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25Q:What is "sarira"?
A:"Sarira"means the remains of the dead,but this term is generally confined to the remains of the Buddha and other virtuous priests only.
26Q:What is the function of a thupa?
A:Thupa(S.stupa),rendered into Chinese as "Ta","Tabo"or "Sudubo",means "tower"or "tomb".Thupas are usually built for keeping sarira,though some are for commemorative purposes.
27Q:Is there agreement over the year of the Buddha's Parinibbana?
A:With regard to the year of the Buddha's Parinibbana,the Buddhists in Southeast Asia generally put it in the year 545BC,so in 1956and 1957many countries ceremoniously observed the 2,500th anniversary of the Buddha's Parinibbana.In China,however,there are different opinions about the year of the Buddha's passing away,the generally acknowledged year being 486BC,59years later than the Theravadin calendar of Southeast Asia.
28Q:What is the date of the Buddha's Parinibbana?
A:In China,the 15th of the second month of the lunar calendar is commonly accepted as the Day of the Buddha's Parinibbana,the 8th of the fourth month as the Buddha's birthday,and the 8th of the twelfth month as the Day of the Buddha's enlightenment.In South and Southeast Asian countries,however,the full moon day of May of the Gregorian calendar(corresponding to the 15th of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar)is the Buddhist Holy Day called Vesakha(S.Vai?akya),which is regarded as the Day of the Buddha's birth,enlightenment,as well as Parinibbana.
29Q:From what you have said we have learned the brief outline of the life of Sakyamuni Buddha.Would you now please give some historical background on the origin of Buddhism?
A:This is a rather difficult question,firstly,because there is a lack of materials on Indian history.Secondly,I haven't studied this area very deeply.Yet I would like to share whatever information I have,as well as clues and leads in my mind for your further reference,research and judgment.
30Q:Good.I think all religions and ideologies are products of history.For better understanding of Buddhism,it would be helpful to learn something about the social circumstances of that time.I hope you can paint a sketch of its main points.
A:Let us begin with the situation of that time.Do you know there was a region called the Middle Kingdom(Madhya De?a)in ancient India?
31Q:I am afraid I don't.In which part of India was it located?
A:About 3,500—4,000years ago,with gradual migration from central Asia into the Indus Valley,the Aryans conquered the original inhabitants and settled there.They assimilated the aboriginal civilization and founded a number of states.For a long time afterward,this area was a political and cultural center of Brahmin civilization and of the Aryan people.Thus this region was called the Middle Kingdom(Madhya De?a).As to the vast areas of the eastern and southern Ganges Valley,these were called uncivilized "frontier"areas.However,by the time of Sakyamuni,a tremendous change had taken place.The states in the original Madhya De?a began to decline,while those in the south—eastern frontier began to prosper.Among them was Magadha,the newly emerging dominant state where Sakyamuni resided for the longest time and taught most extensively.The center of civilization by this time had shifted to the new cities:Rajagaha in Magadha,Savatthi in Kosala and Vesali in Vajji,among them Rajagaha being particularly important.
32Q:Apart from being powerful and prosperous,were there any particular characteristics in respect to social,economic and cultural spheres in these newly emerging states?
A:According to my preliminary study,there are three conditions which are worthy of notice:(1)the increasing ethnic conflicts;(2)the development of social productivity in the economy;and(3)the emergence of a new anti—Brahmanist trend of thought.All these three were reflected in the caste system.
33Q:What is the caste system?
A:The caste system was created with the entry of Aryans into India.The word "caste"is used to translate the Sanskrit word "Var?a"(P.Va a).Its original meaning was "color"or "quality".According to their theory,white—skinned Aryans were a superior race;the dark colored Dravidians and other aborigines were inferior races.At first,this system was used to distinguish between Aryan and non—Aryan peoples.Subsequently,with the developing division of trades and occupations,the caste distinction formerly used for separating Aryans from non—Aryans also found reflection among Aryans themselves.Hence the division of four castes:the highest caste was Brahma?a,the class of priests who administered religious rites,and educational and cultural affairs(some of them later became kings).The next was K?atriya,the class of kings and warriors who administered military and political affairs;the third was Vai?ya,composed of merchants,artisans and peasants engaged in farm work;and the fourth was ?udra,composed of farm laborers,herdsmen,servants and slaves.The first three castes were Aryan and the last one non—Aryan.Each caste had its own hereditary occupations and were not permitted to inter—marry,and in particular,any mixing between ?udras and other castes was strictly prohibited.There were special laws governing the offspring of ?udra males and females of other castes.For instance,the shameful title of Ca ala was given to the child born of a ?udra male and a Brahmin female.The status of Ca ala was the most degraded and since they were not allowed physical contact with others,they were known as the "untouchables".From generation to generation,these people took the humblest jobs such as corpse—carriers,butchers,and executioners.The caste system was not only enacted in laws but also unshakably regulated by religious doctrines and tenets.In Madhya De?a,the caste system was most strictly enforced under the powerful influence of Brahmanism.
34Q:Did the caste system exist in the newly emerging countries too?
A:With the extension of Aryan influence,these states could not but be affected by the Brahmanic culture.Although the caste system entered there,it encountered quite a lot of obstacles.Firstly,the original inhabitants were in the majority in these states.Secondly,miscegenation between Aryan and non—Aryan races was relatively common.Thirdly,in order to consolidate the Aryan domination in those areas,quite a few aboriginal chiefs were inducted into the caste of K?atriya through embracing rituals.Under the caste system,there were always rivalries between the ruling castes,Brahma?as and K?atriyas.This was particularly strong between the non—Aryan K?atriyas and the Brahma?as who held the superior position.Research shows that most people of Magadha came from miscegenation of Vai?yas and ?udras,therefore,they were regarded as an inferior race—semi—aryan and semi—barbarian—by Brahmanic code.It is said that King A?oka of Magadha who later on unified India had ?udra blood.In this environment any theories against the Brahmin ideas of the caste system would easily be accepted and welcomed.The doctrine advocated by Sakyamuni saying that "all four castes are equal,"mirrored the resentment of people in the newly emerging states towards the caste system.
35Q:Did the Sakyas belong to the Aryan race?
A:Concerning Sakya's ethnic origin,there are different opinions.Some hold the view that it was of the Mongolian race,and others,Aryan.But as far as the geography of that time is concerned,Kapilavatthu was located in a remote area and was a small state(some believe it was a dependency of Kosala).It is less likely that its royal family was of the Aryan race.Besides,in Buddhist scriptures there is more than one reference to Sakyamuni having a golden purple body,thus providing further grounds for arguing that the Sakyas were not a white Aryan race.
36Q:Can it be said that caste contradictions at that time were simply a reflection of ethnic contradictions?
A:Not exactly.As I see it,it also reflected the contradictions brought about by the development of social productivity at that time.
37Q:Was Indian society at the time of Sakyamuni a slave society?
A:Recent excavations in the Indus Valley show that as early as 3500—2750BC,the aborigines there(probably the Dravidians)already had a remarkable urban civilization.They had city planning,with sewerage,two or three—storied brick buildings,and public or private baths.Along the streets,there were stalls and shops.A textile industry as well as a ceramics industry existed.This fact strongly refutes the suggestion of Western scholars that the Indian civilization was brought in by Aryans.As a matter of fact,it is the nomadic Aryans who accepted the higher civilization of the original inhabitants.In the light of the excavations,the aboriginal society at that time was a slave society,and it may be concluded that they had already considerably advanced agriculture.As to the period from the settling down of the Aryans,up to the establishment of the caste system(about 1,000years),we need to study whether it was still a slave society.According to the Brahmanic code,?udra did not mean slave,only some members of that caste were slaves who were engaged in odd jobs,taking very little part in production.It is apparent that slaves were not the main labor power.Therefore,it is hard to assert that this was still a slave society.
38Q:In your opinion,what was the prevailing social system at that time?
A:It is recorded in the Buddhist scriptures that there was a fixed time each year during which the king presided over a ploughing ceremony in the fields,and the people tilled for him.This agrees with the clause of the Brahmin codes,which stipulates that the ?udras who lived off their own labor should pay taxes to the king through offering their labor.According to the notes made by the ancient Chinese translators,K?atriya originally meant "land owner".It may be inferred from this that by the time the caste system began to be well established,India had entered into a society of serfdom ruled by feudal lords.By the time of Sakyamuni,more changes had occurred in the newly emerging states.The Buddhist literature suggests that commerce at that time was flourishing with large—scale trade caravans and mercantile fleets.Thus merchants had solid economic strength.For instance,a very rich merchant named Sudatta,who made a gift of a garden to the Buddha,was of such great wealth that he compared riches with the prince of Kosala by paving the whole garden with gold.Handicrafts flourished too,with fine division of labor.Small enterprises of industry and commerce operated freely and played an important role in productive activities.At that time there emerged tax—paying free peasants as well as tenant farmers.It is conceivable that,in the newly emerging states where the majority was of the mixed castes of Vai?yas and ?udras,K?atriyas might not have been serf—owners,but representatives of a newly emerging landlord class.As early as 1,000BC ironware appeared in India,and in this period,iron farm tools were widely used,and agricultural productivity was greatly increased.Under these economic circumstances,partitioning by feudal lords was unfavorable to the development of commerce,of handicrafts and of agriculture in particular.History shows that the centralized construction of water conservancy and irrigation works was important in King A?oka's unification of India.Even during the Buddha's lifetime,200years before A?oka,people had already cherished the ideal of "one world unified by the wheel—turning king"(Raja Cakkavattin).In his childhood,the Buddha's father and compatriots hoped he would become the wheel—turning king.The Buddha,though forsaking his throne,held the ideal of a wheel—turning king.The idea was indeed a reflection of the people's common aspiration to have a centralized government to replace the state of division by the feudal lords.This desire inevitably came into conflict with the caste system.
39Q:What was the relationship between Sakyamuni and Brahmins,and between Sakyamuni and K?atriyas?
A:Sakyamuni publicly opposed Brahmanic doctrines,so he was subject to numerous attacks by the Brahmins during his lifetime.Nevertheless,a large number of Brahmin scholars and followers gave up their original beliefs and turned to the Buddha.The Brahma?as,in response to Buddhism,issued the Manu Code(Manu—Sm?ti),which,while upholding the caste system,made some amendments to it.Although the Manu Code did not overtly attack Buddhism,the subsequent Manuals of Public and Domestic Rites(Sarvadar?ana Sa?graha)expressed an explicitly offensive attitude against Buddhism.As to the relationship between the Buddha and the K?atriyas,as you know,the Buddha came from the K?atriya caste.The kings of those states where he traveled and preached,such as Bimbisara of Magadha,Prasenajit of Kosala and others were his faithful followers and strong supporters.At a later time after the Buddha,King A?oka more energetically promulgated the Buddha Dhamma.It should be concluded that the K?atriyas of the newly emerging states had great esteem for and staunch faith in the Buddha.It is worth notice that in the Buddhist texts,whenever mention is made of the four castes,Brahman is put after K?atriya.That is contrary to the traditional order in which Brahmin came the first(i.e.Brahma?a,K?atriya,Vai?ya and ?udra).From this break with the tradition,one can see the Buddha's depreciation of the Brahmins'position.
40Q:What was the relationship between Sakyamuni and the common people?
A:Sakyamuni's style of teaching was close to the common people.Instead of the elegant language of the Brahmins,he used the vernacular language.As was mentioned earlier,Sakyamuni accepted a ?udra named Upali to be his disciple to whom the Buddha's brothers and son had to pay homage since their ranks in the Sa?gha were lower than his.The Buddha and his disciples accepted on equal footing the offerings contributed by the Ca alas,or the untouchables,with whom other people were reluctant to make physical contact.The Buddha contrived to meet a Ca ala and preach to him when he was too shy to come and see the Buddha.In the same way the Buddha treated all the unfortunates.Among his disciples were beggars and prostitutes.The Buddha,on one occasion,rejected an invitation from a king and went to take a dana offered by an unfortunately degenerated woman.In ancient Indian society,the status of women was akin to that of slaves.The fact that the Buddha admitted women into the Sa?gha Order as his monastic disciples is considered a great revolution in religious history.
41Q:Although he had sympathy with the unfortunate and suffering people,isn't it true that the Buddha did not advise them to revolt against their rulers?
A:True.The Buddha did not instruct people what action to take against their rulers,and although on the one hand,it may be said he advocated forbearance in real life since he mainly taught people how to eliminate their inner worries and attain deliverance and said to them that desisting from evil and doing wholesome deeds in the present world would bring happiness to future life as effect;on the other hand,his thought played a positive role in society at the time because he repudiated the theory of Brahamin theocracy,proclaimed the equal position of all beings and revealed the truth of impermanence of everything(anicca).
42Q:What was the situation in the ideological domain in India at that time?
A:Similar to the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Period in Chinese history,there was a period of "a hundred schools of thought in contention".Generally speaking,there existed two major ideological trends:one was the school of orthodox Brahmanist thought,and the other,various schools of heretical anti—Brahman thought.Buddhism belonged to the latter.
43Q:What were the fundamental ideas of Brahmanism?
A:Brahmanism was polytheism with monotheistic leanings.It worshipped various deities of nature,offered sacrifices and prayers for blessings and warding off calamities,but believed in Brahma as the superior lord who created the entire universe.Brahma gave birth to Brahma?as from his mouth,K?atriyas from his shoulder,Vai?yas from his abdomen and ?udras from his feet.Thus,the social standing of the four castes,noble or humble,was decided according to this.And thus people had to abide by the will of Brahma and keep faith in Veda.Ordinary people had to serve Brahmins,and strictly obey the caste system.With the development of Brahmanist doctrines,on one hand Brahma was recognized as the noumenon of the universe or the ultimate principle of origin of the universe in the abstract sense;on the other hand,viewed from the individual,Atta(S.atman,Ego)was considered the dominator and noumenon of the individual,the personal body as well as one's actions.Thus the phenomena of the external world also arise from Atta.Hence an inference:Brahma and Atta should not be two but one and the same.So what people had to strive to reach was a state of harmony between Atta and Brahma through self—cultivation.In this way,they could avoid the suffering of sa?sara and attain ultimate emancipation.
44Q:How many anti—Brahmanic schools were there at that time?
A:Buddhist texts mention as many as 96anti—Brahman schools,six of which were outstanding and whose founders were known in the texts as the Six Teachers.One among the six was Niga ha Nataputta,the founding father of Jaina.The other five were Pura?a Kassapa,Makkhali Gosala,Ajita Kesakambala,Pakudha Kaccayana and Sa?jaya Bela hiputta.Of all these schools only Jaina still exists and has texts one can research.The others have no proper records,but fragments of information can be gleaned from the books of the rival schools,which challenged their doctrines.Some of them were sceptics denying the relations of cause and effect;some stood for carnal desires;while others advocated ascetic practices;and still others were materialists who believed that human beings were composed of four Mahabhuta(i.e.the four elements of earth,water,fire and air),which would decompose and vanish after death with no prospect of future life.
45Q:What was the relationship between Buddhism and other religious schools or sects?
A:Buddhism not only repudiated the creeds of the Brahmanists but also opposed those of the various non—Brahmanic schools.However,Buddhism,Brahmanism and other religions had some common ideological sources.Although it adopted certain ideas from other schools,Buddhism rendered new interpretations according to its own theories of Dependent Origination(Pa?iccasamuppada)and Kamma.For example,"cause and effect of three periods of time"(Hetu—phala of tayo addha)teaches that actions in the past life lead to the present affect,and actions in the present life will produce an effect in future life;and the theory of "cycles of rebirth in the six realms",which teaches that on the basis of one's own wholesome or unwholesome deeds one might be reborn in heaven as a deity,or on earth as a human being,or become an asura—a bellicose deity—like creature,or an animal,or a ghost,or be born in hell;all sentient beings circulate perpetually up and down,just like a rolling wheel,through the six realms(gatis)of heaven(deva—gati),human world(manussa—gati),asura realm(asuratta),hell(naraka—gati),ghost realm(peta—gati)and animal world(tiracchana—yonika),in endlessly repeated cycles of rebirth or reincarnation(sa?sara);and the theory of the blending components of four elements(cattari mahabhuta),which are earth,water,fire and air.Buddhism also accepted some traditional notions about astronomy and geography.
With regard to gods of Brahmanism,Buddhism did not deny their existence,but degraded their status to that of sentient beings and believed that they also could not escape the sufferings of sa?sara.As for Brahma,Buddhism deemed it a deity in the deva—gati,who might fall into hell.We can return to these questions later.