The Birth of Buddhism: The Internalization of Ritual

(Excerpt from President Ikeda’s dialogue with the scholar of Tibetan, Mongolian and Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Lokesh Chandra in their book Buddhism A Way of Values, pp. 12–13.)

In the time Shakyamuni lived, Brahmanism had become formalized, and Brahman rituals had become an integral part of the ceremonial life of the aristocracy. The Brahmans performed religious rituals and prayed to God for blessings in this world.

I believe that Shakyamuni intended to internalize ritual. In the early Buddhist scripture, The Book of Kindred Sayings[1] Shakyamuni said of the Brahman fire ritual, “Nay, Brahman, deem not that by mere wood-laying comes purity. … I lay no wood, Brahman, for fires on altars. Only within burneth the fire I kindle.”

Shakyamuni taught that it is more important to internalize the meaning of a ritual than to perform its motions mindlessly. Shakyamuni intended to sound the alarm on the simplistic notion of giving offerings to the Brahman to perform complicated rituals in order to accumulated virtues and be reborn in paradise. He stood up to the vacuous authoritarianism and ritualism of the times and called for a major reform in the currents of religious thought. Shakyamuni taught that one must continually strive to develop oneself, overcome hardships, contribute to others and society, and become a beacon of light to illuminate the world. Shakyamuni’s lucid philosophy and practice shaped the practice of the Bodhisattva way of Mahayana Buddhism that followed and was the basis for the work of Nichiren, the great Japanese proponent of the Lotus Sutra. The human revolution, a movement representing the principles of the Soka Gakkai, carries on the intent of Shakyamuni. Also, we of the Soka Gakkai International strive to model his spirit as we engage with those around us who are suffering and as we work to contribute to a confused society desperately in need of guidance.

---