348 LESSON 17 08 2011 Kalaka Sutta At Kalaka s Park FREE ONLINE eNΔlandΔ
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Buddhist Studies for Young Students- Lesson 13 History of
the Dhamma and Sangha Missionary work
AN 4.24
PTS: A ii 23
Kalaka Sutta: At
Kalaka’s Park
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
On one occasion the Blessed One was staying in Saketa
at Kalaka’s park. There he addressed the monks: “Monks!”
“Yes, lord,” the monks responded.
The Blessed One said: “Monks, whatever in the cosmos β with
its devas, Maras, & Brahmas, its generations with their contemplatives
& priests royalty & common people β is seen, heard, sensed, cognized,
attained, sought after, pondered by the intellect: That do I know. Whatever in
the cosmos β with its devas, Maras, & Brahmas, its generations with their
contemplatives & priests, their royalty & common people β is seen,
heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, pondered by the intellect:
That I directly know. That has been realized by the Tathagata, but in the
Tathagata[1]
it has not been established.[2]
“If I were to say, ‘I don’t know whatever in the cosmos…
is seen, heard, sensed, cognized… pondered by the intellect,’ that would be a
falsehood in me. If I were to say, ‘I both know and don’t know whatever in the
cosmos… is seen, heard, sensed, cognized… pondered by the intellect,’ that
would be just the same. If I were to say, ‘I neither know nor don’t know
whatever in the cosmos… is seen, heard, sensed, cognized… pondered by the
intellect,’ that would be a fault in me.
“Thus, monks, the Tathagata, when seeing what is to be
seen, doesn’t construe an [object as] seen. He doesn’t construe an unseen. He
doesn’t construe an [object] to-be-seen. He doesn’t construe a seer.
“When hearing…
“When sensing…
“When cognizing what is to be cognized, he doesn’t construe
an [object as] cognized. He doesn’t construe an uncognized. He doesn’t construe
an [object] to-be-cognized. He doesn’t construe a cognizer.
Thus, monks, the Tathagata β being the same with regard to all
phenomena that can be seen, heard, sensed, & cognized β is ‘Such.’ And I
tell you: There’s no other ‘Such’ higher or more sublime.
“Whatever is seen
or heard or sensed and fastened onto as true by others, One who is Such β among
the self-fettered β wouldn’t further claim to be true or even false.
“Having seen well in advance that arrow where generations are fastened
& hung β ‘I know, I see, that’s just how it is!’ β there’s nothing
of the Tathagata fastened.”
Lesson 13: History of the Dhamma and
Sangha-Missionary work
1. India
~ 528 β 483 B.C.
The Buddha began teaching the
Dhamma, at Isipatana (modern
Sarnath, near Varanasi), more
than 2500 years ago,
when he was 35
years old. He gave his first discourse to 5
of his old friends who
practiced asceticism. They
became his first students and the first
members of the Buddhist
Sangha. Soon more people joined the
Sangha and under the Buddhaβs
guidance many became fully
enlightened (Arahants). For
the next 45 years, the Buddha and his
ordained students wandered
through Northern India teaching people
the Dhamma. By the time of
his final passing away, thousands of
people had become his
followers. The Buddha passed away at
Kusinara, when he was 80 years old. Three months after his
death,
500 Arahants assembled at
Rajagaha to recite the Dhamma and rules
of conduct for monks and nuns
(Vinaya) as they remembered them.
This meeting is called First Buddhist Council. All
the Arahants
belonged to the school of
elders (Theravada).
~ 483 β 274 B.C.
About 383 B.C. second Buddhist Council was
held at Vesali, where
a division occurred in the Sangha over
rules of conduct. 10 000
monks refused to follow some
rules given by the Buddha, and made
10 new proposals, which were
rejected by the Council. Hence they
formed a new sect or order,
calling themselves Mahasanghikas, or
members of the Great Order.
From then on the Buddhist Sangha not
only increased in size, but
also 18 schools of Buddhism developed.
Three most important were: 1)
the original orthodox Theravada, who
used Pali language; 2) the Sarvastivada,
which was very similar to
the Theravada, but used Sanskrit language, that was also spoken by
Brahmins; 3) the
Mahasanghikas, who used Sanskrit language
and
were much looser in
interpretation of the Buddhaβs teaching than were
the other two schools.
~ 274 B.C. β 500 A.D.
About 274 B.C. North Indian
emperor King Asokha became
a
Buddhist lay disciple. He
was very tolerant of other religions, and
supported Hindu and other
religious seekers, as well as Buddhist
Sangha. The orthodox
Theravada and Sarvastivada schools
particularly flourished
during his reign. The third Buddhist Council
was organised by him at
Pataliputra to review the true Buddhist
teaching or doctrine, and to
begin a missionary activity
outside the
King Asokhaβs empire.
Following this council, King Asokha sent
Buddhist missionaries to
distant foreign countries - Ceylon (Sri
Lanka), Syria, Egypt,
Macedonia and Philadelphos.
Following the King Asokhaβs
reign, Buddhism continued to flourish
in India. Pali speaking
Theravada Buddhists gradually moved from the
ancient kingdoms of Kosala
and Maghda, now Utah Pradesh and
Bihar, to Southern India and
Ceylon. They did not participate in the
further Indian schisms in the
Sangha. Mahasanghikas gradually also
lost popularity in the North
and also moved to South India.
Sarvastivadins were
popular in the northern and northwestern India.
But gradually they further
separated into two schools β Hinayana and
Mahayana.
Hinayana (βLesser vehicleβ)
group were Sarvastivada elders. They
held strictly to the orthodox
tradition, wishing to retain the purity of
the original teachings. From
300 to 100 B.C. they developed
Abhidharma,
which is a systematic collection of the Buddhaβs
teachings, based on the
original discourses and monastic rules.
Mahayana (βGrater vehicleβ)
group were freer in interpretation of the
Buddhaβs teachings, and made
adjustments to the original rules and
discipline. From the 1st to
3rd century A.D. they composed new
discourses and formed their
scriptures.
After 500 A.D. Buddhism
gradually declined in India. Among the
contributing factors were
unfavorable political conditions, loss of
support or opposition from
the rulers, loss of enthusiasm among the
Sangha, and increased
popularity of Hinduism and other religions.
Presently, only about 1% of
Indians are Buddhists, and most of them
follow the Mahayana tradition.
2. Asia and western countries
246 B.C. β 16th century A.D.
Buddhist missionary activity
outside of India began after the third
Buddhist Council.
Most of the Buddhist missions from the 3rd
century B.C. until the 16th
century were to Asian countries. While
missionaries were also sent
as far as Egypt, Syria, Macedonia and
Philadelphos, due to a strong
influence of other religions, Buddhism
did not become established
there.
The most important Theravada early mission was to Ceylon
(Sri
Lanka) in 246 B.C. Buddhist
missionaries, led by the king Asokhaβs
son Venerable Mahinda,
brought and established the Theravada
Buddhism there. From Ceylon,
Buddhism was introduced to Burma
between 1st and 5th
centuries, and it became prevalent there after the
11th century. From the 13th
century, Buddhism was further established
in Thailand by missionaries
from Burma and Ceylon. In the 14th
century it also became well
established in Cambodia and later in Laos,
from the nearby Buddhist
countries.
From the 1st century A.D.,
the Mahayana missionaries
introduced
their tradition to many
surrounding countries. In the 1st century A.D.
Mahayana tradition was
brought to China, and many Buddhist schools
developed there. Most well
known are Chan, which emphasises
meditation, and Pure Land, which
is more devotional and popular
among most people. In the 4th
century, Mahayana Buddhism was
taken from China to Korea,
where it reached zenith from 7th to 12th
centuries. In the 6th
century, Buddhism was taken from China to
Japan, and by the 9th century
about 6 different sects existed there. The
most known is Zen, which
emphasised meditation. In the 8th century,
Mahayana was propagated from
India to Tibet, Mongolia, Himalayan
kingdoms and Siberia in
present Russia. This tradition is called
Vajrayana. It is an early Mahayana
tradition mixed with Indian
tantric practices of mystical
chants and rituals, and original religions
of the regions.
16th century β present
In the 16th century Europeans came into contact with
Buddhism
through Christian
missionaries. Their general impression was that
Buddhism was a primitive
religion of idol worship. Serious study of
Buddhism and its gradual
spread to the West began only in the early
19th century. By the end of
the 20th century, both Theravada and
Mahayana had spread to many
western countries. Buddhism is
becoming popular among young
people in United States, Western
Europe and Australia.
At present, Theravada
Buddhism is a major religion in Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Burma, Laos and
Cambodia. Mahayana Buddhism is a
major religion in China,
Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Tibet, Nepal and
Bhutan. Both Mahayana and
Theravada schools are growing in
popularity in the west. In
spite of various differences, both Theravada
and Mahayana traditions
treasure the Triple Gem. Both traditions
accept Gotama Buddha as the
founder of Buddhism, and the 4 Noble
Truths and the law of Kamma,
as the core teachings. Both have
62
monastic Sangha, but their
robes and some rules of conduct slightly
vary.
1. Use Internet or other
resources to find out more about the division
of the Sangha into Theravada,
Sarvastivada and Mahasanghikas; and
about the later division of
the Sarvastivada into Hinayana and
Mahayana traditions. What are
the main differences between them?
Why did the divisions occur?
2. Read about the King
Asokhaβs life and his contributions to the
Buddhist tradition.
3. Find out about history of
Buddhism in Sri Lanka, China, Tibet or
other countries of your
choice. Prepare a short report about one of
them.
Propagation of the Dhamma
For the first 400 years the
Buddhaβs teachings was recited and
memorised by the monks and
nuns. Though writing was known in
India at that time, it was
not customary to record sacred teachings in
writing. So for 4 centuries
the Dhamma was passed on orally.
The Theravada scriptures were
first written down 100 B.C., in Ceylon
(Sri Lanka), on plant leaves.
They form the Theravada, or Pali, Canon.
It is written in Pali language. The Mahayana scriptures were written
down between 100 A.D. and 300
A.D., in Sanskrit lanuguage.
They
form the Mahayana Canon. So
we have Kamma, Dhamma, and
Nibbana, in Pali; and Karma, Dharma and Nirvana, in Sanskrit.
Both Canons contain some
teachings and discourses that are very
similar, and also some that
are different. Both Canons consist of three
groups of texts called Three Baskets, or Tipitaka:
The Basket of Discipline (Vinaya Pitaka)
(Rules of conduct for monks
and nuns, an account of the
Buddhaβs life, and records of
the development of the
monastic order.)
The Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka)
(The recorded discourses of
the Buddha and some of his
disciples.)
The Basket of Higher Doctrine (Abhidhamma Pitaka)
(Systematic classification of
the terms and ideas found in the
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first two collections. It was
composed after the first two
sets.)
While the Theravada Basket of
Discourses contains texts (suttas)
attributed only to the Buddha
and his contemporary disciples, the
Mahayana Basket of Discourses
also contains texts (sutras)
that were
composed by the monks after
the 1st century A.D., and also
commentaries on those
discourses. Hence the whole Mahayana Canon
consists of many more texts
and volumes than the Pali Canon. But
both Canons reflect the
development of the Theravada and Mahayana
traditions over several
centuries.
1. Use Internet or other resources,
to obtain more information about
the Buddhist scriptures and
complete the following tasks:
a) List names of the books in
the Theravada and Mahayana Baskets of
Discourses, and very briefly
describe their contents.
b) Name some most well know
Buddhaβs discourses from the
Theravada and Mahayana
traditions. Briefly summarise what is in
each discourse.
c) Read about the
disciplinary (monastic) rules in the Vinaya Pitaka,
and discuss why the Buddha
gave them to his students.
d) Read a few chapters from
the Dhammapada β the chapter on the
Buddha and a few other of
your choice, and discuss them with other
students.
Development of the Sangha
As described previously, the
Sangha of the Triple Gem is a spiritual
community of the Buddhaβs
followers who have realised the 4 Noble
Truths, at least to some
degree. The name Sangha is however most
commonly used to mean a
monastic community or order, of monks
and nuns. According to the
records, during the Buddhaβs life this
Sangha consisted almost
entirely of the enlightened individuals, and
many of them Arahants. To
become a part of the monastic order, one
had to ask for a permission
and be accepted, or ordained, by the
Buddha or his authorised
disciples. This tradition continues to this
day.
1. Monastic ordination
During the Buddhaβs mission,
the ordination gradually developed
from a simple consent to join
the Buddhist order, to a more complex
public ceremony.
The first few hundred
students were personally ordained by the
Buddha. They simply asked him
for a permission to join the order, and
he accepted and invited them
in. Later, as the Sangha grew, it was not
possible for all students to
see the Buddha, so the Buddha instructed
his best students to ordain
some of them. The newcomers had to shave
their heads, and in the case
of men beards, and put on robes. They had
to formally take a refuge in
the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha by
reciting Three Refuges.
Later, when some less mature people wanted
to join the Order, 10
precepts were added to the Three Refuges. Later
still, after lay people
complained of the behaviour of some monks,
more detailed rules of
conduct were introduced for monks and nuns
who completed their novice
training. So the total number of rules
increased from 10 to more
than 200.
2. Daily lives of monks and nuns
After the ordination, monks
and nuns had to leave their families and
live in monasteries. They had
to become celibate, keep their heads
shaved and wear robes. This
tradition continues to this day. The
aspirant becomes a novice (samanera) first and after a period of
66
novice training, if he or she
wishes so, can become a fully ordained
monk or nun (bhikkhu or bhikkhuni).
However, he or she must be at
least 20 years old, and pass
a general examination on the Dhamma.
Novice training is similar to
an apprenticeship. Novices are expected
to obey 10 precepts, obtain
their food by begging, do monastic chores
and help monks and nuns,
study and recite the scriptures, and
meditate. In addition to the
duties listed for the novices, monks and
nuns are expected to obey
more than 200 rules of conduct, train
novices, teach the Dhamma to
lay students, and conduct religious
ceremonies.
1. Use Internet or other
resources, to complete the following tasks:
a) Describe lives of some of
the Buddhaβs early disciples, and their
main contributions to the
Buddhist tradition. What qualities did they
all have in common, and how
did they differ?
b) Read life stories, of your
choice, of now living Buddhist teachers,
and share them with other
students.
2.
a) Read the Ten Training
Precepts and The Four-fold Reflection of a
Monk (see Appendix) to
discuss daily life of novices.
b) Discuss a fifth life
requisite, necessary in a literate society -
education and teaching
materials. What are the basic materials we
need to study and teach the
Dhamma?
3. Visit a local temple or a
monastery and ask the novices, monks or
nuns to show you around and
tell you about their daily lives. Discuss
your findings with others in
your group.
1. What parts of the Buddhist
history and scriptures did you find most
interesting and why?
2. Would you like to live
like the Buddhist novices, or monks or nuns,
do? What would you like to do
when you leave school, and why?
67
3.
a) What rules of conduct do
you live by? What rules do you have at
school and at home?
b) What duties do you have
apart from your schoolwork?
c) What is your daily
routine: during the school terms; on the
weekends; during school
holidays?
4.
a) Go through your things,
separate what you donβt really need and
give it away to a charity or
friends. Then clean and tidy your room.
b) Make a small bag to hold
needles and threads. Then repair some of
your, or your siblingβs,
clothing.
c) Make a Buddhist book,
using simple materials such as paper, pens,
pencils and threads.
1. Why is it important to
know the main history of the humankind?
What can we learn from it,
and how can we benefit from this
knowledge in our daily lives?
2. Why is it important to know
the main history of the Buddhism and
the oldest scriptures?
How can this knowledge help
to bring peace among the Buddhist
communities, and world wide?
HISTORY QUIZ
1. When and where did the
Buddha pass away?
2. When did the first
division of the Sangha occur, and why?
3. When and how did the
Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana
traditions begin?
4. How long did Buddhism
flourish in India, and why did it die out?
5. Who was King Asokha and
how did he contribute to the spread of
Buddhism?
6. When and by whom was
Buddhism introduced to Sri Lanka, China
and Tibet?
7. List the countries in
which a) Theravada, b) Mahayana and c)
Vajrayana Buddhist tradition
is a main religion.
68
8. How was the Dhamma
propagated during the Buddhaβs life and
after he passed away?
9. What is the difference
between Canon, Scriptures and Baskets?
10. What does Tipitaka
consists of?
11. What is Sangha and when
and how did it begin?
12. What is the difference
between a novice and a monk?