Buddhism

Buddhism has played a decisive role in molding India’s values and ideas. Yet at one time it was seen as being opposed to Hinduism and as signifying a break in the Indian religious tradition. Actually, the two faiths supplemented each other. The Buddha rejected the infallibility of the Vedas, the supremacy of the Brahmins and some of the external features of Hinduism. But he accepted the basic structure of Hindu thought as expressed in the Law of Karma and Rebirth. Buddhism, like Hinduism, gives priority to experience over thought, and sees a universal rhythmic principle uniting man with nature.

In the first phase of the development of Buddhism, these similarities were over-shadowed by the differences in emphasis. But a few centuries after the Buddha’s death, the two faiths came close to each other. The Mahayana evolved a concept of Absolute Reality very similar to that in the Upanishads. The Buddha was venerated as a god. Buddhism produced its own mythology. Buddhists adopted Sanskrit in preference to Pali, the dialect in which the Buddha himself had delivered his discourses. It is significant that the great epoch of Brahmanical revival, such as the golden age of the Gupta dynasty (4^th and 5^th centuries A.D.), coincided with a splendid blossoming of Buddhist philosophy, art and poetry.

Even in its heyday, Buddhism was not the religion of the majority of Indian people. In the Middle Ages, Buddhism remained dormant in India while it became the dominant religion of Thailand, Cambodia and some other Asian countries. In modern India, there has been a revival of interest in Buddhism. Yet, Buddhists constitute a very small proportion of the Indian population. This has led some people to assert that India “repudiated” and “banished” Buddhism. But something which has been assimilated until in flows through the very bloodstream of Indian culture cannot be said to have been rejected simply because we cannot see it on the surface. Even when there was an ideological conflict between Hinduism and Buddhists, the Buddha’s personality and character attracted the admiration of Hindus and Buddhists alike. The Buddha’s emphasis on compassion, love and non-violence has become a permanent part of India’s spiritual heritage.

Buddhism has inspired some of the finest masterpieces of architecture, sculpture and painting. The stupas of Sanchi and Amaravati, the frescos of Ajanta, the remains of the university of Nalanda, the monastries of Buddha-gaya and Rajagriha and, above all, the Buddha images of the Mathura and Sarnath schools – all these bear witness to the fact that the influence of Buddhism has been much more enduring than its numerical strength might lead one to expect.

Courtesy: India Insight guide.