There is a strong yogic tradition in Buddhism which, for centuries, has been kept uninterruptedly and practiced according to the Buddha’s teachings, even today. Buddha himself was a great Yogi, disseminating yogic teachings for forty-five years. History shows that the main foundation upon which Buddha became enlightened was a combination of Hatha Yoga (physical practice) and Raja Yoga (yoga philosophy), having been taught by six famous teachers before he became fully enlightened. It is fair to say that without Yoga, Buddha would never have attained the Highest Truth in his lifetime.
Buddha used yogic postures to meditate, and incorporated the yogic teachings in his lessons; furthermore, he attained Mahaparinirvana using yogic postures as well. Buddhism owes a great debt of gratitude to the lineage of great sages and yogis who maintained and passed down the yogic tradition for thousands of years until it reached the Buddha. One of the great qualities of the yogic tradition is the freedom it provides the practitioners to question, explore and have their own experience. Moreover, the tradition itself transforms as new insights, such as what the Buddha experienced, are incorporated into the practice. As a result, Buddha’s teaching was embraced around the world and highly welcomed.
YOGA & BUDDHISM: SISTER TRADITIONS
Yoga and Buddhism have same spiritual root which focuses on inner practices to attain the highest wisdom through Samadhi. The Buddhist practitioner finds Yogic influences in Buddhist practices; likewise the Yogic practitioner will find elements of the Buddha Dharma in their practices. There are many noble yogis in Buddhism such as Santaraksita, Dignaga, Dharmakirti, Milarepa, Athisa, Nagarjuna, Kumarajiva, and Padmasambhava, among others. There are yogic traditions continuously being practiced in the three major branches of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana). The mysteries of yogic practice in Buddhism should be given credit as “Buddhist Yoga”. The great Yogi the Buddha refined all the spiritual techniques and then presented them in a simplistic manner so every beginner could grasp the ultimate truth easily.
BUDDHA'S YOGIC PATH
The great teacher Uddako Ramaputto taught yoga to a young man named Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). Through the yogic practices, Siddhartha quickly gained the same level of achievement as his teacher, but was not satisfied that he had achieved the ultimate truth. Therefore, he left his yoga teacher in order to seek another who could take him to the next level of understanding. However, after learning and practicing with six great teachers of his time, namely Puranakssapa, Makkhaligosala, Ajitakesakambala, Pakudhakaccayana, Sanjayabellattiputta and Nighantanathaputta, he still had not found what he was seeking. He was on the verge of giving up because he was so weak from practicing for six years a high level of self-mortification which at the time, was a key part of the yoga practice. Then, one day, he learned that to reach a goal, everything should be in moderation. He discovered that enlightenment could be attained not only through the extreme practices, but also through the way of moderation. After practicing moderation, within seven days he was fully enlightened.
“The Buddha had ‘awoken’ to a liberating insight into the nature of the human condition. By achieving this insight it is understood that very nature of Siddhartha had been radically changed…that he was no longer subject to continued death and rebirth in this world” (Skilton 25). In Pali, “Budh” means to wake up, perceive, to become aware. Buddha means “The Awakened One.” The main realization of a Buddha is to be released from the bondage of rebirth (samsara) and suffering (dukkha).
After Buddha was enlightened, he continuously practiced for forty-nine days in deep meditation, to see the past, the future, and the present, as well as to understand the cosmos and the divine energy. These forty-nine days were his inner scientific research of the universe.
Scientific research requires a step-by-step approach where
1) a problem is identified
2) data is accumulated
3) a hypothesis is formed
4) experiments are designed and conducted to test the hypothesis.
The testing must establish a set of controls so that when results are achieved, the experiment can be repeated with all the same factors and yield the same result. Through his inner science (silence, meditation and contemplation), Buddha discovered The Four Noble Truths, which themselves are an embodiment of scientific research:
Define the problem: There is suffering
Accumulate the Data: Suffering is caused by ignorance
Form a hypothesis: Suffering can be overcome
Design experiments that test the hypothesis: Noble Eightfold Path is the solution to suffering.
The Noble Eightfold Path is an entire experiment which, when repeated with all the same factors in place, will yield the same result. The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path were Buddha’s first contributions to the development of the Yogic Tradition in Buddhism.
