Buddhism and Buddha's personality

By Ralph Buultjens

Value of personality

Most of the moral and salvific teachings of Buddhism are not abstractions. They were expounded by the Buddha after encountering situations which established their worth and after reflecting on their value. Since original Buddhism is the product of the Buddha and the Buddha is the product of original Buddhism, the founder Himself becomes validation of His truth. The proof and test of Buddhism, then, is the Buddha - it ultimately stands upon the evaluation we make of His character and personal behaviour. Herein lies a major difference between Buddhism and other faiths.

In this context it is important for Buddhists to know as much as possible about the personality who proclaimed the Buddhist idea and ideal. Was the Lord Buddha an average or ordinary man whose full attainments are within the provenance of all average and ordinary men? Was He an extraordinary man whose full attainments may not be within full reach of commonplace men who follow His path? Was He initially as flawed as most individuals are and then able to mould greatness from poor material? Was He a superior person whose basic character gave Him a clear start on the road to perfection? In short, for Buddhists to know their doctrine may be imperative. But, it is equally essential to know the Buddha's personality. This will tell us more about the applicability of the doctrine and our own capacity to achieve fulfillment through it.

Biographing the Buddha

Yet, a study of available documents enables some surmises about His character and behaviour patterns - deductions which Buddhists need to engage in and which have often been the subject of speculation in many writings. We know, for instance, that He was born into the Sakya clan. The Sakyas lived around the lowland Terai area of modern south Nepal, where their capital Kapilavastu was located. This group considered themselves a kind of elite among the peoples of the wider Gangetic region. The fate of the Sakyas is instructive for all self-style elites - they have been reduced to a small and debased community largely indigent today. Anyway, at that time, to be born the son of a Sakya leader would have given the young Gautama a sense of confidence and access to mental and material resources. These must have shaped His youthful worldview and nourished the roots of that self-assurance so evident in the subsequent Buddha persona.

It would probably be correct to assume that the princely Gautama, by the time of His mid-twenties, was a thoughtful person with some education. He would not otherwise have intelligently digested or been provoked by the sights which led to His renunciation of the Sakya court. Gautama was also obviously an intense young man - perhaps resentful of the elaborate ceremony and traditional routine typical of the entourage of petty North Indian rulers. These customs suggest that His wife would have been selected for Him, a betrothal in the ritualistic Hindu manner at the age of 16. After 13 years of marriage and the birth of a son, there was something unsatisfying in the environment around Gautama - something which stirred a restlessness that led Him to reject it.

In this period, we see two features which matured in the years ahead: a rebellious nature and a capability for organization. The former was demonstrated by Gautama's decision to break away from His comfortable surroundings - an act of unusual daring against convention. This same trait later surfaced consistently, especially the ways in which the Buddha challenged existing and established social orders. A second feature was adroit organizational skill evident in the tactics required to arrange Gautama's clandestine departure from His father's palace. Careful planning, a sense of timing and strategy facilitated this escape. The same talents enabled the Buddha to devise and structure the first significant monastic order - a core of disciplined, full-time missionaries whose lifestyle bespoke their commitment. From Jesus Christ to Lenin, this model has been hugely effective as an operational tool for those who desire to build action oriented movements.

There is a mildly innovative capacity to Gautama's youthful efforts. Extended and expanded into the realm of thought they became a conveyor-belt for the creative patterns which form the vortex of Buddhism. Some of these ideas are almost unnatural and startlingly radical in that they run against usual human tendencies. Cultivated moderation and non-violence are not the normal reaction of individuals in difficult situations. Yet, the Buddha was possibly the earliest proponent of these values, arguing that what are occasional reactions could be made into positive lifeways. What is more, He personally demonstrated that it was possible to do so. Contemporary revolutionaries can learn an interesting lesson from this - how to undertake basic and drastic change without the instability, disruptions and hateful violence associated with revolutionary enterprises.

Communicating the message

Effective communica- tions requires outreach. This the Buddha knew well. For more than four decades, the length of His ministry, He was constantly mobile - wandering on foot throughout a region of Northwest India about 250 miles long and 150 miles wide (from Campa in the east to Kosambi in the west). He met and shared thoughts with the broadest possible spectrum of society - ascetics and sybarites, kings and courtesans, Brahmins and outcasts, merchants and labourers. Rare is the historical figure who has had so much direct interaction with such a cosmopolitan range of people. Most have personal dealings primarily with others of their own class. Given the inquisitive bent of the early Gautama, it is reasonable to imagine that the Buddha learned as He taught. If so, He must nave been one of the best informed persons in the locality - which is perhaps one reason why He had easy access to the most important leaders there.

Despite this access, and His eminence and esteem in the region, the Buddha's teachings were not immediately widely popular or accepted. In His lifetime, he attracted a substantial local following, many of whom were dedicated to the service of their leader and His doctrine. But Buddhism as a movement was not an uncontested and instant success. Large numbers of traditional Hindus and Jains coexisted and probably outnumbered Buddhists in the wider Ganges valley - the area where Buddhism was introduced and where it then remained. Many listened to the Buddha's preachings yet retained attachment to their own religions. This must have been a deeply disappointing reception for what was to be a universal message. The Buddha continued undiscouraged, endlessly striving to offer His wisdom to the people. 

Image and reality

We have a tendency to confuse compassion with weakness, kindness with pliability. The Buddha was both compassionate and kind, but He was firm of decision and character. Time and again we see how He disciplined others. Strict rules with appropriate penalties were prepared for monks. Above all, His strength is shown on the many occasions where seduction and temptation was implacably resisted. The Buddha's own personal submission to regulations which other Buddhists are expected to observe was exemplary. The precepts of Buddhism are for all with no special exemption for the leader, making the Buddha somewhat unusual among founders of faiths.

Paradigm for history

If Gautama had then returned to Kapilavastu, there is no indication that He would have become a great history-maker. At this time, His most outstanding quality was persistence with little achievement to show for it.

The turning-point comes with Enlightenment, changing the adventurous seeker into the realized sage. What caused this transformation? Buddhists believe that it was both Karmic, the cumulation of effort over many lives, and circumstantial. Others with less faith in Karma may contend that it was dedication to endeavour. Whatever it be, the story of Gautama is encouraging. It suggests that, with purpose and struggle, an individual of no apparent transcendent qualities or unusually visible potential (karmic or genetic) can attain the highest spiritual levels.

Considering the human record, condition and prospect, the Buddha's optimism is astounding. His eventual expectation that individuals are capable of applying rationality to the affairs of life, cultivating wisdom and attaining enlightenment have rarely been proven. The Buddhist movement itself, has fragmented with discord and many who proclaim the faith pervert its meaning. So, was the Buddha's first instinct accurate and His doctrine wasted on the world? Perhaps it was. But, there is another perspective. We will never know how much worse the world might have been without the introduction of Buddhism. And, of course, the story is unfinished. The ideas of Buddhism as Buddhism or under another rubric may someday be able to exert a wider impact. If that time comes, it will not be because of doctrinal excellence alone. It will also be because the personality of the Buddha is the symbol, the catalyst and the model of Buddhist potential. This is why we must understand His character and extract the same in copy inferences from it.

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