January 18, 2012
Two months after his Enlightenment ,Buddha set the Wheel of Dharma in motion at Rishipatan Mrigadaya Park (Deer Park ) in Varanasi
Yeha dukha hai== Dukkham ariyasaccham(This is Noble Truth of dukha/suffering)
Yeha dukha ka samuday hai- Dukkhasamudayam ariyasaccham(This is Noble Truth of Dukhha’s origin)
Yeh dukh ka nirodh hai-dukkhanirodham ariyasaccham(This is Noble Truth of quenching of Dukkha)
Yeh dukh ka nirodh karne wala marg hai---dukkhanirodhagamini patipada ariyasaccham. Ariyo atthangiko maggo. Ime cattaro.(This is Noble Truth of path for cessation of suffering. It is Noble Eightfold path. These constitute Four Truths)
With the propounding of Four Noble Truth and Eightfold Noble Path,Buddha set the Wheel of Dharma at the Rishipatna which is said not to be stopped by Devas, Mar, Brahma Brahman or loka. When the Wheel of Dhamma had thus been set rolling by the Blessed One the earth gods raised the cry: "At Benares, in the Deer Park at Isipatana, the matchless Wheel of truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One, not to be stopped by monk or divine or god or death-angel or high divinity or anyone in the world." (“Etam bhagvata Baransiyam Isipatne Migadaye Anuttaram Dhammachakkam Pavttitam.”
Before Buddha’s statue began to be carved and sculpted beginning from Kushana period in later centuries, Buddha was represented as this Chakra only. Chakra had 24 spokes denoting 12 months in anuloma and 12 in pratiloma, signifying the unstoppable movement throughout the year, throughout time. Ashoka, who emerged two centuries after Buddha’s mahaparinirvana, installed pillars with chakras atop in all corners of his Empire in his zeal to propagate Buddha dharma after his conversion at Dhauli, Kalinga. Interestingly, in every inscription, image of lion too was put atop the pillars. Though, Buddha set the Dharmachakra at Deer Park
Buddha is stated to be a keen observer and methodical in his quest for Truth. Even his step wise step unraveling of suffering, its cause and its treatment is in the vein of medical diagnosis and treatment. Its not that Buddha was the first innovator of reasoning approach. Nirukta was part of six vedanga. Yaska’s Nirukta and Nighantu might have preexisted Buddha, since Buddha often mentions about Brahmins well-versed in Nirukta approaching him for dialogue. Nirukta is the discipline of etymology. Vdic concepts were dissected and various permutationa and combinatios done with the root word to understand the significance of words. In recent decades, Martin Heidegger picked up the same approach with philosophy-terms and declared the ‘end of metaphysics”. Latwer, his successors like Derrida picked up the thread and deconstructed the very idea of fullness of meanng and Truth. No doubt, there is voluminous literature proliferating now that tries to trace parallel between Nagarjuna and Derrida. Nagarjuna can be considered as the greatest commentator on Buddha’s philosophy.
I am undertaking this task of tracing the etymological studies of buddha’s Dharma Chakra paravartana at Sarnath. After the dissection of concepts, I will be examining the allegory of Chakra in the First Discourse.
Examining the etymological root of Dukha.
In Pali litearature, Buddha is mentioned elaborating on the First Noble Truth of Dukkha in following words:
“This, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of Dukkha: Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, sickness is dukkha, death is dukkha. Presence of objects we loathed is dukkha; separation from what we love is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha. — Samyutta Nikaya 56.11
Buddha thus arrived at the very root of dukkha-the five clinging aggregates. The aggregates/skandhas are physical form, feeling, perception, fabrications, and consciousness. corporeality [rupakhanda], feelings [vedanakhanda], perception [sanjnakhandha], mental formations [sanskarkhandha] and consciousness [vijnanakhandha]. The first aggregate is always physical, next four are mind-based. Buddha’s novelty is in inscribing the very basis of existence as dukkha. Buddha said in Samyutta Nikaya :
“What ordinary folk call happiness, the enlightened ones call dukkha.”
The Buddha discussed three kinds of dukkha:
ii)Viparinama-dukkha (pain of alteration) -suffering caused by change
iii)Sankhara dukkha (pain of formation) is subtler form of suffering arising as a reaction to qualities of conditioned things, including the skandhas, the factors constituting the human mind.
Buddha discovered Dukkha in the very aspect of existence since it is subject to change. Impermanence constitutes ground for dukkha. Dukkha denotes the experience that all formations are impermanent . For, Buddha, dukkha was a ubiquitous category. But, he also said that whatsoever arises, must also cease and there is a path fpr cessation of dukkha which he offered his five disciples as Ashtanga Marga.
Dukha term is derived from the experience of chariot riding. If one had a pleasant experience in travelling, it was Sukha and similarly the unpleasant experience was termed Dukha. Life itself is compared with the movement of chariot. Like chariot, life moves on. Like chariot, life carries our bodies. Sukha and dukha are derived from the root,‘kha’ . What is kha?
Kha is the void in the wheel. The concept of ‘kha’ has its roots in the earliest Vedas,the Rig Veda Sukta VIII.91.7 which mentions: “In the axle hole of the chariot , in the axle hole of the cart, in the hole of the yoke, O Wise Indra, have purified Apala thrice and have given her a skin like the Sun.”(khe rathasya khe anasah khe yugasya shatakrato!apalamindra trishputvaykrinoh surya tvacham!)
Kha was the term for the hole in the axle upon which depended the proper motion of the cart. When ancient men discovered the wheel, it was of great consequence for mankind. But, the solid cart-wheel did not offer speed. It was the discovery of spoked wheel used in the chariots(rathas) which gave mankind the speed to move and resulting into Empire formation. In the Vedic civilization, solid wheels had paved way for the spoked-wheel. The ratha was pulled by horses and had chakra-wheels with spokes(ara)---4,6,8,or 12. Rim was known as pavi, spokes as ani, and the central hollow aperture in the nave as kha.
The spoked wheel was lighter and a technological wonder, since the centre was void. Philosophers pondered how the void moves the wheel and the wheel moved the chariot and on chariot, the great men and the Kings, devas and the brahma moved.Even the sages composed verses for the Sun moving on a chariot n the sky.The rigVeda mentions,” Ratha is Deva”(RV IX.111.3). The Verses further mention that Devas move on chariot and the asurs9demons) stay at home. The chariot was the pinncacle of the then civilization.
Discovered in the ratha-chakra, kha spread everywhere. Kha did not remain merely a central hole.It became emblematic of the unseen force, the un-manifest that fuels the movement. It was considered to be within human bodies, in the sky, in the things. Kha came to signify any hole or opening through which something may pass that by extension applies to fountain-head or canal or river-bed and later on the bodily apertures. Any sky or antariksh, the space that pervades between this-world and the other-worldly(heaven) either internal or external was known as kha in ancient indian tradition. Even the cavity within heart is called kha.This was later utilized in tantric scriptures, particularly Kashmir Shaivism. The vacant space inside which a meditator experienced in kha(chidakash). Thus, Buddha deployed the imagery from the highest technology prevalent at that time to explain the principles of Existence.
Kha is the centre of the wheel. Kha is also the Majjhimpada. It is open to speculation that Buddha intended Majjhim pada to be the Middle path between two extremes of Kamsukhallikanuyogo(life of pleasure) and attakilamathanuyogo(life of abstinence) or he intended to communicate multiple meanings of the Middle way, the Middle Way of Kha-the void, which Nagarjuna clarified centuries later in his masterly work, Mulamadhyamakakarika.
Similarly, the wheel of Dharma set into motion also deploys the allegory from the chariots. Vartana is derived from the root ,vrt, turn. Circle is vritta. Vartana is the “turning”. This was the term used in Rigveda for horse-training..eka-vartana, tri-vartana,pancavartana,saptavartana,navavartana etc. Parivartana and pravartana are related. Pravartana is to set into motion. Vartan and chakra fused to signify the unstoppable ruler. Chakravartin was the great ruler whose empire could not be stopped. Buddha is declared as Chakravartin as his dharma chakra cannot be stopped by devas ,Brahmins, loka or Mara. Rigveda derived many of the concepts from the terminology of chariots.In the First Mandala, verse 164.11, the verse mentions about wheel of time(chakram rtasya) with its twelve spokes turn round and round(varvarti) in sky and never ages. So much so that ratha was said to be born of the Rita itself.(Ratha is ritaj,Rig Veda, III.58.8) Buddha used the allegory of spoked-wheel(chakra) to communicate his teachings . Even the term ‘vartana” has been appropriated form horse-training. Imagery from chariots was consciously utilized to emphasize the fastest way to achieve the enlightenment.
It is seen that Ariya is pre-fixed with all four Truth in Pali literature. Most of the interpretations put Ariya as “noble’(arya). But, again something is amiss here. Ariya is not only Noble, but it also denotes other aspects derived from the root-Movement, incessant striving as well as a Way of ancient Life. A scholar on Buddhiam, K. Manohar Gupta has listed 100 different usage of term Ariya in Pali texts in his work, “The Aryan Path of the Buddha(2005)”.
Arya is derived from root “r.”.Though, it is a vowel n Panini grammar, it became a sacred sound for ancient Indians. Rishis composed richas compiled under the Rigveda. Ritu ,Rina, Riddhi, Rishabha(bull) all have this vowel in their roots.And all these terms denote concept that are ever changing. The root verb of “r.” means to “go”,”to move”. Since, Vedic people were always on move before they came to India
Buddha termed the path of Nirvana as Ariyo atthangiko maggo(Noble Eight Fold Path). The entire teachings are termed as Ariyadhamma. Buddha used the term in various discourses in the sense of virtue(sila), penance(tapas), wisdom (prajna), freedom(vimukti).
Buddha advised five disciples to avoid the two path of extremes and to follow the Ariyapath, the Majjhim patipada, Madhyama Marga.The suffering is rooted in three roots-lobha, dosa ,moha. To eradicate the three roots, one requires the Aryan ashtanga Marg. Buddha discovered the principles of ‘action”, a path requiring right conducy, effort, thinking, concentration. Buddha wanted disciples to follow the principle of “movement”, a principle of ‘nobility”. His path was rightly designated as Ariya or Arya. He also wanted to convey that even the Truth he discovered was ariya, that everyone has to discover his own Truth. It was not a mere coincidence that this Ariya path of action was propounded at Rishipatan , both containing the root,”r.” meaning ‘ to move’.
One can now analyze the root of chakra in the Dhamma chakka. Chakka- is Pali word for Sanskrit Chakra. The root of the word is “Ka” or ‘kra”, meaning “to move”. Cha is repetition. Chakka is also used in Chakkavala, Buddhist world-system said to be in continuous motion. Thus, the concept of Chakra itself contains the “principle of movement and action’ as propounded by Buddha.
One will be surprised to notice the imagery of movement in Buddha’s Enlightenment. Go-tama became Tatha-gat at Bodh-ga-ya. He crosses over the river Ga-n-ga and shows the Mar-ga to the world. We see the imagery of movement in all such terms. Ga is gaman. Ga is gata, gati. Ga is used in the term gatagat(to and fro movement). It was such a highly value concept that Nagarjuna undertook examination of the concept of Gatagat in his masterly work, Mulamadhyamakakarika. Buddha attained the Paragat state and became Tathagat , beautifully captured in the Prajnaparamita mantra(Heart Sutra)
“Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha”
Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone utterly beyond, Enlightenment hail!"
Buddha takes up the imagery of kha to explain his philosophy. Kha, gati, chakra… all form a complex etymological matrix pointing to the ubiquity of movement.In particular chakra, the spoked wheel of chariots which was the highest technology prevalent at that time, seems to have enamored Buddha. Even Dhammachakkra is depicted with eight spokes many a times corresponding to Eight Noble Path. One can fathom the psychological undercurrents prevailing in Buddha’s mind.
:
Buddha was a prince and he had been riding chariots. Even before leaving the family and kingdom in pursuit of enlightenment, he was accompanied by Channa, the famous charioteer and the horse, Kanthak. At the point of departure, there was a great turning of the earth, where Kanthak Shrine had been built.It’s the “vartana”. Buddha could communicated in the cognitive matrix that he possessed and developed. For him, chariot, charioteer, movement was part of everyday life. Buddha knew what difference of speed a chariot and other solid-cart wheel have since he was a Prince. He wanted to convey that his Dhammachakra is fastest vehicle to move beyond the cycle of existence.
Secondly, Buddha also realized that his contemporaries were preaching a principle of akriyavada(non-action) .He wanted to propound the philosophy of Action. The chakra symbolism aptly suited the situation.
Buddha’s contemporaries
Most of Buddha’s contemporaries believed in akriyavad (non-action). It was not like Taoist wu-wei. It was pure philosophy of materialism, with no scope for ethics and morals and transcendental signifiers. The Samaññaphala Sutta in Digha Nikaya contains attitude and philosophy of Buddha’s contemporary preachers.
Purana Kassappa was preaching Akriyavada based on Carvaka’s materialism. He held that neither good nor evil deeds have any effect on human life. He maintained that the soul was not affected by action/deeds either good or bad and stated that everything vanishes with death-body as well as soul. Makhali Ghosal propounded Niyativada. He was an ajivikas ascetic. He viewed life as a ball of strings. Just as a ball can not move beyond how much string it has, life comes to end after fixed rebirths. No one can do anything or undo anything.. Ajit Kesakambal taught the philosophy of Ucchedavada. Even he belonged to akriyavada. He taught philosophy of annihilation. For him,soul must undergo rebirth during eighty-four lakhs of cycles of Mahakalpas. No one can do anything to escape from this cycle.
. Pakudha Kacchyana taught non-relatedness. He preached that there are seven elements which go to make up a being, “that do not alter, do not change, do not interfere with one another, are incapable of causing one another pleasure, pain, or both pleasure and pain. Which seven? The earth-substance, the liquid-substance, the fire-substance, the wind-substance, pleasure, pain, and the soul as the seventh (Prathvi, Apa, Tej, Vayu, Sukha, Dukha and the Soul).” Each is independent and does not affect the other. These substances are also unproductive, neither can be made nor caused to be made. Sanjaya Belaputta taught Vikshepavada . He encourages extreme scepticism towards transcendental things. His two disciples Sariputra and Mogallana became Buddha’s chief disciples.
Nigantha Nathaputta taught Chaturyamsamvarvad. He taught that the rebirth is due to bad karmas done in past lives. One must not do any bad karma in this life therby one can eliminate the cause for next birth. To do so, he asked disciples to pursue a life of extreme austerity by observing chaturyama dharma, (1) not to kill ; (2) not to steal ; (3) not to tell a lie ; and (4) not to have property and to observe celibacy. Thus, even this school taught a kind of non-action to avoid any mistake and hence possibility of rebirth.
Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life
Buddha believed in human propensity for incessant striving since the five aggregates itself are afflicted with trishna(desire). He realized that the world is impermanent and everything afflicted with momentariness since the movement is at the root of the Existence which causes suffering. To seek a path of non-action can not help mankind as non-action is erroneous view. Buddha realized that it is only through action that the dukkha can be annihilated. The action should be right and the path, a noble one on which many might have treaded and achieved the state of Paragat.
Chakra symbolism caught the attention of Indian mind as this explains the cyclic phenomena of lunar months, seasons. Indian mind always believe in recursiveness . Chakra movement signifies in simplest possible way the universal phenomena of cyclicity as well as recursiveness. Buddha himself claims to be preceded by 24 buddhas (Buddhavamsa in Khuddaka Nikaya narrates the lives of 24 Buddhas)perhaps corresponding to 12 solar months in anuloma and then pratiloma sequence. Similarly, his elder Mahavira was believed to be 24th Tirthankar. Buddha puts himself into the recursive cycle.
We also find how Buddha taught through recursive phrases. Most of the text and phrases get repeated and new thought is appended only at the end in each of Buddha’s discourse as per simple reading of Pali texts.
Buddha while propounding his Eightfold -fold Noble Path, hit the jackpot of Univere’s structure, which appears to be recursive at various layers. Its like concentric sheaths with similar properties appearing at different interval of space/time and other dimensions.
We survive in a solar system that consists of 8 planets. Atoms have propensity to acquire mere 8 electrons in valence shell that determine the chemical properties of elements. Diamond, the purest and hardest substance that has always been in the focus of human quest, an octahedron. The computer technology based on grouping of 8 bits (octet) have become successful in integrating machine and intelligence. It is oxygen with 8 electrons that has become the life-force for living as well as non-living things. We have music instinct based on octave scale. Drosophila (fruit fly) with 8 chromosome led to unraveling of genetic foundation of living beings. Now, it is the 8-coordinate Lie algebra propounded by Garett Lisi that seem better equipped to derive a ‘Theory of Everything’.
Number 8 seems to repeat at various scale of physical as well as trans-physical universe(melody).Is this iteration itself a byproduct of fractality of universe? It was Anaxagoras a contemporary of Buddha who proposed self-similarity proliferating at different scale. For him, matter is composed of infinite material particles and the parts contain the whole. In fact, cyclicity is nothing more than repetition of regularities.
Perhaps, the Eastern sages realized the power of repetition that induces kindling effect and new properties of mind. Mantras were created later on not as mere mumbo-jumbo but to harness these wonderful properties. Every indigenous society have a non-linear conception of time and their stories are repetition of patterns. Katha,myth,legends are epiphenomenal byproduct of mind’s propensity to derive power from process of repetition. Buddha’s preaching reflect this repetition. Thus, cyclicity and movement is ingrained in Buddha’s philosophy.
One can also see how Buddha was steeped into India
Khaga is the way
On deliberations made herein, I would like to term the way which Buddha intended as ,”Khaga”- to do gamana within kha or to move with a void at centre. When one removes the lobha, dosha, moha, one becomes void of trishna But, this is not what he intended. With such state of vacuity at centre(even no soul, as Buddha did not believe in atta(atman) . For him, the centre of man itself is a void like the spoked wheel). With the void state, the movement in the sansaric world of existence can take one to the state of Paragate. One must engage in active work with the void within to realize the state. Perhaps, he wanted followers to become ,”Khagvan”, but they reduced him into “bhagwan” within a century of his mahaparinirvana.
The Sun is also called khaga as it moves in space. Like the Sun which gives light to everyone without discriminating, Buddha wanted his followers to hanker after this paragat state.
It is ironic that in the name of following Buddha’s words, hordes of active men and women are taking to vipassana to deactivate themselves from active life. Buddha was the annihilator of akriyavad. He is the eternal moving Sun. His teachings continue to shine with the rays of the Sun. We should practice his teachings in the way he intended us to do.
(Niraj Kumar, 17.1.2012)
[Talk given at India International Centre in One Day Seminar organized by Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association on the subject of “Dharmachakra Paravartan]
(Niraj Kumar is the President of Society for Asian Integration)
0 comments:
Post a Comment