The History of Buddhism
Dr. C. George Boeree
Shippensburg University
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Buddhism
is a widespread and varied religion with many sects and schools. Since its
history is perceived somewhat differently among the various schools, I
will use the dates and accounts of the formation of Buddhism accepeted by
most scholars. Although the line of Buddhism that leads to Zen will be
emphasized, I will briefly mention other types.
Gautama Buddha lived
from about 563 to 483 BCE. (Some scholars place his life as much as a
century later.) He was born a prince in present-day Nepal. As a member of
the ruling class he lacked nothing, but like many in our present age he
found that material wealth did not guarantee satisfaction. He left the
life of a prince and became a wandering ascetic, studying with various
teachers. Six years later, he found enlightenment after spending the night
meditating under a ficus tree. For the next forty-five years he wandered
the Ganges Valley of North India, teaching what he had realized.
The basic teachings
of the Buddha can be summarized in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble
Eightfold Path. The essence of the Four Noble Truths is as follows:
1. Dissatisfaction
is endemic to life.
2. The root of
dissatisfaction is grasping.
3. Cessation of
dissatisfaction (nirvana) is possible.
4. The way to
nirvana is by following the Noble Eightfold Path: Right
Understanding, Right
Motive, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood,
Right Concentration,
Right Awareness, Right Meditation.
This is a history
and not a philosophy, so I won't detail the teachings of the Buddha. I
will only quote his final words: "Look not for a refuge in anyone besides
yourselves."
Like many great
teachers, the Buddha built up a following during his lifetime, primarily
ascetic monks and nuns with a surrounding community of supporters. During
the first rainy season after the Buddha's death, his followers met to
standardize the oral transmission of his teachings. The Sutras or
Suttas contained the stories and teachings of the Buddha; the
Vinaya consisted of the code of conduct for monks and nuns; and the
Abhidharma contained philosophical analysis of his teachings. The
First Council of Buddhism also established the sangha.
Over the following
centuries Buddhism spread throughout India. The great Indian king Asoka,
who lived in the third century BCE, became a supporter of Buddhism after
witnessing the gruesome carnage in one of his battles. He sent out
Buddhist missions to countries in Southeast and Central Asia. Wandering
monks also helped spread Buddhism throughout Asia. By means of the great
trade routes of Central Asia, Buddhism made its way into China.
As Buddhism
developed there were doctrinal changes in its interpretation. During the
last century BCE and the first century CE, Mahayana Buddhism began
to arise. Mahayana is characterized by its emphasis on the concept
of sunyata (emptiness) and its ideal of a bodhisattva, a
Buddhist "saint" who forgoes final entry into nirvana to help the
suffering world.
In the first century
CE, Mahayana Buddhism arrived in China, where its in-depth
philosophical analysis appealed to the intellectual class. Emperor Wu
(502&emdash;529 CE) took the five vows of the Buddhist layman and
supported the foundation of temples and monasteries. During the reign of
Emperor Wu, Bodhidharma is said to have brought Zen Buddhism from India to
China. There is some doubt of Bodhidharma's existence, since there is no
record of a separate Zen sect in India. Zen also has a distinct Taoist
influence. It is probable that Zen arose as a reaction against attempts to
understand Buddhism through analysis of texts and philosophical debate.
Unlike such methods, Zen attempts to get at the heart of Buddhism through
meditation alone under the guidance of a teacher.
An important figure
in the development of Zen was Hui-neng (637&emdash;713), who believed that
we should not strive for enlightenment since "our own nature is
fundamentally clear and pure." After the time of Hui-neng, Zen split into
several different lines including the Lin-chi (Jp., Rinzai)
School and the Ts’ao-tung (Jp., Soto) School. Lin-chi
emphasized ko-an practice under the guidance of a Zen master. The
adherents of the Ts’ao-tung School emphasized meditation only as
the means to satori.
Zen was by no means
the only type of Buddhism in China. T'ien-Tai (Jp., Tendai)
was based on the Lotus Sutra. It taught that every sentient being
has Buddha-nature and the potential for enlightenment. The Hua-yen
(Jp., Kegon) School was based on the Flower-Garland (Avatamsaka)
Sutra. Adherents believed that all objects in existence are
interdependent. The Pure Land School, similar in some ways to
Christianity, holds that individuals who live a good life are reborn after
death in the Pure Land of Bliss of Amida Buddha. Since meditation is not
required in the Pure Land School, this sect appealed to the common folk.
One only has to chant the name of Amida Buddha, the Namu Amida Butsu,
to bring about rebirth in the Pure Land.
Beginning in the
sixth century CE, Buddhism began to make its way into Japan from Korea and
China. In 1191 the monk Eisai brought Rinzai Buddhism to Japan and
established monasteries at Kyoto and Kamakura with the help of the
emperor. The monk Dogen introduced the Soto sect into Japan
in 1227. He emphasized sitting in meditation as a way of enlightenment.
Europeans first
became aware of Buddhism through the work of translators and scholars of
the British Raj in India and Sri Lanka during the nineteenth
century. In America Transcendentalists including Emerson, Thoreau, and
Whitman read early translations of Buddhist works, which influenced their
poetry and philosophy.
During the 1950s and
1960s many Americans, in a similar way to Gautama Buddha, became
dissatisfied with material wealth and they looked to the East for answers.
Zen offered an alternative way of looking at life. In the early 1950s,
writer Phillip Kapleau traveled to Japan to study with a Zen master
because he could not find one in the United States. Today, thanks to the
work of Zen masters from Japan, China, Korea, and Vietnam there are
hundreds of Zen temples, groups, and retreat centers in America. One of
these pioneers of American Zen was Shunryu Suzuki, who became the roshi of
the Soto Zen Temple in San Francisco, in 1959. Suzuki opened the San
Francisco Zen Center and it soon attracted seekers from the nearby
Haight-Ashbury District, mecca of the 1960s counterculture. Another Zen
Master, Seung Sahn, traveled from Korea to America in 1972 and founded his
Zen center in Providence, Rhode Island. Zen also became known to Americans
through the work of writers such as Alan Watts, who wrote The Way of
Zen and included Zen themes in his other works. The Japanese Zen
Buddhist D.T. Suzuki used modern philosophical concepts to explain Zen to
Westerners. Through the efforts of these people and many other supporters
and practitioners, Zen Buddhism has become an established institution in
America. Often meditation groups are small and able to meet only a few
times a week or on occasional weekend retreats. Zen has had to change from
a monastic tradition to one in which practitioners have families and
careers. Yet the original spirit of Buddhism has been preserved. The
Mahayana ideal of compassionate action in this world is
important to us as we face the many challenges of the twenty-first
century.
Further
Readings
Dumoulin, Heinrich. Zen Buddhism: A History. A chronicle of Zen in China, Korea, and
Japan.
Fields, Rick. How
the Swans Came to the Lake. The history of Buddhism in America, from
the Transcendentalists to the establishment of Zen centers and groups
during the latter half of the twentieth century.
Watts, Alan. The
Way of Zen. A good overview of Zen and its roots in Taoism and
Hinduism.
Williams, Paul.
Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. An overview of the
various philosophies of Mahayana Buddhism.
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Update : 01-04-2003
