I have been recently reading Digha Nikaya, one of the Pali Buddhist scriptures. One reason for reading it is to see for myself why Buddha rejected the Hindu Atma(n). What I found was that Buddha rejected the ego. More important Buddhist Anatta (non-self) idea is connected with selflessness which is related to compassion and has nothing to do with the idea of the Hindu Atma(n).
"Duality is bondage before moksa and wisdom after realization. The duality accepted for the purpose of bhakti is sweeter than even non-duality." (from mangalacarana to Advaitasiddhi sara sangraha by Madhusudana Sarasvati, former advaitin)
Buddhists schools certainly believe in some kind of rebirth. Since, however, they interpret anatta as no-self what happens is when A dies, B is born with the karma of A:)
"I have run through a course of many births looking for the maker of this dwelling and finding him not; painful is birth again and again.Now are you seen, O, builder of the house; you will not build the house again. All your rafters are broken; your ridge-pole is destroyed; the mind set on the attainment of nirvana has attained the extinction of desires.[Dhammapada. XI. Jaravagga[Old Age]153,154]
>>Buddhists schools certainly believe in some kind of rebirth. Since, however, they interpret anatta as no-self what happens is when A dies, B is born with the karma of A:) This makes no sense to me!>>
"The Buddhist term Atman (Sanskrit) or Anatta (Pali) is an adjective that specifies the absence of a supposedly permanent and unchanging self or soul in any one of the psycho-physical (namo-rupa) constituents of empirical existence; eg. “none of these khandhas are my Soul, are anatta (non-Self)”. What is normally thought of as the “Self” is in fact an agglomeration of constantly changing physical and mental constituents (”skandhas”) which give rise to unhappiness if clung to as though this temporary assemblage formed some kind of immutable and enduring Soul (”atman”). The non-doctrinal commentarial “anatta” doctrine attempts to encourage the Buddhist practitioner to detach him/herself from this misplaced clinging to what is mistakenly regarded as his or her Self, and from such detachment (aided by moral living and meditation) the way to Nirvana is able successfully to be traversed. All occurrences of anatta in Sutra contextually appear as: “A is anatta (not-Self), B is anatta, etc.” Buddhismwww.myswizard.com/category/buddhism/
B is born with the karmic body of A, which is not the "self" of B or A.
Not all branches of Hinduism believe in Atman, to be precise, 'jivatman'.
A small excerpt for you all. I enjoyed it very much.
When Buddha got enlightened on that full moon day in the month of May, it is said that he maintained silence for the whole week. He did not say a word. Mythology says that all the angels in the heaven were frightened. They knew that it was only once in a millennium that someone blossoms like Buddha. Now he was silent! The angels then requested him to say something. He said, "Those who know, they know even without my saying and those who do not know, will not know even if I say something. Any description of light to a blind man is of no use. There is no point in talking to those who have not tasted the ambrosia of life, and therefore I am silent. How can you convey something so intimate and personal? Words cannot. And as many scriptures in the past have declared words end where truth begins."
The angels said, "What you say is right. But consider those who are on the borderline, who are neither fully enlightened nor totally ignorant. For them, a few words will give a push, for their sake you speak and every word of yours will create that silence."
The purpose of words is to create silence. If words create more noise, then they have not reached their goal. Buddha's words would definitely create silence, because Buddha is the manifestation of silence. Silence is the source of life and is the cure for diseases. When people are angry, they maintain silence. First they shout and then comes the silence. When one is sad, they ask to be left alone and retreat into silence. Similarly, silence is the recourse one takes to if ashamed. If one is wise too, there's silence.
When Jesus was asked, "Are you the son of God?" he kept silent; it was the wisest thing to do. When you are telling someone you have a pain in the leg and they want you to prove it, how is that possible? When you cannot prove something as deep as pain how can you prove something like enlightenment or divinity? Joy and fulfillment bring silence while desire brings noise.
Look at the noise in your mind. What is it about? More money? More fame? More recognition? Fulfillment? Relationship? The noise is about something; silence is about nothing. Silence is the basis; noise is the surface.
From the very beginning Buddha lived a very satisfied life. Any pleasure was at his feet the moment he wanted it. One day he said, "I would like to go and see what the world is."
He started thinking when he saw someone who was sick, someone who was old and someone who was dying. These three instances were good enough to bring in him the knowledge that there is misery. When he saw someone sick, he said, "enough! I have experienced it." Just one glimpse of an old man and a corpse was enough Buddha said, "there is no joy in life; I am dead already! There is no meaning in life. Let me go back."
Buddha set out in quest of truth, all by himself, leaving his palace, wife and son. Stronger the silence, powerful will be the questions that arise from such a silence. Nothing could stop him. He knew he wouldn't be able to get away during day, so he quietly escaped at night and his search continued for several years. He did all that people told him to do, he went from place to place, fasted, and he walked many paths, before discovering four truths.
The first truth is, "There is misery (Dukha) in the world." In life, there are only two possibilities: one is to observe the world around us and know from others' suffering and futile exercises, the second is experience it and find that it is misery. There is no third possibility. If you are sensitive, you don't need to go through all that yourself. You can look at those who are suffering and become wise.
The second truth is, "There is a cause for misery." You can be happy without a reason. Joy does not need a reason, laughter does not need a joke but misery has a cause. The third truth is, "It is possible to eliminate misery." The fourth truth is, "There is a path to be out of misery."
Following the four truths, he gives the eight-fold path of right equanimity, right vision, right silence, right meditation etc. Buddha also said that the three things to do are Sheela, which means conduct, Samadhi, which means an equanimous meditative state, and Pragya, which means awareness.
Buddha was born at a very interesting time in India's history, at a time when India was prosperous and had reached its height in philosophical thinking. In a highly intellectual society, people think they know it all, but in fact, they have not known at all. This was the case in India. So Buddha said, "Come, I have a simple technique for you. Keep your concepts to yourself, but just come and sit." Then Buddha gave them four steps.
They are: Observe the body (Kayaanu Paschana) Observe the sensations (Vedananu Paschana) Observe the flow of mind (Chittanu Paschana) Observe your true nature (Dhammanu Paschana)
So, Buddha spoke and taught for years. Thousands would sit still, observe and meditate and become free. Buddha would not indulge in any philosophic discussion.
I think it is mandatory for every psychologist to study Buddha! . Buddha has propounded all that there is to know about the mind and its functions in such a methodical manner. Mind is noise; the source of the mind is silence. That's why Buddha said, "no mind". He was referring to the chain of thoughts that simply wander in the mind all the time.
At a time when there was so much prosperity, Buddha gave a begging bowl to his main disciples and asked them to go and beg! He made kings take off their royal robes and take a bowl in their hand! Not that they were in need of food but he wanted to teach them the lesson of becoming 'nobody' from being 'somebody'. You are nobody; you are insignificant in this Universe. When kings and geniuses of that time were asked to beg, they became embodiments of compassion.
Observe your true nature. What is your true nature? It is peace, compassion, love, friendliness and joy and it is silence that gives birth to all this. Silence swallows the sadness, guilt, and misery and gives birth to joy, compassion and love. Buddha came to take away the misery, the guilt, the fear, the arrogance, the ignorance, and bring back wisdom, strength, beauty, knowledge and peace.
I understand your predicament. It is difficult to move around lot of cats. I am sure you’ll have nine lives like the cats!
I liked the story of Buddha you’ve posted. According to Buddhist Sutra, it was Brahma who advised him to share the truth he found with the mankind.
Buddha denounced unfair criticism of other creeds. He said, It is as a man who looks up and spits at heaven; the spittle does not soil the heaven, but comes back and defiles his own person.
Even to those who abused him he was kind. On one of his rounds he was repulsed by a householder with bitter words of abuse. Buddha replied, "Friend, if a householder sets food before a beggar, but the beggar refuses to accept the food, to whom does the food belong?" The man replied: "Why, to the householder ofcourse". Buddha said, "Then, if I refuse to accept your abuse and ill-will, it returns to you, does it not? But I must go away the poorer because I have lost a friend." [Majjhima Nikaya75]
After Buddha’s coming [5th Cent.B.C], Hindu philosophy took a turn from some of its rigid formulas. That is the power of Buddha.
There is a contradiction in the Buddhist position about the self. As I said before when A dies, B is born with the karma of A. Since there is no self, there is no relation between A and B. This position is contradictory on two counts:
1. Suppose A was a murderer. Poor B is saddled with the murderous karma of A for no reason at all. Moreover it seems to be thorougly unfair.
2. Buddhist schools say that there is no relation between A and B. Yet Buddhist scriptures talk of Buddha Jataka stories where Buddha's past 500 births are related. If there is no relation between 2 births except for karma then how can Buddha's 500 rebirths can be traced?
Another claim made by some is Buddha reformed Hinduism. Hindus have followed the Sruti thousands of years before Buddha's birth and thousands of years after his birth. So how did Buddha change Hinduism?
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