Mahatma Gandhi’s spiritual philosophy drew deeply from multiple religious traditions, but his relationship with Buddhism held a special significance. Gandhi viewed the Buddha not as the founder of a separate religion but as one of Hinduism’s greatest reformers whose teachings became inseparable from the Indian spiritual heritage. This perspective shaped Gandhi’s understanding of nonviolence, compassion, and the pursuit of truth-values central to both traditions.
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Buddha as a warrior of peace and world teacher
Gandhi’s first serious encounter with Buddhist thought came during his student days in London (1888-1891), when he read Sir Edwin Arnold’s The Light of Asia. He later recalled reading it with even greater interest than the Bhagavad Gita, unable to put the book down once he had begun. The young Gandhi attempted to unify the teachings of the Gita, The Light of Asia, and the Sermon on the Mount, finding that renunciation as the highest form of religion appealed to him greatly.
Gandhi revered Buddha as one of the greatest teachers humanity had ever known. During his 1927 visit to Sri Lanka, Gandhi declared that he owed a great deal to the inspiration he had derived from the life of the Enlightened One. He saw the Buddha’s journey into the wilderness for fasting and prayer as the essential preparation that made him capable of transforming the world. Gandhi observed that had the Buddha and Christ not spent years in solitude preparing themselves for their mission, they would not have achieved what they did.
Gandhi described Buddha as a warrior of peace whose nonviolent action produced lasting effects. In a 1937 interview, Gandhi stated that the effects of Buddha’s nonviolent action persist and are likely to grow with age, while the violence of contemporary dictators, though immediately visible, would prove transitory. This view of Buddha as an active fighter-but one who wielded love rather than weapons-deeply influenced Gandhi’s own approach to resistance.
The quest for truth amidst darkness
What particularly moved Gandhi was Buddha’s response to the suffering and injustice he witnessed. When Prince Siddhartha encountered human misery, he did not look away but embarked on a transformative quest. Gandhi drew parallels to his own time, noting how the contrast between lavish palaces built for the wealthy and the miserable huts of laborers reminded him of the shock that transformed Gautama Buddha’s life.
Gandhi understood ahimsa and truth as inseparable principles. He believed that a perfect vision of truth could only follow a complete realization of ahimsa, and that identification with everything that lives was impossible without self-purification. This understanding mirrored Buddha’s own path of seeking enlightenment through ethical conduct and mental discipline.
Buddha: the Hindu reformer
Gandhi held an unwavering conviction that Buddha was, in his words, a “Hindu of Hindus” who never rejected his ancestral tradition. Speaking at the Young Men’s Buddhist Association during his Ceylon visit, Gandhi declared that Gautama was saturated with the spirit of Hinduism and the Vedic spirit. He maintained that Buddha never rejected Hinduism or the message of the Vedas but instead introduced a living reformation in the petrified faith that surrounded him.
This view of Buddhism as a reform movement within Hinduism rather than a separate religion remained central to Gandhi’s religious philosophy. He compared Buddhism’s relationship to Hinduism with Protestantism’s relationship to Roman Catholicism-a powerful reform movement that emerged from within. Gandhi stated that it was his deliberate opinion that the essential teachings of Buddha now formed an integral part of Hinduism.
Reviving buried Vedic truths
According to Gandhi, Buddha’s great Hindu spirit cut through the forest of meaningless words that had overlaid the golden truth in the Vedas. He gave life to teachings that were buried and made the ancient scriptures yield meanings more relevant to his generation. Gandhi saw this not as rejection but as recovery and renewal.
By his immense sacrifice, great renunciation, and the immaculate purity of his life, Buddha left an indelible impress upon Hinduism, Gandhi observed. He taught that whatever aspects of Buddhism were not assimilated by Hinduism were not essential parts of Buddha’s life and teaching. This controversial claim-which many Buddhists disputed-reflected Gandhi’s effort to present Indian religious traditions as fundamentally unified.
Gandhi even pleaded guilty when accused of spreading Buddhist teachings under the guise of Sanatana Hinduism. His own eldest son had accused him of being a Buddhist, and rather than deny it, Gandhi expressed pride in being considered a follower of Buddha. He declared without hesitation that he owed much to the inspiration derived from the Enlightened One’s life.
Compassion and the rejection of ritual sacrifice
Among the aspects of Buddha’s teaching that Gandhi highlighted most prominently was his compassionate rebellion against ritual animal sacrifice. In a 1905 lecture in Johannesburg, Gandhi explained that Buddha taught that animal sacrifice was despiritualizing and that toleration of all life was the highest form of love. This message resonated powerfully with Gandhi’s own commitment to ahimsa.
Gandhi understood Buddha’s opposition to sacrifice as emerging from profound indignation. Buddha was staunchly opposed to killing-not just of human beings but of all beings without exception. He expressed the view that all beings deserved compassion, fundamentally challenging the ritualistic practices of his time that treated animal lives as expendable offerings to the divine.
Dethroning the usurper
Gandhi saw Buddha’s rejection of blood sacrifice as reinstating a purer concept of divinity. He argued that Buddha justly rejected the base things being done in the name of God and redeclared the eternal existence of the moral government of the universe. The law itself was God-a moral order that required ethical conduct rather than ritualistic violence.
The Buddha’s approach went beyond mere prohibition. Buddhist texts describe increasingly refined forms of sacrifice, culminating in the insight that the highest sacrifice is the abandonment of ego-centredness itself. True sacrifice meant offering one’s own selfish desires, not the lives of other creatures.
Gandhi applied this principle practically, declaring the reported animal sacrifice at the historic Buddha Gaya temple a sacrilege. He asked pointedly: if animals could not be sacrificed to the gods above, how could they be sacrificed to satisfy human appetites? Buddha wanted humans to sacrifice themselves-their lust and worldly ambition-not other life.
A legacy of ethical reform
Gandhi believed ahimsa to be a creative energy force encompassing all interactions leading to the discovery of divine truth. This understanding drew directly from Buddhist ethics, where compassion extends to all sentient beings without exception.
Gandhi repeatedly emphasized that Buddha’s reformation had not yet had a fair trial. He noted that twenty-five hundred years were nothing in the life of the world-if the evolution of physical form takes aeons, why expect rapid transformation in thought and conduct? Yet he remained hopeful, believing that masses could be suddenly converted and uplifted when the unseen forces of truth worked upon them.
The matchless gift that Buddha gave to Hinduism and to the world, in Gandhi’s view, was teaching humanity to defy appearances and trust in the final triumph of truth and love. This message animated Gandhi’s entire life work and continues to inspire movements for social justice and nonviolent change across the globe.
What do you think? Did Gandhi’s interpretation of Buddhism as an integral part of Hinduism help bridge religious divides, or did it obscure Buddhism’s distinct identity and contributions? How might the principle of compassionate sacrifice-offering ego rather than animal lives-transform contemporary approaches to spirituality and ethics?
References
- https://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/mag147429.pdf
- https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/How-Gandhi-and-Nehru-viewed-Buddhism/172-188918
- https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/ahimsa-Its-theory-and-practice-in-Gandhism.php
- http://www.phayul.com/2006/06/14/12881/
- https://gandhiking.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lord-budha-and-mahatma-gandhi-1
- https://www.srilankaguardian.org/2010/08/buddha-was-against-animal-sacrifice.html
- https://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=8%2C665%2C0%2C0%2C1%2C0
- https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/ahmisa-non-violence-gandhi-and-global-citizenship-education-gced
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