History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c91.299.1

v7.c91.299.1

Before setting out the main causes of the virtual disappearance of Buddhism from India certain general points have to be emphasized. Buddha was only a great reformer of the Hindu religion as practised in his time. He did not feel or claim that he was forming a new religion, nor did he renounce the Hindu religion and all its practices and beliefs. The Buddha referred to the Vedas and Hindu sages with honour in some of his sermons. He recognised the importance of Yogic practices and meditation. His teaching took over several beliefs current among the Hindus in his day such as the doctrine of Karma and Rebirth and cosmological theories. A substantial portion of the teaching of Buddha formed part of the tenets of the Upanisadic period. At the time when he was born there were two main currents of thoughts and practices prevalent among the people, one being the path of sacrifices to Gods and the other being the path of moral endeavour, self-restraint and spiritual goal. It has been shown above (pp. 917-918) how the Upanisads assigned a lower position to the Vedas and the sacrifices enjoined therein and how spiritual knowledge after cultivating high ethical qualities was deemed greater than sacrifices. The Upanisads first began by symbolical interpretation of Vedic sacrifices, as for example in Br. Up. I. 1. 1, where Uṣas, Sūrya and Saṁvatsara are said to be respectively the head, the eye and the soul of the sacrificial horse or as in Chān. Up II. 2.