Buddhism & 4 Life Stages
The four life stages are a tenet of Hinduism that predate Buddhism. Buddhism itself was born within the religious structure of Hinduism, as a spiritual school of thought that accepted some aspects of mainstream Hindu thought, while rejecting others and placing more emphasis on logic and reason as a means to enlightenment. Buddhism has a slightly different, but related, take on life stages.
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The Four Life Stages
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The four life stages in Hinduism are student, householder, hermit and holy man. A young man is expected to lead a celibate life as a student, learning about his future responsibilities, both spiritual and secular. He then marries and has children, concentrating on the material world. Later, he begins to dissociate himself from secular things, to concentrate on the spiritual. Finally, some choose to renounce their lives completely, achieving the status of sadhu, or holy man.
Buddhism's Interpretation
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Buddhism accepts many of the tenets of Hinduism, often with a slight modification. In Theravada Buddhism in southeast Asia, in particular, young men enter monasteries for a short period from three months to one year, replicating the celibate student period, after which they are considered adults and may marry. Buddhism, however, places more emphasis on death and the period before reincarnation, considering periods of death to be included in life stages.
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Life Stages in Buddhism
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Buddhism considers many of the stages of the life of the soul to take place after the death of the physical body. The first is the moment of death, when the soul has the potential to merge with the light of ultimate reality and escape the cycle of reincarnation. If it doesn't, it moves on to the next stage, dealing with karma from the previous life. The soul then begins to seek rebirth, and reenters a new life. During that lifetime, there are periods of dreaming and meditation, followed by death, after which the cycle begins again.
Mingling of Hinduism and Buddhism
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In areas of the world where the practice of Hinduism and Buddhism overlap to a large degree, the two religions mesh quite well. In areas like Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, Hinduism holds sway in the lowlands and Buddhism is practiced in the highlands. The two religions intermingle wherever they meet, peacefully coexisting and sharing various concepts in a complex synthesis. Since neither religion proselytizes, there is less motivation for conflict.
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References
- The Human Odyssey; The Stages of Life According to Tibetan Buddhism; January 2008
- University of Wyoming: Life Stages in Buddhism
- The Berzin Archives; Indian Society and Tought Before and at the Time of Buddha; Alexander Berzin; March 1990
- "Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya"; Bradley Mayhew, et al.; 2009
- "Holy people of the world: a cross-cultural encyclopedia, Volume 3"; Phyllis G. Jestice; 2004
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
