The History of Buddhist Thought c15.7

c15.7

The warrior caste figures largely in the dialogues of the Upanishads, so much so that it has been held that the characteristic doctrines originated with this class. Whatever be their origin, they had become the possession of the brahmins, and although any of the three higher castes might devote themselves to Vedic study, we have the striking fact that the kshatriyas described in the Buddhist records show no trace of upanishadic teaching. The original centre of brahmin culture was far from the cradle of Buddhism. This centre was in the West, chiefly in the region between the Ganges and the Jumna. It gradually permeated the East of India, but there are indications to show that the East, and Magadha especially, were long considered unfit for the habitation of brahmins. But at least as a sacrificial system Brahminism had established itself there before the development of Buddhism. There was not the same reason why the study of the secret doctrine should have spread as early as the brahmin cult, which performed the sacred rites for individuals at every stage of life.