[Advaita-l] nAstika mata (bauddha mata) khaNDana in rAmAyaNa

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Thu, 28 Apr 2011, Bhaskar YR wrote:

> Being a (mediocre) follower of vaidika dharma, I do agree bauddha matha is
> a nAstika mata and has to be a discarded philosophy.  But I dont think
> they are deserved to be called thieves and need punishment !!

There have been a range of views towards Buddhism from the astikas ranging 
from quite supportive to downright antagonistic.  Some have accused 
Buddhism of taking Vedic concepts but refusing to acknowledge their 
source.  For instance Gaudapadacharya in his karika 4.99 says

kramate na hi buddhasya GYAnaM dharmeShu tAyinaH |
sarve dharmAstathA GYAnaM naitadbuddhena bhAShitam || 99 ||

"The knowledge of the all-pervading enlightened one does not associate 
with objects. In the same way all souls do not associate with objects. 
This was not taught by the Buddha."

Shankaracharya observes that it was not taught by the Buddha because it 
had already been taught by the upanishads.

So in that sense they are "thieves".

>  When it
> comes to observance of shishtAchAra (moral & ethical values),
> dharmAcharaNa, ahimsAcharaNa, shAnti, sahana etc. traditional monks from
> baudha & jain schools never drop back and lose the race with vaidika
> dharma followers.  The sublimity & tranquility among these sAdhu-s &
> saNyAsi-s is always an ideal for the followers of same path in other
> religions also.  bhagavan gautama buddha stands tall as an example.

Is this just a case of "the grass looks greener on the other side?" 
Indian newspapers carry stories about scandals amongst Hindu sadhus but 
Thai newspapers (to give one example) often report stories about scandals 
amongst Buddhist bhikshus.  Here is one example from the Bangkok Post.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/199026/scandal-rocks-thailand-buddhist-sangha-once-again

The lesson to be learned from all this is that one should look at the 
character of the individual not the group they belong to.

-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>