Physician, Buddhist Scholar of Bangladesh

The Buddha, whose personal name was Siddhartha Gautama, lived in North India in the 6^th century (563 BC) B.C. His father, Shuddhodhana was the ruler of the Kingdom of the Sakyas. His mother was queen Maya. According to the custom of the time, he was married quite young at the age of sixteen, to a beautiful & devoted young Princess named Yasodhara. The young Prince lived in his palace with all luxury facilities. But all of a sudden, confronted with the reality of life and observed suffering of mankind He decided to find the solution the way out of this universal suffering. At the age of 29 soon after the birth of his only child, Rahula, one night he left his kingdom and became an ascetic in search of this solution.

For six years the ascetic Gautama wandered about the valley of the Gangas, meeting famous religious teachers, studding and following their systems and methods, and submitting Himself to rigorous ascetic practices. They didn’t satisfy him. So he abandoned all traditional religious and their methods and went his own way. It was thus that one evening, seated under a tree known as Bodhi or Bo-tree, the tree of wisdom on the bank of the river Niranjana at Buddha-Gaya at the age of 35, during meditation He had a vision of all His previous lives, battled with the demons whose threatened His meditation and finally, many days later on a full moon night, Gautama attained supreme Enlightenment, after which he was known as the Buddha, `The Enlightened one’.

After his Enlightenment, Gautama the Buddha delivered his first sermon to a group of  five ascetics, Old colleagues, in the Deer Park at Isipatna near Benares. From that day, for 45years, He taught all classes of men and women, kings and peasants, Brahmins and outcasts, rich men and beggars, holy men and robbers without making the slightest classification between them. Buddhism has three major divisions – Theravada, Vajrayana and Mahayana. The three jewels in Buddhism are – the Buddha, the dharma, the Sangha. According to Buddhism the three delusions that plague mankind are- Ignorance, Desire and Anger. The three virtues that can be developed to combat these vices are- moral Discipline, Concentration and Wisdom.

At the age of 80, the Buddha passed away at Kusinara in modern Uttar Pradesh in India. Today, Buddhism is found in Myanmar, Ceylon, Thai Land, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Tibet, China, Japan, Mongolia, Korea, Formosa & Sri Lanka in some parts of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and also in Russia. The Buddhist population of the world in over 500 million.

The Buddhism spread quickly throughout Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet, China, Korea, and by around 520 to 550 AD had reached Japan. Buddhism came to America in the 19^th century and influenced prominent personalities like Emerson, Thoreau, Aldous Huxley and Eric Rromm. In Europe, great thinkers such as Jung, Heidegger and Toynbee were impressed by Buddhism. A large number of American intellectuals have taken to Buddhism in their search for ways to time the `monsters of the mind’ so easily created by material excesses.

Buddhism has a strong individualistic component – everyone has responsibility for their happiness in life.  Buddha presented the Four Noble Truths a guiding principles. There is suffering if life, the case of suffering is desire, ending desire means ending suffering and following a controlled and moderate lifestyle will end desire and therefore end suffering. 

Buddhist Philosophy – In order to achieve these goals, the Buddha presented the Noble Eightfold Path- Right belief, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right occupation, right effort, right mindfulness and right sandier or meditation. According to Buddhist practice, following the Noble Eight fold Path will ultimately result in being liberated from samsara, the cycle of Rebirth and suffering.

The Buddha expressed his philosophy when he said, `I teach only two things, O disciples, nature of suffering and the cessation of suffering’.

1. The Buddha taught the famous. ‘Four Noble Truths’ and Eightfold Path, which allows people to achieve enlightenment. Enlightenment Nirvana, awakening, realization, satori is the cessation of suffering, freedom from conditioned existence (samsara).

Three Marks of Existence :

1. Annica – Everything Is subject to Change. Nothing is permanent.
2. Dukkha – All pervasive non-satisfaction.
3. Anatta – Everything is empty of a separate self.

The Buddha taught that every action has a consequence; things are because of previous conditions. If one practices the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, then one will no longer be subject to the cycle of existence samsara.

• My teaching is not a philosophy. It is the result of direct experience.
• My teaching is a means of practice, not something to hold onto or worship.
• My teaching is like a raft used to cross the river of suffering’.

To his favorite disciple, Ananda, the Buddha once said (from: Old Path, White Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh).

The Four Noble Truths are –

1. Dukkha – Life is unsatisfactory, disjointed, suffering & suffering.
2. Samudaya – There is a cause of suffering.
3. Nirodha – There is a cessation of suffering.
4. Marga – The way leading to the cessation of suffering is called the Noble

Eightfold Path.

The Buddha taught that in order to realize enlightenment, man must free himself from his ego, and give up all desires. He taught that by having so many desires (such as wanting pleasure, wealth, happiness, security, success, long life, etc.), man condemns himself to suffering, and will never escape the cycle of rebirths,

Therefore, Buddhism believes that suffering is self-created.

The Eightfold Path:

Wisdom – Prajna

1. Right Understanding (or Right View or Right Perspective)
2. Right Thought (or Right Intention, or Right Resolve)

Morality – Sila

1. Right speech
2. Right Action
3. Right Livelihood

Concentration- Samadhi

1. Right Effort (or Right Endeavour)
2. Right Mindfulness
3. Right Concentration

The Buddha’s message consists of the Doctrine (Dhamma) and the Discipline (Vinaya). The Discipline has to do with conduct, virtue, morals, the ethical side of the message; the Doctrine with the rest, In the threefold division of the Path to the Extinction of ill, the Discipline comes under the aggregates of virtue (sila); the Doctrine belongs to the aggregates of concentration (samadhi) and of wisdom (parma). The Discipline or moral practice concerns the activity of speech and bodily behavior; the Doctrine is connected with the activities of the intellections of the understanding. As mental clarity and penetration leading to extinction (Nibbana) depend on the practice of virtue, which eliminates the restlessness and anxiety due to immoral action and speech and provides a necessary element for right thought and understanding, the Discipline in an essential factor for the attainment of the extinction of ill.

The conception of dukkha may be viewed from three aspects: 1. Dukkha as ordinary suffering (dukkha-dukkha), 2. Dukkha SD produced by change (viparinama-dukkha) and 3. Dukkha as conditioned states (samkhara-dukkha). 

All kinds of suffering in life like birth, old age, sickness, death, association with unpleasant persons and conditions, separation from beloved ones and pleasant conditions not getting what one desires, grief, lamentation, distress-all such forms of physical and mental suffering, which are universally accepted as suffering or pain.

Dukkha or suffering of life is the main focal point of Buddhist philosophy. According to Buddhist philosophy, is only a combination of ever-changing physical and mental forces or energies, which may be divided into five groups or aggregates (pancakkhandha). The Buddha says: ` In short these five aggregates of attachment are dukkha’. The five aggregates are- 1.  Aggregate of Matter (Rupakkhandha). 2. Aggregate of Sensations (Vedanakkhandha). 3. Aggregate of Perceptions (Sannakkhandha). 4. Aggregate of Mental Formations (Samkharakkhandha), and, 5. Aggregate of Consciousness (Vinnanakkhandha).

Among the founders of religions, the Buddha was the only teacher who did not claim to be other than a human being, pure and simple. Other teacher are either God, or His incarnations in different forms or inspired by him. The Buddha was not only a human being He claimed no inspiration from any god or external power either. He attributed all his realization, attainments and achievements to human endeavor and human intelligence.

Man’s position, according to Buddhism, is supreme. Man is his own master and there is no higher being or power that sits in judgment over his destiny. He taught, encouraged and stimulated each person to develop himself and to work out his own emancipation for man has the power to liberate himself from all bondage through his own personal effort and intelligence. The Buddha says: `You should do your work for the Tathagatas only teach the way.’

Mind is only a faculty or organ (indriya) like the eye, ear. It can be controlled and developed like any other faculty and the Buddha speaks quite often of the value of controlling and disciplining these six faculties. The difference between the eye and the mind as faculties is that the former senses the world of colors and visible forms, while the latter senses the world of ideas and thoughts and mental objects. We experience different fields of the world with different senses. We cannot hear colors but we can see them. Nor can we see sound but we can hear them. Thus with our five physical sense organs- Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue and Body- we experience only the world of visions, Sounds, Odours, Tastes and tangible Objects. These five sense organs are the entry of philosophy of Buddhism. Aggregate of Sensations are of six kinds – the sensations experienced through the contact of the eye with visible forms, ear with sounds, nose with odors, tongue with tastes, body with tangible objects and mind (which is the sixth faculty in Buddhist Philosophy) with mind objects or thoughts or ideas.

Buddhist Heritage can be understood in three categories – intellectual, intangible & tangible. Intellectual heritage is the Plethora of writings containing lofty sermons of the Buddha as well as commentaries & some in Sanskrit are said to have originated in Sri Lanka, and will not from art of the present study. This study explore the tangible & intangible heritage created to support and in the right buildings, was part of the code of discipline, Vinaya, the code of discipline for monks, even provides measurements for certain types of buildings. These are references to Buddhist monks as advocates they acted as architects. A sixth century text, Manjusri Vastuvidayasastra is a treatise entirely devoted to the buildings of Buddhist Monasteries. It contains 27 typical monastic plans.

According to the Buddhist text, Mahaparinibbana Sutra, Buddha advocated pilgrimages to four sacred places (Where He was born), where He delivered the first discourse and where He got pinibbana. 

Archaeology of Buddhism drew world’s attention to the archaeological heritage of South Asia as a region that flourished both in culture and religion since ancient times. Since time immemorial South Asia has been linked by social and historical traditions which have strengthened our people to people relations. Among many religions that have originated from South Asia, Buddhist philosophy is spread throughout the World particularly as a result of religions propagation during the Asoka Empire in 3^rd Century BC. 

South Asia is one of the most diverse regions in the world with a rich assortment of cultural and religious heritage that has harmoniously blended over centuries thus creating a unique South Asia identity.

Bangladesh was a new state in an ancient land. It has been described by an American Scientist as `a country challenged by contradictions”. On the face of it, the recent twists and turns of her history are often inconsistent. It is neither a distinct geographical entity, nor a well-defined historical unit.

Ancient Bangladesh also witnessed the flowering of temple, stupa and monastic architecture as well as Buddhist art and sculpture. There was discernible influence of the Pala art of Bengal on Javanese art. There was a close affinity between the scripts used on certain Javanese sculptures and proto-Bengali alphabet. A group of temples in Myanmar were built on the model of Bangladeshi temples. The architecture and iconographic ideas of Bengal inspired architects, sculptors and artists in Cambodia and the Indonesian archipelago. The influence of Pala art in Bengal could be easily traced in Nepalese and Tibetan paintings, as well as in Tang art of China.

During the 3^rd Century BC Bengal became a part of the Mauryan Kingdom. Chandragupta ruled for 24 years over a large area of India including Bengal. His grandson Asoka (273 BC-298 BC) inherited his grandeur greatness but became famous for propagating Buddhism in Asia. Emperor Asoka, in the 3^rd Century BC, was the first outstanding royal patron of Buddhism. The great Stupas which he erected, his splendid pillars and sculptural railings are some of the gentlest, most beautiful and magnificent carvings architectures and art of civilization in this subcontinent.

Bengal had ancient links with Sri Lanka & the founder of Sri Lanka is believed to have hailed from Bengal. Through Buddhism Bengal was connected with Tibet and China. From the 4^th Century AD, Chinese travelers Fa Hien, Hiuen Tsang & Yet Sing traveled Bengal & wrote invaluable details of contemporary social status.

With the decline of the last reign of Pala King at the hand of the Senas, Buddhism collapsed in Bengal. According to Dr. D.C. Sen, the Brahmins were responsible for wiping out Buddhism & Jainism from Bengal. The Buddhist priests and tantric siddhas were forced to live as the lowest caste.

Of all Buddhist scholars, Atisha Dipankara Srijanan was the most luminous sage & he is still worshipped in Tibet second only to Buddha. Dipankara was born in 980 AD in the royal family of Guada in Vikrampur, a site of Monastery excavated in a rice field in Bangladesh. Dipankara succeeded in removing Tantric elements from Buddhism. He wrote more than 200 books on Buddhism. 

In today’s world Buddhism is rapidly spreading throughout the world. Buddhism appeals very much to the modern world because it is reasonably and scientifically oriented. Buddhism is adapting by emphasizing a rational scientific approach to its teachings. Buddhism gives a clear explanation of how life’s experiences come about and how to deal with them in the best manner possible. It says, do not accept anything blindly; think for yourself, test it out and see if it actually does make sense. This resembles science asking us to verify the results of an experiment by repeating it ourselves, and only then to accept the results as fact. People of modern world do not turn to another religion or philosophy of life without checking it first to see if it really makes sense. That is what makes Buddhism so appealing to many people of this century.

To this day, let the movement to spread the Buddha’s teachings continue to unfold in the spirit of love, compassion altruistic joy and equanimity. 

May all sentient beings be happy.

References:

1. What the Buddha Taught- Walpola Rahula
2. Archaeological Heritage of Buddhism in Bangladesh & South Asia – Prof. Kanak Baran Barua
3. The Buddhist Layman’s Code of Discipline – Soma Thera
4. Others