(98) Section 4: The Rise and Fall of Polytheistic Civilization II

Chapter 1: The Indus

6-1 The Buddha’s Itinerant Teachings

　　　Siddhartha had finally achieved enlightenment, but was in no rush to spread the word. He was now the Buddha or the “Awakened One.” Instructing others on the path to enlightenment, he thought, was far too difficult a task. Instead, the Buddha wanted to reach nirvana, and by “nirvana,” he meant leaving the world as we know it. It is then, Buddhist tradition claims, Brahma appeared. If you remember, Brahma is truth personified and defied, the embodiment of Brahman, Hinduism’s ultimate reality of the universe.
　　　Earnestly Brahma urged the Buddha to teach the path to enlightenment to all humanity.

　　　　　　Truly the world is lost, truly the world is undone, if the heart of 　　　　　　the Perfect One, the holy, highest Buddha, be bent on abiding 　　　　　　in quietude and not preaching the Doctrine.”(Hermann 　　　　　　　　　Oldenberg, Buddha: His Life, His Doctrine, His Order, trans. 　　　　　　　William Hoey [London: Williams and Norgate, 1882]

　　　Still, the Buddha hesitated. And so Brahma persisted.

　　　　　　Rise, rise, thou valiant hero, rich in victories,
　　　　　　Go through the world, sinless preacher of the path,
　　　　　　Raise thy voice, O sire; many shall understand thy word. (ibid.)

　　　Finally, after Brahma’s three pleas, the Buddha agreed. And one of the first orders of business was finding his former five ascetic training companions and traveling to Sarnath, close to where he attained enlightenment (later named Bodh Gaya).

First Teachings

　　　The five ascetics were initially not accepting of the new Siddhartha. To them, the Buddha’s decision to give up asceticism was a sign of depravity. Eventually, however, the Buddha’s divine-like confidence took the indignant ascetics by surprise, transforming them into willing listeners.

▲Wheel of dhamma ashoka chakra in global vipassana pagoda ©Dinodia Photos RM

　　　The Buddha’s first sermon is referred to as Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta or “The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dharma Sutta,” a title that originated from the then-popular Hindi phrase “turning the wheel of Dharma,” which was an expression used to refer to the act of teaching doctrine. Of course, this is an idiom; the Hindu people did not really turn a wheel to inculcate the faithful with philosophy and dogma. Later, however, in countries where Buddhism had spread, the dharma wheel not only became a symbol of the Buddha’s teachings but also a component of Buddhist ritual through the turning of an actual wheel.
　　　Not surprisingly, the Buddha’s first sermon focused on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.
　　　Diligent understanding and awareness of these four “truths” form the cornerstone of the path to enlightenment.
　　　The first of these realities is the noble truth of suffering, which teaches that life is suffering and that we can’t always get what we want.
　　　The second truth deals with the origin of suffering. We suffer, the Buddha explains, because of our worldly desires and our enslavement to desire’s multiple forms.
　　　The third truth is the cessation of suffering or the understanding that the extermination of worldly desire frees one from samsara and leads one to the ultimate enlightenment or nirvana.
　　　The fourth and final truth pertains to awareness. Buddhist scripture states one must remain aware of the fact that the Noble Eightfold Path is the path to true enlightenment.
　　　So what is the so-called Noble Eightfold Path? First is the “Right View,” followed by the “Right Resolve,” “Right Speech,” “Right Conduct,” “Right Livelihood,” “Right Effort,” “Right Mindfulness,” and finally by the “Right Concentration.”
　　　Still, Buddhist texts do not give specific examples or instructions on how to follow the Noble Eightfold Path. For early followers of the Buddha, understanding the path meant becoming a disciple and following the Buddha’s example. Eventually, the Buddha made the five ascetics his first disciples and companions as he embarked on his first mission: broaden the path to salvation.

Spreading the Good Word

　　　Their first destination was Rajagriha, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Magadha (present-day Bihar). Once the Buddha arrived in Rajagriha, the king of Magadha, Bimbisara (lived c. 558 – c. 491 BC, reigned c. 543 – c. 491 BC) became a devout follower.
　　　By the time of his arrival, the Buddha had already amassed a community of followers several thousand disciples strong, and King Bimbisara was keen to help. By donating a vast bamboo grove to be used as the new locale for a similarly new monastery—and later “temple”—the king helped build what would become the first home base for Buddhist spiritual development. The land also became the site of Vulture Peak, another site frequented by the Buddha and his disciples for training and retreat.

▲Statues of lord Buddha and his disciples at Dhamma chakka pavattana sutta wheel of law at Sarnath ; Varanasi 
©Dinodia Photos  RM

　　　Magadha isn’t important only for its spiritual retreats. It was also home to Sariputra, one of the Buddha’s ten great disciples. Besides appearing in the Heart Sutra, one of the most fundamental scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism, the disciple became one of the Buddha’s disciples during the period of the Bamboo Grove Monastery (Venuvana-vihāra), and would go on to teach the Buddha’s son and fellow disciple, Rahula.
　　　This is when the Buddha gained another one of his most well-known students, Ananda. Ananda was the first cousin of the Buddha and younger brother to the disciple, Devadatta, a Buddhist monk who broke with the Buddha for doctrinal differences, and took several disciples with him in an effort to create a schism. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Buddhist scriptures depict Devadatta as a heritic and a demon. To establish his own doctrinal superiority, Devadatta attempted to convince Prince Ajatasattu, the heir to the Magadhan throne, into killing his father, King Bimbisara, to ascend the throne. Meanwhile, Devadatta’s scheme was to kill the Buddha. The plan failed. His penalty, scriptures say, was death.
　　　Ajatasattu confined Bimbisara with a prison of exceedingly thick stone walls where starvation quickly brought death. But Devadatta’s death brought Ajatasattu a sense of overwhelming regret. In suffering, Ajatasattu turned to the Buddha and become his disciple. This sad state of affairs forms the climax of Japan’s first 70mm film, Buddha, a picture directed by Kenji Misumi staring Kojiro Hongo. Since Buddhist texts depict Devadatta as evil, details on his teachings aren’t especially dedicated or clear. What is clear, however, is his comparatively dogmatic philosophy.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　        < Read the next installment April 1 >

Editor/ Noriko Knickerbocker , Aquarius Ltd.

Translator/ Matthew Hunter , Aquarius Ltd.

©Motohiko Izawa 2018-2019 All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.