UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL

STUDIES, PANJAB UNIVERSITY

(CHANDIGARH)

HISTORY

PROJECT ON

BUDDHISM: HISTORY OF THE RELIGION

AND ITS SPREAD.
Submitted by:- Submitted to:-

Srishti Sharma Ms. Ravneet Kaur

BA LLB(Hons.)
Section-C
Semester-I

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I want to thank my research supervisor, Ms. Ravneet Kaur, who selflessly
helped me in completing this project. Her teaching style and methodology have always inspired
me to achieve the further targets. She raised many precious points in our discussion and I hope
that I have managed to address several of them here.

I would like to extend my gratitude to The Director, University Institute Of Legal Studies, Prof.
Ratan Singh Sir for giving me this golden opportunity to express myself.

Getting through my dissertation required more than academic support, and I have many, many
people to thank for listening to and, at times, taking a stand for me. I cannot begin to express my
gratitude and appreciation for their friendship. I must thank everyone above as well as my
beloved friends.

With Regards,

Srishti Sharma

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 ABSTRACT
Buddhism is a religion that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (“the Buddha”) more
than 2,500 years ago in India. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider
Buddhism one of the major world religions. The religion has historically been most
prominent in East and Southeast Asia, but its influence is growing in the West. Many
Buddhist ideas and philosophies overlap with those of other faiths.Followers of
Buddhism don’t acknowledge a supreme god or deity. They instead focus on achieving
enlightenment—a state of inner peace and wisdom. When followers reach this spiritual
echelon, they’re said to have experienced nirvana.The religion’s founder, Buddha, is
considered an extraordinary man, but not a god. The word Buddha means
“enlightened.”The path to enlightenment is attained by utilizing morality, meditation and
wisdom. Buddhists often meditate because they believe it helps awaken truth.There are
many philosophies and interpretations within Buddhism, making it a tolerant and
evolving religion.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTERS PAGES

1) Front page 1

2) Acknowledgment 2

3) Abstract 3

4) Table of contents 4

5) Chapter 1 – Introduction, origin story of Buddha. 5-9

6) Chapter 2 – The growth of Buddhism- early stage, under Asoka 9-10

7) Chapter 3 – Growth of Buddhism outside India 10-11

8) Chapter 4 – Teachings of different sects of Buddhism (Hinyana, Mahayana,

Vajrayana) 11-14

9) Chapter 5 – Rules, laws and Principles of Buddhism (Four Noble Truths, Eightfold
Paths and Ten Precepts) 14-18

10) Chapter 6 – Decline of Buddhism in India (Regrowth of Hinduism, Muslim Rulers

invasion etc) 18-19

11) Bibliography 20

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 CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION
When ancient India was filled with the teachings of the Upnisads in the Brahminic system-
which was the form of Hinduism followed in that period- many unorthodox or rather heterodox
concepts formulated and developed. Among such believes, one prominent one was of a
community of yellow-robed followers led by the Buddhaaround the end of the sixth century
B.C.E or the beginning of the fifth century B.C.E. Buddha means the awakened or the
enlightened. He is believed to be, by many historians, as the greatest influencer, preacher to be
born out of the ancient Indian land.

Buddhism is now the fourth largest religion prevalent in the world and has majorly spread in east
and south-east Asia with over 470 million followers around the globe. The religion doesn’t
follow a god but instead, it teaches the path to attain enlightenment or achieve Nirvana.

ORIGIN STORY OF THE BUDDHA

The traditional story of Buddha, just like many saints and heroes of ancient days has faced much
criticism. Even the teachings of Buddhism have been criticized for their authenticity as the
scriptures of Buddhism have been formed after the death of Buddha. For example, the “Sermon
of the Turning of the Wheel of the Law” has been doubted for its authenticity even though it is
believed to be the first sermon taught by The Buddha after his enlightenment as believed by all
the sects of Buddhism.

However, certain facts of Buddha’s life and origin are accepted globally by all the historians. He
was the son of the Sakyas, a small tribe of the Himalayan foothills ( present-day Nepal). He
propounded a new doctrine which gained numerous believers and disciples. After teaching in the
northern kingdoms of the river Ganga like Magadha, Kosala and many tribal communities, he
died at the age of eighty somewhere between 486 and 473 B.C.E.

This is a dry outline of the life of Buddha. The story told by his followers is far more vividly
colored and thus it is more important to know the story of the man who influenced the whole of
Asia east of Afghanistan.

The story of Buddha here has been taken from the book, ‘The wonder that was India’ by A.L
Basham.

“One nightMahamaya, chief queen of Suddhodhana, king of the Sakyas, dreamt that she was
carried away to the divine lake Anavatapta in the Himalayas, where she was bathed by the
heavenly guardians of the four quarters of the universe. A great white holding a lotus flower in

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his trunk approached her, and entered her side. Next day the dream was interpreted for her by
wise men- she had conceived a wonderful son, who would either become a Universal Emperor or
a Universal Teacher. The child was born in groove of sal trees called Lumbini, near the capital of

Sakyas, Kapilavastu, while his mother was on the way to her home for her confinement. At birth
he stood upright, took seven strides and spoke, “This is my last birth- henceforth there is no more
birth for me.”

The boy was named Siddhartha, at a great ceremony on the fifth day from his birth. His gotra
name was Gautama (in Pali, Gotama) by which he is commonly referred to as in Buddhist
literature. The soothsayers prophesized that he would become a Universal Emperor with the
exception of one, who said that four signs would convince him of the misery of the world and
force him to become a Universal Teacher. To prevent this prophecy from coming true, King
Suddhodhana resolved that he should never know the miseries and sorrows of the world. He was
reared in delightful palaces, from whose parks every sign of death, disease and misery was
removed. He learned all the arts that a prince should learn and excelled as astudent. He married
his cousin Yasodhara whom he won at a great contest at which he performed feats of strength
and skills which put to shame all other contestants, including his envious cousin Devadatta.

But for all his prosperity and success he was not inwardly happy, and for all the efforts his father,
he did see the four signs foretold, which were to decide his career, for the gods knew his destiny
and it was they who placed the signs before him. One day, he was driving round the royal park
with his faithful charioteer Channa, he saw an aged man, in the last stages of infirmity and
decrepitude- actually a god who had disguised himself in order that SiddharthaGautama might
become Buddha. Siddhartha asked Channa who this repulsive being was and learned that all
men must grow old which troubled him even more in his mind. This was the firsts sign. The
second came a little later, in the same way, in the form of a very sick man, covered with boils
and shivering with fever. The third was even more terrible- a corpse, being carried to the
cremation ground followed by mourners. But the fourth sign was not of misery. He saw a simple
religious begging wanderer clad in simple yellow robes, peaceful and calm. Gautama realized
where his destiny lay and set his heart on becoming a wanderer.

When Sudhhodhana heard of this, he doubled the precautions on Siddhartha and made him a
virtual prisoner although still providing him all the pleasures and luxuries but Siddhartha’s heart
knew no peace, could not forget about the four signs. His wife, Yasodhara gave birth to a son but
even that gave him no joy. One night, he woke Channa who saddled his favorite horse, Kanthaka
and he rode off into the night, surrounded by rejoicing demigods ho cushioned the hooves of his
horse in order to ensure that no one should hear his departure.

When far from the city, he stripped off his princely belongings and wore only a robe owning
nothing but the robe that he wore. He cut his hair and sent it to his father along with his jewelries
and clothes by the hand ofChanna. The horse Kanthaka dropped dead as it came to know that it

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had part its ways with its master and was reborn in one of the heavens. Thus, in this way
Siddhartha performed his, ‘Great Going forth’ (Mahabhiniskramana) and became a wandering
ascetic. At first he begged his food as a wanderer but soon he left this life for that of a forest
hermit. He learned meditation from a sage named AlaraKalama and the lore of Brahman as
taught in the Upanisads; but he was not convinced that man could obtain liberation from sorrow
by self-discipline and knowledge, so he joined forces with five ascetics who were practicing the
most rigorous self-mortification in the hope of wearing away their karma and obtaining final
bliss.

His penances became so severe that the five ascetics quickly recognized him as their leader. For
six years he tortured himself until he was nothing but a walking skeleton. One day, worn out by
penance and hunger, he fainted and his followers believed that he was dead. However, after a
while he regained consciousness and realized that his fasts and penances had been useless. He
again began to beg for food, regaining his strength. The five disciples left him in disgust at his
backsliding.

One day, SiddharthaGautama, now thirty-five years old was seated beneath a large pipal tree, he
made a solemn vow that, though his bones wasted away and his blood dried up, he would not
leave seat until the riddle of suffering was solved. So for forty-nine days he sat beneath the tree.
At first he was surrounded by hosts of gods and spirits, waiting for the great moment of
enlightenment; but they soon fled, for Mara (equivalent to Satan), the spirit of the world and of
sensual pleasures, The Buddhist devil, approached. For days Gautama withstood temptations of
all kinds. Mara, disguised as a messenger brought news that the wicked cousin Devadatta had
revolted, thrown Suddhodhana into prison, and seized Yasodhara, but Gautama was not moved.
Mara called his demon hosts, and attacked him with whirlwind, tempest, flood and earthquake,
but he sat firm, cross-legged beneath the tree. Then the temper called on Gautama to produce
evidence of his goodness and benevolence; he touched the ground with his hand, and the earth
itself spoke with a voice of thunder: ‘I am his witness’.

Mara then tried gentler means of shaking Gautama’s resolve. He called his three beautiful
daughters, Desire, Pleasure and Passion, who danced and sang before him, and tried every
means of seduction. Their wiles were quite ineffectual. They offered him Universal Empire; but
he was unmoved. At last the demons gave up and struggle and Gautama sank deeper and deeper
into meditation. At the dawning of the forty-ninth day he knew the truth. He had found the secret
of sorrow, and understood at last why the world was so full of suffering and unhappiness of all
kinds, and what man must do to overcome them. He was fully enlightened, a Buddha. For
another seven weeks he remained under the ‘Tree of Wisdom’ (Bodhi) meditating on the great
truths that he had found.

For a time he doubted whether he should proclaim his wisdom to the world as it was so recondite
and difficult to express that only a few would be able to understand but the god Brahma himself
descended on earth and persuaded him to teach the world. Leaving the Tree of Wisdom, he

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journeyed to the Deer Park near Varanasi (present-day Sarnath), where his five former disciples
had settled to continue their penances.

To these five ascetics, Buddha preached his first sermon, or, in Buddhist phraseology, ‘set in
motion the Wheel of Law’. The five were so impressed by his new doctrine that they gave up
their austerities and became his disciples again. In a few days, around sixty ascetics became his
followers and moved around in all directions to preach BuddhistDharma. Soon his name was
well known throughout the Ganga plain, and the greatest kings of the time favored him and his
disciples. He gathered together a disciplined body of disciples called Bhiksus, or in paliBhikkhus,
which literally means beggars, knit together by a common garb, the yellow robes of the order,
and a common discipline, according to tradition was laid down in detail by the Buddha himself.
Many stories are told of his long years of preaching. He returned to Kapilavastu, and converted
his father, wife and son, Rahula, as well as many members of the court including his cousin,
Devadatta who still remained full of jealousy. At the request of his foster-mother and aunt, he
allowed with much misgiving the formation of a community of nuns. Devadatta was so jealous
of him that he once tried to kill him by letting loose a mad elephant in his path; but the beast,
impressed by his gentleness and fearlessness, calmly bowed at his feet. He averted a war
between Sakyas and Koliyas, by walking between the assembled armies and convincing them of
the uselessness and evil of bloodshed. He went alone to the camp of a notorious bandit,
Angulimala, and converted him and his followers from their evil ways.

Though according to legends his life was full of wonders, the earliest canons record a few
miracles performed by Buddha himself. Once he is said to have performed feats of levitation as a
result of challenges from rival teachers but he strictly forbade his disciples from imitating him or
performing such deeds. There is no record of him performing supernatural healing deeds or
bringing the dead back to life which is in contrast to the general trends of tales of other saints and
gods. There is one story though which runs along these lines but is still a moral story instead of
being a record of his miracles. Once a lady begged Buddha to bring her dead son back to life.
Buddha asked her to bring mustard seeds from any house in the vicinity which had seen no
deaths of family members. The woman searched for such a house for hours but couldn’t find any
house which had not seen a death of a family member. The woman understood the inevitability
of death and became a follower of Buddha.

Buddha would roam around preaching and teaching and gaining followers along with his Sangha
(which means society, the Buddhist order was called ‘Sangha’) for eight months of a year and
would then settle down at a place for the remaining four months ( the rainy season) in any of the
parks given to the order by wealthy followers.

The last year of Buddha came at the age of eighty. He spent his last rainy season near the city of
Vaisali and after the rains he and his followers to his home country. He prepared his disciples for
his death, telling them that his body as now like a worn-out cart, creaking at every point. He told
them that he had taught them everything they needed to attain nirvana (this is a debatable topic

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as some Buddhist sect claim that they had some secret teachings by Buddha that was only
transferred within the sect and only to the core followers of the sect). On the outskirts of the
town, he lay down under a sal tree and that night he died. It is said that his last words were, “All
composite things decay. Strive diligently.” This was his ‘final blowing out’ (Parinirvana). His
sorrowing disciples cremated his body and divided the ashes between the representatives of
various tribal people and King Ajatasatru of Magadha.”

CHAPTER-2

THE GROWTH OF BUDDHISM

According to the tradition, a great gathering of monks from all over the north met at Magadhan
capital of Rajagrha soon after Buddha’s death. At this council, Upali, one of the chief disciples,
recited the VinayaPitaka, or the rules of the order, as he recalled having heard the Buddha give
them. Another disciple, Ananda, who bore a recognized position as a monk, recited the
SuttaPitaka, the great collection of Buddha’s sermons on matter of doctrine and ethics. Though
the council or gathering may be true. The story however is of questionable authenticity as it was
a established truth among the historians that the scriptures of Buddhism grew over a long process
of development and accretion, perhaps over several centuries.

Another council meeting occurred around hundred years after Buddha’s death. Here schism
raised its head, ostensibly over small points of monastic discipline. This resulted in the breaking
of the order into two sections, the orthodox Sthaviravadins (Pali, Theravadi) or ‘Believers in the
Teachings of the Elders’ and the Mahasanghikas or ‘Members of the Great Community’.

By this time, India had already seen its first empire established by the Mauryans and Asoka of
the Mauryan dynasty had a major role the growth of Buddhism. It can be said that the growth of
Buddhism saw a different phase under the Reign of Asoka. The third council occurred under the
patronage of Asoka in Pataliputra, the Mauryan capital, which resulted in the expulsion of many
heretics and the establishment of Sthaviravada school as orthodox. At this council, it is said that
the last section was added to the Pali scriptures, the Kathavatthu of the AbhidhammaPitaka,
dealing with psychology and metaphysics.

These records show that by this time widespread difference had developed within the order.
Great changes had taken place in the constitution of Buddhism. Some historians believe that
Buddha had no intention of forming a religion. He believed in paving a way for people to
achieve ‘Moksh’ or ‘Nirvana’ without following the complex religious ceremonies and rituals.

Coming back to Asoka, by his time, Buddhism had already become a religion. Asoka classified
all the religions under his empire under five heads; the Sangha (Buddhist), the Brahmans, the
Ajivikas, the Nirgranthas (Jainas) and ‘other sects’. He honored other religions but declared that

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his chief patronage is towards Buddhism, declaring it as the state religion of the Mauryan
Empire. By his time, India was covered with Viharas or monasteries and temples. Buddhism had
taken a lot from the popular beliefs of the time while becoming a religion. The concept of shrines
was introduced in Buddhism in the form of Caityas where ashes of chief monks were laid and
the spot was deemed sacred like other religions. Buddha never told his followers to disrespect
shrines of other believers but to revere them.

With the death of Buddha, monks started getting established permanently on the outskirts of
towns and villages. With time, these monasteries grew in size and importance. Stupas were also
built over the divided ashes of Buddha. Asoka unearthed Buddha’s ashes and further divided
them in order to build stupas all over India. The original Bodhi Tree, under which Buddha
attained enlightenment became a pilgrimage site and cuttings of it were taken as far as Ceylon.
Pipal trees were planted in monasteries which became a spot for monks to meditate.

Buddha had not begun to be worshipped as a picture until the Christian era. The simple followers
had begun worshipping Buddha as a divine deity even before his death. He was worshipped in
symbols- the stupas representing his Parinirvana and the pipal tree representing his
enlightenment.

CHAPTER-3

BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA

The following excerpt has been taken from ‘The wonder that was India’, Vol 1 by A.L Basham
which shows the growth and development of Buddhism out of the Indian subcontinent:

With the support of Asoka Buddhism greatly expanded, spreading throughout India and to
Ceylon. There is some doubt as to how far the doctrine had developed at this time, but at least a
rudimentary canon existed, though perhaps not yet committed to writing. The great Buddhist
holy places—the Lumbini Grove at Kapilavastu where the Buddha was born, the Tree of
Wisdom at Gaya where he gained enlightenment, the Deer Park near Varanasi where he
preached his first sermon, and the grove near Kusinagara where he died—were visited by many
pilgrims, including Asoka himself.

Though there is a tradition of cruel persecution under PusyamitraSunga the faith continued to
grow. Of all the religious remains of between 200 B.C and A.D 200 so far discovered in India
those of Buddhism outnumber those of Brahmanism, Hinduism and Jainism together. The old
stupas were enlarged and beautified with carved railings, terraces and gateways. All classes of
the community, lungs, princes, merchants and craftsmen, made donations to the Order, which are
recorded in numerous inscriptions. Though the individual monk was bound by his vows to own
no property except bare necessities, and to touch ho silver or gold, the monasteries grew rich on

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the alms of the faithful. The revenues of whole villages were alienated to them by pious kings,
and even the individual monks began to take their vows of poverty lightly, for more than one
inscription records donations made to the Order by ordained members of it. Though there is little
evidence of strong sectarian animus within the Order, sects already existed, and the scriptures
had been codified in more than one record. It is possible that much of the Pali canon of the
Sthaviravadins, in the form in which we have it, emanates from the great monastery on a hilltop
near the modem village of Sanchi, the remains of which are among the finest relics of early
Buddhism.

Another very important sect, the Sarvastivadins, was strong in the region of Mathura and in
Kashmir. It was in Kashmir, according to a tradition preserved in China, that, under the
patronage of Kaniska, a fourth great council was held, at which the Sarvastivadin doctrines were
codified in a summary, the Mahavibhasa. It was chiefly among the Sarvastivadins, but also in
the old schism of the Mahasanghikas, that new ideas developed, which were to form the basis of
the division of Buddhism into the "'Great" and "Lesser Vehicles" ( Mahayana and Hinayana).
The Brahmans and their lay supporters had by now largely turned from the older gods, whom
they worshipped with animal sacrifices, towards others, who were worshipped with reverent
devotion. In N.-W. India the rule of Greeks, Sakas and Kusanas in turn had thrown open the
gates to the West, and ideas from Persia and beyond entered India in greater strength than before.
In these conditions teachers of the early Christian centuries gave to Buddhism a wholly new
outlook. They claimed to have found a new and great vehicle which would carry many souls to
salvation, while the Sthaviravadins and kindred sects had but a small one. The Great Vehicle
soon became popular in many parts of India, for it fitted the mood of the times and the needs of
many simple people better than did the Lesser Vehicle, which then began to lose ground.

In Ceylon, however, the Lesser Vehicle resisted all the attacks of the new sects and thence it was
later taken to Burma, Thailand and other parts of South-East Asia, where it became the national
religion. The Great Vehicle, on the other hand, itselfsoon divided by various schisms, was
carried by a succession of Indian monks to China and thence to Japan. By the time of theGuptas
it predominated, and HsuanTsang, in the 7th century, found the Lesser Vehicle almost extinct in
most of India, and only flourishing in a few parts of the West; evidently it had ceased to make a
strong emotional appeal in the India of early Hinduism.

CHAPTER- 4

TEACHINGS OF DIFFEENT BUDDHIST SECTS

The teachings as per the Lesser Vehicle (Hinayana)-

As it stands today the Pali canon of the Sthaviravadins, including the scriptures, commentaries
and semi-canonical texts, would fill a fair-sized bookcase. It consists of three sections called
"baskets" (pitaka), from the fact that the long strips of prepared palm-leaf on which the texts

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were written were originally stored in baskets. These three are known as the Vinaya ("Conduct"),
Sutta("Sermon") and Abhidhamma (" Metaphysics ") Pitakas.

The VinayaPitaka contains pronouncements attributed to the Buddha, laying down numerous
rules for the conduct of the Order. With each rule the circumstances which led the Buddha to
propound it are given, and thus the Vinaya contains much early traditional matter.

The largest and most important of the "Three Baskets" is the SuttaPitaka, which is divided into
five "Groups" (Nikaya):

5(l) Digha (Long) Nikaya, a collection of long sermons ascribed to the Buddha, with accounts of
the circumstances in which he preached them.

(2) Majjhima (Medium) Nikaya, shorter sermons.

(3) Samyutta (Connected) Nikaya, collections of brief pronouncements on kindred topics.

(4) Adguttara (Graduated) Nikaya, a collection of over 8,000 brief statements, arranged rather
artificially in eleven sections, according to the number of topics treated in each statement. Thus,
Section Two contains a discussion on the two things,which a man should avoid. Section Three,
one on the trinity of thought, word and deed, and so on.

(5) Khuddaka (Minor) Kadya, miscellaneous works in prose and verse, some very ancient, but
certainly added to the canon later than the four other Nikayas. Among the contents of the
Khuddaka are the Dhammapada (“Verses on Virtue"), the Theragatha and the Therigatha
(“Hymns of the Euler Monks and Nuns), which contain some of India's greatest religious poetry,
and the Jataka, a collection of over 500 poems, briefly outlining folktales and other stories,
which were originally intended to be told in the words of a narrator. The tales are told in full in a
prose commentary attributed to Buddhaghosa, which is invariably published with the verses.
Many of the tales are secular, and they do not all convey a very exalted message, but they have
all been given an odor of sanctity by being ascribed to the Buddha, who is said to have told them
as recollections of his previous births as a Bodhisattva, a being destined to become a Buddha.
These racy and vivid stories are great as literature, and will be considered elsewhere in that
aspect. They are an invaluable source of social history.

The third Pitaka, Abhidhamma, consists of some drily pedantic works on Buddhist psychology
and metaphysics of little interest except to the specialist. It is certainly later than the other two
Pitakas.

As well as the canon and its many commentaries there are several semi-canonical works.

Teachings as per the Great Vehicle (Mahayana):

The universe ofthe Great Vehicle contains numerous Bodhisattvas, chief of whom, from the
earthly point of view, is Avalokitesvara ("The Lord who looks down”), also called
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Padmapani("The Lotus-Bearer"). His special attribute is compassion, and his helping hand
reaches even to Avici, the deepest and most unpleasant of toe Buddhist purgatories. Another
important Bodhisattva is Manjusri, whose special activity is to stimulate toe understanding, and
who is depicted with a naked sword in one hand, to destroy error and falsehood, and a book in
toe other, describing the ten paramitas, or great spiritual perfections, which are the cardinal
virtues developed by Bodhisattvas. Vajrapani, a sterner Bodhisattva, is the foe of sin and evil,
and like the god Indra bears a thunderbolt in his hand. The gentle Maitreya, the future Buddha, is
worshipped as a Bodhisattva. Also worthy of mention is, Ksitigarbha, the guardian of the
purgatories, who is thought of not as a fierce torturer but rather as the governor of a model
prison, doing his best to make life tolerable for his charges, and helping them to earn remission
of sentence.The world contains much good as well as evil, and there is help for all who ask.
Every living thing, from the humblest worm upwards, is in a sense a Bodhisattva, for most
schools of the Great Vehicle maintain implicitly or explicitly that ultimately all beings will attain
Nirvana and become Buddha.

The idea arose that Gautama Buddha had not been a mere man, but the earthly expression of a
mighty spiritual being. This being has three bodies; a Body of Essence (Dharmakaya), a Body of
Bliss (Sambhogakaya), and a Created Body (Nirmanakaya), and of these only the last was seen
on earth. The Body of Essence eternally penetrates and permeates the universe; it is the ultimate
Buddha, of which the other two bodies are emanations, more or less unreal. The Body of Bliss
exists in the heavens, and will continue until the final resolution of all things in the Body of
Essence. The Created Body was a mere emanation of the Body of Bliss.

Many of the texts of the Great Vehicle are ostensibly sermons of the Buddha, but of much
greater length than those of the SuttaPitaka; hence they were known as Vaipulya Sutras
(“Expanded Sermons"). Among the earliest Mahayana texts is the Lalitavistara, a flowery
narrative of the life of the Buddha, containing much more of the supernatural and the marvelous
than the Pali account.

Teachings of the Vajrayana or The Vehicle of the Thunderbolt:

The Lesser Vehicle taught that release was obtained by the gradual loss of individuality through
self-discipline and meditation; the Great Vehicle added that the grace and help of the heavenly
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas assisted the process. The followers of the new teachings taught that it
could be best attained by acquiring magical power, which they called vajra ("thunderbolt", or
"diamond"). Hence the new school of Buddhism was called Vajrayana, "the Vehicle of the
Thunderbolt".

The chief divinities of the new sect were the "Saviouresses" (Taras), the spouses of the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas. There were also a host of lesser divinities, many called by the names of
demons, such as "outcaste women" (matangis), "demonesses" (pisacis), "sorceresses" (yoginis),
and 'she-ghouls" (dakinis). The Buddhasand Bodhisattvas with their Taras were approximated to

13
the less amiable members of the Hindu pantheon, and were often depicted with many arms in
ferocious poses. As in the days of the Brahmanas, it was thought that these deities should be
compelled rather than persuaded. The textbooks outlining the means (sadhanas) of doing this
were called Tantras, and hence the new cult is often referred to as tantric. By pronouncing the
right formula (mantra) in the correct manner, or by drawing the correct magical symbol (yantra),
one might force the gods to bestow magical power on the worshipper and lead him to the highest
bliss. Among the many formulae of tantric Buddhism one is especially famous—the "Six
Syllables" (Sadaksara),‘Om manipadme hum’, still written and repeated thousands of times daily
in Tibet. This phrase: "Ah! The jewel is indeed in the lotus!" may be sexual in its original
significance, mystically repeating the divine coitus of the heavenly Buddha and Prajnaparamita,
and of Avalokitesvara (thousand hands Buddha) and his Tara. The Vajrayana form of Buddhism
majorly focused on achieving and performing godly deeds and attaining supernatural strengths
and powers, unlike the other two sects which had their focus towards achieving Nirvana.

CHAPTER-5

RULES AND LAWS OF BUDDHISM AND MAJOR PRINCIPLES

The broad category of moral conduct has been codified throughout the history of Buddhism,
beginning in the Buddha’s time, into five preceptsfor conduct.

THE TEN PRECEPTS

I undertake to observe the rule:

1. to abstain from taking life

2. to abstain from taking what is not given

3. to abstain from sensuous misconduct

4. to abstain from false speech

5. to abstain from intoxicants as tending to cloud the mind

6. to abstain from eating at forbidden times (i.e. after midday)

7. to abstain from dancing, singing, music and dramatic performances

8. to abstain from the use of garlands, perfumes, unguents and jewellery

9. to abstain from the use of high or broad beds

10. to abstain from receiving gold and silver.

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The first five precepts have been given utmost importance by the sects of Buddhism and are
mandatory for laymen too and thus have been discussed in detail below.

ABSTAIN FROM TAKING LIFE

In the ten precepts, “taking life” means to murder anything that lives. It refers to the striking and
killing of living beings. Taking life is the will to kill anything that one perceives as having life, to
act so as to terminate the life-force in it, in so far as the will finds expression in bodily action or
in speech. With regard to animals it is worse to kill large ones than small. Because a more
extensive effort is involved. Even where the effort is the same, the difference in substance must
be considered.

In the case of humans the killing is the more blameworthy the more virtuous they are. Apart from
that, the extent of the offense is proportionate to the intensity of the wish to kill. Five factors are
involved: a living being, the perception of a living being, a thought of murder, the action of
carrying it out, and death as a result of it. And six are the ways in which the offense may be
carried out: with one’s own hand, by instigation, by missiles, by slow poisoning, by sorcery, by
psychic power.

ABSTAIN FROM TAKING WHAT IS NOT GIVEN

“To take what is not given” means the appropriation of what is not given. It refers to the
removing of someone else’s property, to the stealing of it, to theft. “What is not given” means
that which belongs to someone else. “Taking what is not given” is then the will to steal anything
that one perceives as belonging to someone else, and to act so as to appropriate it. Its
blameworthiness depends partly on the value of the property stolen, partly on the worth of its
owner. Five factors are involved: someone else’s belongings, the awareness that they are
someone else’s, the thought of theft, the action of carrying it out, the taking away as a result of it.
This sin, too, may be carried out in six ways. One may also distinguish unlawful acquisition by
way of theft, robbery, underhand dealings, stratagems, and the casting of lots.

ABSTAIN FROM SENSUOUS MISCONDUCT

“Sensuous misconduct” – here “sensuous” means “sexual,” and “misconduct” is extremely

blameworthy bad behaviour. “Sensuous misconduct” is the will to transgress against those whom
one should not go into, and the carrying out of this intention by unlawful physical action. By
“those one should not go into,” first of all men are meant. And then also twenty kinds of women.
Ten of them are under some form of protection, by their mother, father, parents, brother, sister,
family, clan, co-religionists, by having been claimed from birth onwards, or by the king’s law.

The other ten kinds are: women bought with money, concubines for the fun of it, kept women,
women bought by the gift of a garment, concubines who have been acquired by the ceremony
which consists in dipping their hands into water, concubines who once carried burdens on their

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heads, slave girls who are also concubines, servants who are also concubines, girls captured in
war, temporary wives. The offense is the more serious, the more moral and virtuous the person
transgressed against. It involves four factors: someone who should not be gone into, the thought
of cohabiting with that one, the actions which lead to such cohabitation, and its actual
performance. There is only one way of carrying it out: with one’s own body.

ABSTAIN FROM FALSE SPEECH

“False speech” is the will to deceive others by words or deeds. One can also explain: “False”
means something which is not real, not true. “Speech” is the intimation that that is real or true.
“False speech” is then the volition which leads to the deliberate intimation to someone else that
something is so when it is not so.

The seriousness of the offense depends on the circumstances. If a householder, unwilling to give
something, says that he has not got it, that is a small offense; but to represent something one has
seen with one’s own eyes as other than one has seen it, that is a serious offense. If a mendicant
has on his rounds got very little oil or butter, and if he then exclaims, “What a magnificent river
flows along here, my friends!” that is only a rather stale joke, and the offense is small.

But to say that one has seen what one has not seen, that is a serious offense. Four factors are
involved: something which is not so, the thought of deception, an effort to carry it out, the
communication of the falsehood to someone else. There is only one way of doing it: with one’s
own body.

ABSTAIN FROM INTOXICANTS AS TENDING TO CLOUD THE MIND

The last of the five precepts is to refrain from taking intoxicants that cloud the mind and cause
heedlessness. This means drugs and alcohol (but not prescription medication). This precept is a
traditional way of detoxifying our bodies and minds. And it can be challenging at events where
alcohol is considered a means of socialization and relaxation. However, with commitment, these
situations often prove to be less awkward than we had feared. The benefits of keeping the vow
turn out to be even more fruitful than we had hoped.

Principles of Buddhism
Buddhism is all about finding inner peace and controlling one's self-desire.Principles of
Buddhism are based on an eightfold path and the four noble truths. To understand and learn more
about Principles of Buddhism, we need to dwell on the details of the path and truths laid by
Buddha.

Eightfold path

There are a number of reasons that cause suffering to people, and to overcome those sufferings
Buddha laid down an eightfold path, as a pioneer to the principle of Buddhism. These eight folds

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in the path of overcoming stress and suffering are as follows:

- Right means of livelihood: To lead a comfortable path, one must find the right way of living,
rather than going in the wrong path.

- Right Speech: Before uttering any word, one should make sure to think wisely. Any wrong
speech can worsen the situation.

- Right action: To lead a peaceful life one must never forget to do good deeds.Any action taken
against peace and harmony can cause a lot of suffering.

- Right exertion: We should exert our body only to the level it can bear. Anything that
exceedsthe limit is not good.

- Right-mindedness: We should always try to stay in right state of mind; losing our cool and
temper will do nothing but harm our inner self. We should always have good and peaceful
thoughts.

- Right Meditation: Meditate with all body and soul. One should be able to count every breath
one takes.

- Right resolution: Before following Buddhism, we should ask ourselves what is that we actually
want. Once we have an answer to this question, it will be easy for us to achieve enlightenment.

- Right Point of view: We must have the right point of view in order to achieve something. Any
vague thought will never help us achieve the same.

This eightfold path is the perfect mixture of physical and mental control along with the
development of insight.

Four Noble Truths

The other part that comprises Principles of Buddhism is the four noble truths. These are a must to
attain happiness and harmony in life. Buddha believed that to overcome suffering and lead a
happy and peaceful life one must comprehend one's life around these four noble truths:

- Sorrows and sufferings are part of this life. We exist in this world and this is the only reason we
suffer. Suffering starts from the time we take birth and continues until we die.

- There are reasons to suffer in this world. One of the most common reasons is when our desires

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are not fulfilled and we do not possess something we like in this world.

- The only way to end this suffering is to destroy the desire.

- To destroy this desire, one needs to follow the path that will take them away from these worldly
possessions.

Buddhism inculcates a high system of ethics and morality. The noble truths and the eightfold
paths through which a man attains nirvana, are not merely matters of belief and knowledge but
also of conduct.

CHAPTER-6

DECLINE OF BUDDHISM IN ITS HOME COUNTRY-INDIA

Buddhism as a whole was already declining. In many places great monasteries were in ruins, -
and places of pilgrimage almost deserted. But the faith was still important, and had thousands of
monks and many prosperous monasteries. Chief of these was Nalanda, which, under the
patronage of kings of the Pala line, remained a centre of Buddhist piety and learning until the
Muslim invasion. From Nalanda the missionary monk Padmasambhava went forth to convert
Tibet to Buddhism in the 8th century, while pilgrims from as far afield as China and South-East
Asia visited it to learn the pure doctrine.

At this time the general standards of culture in North India were declining. From the end of the
Gupta period onwards Indian religion became more and more permeated with primitive ideas
ofsympathetic magic and sexual mysticism, and Buddhism was much affected by these
developments. A third vehicle, “the Vehicle of the Thunderbolt" (Vajrayana), appeared in
Eastern India in the 8th century, and grew rapidly in Bengal and Bihar. It was this form of
Buddhism, modified by primitive local cults and practices, which was finally established in Tibet
in the 11th century, as a result of missions sent from the greatVajrayana monastery of
Vikramasila, in Bihar. Anti-Buddhist persecution was not wholly unknown at this time. In the
6th century the Huna king Mihirakula destroyed monasteries and lulled monks. A fanatical
Saivite king of Bengal, Sasanka, in the course of an attack on Kanyakubja at the very beginning
of the 7th century, almost destroyed the Tree of Wisdom at Gaya. There are other less reliable
accounts of persecution, but it is certain that this was not the main cause of the disappearance of
Buddhism from India.

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 A more important factor was the revived and reformed Hinduism, which began to spread
northwards from the Tamil country from the 9th century onwards, when the great theologian
Sankara travelled the length and breadth of India disputing with the Buddhists. Behind him he
left an organized body of Hindu monks to carry on his work. The new form of devotional
Hinduism made a very vigorous appeal to the ordinary man, and the persistent tendency of
Hinduism to assimilate, rather than to attack, was always at work. As early as the Gupta period
Buddhist monks often took part in Hindu processions. The Buddhist family, which gave its chief
support to the local monastery, would at all times rely on the services of brahmans at births,
marriages and deaths. If for a time Buddhism became to all intents and purposes a separate
religion, denying the Vedas, the ordinary layman might not see it in that light. For him Buddhism
was one of many cults and faiths, by no means mutually exclusive, all of which led to salvation,
and all of which were respectable and worthy of honour. Thus, in medieval North India, the
Buddha came to be looked on as the ninth of the ten incarnations of the great god Visnu, and
Buddhism gradually lost its individuality, becoming a special and rather unorthodox Hindu sect,
which, like many others, did not survive.

Hinduism, relying for its strength mainly on independent Brahmans and ascetics and on domestic
ceremonies, suffered from the Muslim invasion but was not seriously weakened by it. Buddhism,
by now mainly concentrated in large monasteries and already rapidly declining in influence,
could not stand up to the change. In the first rush of the Muslim advance down the Ganga,
Nalanda and other great monasteries of Bihar were sacked, libraries were burnt, and monks were
put to the sword. Most of the survivors fled to the mountains of Nepal and Tibet, but some
Buddhist monasteries still survived in Bihar and East Bengal. An illuminated Buddhist
manuscript contains a colophon stating that it was prepared in Bihar in the 15th century. This is
the last record of Indian Buddhism, until its revival in recent years.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 www.tricycle.org
 www.speakingtree.com
 The wonder that was India vol 1 by A.L Basham
 The history of India Part 1 by H.V. Srinivasan

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