Conservative and Liberal Divisions in Buddhism and Judaism

Introduction to Buddhism and Judaism

Buddhism and Judaism are two of the oldest religions still in practice today. Despite how long they have endured the test of time, they have not survived unscathed. Among other divisions found within Buddhism and Judaism, both religions went through a series of transformations — most importantly, a division between more conservative and liberal sects. These divisions remain prominent in the practice of both religions even today.

The Origins and Teachings of Gautama Buddha

Buddhism focuses on the worship of Gautama Buddha "as a divine being who came to earth out of compassion and suffering of humanity" (Noss 191). The term Buddhism loosely refers to a number of different religious practices and beliefs, but is mainly concerned with the teachings of the Gautama Buddha. The title Buddha actually translates as the "Enlightened One" (171). Buddhist legends highlight the Buddha's renunciation of his royal luxuries during his time as a prince. He was born Prince Siddhartha around 563 B.C.E. His father, an Indian king, hoped his son would one day become a great ruler of all India. Prince Siddhartha rejected his royal life for a life of humility and began his six-year quest (168).

For six years, Gautama practiced extreme self-discipline in an attempt to transcend his human, and therefore mortal, existence. The beliefs that encouraged his quest included the idea that "the mind becomes clearer as the body becomes more disciplined" (Noss 168). During this period of self-discipline, Gautama went as far as to inflict pain upon his mortal body. After this extreme show of endurance, Gautama began a new phase, attempting to strengthen his body as a way to strengthen his intellect. Through this self-discipline, Gautama Buddha tasted Nirvana. Buddhist legend tells of Mara, the god of Death and Desire, who came to Gautama during his quest and tried to distract him from finding Nirvana. Despite these temptations, Mara ultimately failed.

After attaining enlightenment through his devotion, Buddha began teaching the knowledge he had gained. He proposed a doctrine offering a life of compromise: avoiding a life of complete indulgence, yet also embracing enjoyment of the life one was given. He believed that individuals should spend their lives understanding their feelings and controlling their desires through the strength of their will. He also preached the idea of rebirth and dharma, or "the truth concerning the nature and causes of observable facts" (Noss 179). Buddha further emphasized "the dissolution of the desires" (179), or the refrainment from mortal excesses, and preached that individuals should separate themselves from their attachments. Familial and intimate attachments between people can only bring suffering. Buddhist doctrine also taught that attachments to individual notions of self and ego hinder men from attaining Nirvana: "There is no permanent, partless substantial 'self' or soul" (Powers 21). Buddha died forty-five years after he began preaching, at the age of eighty.

Buddha's teachings spread across the region for centuries through oral tradition. Later, these oral traditions were recorded in the Pali Canon, in the Pali dialect, after Buddhism rejected Sanskrit. Additional works were subsequently added to the original canon, including the Vinaya Pitaka (the Monastic Rules), the Sutta Pitaka (Discourses), and — composed last — the Abhidhamma Pitaka (Supplement to the Doctrines) (Noss 188). The Sutta Pitaka highlights the voice of Buddha himself and includes subsections of about fifteen works concerning the life of Gautama Buddha and his immediate predecessors.

The Second Council at Vaisali was a turning point in the organization of Buddhist religion, prompted by a dispute over how the Doctrine and the Discipline should be interpreted. Out of this dispute, a group that wanted the texts interpreted more liberally emerged, calling themselves the Mahasanghika, or "the Members of the Great Sangha" (Noss 189). This group incorporated most of the regular lay people who had previously made slight changes to the Doctrine in order to apply it successfully to their own lives. Buddhism had also undergone variations as it was adopted by individual families all over the region. The group calling for a more orthodox application of the Doctrine called themselves the Sthaviravadins, or the "Adherents of the Teachings of the Elders" (189). In the three hundred years following this separation, many more divisions occurred. Smaller variations include Vajrayana, in Tibet and Mongolia, Tantric Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism. Tantric Buddhism holds that one gains real experiences through certain actions that bring one close to reality.

In response to the fracturing of the Buddhist religion, a king named Asoka aimed to reunite the ancient faith. Asoka came to power in Magadha in 273 B.C.E., and after years of warfare he ordered his people to live peacefully and in the Buddhist way. He issued both "The Fourteen Rock Edicts" and later "The Seven Pillar Inscriptions," which indicated how his people were to live. Notably, these demands made no mention of the Four Noble Truths, meditation, or reaching Nirvana, which later cast doubt on the sincerity of Asoka's conversion to Buddhism. Asoka was most concerned with uniting his people in peace, with the view that any transition into paradise could be pursued later. His influence on Buddhist practice effectively placed the Four Noble Truths and Nirvana in the realm of the monks rather than ordinary people.

Buddhist Divisions: Theravada and Mahayana

One of the two main divisions of Buddhism is the more conservative Theravada sect, most popular in Burma and Sri Lanka. Theravada focuses on the monk as the central figure, with Nirvana as the ultimate goal. This tradition also holds that the monk is solely responsible for reaching Nirvana without help from the Buddha: "The Buddha entered Nirvana and is therefore no longer exercising an active personal influence as a living self" (Noss 191). Monks live in monasteries and completely devote their lives to meditation in search of Nirvana. Theravadins venerate the image of Buddha despite his negative views of religious idolization, and they also revere images of Buddha's predecessors from earlier ages as described in the Pali texts. Theravadins "affirm that the Buddha was a perfect being, omniscient and sinless, and through countless incarnations he lived so meritoriously that he became through sheer merit a divine being" (194). This sect believed that the Buddha was a human who transcended his mortal existence to become a divine being. They also believed that there was one single bodhisattva, or Buddha-in-the-making — unlike their more liberal Mahayana counterparts.

The opposite of the Theravada tradition is the more liberal Mahayana tradition, meaning the "Great Vehicle," which flourished in India. Mahayanists believe that Buddha could not have originated at a human level but must have been divine. They saw Buddha as a mythical figure representing a divine order that could lead to salvation, rather than solely devoted self-effort. Many foreign lands that had not embraced the Theravada branch now opened to Mahayana. Mahayanist dogma holds that one can receive help on the way to salvation, in marked contrast to the Theravadin position.

Influenced by Brahmanism, Mahayanists believe more fervently than Theravadins that there are multiple Buddhas. Manushi Buddhas were humans who attained Nirvana by teaching others about the glory of enlightenment. Bodhisattvas in Mahayana are numerous, unlike in Theravada where there was only one. These enlightened teachers answer people's prayers and help those in need. In countries such as China and Japan, Bodhisattvas are "beings who have lived ever since in such a way as to acquire almost inexhaustible stores of merit" (203). Bodhisattvas could easily enter Nirvana but chose instead to help others reach enlightenment.

The Origins and Development of Judaism

Early Judaic religion also has a long and extensive history. The ancient beginnings of Judaism lie in the Syro-Arabian desert. The ancient ancestors of the later Hebrew people moved from the Mesopotamian desert toward the coast, settling in what is now known as Jerusalem and Palestine. Abraham was born into a family that still practiced early forms of animism. Through a religious epiphany, he began to worship only one deity, whom he named El-Shaddai, meaning "the rock of the mountain" (Noss 383). He was encouraged by God to move to better grazing grounds: "The Lord had said to Abram [Abraham], leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing" (Gen. 12:1–2). After proving his loyalty, God rewarded Abraham and all his descendants. Later, the Hebrews were enslaved by the Egyptian Pharaoh. Moses was then contacted by God and given the Ten Commandments, the religious rules still followed today by modern Jews and Christians. Moses also led his people out of Egypt to safety. After wandering the desert for forty years, the Israelites finally invaded and settled in Canaan.

Early practices were adaptations of older mythologies. The earlier Semitic desert people lived in tribes that worshipped nature. Early religious belief was built on a tradition of animism, in which aspects of nature were venerated as spirits. Later, the Israelites incorporated the earlier Semitic festival of Passover to represent their freedom from Egypt. The Sabbath was also adopted from their ancestors as a day of rest and worship. When the Israelites invaded Canaan, those who took up farming also adopted Canaanite agricultural spirit lore. The Israelites then adapted their Yahweh — who had led them through the desert — to incorporate aspects of the various agricultural gods of the Canaanites. As the Israelites strayed further from their monotheistic ways, a series of prophets spoke out about the degradation of Yahweh into a local baal, ultimately resulting in the abolition of Baalism.

Several other prophets followed, all working to keep the Israelites close to their religion when they began to stray. Reforms from Isaiah and other prophets led to a "centralization of priestly functions" (Noss 405) in Jerusalem. Many rural inhabitants lost the personal connection with the divine they had once shared when priests lived throughout the countryside. After instigating Judah's revolt against Babylon, Jeremiah promised his people that Yahweh would deliver a new covenant — one between the divine and the individual, much unlike Yahweh's older relationship with the Jewish people as a whole: "Jeremiah brought people face-to-face with God as individuals who were responsible directly to Him for their conduct" (408). Around the fourth century B.C.E., the various holy scriptures that had developed from the Northern and Southern Israelite traditions were combined.

Zoroastrianism also influenced Jewish faith, more so than the Greek conquerors, owing to its monotheistic roots. Demons were organized and placed under the rule of Satan. God's messengers, angels, were also organized into a hierarchy. The previous belief in a "colorless existence in the pit of She'ol, a land of forgetfulness" (426) after death was replaced with the notion of a fully conscious afterlife. The concept of a Final Judgment at the end of the world was also introduced into Jewish philosophy.

Early groups continued to return to a conservative interpretation of Jewish theology. Under the leadership of Ezra the scribe, a new sect based on pre-exile theologies was created, called the Religion of Israel: "Its central concern was faithful adherence to the standards of the Mosaic Torah" (419). This new faith called for the Jewish people to become ethnically and religiously isolated from their Gentile neighbors. The Kabbalah emerged in the Middle Ages as a new mystical take on Hebrew theology. The Pharisees were a group who concerned themselves with the strict upholding of Jewish laws and traditions. They believed that an individual's first duty was to follow Jewish law, both written and oral. Under the Pharisees, followers began living a completely religious existence, engaged in constant prayer. They were the only group to survive Roman rule, outlasting other parties such as the Zealots and the Essenes. Modern Jewish scriptures are based on Pharisaic philosophies: "they chose the books and the versions that would be read and studied and, therefore, lead to the Judaism of their future" (432).

Conclusion

Throughout the years, both Buddhism and Judaism have gone through many divisions and reformations. They both, however, share one thing that many other religions share in common. Many of the major divisions within each religion were based on the idea that the faith should either return to its conservative roots or be applied more liberally as times and people change. This tension between conservation and reform is not unique to Buddhism or Judaism — it is a recurring pattern in the history of world religions.

Works Cited

King James Bible. Genesis 12:1–2.

Powers, John. A Concise Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Oneworld Publications, Oxford.

Noss, David S. History of the World's Religions. Prentice Hall, 12th ed., 2008.

Smith, Jean. The Beginner's Guide to Zen Buddhism. Bell Tower, New York, 1999.