Among the Dasavatara, Sri Buddha is the ninth avatara. Additionally, Sri Buddha is the twenty-fourth lila-avatara.
In order to condemn the practice of animal sacrifice, Supreme Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Buddha. Srila Jayadeva Gosvami prays to the Lord of the universe in his Dasavatara-stotra:
sadaya-hridaya-darsita-pasu-ghatam
kesava dhrita-buddha-sarira jaya jagadisa hare
(Sri Jayadeva's Dasavatara-stotra, 9th Verse)
"O Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of Buddha! All glories unto You! O Buddha of compassionate heart, You decry the slaughtering of poor animals performed according to the rules of Vedic sacrifice."
The name of Buddha also appears in the verse that describes the ten avataras in Srimad-Bhagavatam:
ramo ramasca ramasca buddha kalki ca te dasah
In the dasavatara verse of Sahitya-darpana (a Bengali reference encyclopedia), we find the names of Buddha and Kalki. The Agni, Vayu and Skanda Puranas also mention the name of Buddha, as does the following verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam:
buddho namnanjana-sutah kikateshu bhavishyati
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.24)
"Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of Gaya (Bihar) just for the purpose of infatuating those who are envious of the faithful demigods."
In Chapters 17-18 of the 3rd Section of Vishnu Purana, Buddha has been designated as ‘Mayamoha'. Once, while bathing in the waters of the Yamuna, Akrura was astonished to see Krishna-Balarama within the river. Coming out, he saw Them seated in a chariot as They had been before appearing in the water. Again he immersed himself in the water, and saw the yellow-clad four-handed Vasudeva Sri Krishna along with His associates, graciously seated on the lap of the thousand-hooded Sri Anantadeva while being worshiped by Brahma and other demigods. At that time, he prayed to the Lord in the following manner:
mleccha-praya-kshatra-hantre namas te kalki-rupine
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.40.22)
"O Lord! I offer my obeisances unto Your form of Buddha, who, possessing a faultless nature, deluded the miscreants by composing anti-Vedic scriptures. I also offer obeisances unto Your Kalki form, the annihilator of the wicked kshatriyas who are no better than barbarians."
The Vedas encode instructions according to the eligibility or qualification of various living beings, especially human beings. But in the course of time, ignorant men took the tamasika orders to be the only instruction of the Vedas and engaged in the extensive killing of animals, sometimes even sacrificing human beings during worship of the demigods. At that time, the Supreme Lord descended in the form of Buddha and outwardly rejected the teachings of the Vedas for the welfare of human beings incapable of comprehending the true teachings of the Vedas. This implies that He disputed and cancelled His own prior teachings, propounded the futility of belief in God and preached to human beings four noble truths, to free them from their violent practices. This act of Buddha provided instantaneous benediction to mankind of that period. As Lord Buddha was the Supreme Lord Himself, many people resolved to follow ahimsa-dharma-the path of non-violence, due to His influence. As a result of non-violence, the hearts of human beings became pious and their qualifications gradually increased, so Lord Siva appeared as Sankaracarya. He re-established the supreme authenticity and decorum of the Vedas, and founded the philosophy of ‘brahmakarana-vada' (Brahman as ultimate cause). In later ages, the Vaishnava stalwarts built the philosophy of bhakti upon this same foundation stone. From the personal and aggregate point of view, these are the steps of progress.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the Lord Himself, removed the incompleteness of the previously propagated philosophies through His ‘acintya-bhedabheda-tattva' philosophy (the principle of inconceivable simultaneous distinction and non-distinction).
It is said that Sakyasimha Buddha, the son of Suddhodana and Maya, and Buddha-avatara, the Vaishnavas' object of adoration, are not one and the same person. Our Most Revered Nityalilapravishta Om Vishnupada 108 Sri Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada has clearly said, "Sakyasimha Buddha was merely a vastly learned person, so we cannot call him the original Buddha or Lord Buddha."
Acarya Sri Sankara has by mistake referred to Maya's son, Buddha, as ‘Sugata Buddha' in the following commentary:
iti abhiprayah
Amarakosha-grantha (Sanskrit dictionary) states:
samastabhadro bhagavan marajillokajijjinah
shadabhijno dasabalo 'dvayavadi vinayakah
munindrah srighanah sasta munih sakyamunistu yah
"All-Knowing, Transcendental, Buddha, King of Righteousness, He Who Has Come, Beneficent, All-Encompassing, Lord, Conqueror of the God of Love-Mara, Victorious of Three Worlds, He Who Controls His Senses, Protector from the Six Enemies, Possessor of the Ten Powers, Speaker of Monism (One Absolute), Teacher, Lord of the Sages, Embodiment of Splendor and Eminent Saint." In his commentary on the above verse, Srila Ragunatha Cakravarti has written:
"All eighteen names of Buddha from ‘sarvajna' (omniscient) to ‘sakyamuni', refer to Vishnu-avatara Buddha. Therefore, ‘Sugata' clearly refers only to Vishnu-avatara Buddha.
gautamascarkabandhusca mayadevisutasca sah
"Teacher of the Sakyas, lion of the Sakyas, accomplisher of all goals, son of Suddhodana, of Gautama's line, friend of scholars, son of Mayadevi." Here, Srila Ragunatha Cakravarti has written:
"The seven aliases from ‘sakyasimha Buddha' down to ‘mayadevisuta' (the son of Mayadevi) refer to monks belonging to the Sakya Dynasty."
Thus, Sugata Buddha and Sunyavadi (Sakyasimha) Buddha are not the same person. Further evidence is found in Mr. H.T.Colebrooke's Amarakosha, published at Ramapura in 1807. It is written in Chapter 21, Page 178 of Lalitavistara-grantha that Gautama Buddha performed penances at the same place as the previous Buddha (Vishnu-avatara Buddha). Maybe it is for this reason that in later ages he and Lord Buddha are considered as being one:
samartha dhanurgrihitva sunya nairatmavanaih
klesaripum nihatva drishtijalanca bhitva-siva
virajamsokam prapsyate bodhimagryam
Currently this place is known as Buddha Gaya but Srimad-Bhagavatam refers to it as Kikata Pradesa:
buddho namnanjana-sutah kikateshu bhavishyati
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.24)
"Thereafter, in the twenty-first manvantara at the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in Kikata Pradesa (the province of Gaya-Bihar), just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful demigods."
According to Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Öhakura's commentary:
kikateshu madhye gayapradese
"The names Anjanasuta and Ajinasuta can both be found in the above verse. The province of Gaya has been called Kikateshu."
Srila Sridhara Svamipada has written in his commentary:
anjanasya sutah
ajinasuta iti pathe ajino 'pi sa eva
kikateshu madhye gayapradese
"Buddha-avatara refers to Buddha who is the son of Anjana, and also in another reading, the son of Ajina. In the above verse, the name is written as Ajina or Anjana, and Kikata refers to Gaya Pradesa."
It is written in the 29th Verse, 36th Chapter of Sri Nrisimha Purana:
"Lord Narayana appeared as Buddha when the age of Kali started."
This clearly implies that Lord Buddha appeared five thousand years ago. The following verse can be found in the second paragraph of Nirnaya-sindhu:
"Buddha will take birth on the 2nd day of the sukla-paksha of the month of Jyaishtha."
Another part of this book describes the mode of worshipping Buddha:
"Worship Lord Buddha on the 7th day of the sukla-paksha of the month of Pausha."
This is the prescription for the worship of Buddha, the avatara of the Supreme Lord. The full moon day of the month of Vaisakha, known as ‘Buddha-purnima', is to be celebrated for both Buddhas, subject to consideration of both Buddhas together.
In Sri Madhvacarya's commentary on Verse 1.3.24 of Srimad-Bhagavatam, from his book Bhagavata-tatparya, the following quotation from Brahmanda Purana has been referred to:
putram tam kalpayamasa mudhabudhirjinah svayam
tatah sammohayamasa jinadyana suramsakan
bhagavan vagbhirugrabhirahimsa vacibhirharih
(Brahmanda Purana)
"In order to delude the demons, He (Lord Buddha) was present in the form of a child on the way while the fool, Jina (a demon), imagined Him to be his son. Later on, Lord Sri Hari (as avatara-Buddha) expertly deluded Jina and other demons by His strong words of non-violence."
There is an authentic Buddhist book, Lankavatara-sutra, in which Ravana, the king of Lanka, prays to Jina's son, the ancient Lord Buddha, and to all the Buddhas and Buddhas' sons who would appear in the future, via this eulogy (stava):
lankavatarasutram vaih purvabuddhanuvarnitam
smarami purvakaih buddhairjinaputra-puraskritaih
putrametannigadyate bhagavanapi bhashatam
bhavishyantyanapate kale buddha buddhasutasca ye
Therefore, this source leaves no doubt that the ancient avatara-Buddha and the modern Gautama Buddha are not the same person.
Buddha-avatara has been discussed in various Puranas such as the Linga, Bhavishya, Varaha, Agni, Vayu, Skanda, Vishnu and many others. In the 17th and 18th Chapters of the 3rd Section of Vishnu Purana, Buddha is referred to as Mayamoha. It should be remembered that the Buddha-avatara whose narrations are found in various Puranas and other scriptures, is not the nihilistic Buddha, the son of Suddhodana.
The preceding eulogy to Lord Buddha, taken from Akrura's prayer in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10-40-22), is the essence of all the Vedas, Vedanta, Puranas, Itihasas and other scriptures. The meaning of this prayer is:
"O Lord, I offer my obeisances unto Your faultless beguiling form of Lord Buddha who enchanted the demons and devils by composing anti-Vedic mantras."
Commenting on this, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has written:
nirddoshaya
"The meaning of the word ‘suddhaya' is that although He is the founding element of anti-Vedic literature, yet He remains inculpable."
Therefore, by establishing sastras opposed to the Vedas, He (avatara- Buddha) hypnotised devils and demons. This is the reason why some writers of Buddha's biography consider avatara-Buddha and human Buddha to be the same.
In Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.8.19), King Indra prays to Lord Buddha with the mantra, buddhas tu pashanda-gana-pramadat. This mantra is from the Narayana-kavaca of Visvarupa, the son of Sage Tvashta. By reciting this mantra Indra prayed, "O Lord Buddha! Save me from the defect of indifference born out of atheistic hypocrisy."
This means that Lord Buddha, in His asura-vimohana-lila (the pastime of hypnotising the demons), deluded the wicked natured people by establishing scriptures opposed to the Vedas. "Save me Lord Buddha from the terrible offence of disobeying the Vedas due to ignorance of their secret meanings." Factually, Lord Buddha is not a condemner of the Vedas for any reason whatsoever. This pastime is meant only to mesmerise the demons. It is written in the 40th chapter of the Mahesvara section of Skanda Purana that:
"After the passing of 3,600 years of Kali-yuga, Lord Buddha, the avatara of Vishnu, the saviour of dharma, will appear in the Magadha territory from the womb of Anjani, fathered by Hemasadana. He will perform many glorious tasks and rule over the earth containing seven islands, for sixty-four years. Then, safeguarding His glories with His devotees, He will retreat to His abode."
Thus, we can see by the authentic words of genuine scriptures, that Lord Buddha and Sakyasimha/Gautama Buddha are not the same. The Lord has established many anti-Vedic scriptures for deluding the demons. Other Buddhas also followed Him and propagated anti-Vedic nihilism. That is why many doubts arise, as all of them have been mentioned together in several places. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has written:
"Without respecting the Vedas, Buddha has become atheistic." In India, those who have no faith in the Vedas are considered to be atheistic.
According to the German scholar Max Muller, Sakyasimha Buddha was born in the Lumbini Forest of Kapilavastu in 477 B.C. Ancient Kapilavastu is a famous district situated near Nepal. Gautama's father's name was Suddhodana and His mother's name was Mayadevi. Anjana's son and Maya's son both share the same name but one appeared at Gaya and the other at Kapilavastu. Thus, the appearance places and parents of Vishnu Buddha and Gautama Buddha are totally different. Because the human Buddha was unable to understand the asura-vimohana-lila of Lord Vishnu Buddha, he propagated anti-Vedic nihilism.
There was a king of the Ikshvaku Dynasty named Sujata, ruling in the western side of Saketa Nagara. Sujata had five sons and five daughters. He had special affection for his five sons.
Coincidently, Sujata met a flirtatious woman by the name of Jenti. By her he begot a son, Jayanta. As Sujata was in love with Jenti, he became desirous to give her a boon. Jenti prayed for the exile of Sujata's other five sons and for her own son, Jayanta, to be crowned as heir to the throne. Although Sujata was deeply disappointed upon hearing Jenti's words, still he felt compelled to grant her the boon so as to fulfil his own promise. The people were saddened when they heard of the exile of Sujata's sons, and consequently they accompanied them to the forest. The first place they reached was Kasi-kosala state, but eventually they came to the asrama of Kapila Åshi in the Himalayan region. At the asrama of Kapila Åshi, Sujata's sons fell in love with Kapila's daughters and subsequently married them. Hearing the news of his sons' marriage, Sujata also went to the asrama. Upon hearing all the relevant details, he declared the marriage to be proper and gave it his approval. Afterwards, Sujata's sons were known by the name ‘Sakya'.
With the permission of Kapila Åshi, the Sakya-kumaras built a large city named Kapilavastu. The eldest son, Apura, became the king of that city and a beautiful girl named Amita was born into his dynasty. As an adult she became afflicted with leprosy and because of this, her brother took her away to the Himalayan Mountains. There, he enclosed her in a large cave stocked with many foodstuffs. Before returning he shut the entrance to the cave with a large boulder. Fortunately, Amita's leprosy was eventually cured by the cave's heat and she regained her lost beauty. Then, fortune continuing to smile upon her, a tiger came and removed the boulder obstructing the entrance to the cave.
Once, a king by the name of Kola went there and saw the beautiful girl Amita. They married and she later gave birth to thirty-two sons. Reaching maturity, the sons came to know about their ancestors from their mother. Consequently, they came to Kapilavastu and in the course of events, married the Sakyas daughters. Thereafter, they came to be known as the ‘Kaliya Dynasty'.
In the land of the Sakyas was a district named Devadeha. The king of Devadeha, Subhuti, had five daughters. The king of Kapilavastu, Suddhodana, married two daughters of Subhuti named Maya and Mahaprajavati Gautami. On the full moon day of the month of Vaisakha, Mayadevi gave birth to a son in a beautiful garden called Lumbini, near Kapilavastu. It appeared that with the birth of a son, all the desires of Suddhodana had been fulfilled, thus he named his son Sarvartha-siddhi or alternatively, Siddhartha. Seven days after Siddhartha's birth, his mother Mayadevi died. At that time, Siddhartha was brought to Kapilavastu to be brought up by his mother's sister, Mahaprajavati Gautami.
A sage named Asita happened to live near the Himalayas. He came to Kapilavastu and upon seeing the twelve symptoms of a great person in Siddhartha, prophesied that if he continued to live within his worldly circuit, he would eventually go on to become a great emperor, but if he renounced his home he would become the knower of all knowledge-"Sambodhi." Therefore, Buddha was formerly known as Siddhartha, Gautama and Sakyasimha, and later became famous with yet one more name-"Boddhisattva."
In accordance with the Indian custom, upon reaching adulthood, he was sent to his gurudeva's house for a proper education. From Visvamitra Upadhyaya he learned Brahmi, Kharoshtri, Pushkarasadi, Angalipi and sixty-four other languages of various countries. He also became an expert in the Vedas and Upanishads. After returning from his guru's home, his father, Suddhodana, arranged for his marriage to Gopa, the daughter of Dandapani Sakya.
Although Siddhartha's father tried to ensnare him in worldly matters through marriage, Siddhartha was not at all interested in affairs of the world. Since childhood he had learned of the transient nature of things, so he possessed natural apathy for this world.
The causes of Siddhartha's apathy toward the material world have been described in the following way: One day, Siddhartha was going by chariot to visit a garden when he saw an extremely aged person who had been forsaken by his relatives. He was in a very weak and helpless condition. Seeing this old man, Siddhartha started to ponder over the observation that the human beings of this world are all so ignorant. Old age is inevitable and bound to attack all, one day or another.
Another day, at the southern gate of the city, Siddhartha saw a sick man in a very pitiful state who was smeared all over with excrement and urine. Seeing him, Siddhartha contemplated the fact that diseases are extremely dreadful. He found it very surprising that learned persons, despite being aware of these facts, were often quite busy merrymaking.
One day, at the western gate of the city, Siddhartha saw a dead man surrounded by a group of people who were hysterically lamenting and wailing in mournfulness. Seeing this sight, Siddhartha decided that there is no value to this life as it may end at any time.
Another day, at the northern gate of the city, Siddhartha saw a calm, abstemious and serious brahmacari (a celibate monk) peacefully wandering around with a begging bowl. The brahmacari mendicant, having given up all lust, material desires and pleasures while embracing asceticism, was wandering about in search of peace of mind and tranquillity. He was supporting his life by the collecting of very simple foodstuffs. Seeing his tranquil personage, devoid of all sorts of attachment and envy, Siddhartha decided that only this kind of lifestyle would provide eternal benediction to all living beings.
Observing Siddhartha's detachment from mundane issues, Suddhodana tried extremely hard to engage him in household life, but all his efforts went in vain. Siddhartha's charioteer, Chandoga, also advised him that he would never again obtain such a prosperous, affluent and pleasing place like Kapilavastu, even after rigorous penance. He further stated that it would be most inappropriate for him to leave his beautiful wife. Though Chandoga tried to negatively influence Siddhartha's urge to renounce this mundane world, he too failed in this task and at the midnight of Pushya-nakshatra-tithi, Siddhartha renounced the world.
At the time of renouncing the world, Siddhartha gave all the jewels he was wearing to his charioteer Chandoga. He even destroyed and threw away the crest on his forehead and donned saffron clothes. The three respective locations where Siddhartha separated from Chandoga, destroyed his crest and put on saffron clothes have been established as caitya (shrine).
Chandoga then returned to the capital, gave all the jewels of Siddhartha to King Suddhodana and narrated the whole incident to him. Upon hearing the details of Siddhartha's renunciation, overwhelmed by sorrow, his father began weeping. Seeing no possibility of Siddhartha's return, the grief stricken Suddhodana threw all the extremely precious jewels (abharana) of Siddhartha into a pond. Since that time the pond has been known by the name of Abharana.
When Siddhartha's wife awoke in the morning and heard the news of the renunciation of her husband, out of intense grief she cut off all her beautiful hair and cast away all the jewels from her body. She fell to the ground like a person severely wounded by a weapon and began weeping "Oh! I have lost all the pleasures of my life."
After giving up the world, Buddha or Bodhisattva, initially went to Vaisali City and observing the vow of celibacy, took initiation from Arariakalama Upadhyaya. He remained there for some time without finding any happiness, and eventually left for Magadha. There, he started begging for food for himself. When the Magadha king, Bimbisara, came to know about Siddhartha, he desired to give his whole empire to him. However, Bodhisattva replied, "These sensuous objects are poisonous. They are the treasure houses of unlimited vices. Afflicted by lust, people indulging in sensuous enjoyment, experience hellish torture. I regard the carnal desire as hateful as phlegm and bile. I have accepted asceticism with the desire to attain boddhatva".
Bimbisara said, "I am a disciple of your father Suddhodana. If you attain boddhatva, I shall also follow this dharma (religion)". After that, Bodhisattva remained with Upadhyaya Rudraka for some time and undertook a spiritual education. There, while studying theology, he realised that the fire of knowledge is ignited only after the absolute disappearance of the desire to enjoy.
After this, he undertook severe penance for six years on the bank of Nairanjana River, near Uruvilva Village of Gaya. Gradually, his body began to whittle away. When Bodhisattva sat down in a yogic posture at Bodhidruma near the Nairanjana River, the enemy of sad-dharma, Mara (Kandarpa or Cupid, the god of sensuous love) tried to prevent him from attaining boddhatva. Rati (sexual pleasure), Trishna (greed) and Arati (affection) came in the form of three damsels and tried to distort and divert his attention by their numerous antics, but to no avail. Thus, Bodhisattva defeated Mara and his cohorts Rati, Trishna and Arati, and achieved absolute tranquillity.
Upon ascertaining the cause of the world's sorrows and the method of its prevention, Bodhisattva adopted the name ‘Buddha' (the Enlightened One). He ascertained the cause of sorrow in the following twelve steps starting from one's previous birth (bhavacakra): 1) avidya (ignorance) causes 2) samskaras (impressions, present life volitional formations), which cause 3) vijnana (knowledge), which leads to 4) namarupa (mind and form). Namarupa causes 5) shadayatana (sense perceptions or sense bases), which cause 6) sparsa (contact), which causes 7) vedana (pain or feeling) leading to 8) trishna (greed or craving). Trishna leads to 9) upadana (attachment), which causes 10) bhava (future life-becoming), which causes 11) jati (birth), which leads to 12) jara-marana (old age and death) as well as concomitant sorrow and other related miseries. Thus, ignorance or lack of knowledge is the cause of all miseries. After the attainment of boddhatva, Buddha stayed in Bodhidruma for one week.
By the influence of Buddhadeva, fifty-four Yuvarajas (crown princes), one thousand pilgrims, Sari's son-Maudgalyayana, and many other persons accepted Buddhism. When Buddhadeva came to Kapilavastu City, his father, Suddhodana was astonished to see him. Buddha's son-Rahul, stepbrother Nanda and cousins Aniruddha and Ananda Devadatta, also took shelter of the religion or sect founded by Buddhadeva. Prasenjit, the king of Kosala, also took initiation into Buddhism. After this, the king of Magadha, Bimbisara, along with his wife and many other persons, accepted Buddhism.
During his stay in Patali Village, Buddha educated the resident religious practitioners on the subject of the eradication of sorrow. He spoke about four noble truths: 1) the fact that suffering exists 2) the cause of suffering 3) the cessation of suffering and 4) the path one should follow to end suffering.
This world is full of miseries. There are specific reasons for these miseries and a method for inhibiting them. According to Buddha, it is useless to reason about or discuss on the basis of scripture, the form of the living being, the form of the Supreme Absolute or the form of the world. For example, say an arrow has pierced the chest of a person and he is writhing in immense pain. In such a situation, is it not useless to think about where the arrow came from and how it caused the injury? In the preceding circumstances, to pull the arrow out would be the best way of relieving the pain. In order to establish the propriety of such thoughts of Buddha, Buddhist philosophy was developed at a later date. No ‘ism' of any kind can be adequately established without a foundation of proper philosophical principles.
According to Buddhist scriptures, hunger is more painful than disease and similarly, life is comparatively more troublesome than sorrow. Old age, disease, death and miseries are all concerns of the body. Therefore, until the cycle of birth and death of the body ends, miseries will continue. To restrict the misery-ridden aspect of life is final emancipation (nirvana), and only final emancipation can be the greatest pleasure.
etam natva yathabhutam nirvanam paramam sukham
According to Buddhist philosophy, nothing is stable for even more than a moment-neither the soul nor God possess stability. Here, the point to be pondered is that if the soul is impermanent, then upon what basis could the thesis of birth and rebirth be accepted? However, in Buddhist philosophy the concept of rebirth has in fact been accepted. To answer this doubt, the Buddhist philosophy states that when a body constituted of rupa-skandha (gross and subtle bodies), vedana-skandha (pain), samjna-skandha (difference), samskara-skandha (impressions) and vijnana-skandha (knowledge) appears in an aggregate of things, we erroneously think that to be the soul. Similarly, the rupa-vedana-skandha appears and disappears (or in other words, the material form is destroyed) every moment. According to Buddhism, existence does not end immediately after the destruction of the body. After death five types of births occur, although these are deemed as ‘new birth' rather than ‘rebirth'. This sequence ends with the destruction of greed and karma, and then finally the state of emancipation is attained. In other words, in Buddhist philosophy the veracity of the eternal soul, Vedas and Supreme Lord has been disregarded, which is why it is considered to be an atheistic philosophy.
After the disappearance of Buddha, this dharma was divided into two branches-‘Hinayana' (Lesser Vehicle) and ‘Mahayana' (Greater Vehicle). The followers of Hinayana have accepted the teachings of Buddha without deviation. This sect is not accessible to all, as it is the method for powerful and self-dependent devotees.
Over the course of time, the Buddhist religion was propagated to several countries where people following other religious systems gave up their particular faith and accepted Buddhist dharma. Consequently, sparks of emotions from the sentimental plane of their previously practised faiths and religions became transubstantiated into Buddhism. Therefore, the purity and rigidity of the Buddhist religion was compromised to a large extent. These transformed and expanded branches of Buddhism are called ‘Mahayana'. This Mahayana sect is accessible to the general populace. A branch of Mahayana followers say that creation takes place from the void (sunya) and that dissolution returns to the void. Only the void is true and all other things are false. Nowadays, there is another branch under Mahayana, which regards Buddha as God, and regards faith in the Supreme Lord as a valid method.
In Buddhism, the procedure for attaining the state of ‘sambodhi' or the state of final emancipation (nirvana), has been described in the following way:
Firstly, the five obstructions should be eradicated, i.e. kama (lust), himsa (violence), alasya (laziness or slothfulness), vicikitsa (doubt) and moha (ignorance). After this, the twenty-four negative emotions of the heart should be removed, i.e. krodha (anger), upanah (confinement), mrikshapradana (hypocrisy), irshya (envy or jealousy), matsarya (malice), sathya, (wickedness), maya (delusion), mada (pride), nihimsa (killing), ahri (shamelessness), anapatrata (harshness), styana (stealing), uddhatya (haughtiness), asraddha (disrespect), kaupinya (sinfulness), pramada (inadvertence), mushitasmritita (remembrance of stolen things), vikshepa (distraction), asamprajanya-kaukritya (condemnable illicit birth), siddha (the seduction of material perfections or achievements), vitarka (argument) and vicara (thought). In short, the body is impure, distress is sorrowful, the heart is restless or fickle and matter is false. These four facts should always be kept in mind. Finally, the attributes of higher knowledge, memory, pious deeds, strength, affection, inquiry, emancipation and detachment must be cultivated. Only then can the state of samadhi be achieved.
There is no scripture directly written by Gautama Buddha himself. The disciples and subsequent followers of Buddhadeva have scripted his teachings in the Pali language. They are divided into three parts known as 1) Sukta-pitaka 2) Vinaya-pitaka and 3) Abhidharma-pitaka.
At a time when failure to comprehend the actual meaning of the scriptural teachings and consequently, violence in the guise of religion took precedence, the Supreme Lord appeared in the form of Buddha and rid mankind of such violence. It is for this very reason that non-violence (ahimsa) is regarded as the basis of Buddhism.
During his reign, the emperor of Magadha, King Asoka, developed a keen interest in Buddhism. He was deeply aggrieved by the merciless massacre in the Kalinga War, and this transformed his heart. After this event, he took initiation into Buddhism from Upagupta, a Buddhist monk, and devoted himself to the preaching of the religion. Buddhism outside India was preached in China, Burma (Myanmara or Brahmadesa), Tibet, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Sri Lanka (South Simhala) and other places. Buddhism was propounded and propagated from India. However, due to the preaching of Sankaracarya, the effect of Buddhism in modern India is not prominently visible, as very few followers remain.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The mode of ignorance.
[2] In the scriptures animal sacrifice is specified to enable society to gradually rise above violent tendencies.
[3] Suta means "son."
[4] Sukla-paksha: The moonlit half of a lunar month-the bright fortnight.
[5] yaishöha: The 2nd month of the Hindu (Lunar) calendar (Summer).
[6] Pausha: the 9th month of the Hindu (Lunar) Calendar (Winter).
[7] Vaishakha month: the 1st month of the Hindu (Lunar) Calendar.
[8] Lankavatara-sutra was published with the help of the Indian Buddhist Text Society and Bengal Government in January 1900 A.D.
[9] In the 21st issue of the 18th volume of Gaudiya (Magazine), in the articles of Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura entitled, ‘Pracchanna Bauddha and Nastikyavada' (Disguised Bauddha and Atheism) and ‘Gautama' as well as in the book ‘Sri Gaudiya Darshana: History and Elements' by Sri Sundarananda Vidyavinoda (a disciple of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Thakura), the name of Sakyasimha Gautama Buddha has rarely appeared while writing about the Buddhist philosophy. Püjyapada Tridandi Svami Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Maharaja, the beloved disciple of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Thakura and founder of Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti, in his writing, ‘Mayavadera Jivani' (The Life History of Impersonalism), has written: "The lila of the Supreme Lord, the expansion of the Lord, Buddha, appeared around 3500 B.C." (Page 74) "Nihilistic Siddhartha was the disciple of Sage Gautama of Kapila's lineage. Therefore, his other name is Gautama." (Page 14) "Sakyasimha Buddha appeared around five hundred years before." (Page 18)
[10] Buddha married Yashodhara at the age of sixteen years. Buddha renounced the world at the age of twenty-nine years. He attained emancipation at the age of eighty years (New Bengali Dictionary of Ashutosh Dev)
[11] Gaya Region: This is famous as Bodha Gaya or Buddha Gaya. This is the most important pilgrimage place of Buddhists. This place was famous even before the time of Christ. The remains of the Mahabodhi Temple and the Stupa (monument), built by King Ashoka, are evidence of its fame and antiquity. The Pippala tree (ficus religiosa), under which Buddha attained enlightenment, is still there today. In the journey diary of the Chinese traveller, Fahiyan, a description of the Mahabodhi Temple of Uruvilva has been provided.
For more information or to purchase the Dasavatara book, please visit www.sreecgmath.org or the Bookstore
Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 9.49: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
tarka-pradhana bauddha-sastra 'nava mate'
tarkei khandila prabhu, na pare sthapite
SYNONYMS
tarka-pradhana -- argumentative; bauddha-sastra -- scriptures of the Buddhist cult; nava mate -- in nine basic principles; tarkei -- by argument; khandila -- refuted; prabhu -- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; na -- not; pare -- can; sthapite -- establish.
TRANSLATION
The scriptures of the Buddhist cult are chiefly based on argument and logic, and they contain nine chief principles. Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu defeated the Buddhists in their argument, they could not establish their cult.
PURPORT
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states that according to the Buddhist cult there are two ways of understanding philosophy. One is called Hinayana, and the other is called Mahayana. Along the Buddhist path there are nine principles: (1) The creation is eternal; therefore there is no need to accept a creator. (2) This cosmic manifestation is false. (3) "I am" is the truth. (4) There is repetition of birth and death. (5) Lord Buddha is the only source of understanding the truth. (6) The principle of nirvana, or annihilation, is the ultimate goal. (7) The philosophy of Buddha is the only philosophical path. (8) The Vedas are compiled by human beings. (9) Pious activities, showing mercy to others and so on are advised.
No one can attain the Absolute Truth by argument. One may be very expert in logic, and another person may be even more expert in the art of argument. Because there is so much word jugglery in logic, one can never come to the real conclusion about the Absolute Truth by argument. The followers of the Vedic principles understand this. However, it is seen here that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu defeated the Buddhist philosophy by argument. Those who are preachers in ISKCON will certainly meet many people who believe in intellectual arguments. Most of these people do not believe in the authority of the Vedas. Nevertheless, they accept intellectual speculation and argument. Therefore the preachers of Krsna consciousness should be prepared to defeat others by argument, just as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did. In this verse it is clearly said, tarkei khandila prabhu. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu put forward such a strong argument that the Buddhists could not counter Him to establish their cult.
Their first principle is that the creation has always existed. But if this were the case, there could be no theory of annihilation. The Buddhists maintain that annihilation, or dissolution, is the highest truth. If the creation eternally exists, there is no question of dissolution or annihilation. This argument is not very strong because by practical experience we see that material things have a beginning, a middle and an end. The ultimate aim of the Buddhist philosophy is to dissolve the body. This is proposed because the body has a beginning. Similarly, the entire cosmic manifestation is also a gigantic body, but if we accept the fact that it will always exist, there can be no question of annihilation. Therefore the attempt to annihilate everything in order to attain zero is an absurdity. By our own practical experience we have to accept the beginning of creation, and when we accept the beginning, we must accept a creator. Such a creator must possess an all-pervasive body, as pointed out in the Bhagavad-gita (13.14):
sarvatah pani-padam tat sarvato-'ksi-siro-mukham
sarvatah sruti-mal loke sarvam avrtya tisthati
"Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything."
The Supreme Person must be present everywhere. His body existed before the creation; otherwise He could not be the creator. If the Supreme Person is a created being, there can be no question of a creator. The conclusion is that the cosmic manifestation is certainly created at a certain time, and the creator existed before the creation; therefore the creator is not a created being. The creator is Parabrahman, or the Supreme Spirit. Matter is not only subordinate to spirit but is actually created on the basis of spirit. When the spirit soul enters the womb of a mother, the body is created by material ingredients supplied by the mother. Everything is created in the material world, and consequently there must be a creator who is the Supreme Spirit and who is distinct from matter. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita that the material energy is inferior and that the spiritual energy is the living entity. Both inferior and superior energies belong to a supreme person.
The Buddhists argue that the world is false, but this is not valid. The world is temporary, but it is not false. As long as we have the body, we must suffer the pleasures and pains of the body, even though we are not the body. We may not take these pleasures and pains very seriously, but they are factual nonetheless. We cannot actually say that they are false. If the bodily pains and pleasures were false, the creation would be false also, and consequently no one would take very much interest in it. The conclusion is that the material creation is not false or imaginary, but it is temporary.
The Buddhists maintain that the principle "I am" is the ultimate truth, but this excludes the individuality of "I" and "you." If there is no "I" and "you," or individuality, there is no possibility of argument. The Buddhist philosophy depends on argument, but there can be no argument if one simply depends on "I am." There must be a "you," or another person also. The philosophy of duality -- the existence of the individual soul and the Supersoul -- must be there. This is confirmed in the Second Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita (2.12), wherein the Lord says:
na tv evaham jatu nasam na tvam neme janadhipah
na caiva na bhavisyamah sarve vayam atah param
"Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be."
We existed in the past in different bodies, and after the annihilation of this body we shall exist in another body. The principle of the soul is eternal, and it exists in this body or in another body. Even in this lifetime we experience existence in a child's body, a youth's body, a man's body and an old body. After the annihilation of the body, we acquire another body. The Buddhist cult also accepts the philosophy of transmigration, but the Buddhists do not properly explain the next birth. There are 8,400,000 species of life, and our next birth may be in any one of them; therefore this human body is not guaranteed.
According to the Buddhists' fifth principle, Lord Buddha is the only source for the attainment of knowledge. We cannot accept this, for Lord Buddha rejected the principles of Vedic knowledge. One must accept a principle of standard knowledge because one cannot attain the Absolute Truth simply by intellectual speculation. If everyone is an authority, or if everyone accepts his own intelligence as the ultimate criterion -- as is presently fashionable -- the scriptures will be interpreted in many different ways, and everyone will claim that his own philosophy is supreme. This has become a very great problem, and everyone is interpreting scripture in his own way and setting up his own basis of authority. Yata mata tata patha. Now everybody and anybody is trying to establish his own theory as the ultimate truth. The Buddhists theorize that annihilation, or nirvana, is the ultimate goal. Annihilation applies to the body, but the spirit soul transmigrates from one body to another. If this were not the case, how can so many multifarious bodies come into existence? If the next birth is a fact, the next bodily form is also a fact. As soon as we accept a material body, we must accept the fact that that body will be annihilated and that we will have to accept another body. If all material bodies are doomed to annihilation, we must obtain a nonmaterial body, or a spiritual body, if we wish the next birth to be anything but false. How the spiritual body is attained is explained by Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9):
janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna."
This is the highest perfection -- to give up one's material body and not accept another but to return home, back to Godhead. It is not that perfection means one's existence becomes void or zero. Existence continues, but if we positively want to annihilate the material body, we have to accept a spiritual body; otherwise there can be no eternality for the soul.
We cannot accept the theory that the Buddhist philosophy is the only way, for there are so many defects in that philosophy. A perfect philosophy is one that has no defects, and that is Vedanta philosophy. No one can point out any defects in Vedanta philosophy, and therefore we can conclude that Vedanta is the supreme philosophical way of understanding the truth. According to the Buddhist cult, the Vedas are compiled by ordinary human beings. If this were the case, they would not be authoritative. From the Vedic literatures we understand that shortly after the creation Lord Brahma was instructed in the Vedas. It is not that the Vedas were created by Brahma, although Brahma is the original person in the universe. If Brahma did not create the Vedas but he is acknowledged as the first created being, wherefrom did Vedic knowledge come to Brahma? Obviously the Vedas did not come from an ordinary person born in this material world. According to Srimad-Bhagavatam, tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye: after the creation, the Supreme Person imparted Vedic knowledge within the heart of Brahma. There was no person in the beginning of the creation other than Brahma, yet he did not compile the Vedas; therefore the conclusion is that the Vedas were not compiled by any created being. Vedic knowledge was given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who created this material world. This is also accepted by Sankaracarya, although he is not a Vaisnava.
It is stated that mercy is one of the qualities of a Buddhist, but mercy is a relative thing. We show our mercy to a subordinate or to one who is suffering more than ourselves. However, if there is a superior person present, the superior person cannot be the object of our mercy. Rather, we are objects for the mercy of the superior person. Therefore showing compassion and mercy is a relative activity. It is not the Absolute Truth. Apart from this, we also must know what actual mercy is. To give a sick man something forbidden for him to eat is not mercy. Rather, it is cruelty. Unless we know what mercy really is, we may create an undesirable situation. If we wish to show real mercy, we will preach Krsna consciousness in order to revive the lost consciousness of human beings, the living entity's original consciousness. Since the Buddhist philosophy does not admit the existence of the spirit soul, the so-called mercy of the Buddhists is defective.
Comments
Haribol, Suresh Prabhu! Yes, our site members are not all strict Vaisnavas. We also have one or two mixed followers of Buddha etc onsite, so this is mostly for their interest sake. Buddha is of course an incarnation of Godhead, and although we do not follow his instructions, we also have Christians etc onboard, and we dont follow those instuctions either. Yet, we have such articles.
One interested in comparative religion for preaching can gain from such jnana. Otherwise, as Suresh Prabhu points out, we Gaudiyas are not overly interested in Budhhist philosophy, although Srila Prabhupada and our acaryas have described it in depth, in Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, for example.
Bhaktitirtha is a GBCist, yet, for sake of comparative religion, we have accepted his compilation for interest sake.
Given further or strong objections, we will happily remove this article.