Debunking Buddhist Myths: 1. The Buddha was by no means a prince
Many Individuals wish to “do” a Scottish accent. These makes an attempt all sound the identical, however none of them are notably like an precise Scottish particular person. The factor is that when an American does a Scottish accent, they don’t seem to be imitating any Scot they’ve ever heard — they’re imitating one other American doing a Scottish accent. Who’s in flip imitating one other American doing a Scottish accent. And so forth…
The American “Scottish” accent has turn out to be its personal factor, relatively indifferent from the truth of how Scots truly converse.
The stereotypical Buddha story
One thing related occurs with books and articles in regards to the Buddha. Again and again you’ll come throughout accounts like this:
The Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gotama. His father was a king, and wanting him to imagine the throne when he was older, he stored the younger Siddhartha from contact with the world, surrounding him in luxurious in three palaces that he was not allowed to go away.
However Siddhartha was very curious, and persuaded his charioteer to take him out into the encompassing city. There, Siddhartha noticed, for the primary time, an previous man. He was shocked by this, however his charioteer advised him that this was the destiny of everybody. On two subsequent journeys, Siddhartha was once more shocked by seeing a sick man and a corpse. Once more, his charioteer knowledgeable him that this was the destiny of us all — Siddhartha included.
On a fourth journey, Siddhartha noticed a holy man strolling by way of the city, serene and calm, and he knew that non secular follow was his solely hope for locating that means and psychological peace on this impermanent world. So at the hours of darkness he sneaked out of the palace and “went forth” into the holy life.
That is one thing I put collectively myself, relatively than being a quote from any ebook or article, however I’m certain you’ve seen one thing prefer it many instances.
The factor is, virtually none of it’s true — or not less than, if you happen to take a look at the scriptures you’ll both fail to search out proof for it or will discover proof that straight contradicts it.
Many books and articles on the Buddha and his teachings are a bit just like the American “Scottish” accent I described: they’re imitations of different books and articles, that are themselves imitations of different books and articles, most likely going again to the late nineteenth century, when individuals within the west began to take Buddhism severely, having realized that the Buddha was a historic determine, like Plato or Socrates, and never a mythic one, like Zeus or Odin. Just like the American “Scottish” accent these accounts have developed a lifetime of their very own, and bear solely a passing resemblance to the true factor — and within the case of the Buddha, the closest we’ve to a “actual factor” is the early scriptures.
Often we study these stereotypical accounts lengthy earlier than we encounter these scriptures. And having already been advised that the Buddha’s father was a king, we learn accounts of Suddhodana and picture him in a palace, surrounded by advisers and courtiers. As we learn the scriptures, we see issues that aren’t in them. Our unique understanding of who the Buddha was stays untouched.
The Buddha was not a prince, as a result of his dad wasn’t a king
As we speak I wish to make clear that Suddhodana wasn’t a king, and Sakya, the territory he lived in, wasn’t a kingdom. I’ll take care of a few of the different misconceptions in later articles.
Sakya, like a few of its neighbors, was a republic, ruled by a council of elders. It didn’t have a king. Due to this fact, the Buddha wasn’t a prince.
There have been each monarchies and republics in north-east India on the Buddha’s time. Within the map beneath, Kosala was a kingdom, dominated by Pasenadi and later by his patricidal son, Vidudabha. The Sakyans and their neighbors, the Koliyans and Mallas have been republics.
The republics weren’t democracies, the place everybody had a say, however oligarchies (authorities by the few), the place the heads of probably the most highly effective households have been in command of authorities. There was a council of elders that made selections, typically witnessed by a wider meeting that represented different households and maybe commerce teams who needed to make sure that their pursuits have been represented.
The chief of the council was not a king. That they had the title “raja,” however not “maharaja,” which was what kings like Pasenadi and Vidudabha have been known as. Raja, on this context, meant one thing extra like “chief,” as a result of the international locations that had a republican type of authorities weren’t socially or technologically well-developed.
Sakya wasn’t all that
A priest from Kosala gave a really unflattering outsider’s portrait of the Buddha’s individuals: “The Sakyans are impolite, harsh, sensitive, and argumentative. Primitive they’re, and primitive they continue to be!” He was in fact prejudiced.
Sakya was not a wealthy territory. It was rural and comparatively poor. Its council would have met in a wood-and-mud hut that didn’t in any respect resemble a royal palace. In actual fact, excavations in that area have revealed no palaces or spectacular buildings in any respect. The richest individuals there — just like the Buddha and his people — lived in picket longhouses by which the animals have been stored on the bottom ground with the household dwelling above.
This was very completely different from how the leaders within the close by monarchies lived. Within the kingdom of Kosala, the king lived in an precise palace and had a standing military, which is one thing Sakya lacked. Standing armies have been how kings (and the lands they ruled) turned wealthy. They might conquer neighboring lands, seize their wealth, and demand taxes.
One necessary scripture describes how the Buddha, as a boy, sat beneath a tree whereas his father plowed a subject. It’s doubtless that, as a landowner, that is one thing that Suddhodana truly did. Some individuals clarify this scene as being ceremonial, just like the tree-planting or foundation-stone laying of a contemporary monarch. However what the Buddha-to-be did beneath the tree was to slide right into a pure state of meditation, which isn’t very appropriate with a regal occasion, which might be prone to embody an viewers, speeches, non secular ceremonies, and males blowing on conch shells. It makes good sense, although, if we think about a quiet rural scene with the pinnacle of the family doing his each day work.
How did individuals come to see the Buddha as a prince?
If the Buddha wasn’t a prince, how did individuals come to think about him that method?
Accounts of the of the Buddha as a prince arose only a few hundred years after his dying.
Whereas the Buddha was nonetheless alive, the republics have been vassal states of the way more highly effective monarchies. Shortly after his dying, Sakya was brutally invaded by the Kosalan king, Vidudabha. Ultimately monarchism turned the one type of authorities individuals knew. After just a few hundred years of monastic rule, individuals would largely have forgotten that there had ever been an alternate. So when individuals thought of previous nations, they thought of them as having kings.
The truth is that Buddha left the wood-and-mud dwelling the place he lived above the livestock and have become a non secular wanderer. That is vital, but it surely’s not as dramatic as if he’s seen as a prince renouncing the throne. That’s a a lot bigger sacrifice to make, and proves him to be a person able to nice issues.
Clinging to beliefs
In the event you’ve believed the parable of the Buddha being a prince since you’ve been advised it time and again, there’s nothing improper with that. It’s pure to consider what seemingly dependable sources inform us. Particularly if numerous individuals are saying the identical factor.
Perhaps you continue to don’t consider me, however if you happen to examine the historical past of Sakya and the opposite north Indian republics you’ll notice that the Buddha wasn’t and couldn’t have been a prince.
Perhaps you’ll be grateful to have a extra correct perspective on historical past.
However some individuals get indignant when it’s identified that they’ve believed a fable. Generally that’s as a result of, regardless of what they might say on the contrary, they’ve a “non secular” view of Buddhism, that means that, regardless of something they are saying on the contrary, they deal with Buddhism as a sequence of propositions to be believed. The one that factors out their mistake is handled simply as any blasphemer in any faith is handled. They’re insulted, advised to close up, and advised they know nothing.
Or typically we simply don’t wish to admit we’ve been improper. That’s an ego factor, and it’s what we’re attempting to get away from. Not clinging to beliefs was an necessary strand of the Buddha’s early teachings. In fact he pressured this exactly as a result of we do are inclined to cling to what we consider. Nevertheless it’s ironic when individuals emphasize that they’re probably the most trustworthy at working towards the Dharma (i.e. the Buddha’s teachings) by refusing to let go of a perception that’s demonstrably false. And once they accuse individuals of being “unhealthy Buddhists” for following the Buddha’s instructing.
Why does it matter?
Truthfulness is prime to being an moral particular person. If we aren’t ready to face the reality, then we gained’t stay ethically, as a result of it’s extra “environment friendly” to do unhealthy issues after which simply lie about them to ourselves and others. it’s environment friendly as a result of it means we don’t must expend as a lot effort.
The moral factor to do after we notice we’ve inadvertently been passing on misinformation is to appropriate ourselves. When individuals refuse to try this it’s often to do with believing, erroneously, that correcting your self is an indication of weak point, which in flip is due to ego-clinging, which is what we’re attempting to get away from. So having realized one thing is untruthful, the moral factor is simply to let go of it.
The alternative of defensiveness is humility, which is a strong non secular advantage. Humility permits us to acknowledge after we’ve been improper, and to confess it. Humility is the follow of radical self-honesty.
Additionally, I consider that recognizing the reality of who the Buddha was brings us nearer to him. Build up the Buddha’s going forth right into a heroic act of renouncing the equal of multi-millionaire standing may be supposed to encourage us — “If he can provide up all that, you can provide up a lot much less.” Nevertheless it additionally makes the Buddha appear essentially completely different from us. His biography turns into a fairy-tale. He turns into, on some degree, not actual.
A mythic Buddha is one we will worship from afar, throughout an ideal gulf. To me, not less than, an actual, flesh-and-bones human being is one I can empathize with, perceive, and really feel near.
The Buddha was very actual. He watched his father plow fields. He sat in wood-and-mud-walled assembly halls listening to previous males drone on about sacrificial ceremonies, and water rights, and disputes about cattle trespassing on fields. And he determined (why is one thing I’ll focus on later, and it had nothing to do with seeing 4 sights) that this wasn’t for him, and that he would search the reality. And having discovered the reality, he taught this:
Herein somebody avoids false speech and abstains from it. He speaks the reality, is dedicated to fact, dependable, worthy of confidence, not a deceiver of individuals. Being at a gathering, or amongst individuals, or within the midst of his kin, or in a society, or within the king’s courtroom, and known as upon and requested as witness to inform what he is aware of, he solutions, if he is aware of nothing: “I do know nothing,” and if he is aware of, he solutions: “I do know”; if he has seen nothing, he solutions: “I’ve seen nothing,” and if he has seen, he solutions: “I’ve seen.” Thus he by no means knowingly speaks a lie, both for the sake of his personal benefit, or for the sake of one other particular person’s benefit, or for the sake of any benefit by any means.
These are phrases to stay by, and to be remembered after we discuss in regards to the Buddha’s standing within the republic of Sakya.
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