The Danish Peace Academy
Hiinayaana's Motivation of Self-beginning for Welfare
Generally, it is believed that the Hiinayaana one of the prominent schools of thoughts of Buddhism is individualistic. Maximum stress of Hiinayaana is to take humans towards happiness and salvation or liberation from his personal sufferings. Some have also extended an argument that because Hiinayaana philosophy is centralized upon individual, it is micro in dimension; and it is for this reason perhaps that it has been linked to word ‘hiina’, which in simple words can be translated to ‘lesser’, ‘small’ or ‘low’. But in reality, despite being centralized on individualism, the message and objective of Hiinayaana philosophy is neither small nor its depth can be underestimated; especially because not only in the East, rather Western scholar like Gene Hopp also agrees that “Hiinayaana Buddhism is a good introduction [itself] of Buddhism what the Buddha [himself] taught”.
Thus, reality is that Hiinayaana philosophy was in existence even before the Mahaayaana, another prominent branch of Buddhism; may be not in the name of Hiinayaana, because nomenclature Hinayana came to light at the time of rising of Mahaayaana during a broad philosophical discourse on Buddhist philosophy, which took place after Lord Buddha. Nevertheless, Hiinayaana was discovered as a rival word by a great intellectual belonging to the Mahaayaana school of thought. May be or may not be that great intellectual might have meant to downgrade its rival philosophy in comparison to their own views and for this reason he called it Hiinayaana [lesser vehicle]. Even then, Hiinayaana is not a lesser vehicle; as it is important and relevant even today.
As is well known, Lord Buddha also accepted the principle of enjoying or suffering the consequences of one’s actions. He agreed that humans are liable to the destiny according to one’s deeds. Buddha declared the human deeds as the reason of repeated birth-death and rebirth and accepted deed itself as the basis of ultimate salvation. The principle of four noble truths [dukha-suffering, source of dukha, cessation of dukha and the path of cessation of dukha] expounded by him, firstly shows the fact [mirror] of human life and then provides point wise knowledge and intelligence to make it purposeful and fruitful. Not only has this, Lord Buddha’s call for determined adaptation and specific commitments and promises for development of ideal virtues, especially shila-the moral conduct [which is literally linked to calmness and pleasantness], also started virtually from individual life.
Shila turns a person virtuous and for this reason Lord Buddha has laid so much stress on it. A virtuous person can exercise self-control and then as a key to all happiness and dedicated to goodness, one can reach to the entire depths of the nature of excellent conduct. He can progress on the path of salvation of self and then of entire universe.
In reality, one can start from self. By renunciation of evils, a person, while developing ideal virtues through his good deeds, leads on the path of self welfare and reaches the stage of salvation; establishes himself as ideal for others and then inspires others towards that path [of salvation]. An individual who is not able to proceed on the path of self-welfare and reach the ultimate cannot become ideal or inspiration for others. This is the universal truth. Beginning shall have to be made from the bottom; that is, from the level of individual. This is the crux of teachings of Hiinayaana. It contains the condition of becoming light for welfare of self first. Hiinayaana message is to show enormous light to others after making the self luminous and shinning.
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