Despite its disappearance as an organized religion, Buddhism left its impact on Indian society and economy. The Buddhists showed a keen awareness of the problems that faced the people of north-east India from about 500 BC.

Contribution of Buddhism towards efforts in eradicating poverty

The iron ploughshare-based agriculture, trade, and the use of coins enabled the traders and nobles to accumulate wealth, and we hear of people possessing eighty kotis of wealth. All this naturally created sharp social and economic inequalities.

Buddhism therefore advised people not to accumulate wealth. According to it, poverty breeds hatred, cruelty, and violence. To eradicate these evils, the Buddha taught that farmers should be provided with grain and other facilities, traders with wealth, and the unemployed with employment. These measures were recommended to eradicate poverty in the world.

Buddhism also taught that if the poor gave alms to the monks, they would be born wealthy in the next world.

A reaction against materialism

The code of conduct prescribed for the monks represents a reaction against the material conditions of north-east India in the fifth–fourth centuries BC. It imposes restrictions on the food, clothing, and sexual behaviour of the monks. They could not accept gold and silver, could not resort to sale and purchase. The code of conduct prescribed for monks partially reflects a revolt against the use of money, private property and luxurious living, that was prevalent in the fifth century BC in north-east India at a time when property and money were considered luxuries.

Contribution of Buddhism towards upliftment of women and shudras

Buddhism made an important impact on society by keeping its doors open to women and shudras.

As both women and shudras were placed in the same category by Brahmanism, they were neither given the sacred thread nor allowed to read the Vedas. Their conversion to Buddhism freed them from such marks of inferiority.

Buddism did not deprecate manual labour. In a second-century sculpture from Bodh-Gaya, the Buddha is depicted ploughing with oxen.

Contribution of Buddhism towards boosting cattle wealth of the country

With its emphasis on non-violence and the sanctity of animal life, Buddhism boosted the cattle wealth of the country.

The earliest Buddhist text, Suttanipata, declares cattle to be givers of food, beauty, strength, and happiness (annada, vannada, balada, sukhada), and thus pleads for their protection.

This teaching came, significantly, at a time when the non-Aryans slaughtered animals for food, and the Aryans in the name of religion.

The brahmanical insistence on the sacredness of the cow and non-violence was apparently derived from Buddhist teachings.

Contribution of Buddhism towards promoting rationalism and intellect

Buddhism created and developed a new awareness in the field of intellect and culture.

It taught the people not to take things for granted but to argue and judge them on merits.

To a certain degree, the place of superstition was taken by logic, promoting rationalism among people.

Contribution of Buddhism towards language and literature

In order to preach the doctrines of the new religion, the Buddhists compiled a new type of literature, enormously enriching Pali by their writings.

Early Pali literature can be divided into three categories. The first contains the sayings and teachings of the Buddha, the second deals with the rules to be observed by members of the sangha, and the third presents a philosophical exposition of the dhamma.

In the first three centuries of the Christian era, by blending Pali and Sanskrit, the Buddhists created a new language which is called Hybrid Sanskrit.

The literary activities of the Buddhist monks continued even in the Middle Ages, and some famous Apabhramsa writings in east India were composed by them.

Contribution of Buddhism towards education

The Buddhist monasteries developed as great centres of learning, and can be called residential universities.

Mention may be made of Nalanda and Vikramashila in Bihar, and Valabhi in Gujarat.

Contribution of Buddhism towards art of ancient India

Buddhism left its mark on the art of ancient India.

The first human statues worshipped in India were probably those of the Buddha.

Faithful devotees of the religion portrayed the various events in the life of the Buddha in stone.

The panels at Bodh-Gaya in Bihar and at Sanchi and Bharhut in MP are illuminating examples of artistic activity.

From the first century onwards, panel images of Gautama Buddha began to be made.

The Greek and Indian sculptors worked together to create a new form of art on the north-west frontier of India known as Gandhara art. The images made in this region betray Indian as well as foreign influence.

For the residence of the monks, rooms were hewn out of the rocks, and thus began the cave architecture in the Barabar hills in Gaya and also in western India around Nasik.

Buddhist art flourished in the Krishna delta in the south and in Mathura in the north.

Contribution of Buddhism – the negative aspects

Although Buddhism tried to mitigate the evils resulting from the new material life in the fifth century BC, it also sought to consolidate the changes in the social and economic life of the people. The rule that debtors were not permitted to be members of the sangha helped the moneylenders and richer sections of society from whose clutches the debtors could not be saved.

Similarly, the rule that slaves could not join the sangha helped slave owners. Thus, the rules and teachings of Gautama Buddha took full account of the new changes in the material life of the time and strengthened them ideologically.

Although the Buddhist monks had renounced the world and repeatedly criticized the greedy brahmanas, in several ways they resembled the brahmanas. Both of them did not participate directly in production, and lived on the alms or gifts given by society. They emphasized the virtues of carrying out family obligations, protecting private property, and respecting political authority. Both supported the social order based on classes; for the monks, however, the varna was based on action and attributes but for the brahmanas it was based on birth.

The code of conduct prescribed for the monks suggest a return to a kind of primitive communism, a characteristic of the tribal society in which people did not practice trade and advanced agriculture.

Undoubtedly the objective of Buddhist teaching was to secure the salvation of the individual or nirvana. Those who found it difficult to adjust themselves to the break-up of the old egalitarian society and the rise of gross social inequalities on account of private property were provided with some way of escape, but it was confined to the monks. No escape was provided for the lay followers, who were taught to come to terms with the existing situation.

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