Buddhism in India

The Dhamma 69

intellect tend to be difficult; finding time for practice of meditation

is also hard; but the simple rules of righteous behaviour could for the

most part be followed. Thus ‘rectitude’, as we have seen, was part

of the simple teachings as given by the Buddha for the householders

of Patilagama in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta.

In emphasising righteous conduct for householders and the role

of monks in teaching it, Buddhism contrasted with both Brahmanic

teachings, which emphasised sacrifice and observance of caste duty

by householders, and Jainism, which utterly rejected the house-

holder life and sought to avoid the contamination of monks by it.

However, the ‘righteous life’ for householders could not, realisti-

cally, be organised in the way that the Sangha was. The Sangha in

many respects sought to preserve the collective-democratic traditions

of the gana-sanghasthough this was not possible in a world of rising

monarchies. Nor was collective property ownership a socially realistic

prescription for economic life. Therefore, monarchy and the market

were both supported—but an effort was made to humanise and

moralise them. This section will deal with the prescriptions for

economic life; the following with political life; and then we take up

that aspect of the emerging society which the Buddha decisively

rejected i.e., the social institution of caste. Patriarchy, which he

only partially challenged, will be the subject of the final section.

The most famous teaching on economic life is the Sigalovada

Suttanta, ‘Admonitions to Sigala’ from the Digha Nikaya. This is

addressed to a young man of wealth and, without calling him away

from the world, it seeks to wean him from both from a life of simple

abandon and from the sacrifice and ritual-centered life fostered by

Brahmanism. In place of these there is a concern for human rela-

tionships, and a life of solid work and service that might almost be

described as ‘bourgeois’. For ritual acts it substitutes the notion of

fostering ideal human relationships, with parents, with teachers,

with friends, with wives and with servants and employees (dasa-

kammakaras). In Rhys David’s translation,

In five ways does an Ariyan master minister to his servants and

employees as the nadir:—by assigning them work according to their

strength; by supplying them with food and wages; by tending them in

sickness; by sharing with them unusual delicacies; by granting them

leave at times [explained as constant relaxation so that they need

not work all day, and special leave with extra food and adornment for

In fact, the Sangha provided for the individual bhikku in four
very clearly defined ways that offered often better conditions than
the precarious world around: food, shelter, clothing and medical
care. These were important not only for bhikkus themselves but
also in terms of the relation between bhikkus and householders.
Food was regulated (and rules included those of courtesy in eating
and concern so that all could have some share of it), and eating
itself provided one of the most important linkages with the external
society. The bhikkus not only took alms; they accepted invitations,
and in so doing they had a major occasion for teaching the
Dhamma.
The structure of the Sangha shows us the Buddha as an institution-
builder, creating an association that provided for communism and
welfare within a world that otherwise, worked on very different
principles. It established a unique tradition of monasticism. It
provided a way for bhikkus to renounce the world without fleeing
from contact with it; to live close to cities and in communication with
them but still apart from them. Regular contact with lay supporters
came largely through donations of food, which supporters gave
into the begging bowls as the bhikkus went on their rounds, or else
was provided in feasts where all were invited to a fine meal. In
return the bhikkus provided teaching, moral and practical instruction
of life and psychological support in times of stress. Later the Sangha
also took on other features: it provided educational facilities; it was
the source out of which the famous universities of ancient India
grew. It became an economic and financial institution; apparently
loaning money. It became a social institution that was a refuge and
a balance to the power of the state. In the process, ‘corruption’ of
various types set in, and it departed from the original ideal—but
the uniqueness of the Sangha as a monastic institution remained.

Ethics for the Householder

The eightfold path leading to the cessation of sorrow is classically
divided into three major sections—rules for living, sila, or righteous
conduct; meditation or samadhi; and intellectual insight or under-
standing, panna. Though the householder is considered in principle
to be capable of all of these the major emphasis, nevertheless, in
most of the teachings for them is on righteous conduct. Insight and

68 Buddhism in India