What are the main differences between Sikhism and Buddhism?

• Zen or Ch’an Buddhism – originated in China and Japan- path to enlightenment through meditation        

                

• Pure Land Buddhism – also originated in China and Japan. Devotees with true faith are believed to be reborn in paradise – The pure Land or Realm – Nirbanna or Nirvana.

In addition to the idea of Nirbanna in Buddhism, in Sikhism the Gurus idea of Nirvana was eternall bliss ad the soul merges with God

‘He who is devoted towards the Lord in his mind, he gets eternal bliss and realises the Lord and state of Nirvana’ (Guru Ram Das, Asa, pg.444)

In the less strict school of Mahayana sect of Buddhism rituals are more important than in the Theravada. Prayer and chanting are common acts of devotion, as are offering of fruits, flowers and incense. During the festival of Ullambana, offerings are made to spirits of the dead and hungry ghosts – these are held with the belief that the gates to the other world are open so that departed spirits can return to earth for a brief time.

In keeping with the fundamental rules and commandments of Sikhism, a Sikh does not believe in any rituals and superstitions; Sikhs do not believe in the worship of images, tombs, graves and idols.

Buddhists talk about forgiveness of each other without any involvement of God. Sikhism believes in the Grace of God- that God forgives and pardons humans for their wrong doings in repentance. Buddhism has no creator God – no personal god. The Boddhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism resemble Catholic saints or Hindu gods, effectively being worshipped.

A2: Discuss the main teachings of Buddhism, comparing where appropriate, with the teachings of Sikhism (own faith)

Gautama Buddha is one of many Boddhisattvas who have returned back to the world on the cusp of enlightenment, in order to help others.

The scriptures of the Southern Buddhists Therevada Buddhism are called Tri-pitka (The Three Baskets – the original teachings were written on leaves and kept in baskets which were then passed down from one age to another). It is also known as the three-part Pali canon written 2000 years ago in the ancient Pali language. The northern sect of Buddhism, the Mahayanas, has many sacred documents in different languages, the two main ones being the Chinese canon and the Tibetan canon. Tibetan Buddhists study texts such as the Lotus Sutra.

The Guru Granth Sahib is the Holy Scripture of the Sikhs. Sikhs seek daily refuge in the teachings the rein and pray for mercy and Grace of God. The other main sources to understand the religion in depth are

• The Dasam Granth - writings of the Tenth Guru
• Janam Sakhis - The life stories of Sikh Gurus
• Hukamnamas - the letters written by the Sikh Gurus in their lifetime
• Varan Bhai Gurdaas - Hymns composed by Bhai Gurdaas (I and II ) contemporaries of the Fifth Guru and the Tenth Guru respectively.

Buddhists seek refuge in the Triple Gem, or The Three Jewels:

        “I go for refuge to –“

1. The Buddha – as their primal teacher- a symbol of man perfected
2. The Dhamma – The Four Noble Truths – knowledge which goes far beyond the limits

     of reason and intellect, as in the Pali Canon:

i)  Dukkha – Dis-ease – The universal human experience of suffering mental , physical and emotional is the effect of past karma –The law of cause and effect operates in both moral and physical dimensions of human life. Man is in bondage to this cycle of the results of good and evil actions. Life is suffering.

                         

ii) The perception that the cause of such suffering is craving or grasping for the wrong things, or for theright thing in the wrong way. In other words how dukkha, suffering arises.

iii) How dukkha ceases – the ending of suffering, overcoming ignorance and attachment.

That it is possible for suffering to cease. Gautama proclaimed that the universal human dilemma can be solved.

iv) The way to the solution – The practice that leads to reducing and finally getting rid of dukkha.  The Noble Eightfold Path, usually divided into three categories which form the cornerstone of the Buddhist faith.

c) The Sangha  - The Aria – Sangha – The spiritual order of Disciples, fully and at various stages of enlightenment.

Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism, similarly said – Nanak, Dhukhiya Sab Sansaar – The whole World is in the grip of suffering and also Karmi apo apni keh nerhe ke doorh – man is near or separated from God according to his karmas. Guru Nanak taught that

Truth is high, higher still is Truthful Living – In other words the pinnacle of universal knowledge Truth is high, but living a life with remembrance of that Truth is higher still. So he taught the three pillars of Sikhism:

Naam Japo        - Pray in remembrance of the Noble Truth – Waheguru for Sikhs (Simran)

Kirt Karo - Earn your living doing hard, honest work

Vand Shako  - Share that which you have earned with the needy (spiritual and temporal sharing) Sewa - Service

Sikhism stresses the unity, truth and creativity of a personal connection with the creator God, Higher self and urges meditation on Him through remembrance - Simran in surrender to His will. It also advocates active service rather than ascetic withdrawal. Loyalty and justice are admired in meting out service - Sewa.

Sikhism rejects priesthood, image worship and retains doctrines of karma and transmigration or re-incarnation. The Ultimate spiritual authority is the Adi Granth and judicial authority of the Panth- path of the Guru- is with the five seats of authority- Takhats.

A3: Discuss the main beliefs on Buddhism comparing them with the fundamental beliefs of Sikhism.

Buddhism philosophy is opposed to materialism of any kind. Guru Nanak’s philosophy- founder of Sikhism discards all idea of separateness. Nanak says there is no need to renounce or run away from the world. Nanak gave birth to a unique religion in which the householder and sanyasin – (monk or nun-) are one. He alone is entitled to call himself a Sikh, who being a householder is yet a sannyasin.

Siddharth Gautama-Buddha tried to achieve enlightenment through physical torture and infinite fasting. He then realised that this was not the way to achieve freedom from cycle of rebirths. External treatments were no use. What was needed was an insight into the essence of reality and a radical change of the basic attitude of greed of life. He then immersed himself into achieve holiness through meditation.

Sikhs believe that as man begins to become aware of God, he is prompted to see his own life in a different way. The individual seeker realises that he is tangled up in his own self-seeking pride, ignorance and selfishness, with a consuming passion for the world and its pleasures. It is as if the hypnotic allure of materialism appears to blind people to the true nature of life. The whole world seems to be an ocean in which the drowning-those who are struggling and suffering- have little hope of escape.

In a similar spirit of ignorance some appear to find solace in rituals and creed. Sikh thoughts about God and men are not however, forced into overly rigid doctrines. They have emerged rather as an attempt to express human experience of God in the course of truthful living, more spiritual searching than as an exercise in academic studies. The only hope for sinful people lies in the fact that God is merciful and will grant the true seeker His Grace.

In Buddhism, Buddha preached existence as suffering – dukkha – in Sikhism, Guru Nanak described dukkha as separateness of Self from Higher Self, through karmic bondage.Both talk of laying down of one’s ego as ready to lay down his head. As long as there is an ‘Iam’ or ‘I am the judge’, you cannot be the disciple, servant; you cannot hear the words of your teacher.

Overall the Buddhist thinking is different because of the idea of reality.Buddhists believe that:

• Everything is impermanent and transitory – Annica
• Life is marked with suffering i.e evil and dis-eased quality of life -Dukkha 
• There is no permanent soul or Self or Soul – Anatta
• All things are subject to continual change and must eventually dissolve away.

        

a) Buddhists believe in a circular samsara with an infinite beginning and an infinite end – The Wheel of Life.

b) The mental nature together with what we now choose to put together produces potential situations

c) We are masters of our own fate. -Although we have a certain freedom – CHOICE, because we are more or less compelled to do things. It is circumscribed by conditions.

Buddhists strive for enlightenment and liberation from Dukkhas. They concern themselves with nature of reality, goal, knowledge.

Sikhs strive for union with Supreme Reality, One God without parallel in His abstract form, Satguru,

• By adoring the Holy Name (doing Naam recital)
• By merging into Surati  (in remembrance) quintessence of Guru Nanak’s teaching (Naam Simran)

Buddha refers to the word simriti- a state of complete consciousness. Each being has a stream of consciousness related to the Rupa - gross body matter. The stream of consciousness, citta santati is a continual motion or flow of waves from infinite past to the

Infinite future until such time that Nirvana may be reached upon enlightenment.

The mind is the directing force for the assembly of body and circumstance - karma.

‘All that we are is the result of what we have thought’

Broadly speaking good or bad thoughts give rise to actions leading to cause and effect accordingly. The mind is central and dominant in mind-body relationship (nama-rupa) although both are impermanent- anicca

In a being mental dhamma (citta) occur alongside physical dhammas. They arise and cease together on a state of impermanence- anicca. These subdivisions put together as a whole, form the whole - a person or an object.

These beings with no self or essence – an ultimate mark-annatta – are common to all existence. From a Buddhist viewpoint, the mind is dominant, therefore mental exercises and discipline of conduct form the essence of practice (bhavana) to control the mental forces under one’s own will. The danger here is that this may give way to inflation in one’s ego. The “I am” self within will cry, “I know what is right and should be.”

A Sikh is a theist, choosing the path of surrender of Self to the Higher Self.

Quoting Guru Nanak – ‘Whatever please you O Lord, is best for me, therefore I leave myself entirely at your pleasure-at your feet.’ This is the path of a devotee, uttered out of inner satisfaction and not helplessness:

• Acceptance of suffering and unhappiness as a state of the mind, (be it inner or of the material world)  

To be rid of duality in all circumstances dukkha and sukkha (dis-ease and state of ease) and follow a path of gratitude.

To live a way of life, incorporating the three fundamental beliefs of Guru Nanak –

Naam Japo – meditate on One ABSOLUTE Truth

Kirt Karo   -  Earn your living by honest means – hard work

Vand Chako – Share that which you have earned with the needy, being of service to others.

The best way to enlightenment is the Noble Eightfold Path – Righteousness and conduct.

Other aspects are:

• No Soul – annatta – the idea of separate self is illusory
• Seeking liberation from cycle of rebirths (samsara)  and deaths, Nirvana, by ridding    one’s desires and weaknesses.
• Taking refuge in Buddha attaining Nirvana and that others can and should follow his example.
• Accepting five basic principles of life.

The following apply to Sikhs:

• Sikhs believe in the Oneness of God and the teachings of the Ten Masters – Gurus
• Sovereignty of Guru Granth Sahib
• Spiritual authority of five Takhats (Thrones of Justice)

Sikhs adhere to a strict code of conduct once he/she is initiated according to baptismal Book of Laws. A Sikh lives by the teachings of the Ten Gurus and practically adopts a way of life according to their tenets of Dharam –

• Brotherhood of man                                
• All are equal
• No discrimination on basis of colour, caste, religion and creed.

Similarly Buddhist Dharam represents a universal culture. It is free from the tendencies of infinity and superiority based on language, religion, nation, or political Order.

The Buddhist teachings are not to be regarded either as the simple continuation of the Upanishads ideas or just as a reaction to them. The Buddha derived his ideas from both the Brahmanical as well as from the Sramanic traditions, finally fusing them together into an original synthesis through the force of his spiritual experience.

A4: Explain briefly the subject matter of the scripture/s of Buddhism.

Buddhist Scriptures essentially comprise of:

Human nature

Ethics

Buddha nature

Epistemology

Metaphysics

These Pâli writings furnish the most authoritative account of The Buddha and his Doctrine.

The first Testament, Basket, or Pitaka gives the various rules and ordinances to be observed by the Buddhist Order, and is therefore called the ‘Discipline-Basket’

A large part of this Pitaka is dry and technical reading; but by no means all of it is of this nature, for there is a combination of the narrative events in the life of The Buddha. The Buddha himself is supposed to have laid down all these rules as occasion suggested their necessity, and the object of these stories is to explain the circumstances under which he did so. The works of this Pitaka are five, as follows:-

The second of the three Testaments, or Baskets, is called the Sutta-Pitaka, which may be translated the "Sermon-Basket." It consists of a great number of sermons and discourses in prose and verse, delivered by The Buddha or some one of his disciples, and is extremely interesting to any one studying the philosophy and folk-lore of Buddhism. The list of the works which, according to the Singhalese canon, belong to this Pitaka is as follows:--

The works composing the third and last Pitaka are, of all the Buddhist Scriptures, the dreariest and most forbidding reading, and this is saying a great deal. However, like the desert of Sahara, they are to be respected for their immensity;

The title of this Pitaka is the "Metaphysical Basket" (in Pâli, Abhidhamma-Pitaka). It is composed of the following works:-

This completes the list of the works composing the Tipitaka or Buddhist Scriptures

At the core of Buddha’s enlightenment was the realisation of four noble Truths.

DUKKHA 

1. Life is suffering – That in its very nature human existence is essentially painful from the moment of rebirth to the moment of death. Even death brings no relief, since death leads to re-birth.

2. All suffering is caused by ignorance of nature of reality, cravings, attachment and grasping resulting through ignorance.

3. Suffering can be ended through overcoming ignorance and attachment

4) The path to the suppression of suffering (stopping desires) is the Noble Eightfold Path which consists of:

• Right views
• Right Intentions
• Right Speech
• Right Action
• Right Livelihood
• Right effort
• Right mindedness
• Right contemplation

These eight are usually divided into three categories that form the cornerstone of Buddhist faith: Morality, wisdom and samadhi  or concentration.

According to Buddha a state of happiness is achieved when we take responsibility for our thoughts, actions and follow the eight step Path.

ANATMAN  - The Wheel Of  Life and SAMSARA

Buddha analyses human existence as made up of five aggregates or ‘clusters/bundles (skandhas)’

• The material Body
• Feelings
• Perceptions - Impulsions
• Predispositions – karmic tendencies
• Consciousness

A person is only a temporary combination of these aggregates, which are subject to continual change. No one remains the same fro any two consecutive moments. Buddhism denies that an aggregate individually or in combination may be considered a permanent, independently existing Self or Soul. They consider it a mistake to conceive of any lasting unity behind the elements that constitute an individual- Buddha’s belief was that such a self results in egoism, craving and hence suffering. Therefore his teachings included the doctrine of Anatman – denial of permanent Soul – He felt all existence is characterised by three marks of

• No soul – Anatman
• Impermanence - Anitya
• Suffering – Dukkha

The second doctrine made it necessary for Buddha to re-interpret the Indian idea of re-incarnation as rebirth in the cycle of existence known as SAMSARA. Therefore he taught Ptatitya samutpada or dependant origination. This is a twelve-linked chain of causation.

• Through this causal chain connection between one life and the next is made.
• This stream of renewed existence rather than a permanent being that moves from life to life

Therefore a rebirth without transmigration

Closely related to this is the doctrine of karma:

Karma consists of :         - A person’s acts and ethical consequences

                        - Human actions lead to rebirths

                        - Good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds punished

The conclusion therefore is that Enlightenment is possible only for humans. The achievement of this goal is Nirvana – attainable by anyone. (or Nibbana)

The ethic that leads to Nirvana is detached and inner orientated - ~It involves cultivating four virtues, attitudes:

• Palaces of Brahma
• Loving kindness
• Compassion
• Sympathetic joy
• Equanimity

The ethic that leads to better re-birth, however is centred on fulfilling one’s duties to society. It involves acts of charity, especially support of the Sangha, as well these five precepts constituting the basic moral code of Buddhism.

The precepts                

 

• Prohibit killing
• Prohibit stealing
• Harmful, abusive unskilled language
• Sexual misbehaviour
• Use of intoxicants

Thereby overcoming three roots of evil

• Lust
• Hatred
• Delusion

Tri-pitaka scriptures (The Three Baskets) is the fundamental scripture, canon of Buddhism, divided by subject into three collections of writings. The Tri-pitaka is revered by Theravada Buddhists as the complete scriptural collection of the teachings of the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddha. Mahayana Buddhists also esteem the Tri-pitaka, but regard the Mahayana Sutras (discourses of Buddha) as more important. Written in Pali, the Tri-pitaka was recorded 500 years after demise of Buddha. The disciples as oral traditions handed down the contents. The Tri-pitaka  is composed of the

• Vinaya Pitaka i
• Sutta Pitaka    ii
• Abhidhamma Pitaka                                         

i)   contains rules of conduct for Buddhist monks and nuns

ii)  contains five collections of actual discourse of Buddha, myths, legends and extensive  

     commentaries

iii) contains seven works on topics derived from the Buddhas teaching but presents largely    

     Therevada doctrines – mainly the work of eminent scholars rather than the Buddha  

     himself. Mahayana schools have substituted their own treatises for this ‘basket’ which  

     contain:

                

• Dhammasangani  (summary of Dhamma, Sanskrit,Dharma)
• Categorisation of reality, on ethical principles.
• Vibhanga - Division – various aspects of reality
• Dhatukatha  - ( Discussion of elements)
• Essential supplements to Dhammasangani
• Puggalapatanati - (Designation of Person)
• Classification of types of human personality mostly taken from Sutta Pitaka
• Kathavatthu - (Points of controversy)
• Attributed to Moggaliputta – president of 3rd Buddhist council
• The Yamaka - (Paris) is a paired listing of basic psychological concepts
• The Patthana - (Activations) exhaustively covers 24 kinds of causal relationships between Physical and mental phenomena.

A5: Explain the reasons of the spread of Buddhism outside India rather than inside India. Discuss the role of Acharays in curbing the Buddhist movement in India. 

I may seem to be contradictory, but Buddhism practically disappeared from the land of its birth . This is perhaps a singular tragedy in history. The main factors that contributed to this tragedy were twofold: internal and external

Division of the Buddhist monks in moral and spiritual attainments, division into opposing groups through a difference in belief and sectarian disputes among the supporters of Buddhism, the effects of the popular Mahayanist and the abuses of Tantrika doctrines and practices may be said to be responsible for the inner decay of Buddhism in India.

Externally it has been observed historically that the decline in royal patronage, assimilation of Buddhism by Hinduism and the onslaught of Muslim invaders were chiefly responsible for the decline of Buddhism in India. Along with this the most powerful cause which weakened the hold of Buddhism on Indian population and which ultimately led to the obliteration of Buddhism as a living tradition in India was perhaps the Brahamanical – Acharaya’s opposition against Buddhism. This opposition and propaganda was not confined to mere controversies over the doctrines but had its social and material counterparts, which manifested themselves in occurrences resultant in violent vandalism against Buddhist establishments, icons, scriptures and in the persecution of the Buddhists. This had a twofold benefit. On the one hand the Vedic Brahmanism transformed it into a puranic Brahmanism and preserved much of Buddhism in modern Hinduism. On the other hand they resulted in such a way that it became indistinguishable from Brahmanism and led to the practical disappearance of Buddhism as a distinct living tradition.

Part of the propaganda policy was the admission by the Brahamanical authors that Buddha was an avatar of God. The result was that the Buddha became a Hindu God and Buddhism in India an integral part of Hinduism. It is only in the twentieth century that efforts are being made to revive Buddhism in India as a distinct faith.