Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Buddha’s Soul: Invaluable Insights From An Enlightened Master
    Buddha’s Soul: Invaluable Insights From An Enlightened Master
    Buddha’s Soul: Invaluable Insights From An Enlightened Master
    Ebook176 pages1 hour

    Buddha’s Soul: Invaluable Insights From An Enlightened Master

    By Dr.King

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This book explains some of the key ideas propounded by Buddha that makes us rethink on several things we take for granted. The way these ideas are presented is as if Buddha is sitting just in front of us and talking to us. They are invaluable!
    Unlike other ancient Indian philosophies like the Upanishads, Buddha’s words are simple, direct and delivered with full authority. They are like a handholding experience to an ardent practitioner who wants to make progress in the spiritual path.
    Whatever Buddha said more than 2500 years ago is relevant even today. In a world where commercialization of spiritual practices is becoming rampant, Buddha’s original messages dispel lot of misconception and provide a guiding light for right way of propagating spirituality.
    In this marvelous collection of short articles, Dr. King presents some of the key ideas from ancient Tipitakas – Buddhist source for everything. The focus is on core principles carved out from otherwise difficult to understand and voluminous, original Pali scriptures.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDr.King
    Release dateMar 16, 2018
    ISBN9781370399482
    Author

    Dr.King

    Dr.King is an avid writer in the nonfictional category. In the past 3 decades he has written several books in the areas of philosophy, Yoga, religious practices, sculpture, gardening, and so on. His books often blend scientific outlook with traditional faiths and practices. His books especially in the area of ancient philosophy succinctly showcase volumes of ancient literature in a condensed form, providing very authentic, insightful and unbiased portrayal. These books are generally characterized as thought provoking, giving an incisive look at the otherwise difficult to understand topics. One can expect to find reliable information, devoid of glorification and hype that is typical in this category.

    Read more from Dr.King

    Related to Buddha’s Soul

    Related ebooks

    Buddhism For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Aug 7, 2018

      Ajahn Jayasaro’s STILLNESS FLOWING: THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF AJAHN CHAH (Abhayagiri 2017) is a remarkable testament to the legacy of the Thai Buddhist teacher Ajahn Chah (1918–1992). Over eight hundred pages in length, the book begins with Ajahn Cha

      4 min read

    • Article

      What Is the Buddha in You?

      Sep 14, 2021

      What Is the Buddha in You?
      9 min read

    • Article

      Science Vs Buddhism

      Mar 23, 2023

      Science Vs Buddhism
      9 min read

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Nov 3, 2020

      Human beings have written paeans to everything from shadows to nightingales, but few things inspire more admiration in bodhisattvas than compassion. Yet what exactly does compassion, a word used so liberally today, consist of? In Praise of Great Comp

      4 min read

    • Article

      Teacher of Teachers

      Nov 6, 2018

      Teacher of Teachers
      5 min read

    • Article

      Looking Into Vajrayana Buddhism’s Future

      Mar 11, 2024

      Looking Into Vajrayana Buddhism’s Future
      20 min read

    • Article

      All Beings Liberating, Together, At Once

      Jun 5, 2020

      All Beings Liberating, Together, At Once
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Discovery of the Oldest Buddhist Manuscripts

      Feb 5, 2019

      IN 1994, the British Library acquired twenty-eight brittle fragments of birch bark scrolls from an anonymous donor. The mystery scrolls were soon identified as the oldest known Buddhist manuscripts in the world, dating from the golden age of Gandhara

      1 min read

    • Article

      I Vow Not to Burn Out

      Sep 27, 2022

      I Vow Not to Burn Out
      4 min read

    • Article

      Heart Of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra

      May 18, 2021

      Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when deeply practicing prajña paramita, clearly saw that all five aggregates are empty and thus relieved all suffering. Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is

      1 min read

    • Article

      Lots Of Buddhas

      Sep 22, 2020

      Lots Of Buddhas
      5 min read

    • Article

      How Insentient Beings Expound Dharma

      Sep 20, 2023

      The concept of buddhanature (bussho), as interchangeable with tathagatagarbha (womb or embryo of tathagata; “one who has thus come,” an epithet of the Buddha), arose in Mahayana Buddhism after Nagarujuna (second to third century CE) and before Vasuba

      3 min read

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Jun 5, 2020

      The story of how Prince Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha is nothing new for the readers of Buddhadharma. What The Life of the Buddha (Shambhala Bala Kids 2020), a storybook by Heather Sanche with illustrations by Tara Di Gesu, offers is not exact

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Sutta Pitaka

      Jul 19, 2022

      The Sutta Pitaka
      6 min read

    • Article

      Embracing Diversity

      Dec 1, 2023

      Embracing Diversity
      5 min read

    • Article

      Why Buddhanature Matters

      Sep 20, 2023

      Why Buddhanature Matters
      12 min read

    • Article

      Dare We Update the Dharma?

      Sep 24, 2019

      WHEN I MENTIONED to my wife that I’d been asked to write a piece on “updating the dharma,” she commented, “It’s not the dharma that needs updating. It’s our minds.” She was right, of course. The Buddha himself famously remarked that whether enlighten

      5 min read

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Feb 5, 2019

      Lama Zopa Rinpoche has long dreamed of creating a massive statue of Maitreya Buddha in India, a wish that originated with his guru Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935–1984) as a thank-you for India’s acceptance of Tibetan refugees. This vision led to the creati

      4 min read

    • Article

      Dharma Faqs

      Jul 23, 2019

      Dharma Faqs
      2 min read

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Mar 7, 2023

      BUDDHISM’S FUNDAMENTAL CONCERN is freeing beings from the delusions that are the causes of suffering. One method that is often used to do this is distinguishing two truths, or two realities: the relative truth of how things appear conventionally, and

      4 min read

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Dec 6, 2022

      WE CALL SHAKYAMUNI the “historical Buddha,” yet mostly treat him as a quasi-mythic figure who transcends time and space, whose actual existence on our planet is but a faint memory. Xinru Liu, a historian of ancient India, would beg to differ. In Earl

      4 min read

    • Article

      Do You Believe In Rebirth?

      Jan 19, 2021

      BHIKSUNI THUBTEN CHODRON As Buddhism travels to new countries, some of its tenets are called into question because they are unfamiliar to people there. The idea of rebirth is one of them. There is doubt among Westerners who did not grow up as Buddhis

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Case for Rebirth

      May 8, 2018

      The Case for Rebirth
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Awakened One

      May 23, 2023

      The Awakened One
      9 min read

    • Article

      Understanding Self Power & Other Power

      Jun 13, 2023

      Understanding Self Power & Other Power
      11 min read

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Mar 8, 2022

      BUDDHADASA BHIKKHU (1906–1993), one of Thailand’s most revered monks of the twentieth century, wants us all to be problem solvers. In an edited series of his lectures recently published as Seeing with the Eye of Dhamma: The Comprehensive Teaching of

      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Buddha’s Soul

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Buddha’s Soul - Dr.King

      Buddha – epitome of compassion and universal love

      F:\my_books\amazon\am_ancient_wisdom\cover_design\cover_logo_old.jpg Buddha was probably the earliest humanists in the recorded history. For him, human suffering was of utmost concern. He dedicated his entire life to preaching a way out of all the suffering once for all.

      When philosophers like Heraclitus were preaching their theory of impermanence in ancient Greece, Buddha was talking about his concept of ‘anicca’ in almost the same way - Nothing is permanent, neither the body nor the mind.

      Whether there were any interactions between these philosophers, one never knows. But they seem to talk about similar concepts. There are mentions about Greek philosophers visiting India and studying in ancient Indian Universities such as Nalanda, Takshashila and so on.

      Some people believe that one of the greatest humanists mankind has ever seen, namely Jesus Christ was greatly influenced by Buddha. There are books written about Jesus spending his early years in India and studying in Buddhist monasteries before returning back to his homeland.

      Background

      Buddha or Siddhartha Gautama lived around 2500 years ago (roughly 480 – 400 B.C.). He was born in a place called Lumbini in present day India - Nepal border.

      Figure 1 Buddha’s birth place in ancient India (Image based on map from Avantiputra in Wikimedia)

      This is the Himalayan region, well known as an abode of practicing ascetics. Even today, this region is known as the destination for spiritual seekers and advanced Yogis.

      Siddhartha was his given name and Gautama was his family name. His father was the Shakyan ruler named Suddhodhana and his mother was Maya. But he was generally known by his contemporaries as just Gautama.

      There is a legend of miraculous conception of Maya – Buddha’s mother. It is said that a white elephant appeared in her dream and gave indications of coming of Buddha. Maya conceived and after due time she travelled to her mother’s place for delivery. But, on the way, she had labor pains and at a place called Lumbini, she had to give birth to Buddha under a tree.

      Figure 2 An ancient sculpture depicting Maya's miraculous conception legend (image courtesy Wikimedia)

      ‘Buddha’ was a title he acquired after he attained enlightenment. The word literally means – somebody who is enlightened.

      In ancient Pali scriptures, he is often referred to as Tathagata. Even Buddha often referred to himself as Tathagata. The exact meaning of this word is not clear. But it is often believed to mean – one who has gone beyond the confines of body and mind.

      Buddha was a Hindu prince born in the Kshatriya caste

      In the traditional Hindu social order, the society was divided into four castes or Varnas:  Brahmin – someone who performed religious rituals, Kshatriya -  a person who is supposed to be a ruler or who worked in army or other defense related professions, Vaishya – a person engaged in agriculture, trade, and finally a Südra – someone who served other 3 castes.

      Buddha was born as a Kshatriya – the ruler class of Hindu social order. My use of the word ‘Hindu’ may be a bit misleading since the version of Hinduism we have today may be quite different from what existed in Buddha’s times. But essentials did not change much, over thousands of years.

      The essentials of Hinduism in Buddha’s times as well as today are

      Acceptance of the authority of Vedic scriptures and the rituals ordained by them;

      Belief in divine beings;

      Belief in heaven and other worlds;

      Division of society into various castes or Varnas;

      The idea of Sanyäsa or contemplative way of life, moving from place to place, living on alms;

      Belief in Karma (cosmic records of our past actions that influence our lives later on);

      Belief in rebirth, driven by the Karma; and most importantly

      Aspiration for final liberation (or Mökšha).

      Buddha seemed to have believed in most of these things.

      He had respect for Brahmins, Even on death bed he instructed his disciples to hand over his dead body to Brahmins who would perform the necessary death rituals suitable for a Kshatriya.

      But Buddha did not support oppression of people based on caste. He believed that a person has to be respected for his deeds and not just by his birth. In one of his discourses, Buddha ridicules people who claim their superiority merely because they are born to superior parents. He goes to the extent of asking – How are you sure that the person you believe as your father, is really your father?

      Actually, if one were to look deeply into ancient Hindu scriptures, even though they talk about division of society into various castes, they don’t encourage oppression. (See for example, my book "Ancient wisdom – Modern Viewpoints, Chapter: ‘Manu’s world of unequals’). So we can say that the caste based oppression was something that crept into the Hindu society more as an aberration than as a rule.

      In his initial years, Buddha did go through training in Vedic scriptures, though after he took up sanyäsa, he did not care much for any of the rituals ordained by them.

      This is in consonance with the Hindu tradition. These rituals are not meant for sanyäsis – people who have given up worldly life, in preference to spiritual upliftment. The Vedic rituals are meant for worldly people to attain worldly benefits. But, for a person who is interested in ultimate liberation, those rituals mean nothing; so also to Buddha.

      Buddha talked about divine beings mentioned in the Vedas. Vedas talked about 33 such divinities which the later Hindu mythologies bloated to 33 million.

      Buddha talked about Indra and other Vedic divinities. He even mentions about their number as 33 in some places! In Buddhist scriptures there are mentions about Buddha visiting their worlds and these divine beings in turn visiting Buddha.

      Buddha spent most of his life as a Sanyäsi, living on alms and wandering from place to place. This is what is enjoined by Hindu scriptures for anyone who wants to make spiritual progress.

      Karma, anyway, is the central tenet of Buddhism. Karma or Kamma as it is called in the Pali language, are the impressions one accumulates as a result of his actions during his life time. Hindus believe that these impressions are the ones responsible for whatever happens to a person – good or bad.

      Though the Hindus attribute God as the arbiter who governs the operation of this Karma, Buddha is totally silent about how these Kammic impressions are put into action. In fact, Buddha rarely talks about God – God as the creator, sustainer, and decider of the results of Karma, as believed by the Hindu scriptures.

      Only on rare occasions Buddha hints at his rejection of such a concept of God, more out of sympathy for the suffering multitude. This is exemplified by his saying that –If some God has created this world, a world that is full of miseries, then that God must be a very cruel person!

      Buddha cannot believe that a benevolent God could have created such a sorrowful world as this one. Instead, Buddha, like his Sänkhyan (a prominent branch of Hindu philosophy) counterparts, relies more on the mechanism of causality for the coming into existence of the world and its sustenance.

      Buddha often talked about rebirth and cycle of births and deaths. He considered this cycle as the mother of all miseries. His main emphasis was a way out of this cycle, which would lead to liberation. This is the final aim of all the philosophies and practices that took birth in India - Vedic or otherwise. So Buddha was no exception.

      I am highlighting these, just to clear the misconception in the minds of some people, who think that Buddha preached an altogether new religion. I would rather see it that Buddha tried to  iron out some of the ills in the Hindu society, and to give it a new focus and reformed outlook.

      Yes, in marked contrast to the Vedic school of thought, especially the Upanishads, which revolved around the concept of an eternal soul, Buddha did reject the very idea of soul. He tried to explain everything without taking recourse to

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1