The Rise of Buddhism: Its Historical Background in Ancient India
Hi everyone, and welcome to your study notes for "Historical background"! Buddhism appeared in ancient India around the 6th to 5th century BCE. To understand why the Buddha taught what he taught, we first need to know the world he lived in. Which gods did people worship? How was society divided? Which new ideas were challenging the old traditions? Think of this chapter as the "world-building" scene at the start of a film. Once you know the setting, the Life of the Buddha and the Buddhist teachings will make much more sense.
The chapter follows the two strands of the syllabus: indigenous Indian and Aryan culture, and Brahmanism and samana (sramana) practices.
1. Indigenous Indian Culture: The Indus Valley Civilisation
An Early City Civilisation
Long before the Aryans arrived, the Indus River valley in north-west India was home to an advanced civilisation called the Indus Valley Civilisation (also known as the Harappan culture). It was at its height from about 2600 to 1900 BCE. Its best-known city sites are Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.
Town planning: The cities had straight streets, houses of baked brick and an impressive drainage system.
Writing and seals: Archaeologists have found many stone seals carved with pictures and signs, but the script has still not been deciphered.
The people: Many scholars link this civilisation to the indigenous peoples later called the Dravidians.
Clues About Its Religion
Because nobody can read the script, we can only guess at the religion from what has been dug up:
Bathing and purity: Mohenjo-daro has a "Great Bath", which scholars believe was used for ritual cleansing.
A seated figure: One seal shows a figure sitting cross-legged, surrounded by animals. Some scholars see this as an early form of the yogic meditation posture.
Mother goddess worship: Many female clay figures suggest the worship of fertility and abundance.
Analogy: Think of indigenous culture as the soil. Even after Aryan culture became dominant, practices such as meditation and ascetic discipline may already have been growing in that soil.
Key Takeaway
The Indus Valley Civilisation was ancient India's indigenous culture. Its remains suggest ritual purification and perhaps seated meditation, which may be early roots of India's later meditation and ascetic traditions.
2. The Aryans and Vedic Culture
The Aryans Arrive in India
Around 1500 BCE, groups of cattle-herding tribes who spoke Indo-European languages entered India from Central Asia through the north-western mountain passes. They called themselves Aryans, meaning "noble ones". They first settled in the Punjab (the "land of five rivers") and, after about 1000 BCE, gradually moved east into the Ganges plain.
The Aryans brought their own language (Sanskrit), their own gods and their own rituals of sacrifice, and over time they became the ruling group. The indigenous peoples were mostly conquered or absorbed.
The Vedas and Many-God Sacrifice
The religion of the Aryans is called Vedic religion; "Veda" means "knowledge". Its most important scriptures are the four Vedas:
1. Rig Veda: hymns of praise to the gods, and the oldest of the four.
2. Sama Veda: chants sung during sacrifices.
3. Yajur Veda: the procedures and formulas for sacrifices.
4. Atharva Veda: spells and charms for everyday life.
Vedic religion was polytheistic (it worshipped many gods), for example Indra, god of thunder and war, and Agni, god of fire. People believed that by offering sacrifices to the gods they could gain health, wealth, victory in battle and a place in heaven after death.
The Caste System: The Four Varnas
Aryan society gradually developed a strict ranking system called the caste system (the four varnas). The "Hymn of the Cosmic Man" (Purusha Sukta) in the Rig Veda explains its origin: the four castes came from the mouth, arms, thighs and feet of the Cosmic Man (Purusha).
1. Brahmins (priests): from the mouth. They performed sacrifices and taught the Vedas, and had the highest status.
2. Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors): from the arms. They governed and fought wars.
3. Vaishyas (common people): from the thighs. They were farmers, merchants and craftsmen.
4. Shudras (servants): from the feet. Many were conquered indigenous people, and their duty was to serve the three higher castes.
Below all four were the "untouchables" or outcastes (such as the Chandalas). Caste was hereditary: your birth decided your job, who you could marry and your place in society, and it was almost impossible to change.
Memory tip: from top to bottom, "mouth, arms, thighs, feet" matches "priests, rulers, commoners, servants".
Key Takeaway
The Aryans brought the Vedas, sacrifice to many gods and the four-caste system. Caste was decided by birth, and the Brahmins stood at the top.
3. Brahmanism: Its Three Principles and the Upanishads
The Three Main Principles of Brahmanism
As time went on, Vedic sacrifices became more and more complicated, and only trained Brahmins knew how to perform them. Religion came to centre on the Brahmin priests, so we call this stage Brahmanism. It is often summed up in three principles:
1. The Vedas are divine revelation: the Vedas are sacred and have absolute authority; they cannot be questioned.
2. Sacrifice is all-powerful: a correctly performed sacrifice can even control the gods and bring the desired result.
3. The Brahmins are supreme: Brahmins are the noblest caste and the only bridge between humans and the gods.
As a result, the Brahmins controlled religion and learning. Large sacrifices killed many animals and were very expensive, which put a heavy burden on ordinary people.
The Upanishads: Brahman, Atman, Karma and Rebirth
From about the 8th to the 6th century BCE, some thinkers grew unhappy with a religion focused only on outward ritual. They went into the forests to meditate on the deepest questions of life, and their ideas were recorded in the Upanishads.
Brahman: the ultimate reality and source of the whole universe.
Atman: the eternal, unchanging true self inside each person.
Brahman and Atman are one: when a person truly realises this, they gain liberation (moksha).
Karma and rebirth: a person's actions (karma) bring results, which keep them going round and round in the cycle of birth and death (samsara).
Karma, rebirth and liberation became shared questions for Indian religions of the time. The Buddha later used these words too, but gave them new meanings. In particular, he rejected the idea of an eternal, unchanging self.
Key Takeaway
The three principles of Brahmanism are: the Vedas are divine revelation, sacrifice is all-powerful, and the Brahmins are supreme. The Upanishads moved the focus from ritual to inner practice, taught that Brahman and Atman are one, and developed the ideas of karma and rebirth.
4. Social Change in the Buddha's Time
Politics: The Sixteen Great Kingdoms
In the Buddha's time, northern India was divided into the Sixteen Great Kingdoms (Mahajanapadas). The strongest were Magadha (capital: Rajagriha) and Kosala (capital: Shravasti) in the Ganges valley. Wars were frequent, and kings became more and more powerful, which greatly raised the status of the Kshatriyas.
There were also some republics ruled by councils of nobles, such as the Shakya clan that the Buddha was born into, and the Licchavis of the Vajji confederacy.
Economy: Cities and a Rising Merchant Class
Iron tools: Iron tools helped people clear the forests of the Ganges valley and grow rice, producing a food surplus.
Cities and trade: Towns grew, trade flourished and coins came into use.
Wealthy Vaishyas: Many merchants (Vaishyas) became rich and gained influence in society.
Powerful Kshatriyas and wealthy Vaishyas were no longer happy to rank below the Brahmins forever just because of birth.
Ideas: Growing Doubts About Brahmanism
These political and economic changes loosened old ways of thinking. More and more people began to ask:
Why should costly sacrifices bring happiness?
Why should a person's worth depend on their birth?
How can we truly escape ageing, sickness, death and endless rebirth?
Many scholars point out that the middle and lower Ganges (around Magadha) was a region where Brahmanism was relatively weak, so new ideas could grow there more easily.
Key Takeaway
Wars between the Sixteen Great Kingdoms raised the status of the Kshatriyas, and the growth of cities and trade made the Vaishyas rich. People grew unhappy with Brahmin privilege and with sacrifice, which created fertile ground for new ideas.
5. The Samana Movement: An Age of Free Thinkers
Who Were the Samanas?
A samana (Sanskrit sramana) means "one who strives", someone who puts great effort into spiritual practice. Samanas left their families and wandered from place to place, living on alms and searching for liberation outside Brahmanism.
The main differences between Brahmins and samanas:
Authority: Brahmins honoured the Vedas; samanas did not accept the absolute authority of the Vedas.
Method: Brahmins relied on sacrifice; samanas relied on personal practice, such as meditation, asceticism and philosophical debate.
Status: a Brahmin was a Brahmin by birth; samana groups generally accepted people of any caste.
Way of life: Brahmins usually lived as householders; samanas renounced home life and wandered.
This new wave of thinkers, who challenged the Brahmin tradition and argued with one another, is called the samana (sramana) movement. After leaving home, the Buddha himself practised as a samana, and his meditation teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, were samanas too.
The Six Heretical Teachers
Buddhist scriptures such as the Samannaphala Sutta (Discourse on the Fruits of the Contemplative Life) describe six famous samana teachers of the time, whom Buddhists call the Six Heretical Teachers:
1. Purana Kassapa: denied moral results. He taught that good and bad actions bring no reward or punishment.
2. Makkhali Gosala: a fatalist. He taught that everything is fixed by fate and effort is useless. He led the Ajivika sect.
3. Ajita Kesakambali: a materialist. He taught that a person is made only of the four elements (earth, water, fire, wind) and that nothing remains after death, so there is no next life.
4. Pakudha Kaccayana: taught that life is made of seven eternal elements (earth, water, fire, wind, pleasure, pain and the soul), so killing someone is only a blade passing between elements.
5. Sanjaya Belatthiputta: a sceptic who refused to give a definite answer to any question. The Buddha's chief disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana, were first his students.
6. Nigantha Nataputta: also called Mahavira, the leader of Jainism. He taught strict asceticism and non-violence, burning away karma through austerity to reach liberation.
Two Extremes: Indulgence and Asceticism
The samana teachers disagreed with one another, but we can see two broad extremes:
Indulgence in pleasure: if, as the materialists said, nothing remains after death, it is easy to conclude that we should simply enjoy ourselves.
Extreme asceticism: the Jains and others believed the body must be punished to wear away karma and reach liberation.
The Buddha had lived a life of luxury in the palace and had also practised harsh austerities for six years. He found that neither led to awakening, so he taught the Middle Way, which avoids both extremes.
Key Takeaway
Samanas were wandering renunciants who rejected the authority of the Vedas. The Six Heretical Teachers in the Buddhist scriptures stood for views such as fatalism, materialism, scepticism and asceticism. Buddhism itself grew out of the samana movement and answered the two extremes of indulgence and asceticism with the Middle Way.
6. How Buddhism Responded to Its Time
The Buddha's Response
Put the background together and you can see which problems the Buddha's teaching answered:
Against caste by birth: a Buddhist scripture says, "Not by birth does one become a Brahmin; by one's actions one becomes a Brahmin." The monastic community (sangha) accepted people from every caste.
No reliance on sacrifice: liberation comes from your own practice and wisdom, not from sacrifices or the favour of gods. The Buddha also opposed killing animals for sacrifice.
A new meaning of karma: the Buddha said, "It is intention that I call karma." What matters is the intention behind an action, not ritual.
No eternal self: the Buddha taught non-self (anatta), unlike the Upanishad idea that Brahman and Atman are one.
The Middle Way: neither indulgence nor extreme asceticism.
Exam Tip
If an exam asks you to "explain the historical background to the rise of Buddhism", you can answer in this order, with concrete examples:
1. Religion: the three principles of Brahmanism, and dissatisfaction with sacrifice.
2. Society: the unfairness of the four-caste system.
3. Politics and economy: the Sixteen Great Kingdoms and the rising status of Kshatriyas and Vaishyas.
4. Ideas: the rise of the samana movement and the many competing views of the Six Heretical Teachers.
Finish by showing how Buddhism responded to these problems, and your answer will be complete.
Key Takeaway
Buddhism arose at a time when Brahmanism was being questioned, society was changing fast and the samana movement was growing. The Buddha rejected judging people by birth and the belief that sacrifice is all-powerful, and he taught the Middle Way and non-self, offering people a new path to liberation.