Hinduism and Buddhism

How Hindu and Buddhist beliefs shaped each other

Five great rivers flow down from the mountains into the fertile plains of northwest India. The warm climate, fertile soil, and annual monsoonal rains all combined to make this an attractive place for early farmers to begin settling around 7000 BC. The first cities appeared in this region around 2600 BC.

Unlike other civilizations at the time, where rival cities fought brutal wars over scarce fertile land and water, the vast Indus river valley region was so rich in resources that its cities seem to have coexisted in relative peace.

These cities were unique in the ancient world, with every street carefully planned, every brick perfectly proportioned. Multi-story buildings had internal staircases, and almost every house had a bathroom and toilet, with waste water emptying through pipes into covered street drains.

The people were master craftsmen, skilled at working with bronze. Their ships traded with lands as far away as the Middle East. There were no royal palaces. Instead they were likely governed by ruling councils of elder merchants and priests.

They appear to have worshiped gods of nature, like the lord of the animals, who was depicted as a three-faced, horned figure sitting in a disciplined, cross-legged yogic posture, surrounded by wild animals like tigers and elephants. There was also a mother goddess of fertility, who represented life-giving energy and agricultural abundance.

Collapse and migration

While early Indian civilization was thriving in peace, thousands of miles away on the vast open grasslands north of the Black Sea, tribes of nomadic cattle herders had learned how to ride horses. By 2000 BC, they had invented fast horse-drawn battle chariots, which they used to conquer the oasis kingdoms of Central Asia.

These people valued horses, military power, and cosmic law. They worshiped dozens of heroic, nature-based gods, like Indra, the king of the gods, a charioteer who smashed the fortresses of his enemies using thunderbolts. And Varuna, the guardian of the fundamental cosmic and moral order that keeps the stars moving and the seasons shifting.

Meanwhile back in India, over the centuries leading up to 1900 BC, changes in weather patterns led to a series of severe droughts, each one lasting more than a lifetime. As the river valleys dried up, the cities were abandoned, and people migrated east looking for wetter lands to settle.

As weather conditions improved around 1500 BC, tribes of horsemen and chariot armies from the north started arriving in waves of migration and invasion that continued for many hundreds of years. They settled among the farmers as a new warrior aristocracy. The land was gradually divided into kingdoms, and Hinduism developed as the two cultures and religions merged together.

Hindu scriptures

The essentials of Hinduism were passed down by word of mouth in a collection of prayers and hymns known as the Vedas (meaning 'knowledge'). For over a thousand years they were faithfully preserved by Hindu priests through ritual chants.

Early passages were full of praise for many gods. Later passages suggest that the old gods were merely reflections of different aspects of a single god...

They call him Indra. They call him Mitra, Varuna, and Fire. They call him the great winged bird of heaven. The sages give many names to the one.

However, the Vedas never claimed to know all the answers...

Who knows the truth? Who can tell how and from where this universe came? If the gods themselves came after its creation, then who can know from where it all began? Perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not. The highest god who looks down from the highest heaven, only he knows, or perhaps he does not.

A second collection of writings is called the Upanishads (which means 'sitting at the feet of the master'). It was composed over the following centuries and was built upon the spiritual essence of the Vedas.

One of the Upanishads tells of a boy named Nachiketa, whose father was giving away some worn-out cows at a sacrifice. The boy tells his father that giving worthless gifts will bring spiritual harm. He then keeps asking his father "to whom will you give me?". In a fit of rage, his father says "I give you to Death!".

Nachiketa goes to the house of Death, but Death is away. When Death returns, he feels sorry for making the boy wait days without food or water. He offers Nachiketa three wishes. The boy asks for his father's peace, for the secret of a sacred fire ritual, and for the truth of what happens after we die.

Reluctant to give up the final truth, Death instead offers the boy horses and gold and kingdoms, but the boy refuses those and asks again. So Death answers...

Beyond your spirit is the unseen spirit, and beyond that is the spirit supreme. Nothing is beyond the spirit supreme. He is the end of the path, he is in everything, and he is beyond description. He lies hidden inside every living thing, smaller than the smallest and greater than the greatest. If you can silence your wanting, in quiet contemplation, you may see him, and then your sorrow will be gone.

When you can see all beings within yourself, and yourself within all beings, how can you hate anyone? When you see everything as being your own self, what sorrow can remain? Know the eternal spirit and you will be set free. And although you are mortal, you will find in yourself what was never born and can never die.

According to the Upanishads, there are two parts to our consciousness. The first is our individual self, which reflects our identity as well as our wants, needs, and fears. It focuses on our daily survival, and it dies when the body dies.

The second part is harder to notice, because it is the thing doing the noticing. It is the fundamental pure consciousness or awareness behind your own eyes, and it is the same in every living thing. It is the supreme spirit within you.

Your individuality dies with your body, but the supreme spirit within you was never born and can never die. Anyone who lives and dies without realizing this has lived in vain, chasing temporary limited illusions.

The Upanishads introduced the idea of reincarnation. Each person's actions accumulate good or bad karma. Their soul is reborn again and again until their karma is resolved through gaining spiritual knowledge. Then they are released to become one with the supreme spirit.

The Upanishads also describe the practice of meditation. By sitting still, quieting the body, and watching the mind without chasing its thoughts, a person can see for themselves what remains after the wanting stops.

Hinduism has no central organization, and the interpretation of scripture varies widely, with some groups preferring different gods and myths to others. Some Indians worship Vishnu (the preserver), while others worship Shiva (the destroyer). Village farmers sacrifice animals seeking protection from vengeful lesser gods, while sophisticated city Hindus meditate in contemplation of being one with the supreme spirit. Each person is free to find their own path to salvation, whether by devotion, austerity, meditation, or selfless service.

Buddhism

Around 500 BC, an Indian man named Siddhartha Gautama began preaching that the path to spiritual enlightenment was to free yourself from desire. He did not deny the existence of gods, but he considered them unnecessary for achieving enlightenment. Siddhartha's teachings were well received, and he soon became known as the Buddha (the enlightened one).

According to popular myth, Buddha was an Indian prince whose father the king was warned by wise men that he might one day leave the kingdom to become a spiritual leader. His father tried to keep him in the palace by showering him with comforts and luxuries, but after seeing that life outside the palace was full of misery, he was overcome by compassion for all the suffering in this world. He renounced his royal wealth to go searching for an answer to the problem of suffering.

For a time, he followed the strict religious practice of denying himself all worldly pleasures and possessions, but even after years of living such an austere life, he found no answers. Then one day, while resting beneath a tree, he realized the path to enlightenment was not to completely reject pleasures and possessions, but rather to have no desire for them or emotional attachment to them.

The cause of all unhappiness is desire. Even the desire to live comfortably can lead to misery when reality does not meet expectation. The actual word Buddha used for 'desire' means 'thirst'. He meant the kind of desire that returns however much you try to satisfy it.

When a person is no longer tormented by desires, they can lead a truly virtuous life, and achieve a perfectly peaceful state of mind, which is considered a state of consciousness known as Nirvana (freedom from desire). It is not necessary to become a hermit or to stop doing the necessities of life. It is only essential to have no passion for doing them.

Buddha was thought to have said...

Do not believe in anything, no matter where you heard it, or who said it, even if it has been handed down over the generations, or has come from your own imagination, unless after careful consideration it agrees with your own sense of reason, and is good for the welfare of all beings, only then should you believe it and follow it.

One of the earliest books of Buddhist scripture is called the Dhammapada (or 'the path of truth'). It contains hundreds of verses that were attributed to Buddha over his lifetime of teaching. In this book, Buddha says...

A single wise word that brings peace to the listener is worth more than a thousand speeches full of empty words.

A shower of gold pieces cannot satisfy the endless craving. And sensual pleasure brings little comfort and causes much suffering. The follower of Buddha finds joy in letting go of all desires.

Hatred cannot be overcome by hatred. Only love can overcome hatred. This is an eternal truth.

Who we are forms out of what we think about. If a man speaks or acts with evil intent, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart. If a man speaks or acts with pure intent, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never goes away.

Even royal chariots wear out, and the body too grows old and weak. But the virtue of the good never grows old, so they continue to share their goodness. Those who in their youth did not live in harmony and self-control, and those who did not gain spiritual wealth, they later look back on their lives with regret. They become like hungry old water birds around a lake without fish.

Do not do what is evil. Do what is good. Keep your mind pure. This is the teaching of Buddha.

Buddha traveled around India for much of his life, preaching his ideas and establishing communities of monks and nuns. Their purpose was to follow the path to enlightenment by developing their compassion for all living creatures and working towards the peace, happiness, and well-being of others.

After freeing their minds by renouncing all selfish desires and attachments, the monks and nuns would dedicate their lives to studying, chanting, and practicing Buddha's teachings. They were to act as role models, and ensure the tradition was accurately passed down through the generations. The Dhammapada says...

The wise man leaves the ordinary life and follows the path of light. He leaves behind his worldly comforts to follow a life of freedom. In solitude that few enjoy, without sensual pleasures or possessions, his mind is cleansed of impurities. Those with understanding, who delight in letting go of all attachments, with pure minds, radiant with wisdom, in this life they reach Nirvana.

With peaceful thoughts, peaceful words, and peaceful actions, by understanding the truth, the holy man has found freedom. Without blind faith in false beliefs after having seen the eternal truth, and free from all ties, cleansed of impurities and without desires, he becomes the greatest of men.

The monastic life was not about rejecting the world, but rather detaching the mind from its corrupting influences, so monks and nuns could faithfully serve those around them without selfish intent.

Buddhist monasteries grew to become schools, orphanages, and community centers, where monks and nuns performed rituals like blessings and funerals, while offering advice, healthcare, and other services to those in need.

Buddhism inherited the idea of reincarnation from Hinduism, but changed what gets reborn. In Hinduism the real self is eternal, so death is not the end. But in Buddhism, there never was a real self, only the illusion of one.

We spend our lives clinging to that illusion, craving to keep existing. And it is that craving, at its most desperate when we face death, that pulls us into another life. So freedom does not come from losing the self. It comes from seeing there was never really a self to lose.

Ashoka

India was united for the first time under the Mauryan Empire after the year 320 BC. The first emperor, Chandragupta, retired to live as a wandering holy man, passing the empire down to his son, Bindusara, who was called 'the slayer of enemies'.

After Bindusara died, one of his sons, Ashoka, battled the family to gain control of the empire. He then completed the empire by conquering Kalinga, the last independent kingdom on the east coast. After this, he converted to Buddhism and renounced war.

He carved his philosophy into rocks and stone pillars across the empire, written in local languages, and his officials were ordered to read them out loud to the public. Many are still visible today. On them, it is written...

In the eighth year of my reign I conquered Kalinga. A hundred and fifty thousand people were carried away captive. A hundred thousand were killed and many times that number died. Now that Kalinga is taken, I feel deep sorrow and regret. For when an unconquered country is conquered, there is slaughter and death, and people are carried away, and I find this deeply painful.

Even those who escaped and were not killed or captured still suffer through the misfortune of their friends and relatives. This weighs upon my mind. There is no land where men are not attached to one another. So the death of even a hundredth part of those who died in Kalinga would now be a matter of deep regret to me.

I honor all faiths, both those who embrace the world and those who renounce it. But I value none of my gifts or honors so highly as this, that the essence of every faith should grow. Whoever praises his own faith and condemns the faith of others, does so thinking "I will glorify my own faith", but he injures his own faith far more gravely. So let there be harmony. Let people listen to one another, and be willing to hear.

After Ashoka's empire fell, he was forgotten for over a thousand years. As the old languages fell out of use, his words became unreadable, and nobody knew who had written them until they were deciphered in the 1800s. The wheel from one of his pillars is now on the flag of India.

Spread of Buddhism

Under the Mauryans and other sympathetic empires, Buddhism spread throughout India and Asia. It embraced new influences as it adapted to Chinese, Japanese, and other cultures.

However, it soon came under pressure in India from a revitalized Hinduism and began losing the support of the aristocracy. It was eventually swept from India around the year 1200 by Muslim invaders who had no tolerance for a godless religion.

Buddha left behind no successor, so every monk had equal authority to interpret his teachings. In the centuries following his death, Buddhist monks turned his philosophy into a science of enlightenment with many ordered principles, like the three trainings, the four noble truths, the eightfold path, and the thirty-seven qualities.

Buddhist scriptures have continued to expand over the centuries to include hundreds of different books, containing countless related myths, rituals, and superstitions. Buddha himself was elevated in the minds of many of his followers to become a godlike being.

There are now dozens of different sects of Buddhism, each one following its own choice of scriptures. But you do not need to follow any particular scripture to be a Buddhist. You do not even need to believe in reincarnation. All you really need to believe to follow Buddha is that desire is the enemy of the mind and the cause of all suffering.

The Bhagavad Gita

A Hindu holy book called the Bhagavad Gita (or 'song of the lord') was composed around 200 BC. Its poetic explanation of our relationship to a single god has helped Hinduism endure against competition from other religions looking to claim territory and converts.

It helped Hinduism overcome the challenge posed by Buddhism by adopting aspects from it, like renouncing selfish desires. However, in contrast to Buddhism's denial of an eternal self, the Gita describes how the soul exists to carry the supreme spirit, allowing it to see and act within this material world.

In order to preserve its essence, it was woven into an epic story about a war for the throne of an ancient kingdom. As the final battle is about to begin, a great warrior, Arjuna, asks his charioteer, Krishna, a living incarnation of God, to drive out between the two armies.

Looking across the field, Arjuna sees his relatives, teachers, and friends on the enemy side. Overwhelmed by the horror of having to kill the people he loves, he collapses into his chariot and refuses to fight. Seeing his friend paralyzed by grief, Krishna offers him spiritual encouragement by explaining to him the meaning of life...

I will reveal to you a mystery, given you are ready to listen. It is divine wisdom, and once known, you will be free from trouble and despair. Divine wisdom is the deepest of mysteries. It will purify you and make you virtuous. It is easy to learn, and it never changes. But those who have no faith in this truth will remain instead in the cycles of life and death.

I am the supreme spirit, the ultimate source, and the eternal purpose. I alone am the creator, the maintainer, and the destroyer of all things. I planted the seed from which all living things grew, and my spirit is present within every living being. I am your sustainer, your master, your witness, your refuge, and your friend.

Focus only on your work, never on its reward. The wise work selflessly for the good of all the world. But do not disturb the unwise as they work for their own wants and needs, they are simply carrying out the work of nature. They might think they are consciously acting for themselves, but in truth they are blindly moved into action by natural forces. Those who can see that most human activity is the result of natural forces, they resist becoming enslaved by these forces. With faith in me and with pure intentions, through doing good work, they find freedom.

When what needs to be done is done with no desire for reward, without ambition or resentment, with no selfish intentions, then this action is pure. But when something is done with selfish desire, or for recognition, or feeling it is a burden, then this action is impure. And anything that is done which arises from delusion, without considering the consequences, or the distress caused to others, or the loss to oneself, or the scale of the effort, then this is a work of darkness.

There are those without understanding who make fanciful claims as they follow every word of their chosen scriptures, and they say, "there is no other truth than this". Their thoughts are driven by selfish desires; their heaven is a selfish desire; they pray for pleasures, possessions, and power. They will receive what they deserve. Only when their minds are free from such delusions, free from the contradictions of aging scriptures, in deep unwavering contemplation, their understanding will grow beyond the limits of scriptures now and even scriptures yet to come.

The devious do not understand what should or should not be done in their spiritual interests. They have no faith in goodness and are driven only by greed and ambition. They say, "this world has no truth, no moral foundation, no God. It is the product of chaos, and we are the product of lust and nothing else". Believing this, these fools undertake their works of evil to bring about the destruction of the world. Driven by their insatiable desires and deluded by arrogance and vanity, they commit themselves to pursue fleeting ambitions and engage in harmful activities. Their entire lives are overwhelmed by innumerable fears and anxieties. They live only for the pursuit of sensual pleasure, thinking this is all. Trapped by countless hopes and gripped by lust and anger, they do anything to gain wealth to spend on indulging their senses.

When a person dwells on a thing in this world, attachment to it is born. From attachment, obsessive desire takes root, and from unfulfilled desire, anger erupts. Anger clouds the mind with confusion, causing the forgetting of good values and learned wisdom. Without values or wisdom, sound judgment is impossible. And without sound judgment, the person becomes utterly lost.

The many who believe in me, free from fear and anger and attachment, filled with my spirit, purified by wisdom, they become one with me. Whatever you do, or eat, or give away, or go without, let it be an offering to me. Even if the most badly behaved is devoted to me, then they should be considered good, because they are on the right path; and they shall soon become pure and reach everlasting peace. Devote your mind and body to me, have me as your purpose, and you shall become one with me. By whatever path one approaches me, their love is returned accordingly; for every path still leads to me.

Those who can see that the eternal spirit exists equally within all living beings and that it is unharmed when the body dies, they can see the truth. By seeing that the eternal spirit is in every living being, a person does not consider themselves unworthy to be one with the eternal spirit. Those who can see that our actions are simply the work of nature, and the eternal spirit within only watches this work, they can see the truth. Those who can see that the diverse range of living beings are all joined as one with the supreme spirit, they become one with the supreme spirit.

When a person lets go of what they crave and what they hate, and they move through the world with a quiet mind, a clear calm settles on them. In that calm all their sorrows fall away and their understanding grows. And when they know I care for every living thing, then they will find peace.

© Cosmic Nexus