Theravada Buddhism: The View of the Elders

Introduction

Introduction The Buddha repeatedly stated that his teaching first and foremost dealt with the concept of dukkha (the more painful features of being human) (see the Glossary for a detailed explanation) and the liberation therefrom. All the details of the religion and everything else the Buddha said must be understood in this particular context. Hence, what follows is a story of how one man perceived his existential problem ; his journey in search of a solution to it; his discovery of a solution ; and how, according to one tradition, the Theravada, he helped others to achieve what he achieved. It is also a story of many men and women, both monastic followers and householders (laypeople), who have trod and continue to tread the path in order to minimize and eradicate their own suffering and that of all other beings. The teaching of the Buddha has had many qualifying terms associated with it over the centuries. The term theravada (elders’ view) is one such. Theravada is, concurrently, a historical tradition of Buddhism , a way of interpreting and understanding the words of the Buddha, and a way of life and practice adopted and followed both by monks and nuns and by ordinary men and women. As a historical tradition, Theravada represents how an early and presumably large group of monks (and nuns)—including its leading members, those directly associated with the Buddha—became known to posterity. It is believed that this tradition (at least for monks) continues unbroken up to today. What the tradition understood to be the words of the Buddha and how it interpreted those words comprise another sense of the term theravada. Finally and most important, it represents a spiritual practice nurtured and guided by the monastic tradition that is based on the interpretation of the words of the Buddha and has been adopted and developed by this tradition in the course of its practice. It is this third aspect of Theravada Buddhism that will be the focus of this book. The other two aspects will naturally have to be brought into the discussion, but only to the extent necessary to illuminate Theravada spiritual practices. xxii Introduction Theravada is considered the oldest of the three main traditions of Buddhism currently practiced in the world. Its core has traditionally been in the South and Southeast Asian regions. Of the other two traditions , Mahayana Buddhism has been dominant in East Asia, and Vajrayana Buddhism’s traditional home has been Tibet and its environs , as well as Mongolia. I use the term “traditional home” because these forms of Buddhism have moved far beyond their traditional habitats in present-day globalized society, a development to which I shall refer later. The traditional classification tends to describe Theravada as a school belonging to the Hinayana. In the actual historical evolution of the Buddhist schools, what the Mahayanists identified as Hinayana are the two schools known as Vaibhashika and Sautrantika , which no longer exist. What they meant by “Hinayana” is not “small vehicle,” as has been commonly misunderstood, but the more pejorative “lowly vehicle.” The reason why the Mahayanists (practitioners of the “great vehicle”), who concentrated on the liberation of all sentient beings, looked down on members of the two schools was because the latter aimed at personal liberation by “being hearers ,” meaning following the instructions of the Buddha, which in the eyes of Mahayanists was appropriate only for those with lower capabilities . Theravada, like the two Hinayana schools, made personal liberation the goal of its practice, thereby qualifying it to be called “Hinayana.” Historically, however, the designation was not applied to Theravada because of its independent development in areas, such as Sri Lanka, that received the religion as a result of Emperor Asoka’s mission to propagate Buddhism to the outskirts of the empire in the third century BCE. The origin of Theravada goes back to the first gathering, or council , of followers that took place three months after the Buddha’s “passing away” (parinibanna; Skt. parinirvana). Once he had passed away, there was an immediate effort to codify his teaching. The need for this methodical organization of the words of the Buddha had something to do with his refusal to name a successor. What this effectively meant was that the disciples who had once been able to go directly to the Buddha for answers and explanations were now left with only his teachings as their ultimate source of guidance. The state of the [18.217.203.172] Project MUSE (2024-04-26 11:16...