Hinduism was the outcome of an epistemic and religious accumulation of the Indian heritage. Based on that heritage, Hinduism took its shape over thousands and thousands of years becoming the real embodiment of the nationalist personality in the Indian society. On the other hand, the rise of Buddhism was ascribed to a particular person who appeared in a context of an absolute and a conclusive rejection of Hindu practices. In other words, grounded on spiritual, metaphysical and political principles, Buddhism came as a movement of social reform negating and renouncing the Hindu caste system that furnished the two ruling castes - the Brahman (priests) and the Kshatriya (warriors) - with clear and distinct privileges. Moreover, Buddhism was opened to members of all castes; actually, it was dependent on the less important social classes denying that a person’s spiritual worth is a matter of birth; let alone that Buddhism firmly held the idea of the necessity to curtail, if not demolish, the infinite power of Brahmans.
Furthermore, Buddhism believed in the transmigration of the souls and the afterlife, which are affected by Karma - it consists of a person’s acts and their ethical consequences - and destiny - the consequential events that inevitably happen to human beings. Nonetheless, it asserted that the accurate ritual celebrations dictated by laws would never stop the stream or the number of births; what really affects them is the implementation of virtues, which is carried out due to the motivation of personal responsibility. Hence, Buddhism endeavored to annihilate the privileges of the hereditary social system that divides people into classes according to their rank, wealth, or profession, or that of the family into which they were born - the classification that provides the solid foundation of Brahman society. Afterwards, Buddhism became a kind of social revolution, it eagerly accepted, without any distinction or differentiation, all the persons who aspired to revoke and destroy the power of Brahmans.
As the “General History of Civilizations” encyclopedia mentions, Buddhism rests, in its spiritual teachings, on the principle of the struggle between good and evil. According to Buddhism, the release from the round of phenomenal existence - transmigration - with its inherent suffering is realized through practicing the virtue of loving-kindness towards all creatures, through humbleness and through self-denial or the great renunciation. All the more so, Buddhism believes in the redemption theory because without the presence of a savior people will suffer from the undesirable consequences of their doings. That savior would be the Buddha Sakyamuni (sage of the Sakyas) for the present cosmic period and the Buddha Maitreya; the Master of the next era. The future Buddha will be reborn in a period of decline to renew the doctrine of the founder of Buddhism - the Buddha - and his appearance will be preceded by the vanishment of the world. In “The Circle of Knowledge”, Al-Bustani points to the fact that, on the whole, the widely-spread belief of Buddhism regards the Brahmans’ worshipped idols and deities as lower in level and degree than the Buddha as well as than the revered priests; making from human beings, as a consequence, more important and higher in rank than those sanctified figures.
Actually, the Buddha is not an incarnation of a transcendental being; nay, he is perfect just by himself - adds Al-Bustani. The Vedas state also that virtues, piety, meditation, and wisdom are the holiest among all adorations and worships. The virtue of Indians lies mainly in carrying out self-denial, in suppressing one’s desires and cravings, in counteracting and subjugating one’s will, in being merciful and showing sympathy towards all creatures, in uprooting sins, etc… which will eventually lead to a limitless and endless knowledge. In early stages, Buddhism was simple, moral and rational. It was opposed to mythology, philosophy, rituals, festivals and the priestly profession; it was at the highest levels of excellence and compassion; it was very tractable and easy-going inviting all people to join it without any discrimination between them based on their status and position.
Well, Buddhism tried to widely open the path towards salvation for all people declaring that it can be attained by leading a pure life and a pure comportment. However, we notice that some reservations were held regarding the issue of dividing people into classes, for Buddhism refrained from, explicitly and frankly, forbidding that approach as well as it refrained from verifying its observance.
Buddhism, a major world religion, founded in northeastern India and based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is known as the Buddha, or Enlightened One. And ‘the Buddha’ is an Indian name meaning knowledgeable, wise, or sage; later on, this word became the symbolization of a series of Buddhist teachers that people worshipped and were related to.
The widely held belief is that a countless number of Buddhas had appeared to save the world and that our present time is also witnessing one of them. The Buddha is known too as Sakyamuni (the Saint) or the ascetic Sakya and he is believed to have been born by the year 563 B.C. One of the Buddha’s achievements is that he reformed and corrected Brahmanism by inserting in it a simple code of faith and by altering its harsh legislations, customs and traditions introducing other ethical, kind and tender legislations - said Al-Bustani in The Circle of Knowledge. Al-Bustani, moreover, says that the Buddha was also called Buddha Sarkathasitha (meaning all the required had been fulfilled). Seven days after his birth, his mother - Maya - died and he was left to his aunt Braja Batti Gautama (meaning the owner of the world) to take care of him; afterwards, he was called Gautama.According to the Buddhist story, the conception of Maya with Buddha was miraculous; it was like a five-color beam of light and he was born in the form of a white elephant. The moment of his birth some glorious and amazing miracles occurred; and he immediately announced his mission.As it is stated in the Gospel of Buddha, the story of his delivery under the Malbini tree says: “His light spread and filled the world and suddenly the eyes of the blind were opened to see the glory descending from heaven; the deaf-and-dumb spoke and heard.” Among the related imaginational Indian myths speaking about the birth of Buddha is that the hands of Brahmans caught him as he were brought into life and that he stood up at once and talked.
Stories were also narrated about his mother when she delivered him: “And when she wanted to get up, she stretched her hand reaching for a tree branch; the latter, automatically and spontaneously, bent over her until it reached her palm. As soon as she stood up, a new baby born was lying underneath her received by four Brahmans in a dragnet, the interlaced threads of which were made of golden wires. Instantaneously, the newborn child rose, made seven steps forward and then said in a sweet voice: I am the master of this world… and this life is my last one.” That is what Suleiman Mazhar reported in his research published in Al-‘Arabi magazine.
The Buddha was the son of the head of the Sakya warrior caste; the ruler of a petty kingdom. The young prince was raised in a sheltered luxury. Yielding to his father's wishes, he married at an early age and participated in the worldly life of the court. After he had begotten a son, the Buddha started to worry about the destiny of human beings and realized how empty his life to this point had been, especially with regard to all the sufferings and pains that he had seen; the sufferings that all people are inflicted with from those who have no means of subsistence, to those who walk around searching vainly for something to eat, to those who have nothing but torn clothes to wear, to those who had been beaten by fatal diseases and illnesses, etc… At that stage, the Buddha deeply discovered that suffering is the common lot of humankind and found his carefree, self-indulgent existence dull and disgusting.
So, he renounced earthly attachments, left home and embarked on a quest for peace and enlightenment, seeking release from the cycle of rebirths - this decision, known in Buddhism as the Great Renunciation, is celebrated by Buddhists as a turning point in history. For the next few years, he wandered with Hindu monks, practiced yoga and adopted a life of radical asceticism, carrying through the most austere and severe self-denial. Eventually he gave up this approach as fruitless and instead adopted a middle path between the life of indulgence and that of self-denial. About 528, while sitting under a tree near Gaya, in what is now Buddh Gaya in the state of Bihar, he meditated, rising through a series of higher states of consciousness until he attained the Great Enlightenment which revealed the way of salvation from suffering.
Once having known this ultimate religious truth, the Buddha began to preach, wandering from place to place, gathering a body of disciples, and organizing them into a monastic community known as the sangha. In this way he spent the rest of his life. After 45 years of missionary activity Buddha died in Kusinagara, Nepal, as a result of eating contaminated pork. He was about 80 years old.Buddhists gave the Buddha a divine status - as it is related in the Gospel of Buddha. He became the model to be imitated, the mission to be sought, and the pattern to be treaded.
His behavior and approach in life became the demanded and desired goal to achieve, and the wished immortality requested by all humankind became accessible through the union with the Buddha - attained through the “Nirvana”. “Let us go to Buddha who found immortality in death. Let us go to Buddha who never disappears. Let us go to Buddha who never changes our existence. Let us go to Buddha the truth that emanates from us a revolution.” Thus, Anoroda, the successor of the Buddha was reported to have said to Buddhism followers: “Gautama Siddhartha was the visible truth amongst us. He is the one, the divine, the perfect and the blessed. To him and in him, the supreme truth was revealed, it became a human being and he declared it to us.” Accordingly, to Buddhists, the Buddha becomes the eternal, the holy, the complete, and the law; and without the unification with him, life is null.
The Buddha was an oral teacher; he left no written body of thought. His beliefs were codified by later followers , and they can be outlined as follows:.
a-The Four Noble TruthsAt the core of the Buddha’s enlightenment was the realization of the Four Noble Truths: (1) Life is suffering. This is more than a mere recognition of the presence of suffering in existence. It is a statement that, in its very nature, human existence is essentially painful from the moment of birth to the moment of death. Even death brings no relief, for the Buddha accepted the Hindu idea of life as cyclical, with death leading to further rebirth. (2) All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment, and grasping that result from such ignorance. (3) Suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment. (4) The path to the suppression of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation.
These eight are usually divided into three categories that form the cornerstone of Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadhi, or concentrationb- AnatmanBuddhism analyzes human existence as made up of five aggregates or “bundles” (skandhas): the material body, feelings, perceptions, predispositions or karmic tendencies, and consciousness. A person is only a temporary combination of these aggregates, which are subject to continual change. No one remains the same for any two consecutive moments. Buddhists deny that the aggregates individually or in combination may be considered a permanent, independently existing self or soul (atman). Indeed, they regard it as a mistake to conceive of any lasting unity behind the elements that constitute an individual. The Buddha held that belief in such a self results in egoism, craving, and hence in suffering. Thus he taught the doctrine of anatman, or the denial of a permanent soul. He felt that all existence is characterized by the three marks of anatman (no soul), anitya (impermanence), and dukkha (suffering). The doctrine of anatman made it necessary for the Buddha to reinterpret the Indian idea of repeated rebirth in the cycle of phenomenal existence known as samsara.
To this end he taught the doctrine of pratityasamutpada, or dependent origination. This 12-linked chain of causation shows how ignorance in a previous life creates the tendency for a combination of aggregates to develop. These in turn cause the mind and senses to operate. Sensations result, which lead to craving and a clinging to existence. This condition triggers the process of becoming once again, producing a renewed cycle of birth, old age, and death. Through this causal chain a connection is made between one life and the next. What is posited is a stream of renewed existences, rather than a permanent being that moves from life to life - in effect a belief in rebirth without transmigration.
c- KarmaClosely related to this belief is the doctrine of karma. Karma consists of a person’s acts and their ethical consequences. Human actions lead to rebirth, wherein good deeds are inevitably rewarded and evil deeds punished. Thus, neither undeserved pleasure nor unwarranted suffering exists in the world, but rather a universal justice. The karmic process operates through a kind of natural moral law rather than through a system of divine judgment. One’s karma determines such matters as one’s species, beauty, intelligence, longevity, wealth, and social status. According to the Buddha, karma of varying types can lead to rebirth as a human, an animal, a hungry ghost, a denizen of hell, or even one of the Hindu gods.Although never actually denying the existence of the gods, Buddhism denies them any special role. Their lives in heaven are long and pleasurable, but they are in the same predicament as other creatures, being subject eventually to death and further rebirth in lower states of existence.
They are not creators of the universe or in control of human destiny, and Buddhism denies the value of prayer and sacrifice to them. Of the possible modes of rebirth, human existence is preferable, because the deities are so engrossed in their own pleasures that they lose sight of the need for salvation. Enlightenment is possible only for humans.d- NirvanaThe ultimate goal of the Buddhist path is release from the round of phenomenal existence with its inherent suffering. To achieve this goal is to attain nirvana, an enlightened state in which the fires of greed, hatred, and ignorance have been quenched. Not to be confused with total annihilation, nirvana is a state of consciousness beyond definition. After attaining nirvana, the enlightened individual may continue to live, burning off any remaining karma until a state of final nirvana (parinirvana) is attained at the moment of death.In theory, the goal of nirvana is attainable by anyone, although it is a realistic goal only for members of the monastic community.
For those unable to pursue the ultimate goal, the proximate goal of better rebirth through improved karma is an option. This lesser goal is generally pursued by lay Buddhists in the hope that it will eventually lead to a life in which they are capable of pursuing final enlightenment as members of the sangha.The ethic that leads to nirvana is detached and inner-oriented. It involves cultivating four virtuous attitudes, known as the Palaces of Brahma: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. The ethic that leads to better rebirth, however, is centered on fulfilling one’s duties to society. It involves acts of charity, especially support of the sangha, as well as observance of the five precepts that constitute the basic moral code of Buddhism.
The precepts prohibit killing, stealing, harmful language, sexual misbehavior, and the use of intoxicants. By observing these precepts, the three roots of evil - lust, hatred, and delusion - may be overcome.
Shortly before his death, the Buddha refused his disciples’ request to appoint a successor, telling his followers to work out their own salvation with diligence. At that time Buddhist teachings existed only in oral traditions, and it soon became apparent that a new basis for maintaining the community’s unity and purity was needed. Thus, the monastic order met periodically to reach agreement on matters of doctrine and practice. Four such meetings have been focused on in the traditions as major councils.The first council was held at Rajagrha (present-day Rajgir) immediately after the Buddha’s death. Presided over by a monk named Mahakasyapa, its purpose was to recite and agree on the Buddha’s actual teachings and on proper monastic discipline.
About a century later, a second great council is said to have met at Vaishali. Its purpose was to deal with ten questionable monastic practices - the use of money, the drinking of palm wine, and other irregularities of monks from the Vajjian Confederacy; the council declared these practices unlawful. Some scholars trace the origins of the first major split in Buddhism to this event, holding that the accounts of the council refer to the schism between the Mahasanghikas, or Great Assembly, and the stricter Sthaviras, or Elders. More likely, however, the split between these two groups became formalized at another meeting held some 37 years later as a result of the continued growth of tensions within the sangha over disciplinary issues, the role of the laity, and the nature of the arhat (Theravada Buddhism an individual who has achieved enlightenment by following the Eightfold Path is known as an arhat, or worthy one, a type of solitary saint). In time, further subdivisions within these groups resulted in 18 schools that differed on philosophical matters, religious questions, and points of discipline. Of these 18 traditional sects, only Theravada survives.
The third council at Pataliputra (present-day Patna) was called by King Ashoka in the 3rd century bc. Convened by the monk Moggaliputta Tissa, it was held in order to purify the sangha of the large number of false monks and heretics who had joined the order because of its royal patronage. This council refuted the offending viewpoints and expelled those who held them. A fourth council, under the patronage of King Kanishka, was held about ad 100 at Jalandhar or in Kashmir. Both branches of Buddhism may have participated in this council, which aimed at creating peace among the various sects, but Theravada Buddhists refuse to recognize its authenticity.
While the more conservative monks - the stricter Sthaviras and later on Theravada Buddhism - continued to honor the Buddha as a perfectly enlightened human teacher, the liberal wing of Mahasanghikas developed a new concept. They considered the Buddha an eternal, omnipresent, transcendental being. They speculated that the human Buddha was but an apparition of the transcendental Buddha that was created for the benefit of humankind. In this understanding of the Buddha nature, Mahasanghika thought is something of a prototype of Mahayana.Mahayana and HinayanaBuddhism today is divided into two major branches known to their respective followers as Theravada, the Way of the Elders, and Mahayana, the Great Vehicle. Followers of Mahayana refer to Theravada using the derogatory term Hinayana, the Lesser Vehicle and they have traditionally regarded their doctrine as the full revelation of the nature and teachings of the Buddha, in opposition to the earlier Theravada tradition (Hinayana).
The most probable forerunners of Mahayana were the Mahasanghikas (Followers of the Great Assembly), a liberal branch of the Buddhist community that broke away from the more conservative mainstream some time before the reign of Indian king Ashoka in the 3rd century B.C. Mahayana thinkers of later periods categorized the Mahasanghikas as one of the 18 schools of Hinayana Buddhism, but when Mahayana first emerged, it resembled Mahasanghika in several areas of doctrinal interpretation. The most significant Mahayana innovation was the view of the Buddha as a supernatural being who assumed a transformation body (nirmana-kaya) to be born as the historical Buddha.
The Mahayana believes in the eternal Buddha and in his threefold nature, or triple “body” (trikaya). These aspects are the body of essence, the body of communal bliss, and the body of transformation. The body of essence represents the ultimate nature of the Buddha. Beyond form, it is the unchanging absolute and is spoken of as consciousness or the void. This essential Buddha nature manifests itself, taking on heavenly form as the body of communal bliss. In this form the Buddha sits in godlike splendor, preaching in the heavens. Lastly, the Buddha nature appears on earth in human form to convert humankind. Such an appearance is known as a body of transformation. The Buddha has taken on such an appearance countless times. Mahayana considers the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, only one example of the body of transformation. Another important new concept in Mahayana is that of the bodhisattva or enlightenment being, as the ideal toward which the good Buddhist should aspire.
A bodhisattva is an individual who has attained perfect enlightenment but delays entry into final nirvana in order to make possible the salvation of all other sentient beings. The bodhisattva transfers merit built up over many lifetimes to less fortunate creatures. The key attributes of this social saint are compassion and loving-kindness.Theravada was the only tradition among the so-called Eighteen Schools of early Buddhism to survive the first centuries after the Buddha's death in the 5th century B.C. The Theravada school traces its descent from the original sangha, or monastic community that first followed the Buddha. Its canon of scripture consists of the Tipitaka (Three Baskets), the first great compendium of Buddhist writings, composed in the Pali language. Theravada tends toward doctrinal conservatism, exemplified in a cautious interpretation of its canon. The goal of the Theravadin, or devotee of Theravada, is to become an arhat, a sage who has achieved nirvana (enlightenment) and will never be reborn.
Mahayana traditionally prefers the figure of the bodhisattva - who, out of compassion, helps others toward salvation - to the arhat, who is concerned chiefly with his own salvation. Theravada claims to abide by the original teachings of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. Theravada doctrine reveres the Buddha as a single supremely gifted, yet mortal, teacher, in contrast to the succession of transcendent beings postulated by Mahayana. Some Theravada scriptures list other Buddhas, but in general the emphasis is on the one historical Buddha, on the grounds that no universe can bear more than one Buddha without shattering.
Buddhism spread rapidly throughout the land of its birth. Missionaries dispatched by King Ashoka introduced the religion to southern India and to the northwest part of the subcontinent. According to inscriptions from the Ashokan period, missionaries were sent to countries along the Mediterranean, although without success.King Ashoka’s son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta are credited with the conversion of Sri Lanka. From the beginning of its history there, Theravada was the state religion of Sri Lanka where the most famous trace of Buddha still exist; that is one of his teeth. According to tradition, Theravada was carried to Myanmar from Sri Lanka during the reign of Ashoka, but no firm evidence of its presence there appears until the 5th century ad. From Myanmar, Theravada spread to the area of modern Thailand in the 6th century. It was adopted by the Thai people when they finally entered the region from southwestern China between the 12th and 14th centuries. With the rise of the Thai Kingdom, it was adopted as the state religion.
Theravada was adopted by the royal house in Laos during the 14th century. Both Mahayana and Hinduism had begun to influence Cambodia by the end of the 2nd century ad. After the 14th century, however, under Thai influence, Theravada gradually replaced the older establishment as the primary religion in Cambodia. About the beginning of the Christian era, Buddhism was carried to Central Asia. From there it entered China along the trade routes by the early 1st century ad. Although opposed by the Confucian orthodoxy and subject to periods of persecution in 446, 574-77, and 845, Buddhism was able to take root, influencing Chinese culture and, in turn, adapting itself to Chinese ways.
The major influence of Chinese Buddhism ended with the great persecution of 845, although the meditative Zen, or Ch’an (from Sanskrit dhyana, “meditation”), sect and the devotional Pure Land sect continued to be important. From China, Buddhism continued its spread. Confucian authorities discouraged its expansion into Vietnam, but Mahayana’s influence there was beginning to be felt as early as ad 189. According to traditional sources, Buddhism first arrived in Korea from China in ad 372. From this date Korea was gradually converted through Chinese influence over a period of centuries. Buddhism was carried into Japan from Korea. It was known to the Japanese earlier, but the official date for its introduction is usually given as ad 552. It was proclaimed the state religion of Japan in 594 by Prince Shotoku. Buddhism was first introduced into Tibet through the influence of foreign wives of the king, beginning in the 7th century ad. By the middle of the next century, it had become a significant force in Tibetan culture.
A key figure in the development of Tibetan Buddhism was the Indian monk Padmasambhava, who arrived in Tibet in 747. His main interest was the spread of Tantric Buddhism, which became the primary form of Buddhism in Tibet. Indian and Chinese Buddhists vied for influence, and the Chinese were finally defeated and expelled from Tibet near the end of the 8th century. Some seven centuries later Tibetan Buddhists had adopted the idea that the abbots of its great monasteries were reincarnations of famous bodhisattvas. Thereafter, the chief of these abbots became known as the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet as a theocracy from the middle of the 17th century until the seizure of Tibet by China in 1950. As Al-Suhmurani and Coller say, Buddhists count today more than 400 millions persons. They mainly reside in India, Nepal, China, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. And they constitute the majority of the population in Burma or Myanmar, Central Asia, Tibet, Thailand, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, and so forth…
First of all, Buddhists firmly believe that this world is vain and empty; that our earthly life is illusive and deceptive; that nihility is always around at any time and any place; and that this same nihility destroys all the obstacles that separate or discriminate between people according to their classes, identities and worldly positions. And it is believed that the last expression Buddha Sakyamuni uttered is that every organic body is mortal. The ultimate Buddhist objective is to free the soul from all pains and all vanities and to, eventually, terminate the endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth which is achieved through the purification of one’s spirit from all desires and inclinations even from the desire of existence. Here comes the belief in the enlightened state of Nirvana and the complete union with the Buddha that we have previously dealt with.
In the Circle of Knowledge, Al-Bustani also says that the fundamental element that stimulated Buddha’s divinity is sufferings. He found that labor, longevity, sickness, death, hardships, helplessness, separation from love ones, etc… he found that all of these matters are painful and if a person wanted to be released from such agony, he must then abandon his psychological and physical cravings and desires.
In brief, the Buddhist literature greatly enjoins Buddhists to keep away from evil, carry out all good deeds, and refine the mind. As for myths, sacrifices, offerings, disciplines, mysteries, philosophy, and priestly system; they were introduced later to Buddhism as time went on, in different countries and under different circumstances.Buddhist aphorisms or teachings, intended to provide ethical guidance, included a collection of 250 commandments ten of which are the most essential and they are - as the Circle of Knowledge stated - : don’t kill, don’t steal, be chaste, don’t lie, don’t get drunk, don’t eat after midday, don’t sing or dance, avoid any ornamented clothes, don’t use large beds, don’t accept precious metals. Another five precepts concentrate on the respect that should be presented to the Buddha, the legislation, and the priests.
Maintaining an honest behavior, preserving a good health, and making sure to acquire a certain level of education are enough qualities to join the monastic order even at a very young age. The novice is required not to eat but leftovers, to wear stained rags as a piece of clothing, to live next to trees, to utilize the urine of cows as medicine, and finally to never brag about supernatural powers. Buddhist monks always wear yellow or orange robes as a sign of their souls’ enlightenment and brightness. The clothing of monks is constituted of vest worn under the robe that reaches their knees and that is tightened on top of the left shoulder. This costume is worn even at night, and whoever loses his robe would be considered as having lost his priestly quality. The disparity between countries, sects, and priestly ranks or degrees has resulted in a clothing dissimilarity - that is what the Dhammapada (Way of Truth) stated and what Doctor Ra’ouf Shalabi mentioned in his appendix.
The Lamas - the Tibetan or Mongolian Buddhist monks - used to put on a crimson or purple piece of clothing. Moreover, they used to cut precious and modern materials into pieces then sprinkle them with dust as a literal implementation of their legislation texts. People who wear the yellow uniform are supposed to “purify their bodies from within; otherwise, they won’t be worthy enough to wear these clothes.” Buddhists believe that deeds and their ethical consequences follow the human being and motivate him to work; and since the inner purity is the stimulator, “the consequences of one’s deeds follow the catalyst for work, just like the wheels of a carriage follow the hooves of the animal that pulls it.” On that account, asceticism and sound mind become two powerful weapons that can stand firmly and resolutely against the waves of instincts and impulses to get, eventually, liberated from the yoke of cravings. To the Buddha, the virtue is the ultimate end that each person should seek after. The texts of the dharma - moral system or eternal truth in Buddhism - said: “Whomsoever strives for his aims and objectives based on virtues, gets stronger for he enjoyed a sound and reasonable mind and ridded himself from the worldly attachments and desires.”
All the more so, the Buddha regarded asceticism and self-denial as the advisable path of sage men in order to get away from dark and gloomy roads and to find the right way towards light: “Let every wise man be ready to abandon the somber path and to head towards light. And when he forsakes his home and find no place to reside in; he would be, indeed, in the right path of asceticism and self-denial.” From forests a Buddhist should make a home, a place where he would be pleased for no human being will disturb his peace and isolation. The Dhammapada says: “The forest is the place that ensures happiness for a pure and virtuous human being. He will no longer meet ordinary people for he had liberated his soul from its drives and impulses and abandoned any search to satisfy its desires. Comfort, happiness and serenity will eventually find their way to his heart.”Verily, Buddhism had deeply affected people’s convictions and beliefs. Some of them had, actually, led the life of isolation just to escape the confrontation of hardships and adversities.
Buddhists say: “The best between a person who had imprisoned thousand people and another who had imprisoned the cravings of his soul is the latter. Certainly, holding sway over your desires is a lot harder and better than holding sway over other people. And the one who has control over himself is the one who can purify his soul and can free it from sins.”As for the way Buddhist society treated women, we notice that it regarded them as inferior human beings and dealt with them with great negativity. In fact, the call to lead a monastic and isolated life and the call to forsake society and live in forests; those calls and rituals preached by the Buddha had a bad influence on the nature of the relationship between men and women. As a matter of fact, the Buddha advised men to be careful and very attentive when approaching women.In a nutshell, we can deduce that, in the beginning, the Buddhism founded by the Buddha did not impose a particular motto or maxim on its followers nor did it oblige them to offer special worship. However, after his death, Buddhism soon buckled down to practicing a set of worship and rites and to building temples.
Buddha renounced and fought the caste system that divided society into classes. He believed in transmigration, and made from asceticism, self-denial and isolation a pattern of life. He called his followers to head in that pattern and to adopt the harsh and strict monastic order in order to liberate themselves from the cravings and desires of their souls. So, in a word, according to the Buddha, freedom lay in resorting to forests and nature for meditation; a way that turned out to be very negative in resolving difficulty and defying the challenges of life.
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