Introduction:
Buddhism is a heterodox system of philosophy
that flourished in India in the sixth century BC. The basic teachings of this
system were offered by Gautama Buddha, who is recognized as the founder of the
system. Gautama awakened to the awareness of human suffering by seeing human
suffering in disease, old age, death and other miseries. He spent years
studying, repenting, and meditating to discover the origins of human suffering
and ways to overcome it. His results later became known as Buddhist philosophy or
teachings.
In this post we can briefly discuss some
important ideas and philosophical thoughts of Buddhist which are prescribed in
our syllabus. Namely the 4 Noble Truths (Arya Satya), dependent origination,
karma-samsara, doctrine of impermanence, nirvana (as ineffable experience)
1. The Four Noble Truths (Arya Satya):
Buddha was primarily an ethical teacher and
reformer rather than a philosopher. When he looked at life in this world
through the eyes of a realist, he saw that life is full of sorrow and
suffering. Therefore, he renounced worldly pleasures and set out to find the
truth, the truth that causes suffering in life, and the way to escape from it.
He divides his teaching into four stages, which he calls Arya-Satya, also known
as the Four Noble Truths.[1] According to the Buddha, these four noble truths
are the key to enlightenment for everyone, which should be acted upon.[2]
The Four Noble Truths are; (i) life is full of
suffering (Duhkha), (ii) suffering has its cause (Samudaya), (iii) Cessation of
suffering (Nirodha), (iv) path to cessation of suffering (Marga).
1. 1. The First Noble Truth: According to the
Buddha, the first truth is that the world is full of suffering and sorrow.
Suffering is a universal reality. This suffering includes states like misery,
anxiety, despair, agony, body suffering and emptiness, imperfection, conflict
and so on. By declaring that all existence is suffering, the Buddha did not
mean that all life is suffering and nothing else. But he studied and meditated
and discovered a way out that brings true and lasting happiness.
1. 2. The Second Noble Truth: The Second Noble
Truth states that the cause of suffering is craving (tanha). It is a hunger, a
desire, and a desire for self-gratification. It is a constant desire for
pleasures and sensations that, while momentarily providing some satisfaction,
only arouse greater desire. The Buddha claims that people seek
self-satisfaction through things they believe they can experience because they
do not know the true nature of all things, that they are impermanent and not as
they think. Therefore, he argued that attachment to all worldly things is due
to ignorance, this ignorance leads to desire and desire again leads to
suffering.[3] The Buddha also explained the origin or cause of life's suffering
in light of the concept of dependent origination or natural cause
(Pratityasamutpada).[4] We will discuss this in detail below.
1. 3. Third Noble Truth: The Third Noble Truth
states that there is a state in which there is complete freedom from suffering
and slavery. It is a state of unspoken joy, happiness and peace. This state is
called nirvana; the state of complete cessation of desire, suffering, decay and
death.
1. 4. The Fourth Noble Truth: The Fourth Noble
Truth is the path that leads to the cessation of suffering (the state of
nirvana). Pathol consists of eight stages and is called eight paths
(atangika-marga). They are; (i) Right Opinions (samyak-drsti), (ii) Right
Decision (samyak-samkalpa), (iii) Right Speech (samyak-vak), (iv) Right Conduct
(samyak-karmanta), (v) Right Livelihood ( samyak-ajiva), (vi) Right effort
(samyak-vyayama), (vii) Right attention (samyak-smrti), (viii) Right
concentration (samyak-samádhi).[5]
1. 5. Significant of the Four Noble Truths:
These four noble truths have a great impact on
the history of India and Asain thought. As the fundamental teachings of
Buddhists, these precepts have inspired and motivated countless Buddhists to
gain deeper insight and understanding of the nature of suffering to be
overcome. They also played a key role in the cultivation of Buddhist
philosophical discourse and monastic practices.
2. Dependent Origination (Pratityasamutpada):
This theory of dependent origination
(Pratityasamutpada), sometimes called natural causation, is derived from the
second of the Four Noble Truths. This theory believes that the existence of
everything is contingent, dependent on a cause or some condition. Nothing
happens by accident (accident) or chance. Whenever a particular event (cause)
occurs, it is followed by another particular event (effect). Life is nothing
but a series of situations, a sequence of events, a constant becoming.[6]
The Buddha therefore interprets human life as a
cycle of process involving birth, death and rebirth, which he called Dhamma or
Dharma (the nature or law of reality). It is also sometimes called
Dharma-chakra or Samsara-chakra (the wheel of existence or chain of causes)
because of its continuous and unceasing process. He who knows and appreciates
the mystery of the "wheel of life" is able to know the truth and
avoid ignorance.
The chain of causation or wheel consists of 12
links or nidan. And it; (i) There is suffering in life because there is birth,
(ii) there is birth because there is the will to be born, (iii) the will to be
born arises from the desire to cling to objects around, (iv) the desire to
cling to objects is due to the desire to enjoy , (v) the desire to enjoy is
caused by sense experience, (vi) sense experience is caused by contact with a
sense object, (vii) sense object contact is caused by the presence of the six
sense organs. (viii) The six sense organs (mind as the sixth sense organ) are caused
by the psycho-physical organism, (ix) which in turn has its predecessor
(precedent) in embryonic consciousness, (x) embryonic consciousness appears due
to past impressions of karma or action , (xi) these karmic impressions are the
result of ignorance, (xii) ignorance is the first cause of the whole
process.[7] The whole process, consisting of the 12 links, can be
systematically arranged in the following order:
(i) Ignorance (avidya) (ii)
Karmic impression (samskara)
(iii) Embryonic consciousness (vijnana) (iv) psycho-physical organism
(nama-rupa)
(v) Six sense organs (sadayatana) (vi) Sense-object-contact
(sparsa)
(vii) Sense- experience (vedana) (viii) Desire to enjoy (tanha)
(ix) Clinging to the enjoyment (upadana) (x) will to be born (bhava)
(xi) Birth (jati)
(xii) Old age and death (jara-marana).
The twelve links of chain causation or the wheel
of existence are sometime interpreted to cover the past, the present and the
future life which are causally connected, so that the present life can be
conveniently explained with reference to its past condition and its future
effect.[8]
3. Karma-samsara:
The work "karma" simply refers to
action. According to the law of karma, every person must bear the consequences
of his actions. It is based on the truth that what one sows, that shall also be
reaped. It is a special form of dependent origination where each event is
caused by a previous event. So our present life is the result of our past
actions. Similarly, our actions in this life determine the nature and course of
our future life. The previous life, the present life, and the life after are
interconnected; and the link is the action we take.[9]
As long as karma exists, a being will be born
and reborn in different states according to his good or bad deeds. This
continued existence, birth after birth, is called samsara, or reincarnation.
Samsara encompasses the entire circle of existence: past, present, future.
Beyond us lies the vast vista (vista) of past lives, and countless
possibilities lie before us as long as karma endures. In reincarnation, a
person can be born as an animal, a spirit, a god, and can undergo suffering or
pleasure in proportion to their bad or good deeds.[10]
The Buddha pointed out that there are two kinds
of karma (action)- (i) Karma which is done under the influence of attachment,
hatred, infatuation. (ii) karma which is done without them (after attaining
nirvana). The first type of karma creates the seeds of karma causing samsara
(rebirth). But the second kind of activity done with perfect insight into the
true nature of the universe and without any attachment does not create karma causing
samsara (rebirth). According to the Buddha, the difference between these two
types of karma is the difference between sowing the seeds of normal fertility
and sowing the seeds of fried. The former will spawn a sprout, while the latter
will spawn nothing. In Buddhism, man is the builder of his own character and
destiny.[11]
4. Doctrine of Impermanence:
According to the doctrine of impermanence
(Anitya-vada) nothing is permanent. Everything in the world is changing and
unstable. There is nothing that lasts and lasts forever.[12] This theory
follows from the doctrine of dependent origination. Everything comes from some
condition and disappears when the condition ceases to be. Whatever has a
beginning has an end. The Buddha says, “Know that all that exists comes from
causes and conditions and is impermanent in every respect. The Buddha says that
life and worldly things are transitory or impermanent (anitya), but he does not
mean that they exist only for one infinite moment.[13]
The Buddha's followers further develop this
theory into the theory of momentarity (ksanika-vada). According to which not
only everything in this world is transitory, but also that a thing does not
last even a short time, but there is only one indivisible moment.[14] For
example, a seed germinates, a sprout grows into a plant, the plant becomes a
tree, the tree bears fruit and flowers and withers. A child is born, grows into
an adult, suffers from illness or old age, and dies. So it seems that no matter
when or where we look, we find constant change and impermanence reigning all
around us.[15]
5. Nirvana (as an ineffable experience):
The literal meaning of 'Nirvana' (Nibbana) is
'thrown out', 'extinction' or 'extinction'. To explain this, the Buddha often
uses the flames of fire as an example. Using this simile, the Buddha said that
the world is on fire, ignited by the fire of desire. The process of rebirth is
the rekindling of this fire from one flame to another, and this keeps the fires
of birth, old age, decay, death, pain, despair, anxiety, etc. burning
constantly. And Nirvana is the extinguishing of this flame (the flame of
desire). This is where the life process (samsara) as we know it ends.[16]
5. 1. Different opinions on the concept of
Nirvana:
There is great controversy about the nature and
concept of Nirvana, and everyone has their own opinion. This dispute can
basically be divided into three categories.
(i) Some people hold the view that Nirvana is
the total extinction of existence or the destruction and cessation of
existence. Some argue that by teaching the path to nirvana, the Buddha showed
people the way to extinguish themselves.
(ii) For some, Nirvana means the cessation of
desire and not the cessation of existence. When the desire is gone, the mind
remains calm (tranquil), calm and undisturbed. It is a state where all false
desire has vanished.
(iii) For some, nirvana is again a state of
negation of sorrow and suffering. This state is incomprehensible to reason and
conception. It is an unspeakable state. Therefore, only negative descriptions
of this condition are possible.
All these
views contradict each other and have their own faults as it varies from person
to person. In general, Nirvana is a guarantee that the samsara (cycle of
rebirth) whose conditions have been destroyed will not be repeated. It also
means that one who has attained it enjoys perfect peace in this life as well,
as long as he lives after enlightenment. This peace is unlike any of the
pleasures born of the fulfillment of desires. But it is difficult for a being
to explain the true nature of nirvana. Natasena, an eminent Buddhist teacher,
when explaining the blissful nature of Nirvana to the Greek king Menander
(Milinda), uses metaphors such as: Nirvana is deep as the ocean, lofty as a
mountain peak, sweet as honey. It is said to be an ineffable, unfathomable and
incomprehensible state of bliss.[17]
Conclusion:
In Buddhist philosophy, all theories or
doctrines are interrelated and one depends on the others. Their ultimate goal
is to lead people to enlightenment. According to Buddhist philosophy,
everything is impermanent (anitya). There is no permanent soul, no Brahman, no
God or absolute creator of the world. The world is self-existence without
beginning and end. The existence of various substances is subject to the law of
dependent origination (pratityasamutpada). The ultimate goal of Buddhism is
nirvana, which is the cooling of the passions. It is perfect enlightenment.
Buddhism is a self-help religion, where everyone has to figure out their own
salvation, which does not depend on God's grace.
Bibliography:
Bartley, Christopher. An
Introduction to Indian Philosophy. New York: Continuum International publishing
Group, 2011.
Brown, David A. A Guide
to Religions. Delhi: ISPCK, 2005.
Chatterjee, Satischandra & Dhirendramohan Datta. An Introduction To Indian Philosophy.
New Delhi: Rupa Publications India Pvt.
Ltd., 2018.
Padhi, Bibhu & Minakshi Padhi. Indian Philosophy and Religion. New
Delhi: D. K. Printworld (P) Ltd., 2005.
Puligandla, Ramakrishna. Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy. New
Delhi: D. K. Printworld (P) Ltd., 2005.
Radhakrishnan, S. Indian
Philosophy-1. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Sanyal, Jagadiswar. Guide to Indian Philosophy. Calcutta:
Sribhumi Publishing Company, 2008.
[1] Jagadiswar Sanyal, Guide to Indian Philosophy (Kolkata:
Sribhumi Publishing Company, 2008), 39. Hereafter referred to as Sanyal, Guide to Indian Philosophy,,,.
[2] Christopher Bartley, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy
(New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2011), 17.
[3] David A. Brown, A Guide to Religion (Delhi: ISPCK, 2005), 128. Hereafter refferd to
as Brown, A Guide to Religion,,,.
[4] Satischandra Chatterjee &
Dhirendramohan Datta, Introduction to
Indian Philosophy (New Delhi: Rupa Publications India Pvt, ltd., 2018), 111.
Hereafter referred to as Chatterjee & Datta, Introduction to Indian Philosophy,,,.
[5] Brown, A Guide to Religion,,,. 126-128.
[6]
Rai Sharma, Indian Philosophy
(Prakashan Kendra; Lucknow, 1989), 68.
[7]
Bibhu Padhi & Minakshi Padhi, Indian
Philosophy ans Religion; A Reader’s Guide (New Delhi: D. K. Printworld(P)
Ltd., 2005), 102.
[8]Chatterjee & Datta, Introduction to Indian Philosophy,,,.
113.
[9]Sanyal,
Guide to Indian Philosophy,,,. 105, 106.
[10]Brown,
A Guide to Religions,,,. 130,131.
[11]Sanyal,
Guide to Indian Philosophy…, 106.
[12]Ramakrishna
Puligandla, Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy (New
Delhi: D. K. Printworld (P). Ltd., 2005), 50. Hereafter referred to as
Puligandla, Fundamentals of Indian
philosophy,,,.
[13]Sanyal,
Guide to Indian Philosophy,,,.106, 107.
[14]Chatterjee
& Datta, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy…,
126.
[15]Puligandla,
Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy…, 52.
[16]Brown,
A Guide to Religion,,,. 131.
[17]Chatterjee
& Datta, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy…,117-118.
, Dependent Origination, Karmasamsara, The Doctrine of Impermanence, Nirvana (as ineffable experience)){kind=link}
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