Shakyamuni who was said to be a "Buddha" by his followers, existed in a climate, apparently, where he was believed to be not the only Buddha. He taught in a society that was dominated by the early proponants of something called "Brahmanism" which arrogated priestly and religious functions into a single class of people.
For Brahmans "Karma" meant you were born in a certain situation and you were stuck there. Brahmanism taught that there were four (or six) castes of people. Brahmans, Kshatrias, Vaishyas, and Sudras. And that below them were people who were "untouchable." The Kshyatrias were warriors and kings. The Brahmans priests, Vaishyas traders, merchants, and similar. And the Sudras were farmers and laborers. The untouchables were people who were defiled by work that brought them in contact with defiled meats, corpses, and etceteras. For the Brahmans these "castes" became matters of "karma" and unchangeable.
Buddha
Buddhism
Buddha Sculptures
Buddha Statues
Sleeping Buddha
Buddhist Statue
Laughing BuddhaMeditation Buddha
Sitting Buddha
Statues of Buddha
Stone Carving
Stone Gods
Stone Sculpting
Stone Sculpture
Stone Statue
For the Buddha, Buddhahood was not only for the elite. He and many of his followers were from the class of the Warriors and Kings. His efforts for enlightenment were later recaste in almost warrior-like language in order to appeal to and be understood by them. In his teachings, not only did he use examples of other Buddhas in other lands and times, he didn't teach that Buddhahood was solely the property of himself. Later, for the sake of reigning in arrogance, his followers laid the claim for being a Buddha to him specifically and theoretically. But he taught the principle that the purpose of the Buddha was to make all beings equal.
Lord Buddha Statues at ShalinCraft Stores:-
He appears to have been stimulated by different overlapping cultural heritages. One the one hand he inherited the Sanskrit above mentioned, Brahmanical tradition with it's "upanishads" and religious traditions. And on the other hand there were other traditions as well. There were traditions that were inherited from the Shamanism and occult practices of the people of India who weren't Ayran language speakers. There is some evidence that Buddhism arose from these traditions that predate Shakyamuni. And they influenced the rise of the "yogic" and "Tantra" traditions in the entire area.
Buddhist Statues & Sculptures at Amazon.com
- Meditating Buddha Statue Collectible Figurines Metal Craft India
- Buddha Sculptures in Wood Carving Religious Gifts
- Little Buddha Meditating Statue Antiques and Collectibles Brass Sculpture India
- Seated Buddha Figurine and Collectibles Brass Statue
- Stone Carving of Lord Buddha Made in India
- Meditation Buddha Sculpture Collectible Figurines Metal Craft India
- Meditation Buddha Hindu Religious Statue Wood Carving
- Buddha Figurines Hindu Religious Statues In Wood Carving
- Sitting Buddha Statue Collectible and Figurines Religious Gifts India
- Lord Buddha Head Statue Brass Sculpture Handmade Religious Gifts
- Buddha Statue in Wood Carving Hindu Religious Figurine
- Reclining Buddha Religious Statue Collectible Figurines in Brass
- Sitting Buddha Stone Sculpture Collectibles
- Stone Gifts - Religious Statue of Lord Buddha
- Hindu Religious Statue Brass Sculpture Lord Buddha
- Sitting Buddha Statue Sculpture Religious Gifts India
Buddhism and indeed most World Religion beliefs rise from the cross fertilization between interlocked and interacting cultures. In this case the Indo-Iranian Cultural Complex (which extended as far in influence as Europe and included Hittites, Greeks, Persians as well as "Sanscrit" speakers in it's sphere of inheritance) and the Indian Subcontinent Cultural Complex reflected in this day by the so-called "Dravidian" languages. There is no question but that he was aware of the teachings of his times. Before he reached enlightenment he experimented with a number of existing contemplative traditions.
Recent Comments