The emergence of Buddhism in ancient India is brief. Religions of Ancient India. Buddhism as a world ethical religion. Philosophy of Ancient India. Buddhism"

16.07.2020

In ancient Indian philosophy, there are two directions or two groups of schools:

1) Orthodox schools based on the authority of the Vedas: Vedanta, Mimamsa, Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika;

2) non-orthodox schools: Jainism, Buddhism, Lokayata, Charvaka.

More about one of the schools that influence the worldview of people to this day: Buddhism - a religious and philosophical doctrine that arose in ancient India in the VI - V centuries. BC. The founder of Buddhism is the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name of Buddha, that is, the awakened, enlightened one. The emergence of Buddhism in ancient India can be compared with a spiritual revolution that had a pronounced humanistic character: in a country where “... the human personality is absorbed by the external environment. ... The concept of humanity, that is, the meaning of a person as a person, did not exist at all, because a person from a lower caste in the eyes of a twice-born representative of a higher caste was worse than an unclean animal, worse than carrion; and the whole fate of a person exclusively depended and in advance, was predetermined by the accidental fact of birth in one or another caste.

And in this country of slavery and separation, a few solitary thinkers proclaim a new, unheard-of word: everything is one; all features and differences are only modifications of one universal essence, in every being one must see his brother, himself.

In Buddhism, the characteristic features of Eastern philosophy were clearly manifested: irrationalism and ethical orientation. The Buddha believed that it is pointless to answer questions that are vague and useless from an ethical point of view, since there are not sufficient opportunities for their resolution and answers; These are questions like:

Is the world eternal? Or is it not eternal?

Is the world finished? Or is it endless?

Is the soul different from the body?

Is the soul the same as the body? etc.

The Buddha said: “Only those like babies try to find out whether the world is eternal or not, whether it is limited or infinite; he - if they are not Brahmins, concerned about the well-being of the altars - speak of the nature of the Drachma, which they have never seen. The only thing that matters is the struggle with suffering, the search for the path leading to liberation from suffering, staying on the path with eight branches. The rest is speculation, a game of the mind, mental fun.

The Four Noble Truths are the essence of enlightenment:

1. “Here, monks, noble the truth about suffering : birth - suffering, old age - suffering, illness - suffering, not achieving desires - suffering, and, in a word, all fivefold attachment to the earthly is the essence of suffering.

II. Here, O monks, noble origin truth suffering, this is Trishna (desire, thirst), ... the thirst for being, the thirst for decay.

III. Here, O monks, noble the truth about the destruction of suffering : complete liberation from this Trishna (desires), the final victory over passions, their destruction, rejection, abandonment.

IV. And now, O monks, noble the truth about the path leading to the cessation of all sorrow : this is truly the sacred eightfold path”:

Right Understanding(samma - ditihi) - this does not mean constantly looking in the transient world, beauty in ugliness, happiness in that which brings suffering.

Right Determination(samma - sangana) - the determination to transform your life and fulfill the three rules:

renunciation of attachment to material “values”,

rejection of bad intentions,

rejection of enmity towards people and all living things, not causing harm to them.

Correct speech(samma - vaga) - refraining from lies, slander, cruel words, insults, gossip, empty chatter, frivolous conversations.

Proper Behavior(samma - command) - refusal to destroy the living (from a person to a mosquito), from theft; drunkenness, gluttony, depravity, licentiousness, revenge.

Right lifestyle(samma - ajiva) - one cannot support one's life by bringing suffering to others - one cannot trade in weapons, people, alcoholic beverages, poison; to be a hunter, a birder, a fisherman, a robber, a jailer, an executioner.

Right effort(sama - vayala) - renounce temptations, try to look at life calmly, coolly - this is how wisdom is born.

Right line of thought or attention or vigilance (sama - kati) the conviction that the body, feelings, mind are impermanent, temporary jewels.

Proper Concentration(samma - samadhi) - meditation - experiencing the integrity of being, complete introspection.

And now compare your rules with the rules of the Buddhists and once again return to the table comparing Eastern and Western types of philosophizing. If you wish, you can supplement it with a table comparing your rules (rather a person of Western civilization) and the rules of Buddhism.

A person freed from suffering is an Arhat (saint), and the state of liberation is Nirvana. To reach Nirvana means to “die,” “disappear,” “move on,” “pass to another state,” “continue to exist,” “connect,” “merge,” “return.”

Buddhism is based on the assertion of the principle of personality, inseparable from the surrounding world and the recognition of the existence of a peculiar, psychological process in which the world is also involved. The creative principle, the ultimate cause of being, is the psychological activity of a person, which determines both the formation of the universe and its disintegration.

Read a short piece of text: The Buddha's Dialogue with His Disciple and answer the questions:

1. How did you understand what the reincarnation of the soul is?

2. What is the difference in solving the problems of death and immortality in Eastern and Western cultures (in particular, in Buddhism and Christianity)?

3. When did you first think about the problem of death and immortality? How did you solve it for yourself during your life? If you are inclined to answer question 3, you can start a special section in your notebook, which can be called: Philosophy of my life or My spiritual biography , or something else. Your creativity.

Dialogue of the Buddha with his disciple about the soul and reincarnation

Student: Do you believe, Master, that the soul is reborn and evolves during life and that, according to the law of karma, it reaps what it has sown? I am asking you this because I am told that according to your teaching the soul does not exist and that your followers strive for the total annihilation of the self as the highest joy of nirvana. If the “I” remains only a combination of elements, then at death the “I” must decompose and disappear. If “I” is only a combination of ideas, thoughts, feelings and desires, then what will happen to me when my body decays? Where is this endless joy that your followers talk about - just an empty word without any meaning - an illusion. When I reflect on my teaching, I see only "nothing", annihilation, non-existence, as the ultimate goal of man. It seems to me that you preach a high doctrine, but I did not quite understand it. So let me ask another question: If there is no soul, how can there be immortality? If the activity of the soul is stopped, then our thoughts will also stop.

Buddha: Our ability to think will disappear, but our thoughts continue to exist. Thinking will disappear, but knowledge will remain. If a person wants to write a letter at night, he turns on the light, writes the letter, and when it is written, puts out the light. And although the light is extinguished, the written letter remains. So thinking stops, but experience, knowledge remains, and thus, the product of our good actions is not lost.

Student: Tell me, Teacher, what will happen to my personality when it breaks down into its component parts. If my thoughts disappear and my soul is no longer mine, what kind of person is this, give me an explanation.

Buddha: Let's imagine a person who feels the same as he thinks, like you, acts like you. Will he be the same as you?

Student: No. There is something about my personality that makes it completely different from other personalities. Maybe another person who feels, thinks, acts and even is called like me, but he will not be me.

Buddha: That's right, this person will not be you. Your personality, nature, is not in the matter of which your body is made, but in the shape or configuration of your body, in your feelings and your thoughts. Your personality is a combination of elements. You exist wherever this combination is. Thus, you recognize in a certain sense you recognize in a certain sense the identity with yourself of that your personality, the existence of which continues depending on your karma (that is, previous actions). How should this continuation of existence be called, death or annihilation, or life, or the continuation of life?

Student: It must be called life or its continuation, for it is the continuation of my existence. But what worries me is the continuation of my personality, because. every other person, whether he is identical with me or not, is a completely different person.

Buddha: How strong is your attachment to the individual. But this is your mistake, which causes you anxiety. One who is attached to the personality must go through many births and deaths. You will die continually, for the nature of the individual is perpetual death.

Student: Like this?

Buddha: Where is your identity? The person you so revere is constantly changing. Many years ago you were a child, then a youth, and now you are a man.

Student: I see my mistake, but still not everything is clear to me. It seems unfair to me that others will reap what I now have.

Buddha: Do not you understand. That these other personalities are you. You, and no one else, will reap what you sow. Neither in the heights of the sky, nor in the bowels of the earth can you hide from the results of your actions.

One of the main events in the history of Mauryan India is the emergence and spread of Buddhism. This teaching received particular support under Ashoka Maurya.

The very word "Buddha" (Skt. buddha) means "enlightened" or "awakened". Prince is considered the founder of Buddhism Siddhartha Gautama, who became the "Enlightened One", that is, the Buddha. The time of his life is not exactly known, but most likely he lived between 500 and 430 BC. BC e. Siddhartha's father was the king of the Kapilavastu region (now located in Nepal), inhabited by the Shakya tribe. Therefore, the Buddha was also called Shakyamuni - "the wise man from the Shakya tribe." The life of the Buddha took place in the north-east of India, inhabited mainly by non-Aryan tribes. Perhaps this explains the fact that it was in this region that teachings appeared that denied the authority of the Vedas.

Birth of the Buddha. Relief (VI-VII centuries)

The future Buddha was born in the town of Lumbini. According to legend, he emerged from the right side of his mother Mayadevi. Until the age of 29, the Buddha followed all the prescriptions of the Vedas. His father tried to protect the young prince from all misfortunes and built a huge palace for him, surrounded his son with many servants who catered to his every whim. Everywhere the prince was accompanied by dancers and poets, the most outlandish plants grew in the garden. But one day Prince Siddhartha met an unfortunate old man and a seriously ill person and found out that in the world there is not only joy and happiness, but also sorrow and suffering. These meetings led him to reflect on the causes of misfortune. He fled from his palace with a faithful driver and began to wander around Magadha. And one day, under a huge fig tree near the city of Varanasi, enlightenment descended on him. He understood what the meaning of life was, and then he became a Buddha. He delivered a sermon to five wandering Brahmin ascetics. With this sermon begins the history of Buddhist teachings.

The Buddha argued that no one had seen the gods, and therefore their existence could not be proven. He denied the importance of the Vedic rituals, the need to comply with the duty assigned to a person by his varna, since both a sudra and a brahmin by virtuous behavior can achieve the meaning of life. The Buddha himself, his teachings, and the community he founded were called and revered as the "three jewels" of Buddhism.

One of the founders of the scientific study of Buddhism can rightfully be called I. P. Minaeva(1840–1890). Since 1869, a student of the best European orientalists of his time, Minaev taught at the oriental and historical-philological faculties of St. Petersburg University. As a result of his three trips to India and Burma, he collected a huge collection of manuscripts and folklore material, which he processed and published. He wrote and published an outstanding work on the history of Buddhism “Buddhism. Studies and Materials”, translated into French, a grammar of Pali (Tipitaka language) and many other works. His students- F. I. Shcherbatskoy(1866–1942) and S. F. Oldenburg(1863-1934) - made an important contribution to the study of the past of India in general and Buddhism in particular.

The Buddha named four "noble truths". He said that life in the world is full of suffering, that there is a reason for this suffering, that suffering can be ended, and that there is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering. The Buddha called the cause of suffering an addiction to earthly pleasures, which leads to a long chain of rebirths and repetition of suffering. He saw the path of liberation from suffering in the complete control of a person over his spirit and behavior, ultimately this should lead to nirvana- a state when life stops, but death does not occur, as it can lead to a new rebirth.

Buddhist relief

The spread of Buddhism throughout India and Sri Lanka brought to life many interpretations of the teachings of the Buddha, its distortions. This circumstance dictated the need to accurately write down what was said by the founder of the doctrine himself, to separate the original from the introduced. This task was accomplished during the Buddhist council at Aluvihara Monastery in Sri Lanka between 35 and 32 AD. BC e.

The Buddhist canon was formed in the form of three "baskets" - collections of texts. That's why he got the name Tipitaka(in Pali - the language of the Buddhist canon - "Three baskets"). In the first - "Vinayapitaka" included texts interpreting Buddhist norms of behavior. In the second - "Suttapitaka"- texts fixing the Buddhist creed. It includes the most famous Buddhist work "Dhammapada" ("The Steps of the Law"), which contains the doctrinal instructions of the Buddha himself. Third basket - "Abhidharmapitaka" contains texts that set out the Buddhist philosophical worldview, the interpretation of the main issues of attitude to the surrounding reality.

The fact that the Buddha denied the authority of the Vedas, the need for complex rites and rituals, the duty of varna and caste, addressed his sermons to each individual person, ensured him great popularity among the common people. But folk beliefs also had a strong influence on Buddhism, and gradually from a religion without a god and without a soul, the teachings of the Buddha turned into a complex system with a large number of main and subordinate deities.

Author of over 400 works, S. F. Oldenburg was the founder and leader of the Bibliotheca Buddhica series, the organizer of two expeditions in Central Asia (1909–1910 and 1914–1915), which resulted in a huge collection of manuscripts, wall paintings, and archaeological material. In 1904–1929 S. F. Oldenburg served as permanent secretary of the Academy of Sciences, and in 1930 he founded the Institute of Oriental Studies and became its first director.

By the turn of our era, the Buddhist community was divided into two parts. One recognized the possibility of salvation from suffering only for those who became an ascetic monk. This doctrine was called Hinayana("narrow chariot"). The followers of another, younger, direction claimed that it is also available to a simple layman if he observes simple rules: be honest, do not kill, do not steal, do not get drunk, etc. This direction in Buddhism was called mahayana("wide chariot"). Supporters of the Mahayana believed that the ideas of the supporters of the Hinayana were worthy of contempt, that their own teaching was superior to the theories of opponents, and therefore they were given the insulting, in their opinion, name "Hinayana". The Buddhist teaching itself, recorded in the Tipitaka, was called theravada("Teachings of the Ancients").

Buddhism spread not only in India: hundreds of monks traveled great distances, trying to convey the teachings of the Buddha to the most remote regions of Central Asia, China and Sri Lanka. However, Hinduism turned out to be a more popular and traditional religion for India, based on the authority of the Vedas, and in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium AD. e. Buddhism in India has almost disappeared. Its existence is reminded by numerous stupas in which the remains of the Buddha are kept. The bizarre appearance of the stupas has its own explanation. They are crowned with three or seven umbrellas, indicating either three celestial spheres or seven steps to heaven, and numerous figures of people, animals, gods depict various events from the life of the Buddha and the community he founded.

Stupa in Sanchi

Pupil of I. P. Minaev and the best European Sanskrit scholars G. Buhler (Vienna) and G. Jacobi (Bonn), F. I. Shcherbatskoy in 1905 he traveled to Mongolia, where he spent a long time in communion with the Dalai Lama. At the request of the Dalai Lama Shcherbatskaya, he translated Mongolian poems into Sanskrit, and all incoming news into Tibetan. As a result, he became the first distributor of knowledge about the modern Tibetan language in Russia.

chiku language, but also spoke it fluently. During a reception in Calcutta at the palace of the local Raja Shcherbatskaya, he delivered a speech in Sanskrit verse, for which he was awarded the title "Ornament of Logic". The capital works of F. I. Shcherbatsky on Buddhist philosophy, the publications of Buddhist texts prepared by him, still enjoy the highest authority in Indology.

Gina (VIII century)

Among the new religious and philosophical teachings that appeared in India in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e., in addition to Buddhism, the most widespread and influential was the teaching of a contemporary of Buddha - Vardhamana Mahavira. He was given the nickname Gina ("Winner"), from which the teaching itself was named - Jainism.

The fate of Mahavira is similar to the vicissitudes of life of the Buddha. He also grew up in the family of a noble Kshatriya, the king of the Lichchavas, a local tribe alien to the world of the Vedic Aryans. The world around him had a similar effect on him. Perhaps Mahavira even met the future Buddha. Both preachers could have been strongly influenced by the famous ascetic Makkhali Gosala- Founder of the doctrine ajivikas.

Having left his home at the age of 30, Mahavira indulged in asceticism for 70 years, after which he formulated the foundations of a new understanding of dharma - the “Universal Law”. The goal of life Mahavira proclaimed the achievement of "Perfection", to which the right knowledge, the right view and the right behavior should lead. The perfect soul attained the right rebirth. The basis of Jain behavior was ahimsa- Doing no harm to living beings.

Like Buddhism, Jainism experienced a split into two directions, periods of persecution. The most famous proponent of Jainism in Indian history was the founder of the Mauryan dynasty, Chandragupta. Currently, there are about 3 million adherents of Jainism in India.

Another religious system in India, which was formed in 5000 BC. is Buddhism. Buddhism - one of the three world religions, arises as a result of some real-life events. This religious system has a founder, his name is Siddhartha Gautama. According to the teachings of Buddhism, anyone can become a Buddha (enlightened one), and anyone can walk a path similar to that of Gautama. This is one of the features of Buddhism as a religion, in which, in fact, there is no god as an initially given unit, as a transcendent force that stands above people living on earth, the power of an inaccessible and incomprehensible deity. Gautama turns into a Buddha, reaches eternity, immortality. But the whole path that precedes this is real, understandable, and achievable by other people.

According to the teachings of Buddhism, a person goes through stages of spiritual development, in Buddhism they are called the eightfold path. In the Buddhist artistic system, the eightfold path is presented in the form of eight disks strung on a rod, as steps of ascent from the lowest to the highest. All these stages of a noble and righteous life are comprehended by a Buddhist in the course of his life and step by step he approaches enlightenment, nirvana.

There are two main schools of thought in Buddhism. The first school is called Hinayana, it is a school according to which only a representative of the Brahmins, only a priest, reaches the state of nirvana. The second school is Mahayana, the school according to which any person, if he sets a goal, can achieve nirvana. Hinayana is translated as a small vehicle or a small path, i.e. the path is for the elect, for the brahmins, for the priests, and Mahayana is the big path, the big vehicle. This school makes practically no distinctions for representatives of different castes and enables any person to follow the path of spiritual development, master the basic techniques of Buddhist teachings and achieve enlightenment, become a righteous person in the course of spiritual development.

Buddhism has had a very strong influence on the culture as a whole. Buddhism is a religion that puts a person in conditions of spiritual growth. It depends on him, in accordance with what values his life path will be, what priorities in his actions he will highlight. Buddhism also had a great impact on sculpture and painting, where there was a certain canon of the image of the Buddha, which determined in what position the Buddha should be depicted, what should be the movements of the fingers, the position of the body, what clothes should be. Were elevated to a strict law: the type of hairstyle and facial expression. The most consistent canonization of the image of the Buddha, and Buddhist buildings, and sculptural structures falls on the reign of Ashoka, one of the prominent representatives of the Mauryan dynasty, in which Buddhism was declared the official religion. Ashoka issued a series of decrees, according to which everyone was to become acquainted with this teaching. Buddhism did not deny Hinduism, and the inhabitants of ancient India, who traditionally professed Hinduism, could easily turn out to be supporters of the new religion. These two teachings do not contradict each other. In Buddhism, as well as in Hinduism, we meet those concepts that make up the essence of the worldview of the man of Ancient India. These are the concepts of reincarnation, of the dual nature of man, of samsara. Under Ashoka, the construction of religious buildings of Buddhism begins. Buddhist structures began to be created, a kind of architectural and sculptural signs of this religious system: stupas, stambhas, chaityas. Stupas are memorial structures resembling ritual hills, hemispheres lined with stone. Most often they were built on platforms in the form of a drum, and at the top of this hemisphere a reliquary was placed - small rectangular structures in which Buddhist relics were stored, rituals and sacrifices were performed. Stambhas were Buddhist pillars ending in capitals. Initially, they were created everywhere on the path of pilgrims, those people who went to the stupas. A person who made a many-day journey to the sacred stupa, having met a stambha on his way, could perform ritual actions. Texts, hymns, Buddhist commandments were applied to the stambha. Chaityas are Buddhist temples that were usually not built, but hollowed out in caves in the mountains. They were hidden from human sight. Magnificent decorative work was carried out inside the temples, marble floors and columns were polished to a shine, walls were decorated with frescoes, magnificent sculptures were created. Few knew about the existence of these temples, so the most important rites and rituals of Buddhism were performed here. Next to the chaityas, viharas were built - small cells for Buddhist hermit monks. Both viharas and chaityas were a sign of remembrance of the Buddha's years of seclusion. Sometimes there are complexes that contained not one chaitya, but several structures. One of the largest of these architectural monuments is the Ajanta complex.

Federal Communications Agency

State educational institution

higher professional education

Volga State Academy

telecommunications and informatics

Department of Philosophy

ESSAY

on the topic: RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT INDIA.

BUDDHISM AND ITS ORIGINS.

WORK COMPLETED:

GROUP STUDENT ZS-51

BORISOVA ANASTASIA.

checked:

Filatov T.V.

SAMARA 2005

1. Introduction._________________________________________________________ 3

2. History of development. Division into large and small chariots._______ 4

3. Buddha real and Buddha from legends.________________________________6

4. Four Noble Truths

5. Basic provisions and postulates._________________________________8

6. Dharma. _____________________________________________________________ 9

7. On the other side of good and evil._______________________________________ 9

8. Ethics of Buddhism._______________________________________________ 12

9. Buddha - teacher or God?

10. Spread of Buddhism.____________________________________ 13

11. Conclusion.__________________________________________________14

12. List of used literature.______________________________15

Introduction.

Buddhism, along with Christianity and Islam, belongs to the so-called world religions, which, unlike national religions (Judaism, Hinduism, etc.), have an international character. The emergence of world religions is the result of a long development of political, economic and cultural contacts between different countries and peoples.

Buddhism - the earliest of the "world" religions - has played and is playing a very important role in the history of the peoples of Asia, in many respects similar to that which was destined for Christianity in Europe, Islam in the Near and Middle East.

Buddhism is the oldest of the three world religions. It is "older" than Christianity by five centuries, and Islam is "younger" by as much as twelve centuries. In the public life, culture, and art of many Asian countries, Buddhism played a role no less than Christianity in Europe and America.

For two and a half millennia of its existence, Buddhism has created and developed not only religious ideas, cult, philosophy, but also culture, art, education system - in other words, a whole civilization.

Buddhism absorbed many diverse traditions of the peoples of those countries that fell into its sphere of influence, and also determined their way of life and the thoughts of millions of people in these countries. Most adherents of Buddhism now live in South, Southeast and East Asia: Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.

Buddhism attracted many believers precisely because it did not require a radical break in their way of life and habits, including the rejection of rituals dedicated to local gods. Buddhism does not belong to either monotheistic (recognizing one god) or polytheistic (based on the belief in many gods) religions. The Buddha did not reject the gods of other religions and did not forbid his followers to worship them. A Buddhist can simultaneously practice Taoism, Shintoism, or any other "local" religion, so it is quite difficult to establish the exact number of Buddhists in the world. Buddhism is currently one of the most widespread religions in the world.

History of the Development of Religion in India. Division into large and small chariots.

Long before the advent of Buddhism, India had original religious teachings, cultures and traditions. Complex social relations and a high urban culture, which included both writing and developed forms of art, existed here simultaneously with such ancient centers of world culture as Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, surpassing the latter in a number of respects. Vedism, or the Vedic religion, already contained features characteristic of later Indian religions, including Buddhism.

These include the idea that all living things are interconnected in time by constant transitions from one bodily state to another (transmigration of souls or reincarnation), the doctrine of karma as a force that determines the form of these transitions. The composition of the pantheon of gods, as well as belief in hell and heaven, turned out to be stable. In later religions, many elements of Vedic symbolism, the veneration of certain plants and animals, and most household and family rituals were developed. The Vedic religion already reflected the class stratification of society. She consecrated the inequality of people, declaring that the division of people into varnas (castes in ancient India) was established by the highest deity - Brahma. Social injustice was justified by the doctrine of karma - the fact that all the misfortunes of a person are to blame for the sins committed by him in previous rebirths. She declared the state an institution created by the gods. Even plentiful sacrifices, available only to the rich and noble, allegedly testified to the greater proximity of the latter to the sea of gods, and for the lower varnas, many rites were generally prohibited.

Vedism reflected the comparative underdevelopment of antagonistic contradictions in the Indian community, the preservation of significant elements of tribal fragmentation and exclusivity. By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. these traits of patriarchy come into ever more pronounced contradiction with such major shifts in social relations, which were the main cause of the emergence of Buddhism.

In the 6th-5th centuries. BC. attempts are being made to enlarge the slave-owning economy, to use the labor of slaves more rationally. Legislative measures, somewhat limiting the arbitrariness of the master in relation to the slave, show the beginning of the obsolescence of the existing system and reflect the fear of sharp class clashes.

The highest phase of the development of slavery in India was the period of its unification by the Mauryan Empire. It was in the Mauryan era that many of the main features of the social structure, the class-caste organization, the most important institutions of ancient Indian society and the state, arose and took shape. A number of religious and philosophical movements developed, including Buddhism, which gradually turned from a sectarian monastic teaching into one of the three world religions.

The appearance of Buddhism in the historical arena coincides in time with significant changes in the socio-political and economic life of ancient Indian society. The peripheral regions of the Brahmin culture are beginning to make themselves very active, in which kshatriyas (warriors) are increasingly coming to the fore, claiming a leading role in the life of society. It is in these areas on the basis of four kingdoms (Koshala, Maganda, Vatsa and Avanta) that significant shifts in the field of economy and politics are outlined and are taking place, which ultimately resulted in the formation of one of the most powerful empires in ancient India - the Magadha Empire, the founders and leaders of which were members of the Mauryan dynasty. Thus, in the territory of modern southern Bihar (Northern India), around the middle of the first millennium BC. e. significant social forces are concentrated in need of new principles of social interaction and a new ideology.

The inexhaustible disasters that befell the working people during the transition from the early undeveloped forms of slavery to a large-scale one, embracing and penetrating the influence of ever wider spheres of being, were a real life basis, a mystified reflection of which was the so-called "first noble truth" of Buddhism - the affirmation of the identity of being and suffering. The universality of evil, generated by the ever deeper enslavement of the working people, the uncertainty about the future among the middle strata, the fierce struggle for power among the class elite of society were perceived as the basic law of being.

When the slave-owning mode of production began to slow down the further development of the productive forces, when society began to face the task of creating a personal interest for the worker as a result of his work, one of the religious forms of criticism of the old system was the assertion of the existence of the soul as some kind of inner basis of being that is common to all people. Accordingly, the idea of a person appears - not a member of a certain varna, but a person in general, an abstract person. Instead of many rituals and prohibitions for a certain varna, the idea of a single moral principle is put forward as a factor of salvation for any person, regardless of his national or social affiliation. Buddhism gave consistent expression to this idea, which was one of the reasons for its transformation into a world religion.

Buddhism in its origins is associated not only with Brahmanism, but also with other religious and religious-philosophical systems of ancient India. An analysis of these connections shows that the emergence of Buddhism was also conditioned by objective social processes and prepared ideologically. Buddhism was not generated by the "revelation" of a being who attained divine wisdom, as Buddhists claim, or by the personal creativity of a preacher, as Western Buddhists usually believe. But Buddhism was not a mechanical set of existing ideas either. He introduced many new things into them, generated precisely by the social conditions of the era of his appearance.

Initially, the elements of the new religious teaching, according to the Buddhist tradition, were transmitted orally by the monks to their students. They began to receive literary design relatively late - in the 2nd-1st centuries. BC e.

In the 3-1 centuries. BC e. and in the first centuries A.D. further development of Buddhism takes place, in particular, a coherent biography of the Buddha is created, canonical literature is being formed. Monks - theologians develop logical "reasons" for the main religious dogmas, often referred to as the "philosophy of Buddhism." Theological subtleties remained the property of a relatively small circle of monks who had the opportunity to devote all their time to scholastic disputes. At the same time, another, moral-cult side of Buddhism developed, i.e. "path" that can lead everyone to the end of suffering. This "path" was in fact the ideological weapon that for many centuries helped to keep the working masses in obedience.

Buddhism has enriched religious practice with a device related to the field of individual worship. This refers to such a form of religious behavior as bhavana - deepening into oneself, into one's inner world for the purpose of concentrated reflection on the truths of faith. Many researchers believe that ethics in Buddhism is central and this makes it more of an ethical, philosophical teaching, rather than a religion. Most of the concepts in Buddhism are vague, ambiguous, which makes it more flexible and well adapted to local cults and beliefs, capable of transformation. Thus, the followers of the Buddha formed numerous monastic communities, which became the main centers for the spread of religion.

In the 1st century n. e. In Buddhism, two branches were formed: Hinayana (“small cart”) and Mahayana (“big cart”). This division was caused, first of all, by differences in the socio-political conditions of life in certain parts of India. Hinayana, more closely associated with early Buddhism, recognizes the Buddha as a person who found the path to salvation, which is considered achievable only through withdrawal from the world - monasticism. Mahayana proceeds from the possibility of salvation not only for hermit monks, but also for the laity, and the emphasis is on active preaching, on intervention in public and state life. Mahayana, in contrast to the Hinayana, more easily adapted to spread beyond India, giving rise to many rumors and currents, the Buddha gradually becomes the highest deity, temples are built in his honor, cult actions are performed.

An important difference between Hinayana and Mahayana is that Hinayana completely rejects the path to salvation for non-monks who voluntarily renounce the worldly life. In Mahayana, the cult of bodystaves plays an important role - individuals who are already able to enter nirvana, but postpone the achievement of the final goal in order to help others, not necessarily monks, in achieving it, thereby replacing the requirement to leave the world with a call to influence it.

Early Buddhism is notable for its simplicity of ritual. Its main element is: the cult of Buddha, preaching, veneration of holy places associated with the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama, worship of stupas - places of worship where the relics of Buddhism are kept. Mahayana added veneration to the bodystaves to the cult of the Buddha, thus the rites became more complicated: prayers and all sorts of spells were introduced, sacrifices began to be practiced, and a magnificent ritual arose.

India is a country with a peculiar, unusually interesting culture and its own original beliefs. It is unlikely that in any other state - with the exception, perhaps, of ancient Egypt and Greece - there is such a huge number of myths, scriptures and traditions. Some researchers consider this peninsula to be the cradle of mankind. Others suggest that this country is one of the main heirs of the culture of the Aryan peoples who came here from the dead Arctida. The oldest religion of ancient India - Vedism - later transformed into Hinduism, which still exists today.

The ancient tribes inhabiting the Hindustan peninsula switched from gathering and hunting to settled agriculture around 6-7 thousand BC. e. By the end of the 3000s, a highly developed culture of urban-type settlements was already emerging in these territories. It is called "Harappan" by modern scientists. This civilization lasted almost a millennium. In the ancient Indian Harappan cities, handicrafts were well developed and there was a rich class of merchants. What happened to this culture is unknown. Some researchers suggest that a large-scale catastrophe occurred, others believe that the rich cities of this period, for some reason, simply went bankrupt and were abandoned.

Subsequently, Muslim dynasties ruled India for a long time. In 1526, Khan Babur conquered these territories, after which India became part of the vast Mughal empire. This state was abolished only in 1858 by the English colonialists.

History of religion

Over the centuries in this country successively replaced each other:

Vedic religion of ancient India.
Hinduism. Today, this religion is dominant in India. More than 80% of the country's population is its adherents.
Buddhism. Today it is confessed by a part of the population.

Early beliefs

Vedism is the oldest religion of ancient India. Some scientists suggest that it appeared in this country some time after the disappearance of a huge prosperous ancient state - Arctida. Of course, this is far from the official version, but in fact it is very interesting and explains a lot. According to this hypothesis, once upon a time, for unknown reasons, the earth's axis shifted. As a result, the climate has changed dramatically. It became very cold in Arctida, located either at the North Pole, or in modern subpolar continental regions. Therefore, the Aryans who inhabited it were forced to migrate towards the equator. Some of them went to the Middle and South Urals, having built observatory cities here, and then to the Middle East. The other part advanced through Scandinavia and the Valdai Upland. In the formation of Indian culture and religion, the third branch took part, which reached Southeast Asia and subsequently mixed with the indigenous inhabitants of these places - the Dravidians.

Basic concept

In fact, Vedism - the oldest religion of ancient India - is the initial stage of Hinduism. It was not distributed throughout the country, but only in part of it - in Uttar and East Punjab. According to the official version, it was here that Vedism originated. For the adherents of this religion, the deification of all nature as a whole, as well as its parts and some social phenomena, was characteristic. There was no clear hierarchy of gods in Vedism. The world was divided into three main parts - the earth, the sky and the intermediate sphere - antarizhna (compare with the Slavic Yavu, Naviu and Pravya). Each of these worlds corresponded to certain gods. The main creator, Purusha, was also revered.

Veda

We briefly talked about what the oldest religion of Ancient India is. Next, we will deal with what the Vedas are - its fundamental scripture.

At the moment, this book is one of the oldest sacred works. It is believed that for thousands of years the Vedas were transmitted only orally - from teacher to student. About five thousand years ago, the sage Vyasadeva wrote down part of them. This book, which today is actually considered the Vedas, is divided into four parts (turiya) - "Rigveda", "Samaveda", "Yajurveda" and "Atharvaveda".

This work contains mantras and hymns written in verse and serving as a guide for Indian clergy (rules for wedding, funeral and other rites). It also contains spells designed to heal people and perform all sorts of magical rituals. The mythology and religion of ancient India are closely related. For example, in addition to the Vedas, there are Puranas. They describe the history of the creation of the universe, as well as the genealogy of Indian kings and heroes.

Rise of Hindu beliefs

Over time, the most ancient religion of ancient India - Vedism - is transformed into modern Hinduism. This was connected, apparently, mainly with the gradual increase in influence on the social life of the Brahmin caste. In the updated religion, a clear hierarchy of gods is established. The Creator comes to the fore. There is a trinity - Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva. Brahma is given the role of the creator of social laws, and in particular the initiator of the division of society into varnas. Vishnu is revered as the main guardian, and Shiva as the destroyer god. Gradually, two directions appear in Hinduism. Vishnuism speaks of eight descents of Vishnu to earth. One of the avatars is considered to be Krishna, the other is Buddha. Representatives of the second direction - the cult of Shiva - especially revere the god of destruction, considering him both the patron of fertility and livestock.

Hinduism began to play the role of the dominant religion in India already from the Middle Ages. It remains so to this day. Representatives of this religion believe that it is impossible to become a Hindu. They can only be born. That is, varna (the social role of a person) is something that is given and predetermined by the gods, and therefore cannot be changed.

The varnashrama-dharna social system

Thus, another ancient religion of ancient India, Hinduism, became the heir to many traditions and rituals of previous beliefs. In particular, the division of Indian society into varnas arose in the days of Vedism. In addition to the four social groups (Brahmins, Kshtariyas, Vaishyas and Shudras), according to this religion, there are four ways of human spiritual life. The stage of learning is called Brahmacharya, social and family life is called Grihastha, the subsequent departure from the mundane is Vanaprastha and the final stage of life with final enlightenment is Sannyasa.

Whoever created the varnashrama-dharna, such an orderly way of life is still preserved in the world. In any country there are priests (Brahmins), administrators and military men (Kshtarias), businessmen (Vaishyas) and workers (Shudras). Such a division makes it possible to streamline social life and create the most convenient living conditions for people with the opportunity to develop and improve themselves.

Unfortunately, in India itself, varnashrama-dharna has greatly degraded by our time. The rigid division into castes (moreover, depending on birth), which exists here today, contradicts the basic concept of this teaching about the need for a person's spiritual growth.

The Religion of Ancient India Briefly: The Rise of Buddhism

This is another very common belief on the peninsula. Buddhism is one of the most unusual religions in the world. The fact is that, unlike Christianity, the founder of this cult is a completely historical person. The creator of this currently quite widespread teaching (and not only in India) Sidgartha Shanyamuni was born in 563 in the city of Lumbene in a kshtaria family. He was called Buddha after he attained enlightenment at the age of 40.

The religion and philosophy of ancient India have always considered the deity not as a punishing or pardoning force, but as a role model, a kind of "beacon" of self-development. Buddhism, on the other hand, completely abandoned the idea of creating the world by any Creator. Adherents of this religion believe that a person can only rely on himself personally, while suffering is not sent to him from above, but is the result of his own mistakes and inability to discard worldly desires. However, like the earlier Indian religions discussed above, Buddhism contains the idea of salvation, that is, the achievement of nirvana.

Interaction with Western culture

For Europeans, the culture and religion of ancient India for a long time remained a mystery behind seven seals. The beginning of the interaction of these two completely different worlds was laid only at the end of the century before last. Celebrities such as E. Blavatsky, Nicholas and Helena Roerich and others made their invaluable contribution to this process.

Today, one of Vanga's predictions regarding India is widely known. The famous soothsayer believed that the most ancient teaching would soon return to the world. And it will come from India. New books will be written about it, and it will spread throughout the Earth.

Who knows, perhaps the ancient religion of India will indeed become the basis of future new beliefs. The “Fiery Bible”, as Vanga predicts, “will cover the Earth with white color”, thanks to which people will be saved. Perhaps, we are even talking about the well-known work written by the Roerichs - Agni Yoga. "Agni" means "Fire" in translation.

Culture of Ancient India

The religion and culture of ancient India are closely interrelated phenomena. The otherworldly mystical world of the gods is almost always present in the works of Indian artists, sculptors and even architects. Even in our time, masters strive to bring deep content into each of their works, a kind of vision of inner truth, not to mention the ancient craftsmen.

Unfortunately, very few ancient Indian paintings and frescoes have come down to us. But in this country there is simply a huge number of ancient sculptures of historical value, and architectural monuments. What are, for example, the huge Ellora caves with the magnificent Kailash temple in the center. Here you can also see the majestic statues of the divine Trimurti Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva.

So, we have found out that the oldest religion of Ancient India is Vedism. Hinduism and Buddhism, which arose later, are its development and continuation. Religious beliefs in India have simply had a tremendous impact not only on culture, but also on social life in general. In our time, this country still remains unusually interesting, original, original and unlike any other state in the world.