The Buddha is the First Religious Leader who Brought a Thought and Social Revolution

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From Buddhist Encyclopedia

• From a chapter in the book - The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived by Ven. Weragoda Sarada Maha Thero

From the earliest times Man had got into the habit of emulating parents, teachers, elders, priests, kings and leaders. Majority of men and women thought the way those leaders thought. They acted in terms of the orders of those leaders. They got attuned to the idea that doing things contrary to the wishes of the leaders was a breach of tradition, breaking the laws, a disobedience, and a sin.

As a result of this state of thinking man's capacity to think became curbed in a variety of ways - it became restricted. In ancient India the thought processes of the ordinary masses were strongly controlled by Brahmins who had a place of high prominence in the Indian society of that day. Everyone from the king downwards received advice from the Brahmins. If a Brahmin makes a statement everybody had to accept that as the truth.

The Buddha appeared at a time when the society was filled with such strong traditional views and customs. In consequence. He had to bring about a powerful revolution in thought and in society. He brought this about not in the revolutionary mode of such later revolutions as the French Revolution in Europe, and the Russian Revolution. He did not bring about his revolution through blood-shed, through torture and mayhem, through murder, through compelling speeches, or by stirring the minds of men and women into anger. He brought about his revolution entirely through his limitless compassion. The results of those are deeply etched and embedded in the minds of millions in a large number of countries in the East.

Such non-violent leaders as Emperor Asoka who, after an initial period of waging fierce war, gave up wars and violence for ever, came into being as a result of the all-powerful, all-compassionate thought revolution of the Buddha. The Buddha pointed out very compassionately, but fearlessly, the fallacies, superstitions, wrong beliefs cruel forms of sacrificial offerings, customs and traditions that tended towards social deterioration, and questionable forms of rites and rituals.

Prince Siddhartha, who was born in a royal family full of princely affluence and splendour, displayed a tendency towards revolutionary thinking from his early days on. When ascetic Kaladevala, who was a favourite of King Suddhodana, came to see infant Prince Siddhartha, the king was keen to get the infant Prince to worship ascetic Kaladevala. But, what the infant Prince Siddhartha did was placing his feet on the turban of ascenic Kaladevala. As a young person when he saw a sick person for the first time, he asked Minister Channa a whole series of such question as, "Who was that person who had an unusual look? What made him look so? are there more people like that? Can I, too, become sick?" Later, when he saw an old person, a dead body, and an ascetic, he asked a similar series of questions.

These four omens stirred in Prince Siddhartha's mind a whole series of questions: What is 'life'? What is the purpose of 'life'? What is the end of 'life'? For what reason is 'life' continued? In other words, these sights brought about a thought revolution in him. When he continued to think about sickness, ageing and death, the Prince became disillusioned with the royal splendour he enjoyed. He saw the whole palace as a huge fire full of roaring flames. "If all those who are born will invariable and inevitable die, what is this farce that people enact?' the Prince thought.

He saw that all human beings were caught up in a mass of suffering. He decided to find out the cause of this suffering, and the path to the eradication of suffering.

He was disillusioned with the whole world. Prince Siddhartha grappled violently with his mind. The royal dancing girls danced, sang and played music for several hours in the night. But, they could not detect even a trace of a smile on Prince's face. Tired, the dancing girls lay down and slept in various places. The sight of dancing girls sleeping in various ways and guises made him leave the householder's life sooner. Prince Siddhartha is the only young man, nay the only human being in the whole of human history who renounced his country, his kingdom, his royal splendour, his wife and child, disgusted by the sight of a bevy of beauties, dedicated exclusively to give him pleasure, sleeping at night on the floor in one place, he saw the place where beautiful dancing girls were sleeping, as a cemetery.

A father knows no greater pleasure than the hearing og the news that his wife has borne him a son. But, when a messenger informed Prince Siddhartha that Yasodhara (His wife) gave birth to a son, at once he said, "That is bond - a grip." (Rahulojato bandhananam jato.). The only father in human history to make such a statement is Prince Siddhartha.

Making a secret renunciation, giving up his wife, his child, his royal palace, his kingdom and his royal splendour, he entered the forest. He took a rag in which a dead body was wrapped, shook of the myriad's of worms that infested it, washed it, dried it in the sun, and wore it. He sank to the very bottom of the simple life. He is the only royal prince in human history to have done all that. This is a tremendous revolution in lives of limitless luxury.

For six years Prince Siddhartha frequented the abodes of sages and ascetics to learn their religious systems. He was not all satisfied with their systems. Realizing that they did not possess what he was looking for he started to grapple with the blemishes in his own mind. He was victorious in that war.

After he attained Enlightenment, he once visited his father's palace. He had his meals there. The next day, he started his alms round along the same street where the royal palace stood. An heir to the throne, who had run away from his royal palace, became an ascetic, returned to the same city, though seeing his royal palace, went along the main street with the begging bowl from house to house, seeking alms. This is an event that would shock a country, a kingdom and a whole nation. This is a tremendous revolution of a royal line, of regal majesty, of kingly power, of royal splendour, and regal pomp and glory. This was a denigration of capitalist world. A death-blow to royal pride.

The king, his father, became totally distraught by this sight and ran after him, his royal clothes in disarray. He told the Buddha, "Do not denigrate our royal Dynasty." The Buddha replied, "O king, you are of the royal line. But, I am of the Buddha line. Begging is a custom of the Buddhas." This statement is a great saying that must issue only from the mouth of a Buddha, from a person who brought about a revolution in thinking.

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything because it is spoken of and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But, after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then, accept it and live up to it." (Kalama Sutta - Anguttara Nikaya)

This is a fell blow dealt by a religious leader on blind faith and irrational conventionality. It is the theme of a thought-revolution. The only religious leader, the only thinker, the only man who made such a progressive scientific pronouncement 2,500 years ago, is the Supreme Buddha. At a time not only those in India, but people all the world over, believed in a soul, the Buddha appeared and announced boldly that there was no soul (anatta). He reduced-champions to silence. The statement that "there is no soul" was a direct blow of revolutionary thought on the belief of all those other religious leaders who held that there was a soul.

At a time when the caste system had been accepted as an indispensable institution by the whole society, and by the whole country, the Buddha put forward a view totally opposed to contemporary social division, saying, "No one becomes an outcast by birth; no one becomes a Brahmin by birth; one becomes an outcast or a Brahmin only by deed." The only person who remained unassaulted, unattached and unassassinated after speaking out against caste division in India at that time was the Buddha.

Those Brahmins who had been long classified and honoured by society were not recognized bu the Buddha as 'true Brahmins'.

• Na jatahi na gottena
• Na jaccahoti brahmano
• Yamhi saccam ca dhammo ca
• So suci coca brahmano

"Neither by the turban on the head, nor by clan, or by birth, does one become a Brahmin. If, within a person one can find truth and righteousness, he is a Brahmin."

• Yassa kayena vacaya
• Manasa natthi dukatam
• Samyutam tihi thanchi
• Tamaham brumi brahmanam

"If one does no wrong through body, word and mind, if one is restrained in three doors of perception, I describe such a person as a 'Brahmin'."

• Kim te jatahi dummedha
• Kim te ajina satiya
• Abbhantaram te gahanam
• Bahiram parimajjayi

"Of what use is your turban and matter hair, foolish person? What is the use of your leopard-skin garment? Inside, you are filled with impurities, but you keep yourself bright and clean on the outside."

One day, the Buddha visited the residence of Brahmin Anggikabharadvaja. He had kindled a fire and was performing a fire-ritual. The Brahmin became angry at the sight of the Buddha approaching. He started abusing the Buddha, calling him, "Shaven head - outcast." The Buddha remained unperturbed by the abuse, retaining his pleasantness. he asked the Brahmin, "O Brahmin, do you know who an outcast is? Or what makes an outcast?" The Brahmin said, "I do now know. If you know could you explain them to me?"

Then the Buddha said, "A person does not become an outcast or a Brahmin by birth. He becomes an outcast or a Brahmin only in terms of his deeds. Those who get angry quickly, those who harhour hatred, those who are evil and ungrateful, those who cover up their faults, those who kill animals, those who have no love of beings, terrorists and bandits who destroy villages and market towns, who borrow and do not return what is borrowed, those who do not look after the aged parents even when they can care for them, thosw who exalt themselves but demean others, those who get angry constantly, whose who are extremely stingy, whose who are bereft of shame and fear, those who utter falsehoods, and those who are seen with the wives of others, however high their castle, their community, they are outcasts."

This was a deadly blow on wrong-doers in general, and on Brahmins in particular. The Buddha applied the term 'vasala' (outcast) not to those who were born in such families, but to those who did wrong and unvirtuous deeds.

Seeing those in his contemporary Indian society who sought the protection of trees, rocks, forests and shrines, the Buddha characterized them as cowards. To end suffering there is no use seeking their protection, the Buddha said. He said this directly to those who resorted to that kind of practice:

• Bahum ve saranam yanti
• Pabbatani vannani ca
• Arama rukkha cetiyani
• Manussa bhaya tajjita
• Netam kho saranam khemam
• Netam saranamuttamam
• Netam saranamagamma
• Sabba dukkha pamuccati

(Dhammapada)

"Many who are frightened seek the protection of rocks, forests, trees, groves. Seeking their refuge no one can achieve Liberation. Seeking their refuge no one can overcome suffering."

In the days of the Buddha there were those who worshipped the sun, the moon, fire water and snakes. There were other forms of cults, too. The Buddha demonstrated the futility of such cults. He made the people think rationally about the futility of those. He broke the bends of long standing superstitions in order to make ignorant people think rationally and scientifically about these issues.

On one occasion the Buddha saw young Sigala who kept on worshipping the six directions. The Buddha pointed out that worshipping such direction a North, South, etc., was a futile act. The Buddha pointed out that parents constituted the East, teachers the South, sons and daughters the West, friends the North, servants the region below, and the religious persons constituted the region above.

Contemporary Buddhists may ot exactly worship directions like Sigala the householder but, still, the practice of respecting directions, which the Buddha characterized as superstitious, is there among them.

These phenomena the society conventionally considered to be auspicious were not thought of as fully auspicious phenomena by the Buddha. When the Buddha was asked what the most auspicious phenomena were (what the greatest blessings were), what he declared were not those held as great blessings by the contemporary society - but, a whole series of new phenomena.

Among these are :Avoiding evil company, keeping the company of good people; honouring those warthy of honouring; residing in a congenial environment, having acquired merit in the past birth; restraint in mind; being well-informed, being adept in arts and crafts; being disciplined; bing pleasant in a speech; caring for one's parents indulging in uncluttered livelihood being generous; looking after spouse and children; acquiring ten forms of merit; helping friends and relations; respecting those who deserve respect; being pleasant and courteous in behaviour, being content; being grateful, patient, obedient; being grateful, patient, obedient; bing virtuous; being of good behaviour, and being unshaken when fortune fluctuates,

Some, out of the statement made by the Buddha on various occasions, are as follows: "One does not become a mature elder merely because one's hair is grey. (Na tena thero hoti ye nassa palitam siro.)" "An unvirtuous person will not become a religious person merely because he isshaven headed. (Na mundakena samano abbato alikam bhana)"

"Those who do not become sages merely because they keep silent. (Na monena muni hoti.)" "Can the waters of Sundarika, Bahuka and Payaga wash off sins, fishes frogs etc., who live permenently in water, must be totally devoid of sins. (Kim Sundarika karissanti kim Payaga, kim Bahuka nadi?"

There is no other human being who placed his life in jeopardy not once but tens of thousands of times, for the cause of liberty. Such expressions as ' mukti ', ' vimukti' , ' moksa' m ' vimoksa ' and ' Nibbana' all imply liberation from bonds, from the grip of craving - that is obtaining release from the cycle of rebirths.

The Buddha pointed out that all such phenomena as parents, kingship, spouse wand children, being ministers, peoples' representative, wealth, power, glory and egotism tend to negate one's liberty. They are all shackles that bind people, the Buddha said. When we give up our craving for all these, along with our egotism, both our mind and our body get liberated.

The Buddha introduced to the people a form of thinking that enabled them to contemplate the true nature of things (yat bhuta nana), and to see the cause and effect of all things. The Buddha never did any harm or evil to anyone (yonisa - manasikara).

Sir Edwin Arnold described the Buddha as 'Light of Asia". The Buddhahimself, immediately on realizing Enlightenment, declared " Vijja udapadi " (Knowledge arose) and "Aloko udapadi' (Light arose). It is a great consolation to us that the Buddha, who brought about a revolution in thought and a social revolution by giving the people freedom of thought and freedom of expression, is our religious leader. The greatest respect we can confer upon him is getting attuned to thinking liberally and wisely.