Transformation and Trend of Buddhism in the 20th Century (An Old and Rare Book)

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Having profound respect to the personality and divinity of Gautama, the Buddha, to his Dharma and Sangha, many modern philosophers like S. Radhakrishnan and religious leaders like Swami Vivekananda consider that Buddhism is not a new religion for India. Buddhism was explained as the fulfilment of Hinduism by Swami Vivekananda in his famous Chicago address in 1893,¹ in presence of many Buddhists and other religious delegates. Siddhartha "the Buddha was born, grew up and died as a Hindu", said Radhakrishnan. Such remarks regarding the Buddha and Buddhism are apparently subject to criticism, as it requires a special outlook and judgement to reconcile them. If we can accept the Buddha as the greatest product and the highest perfection of spiritual experience of India since the time of the Vedic seers, we can realise that the Sakyamuni was the true fulfilment of the aspiration of the Indian spiritual legacy and tradition.

While preaching his doctrine to his disciples, the Buddha was fully conscious that his doctrine was not a new one, it was the same experience of the orient sages who had appeared on the soil of India and realised the ultimate truth to solve the fundamental problem of life. In clear terms and loud voice Gautama, the Buddha declared, "O monks, similarly I have discovered an ancient way, an ancient road which was followed by the Perfect Buddhas of the olden times... Along that I have gone...

Being born in a confused Brahmanical atmosphere, the Buddha, however, agreed with the fundamentals of the metaphysics and ethics of the contemporary Vedic teachers whose ultimate goal was liberation from the chain of rebirth. But he protested against certain practices of the Brahmins which were in vogue at the time.

In pursuance of its objective to promote academic awareness about contemporary Asia, Netaji Institute for Asian Studies has undertaken several research schemes. The output of these schemes is intended to be released in the form of research monographs for wider dissemination among the reading public.

The methodological frame of each monograph is, obviously, provided by the relevant academic discipline to which the researcher belongs. The findings are, however, expected to contribute to a general understanding of different aspects of contemporary Asian reality. In studies that draw upon the varied historical and cultural experience of societies, it is desirable that they should not only relate the present to the past but also compare the many faces of the present as manifest across the societies under study. From that standpoint the present work on the transformation of Buddhism makes a com- mendable attempt to delineate the changing forms of Buddhist precepts and practices in select Asian countries. It also examines the extent to which they have been instrumental in moulding the lifestyle of a large number of Asian peoples professing Buddhism.

Buddhism, in this context, is viewed as a cultural dissent against the mechanical pursuit of religious faith through rituals and sacrifices. Its essence lies in the concern for certain basic human values which, in their elevated form, make people worthy of attaining spiritual emancipation. In this connection, the present study underscores the important link that ran through the spiritual experience of Buddhism and Hinduism in their pristine forms. In the course of time, the Buddhist spiritual order underwent significant transformation in the countries where it spread.