. Buddha and Martial Arts
At the time of the foundation of Buddhism, the martial art Vedic appeared, from a technical standpoint, as a science-coded according to standards defined, unfortunately, guarantee complete had lost its spiritual and moral, reduced to a simple military training . Gautama Buddha, belonged to the warrior caste of Kshatriyas, thus he was raised as a warrior.
His education included:
- Dhanur the Veda,
- the pragmatic,
- policy,
- the music,
- mathematics,
- religion and
- philosophy.
. The were taught the Vedas and devoted a special study to the Rig-Veda and all 'Atharva-Veda. Naturally excelled in all fields of knowledge, including the martial arts.
Devadatta, his cousin and classmate was stronger, but Siddhartha was more agile and ready. His teachers were amazed of his profit. During the period of preaching Buddha expressed his deep conviction of the effectiveness of martial arts as a way for the unification of body and mind, a mental and physical discipline that can bring the two elements.
Although Buddhism, which preaches nonviolence to vegetarianism, martial art, may seem incompatible, the original teachings of Buddha placed emphasis on the importance of strength for the defense of the spiritual laws (Dharma).
Buddha taught that everything has its reason for being, and the man who has perfect knowledge knows how and when to use everything properly. In the exercise of justice, the application of force is permitted.
For this reason, some Buddhist deities, such as Two-Spirit Guardians, the Devas, and Aditya or the Twelve Divine General, are represented in positions martial.
The Vedic martial arts, which had been emptied of its original spiritual values, was partially restored thanks to the teachings of Buddha. Disciples of Buddha, the heirs of his thought, cultivated entirely the doctrine of the master, transmitting the same to their descendants. The few scholars who handed down the remnants of pre-Christian times Vedic martial discipline, were wide ethnic Manipur and warriors, on a large scale, the Buddhist monks. Buddha, his teachings, converted the Emperor Ashoka (300 BC) , under whose auspices the whole of India became a Buddhist. Consequently, in the early centuries of our era, the Vedic martial art, practiced in the royal and military spheres, totally took the connotations of Buddhist belief, professed and disseminated.
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