Buddhism’s Origin and Development
Buddhism had an extremely humble beginning for a religion that is now known throughout the world. Having its origin in the 6th century B.C.E., makes Buddhism one of the oldest religions in the world as well. The teachings of Buddhism developed, in many ways, as a rejection of some of the concepts of Hinduism, which was then the dominant religion in India. From one man’s enlightenment to our modern world of today, Buddhism has evolved and adapted to the various cultures and countries it has encountered, which has enabled it to survive into the 21st century.
In 563 B.C.E., a prince was born into the clan of the Shakyas at the beginning of the Magadha period (564-324 B.C.E.) in the southern Himalayan town of Lumbini, which is in Southern Nepal/Northern India. His name was Siddhartha Gautama, but he would later be known simply as the Buddha, which means “the awakened one.” Gautama’s father sought to keep his son isolated from the realities of the world – including old age, death, and suffering – and he succeeded for approximately 30 years. Gautama’s life during those years was one of absolute luxury, and he had no idea what life was like outside of his protected existence. Nevertheless, that life would change as, despite the best efforts of his father, he began to come into contact with the outside world and the realities of human existence.
Gautama, greatly disturbed by what he had seen, determined to set out on his own to search for enlightenment. His first course of action was to align himself with a group of ascetics (individuals pursuing spiritual disciplines, including self-denial like fasting and celibacy, in order to strengthen the spiritual life). In spite of this, Gautama was not able to find enlightenment through such efforts. In fact, he determined that even asceticism was meaningless and chose a path of moderation – seeking to avoid all extremes. One of Buddha’s primary goals was to escape from the endless (as taught in Hinduism) cycle of reincarnations that each person had to endure. This was the point in his life that Gautama made the decision to sit alone under a fig tree until he reached his goal of ultimate enlightenment. As described by Flanagan (2004), “At the age of thirty-five, the Buddha sat beneath what is referred to as the Bodhi tree and it was there that he finally achieved enlightenment. He had finally found that ineffable state of perfect bliss and knowledge.” Here, at the age of 35, this formerly spoiled prince finally succeeded. Now his name Buddha had its full application, as Buddha Siddhartha Gautama had reached a level of understanding – or so it is believed – that had never been attained by any human in history.
How many years passed before Buddhism began to expand beyond this humble beginning? According to Wikipedia (2005), “Before the royal sponsorship of Ashoka in the 3rd century B.C.E., Buddhism seems to have remained a relatively minor phenomenon and the historicity of its formative events is poorly established.” Nearly three centuries after its inception, Buddhism finally spread beyond the borders of India.
While Buddha had refused to outline specific doctrines that would define this new religion, those who followed him did not believe similarly, which led to numerous schisms and movements under the broad umbrella of Buddhism. His original teaching consisted of basic concepts, called The Four Noble Truths, as well as The Eightfold Path. In regards to The Four Noble Truths, Flanagan (2004) states, “These encapsulate the essential teaching of Buddhism: 1. The Noble Truth of Suffering 2. The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering 3. The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering 4. The Noble Truth that leads to the Extinction of Suffering.” The Eightfold path is the path to Nirvana as outlined by the Buddha. It offers a framework for the development of wisdom, morality and concentration, all of which are essential for spiritual progress. Buddha refused to further clarify these teachings or even completely explain how his followers could reach true enlightenment.
Over the succeeding several centuries, numerous Buddhist Councils were convened – such as the one convened by Ashoka, referred to earlier – in an attempt to organize the thoughts and teachings of The Buddha into consistent doctrine. The results were less than hoped for in regards to the original goals of the organizers, however the schisms that were created – including Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana – led to the eventual expansion of the religion. By the 1st century B.C.E., it appears that Buddhist culture had begun to interact with Greek culture. As Buddhism was gradually breaking into various branches Mahayana Buddhism, emphasizing salvation for regular people and elevating Buddha to god-man status, became dominant and Greek influence may have been a factor in its development.
Between the 1st and 10th centuries C.E., Mahayana Buddhism spread from India to Central Asia, which was the key factor for its continued expansion into China, Korea, and Japan. Although Buddha himself would not have approved, this expansion included extensive scriptural writings based upon his teachings and sermons, albeit with each branch adding its own influence. Buddhist works of art have also been discovered dating from this time period, reflecting Indian as well as Hellenic culture. Massive and wondrously beautiful Buddhist temples were also being constructed, leaving a legacy of architecture that rivals any structures ever built.
For more than a thousand years, Indian influence was therefore the major factor that brought a certain level of cultural unity to the various countries of the region. The Pali and Sanskrit languages and the Indian script, together with Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, were transmitted from direct contact as well as through sacred texts and Indian literature. Ironically, by the 11th century, Buddhism was destroyed as a mainstream religion in its native India due to invading Islamic forces, and the revival of Hinduism. However, the roots of Buddhism were strong in countries where it had been adopted – such as China – and the religion continued to thrive there, in addition to many other countries of Southeast Asia.
Later in history, according to Foltz (1999), “Major interest for Buddhism emerged during colonial times, when Western powers were in a position to witness the faith and its artistic manifestations in detail. European philosophy was strongly influenced by the study of oriental religions during that period.” Buddhism started to enjoy a strong interest from the general population in the West during the 20th century, following the perceived failure of so-called social utopias, from Fascism to Marxism. After the Second World War, the focus of progress tended to shift to personal self-realization, on the material as well as spiritual level.
In this context, Buddhism has continued to display a strong power to attract believers even down to this day due to its tolerance, its focus on each individual discovering their own path to enlightenment, and its lack of a deity in control. Buddhism is unique, and appeals to many, given that there is no belief in a god as understood by other religions. Americans are probably most familiar with Tibetan Buddhism as represented by the Dali Lama, although various forms of Buddhism are still very influential in countries such as China, Japan, Burma, and Indonesia. The total number of Buddhists today, according to the website adherents.com (2004), is estimated at between 300-500 million worldwide. After 2500 years of recorded history – through many highs and lows – this religion that began as one man’s quest for personal enlightenment still thrives.
References
Adherents.com (2005, October 25). National and World Religion Statistics. Retrieved
October 25, 2005 from http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
Flanagan, Anthony (2005, October 25). Your Guide to Buddhism. Retrieved October 25,
2005 from http://buddhism.about.com/
Foltz, Richard (1999). Religions of the Silk Road. New York: St. Martins Griffin
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2005, October 25). History of Buddhism. Retrieved
October 25, 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Buddhism
