paarsurrey
Veteran Member
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Regards
Regards
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Did Buddha reject Veda? If, yes. Why?
- Thread starter paarsurrey
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He did not reject the Vedas. He believed that all the Vedic Gods existed. He simply said that they could not give one Nibbana, at best heaven or fortunate rebirth.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
He did not believe that rituals can make peoples' problems go away. He was a very practical person. He pointed out things which can make real difference in peoples' life. To him, peoples' life were more important than worship of Gods. He asked people not to engage in useless discussions.
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
The Buddha was an English gentleman and rejected anything foreign sounding. He introduced cricket and cucumber sandwiches though.
Here are some of his monks:
Here are some of his monks:
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paarsurrey
Veteran Member
Did Buddha reject Veda? If, yes. Why?
Because Brahmin/clergy/priests had divided the society in caste system , a very inhuman division of humanity. Right?
Please correct me if I am wrong. Please
Regards
Because Brahmin/clergy/priests had divided the society in caste system , a very inhuman division of humanity. Right?
Please correct me if I am wrong. Please
Regards
Even worse was slavery in many places including Islamic areas. What was considered culturally and religiously acceptable in the past is not considered so today in most places in the world. In Christian America around the time of the civil war slavery was considered to be acceptable in the South due to how they read the Bible.
As people become more civilized primitive ideas such as the caste system, slavery, discrimination against women in law or scripture is more and more unacceptable. And this is what is important.
paarsurrey
Veteran Member
Did Buddha reject Veda? If, yes. Why?
"Siddhartha Gautama was instructed in all the Vedas, and he pondered the meanings of the teachings and beliefs they expounded. He devoted special study to the Rigveda and Atharveda scriptures. He himself began to penetrate the subject matter contained in these sacred teachings. Great importance was given to the sacred writings of Brahmanism. The words and the sounds themselves were seen to hold great power which could influence and even change the affairs of people and the natural world. The positions of the stars and the unfolding of the seasons were intimately connected to prayers and ritual offerings. Siddhartha devoted serious study, as well, to all the other brahmana texts, including the Brahmanas and the Upanishads*. His teachers wanted only to instruct their charges in the traditional beliefs, but Siddhartha and his companions insisted on asking questions that forced their teachers to address contemporary ideas that did not always seem to accord with tradition. Siddhartha learned that there were a number of movements in the country which openly challenged the absolute authority of the brahmans. Members of these movements were not only discontented laymen who wished to share some of the power that had long belonged exclusively to the brahmana caste, but they included reform-minded members of the brahmana caste as well.
Siddhartha began to question some of the fundamental teachings ofBrahmanism: that the Vedas had been given exclusively to the brahmana caste, that Brahman was the Supreme Ruler of the universe, and that prayers and rituals of themselves possessed omnipotent power. Siddhartha sympathized with those priests and brahmans who dared to directly challenge these dogmas.His interestnever waned, and Siddhartha never missed a class or discussion on the Vedas. He also pursued the studies of language and history."
https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Lord-Buddha-reject-the-Vedas
Regards
Namaste
No he did not reject the Vedas, most of the Pali and Sanskrit texts were translated by missionaries of Christian origin, so they did not get the correct context in Siddhartas way.
He did reject Elitism of Some of the Brahmical castes, he also created an order where anyone could join his Sangha, no matter what his background. Some Brahmins had institutionalized the Veda, made it into rituals and offered rewards for future births. This in itself is not actually Veda, the so called Brahmins of this time were not exactly Vedic, it was a corruption of Dharma, in Vedic dress. Siddharta put back in motion the wheel of Dharma into peoples lives.
No he did not reject the Vedas, most of the Pali and Sanskrit texts were translated by missionaries of Christian origin, so they did not get the correct context in Siddhartas way.
He did reject Elitism of Some of the Brahmical castes, he also created an order where anyone could join his Sangha, no matter what his background. Some Brahmins had institutionalized the Veda, made it into rituals and offered rewards for future births. This in itself is not actually Veda, the so called Brahmins of this time were not exactly Vedic, it was a corruption of Dharma, in Vedic dress. Siddharta put back in motion the wheel of Dharma into peoples lives.
It is probably quite the oversimplification to say that he rejected the Vedas, much as it would be to say that he endorsed them. As in most real life situations, things are not quite that simple and directed.
Being a person with considerable discernment and raised inside Hindu culture, he did what most anyone with common sense should do: he learned from others and decided what to reject, what to reinterpret, what to embrace and what to support to the best of his ability.
Being a person with considerable discernment and raised inside Hindu culture, he did what most anyone with common sense should do: he learned from others and decided what to reject, what to reinterpret, what to embrace and what to support to the best of his ability.
^This. We are over 2500 years removed from the lifetime of the Buddha. The classification of astika/nastika came much later, from what I have read. This being the case, we can only speculate how the Buddha himself would have reacted to the dichotomy. He accepted the Vedic gods as being real. (At least at face-value.) Does that mean he accepted the Vedas? What really is meant by saying one rejects the Vedas? Unless you equate accepting the Vedas as accepting Advaita Vedanta, which many Hindus would vehemently disagree with, I don't see what philosophical view is even entailed by accepting the Vedas. (Again, I am not even certain what accepting or rejecting the Vedas actually means in real practice...)
paarsurrey
Veteran Member
I agree with you.
I further add:
This is what I also say, that in the Post-Vedic period, the "Hinduism priests" invented new tenets "with the collaboration of the rulers that were" which had no basis in the Veda. They not only coined such tenets but as the masses were not aware of the Veda and the exact teaching of Veda, they coined new terminologies that suited their vested interests, and many a time interfered with Veda itself, that is one aspect, among others, that Veda got bulged and became voluminous and laymen could not access and read the Veda, leaving Veda at hegemony and mercy of he priestly class and the rulers.
Please
Regards
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
That was not the main reason for rejection of Vedas by Buddha. The main reason was the thought that Gods and rituals can bring happiness to a person's life. He considered the abstract discussions of philosophy futile. Buddha did not believe in existence of Gods. He listed the eight things (The Noble Eight-fold Path) which can make the world peaceful and happy. Basically it was a reiteration of what was considered 'dharma' in the sub-continent. He turned the wheel of 'dharma' which had stopped.
You may find it strange because it does not/is not allowed to happen in your religion - to question the scripture. Your own view (Ahmadiyya) is considered heresy in Islam and your people are persecuted in Pakistan (however, that does not happen in India and I think you should be thankful for that). But it happens regularly in Hinduism and it is happening even now. It is not something new. Even I have views which do not find resonance with other Hindus. So what? Buddha studied under Arala Kalama and then under Uddaka Rāmaputra. Wikipedia hints that both these were Hindus.
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Namaste,
You may get some insights from this link what the Buddha taught about Varna, quality of being and Jati -birth, or what people consider as the Caste System. This is a very complex situation, not only India has exploited the different classes of society but its more global than people will admit. If we can say the Buddha was against anything it was the corruption in Dharma.
In the Assalayana Sutta, it is clear that the Buddha is talking about position via the quality of the person, not by birth or Jati. Its is also interesting that 7 Brahmins got together in a secret location and plotted the supremacy of the Brahmins, this is pointing to the corruption, corruption was invented and conspired by a certain group of Brahmins, this should not reflect the whole Brahminical and Vedic culture. We also have to see that European Scholars and Christian Missionaries gave their own bias. Buddhism flourished alongside all other spiritual sects peacefully for many hundreds of years in India, there is a much larger synthesis than opposition within Buddha Dharma and Hindu Tattva, in fact they are married through Dharma, they are but part of one family.
Assalayana Sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.093.than.html
You may get some insights from this link what the Buddha taught about Varna, quality of being and Jati -birth, or what people consider as the Caste System. This is a very complex situation, not only India has exploited the different classes of society but its more global than people will admit. If we can say the Buddha was against anything it was the corruption in Dharma.
In the Assalayana Sutta, it is clear that the Buddha is talking about position via the quality of the person, not by birth or Jati. Its is also interesting that 7 Brahmins got together in a secret location and plotted the supremacy of the Brahmins, this is pointing to the corruption, corruption was invented and conspired by a certain group of Brahmins, this should not reflect the whole Brahminical and Vedic culture. We also have to see that European Scholars and Christian Missionaries gave their own bias. Buddhism flourished alongside all other spiritual sects peacefully for many hundreds of years in India, there is a much larger synthesis than opposition within Buddha Dharma and Hindu Tattva, in fact they are married through Dharma, they are but part of one family.
Assalayana Sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.093.than.html
paarsurrey
Veteran Member
Thanks or the information that I have colored in magenta.
Regards