1 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:07,760 Since the dawn of civilisation, 2 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:09,440 the forces of nature 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:11,440 and the whims of gods 4 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,400 held sway over humanity. 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:17,560 But 2,500 years ago, 6 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,160 humankind experienced a profound transformation. 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,240 Suddenly, there were new possibilities. 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,760 This is a time when rationality overrode superstition and belief. 9 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,320 This is an ethic which does not rely on the gods. 10 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,880 The world is now explained in terms of natural forces. 11 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,720 We're now responsible for our own destiny. 12 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,360 Upheavals across the globe sparked an ambitious vision 13 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:52,640 of what humans could achieve - 14 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,960 spearheaded by three trailblazers. 15 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,240 Socrates, Confucius and the Buddha. 16 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:02,560 Great thinkers from the ancient world, 17 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,520 whose ideas still shape our own lives. 18 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:08,760 Is wealth a good thing? 19 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:11,880 How do you create a just society? 20 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:15,440 How do I live a good life? 21 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,520 By daring to think the unthinkable, 22 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:23,760 they laid the foundations of our modern world. 23 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:26,800 I've always been intrigued by the fact that these men, 24 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,800 who lived many thousands of miles apart, 25 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,240 seemed almost spontaneously, 26 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,400 within 100 years of one another, 27 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:37,440 to come up with such radical ways of thinking. 28 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:43,480 So, what was going on? 29 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,480 I want to investigate their revolutionary ideas 30 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,720 to understand what set them in motion. 31 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:51,920 In this episode, 32 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,240 I'm on the trail of that most enigmatic of philosophers - 33 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,080 the Buddha. 34 00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:59,600 The wandering seeker of truth 35 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,120 who challenged religious orthodoxy. 36 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,240 Caste was not a barrier. 37 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:06,120 Priests were not required. 38 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,840 Analysing his thoughts and desires 39 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,080 sparked game-changing insights. 40 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,200 This is the teaching of Buddha. 41 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,200 Everything's subject to change. 42 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,600 Setting the Buddha on his path to enlightenment - 43 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,120 a whole new way of being 44 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,760 and an escape from the suffering of life. 45 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,440 Technologically, the world has progressed immensely - 46 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,800 but psychologically, I don't think we've moved very far. 47 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:37,200 CHEERING 48 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,600 Around 2,500 years ago, 49 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,520 a young man made a life-changing decision. 50 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,280 We're told that in the dead of night, he left home. 51 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:13,320 Pausing, just once, to take a last look at his wife and newborn son. 52 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,080 He then slipped out silently into the darkness. 53 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,600 It was the start of a journey 54 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,680 that would take him from the foothills of the Himalayas 55 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,160 and end here, on the plains of northern India. 56 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:35,280 His mission was to make sense of human life. 57 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,160 For me, it's genuinely exciting 58 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,240 that what the Buddha discovered 25 centuries ago 59 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,840 continues to inspire hundreds of millions of people 60 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:48,240 across the globe. 61 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,680 As a religion or belief system, Buddhism has evolved, 62 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,800 taking diverse forms within different cultures. 63 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:04,760 And as a philosophy, its relevance is undiminished by time. 64 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:06,400 The fact it's still on the rise 65 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,440 shows it's a potent way to navigate our modern times. 66 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,080 Passed down from the ancient world 67 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,080 that the Buddha inhabited. 68 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,920 Most of what we know about the Buddha is based on oral accounts 69 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,080 that were written down a few centuries after his death. 70 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:33,880 They tell us he was born 71 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:37,280 sometime between the sixth and fifth centuries BC 72 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:39,880 in what's now southern Nepal. 73 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:41,800 We're told he was a prince, 74 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:43,840 Siddhartha Gautama - 75 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:46,760 good-looking, skilled in weaponry 76 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,680 and prophesised to achieve great things. 77 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,480 But his father, the king, was worried 78 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:59,200 because, it was predicted, his son would do one of two things - 79 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,400 stay in the King's palace, and become an emperor, 80 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:04,080 or leave home, 81 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,200 and become a great religious leader. 82 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,120 The King, preferring his son to be a more conventional emperor, 83 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:17,720 surrounded the Prince with luxury, to attach him to a worldly life. 84 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,440 The streets were cleared of all unpleasant sights, 85 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:24,600 so he was blissfully unaware of the suffering in the world. 86 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:31,400 But the plan backfired. 87 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,400 One day, whilst out in his carriage, 88 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,840 he unexpectedly saw an old man. 89 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:40,360 Later, he saw a sick man... 90 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:44,440 ..and then a corpse. 91 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:49,120 Witnessing the pain and frailty of human existence 92 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:50,600 shook him to the core. 93 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,000 When the Prince saw a holy man, 94 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,000 he was inspired, 95 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,360 and his destiny was sealed. 96 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,760 I have to say this colourful account of the Buddha's early palace life 97 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:08,680 does have more than a ring of fable to it. 98 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:12,240 It feels like a kind of textbook heroic story - 99 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,600 but it does also seem to reflect 100 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:16,840 a real existential crisis. 101 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,080 The Buddha observed that our lives 102 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:25,760 were permeated by suffering. 103 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,120 His quest was to find out if there was a way to overcome it. 104 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:42,160 He left the remote Himalayan foothills and headed south, 105 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,320 abandoning everything - 106 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:46,840 his privilege, his family, 107 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:48,760 his homeland. 108 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:52,800 A small tribal state, it was run by a council of prominent men, 109 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,720 from one clan, called the Sakyas. 110 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,480 Now, it looks as though his father was probably a clan leader, 111 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,320 from a prosperous family - 112 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,160 not the great king that we always hear about. 113 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:08,120 As the Buddha headed south, 114 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:09,880 he experienced the cultures 115 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:12,280 of neighbouring states for the first time. 116 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:18,800 Arriving here, 117 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,840 he'd have seen everything with the eyes of a curious stranger. 118 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,280 Just like those other ground-breaking philosophers 119 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:28,800 of his day, Socrates in Greece and Confucius in China, 120 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:33,880 he was the very definition of what it is to be a questioning human. 121 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:37,440 He refused to be constrained by convention 122 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,600 and complacent belief. 123 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,600 He would follow wherever his enquiry led him. 124 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,440 One of the first things the Buddha would have encountered 125 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,600 was the religion of the Brahmans. 126 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:02,120 A priestly caste, 127 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,240 who dominated the cultural landscape of the Indian world. 128 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:12,280 THEY CHANT 129 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:17,200 They're going to offer rice and flowers to... 130 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:20,360 Evoking the gods now. 131 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,720 Brahmans were responsible for reciting the Vedas, 132 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,560 an ancient body of divine teachings and hymns, 133 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,560 in sacred spaces and in people's homes, just as they do today. 134 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:35,320 HE CHANTS 135 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:40,080 Another key role was to perform sacrifices... 136 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:44,040 to persuade the gods to sustain the order of the cosmos 137 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,400 and deliver prosperity. 138 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:51,480 CHANTING 139 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,400 They memorised all the old scriptures. 140 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:58,200 You've seen how the Brahmans here have been just chanting 141 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,120 one after the other and they can go on, like, 142 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:02,600 for three or four hours. 143 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,160 They memorised all the rituals, 144 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:08,560 they knew what vibrations, 145 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:10,200 what food, 146 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,040 how the water should be, 147 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:13,840 how the earth should be, 148 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:15,560 what space is required - 149 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:19,680 they had all the understanding of how to communicate with the gods. 150 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:22,640 What kind of ritual were they in charge of? 151 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:26,520 If somebody had died and you need to do the last rites, 152 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:28,920 it was the Brahman who'd come to do it. 153 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:33,000 If there was a drought, you'd get the Brahman to evoke the rain god. 154 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,880 The whole life depended then on the priest, 155 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:39,600 the Brahman, who had the knowledge. 156 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:41,920 That must have given them real power? 157 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:44,640 They've always dominated the rest 158 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:49,120 whether you call it the caste system, or the different levels. 159 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,120 They had the highest top position, 160 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:55,200 then came the warrior community - 161 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,040 the Rajputs, the fighters, the rulers. 162 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,480 Then came the business community - which is the Vaishnavs. 163 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:06,080 And then came the community that did the service - 164 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,360 the cobblers, the blacksmith. 165 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:12,160 And that was the Brahmanic society. 166 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:19,840 CHANTING CONTINUES 167 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,360 For the Buddha, the rigid hierarchy of the caste system 168 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,240 and sacrifice to the gods 169 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,560 relied on blind faith and received wisdom, 170 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,720 not any kind of rational explanation. 171 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,920 He passionately thought that there must be a more robust, 172 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,960 a more credible way, to understand and explain our place in the world. 173 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:02,640 The Buddha's journey continued on, 174 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:05,000 down to the Ganges plain. 175 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,720 It was a world in the midst of rapid transformation. 176 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:14,120 New cities and prosperous, centralised kingdoms had emerged. 177 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:20,040 The Buddha's said to have entered one, 178 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:21,440 the kingdom of Magadha, 179 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:24,960 and spent time here in the royal capital - Rajagriha. 180 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:29,120 Along these rampart walls, 181 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,440 you can still experience the ancient city 182 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:34,160 as the Buddha would have known it. 183 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:36,880 The streets of the city here would have been crowded with 184 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:38,680 brightly painted carriages 185 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:40,240 bringing gold and silver, 186 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,960 pearls and blue lapis lazuli, 187 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:45,520 sandalwood and rich cloths. 188 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,240 And then, in the distance, you'd have seen great caravans 189 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:51,880 carrying in more fabulous goods, from the Bay of Bengal 190 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,400 and what is modern-day Afghanistan. 191 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:00,160 There's a lot of evidence in the literature for this time 192 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,320 that cities were expanding, but do we get evidence in archaeology, too? 193 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:05,760 We get lots of evidence. 194 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:07,120 This is the period when 195 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,560 cities are emerging and expanding 196 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:11,320 all over the country. 197 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,600 These are lovely little belongings, here. 198 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:15,120 Did these all come from cities? 199 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,320 All of them did. You can imagine the people who used them. 200 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,240 Look at this for instance. This is a razor. 201 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:24,360 That's great, I love it. I love it when design doesn't change. 202 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:26,840 - That's true! - That's exactly the same as a razor today. 203 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:28,440 That is one heck of a doornail! 204 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,400 So, that's quite some door that that's holding together! 205 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:33,280 And these are lovely, as well. 206 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,720 Is this...? It looks like very fine dining ware is it? 207 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,760 It is. This is a very special kind of pottery that must've been 208 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,520 used only by very rich people for very special occasions. 209 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:45,160 So, do you think? I mean, this kind of different 210 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,720 way of living is affecting how people feel about their lives? 211 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:50,960 Yes, absolutely. 212 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:54,320 And the city must have been a very exciting 213 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:56,120 and also unsettling experience 214 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:58,960 for somebody who'd walked into one of these cities from a village - 215 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:00,840 because something new is emerging 216 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,360 but the old ways of life 217 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,600 and the old kinds of social relationships... 218 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:08,240 are dissolving. 219 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:12,920 This is a time when you have unprecedented 220 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:15,360 and, I think, unparalleled 221 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:17,840 level of questioning about 222 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,440 what it means to live in the world 223 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:22,040 and how one should live one's life 224 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:26,000 and all kinds of questions that... 225 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:27,680 concern us very deeply. 226 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:40,400 Cities were a real paradox. 227 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,360 They did offer dazzling new opportunities, 228 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,800 but they also cut people loose from everything that they knew - 229 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:48,960 from their tribes, from their land, 230 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,920 from ways of being that hadn't really changed much for millennia. 231 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:54,920 So, they were wonderful, 232 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:57,960 but they were also actually quite threatening. 233 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,400 People must have wondered what life was all about, 234 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,160 and how they should now best live together. 235 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,520 It was a time of intense questioning. 236 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,120 Can we control our desires? 237 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:16,640 And the Buddha would play a vital role in that debate. 238 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:17,880 What is justice? 239 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:21,640 By now, deep into his own personal quest, 240 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:25,320 he engaged with the most intractable question of all. 241 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,840 TRANSLATION: What happens to us when we die? 242 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,880 Inspired by the cycles of renewal in the natural environment, 243 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,720 people had come to believe we were part of an endless cycle of birth, 244 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:50,760 death and rebirth - 245 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:52,160 known as samsara. 246 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:00,560 Samsara is a powerful idea that was really current in the time of Buddha. 247 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,080 The idea of a birth followed by rebirth, 248 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:06,560 followed by rebirth in the cycle of time. 249 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:09,840 But humanity's always been aware of the cycle of life, 250 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,040 so what made samsara different? 251 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:16,160 The cycle of rebirth really means that you go from one life to another 252 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:17,680 and you can be manifested in 253 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:19,440 a different form in each life. 254 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:20,960 You could be manifested as a god 255 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:22,760 or you could be manifested as a human being 256 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:24,200 or maybe higher or lower caste. 257 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:26,440 You can even manifest as an animal or an insect, 258 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:28,600 as a cockroach, and so that is really the cycle 259 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:30,400 of rebirth from life to life through 260 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:31,920 a continuous passage of time. 261 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,000 So, do you think people felt trapped by this? 262 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,120 Yeah, you could imagine somebody thinking that, 263 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:41,280 at each birth, he has to go through the travails of life, 264 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:43,760 of sickness, old age, death 265 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,920 and then rebirth and the whole cycle goes on. 266 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:49,840 And so it's tedious, I mean, it's... It's suffering, 267 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:54,640 because the existential reality was not one that they felt was bliss. 268 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:57,000 So, did people try to work out a way 269 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,240 to release themselves from this trap? 270 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:01,640 Yes, the great quest of that time was to find ways 271 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:04,400 out of that cycle of rebirth and re-death. 272 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,680 For the Buddha, the rituals of the Brahmans 273 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:17,560 weren't the answer to the perennial suffering of life. 274 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,920 They didn't seem to offer a permanent solution to samsara... 275 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:24,720 ..but he was convinced that a mechanism 276 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,760 to completely break free from the cycle altogether 277 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:29,120 could be found... 278 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:32,240 ..and he wasn't alone. 279 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,240 A wave of truth-seekers had left their families and homes 280 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,600 to wander the Earth in search of the solution. 281 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,160 Renouncing everything, some chose to live in forests 282 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,440 which is where, we're told, 283 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:48,600 the Buddha went looking for them. 284 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,560 For the Buddha, self-discovery came 285 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:56,520 from examining your own individual experiences, 286 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,440 and then drawing logical conclusions from them. 287 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:03,920 So, in order to try to evaluate the ideas of these new thinkers, 288 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,960 he decided to try out their methods first-hand. 289 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:14,640 One of these wandering truth-seekers 290 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:16,680 was a man called Alara Kalama. 291 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,160 Now, the solution to the problem of samsara, as he saw it, 292 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:25,080 lay in directly experiencing the permanent, 293 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:27,560 the eternal part of ourselves, 294 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,400 the part that survived every rebirth. 295 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,600 MEDITATIVE CHANTING 296 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,240 To do this, he meditated... 297 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,080 to block out the distractions of the temporary external world. 298 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:48,120 Freed from physical and mental interference, 299 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:51,480 such seekers could focus on their goal... 300 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,440 to fully merge their eternal soul 301 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,320 with its cosmic counterpart - 302 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,280 a kind of universal soul, the highest reality. 303 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:04,040 The idea seems to have been that - 304 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,760 by creating union between the microcosm - the individual self - 305 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,120 and the macrocosm - this world soul - 306 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:13,320 they would achieve liberation. 307 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:19,080 Under Alara's tuition, 308 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,040 we're told the Buddha showed such remarkable ability, 309 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:25,600 he could achieve a profound stillness of mind. 310 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:29,320 So much so, Alara offered him joint leadership of the group... 311 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:34,160 ..but he refused. 312 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:37,920 He found that once he came out of meditation, 313 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:41,480 he was just returned, once again, to the same fundamental problems 314 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:45,160 of birth, sickness, old age and death. 315 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,240 It didn't give him the transformative experience 316 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:49,400 that he sought. 317 00:18:58,240 --> 00:18:59,960 But the Buddha didn't give up. 318 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,480 It's said, he next experimented 319 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,080 with the techniques of a different type of renouncer 320 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:14,680 who focused on extreme forms of self-denial. 321 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:24,240 These type of renouncers also believed that 322 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:28,400 the material part of our being is an obstacle to liberation - 323 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,280 but theirs was a more drastic solution. 324 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:33,560 Instead of focusing the mind, 325 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,720 they put all their efforts into subduing their bodies. 326 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,520 Some groups believed that all human action 327 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,760 left a negative dust on our soul... 328 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:53,880 weighing us down in this life 329 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:57,080 and trapping us in future rebirths. 330 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:00,920 Some fasted, some stood stock-still for months on end, 331 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,800 others endured the heat of the midday sun, 332 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,480 all to burn off the results of their previous actions. 333 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:12,320 Extreme measures to allow space for the permanent soul to expand to the 334 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:16,880 size of the universe, eventually liberating them from samsara. 335 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,960 It seems the Buddha spent six years experimenting with all 336 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,600 kinds of self-denying, extreme penances. 337 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,680 He tried a technique of holding his breath for longer 338 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:36,640 and longer periods. 339 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:39,000 He walked around naked. 340 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,360 He ate tiny amounts of food... 341 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:43,600 Just one grain of rice a day. 342 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:48,600 We're told that he almost died. 343 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,440 His bones were like the rafters of a derelict house. 344 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:55,360 He could actually feel his backbone through his stomach. 345 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:58,520 But despite all this, he wasn't making any progress. 346 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,040 The pain was clouding his mind. 347 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,880 The austerities weren't providing a solution to suffering, 348 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:06,360 they were just making him suffer even more. 349 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:14,440 So, he abandoned the path of self-denial 350 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,960 by eating a bowl of rice-porridge, 351 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:21,160 disappointing and angering his five fellow renouncers. 352 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:26,280 Six years of hardship experimenting with different methods, 353 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,080 had come to nothing. 354 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:34,840 Now, he would go it alone, in his quest to break the cycle of samsara. 355 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:42,000 What the Buddha attempted next, was something new. 356 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,560 A middle way between the extremes of self-indulgence 357 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:47,880 and the rigours of self-mortification. 358 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:55,560 Moderation would be his radical new approach from now on. 359 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:07,600 The Buddha's change of tack would bring greater clarity 360 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,840 to his examination of the human condition. 361 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,640 The Buddha believed that all we can know for sure, 362 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:22,840 is how we experience the world, 363 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,680 and that it's our minds that determine what 364 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,320 kinds of experience we have. 365 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:33,760 Using his meditation skills, 366 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:38,760 he interrogated the internal workings of his own mind. 367 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,480 And what the Buddha discovered, contradicted the assumptions 368 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,200 people held about the permanence of the soul. 369 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,720 He realised that the external world, as we experienced it, 370 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:54,760 was constantly changing, 371 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,960 and that we were constantly changing, too. 372 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:02,480 Our material form, our sensations, our mind, our consciousness, 373 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,240 our character - all in perpetual flux. 374 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,520 This realisation exposed a fundamental flaw 375 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:15,320 in the Buddha's thinking. 376 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:21,400 All efforts to identify a permanent self were futile, 377 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:28,120 because a permanent, or independent self, did not exist. 378 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:34,240 When the Buddha's looking at how the process of his suffering 379 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:37,640 was developing, he started looking at it very much like a doctor 380 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,120 and he starts looking at a cause. 381 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:42,760 He starts realising that everything is fleeting, is changing. 382 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,680 There's nothing that he can put his finger on as a cause and starts 383 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:50,720 realising that, actually, the cause is the identification with an "I". 384 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,280 There's no such thing, which you can just pinpoint at a certain point 385 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,000 in time and say, "OK, this is it." 386 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,680 But, it changes in the next moment, so I think that realisation 387 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:02,760 that everything is impermanent, leads to the idea 388 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,200 of the permanently existing entity of a soul as a concept. 389 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:10,000 Just explain to me, cos I can't quite get my head round this. 390 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,440 What does it mean to have no self? What did he mean by that? 391 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:16,640 I'll give you an example. For example, I say, 392 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:18,280 "OK, Bethany, when were you born?" 393 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:20,920 And you say, "I was born on so and so date and so and so year." 394 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,720 And I'd say, "Really? Weren't you born nine months before that?" 395 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:26,240 You say, "Yes," and I say, 396 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:28,920 "Weren't you in your mother and father before that?" 397 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,000 If I took your mother out of you, you're not Bettany any more! 398 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,160 Bettany's made of non-Bettany elements. 399 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,160 Bettany is the sunshine, 400 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:37,840 the earth, England, 401 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:40,640 and then you suddenly start realising that there was not 402 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,360 a single point when Bettany came about. 403 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:46,240 You know, so, in Buddhism we don't talk about creation, 404 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:47,960 we talk about manifestation. 405 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:54,080 It's not denying that you exist. You exist. 406 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:58,920 It's denying that we have an intrinsically independent entity. 407 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,320 The Buddha believed the idea of a permanent self 408 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,880 wasn't part of the solution. 409 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,440 It was actually at the root of the problem, 410 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,360 because it made us selfish, self-absorbed. 411 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,640 It created insatiable craving that enslaved us 412 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:24,640 to transient earthly concerns, and kept us trapped in samsara. 413 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,720 To rid oneself of this deep-seated delusion of self, 414 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,120 was the way to liberation. 415 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,760 That realisation allows you the freedom not to get caught 416 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:43,800 in the I, me, mine, which is really the fundamental cause of suffering. 417 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:49,720 And then he says, "Oh, then there is a way to overcome suffering." 418 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:51,960 That's a sort of, "A-ha, wow!" 419 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:56,200 So, his teaching was based around rediscovering your nature, 420 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:58,080 which is non-self nature. 421 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,160 The Buddha's self-analysis revealed the answer. 422 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,400 If we could extinguish the delusion of self, 423 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:12,520 we would see things as they truly are and our suffering would end. 424 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:17,960 We had the capacity to take control of our lives. 425 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,280 The Buddha seems to have recognised that there is plasticity 426 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,840 to our minds and characters. 427 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,320 Living in the world with the right attitude, 428 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,000 is fundamentally empowering. 429 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:33,040 Basically, know yourself, and the world is yours. 430 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,200 It's cognitive psychology, 431 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,200 25 centuries before the phrase is invented. 432 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,200 The Buddha was ready to throw all his efforts 433 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,960 into bringing about his self-transformation. 434 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,040 Arriving on the outskirts of a small village, 435 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,520 he found a beautiful stretch of countryside, 436 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:03,520 with a pleasant grove, nestled on the banks of a sparkling river. 437 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:12,160 We're told that one night, aged 35, the Buddha came here to 438 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:17,800 Bodh Gaya, and calmly sat underneath the ancestor of this very tree. 439 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:22,000 Today, it's a pilgrimage site for many millions, for one key reason. 440 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,280 Because this is where it all came together. 441 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,080 The Buddha entered a deep meditative state, 442 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:38,480 in which he experienced a vast number of his previous lives. 443 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:46,080 He describes a cycle of many life forms and realms of existence. 444 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,240 From hell-beings and animals, 445 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:55,600 to humans, through to more abstract levels of consciousness. 446 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,960 Yet all these forms were subject to samsara. 447 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,560 Even a god would eventually die and be reborn. 448 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:11,440 But, finally, the Buddha moved beyond these states. 449 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,640 Searching deep in his humanity, 450 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:18,680 he was able to root out and permanently extinguish craving, 451 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:20,840 ignorance and delusion. 452 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:25,640 He had finally broken free of the cycle of death and rebirth 453 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:29,120 and attained, enlightenment - nirvana. 454 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:33,320 Unshakeable is the liberation of my mind. 455 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,640 This is the last birth. 456 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,440 For me, there is no more renewed existence. 457 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,200 Later, the Buddha would discourage speculation 458 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:46,880 about the nature of nirvana. 459 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,840 Describing it, was like asking what had happened to a flame 460 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:51,360 once it had been blown out. 461 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:57,960 And yet, this was no less than a solution to the human condition, 462 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:02,760 without the need for heavens or gods or metaphysical knowledge. 463 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,160 This was a state of pure liberation, 464 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,560 directly experienced from within. 465 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,360 The Buddha had harnessed the capabilities of the mind, 466 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:30,760 to identify what he believed it fundamentally was to be human. 467 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:36,240 Extinguishing desire and hatred and delusion, had allowed him 468 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:38,280 to fulfil his full potential. 469 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,640 Now, he could live with absolute wisdom and compassion. 470 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,680 The Buddha found he had a new mission - 471 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:52,920 to share what he'd experienced. 472 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,560 He wasn't sure if he could ever communicate it, 473 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,520 but his profound empathy for others drove him on. 474 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:05,160 His starting point, was the five former renouncer friends, 475 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,720 he had left for his middle way. 476 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:11,200 The sources tell us he found them where I'm heading next, the 477 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:15,920 outskirts of modern day Varanasi, the site of an ancient deer park. 478 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:22,440 At first, his former companions were reluctant to welcome him. 479 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,560 And then, we're told, they realised that a great 480 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:27,760 transformation had taken place. 481 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:30,880 They greeted him with respect, and washed his feet. 482 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:36,000 And it's now that we get a sense of the compelling charisma of the man. 483 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,080 Because, what the Buddha had to tell them, 484 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:42,120 was mind-blowing in its insight and clarity. 485 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:50,800 The Buddha shared his discoveries, known as the Four Noble Truths. 486 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,160 The first truth was the inevitability 487 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:58,480 that all life is suffering. 488 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,840 But by suffering, the Buddha didn't just mean illness and old age, 489 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:05,560 but the persistent disappointments and insecurities of life. 490 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:11,440 The second truth was that suffering is caused by craving. 491 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,400 The third was that, since suffering has an identifiable cause, 492 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:18,920 it could have an end. 493 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,800 But it was the fourth truth that offered the critical, 494 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:26,800 practical answer. 495 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:31,240 This truth was a path, what he called the Eightfold Path, 496 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,240 and it offered up an end to all suffering. 497 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:39,800 With the Buddha's guidance, 498 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:42,960 his small group of disciples made quick progress. 499 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,480 They gained wisdom, practised ethical conduct 500 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:50,560 and achieved mental discipline through meditation. 501 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:55,800 Finally, they experienced nirvana for themselves. 502 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,840 But whilst liberation was, in theory, open to everyone, 503 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,640 in practice, many couldn't afford the time and effort. 504 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,920 The Buddha, however, had a message of hope for those who remained 505 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:17,640 trapped in the cycle of death and rebirth... 506 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:25,720 ..by completely reformulating the long established concept of karma. 507 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:30,960 Traditionally, karma referred to significant action, which, it was 508 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:35,480 believed, could improve the quality of our rebirth in the next life. 509 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:39,000 In the early days of Brahmanism, karma was synonymous with 510 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:44,760 ritual action, performed by priests, on behalf of the higher castes. 511 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:47,680 The lowest castes had little prospect of improving 512 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,440 their lot through this ritual form of karma. 513 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:56,880 The Buddha changed karma from ritual action to the thought 514 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:01,200 of that action, so the intent of that action was more important than 515 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:02,680 the action itself. 516 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,520 If you thought well or if you had good intentions, 517 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,480 then you could change your destiny, 518 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,920 not necessarily in this life 519 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:13,160 but in future lives, as well. 520 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:15,000 That's a key shift, isn't it? 521 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,720 That is a very major shift in the understanding of the notion 522 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:22,360 of karma, from ritual action to an individual's choice of doing good. 523 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,600 They have to be good human beings, 524 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:26,760 and that's the fundamental thing about Buddhism. 525 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:29,000 So, that's not just a, kind of, philosophical shift, 526 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:31,120 that's a change in society? 527 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:34,120 Absolutely, he took it out of the hands of the priests 528 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:38,040 who were empowered to change the destiny of men 529 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,000 and gave it in the hands of people who were practising Buddhism. 530 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,120 So, it doesn't matter what class you're from or, 531 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:44,280 actually, what gender? 532 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:46,440 You could be anyone, you could belong to any caste. 533 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:47,720 It didn't really matter. 534 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:50,360 Everybody had the choice and the freedom to improve, 535 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:51,600 to become a good person. 536 00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:59,800 The Buddha's take on karma was liberating. 537 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:02,520 Everyone stuck in the cycle of samsara, 538 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:05,600 had the chance to improve the quality of their rebirth. 539 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,040 Now, you were no longer good or bad, 540 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,360 dependent on class or gender, 541 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:17,000 or some kind of ritual expertise. 542 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:21,720 The Buddha sought answers that had the potential to benefit everyone. 543 00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:24,400 Just think what a radical development that is. 544 00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:35,720 The Buddha's democratisation of karma attracted the attention, 545 00:34:35,720 --> 00:34:39,560 and support, of one class in particular, 546 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:43,680 the merchants and traders, who had fuelled the rise of Indian cities. 547 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:49,360 According to the conventions of Brahmanism, 548 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:54,080 contact with anyone outside your caste resulted in contamination. 549 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:57,560 But of course, by definition, merchants were interacting 550 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:01,600 with different people and different cultures the whole time. 551 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:04,880 Now, Buddhism didn't have any kind of a problem with that. 552 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:12,680 Some merchants felt disadvantaged by the caste system. 553 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:16,480 The Buddha's inclusive message, gave them a greater sense of place 554 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:20,720 in society and channelled their aspirational instincts. 555 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:26,080 The wealth of merchants, like good karma, was by its very nature, 556 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:27,800 meritocratic. 557 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,080 It wasn't in some way pre-ordained, 558 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:33,240 it was won and accumulated through your own efforts. 559 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:39,680 The Buddha's take on the ancient ideas of karma, 560 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:44,760 offered ordinary people a way to a better, moral life. 561 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:48,080 He helped to create the belief, that action and intention, 562 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,760 in our everyday lives, had real consequences. 563 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:57,720 Coins like these were a brand-new common denominator, 564 00:35:57,720 --> 00:36:02,080 just as karma was now a kind of moral currency for Buddhism. 565 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:06,920 It's easy to imagine how, with things like these in your pocket, 566 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:10,320 you could understand how you could secure future benefit, 567 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:12,080 by building up merits. 568 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:16,200 The Buddha had revolutionised ethics. 569 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,840 We could no longer blame any external force, like a God, 570 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,120 for our decisions. 571 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:26,600 We were entirely responsible for our own moral condition. 572 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:29,640 The buck stopped with us. 573 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,960 In essence, this is the same rallying cry that we hear from those 574 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:37,160 other great philosophers of the age, Socrates and Confucius. 575 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:40,760 To find answers to the universe, first look within. 576 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:46,280 "Be your own lamp," said the Buddha. "Seek no other refuge." 577 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:50,520 These are exciting thoughts, the idea that you don't just have 578 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:54,000 to be a victim, but a master of your own fate. 579 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:05,960 The Buddha forged ahead with his potent message 580 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:07,760 of personal liberation. 581 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:12,880 It's said he criss-crossed the central Indian plains, 582 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:16,200 giving public talks in cities and the country, 583 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:18,960 to anybody he thought ready to hear his message. 584 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,560 And the community of disciples, who shared his mission 585 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:28,120 and wandering lifestyle, acquired a name - the Sangha. 586 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:32,360 At this stage, the Sangha was dispersed, 587 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:35,000 and only loosely organised. 588 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,840 But, according to traditional accounts, when the Buddha 589 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:42,000 came here, to a forest on the outskirts of Rajagriha, 590 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,640 the Buddhist order would take on a whole new direction. 591 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:50,360 The king of the city, Bimbisara, 592 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,720 heard that the Buddha was camped outside, 593 00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:57,280 and went to visit him with 120,000 Brahmans. 594 00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:01,960 On hearing him preach, we're told that each and every one of them, 595 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:07,520 including the King, begged to be received as lay followers. 596 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:13,880 We know that with people when we meet some people, 597 00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:16,840 we immediately feel a sense of reverence, you know, 598 00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:20,600 a sense of humility in their presence. 599 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:23,600 And yet, they don't seem inaccessible. 600 00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:25,880 He was, I feel, very charismatic, 601 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:29,200 people were, in a way, entranced by him. 602 00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:34,600 I think he was able to understand the psychology of the person. 603 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:37,880 He had a, sort of, intuitive sense of what the person needed. 604 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:42,400 He was not saying, "I'm the one who knows." 605 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:44,600 He said, "You try it." 606 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:46,320 And this spirit of free enquiry 607 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:48,680 that the Buddha was really encouraging, 608 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:50,240 was quite revolutionary. 609 00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:55,720 Following their meeting, Bimbisara was said to have donated 610 00:38:55,720 --> 00:38:58,600 a bamboo grove on this very spot, 611 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,480 as a retreat for the Buddha's growing community. 612 00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:06,200 Winning over wealthy patrons would be crucial for the future 613 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:07,680 of the Buddha's message. 614 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:11,640 The establishment of permanent bases 615 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:14,680 in places like this, saw the Sangha develop from a group 616 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:17,960 of like-minded itinerants, into a settled institution. 617 00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:28,240 The Sangha at Rajagriha became the model for something entirely new. 618 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:31,760 Soon, a network of monasteries, 619 00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:36,520 the first known monasteries in the world, sprang up. 620 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,040 Places where the Buddha, and his travelling disciples, 621 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:41,840 would stay during the monsoon season. 622 00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:48,040 The movement was changing, and the Buddha's role would change, too. 623 00:39:49,240 --> 00:39:51,520 He'd taught that each monk was an island, 624 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:54,120 and responsible for themselves. 625 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:57,320 But, now, he's believed to have created a comprehensive 626 00:39:57,320 --> 00:39:58,800 set of guidelines. 627 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:04,560 'With early Buddhism, there was only a few monks, so there was no need' 628 00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:08,200 of rules, because those who became monks 629 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:10,920 were very highly intelligent 630 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:13,640 and highly, you know, spiritual. 631 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:17,760 They have the clear intention, comprehension - 632 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,360 why I am become a monk - 633 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,080 so they never done anything wrong. 634 00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:27,200 But gradually, you know, with the numbers growing up, 635 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:31,280 to maintain the excellence, peace and harmony, 636 00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:36,280 he prescribed the different rules and the discipline. 637 00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:39,040 And amazing to think that two-and-a-half millennia later, 638 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:41,160 you're still living by those rules. 639 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,680 I think we need MORE rules. 640 00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:47,480 Because, in the modern times, we have to face so many things. 641 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:50,600 That time, only India, now there is the whole world! 642 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:57,000 There are 227 rules for monks, enacted every day. 643 00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:00,480 And it is amazing to think that in these words, we could be 644 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:04,000 getting a glimpse into the mind of the Buddha and his early followers. 645 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,920 CHANTING 646 00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:13,000 The Buddha's thought to have adapted his rules in an ad hoc way. 647 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,120 He was a pragmatist, not above changing his mind 648 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:17,560 and listening to reason. 649 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:23,040 Even when it came to the thorny issue of including women. 650 00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:25,040 CHANTING IN BACKGROUND 651 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:27,640 At the very beginning, they were regarded as a bit of a burden, 652 00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:29,680 because they needed protecting. 653 00:41:29,680 --> 00:41:33,720 But the logic that liberation should be available to all 654 00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:36,560 meant that, really, they had to be included. 655 00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:40,040 And we're told that the Buddha himself eventually declared 656 00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:42,480 that nuns should be part of the Sangha. 657 00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:49,120 The rules of the Sangha are eminently practical. 658 00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:53,600 Self-discipline and resourcefulness are enshrined into daily life. 659 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:57,360 They dictate what you can own and what you must give up. 660 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:03,840 Monks are allowed to have eight possessions. 661 00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:06,280 There are three robes, basically. 662 00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:08,760 - It is to look ugly. - SHE LAUGHS 663 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:10,200 Not to be beautiful. 664 00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:13,720 We have to have a small needle and the threads. 665 00:42:13,720 --> 00:42:16,000 But, you know, nowadays, we don't stitch, 666 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:19,360 - because we have ready-made robes. - OK. 667 00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:20,760 This is the razor. 668 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:23,840 - It is very troublesome to keep hair. - Yes. 669 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:26,120 So, we leave it, everything. 670 00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:29,360 - This is bowl... - Begging bowl? - Begging bowl of the monks. - Yeah. 671 00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:32,440 So this, you collect food and drinks 672 00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:34,320 - and alms from other people? - Every day. 673 00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:36,280 And why do you get your food from outside? 674 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:39,200 Why don't you produce it yourself? 675 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:43,280 Because a monk has to depend on the people, on the society, 676 00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:47,360 so...we have gratefulness and gratitude. 677 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:50,680 So, what we return to them - 678 00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:53,200 our compassion and wisdom. 679 00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:57,480 Monks can be a guide to the people, 680 00:42:57,480 --> 00:43:01,640 to the society, to show the path to wisdom, 681 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:06,200 to show the path to peace and to show the path to happiness. 682 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:10,960 Apart from that, monks have no other connection, 683 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:15,480 relations to the lay people, whatsoever. 684 00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:19,440 But you've had to leave your family in order to become a monk? 685 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:23,440 Yes. In fact, family life is always 686 00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,080 full of that kind of miseries, 687 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:30,080 that kind of obstacles and troubles, so many. 688 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:32,680 So, living in a family life, 689 00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:37,440 one cannot practise a simple, holy life, 690 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:41,000 in order to achieve the spiritual heights. 691 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:45,840 CHANTING 692 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:50,480 When monks leave home, it can be hard for those left behind. 693 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:52,960 The Buddha is said to have acknowledged the grief 694 00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:56,240 he'd caused his family and proclaimed that monks needed 695 00:43:56,240 --> 00:43:57,920 parental permission to join. 696 00:43:59,480 --> 00:44:00,920 CHANTING 697 00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:04,000 Buddhism is a philosophy or a religion that's sometimes criticised 698 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,920 for only benefiting the practitioner, 699 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:09,600 that, rather coldly, sees social and family bonds 700 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:11,360 as attachments to the world 701 00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:14,760 and, therefore, a barrier to achieving nirvana. 702 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:16,960 But what I get a sense of here 703 00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:20,120 is a real commitment to collective wellbeing. 704 00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:29,080 CHANTING 705 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:33,080 The Buddha hadn't shut himself away after his enlightenment. 706 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:36,400 His insights had heightened his concern for others 707 00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:40,040 and he'd spend over half his life helping those around him 708 00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:41,840 to alleviate their suffering. 709 00:44:44,720 --> 00:44:48,240 The Buddha's insistence on the absolute value of compassion 710 00:44:48,240 --> 00:44:50,840 is something that really impresses me. 711 00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:52,760 Just listen to these words of his, 712 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:55,320 some of the very earliest ever written down. 713 00:44:56,600 --> 00:45:01,960 "Let no-one deceive another, nor despise anyone anywhere. 714 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:07,040 "As a mother protects her child, with boundless loving kindness, 715 00:45:07,040 --> 00:45:09,480 "cherish the world. 716 00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:11,640 "Love without limit." 717 00:45:13,560 --> 00:45:15,160 How can you argue with that? 718 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:28,440 By tirelessly expressing and explaining his ideas, 719 00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:31,240 the Buddha had nurtured a committed following 720 00:45:31,240 --> 00:45:34,560 dedicated to his principles of intellectual rigour 721 00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:35,840 and deep humanity. 722 00:45:38,680 --> 00:45:42,920 But the Sangha couldn't rely on the leadership of its founder forever. 723 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:48,160 We're told that when the Buddha reached his eighties, 724 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:51,200 thoughts turned to the continuation of his message. 725 00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:57,920 His faithful attendant, Ananda, asked what would happen 726 00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:00,400 to the Sangha after he died. 727 00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:03,680 He said, "The Sangha doesn't need a leader," 728 00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:07,640 "it just needs my dharma, my teaching." 729 00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:14,800 After accepting a meal at the house of a humble blacksmith, 730 00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:17,360 it's believed he contracted food poisoning 731 00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:19,440 and quickly became very ill. 732 00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:23,440 Yet, having achieved nirvana, 733 00:46:23,440 --> 00:46:26,600 the Buddha had no fear of death. 734 00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:30,480 His suffering had ended with the moment of his enlightenment. 735 00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:33,600 He would not be reborn 736 00:46:33,600 --> 00:46:37,560 and what followed death was, like nirvana, 737 00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:39,440 beyond comprehension. 738 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:48,240 Just before he died, he told his fellow monks 739 00:46:48,240 --> 00:46:51,680 to simply keep seeking enlightenment. 740 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:54,600 "It is the nature of things to decay. 741 00:46:54,600 --> 00:46:57,320 "Be attentive, and you will succeed." 742 00:47:10,280 --> 00:47:14,200 The Buddha's death robbed the Sangha of their founder and leader. 743 00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:18,960 With this vacuum, there was a real danger 744 00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:21,360 his ideas would be lost or corrupted. 745 00:47:24,360 --> 00:47:26,840 The Buddha had encouraged the Sangha to reach consensus 746 00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:30,560 on day-to-day concerns by holding regular meetings. 747 00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:33,080 And now, the monks did as they'd been taught. 748 00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:39,240 They're said to have convened a council 749 00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:43,200 of 500 prominent monks here to this cave 750 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:46,040 to determine the content of Buddhist doctrine. 751 00:47:48,640 --> 00:47:51,800 Ananda recited the sermons and the teachings of the Buddha. 752 00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:55,480 Another monk, Upali, recited the monastic rules. 753 00:47:55,480 --> 00:47:59,400 They now had a definitive account of the Buddha's ideas. 754 00:48:04,360 --> 00:48:06,200 For the next few centuries, 755 00:48:06,200 --> 00:48:09,080 the Buddha's message was kept alive by the Sangha. 756 00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:16,160 But, ironically, Buddhism's expansion to the wider world 757 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:19,080 would come courtesy of a despot. 758 00:48:33,160 --> 00:48:35,640 200 years after the Buddha's death, 759 00:48:35,640 --> 00:48:37,560 most of what is modern India 760 00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:40,440 was ruled by the ruthless emperor Ashoka. 761 00:48:42,520 --> 00:48:45,760 This well in Ashoka's ancient capital, Patna, 762 00:48:45,760 --> 00:48:49,280 is believed to have been his purpose-built torture chamber. 763 00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:55,760 We're told that, here, Ashoka's sadistic head torturer 764 00:48:55,760 --> 00:48:58,480 would prise open the mouths of his victims 765 00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:01,120 and pour molten copper down their throats. 766 00:49:04,640 --> 00:49:06,840 BELL RINGS 767 00:49:06,840 --> 00:49:09,600 But then, around 262 BC, 768 00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:12,960 following a particularly pitiless and bloody victory, 769 00:49:12,960 --> 00:49:16,480 Ashoka suddenly had a sickening realisation 770 00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:19,120 of all the suffering that he'd caused. 771 00:49:19,120 --> 00:49:21,920 And his change of heart could not have been more dramatic. 772 00:49:23,160 --> 00:49:25,560 Invoking the non-violent teachings of the Buddha, 773 00:49:25,560 --> 00:49:30,200 and declaring his heartfelt remorse for all his murderous actions, 774 00:49:30,200 --> 00:49:32,880 he vowed that, from here on in, 775 00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:35,080 he would govern righteously. 776 00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:38,520 HORNS BEEP 777 00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:42,000 The reformed emperor set his new beliefs in stone. 778 00:49:44,360 --> 00:49:47,520 He sought out sites associated with the Buddha's life 779 00:49:47,520 --> 00:49:51,760 and erected pillars up to 15 metres high. 780 00:49:51,760 --> 00:49:55,560 In doing so, he marked them out for the benefit of future pilgrims. 781 00:49:55,560 --> 00:49:58,680 HE SPEAKS IN NATIVE LANGUAGE 782 00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:01,160 He had inscriptions, like this, carved into stone 783 00:50:01,160 --> 00:50:03,120 right across his empire. 784 00:50:03,120 --> 00:50:07,120 But these edicts didn't lionise his victories in battle. 785 00:50:07,120 --> 00:50:10,240 Instead, they declared his revulsion of violence 786 00:50:10,240 --> 00:50:14,280 and urged his subjects to live moral and compassionate lives. 787 00:50:18,880 --> 00:50:23,320 Ashoka gave up conquest and abolished the death penalty. 788 00:50:23,320 --> 00:50:27,800 He liberated slaves, set up free hospitals. 789 00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:30,560 Animal sacrifice was banned in the capital 790 00:50:30,560 --> 00:50:32,080 and a wide range of animals, 791 00:50:32,080 --> 00:50:35,080 including parrots, tortoises, porcupines, 792 00:50:35,080 --> 00:50:36,920 became protected species. 793 00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:38,560 BIRDS CAW 794 00:50:38,560 --> 00:50:40,640 He sent missions out of India, 795 00:50:40,640 --> 00:50:43,560 taking Buddhist principles to Sri Lanka, the Middle East 796 00:50:43,560 --> 00:50:45,000 and across Asia. 797 00:50:47,040 --> 00:50:51,000 Buddhism would continue to dominate the Indian subcontinent 798 00:50:51,000 --> 00:50:53,240 for the next one-and-a-half millennia. 799 00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:58,120 Wealthy patrons donated generously. 800 00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:01,640 Stupas, containing what was said to be relics of the Buddha 801 00:51:01,640 --> 00:51:06,200 and sculptures depicting his life, emerged across the landscape. 802 00:51:07,520 --> 00:51:11,240 But to my mind, the greatest legacy of this time 803 00:51:11,240 --> 00:51:13,440 is here, at Nalanda. 804 00:51:22,120 --> 00:51:24,600 It is just such a treat to be here, 805 00:51:24,600 --> 00:51:28,080 because this place has a claim to be the oldest university 806 00:51:28,080 --> 00:51:29,840 in the world. 807 00:51:29,840 --> 00:51:32,440 We know there was a serious educational establishment here 808 00:51:32,440 --> 00:51:34,760 from at least the fifth century AD, 809 00:51:34,760 --> 00:51:38,120 and you have to try to imagine it in its heyday. 810 00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:41,080 It would have been buzzing with international scholars, 811 00:51:41,080 --> 00:51:45,160 who came from as far afield as Indonesia, Tibet, China, 812 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:47,000 Turkey and Japan. 813 00:51:49,360 --> 00:51:53,720 It had a huge campus with thousands of students. 814 00:51:53,720 --> 00:51:57,200 200 villages supplied the students' practical needs. 815 00:51:57,200 --> 00:52:01,600 Maths, politics, literature were all studied here, 816 00:52:01,600 --> 00:52:05,240 but there was particular emphasis on Buddhism. 817 00:52:05,240 --> 00:52:08,000 Thousands of Buddhist manuscripts were housed 818 00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:10,200 in a nine-storeyed building. 819 00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:12,880 It was the envy of the medieval world. 820 00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:16,480 One Chinese scholar clearly adored it here. 821 00:52:17,720 --> 00:52:21,200 "There are richly adorned towers, and fairytale turrets. 822 00:52:21,200 --> 00:52:23,240 "Roofs covered with tiles that reflect 823 00:52:23,240 --> 00:52:25,680 "the light in a thousand shades. 824 00:52:25,680 --> 00:52:31,080 "There are observatories and the upper rooms tower above the clouds. 825 00:52:31,080 --> 00:52:34,480 "These things add to the beauty of the scene." 826 00:52:38,720 --> 00:52:41,880 Renewed interest in Nalanda's legacy of enquiry 827 00:52:41,880 --> 00:52:46,960 has been led by Nobel-prize-winning economist Amartya Sen. 828 00:52:46,960 --> 00:52:49,360 Do you think that the Buddha would have approved 829 00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:50,880 of what went on at Nalanda? 830 00:52:52,200 --> 00:52:55,160 I should think that he very much would have approved. 831 00:52:55,160 --> 00:52:59,520 It was inspired by his ideas, it's inspired by the idea 832 00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:04,200 that we have to solve problems by reflection, 833 00:53:04,200 --> 00:53:07,240 by knowledge, by critical examination. 834 00:53:07,240 --> 00:53:10,840 You know, he tried fasting and it didn't do anything for him 835 00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:16,080 and he decided that by torturing the body, you don't improve your mind. 836 00:53:16,080 --> 00:53:19,960 You improve the mind by cultivating the mind. 837 00:53:19,960 --> 00:53:22,760 Some people might think it's counter-intuitive that Buddhism 838 00:53:22,760 --> 00:53:27,680 is being taught at Nalanda alongside maths and science and grammar. 839 00:53:27,680 --> 00:53:30,120 But it's part of that kind of practical understanding 840 00:53:30,120 --> 00:53:32,240 of the world, isn't it? 841 00:53:32,240 --> 00:53:35,880 Well, it's part of a Buddhist understanding of the world, too. 842 00:53:35,880 --> 00:53:40,800 Namely that you have to be concerned with those issues that move people, 843 00:53:40,800 --> 00:53:45,080 which includes mortality, disability, morbidity. 844 00:53:46,080 --> 00:53:50,720 It wouldn't be seen in any kind of conflict with Buddhist studies, 845 00:53:50,720 --> 00:53:54,040 because Buddhism is also about human life. 846 00:53:54,040 --> 00:53:57,720 What would you say the Buddha has to offer the world today? 847 00:53:57,720 --> 00:54:01,280 One of the things that Buddha identifies is that 848 00:54:01,280 --> 00:54:06,080 it's possible for you to agree on good action 849 00:54:06,080 --> 00:54:09,560 without necessarily agreeing 850 00:54:09,560 --> 00:54:14,240 on a bigger, metaphysical view of the universe. 851 00:54:14,240 --> 00:54:16,680 When I was fortunate to get the Nobel, 852 00:54:16,680 --> 00:54:20,080 I gave the bulk of that money to have elementary education, 853 00:54:20,080 --> 00:54:22,840 elementary health care and gender equality. 854 00:54:22,840 --> 00:54:25,560 At the same time, I don't have any great belief 855 00:54:25,560 --> 00:54:28,520 in religion and God. 856 00:54:28,520 --> 00:54:32,400 But it was the Buddha who changed the question from 857 00:54:32,400 --> 00:54:34,080 "Is there a God?" 858 00:54:34,080 --> 00:54:37,360 to questions like, how to behave, 859 00:54:37,360 --> 00:54:40,160 no matter whether there is God or not. 860 00:54:40,160 --> 00:54:43,520 And I think that's a game changer. 861 00:54:51,520 --> 00:54:54,360 Buddhism had been in the ascendency, 862 00:54:54,360 --> 00:54:58,400 but, from the seventh century, changes in patterns of patronage 863 00:54:58,400 --> 00:55:01,120 began to affect big institutions like Nalanda. 864 00:55:02,400 --> 00:55:05,040 Gifts from rich benefactors ebbed away. 865 00:55:06,720 --> 00:55:09,520 Brahmanism had always remained a strong presence 866 00:55:09,520 --> 00:55:12,720 and people drifted back in greater numbers. 867 00:55:12,720 --> 00:55:16,480 It began to dominate state governance, at Buddhism's expense. 868 00:55:18,680 --> 00:55:22,000 Muslim conquerors in the 12th and 13th centuries 869 00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:24,120 sacked monasteries and temples. 870 00:55:26,040 --> 00:55:29,120 Nalanda is said to have been put to the torch 871 00:55:29,120 --> 00:55:31,960 and to have burnt for three days. 872 00:55:34,120 --> 00:55:35,880 The Buddhist way of life 873 00:55:35,880 --> 00:55:39,280 all but disappeared in the land of its birth. 874 00:55:49,960 --> 00:55:52,360 But Buddhism was already on the move. 875 00:55:52,360 --> 00:55:55,680 It had already travelled at a furious pace throughout Asia 876 00:55:55,680 --> 00:55:59,720 and would continue its journey to become a truly global religion. 877 00:56:05,440 --> 00:56:09,520 With no single sacred language, no inflexible dogma, 878 00:56:09,520 --> 00:56:12,480 Buddhism was ripe for export. 879 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:17,960 It's an adaptable philosophy that's become a diverse belief system. 880 00:56:17,960 --> 00:56:21,000 As it spread, it cross-pollinated with other cultures 881 00:56:21,000 --> 00:56:23,080 in numerous, unexpected ways. 882 00:56:25,040 --> 00:56:28,480 For some, there is life after death 883 00:56:28,480 --> 00:56:30,640 and the Buddha is a figure of devotion. 884 00:56:34,720 --> 00:56:37,920 Since the 20th century, it's even been implicated 885 00:56:37,920 --> 00:56:40,520 in violent, nationalist struggles. 886 00:56:41,600 --> 00:56:46,280 But, at its heart, the Buddha's message remains the same - 887 00:56:46,280 --> 00:56:49,480 that whilst change is inevitable, 888 00:56:49,480 --> 00:56:52,920 we all have the power to direct that change. 889 00:56:52,920 --> 00:56:54,280 CHANTING 890 00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:58,440 By gaining wisdom, we can reduce suffering. 891 00:57:00,800 --> 00:57:03,040 The Buddha's life is a fascinating one 892 00:57:03,040 --> 00:57:06,080 from an age that made history. 893 00:57:06,080 --> 00:57:09,920 But we can relate to him on a very personal level. 894 00:57:09,920 --> 00:57:13,840 His need to find answers to the human condition in the here and now 895 00:57:13,840 --> 00:57:18,000 is one that, I'd argue, deep down, we all share. 896 00:57:19,280 --> 00:57:21,280 CHANTING 897 00:57:23,120 --> 00:57:26,040 He offers practical solutions to help overcome 898 00:57:26,040 --> 00:57:31,720 the desires and delusions, which fuel hatred, jealousy and greed. 899 00:57:33,520 --> 00:57:37,880 And, arguably, his greatest gift is deceptively simple. 900 00:57:37,880 --> 00:57:43,160 That it's compassion, empathy and knowing who we truly are 901 00:57:43,160 --> 00:57:47,320 that makes both us and the world better. 902 00:57:47,320 --> 00:57:49,240 Whether you're Buddhist or not, 903 00:57:49,240 --> 00:57:53,160 the humanity and hope of that message still burns bright today. 904 00:57:54,520 --> 00:57:56,280 ALL TALK 905 00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:04,880 If the mind of the Buddha has made you think, 906 00:58:04,880 --> 00:58:07,040 explore further with The Open University 907 00:58:07,040 --> 00:58:10,720 to find out how great minds have influenced our world. 908 00:58:10,720 --> 00:58:13,120 Go to the address on the bottom of the screen 909 00:58:13,120 --> 00:58:15,440 and follow the links to The Open University. 910 00:58:18,640 --> 00:58:21,120 Next time, I investigate a philosopher 911 00:58:21,120 --> 00:58:24,320 who influenced the whole of Western thought - 912 00:58:24,320 --> 00:58:26,320 Socrates. 913 00:58:26,320 --> 00:58:29,400 His rigorous methods and uncompromising questioning 914 00:58:29,400 --> 00:58:34,360 made him the moral conscience of the city he loved - Athens. 915 00:58:34,360 --> 00:58:39,040 Yet, his dogged pursuit of truth would end with a death sentence.