Jignasa Journal Of History Of Ideas And Culture Part 02

Author(s): Vibha Upadhyaya and Others
Publisher: University of Rajasthan

Page 17

Dāna Pāramita as Illustrated in Early Indian Buddhist Art / 233
30. Dānā Pāramitā as Illustrated in Early
Indian Buddhist Art
Anupa Pande
This article is homage for one of the greatest Buddhist scholars in the world, Prof. G. C. Pande.
During the Bodhi Experience, the Buddha first came to have the purvenivāsasmritijñāna. This is the basic presupposition of the Jātaka stories. Seeing a present incident, the Buddha recalls the past of the characters involved and his own role as Bodhisattva in the happenings. Thus, ostensibly, the Jätakas recall various incidents from the life of the Bodhisattva in his previous births. At the same time, we have to remember that much of the material of the Jätakas, Avadänas and early Buddhist literature was derived from popular tales, often-folk tales. In these tales, popular cults of yakshas and nägas and Vedic Gods in their popular form played a dominant part. But now, when adapted by the Buddhists as Bodhisattva stories or Jätakas, the original cults were subordinated to Buddhist ideas and motifs. In the Buddhist cosmology yakshas, nāgas and Vedic deities like Indra, Yama, Varuna are all deities of the Ramadhātu, i.e., of the sensuous world. Above these are the deities of the rūpa and arūpa dhātus which have numerous worlds reached by meditation and deities are mentioned for each of them. Beyond the three dhätus is Nirvāṇa. The worship of the Buddha is not the worship of Gods in any of the three dhātus but of a principle beyond them. Buddha is, in principle, Bodhi personified. Having directly attained Nirvāṇa, the Buddha chose to work among human beings to show them the way. This is the root idea of the Bodhisattva ideal as reflected in the Jātakas. In every condition of life, the Buddha helps the process of enlightenment through compassion.
In Mahāyāna, the Bodhisattvapranidhana is the Bodhisattva's resolve to help all beings. This requires the practice of päramitās or perfections. Of the many päramitās mentioned, one of the most prominent is Dāna Paramitā or charity. Dāna is a variety of karma or action. What then, is the Buddhist theory of karma? Karma is volition and action dependent on volition - 'cheinä сhetayitvä сha karmoktam parmashina' (Nagarjuna on Madhyamikakārikā, Karmaparikshā prakarana).
Dāna, thus, is good action. The essence of dāna lies in volition where one wants to give up the self and what belongs to it. Däna is not simply charity in common parlance, däna is 'kushalahetuprayuktachaitanya'i.e. goodwill motivated by welfare, suggested in the Abhidharma. Thus, the Buddhist concept of däna includes goodwill and welfare for others, it includes self sacrifice