Why Buddhism Faded in the Land of Its Birth

WITH the Thai government presenting our prime minister with the Tipitaka, I thought it would be nice to revisit Buddhism this week.

- RENUKA NARAYANAN

Tipitaka, in Pali, as in Tripitaka in Sanskrit, means "Three Baskets" and refers to the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism, comprising three collections: the Vinaya Pitaka (Sangha rules), the Sutta Pitaka (teachings and discourses), and the Abhidhamma Pitaka (philosophical commentaries).

The Tipitaka is considered the earliest collection of Buddhist teachings. The Vinaya Pitaka contains the monastic rules and regulations for monks and nuns. The Sutta Pitaka or Sutra Pitaka comprises the Buddha's discourses and teachings and those of his enlightened disciples. The Abhidhamma Pitaka explains and analyses Buddhist doctrines and philosophical concepts.

Scholars have noted that three specific signs—the Bodhi tree (pipal), the dharma chakra, and the stupa—occur frequently at all major Buddhist sites in North India, and thus concluded that the earliest Buddhist cult practice focused on these.

There is no Ishwara or God in Buddhism (or Jainism). Buddhism is a non-theistic religion, meaning it doesn't recognise a creator god or a deity who intervenes in the world. Instead, it focuses on personal enlightenment and the Buddha's concept of a path to liberation from suffering. However, Buddhism later incorporated deities into its cosmology. A particularly popular one is the benign goddess Tara.

As in Hinduism, Buddhists believe in reincarnation and the law of karma, where one's actions determine one's future life. The concept of the Bodhisattvas embodies this belief, a Bodhisattva being Gautama Buddha in his former life. The Jataka stories largely pertain to the Bodhisattvas.