This young man from the upper class of society gave up his status and position when he saw the effects of his status on people outside the palace walls. These eight precepts of Buddhism are really about how people should relate to each other and how people should develop self-discipline. Each of the eight “rights” is a simple statement about how to alleviate suffering in life.
They are simple, and in fact all other religions have them in some form: Be kind to each other, don't gossip, don't kill or steal, be loyal, make good choices, learn a lot and relax. I also learned that after the Buddha laid out these ideas, he stopped worshipping Hindu gods and stopped believing that one caste was better than others. But similar to Hinduism, Buddhists have come to believe that following these steps leads to nirvana and therefore stops the cycle of reincarnation.
So what did I learn about the development of early religions by studying Hinduism and Buddhism? In both cases, the development of religious ideology was closely linked to the already established systems that people used to relate to each other. In this case the social hierarchy of caste, the core ideas in each religion provided more structure and guidance on how people should peacefully relate to each other and live their best lives. Both provided a path and documents (texts) on how to earn salvation. In this case, by ending the cycle of reincarnation.
This short journal entry is an example of how historians research important questions and look at new information. They use a mix of historical documents and the writings of other historians to inform their thinking.
Sources
Great Age Four: Change and the Expansion of Encounter Networks 1200 BC - 500 AD.” World History for All of Us. Web.
Ferrer, Michelle. “Close-up Teaching Unit 4.4.1: The Budding of Buddhism, 563 BC - 150 AD.” World History for All of Us. PDF file.
McNeill, JR and McNeill, W. The Human Web: A Bird's Eye View of World History. New York: W.H. Norton & Co., 2003. Edition.
