0:00:05 > 0:00:07Since the dawn of civilisation,
0:00:07 > 0:00:09the forces of nature
0:00:09 > 0:00:11and the whims of gods
0:00:11 > 0:00:13held sway over humanity.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But 2,500 years ago,
0:00:17 > 0:00:21humankind experienced a profound transformation.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Suddenly, there were new possibilities.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32This is a time when rationality overrode superstition and belief.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36This is an ethic which does not rely on the gods.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39The world is now explained in terms of natural forces.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42We're now responsible for our own destiny.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Upheavals across the globe sparked an ambitious vision
0:00:50 > 0:00:52of what humans could achieve -
0:00:52 > 0:00:55spearheaded by three trailblazers.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Socrates, Confucius and the Buddha.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Great thinkers from the ancient world,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05whose ideas still shape our own lives.
0:01:07 > 0:01:08Is wealth a good thing?
0:01:09 > 0:01:11How do you create a just society?
0:01:13 > 0:01:15How do I live a good life?
0:01:17 > 0:01:19By daring to think the unthinkable,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23they laid the foundations of our modern world.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26I've always been intrigued by the fact that these men,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29who lived many thousands of miles apart,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32seemed almost spontaneously,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34within 100 years of one another,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37to come up with such radical ways of thinking.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43So, what was going on?
0:01:43 > 0:01:47I want to investigate their revolutionary ideas
0:01:47 > 0:01:50to understand what set them in motion.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51In this episode,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55I'm on the trail of that most enigmatic of philosophers -
0:01:55 > 0:01:57the Buddha.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59The wandering seeker of truth
0:01:59 > 0:02:02who challenged religious orthodoxy.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Caste was not a barrier.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Priests were not required.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08Analysing his thoughts and desires
0:02:08 > 0:02:12sparked game-changing insights.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14This is the teaching of Buddha.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Everything's subject to change.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Setting the Buddha on his path to enlightenment -
0:02:19 > 0:02:22a whole new way of being
0:02:22 > 0:02:24and an escape from the suffering of life.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Technologically, the world has progressed immensely -
0:02:29 > 0:02:32but psychologically, I don't think we've moved very far.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37CHEERING
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Around 2,500 years ago,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00a young man made a life-changing decision.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08We're told that in the dead of night, he left home.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13Pausing, just once, to take a last look at his wife and newborn son.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16He then slipped out silently into the darkness.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22It was the start of a journey
0:03:22 > 0:03:25that would take him from the foothills of the Himalayas
0:03:25 > 0:03:29and end here, on the plains of northern India.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35His mission was to make sense of human life.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40For me, it's genuinely exciting
0:03:40 > 0:03:43that what the Buddha discovered 25 centuries ago
0:03:43 > 0:03:46continues to inspire hundreds of millions of people
0:03:46 > 0:03:48across the globe.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55As a religion or belief system, Buddhism has evolved,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58taking diverse forms within different cultures.
0:03:58 > 0:04:04And as a philosophy, its relevance is undiminished by time.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06The fact it's still on the rise
0:04:06 > 0:04:10shows it's a potent way to navigate our modern times.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Passed down from the ancient world
0:04:13 > 0:04:15that the Buddha inhabited.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Most of what we know about the Buddha is based on oral accounts
0:04:26 > 0:04:30that were written down a few centuries after his death.
0:04:32 > 0:04:33They tell us he was born
0:04:33 > 0:04:37sometime between the sixth and fifth centuries BC
0:04:37 > 0:04:39in what's now southern Nepal.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41We're told he was a prince,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Siddhartha Gautama -
0:04:43 > 0:04:46good-looking, skilled in weaponry
0:04:46 > 0:04:49and prophesised to achieve great things.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54But his father, the king, was worried
0:04:54 > 0:04:59because, it was predicted, his son would do one of two things -
0:04:59 > 0:05:02stay in the King's palace, and become an emperor,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04or leave home,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06and become a great religious leader.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12The King, preferring his son to be a more conventional emperor,
0:05:12 > 0:05:17surrounded the Prince with luxury, to attach him to a worldly life.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20The streets were cleared of all unpleasant sights,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24so he was blissfully unaware of the suffering in the world.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31But the plan backfired.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35One day, whilst out in his carriage,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37he unexpectedly saw an old man.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40Later, he saw a sick man...
0:05:42 > 0:05:44..and then a corpse.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Witnessing the pain and frailty of human existence
0:05:49 > 0:05:50shook him to the core.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54When the Prince saw a holy man,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56he was inspired,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58and his destiny was sealed.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05I have to say this colourful account of the Buddha's early palace life
0:06:05 > 0:06:08does have more than a ring of fable to it.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12It feels like a kind of textbook heroic story -
0:06:12 > 0:06:14but it does also seem to reflect
0:06:14 > 0:06:16a real existential crisis.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23The Buddha observed that our lives
0:06:23 > 0:06:25were permeated by suffering.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29His quest was to find out if there was a way to overcome it.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42He left the remote Himalayan foothills and headed south,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44abandoning everything -
0:06:44 > 0:06:46his privilege, his family,
0:06:46 > 0:06:48his homeland.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52A small tribal state, it was run by a council of prominent men,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55from one clan, called the Sakyas.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Now, it looks as though his father was probably a clan leader,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00from a prosperous family -
0:07:00 > 0:07:03not the great king that we always hear about.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08As the Buddha headed south,
0:07:08 > 0:07:09he experienced the cultures
0:07:09 > 0:07:12of neighbouring states for the first time.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18Arriving here,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22he'd have seen everything with the eyes of a curious stranger.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Just like those other ground-breaking philosophers
0:07:25 > 0:07:28of his day, Socrates in Greece and Confucius in China,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33he was the very definition of what it is to be a questioning human.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37He refused to be constrained by convention
0:07:37 > 0:07:39and complacent belief.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42He would follow wherever his enquiry led him.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58One of the first things the Buddha would have encountered
0:07:58 > 0:08:00was the religion of the Brahmans.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02A priestly caste,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06who dominated the cultural landscape of the Indian world.
0:08:06 > 0:08:12THEY CHANT
0:08:12 > 0:08:17They're going to offer rice and flowers to...
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Evoking the gods now.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Brahmans were responsible for reciting the Vedas,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26an ancient body of divine teachings and hymns,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30in sacred spaces and in people's homes, just as they do today.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35HE CHANTS
0:08:35 > 0:08:40Another key role was to perform sacrifices...
0:08:40 > 0:08:44to persuade the gods to sustain the order of the cosmos
0:08:44 > 0:08:46and deliver prosperity.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51CHANTING
0:08:51 > 0:08:54They memorised all the old scriptures.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58You've seen how the Brahmans here have been just chanting
0:08:58 > 0:09:01one after the other and they can go on, like,
0:09:01 > 0:09:02for three or four hours.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06They memorised all the rituals,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08they knew what vibrations,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10what food,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12how the water should be,
0:09:12 > 0:09:13how the earth should be,
0:09:13 > 0:09:15what space is required -
0:09:15 > 0:09:19they had all the understanding of how to communicate with the gods.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22What kind of ritual were they in charge of?
0:09:22 > 0:09:26If somebody had died and you need to do the last rites,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28it was the Brahman who'd come to do it.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33If there was a drought, you'd get the Brahman to evoke the rain god.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36The whole life depended then on the priest,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39the Brahman, who had the knowledge.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41That must have given them real power?
0:09:41 > 0:09:44They've always dominated the rest
0:09:44 > 0:09:49whether you call it the caste system, or the different levels.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52They had the highest top position,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55then came the warrior community -
0:09:55 > 0:09:58the Rajputs, the fighters, the rulers.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Then came the business community - which is the Vaishnavs.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06And then came the community that did the service -
0:10:06 > 0:10:08the cobblers, the blacksmith.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12And that was the Brahmanic society.
0:10:12 > 0:10:19CHANTING CONTINUES
0:10:25 > 0:10:28For the Buddha, the rigid hierarchy of the caste system
0:10:28 > 0:10:30and sacrifice to the gods
0:10:30 > 0:10:33relied on blind faith and received wisdom,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36not any kind of rational explanation.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39He passionately thought that there must be a more robust,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43a more credible way, to understand and explain our place in the world.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02The Buddha's journey continued on,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05down to the Ganges plain.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08It was a world in the midst of rapid transformation.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14New cities and prosperous, centralised kingdoms had emerged.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20The Buddha's said to have entered one,
0:11:20 > 0:11:21the kingdom of Magadha,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and spent time here in the royal capital - Rajagriha.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Along these rampart walls,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31you can still experience the ancient city
0:11:31 > 0:11:34as the Buddha would have known it.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36The streets of the city here would have been crowded with
0:11:36 > 0:11:38brightly painted carriages
0:11:38 > 0:11:40bringing gold and silver,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42pearls and blue lapis lazuli,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45sandalwood and rich cloths.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48And then, in the distance, you'd have seen great caravans
0:11:48 > 0:11:51carrying in more fabulous goods, from the Bay of Bengal
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and what is modern-day Afghanistan.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00There's a lot of evidence in the literature for this time
0:12:00 > 0:12:04that cities were expanding, but do we get evidence in archaeology, too?
0:12:04 > 0:12:05We get lots of evidence.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07This is the period when
0:12:07 > 0:12:09cities are emerging and expanding
0:12:09 > 0:12:11all over the country.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13These are lovely little belongings, here.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Did these all come from cities?
0:12:15 > 0:12:18All of them did. You can imagine the people who used them.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Look at this for instance. This is a razor.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24That's great, I love it. I love it when design doesn't change.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26- That's true!- That's exactly the same as a razor today.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28That is one heck of a doornail!
0:12:28 > 0:12:31So, that's quite some door that that's holding together!
0:12:31 > 0:12:33And these are lovely, as well.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Is this...? It looks like very fine dining ware is it?
0:12:35 > 0:12:38It is. This is a very special kind of pottery that must've been
0:12:38 > 0:12:42used only by very rich people for very special occasions.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45So, do you think? I mean, this kind of different
0:12:45 > 0:12:48way of living is affecting how people feel about their lives?
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Yes, absolutely.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54And the city must have been a very exciting
0:12:54 > 0:12:56and also unsettling experience
0:12:56 > 0:12:58for somebody who'd walked into one of these cities from a village -
0:12:58 > 0:13:00because something new is emerging
0:13:00 > 0:13:03but the old ways of life
0:13:03 > 0:13:06and the old kinds of social relationships...
0:13:06 > 0:13:08are dissolving.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12This is a time when you have unprecedented
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and, I think, unparalleled
0:13:15 > 0:13:17level of questioning about
0:13:17 > 0:13:20what it means to live in the world
0:13:20 > 0:13:22and how one should live one's life
0:13:22 > 0:13:26and all kinds of questions that...
0:13:26 > 0:13:27concern us very deeply.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Cities were a real paradox.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43They did offer dazzling new opportunities,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46but they also cut people loose from everything that they knew -
0:13:46 > 0:13:48from their tribes, from their land,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52from ways of being that hadn't really changed much for millennia.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54So, they were wonderful,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57but they were also actually quite threatening.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00People must have wondered what life was all about,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03and how they should now best live together.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10It was a time of intense questioning.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Can we control our desires?
0:14:13 > 0:14:16And the Buddha would play a vital role in that debate.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17What is justice?
0:14:19 > 0:14:21By now, deep into his own personal quest,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25he engaged with the most intractable question of all.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30TRANSLATION: What happens to us when we die?
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Inspired by the cycles of renewal in the natural environment,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48people had come to believe we were part of an endless cycle of birth,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50death and rebirth -
0:14:50 > 0:14:52known as samsara.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00Samsara is a powerful idea that was really current in the time of Buddha.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04The idea of a birth followed by rebirth,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06followed by rebirth in the cycle of time.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09But humanity's always been aware of the cycle of life,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12so what made samsara different?
0:15:12 > 0:15:16The cycle of rebirth really means that you go from one life to another
0:15:16 > 0:15:17and you can be manifested in
0:15:17 > 0:15:19a different form in each life.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20You could be manifested as a god
0:15:20 > 0:15:22or you could be manifested as a human being
0:15:22 > 0:15:24or maybe higher or lower caste.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26You can even manifest as an animal or an insect,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28as a cockroach, and so that is really the cycle
0:15:28 > 0:15:30of rebirth from life to life through
0:15:30 > 0:15:31a continuous passage of time.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35So, do you think people felt trapped by this?
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Yeah, you could imagine somebody thinking that,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41at each birth, he has to go through the travails of life,
0:15:41 > 0:15:43of sickness, old age, death
0:15:43 > 0:15:46and then rebirth and the whole cycle goes on.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49And so it's tedious, I mean, it's... It's suffering,
0:15:49 > 0:15:54because the existential reality was not one that they felt was bliss.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57So, did people try to work out a way
0:15:57 > 0:15:59to release themselves from this trap?
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Yes, the great quest of that time was to find ways
0:16:01 > 0:16:04out of that cycle of rebirth and re-death.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13For the Buddha, the rituals of the Brahmans
0:16:13 > 0:16:17weren't the answer to the perennial suffering of life.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20They didn't seem to offer a permanent solution to samsara...
0:16:22 > 0:16:24..but he was convinced that a mechanism
0:16:24 > 0:16:27to completely break free from the cycle altogether
0:16:27 > 0:16:29could be found...
0:16:30 > 0:16:32..and he wasn't alone.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37A wave of truth-seekers had left their families and homes
0:16:37 > 0:16:40to wander the Earth in search of the solution.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Renouncing everything, some chose to live in forests
0:16:44 > 0:16:46which is where, we're told,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48the Buddha went looking for them.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53For the Buddha, self-discovery came
0:16:53 > 0:16:56from examining your own individual experiences,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59and then drawing logical conclusions from them.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03So, in order to try to evaluate the ideas of these new thinkers,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06he decided to try out their methods first-hand.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14One of these wandering truth-seekers
0:17:14 > 0:17:16was a man called Alara Kalama.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Now, the solution to the problem of samsara, as he saw it,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25lay in directly experiencing the permanent,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27the eternal part of ourselves,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30the part that survived every rebirth.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34MEDITATIVE CHANTING
0:17:36 > 0:17:39To do this, he meditated...
0:17:39 > 0:17:43to block out the distractions of the temporary external world.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Freed from physical and mental interference,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51such seekers could focus on their goal...
0:17:51 > 0:17:54to fully merge their eternal soul
0:17:54 > 0:17:56with its cosmic counterpart -
0:17:56 > 0:18:00a kind of universal soul, the highest reality.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04The idea seems to have been that -
0:18:04 > 0:18:08by creating union between the microcosm - the individual self -
0:18:08 > 0:18:11and the macrocosm - this world soul -
0:18:11 > 0:18:13they would achieve liberation.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Under Alara's tuition,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22we're told the Buddha showed such remarkable ability,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25he could achieve a profound stillness of mind.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29So much so, Alara offered him joint leadership of the group...
0:18:33 > 0:18:34..but he refused.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37He found that once he came out of meditation,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41he was just returned, once again, to the same fundamental problems
0:18:41 > 0:18:45of birth, sickness, old age and death.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48It didn't give him the transformative experience
0:18:48 > 0:18:49that he sought.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59But the Buddha didn't give up.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08It's said, he next experimented
0:19:08 > 0:19:11with the techniques of a different type of renouncer
0:19:11 > 0:19:14who focused on extreme forms of self-denial.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24These type of renouncers also believed that
0:19:24 > 0:19:28the material part of our being is an obstacle to liberation -
0:19:28 > 0:19:31but theirs was a more drastic solution.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Instead of focusing the mind,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36they put all their efforts into subduing their bodies.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Some groups believed that all human action
0:19:48 > 0:19:51left a negative dust on our soul...
0:19:51 > 0:19:53weighing us down in this life
0:19:53 > 0:19:57and trapping us in future rebirths.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Some fasted, some stood stock-still for months on end,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03others endured the heat of the midday sun,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07all to burn off the results of their previous actions.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12Extreme measures to allow space for the permanent soul to expand to the
0:20:12 > 0:20:16size of the universe, eventually liberating them from samsara.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27It seems the Buddha spent six years experimenting with all
0:20:27 > 0:20:30kinds of self-denying, extreme penances.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34He tried a technique of holding his breath for longer
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and longer periods.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39He walked around naked.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41He ate tiny amounts of food...
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Just one grain of rice a day.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48We're told that he almost died.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51His bones were like the rafters of a derelict house.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55He could actually feel his backbone through his stomach.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58But despite all this, he wasn't making any progress.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01The pain was clouding his mind.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03The austerities weren't providing a solution to suffering,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06they were just making him suffer even more.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14So, he abandoned the path of self-denial
0:21:14 > 0:21:16by eating a bowl of rice-porridge,
0:21:16 > 0:21:21disappointing and angering his five fellow renouncers.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Six years of hardship experimenting with different methods,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28had come to nothing.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34Now, he would go it alone, in his quest to break the cycle of samsara.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42What the Buddha attempted next, was something new.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45A middle way between the extremes of self-indulgence
0:21:45 > 0:21:47and the rigours of self-mortification.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55Moderation would be his radical new approach from now on.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07The Buddha's change of tack would bring greater clarity
0:22:07 > 0:22:10to his examination of the human condition.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20The Buddha believed that all we can know for sure,
0:22:20 > 0:22:22is how we experience the world,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25and that it's our minds that determine what
0:22:25 > 0:22:27kinds of experience we have.
0:22:32 > 0:22:33Using his meditation skills,
0:22:33 > 0:22:38he interrogated the internal workings of his own mind.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42And what the Buddha discovered, contradicted the assumptions
0:22:42 > 0:22:45people held about the permanence of the soul.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52He realised that the external world, as we experienced it,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54was constantly changing,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57and that we were constantly changing, too.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Our material form, our sensations, our mind, our consciousness,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06our character - all in perpetual flux.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13This realisation exposed a fundamental flaw
0:23:13 > 0:23:15in the Buddha's thinking.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21All efforts to identify a permanent self were futile,
0:23:21 > 0:23:28because a permanent, or independent self, did not exist.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34When the Buddha's looking at how the process of his suffering
0:23:34 > 0:23:37was developing, he started looking at it very much like a doctor
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and he starts looking at a cause.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42He starts realising that everything is fleeting, is changing.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45There's nothing that he can put his finger on as a cause and starts
0:23:45 > 0:23:50realising that, actually, the cause is the identification with an "I".
0:23:50 > 0:23:54There's no such thing, which you can just pinpoint at a certain point
0:23:54 > 0:23:56in time and say, "OK, this is it."
0:23:56 > 0:23:59But, it changes in the next moment, so I think that realisation
0:23:59 > 0:24:02that everything is impermanent, leads to the idea
0:24:02 > 0:24:06of the permanently existing entity of a soul as a concept.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10Just explain to me, cos I can't quite get my head round this.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14What does it mean to have no self? What did he mean by that?
0:24:14 > 0:24:16I'll give you an example. For example, I say,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18"OK, Bethany, when were you born?"
0:24:18 > 0:24:20And you say, "I was born on so and so date and so and so year."
0:24:20 > 0:24:24And I'd say, "Really? Weren't you born nine months before that?"
0:24:24 > 0:24:26You say, "Yes," and I say,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28"Weren't you in your mother and father before that?"
0:24:28 > 0:24:32If I took your mother out of you, you're not Bettany any more!
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Bettany's made of non-Bettany elements.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Bettany is the sunshine,
0:24:36 > 0:24:37the earth, England,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40and then you suddenly start realising that there was not
0:24:40 > 0:24:43a single point when Bettany came about.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46You know, so, in Buddhism we don't talk about creation,
0:24:46 > 0:24:47we talk about manifestation.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54It's not denying that you exist. You exist.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58It's denying that we have an intrinsically independent entity.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05The Buddha believed the idea of a permanent self
0:25:05 > 0:25:07wasn't part of the solution.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10It was actually at the root of the problem,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13because it made us selfish, self-absorbed.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18It created insatiable craving that enslaved us
0:25:18 > 0:25:24to transient earthly concerns, and kept us trapped in samsara.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29To rid oneself of this deep-seated delusion of self,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32was the way to liberation.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37That realisation allows you the freedom not to get caught
0:25:37 > 0:25:43in the I, me, mine, which is really the fundamental cause of suffering.
0:25:43 > 0:25:49And then he says, "Oh, then there is a way to overcome suffering."
0:25:49 > 0:25:51That's a sort of, "A-ha, wow!"
0:25:51 > 0:25:56So, his teaching was based around rediscovering your nature,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58which is non-self nature.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04The Buddha's self-analysis revealed the answer.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07If we could extinguish the delusion of self,
0:26:07 > 0:26:12we would see things as they truly are and our suffering would end.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17We had the capacity to take control of our lives.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21The Buddha seems to have recognised that there is plasticity
0:26:21 > 0:26:23to our minds and characters.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26Living in the world with the right attitude,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29is fundamentally empowering.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Basically, know yourself, and the world is yours.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36It's cognitive psychology,
0:26:36 > 0:26:3925 centuries before the phrase is invented.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48The Buddha was ready to throw all his efforts
0:26:48 > 0:26:50into bringing about his self-transformation.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Arriving on the outskirts of a small village,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59he found a beautiful stretch of countryside,
0:26:59 > 0:27:03with a pleasant grove, nestled on the banks of a sparkling river.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12We're told that one night, aged 35, the Buddha came here to
0:27:12 > 0:27:17Bodh Gaya, and calmly sat underneath the ancestor of this very tree.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22Today, it's a pilgrimage site for many millions, for one key reason.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Because this is where it all came together.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34The Buddha entered a deep meditative state,
0:27:34 > 0:27:38in which he experienced a vast number of his previous lives.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46He describes a cycle of many life forms and realms of existence.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51From hell-beings and animals,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55to humans, through to more abstract levels of consciousness.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Yet all these forms were subject to samsara.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Even a god would eventually die and be reborn.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11But, finally, the Buddha moved beyond these states.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Searching deep in his humanity,
0:28:13 > 0:28:18he was able to root out and permanently extinguish craving,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20ignorance and delusion.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25He had finally broken free of the cycle of death and rebirth
0:28:25 > 0:28:29and attained, enlightenment - nirvana.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33Unshakeable is the liberation of my mind.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35This is the last birth.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38For me, there is no more renewed existence.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Later, the Buddha would discourage speculation
0:28:44 > 0:28:46about the nature of nirvana.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Describing it, was like asking what had happened to a flame
0:28:49 > 0:28:51once it had been blown out.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57And yet, this was no less than a solution to the human condition,
0:28:57 > 0:29:02without the need for heavens or gods or metaphysical knowledge.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06This was a state of pure liberation,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09directly experienced from within.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26The Buddha had harnessed the capabilities of the mind,
0:29:26 > 0:29:30to identify what he believed it fundamentally was to be human.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36Extinguishing desire and hatred and delusion, had allowed him
0:29:36 > 0:29:38to fulfil his full potential.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43Now, he could live with absolute wisdom and compassion.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49The Buddha found he had a new mission -
0:29:49 > 0:29:52to share what he'd experienced.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57He wasn't sure if he could ever communicate it,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00but his profound empathy for others drove him on.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05His starting point, was the five former renouncer friends,
0:30:05 > 0:30:07he had left for his middle way.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11The sources tell us he found them where I'm heading next, the
0:30:11 > 0:30:15outskirts of modern day Varanasi, the site of an ancient deer park.
0:30:17 > 0:30:22At first, his former companions were reluctant to welcome him.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25And then, we're told, they realised that a great
0:30:25 > 0:30:27transformation had taken place.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30They greeted him with respect, and washed his feet.
0:30:30 > 0:30:36And it's now that we get a sense of the compelling charisma of the man.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38Because, what the Buddha had to tell them,
0:30:38 > 0:30:42was mind-blowing in its insight and clarity.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50The Buddha shared his discoveries, known as the Four Noble Truths.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56The first truth was the inevitability
0:30:56 > 0:30:58that all life is suffering.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01But by suffering, the Buddha didn't just mean illness and old age,
0:31:01 > 0:31:05but the persistent disappointments and insecurities of life.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11The second truth was that suffering is caused by craving.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17The third was that, since suffering has an identifiable cause,
0:31:17 > 0:31:18it could have an end.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24But it was the fourth truth that offered the critical,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26practical answer.
0:31:26 > 0:31:31This truth was a path, what he called the Eightfold Path,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34and it offered up an end to all suffering.
0:31:38 > 0:31:39With the Buddha's guidance,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42his small group of disciples made quick progress.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47They gained wisdom, practised ethical conduct
0:31:47 > 0:31:50and achieved mental discipline through meditation.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55Finally, they experienced nirvana for themselves.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05But whilst liberation was, in theory, open to everyone,
0:32:05 > 0:32:09in practice, many couldn't afford the time and effort.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14The Buddha, however, had a message of hope for those who remained
0:32:14 > 0:32:17trapped in the cycle of death and rebirth...
0:32:19 > 0:32:25..by completely reformulating the long established concept of karma.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30Traditionally, karma referred to significant action, which, it was
0:32:30 > 0:32:35believed, could improve the quality of our rebirth in the next life.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39In the early days of Brahmanism, karma was synonymous with
0:32:39 > 0:32:44ritual action, performed by priests, on behalf of the higher castes.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47The lowest castes had little prospect of improving
0:32:47 > 0:32:50their lot through this ritual form of karma.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56The Buddha changed karma from ritual action to the thought
0:32:56 > 0:33:01of that action, so the intent of that action was more important than
0:33:01 > 0:33:02the action itself.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05If you thought well or if you had good intentions,
0:33:05 > 0:33:08then you could change your destiny,
0:33:08 > 0:33:10not necessarily in this life
0:33:10 > 0:33:13but in future lives, as well.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15That's a key shift, isn't it?
0:33:15 > 0:33:17That is a very major shift in the understanding of the notion
0:33:17 > 0:33:22of karma, from ritual action to an individual's choice of doing good.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24They have to be good human beings,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26and that's the fundamental thing about Buddhism.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29So, that's not just a, kind of, philosophical shift,
0:33:29 > 0:33:31that's a change in society?
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Absolutely, he took it out of the hands of the priests
0:33:34 > 0:33:38who were empowered to change the destiny of men
0:33:38 > 0:33:41and gave it in the hands of people who were practising Buddhism.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43So, it doesn't matter what class you're from or,
0:33:43 > 0:33:44actually, what gender?
0:33:44 > 0:33:46You could be anyone, you could belong to any caste.
0:33:46 > 0:33:47It didn't really matter.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Everybody had the choice and the freedom to improve,
0:33:50 > 0:33:51to become a good person.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59The Buddha's take on karma was liberating.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Everyone stuck in the cycle of samsara,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05had the chance to improve the quality of their rebirth.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12Now, you were no longer good or bad,
0:34:12 > 0:34:14dependent on class or gender,
0:34:14 > 0:34:17or some kind of ritual expertise.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21The Buddha sought answers that had the potential to benefit everyone.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Just think what a radical development that is.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35The Buddha's democratisation of karma attracted the attention,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39and support, of one class in particular,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43the merchants and traders, who had fuelled the rise of Indian cities.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49According to the conventions of Brahmanism,
0:34:49 > 0:34:54contact with anyone outside your caste resulted in contamination.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57But of course, by definition, merchants were interacting
0:34:57 > 0:35:01with different people and different cultures the whole time.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Now, Buddhism didn't have any kind of a problem with that.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12Some merchants felt disadvantaged by the caste system.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16The Buddha's inclusive message, gave them a greater sense of place
0:35:16 > 0:35:20in society and channelled their aspirational instincts.
0:35:21 > 0:35:26The wealth of merchants, like good karma, was by its very nature,
0:35:26 > 0:35:27meritocratic.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30It wasn't in some way pre-ordained,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33it was won and accumulated through your own efforts.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39The Buddha's take on the ancient ideas of karma,
0:35:39 > 0:35:44offered ordinary people a way to a better, moral life.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48He helped to create the belief, that action and intention,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51in our everyday lives, had real consequences.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57Coins like these were a brand-new common denominator,
0:35:57 > 0:36:02just as karma was now a kind of moral currency for Buddhism.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06It's easy to imagine how, with things like these in your pocket,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10you could understand how you could secure future benefit,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12by building up merits.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16The Buddha had revolutionised ethics.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20We could no longer blame any external force, like a God,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23for our decisions.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26We were entirely responsible for our own moral condition.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29The buck stopped with us.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32In essence, this is the same rallying cry that we hear from those
0:36:32 > 0:36:37other great philosophers of the age, Socrates and Confucius.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40To find answers to the universe, first look within.
0:36:40 > 0:36:46"Be your own lamp," said the Buddha. "Seek no other refuge."
0:36:46 > 0:36:50These are exciting thoughts, the idea that you don't just have
0:36:50 > 0:36:54to be a victim, but a master of your own fate.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05The Buddha forged ahead with his potent message
0:37:05 > 0:37:07of personal liberation.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12It's said he criss-crossed the central Indian plains,
0:37:12 > 0:37:16giving public talks in cities and the country,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18to anybody he thought ready to hear his message.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23And the community of disciples, who shared his mission
0:37:23 > 0:37:28and wandering lifestyle, acquired a name - the Sangha.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32At this stage, the Sangha was dispersed,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35and only loosely organised.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37But, according to traditional accounts, when the Buddha
0:37:37 > 0:37:42came here, to a forest on the outskirts of Rajagriha,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45the Buddhist order would take on a whole new direction.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50The king of the city, Bimbisara,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53heard that the Buddha was camped outside,
0:37:53 > 0:37:57and went to visit him with 120,000 Brahmans.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01On hearing him preach, we're told that each and every one of them,
0:38:01 > 0:38:07including the King, begged to be received as lay followers.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13We know that with people when we meet some people,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16we immediately feel a sense of reverence, you know,
0:38:16 > 0:38:20a sense of humility in their presence.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23And yet, they don't seem inaccessible.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25He was, I feel, very charismatic,
0:38:25 > 0:38:29people were, in a way, entranced by him.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34I think he was able to understand the psychology of the person.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37He had a, sort of, intuitive sense of what the person needed.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42He was not saying, "I'm the one who knows."
0:38:42 > 0:38:44He said, "You try it."
0:38:44 > 0:38:46And this spirit of free enquiry
0:38:46 > 0:38:48that the Buddha was really encouraging,
0:38:48 > 0:38:50was quite revolutionary.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55Following their meeting, Bimbisara was said to have donated
0:38:55 > 0:38:58a bamboo grove on this very spot,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01as a retreat for the Buddha's growing community.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06Winning over wealthy patrons would be crucial for the future
0:39:06 > 0:39:07of the Buddha's message.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11The establishment of permanent bases
0:39:11 > 0:39:14in places like this, saw the Sangha develop from a group
0:39:14 > 0:39:17of like-minded itinerants, into a settled institution.
0:39:23 > 0:39:28The Sangha at Rajagriha became the model for something entirely new.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31Soon, a network of monasteries,
0:39:31 > 0:39:36the first known monasteries in the world, sprang up.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Places where the Buddha, and his travelling disciples,
0:39:39 > 0:39:41would stay during the monsoon season.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48The movement was changing, and the Buddha's role would change, too.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51He'd taught that each monk was an island,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54and responsible for themselves.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57But, now, he's believed to have created a comprehensive
0:39:57 > 0:39:58set of guidelines.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04'With early Buddhism, there was only a few monks, so there was no need'
0:40:04 > 0:40:08of rules, because those who became monks
0:40:08 > 0:40:10were very highly intelligent
0:40:10 > 0:40:13and highly, you know, spiritual.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17They have the clear intention, comprehension -
0:40:17 > 0:40:20why I am become a monk -
0:40:20 > 0:40:23so they never done anything wrong.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27But gradually, you know, with the numbers growing up,
0:40:27 > 0:40:31to maintain the excellence, peace and harmony,
0:40:31 > 0:40:36he prescribed the different rules and the discipline.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39And amazing to think that two-and-a-half millennia later,
0:40:39 > 0:40:41you're still living by those rules.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43I think we need MORE rules.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47Because, in the modern times, we have to face so many things.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50That time, only India, now there is the whole world!
0:40:51 > 0:40:57There are 227 rules for monks, enacted every day.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00And it is amazing to think that in these words, we could be
0:41:00 > 0:41:04getting a glimpse into the mind of the Buddha and his early followers.
0:41:07 > 0:41:08CHANTING
0:41:08 > 0:41:13The Buddha's thought to have adapted his rules in an ad hoc way.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16He was a pragmatist, not above changing his mind
0:41:16 > 0:41:17and listening to reason.
0:41:18 > 0:41:23Even when it came to the thorny issue of including women.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25CHANTING IN BACKGROUND
0:41:25 > 0:41:27At the very beginning, they were regarded as a bit of a burden,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29because they needed protecting.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33But the logic that liberation should be available to all
0:41:33 > 0:41:36meant that, really, they had to be included.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40And we're told that the Buddha himself eventually declared
0:41:40 > 0:41:42that nuns should be part of the Sangha.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49The rules of the Sangha are eminently practical.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Self-discipline and resourcefulness are enshrined into daily life.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57They dictate what you can own and what you must give up.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03Monks are allowed to have eight possessions.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06There are three robes, basically.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08- It is to look ugly. - SHE LAUGHS
0:42:08 > 0:42:10Not to be beautiful.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13We have to have a small needle and the threads.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16But, you know, nowadays, we don't stitch,
0:42:16 > 0:42:19- because we have ready-made robes. - OK.
0:42:19 > 0:42:20This is the razor.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23- It is very troublesome to keep hair. - Yes.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26So, we leave it, everything.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29- This is bowl...- Begging bowl? - Begging bowl of the monks.- Yeah.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32So this, you collect food and drinks
0:42:32 > 0:42:34- and alms from other people? - Every day.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36And why do you get your food from outside?
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Why don't you produce it yourself?
0:42:39 > 0:42:43Because a monk has to depend on the people, on the society,
0:42:43 > 0:42:47so...we have gratefulness and gratitude.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50So, what we return to them -
0:42:50 > 0:42:53our compassion and wisdom.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57Monks can be a guide to the people,
0:42:57 > 0:43:01to the society, to show the path to wisdom,
0:43:01 > 0:43:06to show the path to peace and to show the path to happiness.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10Apart from that, monks have no other connection,
0:43:10 > 0:43:15relations to the lay people, whatsoever.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19But you've had to leave your family in order to become a monk?
0:43:19 > 0:43:23Yes. In fact, family life is always
0:43:23 > 0:43:26full of that kind of miseries,
0:43:26 > 0:43:30that kind of obstacles and troubles, so many.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32So, living in a family life,
0:43:32 > 0:43:37one cannot practise a simple, holy life,
0:43:37 > 0:43:41in order to achieve the spiritual heights.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45CHANTING
0:43:45 > 0:43:50When monks leave home, it can be hard for those left behind.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52The Buddha is said to have acknowledged the grief
0:43:52 > 0:43:56he'd caused his family and proclaimed that monks needed
0:43:56 > 0:43:57parental permission to join.
0:43:59 > 0:44:00CHANTING
0:44:00 > 0:44:04Buddhism is a philosophy or a religion that's sometimes criticised
0:44:04 > 0:44:06for only benefiting the practitioner,
0:44:06 > 0:44:09that, rather coldly, sees social and family bonds
0:44:09 > 0:44:11as attachments to the world
0:44:11 > 0:44:14and, therefore, a barrier to achieving nirvana.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16But what I get a sense of here
0:44:16 > 0:44:20is a real commitment to collective wellbeing.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29CHANTING
0:44:29 > 0:44:33The Buddha hadn't shut himself away after his enlightenment.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36His insights had heightened his concern for others
0:44:36 > 0:44:40and he'd spend over half his life helping those around him
0:44:40 > 0:44:41to alleviate their suffering.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48The Buddha's insistence on the absolute value of compassion
0:44:48 > 0:44:50is something that really impresses me.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52Just listen to these words of his,
0:44:52 > 0:44:55some of the very earliest ever written down.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01"Let no-one deceive another, nor despise anyone anywhere.
0:45:01 > 0:45:07"As a mother protects her child, with boundless loving kindness,
0:45:07 > 0:45:09"cherish the world.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11"Love without limit."
0:45:13 > 0:45:15How can you argue with that?
0:45:24 > 0:45:28By tirelessly expressing and explaining his ideas,
0:45:28 > 0:45:31the Buddha had nurtured a committed following
0:45:31 > 0:45:34dedicated to his principles of intellectual rigour
0:45:34 > 0:45:35and deep humanity.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42But the Sangha couldn't rely on the leadership of its founder forever.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48We're told that when the Buddha reached his eighties,
0:45:48 > 0:45:51thoughts turned to the continuation of his message.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57His faithful attendant, Ananda, asked what would happen
0:45:57 > 0:46:00to the Sangha after he died.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03He said, "The Sangha doesn't need a leader,"
0:46:03 > 0:46:07"it just needs my dharma, my teaching."
0:46:11 > 0:46:14After accepting a meal at the house of a humble blacksmith,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17it's believed he contracted food poisoning
0:46:17 > 0:46:19and quickly became very ill.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23Yet, having achieved nirvana,
0:46:23 > 0:46:26the Buddha had no fear of death.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30His suffering had ended with the moment of his enlightenment.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33He would not be reborn
0:46:33 > 0:46:37and what followed death was, like nirvana,
0:46:37 > 0:46:39beyond comprehension.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48Just before he died, he told his fellow monks
0:46:48 > 0:46:51to simply keep seeking enlightenment.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54"It is the nature of things to decay.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57"Be attentive, and you will succeed."
0:47:10 > 0:47:14The Buddha's death robbed the Sangha of their founder and leader.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18With this vacuum, there was a real danger
0:47:18 > 0:47:21his ideas would be lost or corrupted.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26The Buddha had encouraged the Sangha to reach consensus
0:47:26 > 0:47:30on day-to-day concerns by holding regular meetings.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33And now, the monks did as they'd been taught.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39They're said to have convened a council
0:47:39 > 0:47:43of 500 prominent monks here to this cave
0:47:43 > 0:47:46to determine the content of Buddhist doctrine.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51Ananda recited the sermons and the teachings of the Buddha.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Another monk, Upali, recited the monastic rules.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59They now had a definitive account of the Buddha's ideas.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06For the next few centuries,
0:48:06 > 0:48:09the Buddha's message was kept alive by the Sangha.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16But, ironically, Buddhism's expansion to the wider world
0:48:16 > 0:48:19would come courtesy of a despot.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35200 years after the Buddha's death,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37most of what is modern India
0:48:37 > 0:48:40was ruled by the ruthless emperor Ashoka.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45This well in Ashoka's ancient capital, Patna,
0:48:45 > 0:48:49is believed to have been his purpose-built torture chamber.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55We're told that, here, Ashoka's sadistic head torturer
0:48:55 > 0:48:58would prise open the mouths of his victims
0:48:58 > 0:49:01and pour molten copper down their throats.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06BELL RINGS
0:49:06 > 0:49:09But then, around 262 BC,
0:49:09 > 0:49:12following a particularly pitiless and bloody victory,
0:49:12 > 0:49:16Ashoka suddenly had a sickening realisation
0:49:16 > 0:49:19of all the suffering that he'd caused.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21And his change of heart could not have been more dramatic.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25Invoking the non-violent teachings of the Buddha,
0:49:25 > 0:49:30and declaring his heartfelt remorse for all his murderous actions,
0:49:30 > 0:49:32he vowed that, from here on in,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35he would govern righteously.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38HORNS BEEP
0:49:38 > 0:49:42The reformed emperor set his new beliefs in stone.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47He sought out sites associated with the Buddha's life
0:49:47 > 0:49:51and erected pillars up to 15 metres high.
0:49:51 > 0:49:55In doing so, he marked them out for the benefit of future pilgrims.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58HE SPEAKS IN NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:49:58 > 0:50:01He had inscriptions, like this, carved into stone
0:50:01 > 0:50:03right across his empire.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07But these edicts didn't lionise his victories in battle.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10Instead, they declared his revulsion of violence
0:50:10 > 0:50:14and urged his subjects to live moral and compassionate lives.
0:50:18 > 0:50:23Ashoka gave up conquest and abolished the death penalty.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27He liberated slaves, set up free hospitals.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30Animal sacrifice was banned in the capital
0:50:30 > 0:50:32and a wide range of animals,
0:50:32 > 0:50:35including parrots, tortoises, porcupines,
0:50:35 > 0:50:36became protected species.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38BIRDS CAW
0:50:38 > 0:50:40He sent missions out of India,
0:50:40 > 0:50:43taking Buddhist principles to Sri Lanka, the Middle East
0:50:43 > 0:50:45and across Asia.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51Buddhism would continue to dominate the Indian subcontinent
0:50:51 > 0:50:53for the next one-and-a-half millennia.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58Wealthy patrons donated generously.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Stupas, containing what was said to be relics of the Buddha
0:51:01 > 0:51:06and sculptures depicting his life, emerged across the landscape.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11But to my mind, the greatest legacy of this time
0:51:11 > 0:51:13is here, at Nalanda.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24It is just such a treat to be here,
0:51:24 > 0:51:28because this place has a claim to be the oldest university
0:51:28 > 0:51:29in the world.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32We know there was a serious educational establishment here
0:51:32 > 0:51:34from at least the fifth century AD,
0:51:34 > 0:51:38and you have to try to imagine it in its heyday.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41It would have been buzzing with international scholars,
0:51:41 > 0:51:45who came from as far afield as Indonesia, Tibet, China,
0:51:45 > 0:51:47Turkey and Japan.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53It had a huge campus with thousands of students.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57200 villages supplied the students' practical needs.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01Maths, politics, literature were all studied here,
0:52:01 > 0:52:05but there was particular emphasis on Buddhism.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Thousands of Buddhist manuscripts were housed
0:52:08 > 0:52:10in a nine-storeyed building.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12It was the envy of the medieval world.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16One Chinese scholar clearly adored it here.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21"There are richly adorned towers, and fairytale turrets.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23"Roofs covered with tiles that reflect
0:52:23 > 0:52:25"the light in a thousand shades.
0:52:25 > 0:52:31"There are observatories and the upper rooms tower above the clouds.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34"These things add to the beauty of the scene."
0:52:38 > 0:52:41Renewed interest in Nalanda's legacy of enquiry
0:52:41 > 0:52:46has been led by Nobel-prize-winning economist Amartya Sen.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49Do you think that the Buddha would have approved
0:52:49 > 0:52:50of what went on at Nalanda?
0:52:52 > 0:52:55I should think that he very much would have approved.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59It was inspired by his ideas, it's inspired by the idea
0:52:59 > 0:53:04that we have to solve problems by reflection,
0:53:04 > 0:53:07by knowledge, by critical examination.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10You know, he tried fasting and it didn't do anything for him
0:53:10 > 0:53:16and he decided that by torturing the body, you don't improve your mind.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19You improve the mind by cultivating the mind.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22Some people might think it's counter-intuitive that Buddhism
0:53:22 > 0:53:27is being taught at Nalanda alongside maths and science and grammar.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30But it's part of that kind of practical understanding
0:53:30 > 0:53:32of the world, isn't it?
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Well, it's part of a Buddhist understanding of the world, too.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40Namely that you have to be concerned with those issues that move people,
0:53:40 > 0:53:45which includes mortality, disability, morbidity.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50It wouldn't be seen in any kind of conflict with Buddhist studies,
0:53:50 > 0:53:54because Buddhism is also about human life.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57What would you say the Buddha has to offer the world today?
0:53:57 > 0:54:01One of the things that Buddha identifies is that
0:54:01 > 0:54:06it's possible for you to agree on good action
0:54:06 > 0:54:09without necessarily agreeing
0:54:09 > 0:54:14on a bigger, metaphysical view of the universe.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16When I was fortunate to get the Nobel,
0:54:16 > 0:54:20I gave the bulk of that money to have elementary education,
0:54:20 > 0:54:22elementary health care and gender equality.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25At the same time, I don't have any great belief
0:54:25 > 0:54:28in religion and God.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32But it was the Buddha who changed the question from
0:54:32 > 0:54:34"Is there a God?"
0:54:34 > 0:54:37to questions like, how to behave,
0:54:37 > 0:54:40no matter whether there is God or not.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43And I think that's a game changer.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54Buddhism had been in the ascendency,
0:54:54 > 0:54:58but, from the seventh century, changes in patterns of patronage
0:54:58 > 0:55:01began to affect big institutions like Nalanda.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Gifts from rich benefactors ebbed away.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09Brahmanism had always remained a strong presence
0:55:09 > 0:55:12and people drifted back in greater numbers.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16It began to dominate state governance, at Buddhism's expense.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22Muslim conquerors in the 12th and 13th centuries
0:55:22 > 0:55:24sacked monasteries and temples.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29Nalanda is said to have been put to the torch
0:55:29 > 0:55:31and to have burnt for three days.
0:55:34 > 0:55:35The Buddhist way of life
0:55:35 > 0:55:39all but disappeared in the land of its birth.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52But Buddhism was already on the move.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55It had already travelled at a furious pace throughout Asia
0:55:55 > 0:55:59and would continue its journey to become a truly global religion.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09With no single sacred language, no inflexible dogma,
0:56:09 > 0:56:12Buddhism was ripe for export.
0:56:12 > 0:56:17It's an adaptable philosophy that's become a diverse belief system.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21As it spread, it cross-pollinated with other cultures
0:56:21 > 0:56:23in numerous, unexpected ways.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28For some, there is life after death
0:56:28 > 0:56:30and the Buddha is a figure of devotion.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37Since the 20th century, it's even been implicated
0:56:37 > 0:56:40in violent, nationalist struggles.
0:56:41 > 0:56:46But, at its heart, the Buddha's message remains the same -
0:56:46 > 0:56:49that whilst change is inevitable,
0:56:49 > 0:56:52we all have the power to direct that change.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54CHANTING
0:56:54 > 0:56:58By gaining wisdom, we can reduce suffering.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03The Buddha's life is a fascinating one
0:57:03 > 0:57:06from an age that made history.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09But we can relate to him on a very personal level.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13His need to find answers to the human condition in the here and now
0:57:13 > 0:57:18is one that, I'd argue, deep down, we all share.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21CHANTING
0:57:23 > 0:57:26He offers practical solutions to help overcome
0:57:26 > 0:57:31the desires and delusions, which fuel hatred, jealousy and greed.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37And, arguably, his greatest gift is deceptively simple.
0:57:37 > 0:57:43That it's compassion, empathy and knowing who we truly are
0:57:43 > 0:57:47that makes both us and the world better.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Whether you're Buddhist or not,
0:57:49 > 0:57:53the humanity and hope of that message still burns bright today.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56ALL TALK
0:58:03 > 0:58:04If the mind of the Buddha has made you think,
0:58:04 > 0:58:07explore further with The Open University
0:58:07 > 0:58:10to find out how great minds have influenced our world.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13Go to the address on the bottom of the screen
0:58:13 > 0:58:15and follow the links to The Open University.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21Next time, I investigate a philosopher
0:58:21 > 0:58:24who influenced the whole of Western thought -
0:58:24 > 0:58:26Socrates.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29His rigorous methods and uncompromising questioning
0:58:29 > 0:58:34made him the moral conscience of the city he loved - Athens.
0:58:34 > 0:58:39Yet, his dogged pursuit of truth would end with a death sentence.