Why The Bhagavad Gita What Is Right
Chantelle Kiernan
Professor Warner Bellanger
GC2Y 2000 Section 03
02 October 2014
Early Buddhism vs The Bhagavad Gita: Which is right?
The Bhagavad Gita, meaning the Song of God in English, is a text that has been crucial and a foundation for Hindu followers and believers for several years. This text is an excerpt from The Mahabharta. The Bhagavad Gita is located on a battlefield where two cousins, Arjuna and Krishna, are waging war on each other, and one cousin must chose between warrior dharma and family dharma. This can be seen as an allegory of the human struggle deciphering between wrong and right. The conversation between Krishna and Arjuna is what complies the Gita and records the ways and beliefs of Hindus. The Bhagavad Gita also …show more content…
How does Buddhism criticize the varnasramadharma system? What ideas does the Bhagavad Gita appropriate or take from Buddhism in order to redefine dharma and the paths to moksa? By answering these questions, one will be able to fully understand the challenges that were posed by Early Buddhism for varnasramadharma, and the religion of Buddhism as a whole, and the concept of varnasramadharma will become easier to understand.
What is Buddhism? Buddhism is a religion that was founded approximately two thousand five hundred years ago by Siddhartha Gautama also known as Buddha. Buddha was not seen as a god. It is a religion that focuses on the concept of suffering and detachment from material things. Buddhists believe in Enlightenment and Nirvana. Buddhism is based on the ideas that are many times referred to as the four noble truths. These noble truths are dukkha, samudaya, nirodha, and magga, also known as the nature of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering, alias the eightfold path. The nature of suffering states that the …show more content…
In early Buddhism dharma is defined as the idea of following the teachings of Buddha. This causes a lot of confusion because the life of Buddha and his teachings are not clear. Due to the fact that the life and story of Buddha was passed down orally, also known as smriti, over time the story slowly began to change, so people began to question what was the truth. Through all the doubts and misunderstandings of Buddhist one thing remained certain and that was that non-violence was something Buddhists enforced and live their life in accordance with. Buddha and his teaching were almost flawless. Buddhists must live their life in accordance to five precepts. These precepts are not killing, not stealing, not lying, not having affairs, and always honoring thy father and mother. When talking about killing and stealing Buddha says “whoever destroys life, whether bird or animal, insect or fish, has no compassion for life… /whoever steals what is considered to belong to others, whether it be situated in villages or the forest…”(Vasala Sutta 117, 119). A person was not born into the world perfect, so one must strive to live their life in accordance to Buddhist rules and teachings. Dharma is seen as a way of life, or order, that one must follow at all time, regardless of the situation or predicament. The highest dharma in The Bhagavad Gita is following Krishna. The obligations that needed to be
Professor Warner Bellanger
GC2Y 2000 Section 03
02 October 2014
Early Buddhism vs The Bhagavad Gita: Which is right?
The Bhagavad Gita, meaning the Song of God in English, is a text that has been crucial and a foundation for Hindu followers and believers for several years. This text is an excerpt from The Mahabharta. The Bhagavad Gita is located on a battlefield where two cousins, Arjuna and Krishna, are waging war on each other, and one cousin must chose between warrior dharma and family dharma. This can be seen as an allegory of the human struggle deciphering between wrong and right. The conversation between Krishna and Arjuna is what complies the Gita and records the ways and beliefs of Hindus. The Bhagavad Gita also …show more content…
How does Buddhism criticize the varnasramadharma system? What ideas does the Bhagavad Gita appropriate or take from Buddhism in order to redefine dharma and the paths to moksa? By answering these questions, one will be able to fully understand the challenges that were posed by Early Buddhism for varnasramadharma, and the religion of Buddhism as a whole, and the concept of varnasramadharma will become easier to understand.
What is Buddhism? Buddhism is a religion that was founded approximately two thousand five hundred years ago by Siddhartha Gautama also known as Buddha. Buddha was not seen as a god. It is a religion that focuses on the concept of suffering and detachment from material things. Buddhists believe in Enlightenment and Nirvana. Buddhism is based on the ideas that are many times referred to as the four noble truths. These noble truths are dukkha, samudaya, nirodha, and magga, also known as the nature of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering, alias the eightfold path. The nature of suffering states that the …show more content…
In early Buddhism dharma is defined as the idea of following the teachings of Buddha. This causes a lot of confusion because the life of Buddha and his teachings are not clear. Due to the fact that the life and story of Buddha was passed down orally, also known as smriti, over time the story slowly began to change, so people began to question what was the truth. Through all the doubts and misunderstandings of Buddhist one thing remained certain and that was that non-violence was something Buddhists enforced and live their life in accordance with. Buddha and his teaching were almost flawless. Buddhists must live their life in accordance to five precepts. These precepts are not killing, not stealing, not lying, not having affairs, and always honoring thy father and mother. When talking about killing and stealing Buddha says “whoever destroys life, whether bird or animal, insect or fish, has no compassion for life… /whoever steals what is considered to belong to others, whether it be situated in villages or the forest…”(Vasala Sutta 117, 119). A person was not born into the world perfect, so one must strive to live their life in accordance to Buddhist rules and teachings. Dharma is seen as a way of life, or order, that one must follow at all time, regardless of the situation or predicament. The highest dharma in The Bhagavad Gita is following Krishna. The obligations that needed to be