhakari (Brightness). The intellect of the Bodhisatta now becomes as bright as a mirror. He fully knows and grasps the truths of Anatta and Anicca. His only wish is for the highest wisdom, and for this he is ready to sacrifice anything.

9. In his fourth life he acquires Arcishmati (Intelligence of Fire). The Bodhisatta in this life fixes his mind on the Eightfold Path, the Four Contempla-

ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE VISION OF A NEW WAY

I tions, the Fourfold Contest, the Fourfold Will Power, the Fivefold Morality.

10. In his fifth life he acquires Sudurjaya (Difficult to Conquer). He fully understands the connection of the relative and the absolute.

11. In his sixth life he becomes Abhimukhi. In this stage the Bodhisatta is now prepared fully to grasp the evolution of things, its cause, the Twelve Nidanas ; and this knowledge, called Abhimukhi, awakens the most profound compassion in his heart for all beings blinded by Avidya.

12. In his seventh life the Bodhisatta becomes a Durangama (going far off). The Bodhisatta is now beyond time and space ; he is one with Infinity, but he still retains nama-rupa out of his great compassion for all beings. He is secluded from others, in that the lusts of the world no more cling to him than water to a lotus leaf. He quenches desires in his fellow beings, practices charity, patience, tactfulness, energy, calmness, intelligence and the highest wisdom.

13. While in this life he knows the Dharma, but presents it in ways understood by the people, he knows he must be tactful and patient. Whatever men do to him he bears with equanimity, for he knows that it is through ignorance they misunderstand his motives. At the same time he never slackens his energy to benefit all beings, nor does he withdraw his mind from wisdom, therefore misfortune can never turn him from the righteous path.

14. In his eighth life he becomes Acala. In the stage of Acala, or ‘immovable,’ all strivings on the part of the Bodhisatta cease. He follows good spontaneously ; whatever he will do he will succeed in.

15. In his ninth life he becomes Sadhumati. This is the stage or condition of one who has vanquished and penetrated all dharmas or systems, all quarters, and does not enter time.

16. In his tenth life he becomes Dharmamegha. The Bodhisatta attains the infinite divine eye of a Buddha.

17. The Bodhisatta acquires these ten powers

I which are necessary for him when he becomes a Buddha.

18. The Bodhisatta must not only acquire these ten powers as he evolves from stage to stage but he must also practice to perfection the ten Paramitas.

19. One Paramita is to be the end of one life. Specialisation in the Paramitas must go stage by stage. One Paramita in one life and not a little of one and a little of the other.

20. It is only when he is doubly equipped that a Bodhisatta becomes qualified for becoming a Buddha. The Buddha is a culminating point in the life of a Bodhisatta.

21. The theory of the Jatakas or the birth stages of a Bodhisatta appears analogous to the Brahmanic theory of Avataras, i.e., the theory of incarnations of God.

22. The Jataka theory is based upon the Buddha having the highest degree of purity as the essence of his being.

23. The Avatar theory does not require that the God should be pure in his making. All that the Brahmanic theory of Avatar says is that God saves his followers by taking different forms although the God may be very impure and immoral in his conduct.

24. The theory that to be a Bodhisatta for ten lives as a condition precedent for becoming a Buddha has no parallel anywhere. No other religion calls upon its founder to answer such a test.

PART V The Buddha and His Predecessors

1. The Buddha and the Vedic Rishis. 2. Kapila—The Philosopher. 3. The Bramhanas. 4. The Upanishads and their Teachings.

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THE BUDDHA AND HIS PREDECESSORS

I § 1. The Buddha and the Vedic Rishis

1. The Vedas are a collection of Mantras, i.e., hymns or chants. The reciters of these hymns are called Rishis.

2. The Mantras are mere invocations to deities such as Indra, Varuna, Agni, Soma, Isana, Prajapati, Bramha, Mahiddhi, Yama and others.

3. The invocations are mere prayers for help against enemies, for gift of wealth, for accepting the offerings of food, flesh and wine from the devotee.

4. There is not much philosophy in the Vedas. But there were some Vedic sages who had entered into speculations of a philosophical nature.

5. These Vedic sages were : (1) Aghamarsana; (2)Prajapati Parmesthin; (3) Brahmanaspati, otherwise known as Brihaspati; (4) Anila; (5) Dirghatamas; (6) Narayan; (7) Hiranyagarbha; and (8) Visvakarman.

6. The main problems of these Vedic philosophers were : How did the world originate ? In what manner were individual things created ? Why have they their unity and existence ? Who created, and who ordained ? From what did the world spring up and to what again will it return ?

7. Aghamarsana said that the world was created out of Tapas (heat). Tapas was the creative principle from which eternal law and truth were born. From these were produced the night (tamas). Tamas produced water and from water originated time. Time gave birth to the sun and the moon, the heaven and the earth, the firmament and light and ordained the days and nights.

8. Brahmanaspati postulated the genesis of being from non-being. By the term non-existence, he denoted apparently the infinite. The existent originally sprang up from the non-existent. The non-existent (asat, nonens) was the permanent foundation of all that is existent (sat, ens) and of all that is possible and yet non-existent (asat).

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9. Prajapati Parmesthin started with the problem: “Did being come out of non-being ?” His view was that this was an irrelevant question. For him water was the original substance of that which exists. For him the original matter—water—came neither under the definition of being nor under that of non-being.

10. Paramesthin did not draw any distinction between matter and motive power. According to him water transformed itself into particular things by some inherent principle to which he gave the name Kama, Cosmic Desire.

11. Anila was another Vedic Philosopher. To him the principal element was air (vayu). It possesses the inherent capacity for movement. It is endowed with the generating principle.

12. Dirghtamas maintained that all living beings rest and depend ultimately on the sun. The sun held up and propelled by its inherent force went backward and forward.

13. The sun is composed of a grey coloured substance and so are lightning and fire.

14. The sun, lightning and fire formed the germ of water. Water forms the germ of plants. Such were the views of Dirghatamas.

15. According to Narayana, Purusha (God) is the first cause of the universe. It is from Purusha that the sun, the moon, the earth, water, fire, air, mid-air, the sky, the regions, the seasons, the creatures of the air, all animals, all classes of men, and all human institutions, had originated.

16. Hiranyagarbha. From doctrinal point of view he stood midway between Parmeshthin and Narayan, Hiranyagarbha means the golden germ. It was the great power of the universe, from which all other powers and existences, divine and earthly, were derived.

17. Hiranyagarbha means fire. It is fire that constituted the solar essence, the generating principle of the universe.

18. From the point of view of Vishvakarman it was quite inadequate and unsatisfactory to hold that water was the primitive substance of all that is, and

THE BUDDHA AND HIS PREDECESSORS

I then to derive from it this world as a whole by giving it an inherent power of movement. If water be the primitive substance which is endowed with the inherent principle of change, we have yet to account for that from which water derived its being, and derived the motive power, the generating principle, the elemental forces, the laws and all the rest.

19. Vishvakarman held the view that it was God which was the motive power. God is first and God is last. He is earlier than the visible universe ; he had existed before all cosmic forces came into being. He is the sole God who created and ordained this universe. God is one, and the only one. He is the unborn one (aja) in whom all the existing things abide. He is the one who is mighty in mind and supreme in power. He is the maker—the disposer. As father he generated us, and as disposer he knows the fate of all that is.

20. The Buddha did not regard all the Vedic Sages as worthy of reverence. He regarded just ten Vedic Rishis as the most ancient and as the real authors of the Mantras.

21. But in the Mantras he saw nothing that was morally elevating.

22. In his view the Vedas were as worthless as a desert.

23. The Buddha, therefore, discarded the Mantras as a source from which to learn or to borrow.

24. Similarly, the Buddha did not find anything in the philosophy of the Vedic Rishis. They were groping to reach the truth. But they had not reached it.

25. Their theories were mere speculations not based on logic nor on facts. Their contributions to philosophy created no social values.

26. He therefore rejected the philosophy of the Vedic Rishis as useless.

§2. Kapila-The Philosopher

1. Among the ancient philosophers of India the most pre-eminent was Kapila.

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2. His philosophical approach was unique, and as philosopher he stood in a class by himself. His philosophy was known as the Sankhya Philosophy.

3. The tenets of his philosophy were of a startling nature.

4. Truth must be supported by proof. This is the first tenet of the Sankhya system. There is no truth without proof.

5. For purposes of proving the truth Kapila allowed only two means of proof—(1) perception and (2) inference.

6. By perception is meant mental apprehension of a present object.

7. Inference is threefold : (1) from cause to effect, as from the presence of clouds to rain ; (2) from effect to cause, as from the swelling of the streams in the valleys to rain in the hills, and (3) by analogy, as when we infer from the fact that a man alters his place when he moves that the stars must also move, since they appear in different places.

8. His next tenet related to causality—creation and its cause.

9. Kapila denied the theory that there was a being who created the universe. In his view a created thing really exists beforehand in its cause just as the clay serves to form a pot, or the threads go to form a piece of cloth.

10. This is the first ground on which Kapila rejected the theory that the universe was created by a being.

11. But there are other grounds which he advanced in support of his point of view.

12. The non-existent cannot be the subject of an activity : There is no new creation. The product is really nothing else than the material of which it is composed : the product exists before its coming into being in the shape of its material of which it is composed. Only a definite product can be produced from such material ; and only a specific material can yield a specific result.

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13. What then is the source of the empirical universe ?

14. Kapila said the empirical universe consists of things evolved (Vyakta) and things that are not evolved (Avyakta).

15. Individual things (Vyakta Vastu) cannot be the source of unevolved things (Avyakta Vastu).

16. Individual things are all limited in magnitude and this is incompatible with the nature of the source of the universe.

17. All individual things are analogous, one to another and, therefore, no one can be regarded as the final source of the other. Moreover, as they all come into being from a source, they cannot constitute that source.

18. Further, argued Kapila, an effect must differ from its cause, though it must consist of the cause. That being so, the universe cannot itself be the final cause. It must be the product of some ultimate cause.

19. When asked why the unevolved cannot be perceived, why does it not show movement which would make it perceivable, Kapila replied :

20. “It may be due to various causes. It may be that its fine nature makes it imperceptible, just as other things of whose existence there is no doubt, cannot be perceived ; or because of their too great a distance or proximity ; or through the intervention of a third object, or through admixture with similar matter ; or through the presence of some more powerful sensation, or the blindness or other defect of the senses or the mind of the observer.”

21. When asked : “What then is the source of the universe ? What makes the difference between the evolved and unevolved part of the universe ?

22. Kapila’s reply was : ‘Things that have evolved have a cause and the things that have not evolved have also a cause. But the source of both is uncaused and independent.’

23. “The things that have evolved are many in number and limited in space and name. The source is one, eternal and all-pervasive. The things evolved

I have activities and parts : the source is imminent in all, but has neither activities nor parts.”

24. Kapila argued that the process of development of the unevolved is through the activities of three constituents of which it is made up, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. These are called three Gunas.

25. The first of the constituents, or factors, corresponds to what we call as light in nature, which reveals, which causes pleasure to men ; the second is that impels and moves, what produces activity ; the third is what is heavy and puts under restraint, what produces the state of indifference or inactivity.

26. The three constituents act essentially in close relation, they overpower and support one another and intermingle with one another. They are like the constituents of a lamp, the flame, the oil and wick.

27. When the three Gunas are in perfect balance, none overpowering the other, the universe appears static (Achetan) and ceases to evolve.

28. When the three Gunas are not in balance, one overpowers the other, the universe becomes dynamic (sachetan) and evolution begins.

29. Asked why the Gunas become unbalanced, the answer which Kapila gave was this disturbance in the balance of the three Gunas was due to the presence of Dukha (suffering).

30. Such were the tenets of Kapila’s philosophy.

31. Of all the philosophers the Buddha was greatly impressed by the doctrines of Kapila.

32. He was the only philosopher whose teachings appeared to the Buddha to be based on logic and facts.

33. But he did not accept everything which Kapila taught. Only three things did the Buddha accept from Kapila.

34. He accepted that reality must rest on proof. Thinking must be based on rationalism.

35. He accepted that there was no logical or factual basis for the presumption that God exists or that he created the universe.

36. He accepted that there was Dukha (suffering) in the world.

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37. The rest of Kapila’s teachings he just bypassed as being irrelevant for his purpose.

§ 3. The Bramhanas

1. Next to the Vedas are the religious books known as the Bramhanas. Both were held as sacred books. Indeed the Bramhanas are a part of the Vedas. The two went together and were called by a common name Sruti.

2. There were four theses on which the Bramhanic Philosophy rested.

3. The first thesis was that the Vedas are not only sacred but that they are infallible and they are not to be questioned.

4. The second thesis of the Bramhanic Philosophy was that salvation of the soul—that is escape from transmigration—can be had only by the due performance of Vedic sacrifices and observances of religious rites and ceremonies and the offering of gifts to Brahmins.

5. The Brahmins had not only a theory of an ideal religion as contained in the Vedas but they also had a theory for an ideal society.

6. The pattern of this ideal society they named Chaturvarna. It is imbedded in the Vedas and as the Vedas are infallible and as their authority cannot be questioned so also Chaturvarna as a pattern of society was binding and unquestionable.

7. This pattern of society was based upon certain rules.

8. The first rule was that society should be divided into four classes: (1) Brahmins; (2) Kshatriyas; (3) Vaishyas; and (4) Shudras.

9. The second rule was that there cannot be social equality among these four classes. They must be bound together by the rule of graded inequality.

10. The Brahmins to be at the top, the Kshatriyas to be kept below the Brahmins but above the Vaishyas, the Vaishyas to be below the Kshatriyas but above the Shudras and the Shudras to be the lowest of all.

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11. These four classes were not to be equal to one another in the matter of rights and privileges. The rule of graded inequality governed the question of rights and privileges.

12. The Brahmin had all the rights and privileges which he wished to claim. But a Kshatriya could not claim the rights and privileges which a Brahmin could. He had more rights and privileges than a Vaishya could claim. The Vaishya had more rights and privileges than a Shudra. But he could not claim the rights and privileges which a Kshatriya could. And the Shudra was not entitled to any right, much less any privilege. His privilege was to subsist without offending the three superior classes.

13. The third rule of Chaturvarna related to the division of occupations. The occupation of the Brahmin was learning and teaching and the performance of religious observances. The occupations of the Kshatriya was fighting. Trade was assigned to the Vaishyas. The occupations of the Shudras was service of the three superior classes. These occupations assigned to different classes were exclusive. One class could not trespass upon the occupation of the other.

14. The fourth rule of Chaturvarna related to the right to education. The pattern of Chaturvarna gave the right to education to the first three classes, the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. The Shudras were denied the right to education. This rule of Chaturvarna did not deny the right to education to the Shudras only. It denied the right to education to all women including those belonging to the class of Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas.

15. There was a fifth rule. According to it, man’s life was divided into four stages. The first stage was called Bramhacharya ; the second stage was called Grahastashram; the third stage was called Vanaprasta and the fourth stage was called Sannyasa.

16. The object of the first stage was study and education. The object of the second stage was to live a married life. The object of the third stage was