SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF INDIAN SOCIETY IN

THE BUDDHA PERIOD

INTRODUCTION
The sixth century B.C. is considered a wonderful century in history. Great
thinkers like Buddha, Mahavira, Heraclitus, Zoroaster, Confucius and Lao Tse
lived and preached their ideas in this century. In India, the republican
institutions were strong in the 6th century B.C. This enabled rise of heterodox
sects against the orthodox religion dominated by rites and rituals. Among them
the most successful were Jainism and Buddhism whose impact on the Indian
society was remarkable. The primary cause for the rise of Buddhism was the
religious unrest in India in the 6th century B.C. The complex rituals and
sacrifices advocated in the later Vedic period were not acceptable to the
common people. The sacrificial ceremonies were also found to be too
expensive. The superstitious beliefs and mantras confused the people. The
teachings of Upanishads, an alternative to the system of sacrifices, were highly
philosophical in nature and therefore not easily understood by all. Therefore,
what was needed in the larger interests of the people was a simple, short and
intelligible way to salvation for all people. Such religious teaching should also
be in a language known to them. This need was fulfilled by the teachings of
Buddha. Other than the religious factor, social and economic factors also
contributed to the rise of this religion. The rigid caste system prevalent in India
generated tensions in the society. Higher classes enjoyed certain privileges
which were denied to the lower classes. Also, the Kshatriyas had resented the
domination of the priestly class. It should also to be noted that Buddha belonged
to Kshatriya origin. The growth of trade led to the improvement in the economic
conditions of the Vaishyas. As a result, they wanted to enhance their social
status but the orthodox Varna system did not allow this. Therefore, they began
to extend support to Buddhism. It was this merchant class that extended the
chief support to these new religions.

GAUTAM BUDDHA AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHISM LIFE

(567- 487 B.C.)

Gautam or Siddharth, the founder of Buddhism, was born in 567 B.C. in

Lumbini Garden near Kapilavastu. His father was Suddodhana of the Sakya
clan and mother Mayadevi. As his mother died at child birth, he was brought up
by his aunt Prajapati Gautami. At the age of sixteen he married Yasodhara and
gave birth to a son, Rahul. The sight of an old man, a diseased man, a corpse
and an ascetic turned him away from worldly life. He left home at the age of
twenty nine in search of Truth. He wandered for seven years and met several
teachers but could not get enlightenment. At last, he sat under a Bodhi tree at
Bodh Gaya and did intense penance, after which he got Enlightenment
(Nirvana) at the age of thirty five. Since then he became known as the Buddha
or the Enlightened One. He delivered his first sermon at Sarnath near Varanasi
and for the next forty five years he led the life of a preacher. He died at the age
of eighty at Kushinagar. The most important disciples of Buddha were Sariputta,
Moggallanna, Ananda, Kassapa and Upali. Kings like Prasenajit of Kosala and
Bimbisara and Ajatashatru of Magadha accepted his doctrines and became his
disciples. Buddha in his lifetime spread his message far and wide in north India
and visited places like Benares, Rajagriha, Sravasti, Vaishali, Nalanda and
Pataligrama. It should be noted that he did not involve himself in fruitless
controversies regarding metaphysical questions like God, soul, karma, rebirth,
etc., and concerned himself with the practical problems confronting man. The
Four Noble Truths of Buddha are:
a. The world is full of suffering;
b. The cause of suffering is desire;
c. If desires are get rid of, suffering can be removed;
d. This can be done by following the Eightfold Path.
The Eightfold Path consists of right view, right resolve, right speech, right
conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
Buddha neither accepts God nor rejects the existence of God. He laid great
emphasis on the law of karma. He argued that the condition of man in this life
depends upon his own deeds. He taught that the soul does not exist. However,
he emphasized Ahimsa. By his love for human beings and all living creatures,
he endeared himself to all. Even under the gravest provocation he did not show
the least anger or hatred and instead conquered everyone by his love and
compassion. His religion was identical with morality and it emphasized purity
of thought, word and deed. He was a rationalist who tried to explain things in

the light of reason and not on the basis of blind faith. Though he did not make a
direct attack on the caste system, he was against any social distinctions and
threw open his order to all. Therefore, Buddhism was more a social than
religious revolution. It taught the code of practical ethics and laid down the
principle of social equality. Buddha had two kinds of disciples monks
(bhikshus) and lay worshippers (upasikas). The monks were organized into the
Sangh for the purpose of spreading his teachings. The membership was open to
all persons, male or female and without any caste restrictions. There was a
special code for nuns restricting their residence and movement. Sariputta,
Moggallana and Ananda were some of the famous monks. The Sangha was
governed on democratic lines and was empowered to enforce discipline among
its members. Owing to the organised efforts made by the Sangh, Buddhism
made rapid progress in North India even during Buddhas life time. Magadh,
Kosala, Kausambi and several republican states of North India embraced this
religion. About two hundred years after the death of Buddha, the famous
Mauryan Emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism. Through his missionary effort
Ashoka spread Buddhism into West Asia and Ceylon. Thus a local religious sect
was transformed into a world religion.
Buddhist Councils
The first Buddhist Council was held at Rajagrah under the chairmanship of
Mahakasapa immediately after the death of Buddha. Its purpose was to maintain
the purity of the teachings of the Buddha. The second Buddhist Council was
convened at Vaishali around 383 B.C. The third Buddhist Council was held at
Pataliputra under the patronage of Ashoka. Moggaliputta Tissa presided over it.
The final version of Tripitakas was completed in this council. The fourth
Buddhist Council was convened in Kashmir by Kanishka under the
chairmanship of Vasumitra. Asvagosha participated in this council. The new
school of Buddhism called Mahayana Buddhism came into existence during this
council. The Buddhism preached by the Buddha and propagated by Ashoka was
known as Hinayana. The Buddhist texts were collected and compiled some five
hundred years after the death of the Buddha. They are known as the Tripitakas,
namely the Sutta, the Vinaya and the Abhidhamma Pitakas. They are written in
the Pali language.

CASTE SYSTEM AND BUDDHA PERIOD

Despite this difference between Hinduism and Buddhism, and contrary to the
picture of the Buddha that is dear to many modernist Buddhists, it is not really
plausible to assert that the Buddha was interested in social reform. Perhaps he
would have been interested in social reform had he been alive today, but it
remains true that social work by monks or nuns, worthy though it is, is a
modernist adaptation of traditional Buddhist practice. At the time of the
Buddha, caste was a fact of life. There were many grades of social status,
including despised outcastes. Some of these people found their way into the
Sangh. Most of the Buddhas followers were Brahmins or Kshatriyas. In theory,
no distinctions were to be made inside the Sangh. But the fact that caste
consciousness carried over during the Buddhas time is evident in the responses
given (in the Tittira Jataka) to the Buddhas question, Who should have the
best quarters, the best water, the best food? Some replied, Monks of the
Brahmin caste and others, monks of the kshatriya caste. From this, Yuvaraj
Krishnan concludes that the Buddha accepted the caste system among
laypeople as a fact of life. Furthermore, he taught that their status in the next
life, as well as their degree of happiness and suffering in that life, were
determined by their actions in the previous life. He thus established a link
between caste (varna, jati) and karma. The origin of the caste system based on
the mythology contained in the Purusa-sukta of the Rig-veda is now replaced by
the causal cosmic law of karma. There are no exhortations to laypeople to treat
everyone as a social equal in early Buddhist texts but monks and nuns are
expected to do so. The Ambattha Sutta states that anyone who makes snobbish
distinctions of rank is far from wisdom. Thus monks and nuns are supposed to
accept food from everyone, irrespective of caste. In short, caste was accepted in
society, but it was rejected in the Sangha. So the first answer to the question,
How did caste get into Buddhism? is clearfrom society.

SOCIAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS WOMEN AT THE TIME OF THE

BUDDHA PERIOD
The social attitude towards women in pre-Buddhist days can be traced from the
early Vedic literature, such as the Rigveda. There is evidence indicating the
honour and respect which women received in their homes. In the realm of
religion too, they had access to the highest knowledge of the Absolute or
Brahma. However, such a liberal attitude towards women changed with the
course of time, under the influence and dominance of the priestly caste along

with their priestcrafts, animal sacrifices, and other ritualistic practices. New
interpretations were given to the scriptures. Women came to be considered as
greatly inferior to men - both physically and mentally. Women were looked
down upon as a mere possession or a thing. Her place was the home, under the
complete whims and fancies of her husband. She not only had to perform all the
domestic chores, but also had to bring up a large family. Some of the priestly
caste Brahmins married and lived with their wives yet regarded food cooked by
women impure and unfit to eat. A myth was built up that all women were
regarded as sinful and the only way to keep them out of mischief was to keep
them occupied endlessly with the task of motherhood and domestic duties. If a
married woman had no children or failed to produce any male offspring, she
might be superceded by a second or third wife or even turned out of the house;
for there was the strong belief that there must be a male child for the
continuance of family line and the performance of the 'rites of the ancestors'
It was in the midst of such extreme social discrimination and degrading attitudes
towards women that the Buddha made his appearance in India. His teachings on
the real nature of life and death about karma and sansaric wanderings, gave rise
to considerable changes in the social attitudes towards women in his days.
According to what the Buddha taught about the Law of Karma, one is
responsible for one's own action and its consequence. The well-being of a father
or grandfather does not depend upon the action of the son or grandson. They
were responsible for their own actions. Such enlightened teachings helped to
correct the views of may people and naturally reduced the anxiety of women
who were unable to produce sons to perform the rites of the ancestors. In early
Buddhist period, an unmarried girl could go along, unabused, contented and
adequately occupied in caring for parent and younger brothers and sisters. She
might even become the owner of great possessions, of slaves, and rich fields; as
did Subha, the daughter of a goldsmith, during the time of the Buddha. But
when the Dhamma was taught to her by Mahapajapati, Subha realized the
nature of all fleeting pleasures and that 'silver and gold lead neither to peace nor
to enlightenment', with the result that she entered the Order of Buddhist Nuns.
This act was a great boon to the unmarried women. The teachings of the Buddha
had done a great deal to wipe off many superstitious beliefs and meaningless
rites and rituals including animal sacrifices, from the minds of many people.
When the true nature of life and death and the natural phenomena governing the
universe were revealed to them, wisdom and understanding arose. This in turn
helped to arrest and correct the prevailing social injustices and prejudices that

were rampant against women in the days of the Buddha thus enabling women to
lead their own way of life.
CONTRIBUTION OF BUDDHISM TO INDIAN CULTURE
Buddhism has made a remarkable contribution to the development of Indian
culture. The concept of ahimsa was its chief contribution. Later, it became one
of the cherished values of our nation. Its contribution to the art and architecture
of India was notable. The stupas at Sanchi, Bharhut and Gaya are wonderful
pieces of architecture. Buddhism takes the credit for the chaityas and viharas in
different parts of India. It promoted education through residential universities
like those at Taxila, Nalanda and Vikramshila. The language of Pali and other
local languages developed through the teachings of Buddhism. It had also
promoted the spread of Indian culture to other parts of Asia.

REFERENCES
1. Richard F. Gombrich, Buddhist Precept and Practice: Traditional Buddhism
in the Rural Highlands of Ceylon (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1991).
2. Richard F. Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient
Benares to Modern Colombo (London and New York: Routledge, 1988).
3. N. K. Dutt, Origin and Growth of Caste in India (Calcutta: F. K. L.
Mukhopadhyay, 1968), p. 216.
4. Y. Krishnan, The Doctrine of Karman: Its Origin and Development in
Brahmanical, Buddhist and Jaina Traditions (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1997),
p. 87.
5. Gombrich, Buddhist Precept and Practice, p. 356