“What was Buddha thinking?”
A bold intellectual exploration into the very source of Buddha's thought!

Based on the early scriptures, only following the Buddha's thoughts
Buddha is the most outstanding and original thinker of all time.

Dr. Richard Gombrich, a world authority on early Buddhism and the son of Ernst Gombrich, author of the classic work on art, A History of Western Art.
He says that Buddha is one of the greatest thinkers in human history and the person he most admires.


Buddha achieved an intellectual leap forward in human civilization by ethicalizing the age-old concepts of karma and ritual in Indian Brahmanism.
Buddha's ethics are followed by thorough individual judgment and responsibility.
It contains the message that ethical behavior and responsibility lie with each individual, and that they should make their own judgments based on sound teachings, not blind faith or external pressure.
This may seem like a given in modern times, but the emergence of this idea in India, a class-based society 2,600 years ago, was nothing short of miraculous.
This was surprisingly innovative, reminiscent of the late Enlightenment thought of 19th-century Europe.

In Indian society, karma, reincarnation, and rituals to offer sacrifices to gods and ancestors have been deeply rooted in religious foundations since before the birth of Buddha, and have been used to further solidify the class system.
However, Buddha had a great influence on human history by reinterpreting and moralizing this in a bold and daring way.

Buddha taught people what he had realized through satire and parables.
However, because of these satires and metaphors, not only later researchers but even the Buddha's disciples at the time often misunderstood the Buddha's teachings.
This problem arose especially frequently when the content borrowed from Brahmanistic doctrines.
Through a detailed comparative analysis of early Buddhist scriptures and Brahmanic scriptures, the author elucidates the nature of these misunderstandings and the true nature of Buddha's thinking.
Through this, it illuminates the Buddha in the category of thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Hume, rather than as the founder of a religion, and explains where the source of the Buddha's great originality came from.

Buddha's abstract ability was an intellectual leap.
The ethicalization of the age-old idea of ​​reincarnation and human action (karma) was also a great advancement in human civilization.
The Buddha's doctrine of karma is central to his thought in terms of logic.
Karma is an action, not a being.
Furthermore, karma is neither accidental nor completely determined.
Pages 8-9

I dare to assert that Buddha is on a par with Plato and Aristotle, the founders of the Western philosophical tradition.
I believe that Buddha's teachings should be incorporated into children's education around the world, and that this will make the world a more gentle, intellectual, and civilized place.
_Page 24

Considering the spatial and temporal distance between the Buddha and me, it would be rather strange for me to think that all his thoughts were correct.
I don't agree with some of his theories, and I don't fully accept his values.
Therefore, I do not call myself a Buddhist.
But the respect that comes from understanding that thought is at least comparable to that of many who consider themselves Buddhists.
_Page 24

Buddha had no choice but to use the language of others to make his thoughts understood.
There was no other language besides that.
…Buddha gave new meaning to existing words.
This inevitably led to misunderstandings, especially among those who had only a superficial understanding of his teachings.
… If we look at modern Indian university education and publications, we see that the Buddha's teachings are essentially identical to those of the Upanishads, the sacred texts of Brahmanism, and that the only difference is that he rejected the caste system.
The reason this argument is raised is because the Buddha's main opponents were the Brahmins who held the Upanishadic viewpoint, and so he borrowed their terminology to criticize the Brahmins.
Page 26

It is useless to regard Buddha only as a religious leader.
…overemphasis on this may actually be an obstacle to understanding Buddhism today.
Page 29

The oldest and most extensive evidence supporting the Buddha's thought is found in considerable quantities in the Pali Canon, a vast collection of texts.
Page 31

It was Buddha's usual technique to first agree with the other person's opinion and then proceed with the conversation.
The Buddha says:
“That’s right.
~ and ~” This is a great negotiation and diplomatic strategy that anyone can learn.
The Buddha always avoids a hostile attitude.
Page 34

Buddha took the Brahmanic word meaning 'offering' and used it to mean 'ethical will'.
This simple action overturns the caste-based Brahmanical ethics.
Page 45

The influence of Jainism appears to have been even greater in the way the Buddha organized his Sangha.
Clearly, the Buddha learned that in addition to the order of monks, there must be an order of nuns.
According to Ute Husken, the theory that the Buddha did not want nuns to join the Sangha does not date back to the Buddha's time, and I wholeheartedly agree with this.
Page 116

Anyone who knows anything about the life of the Buddha will know that he tried Jainism himself and then rejected it.
Page 124

The great reform of the Buddha was to make ethical values ​​judged by the will rather than external factors.
Page 125

The very usage of the word 'soul' is riddled with such confusion that translating the Buddhist concept of anatta as 'no soul' would at best fail to convey the meaning sufficiently, and at worst, would lead to enormous misunderstanding.
…In Buddhism, there is a powerful law of continuity called karma.
Therefore, I would like to avoid using the word 'soul' in discussions on this topic.
However, it is impossible to avoid using the word soul at all because Indian Buddhism is deeply connected with the teaching of anatta, and anatta has become a de facto slogan representing Buddhism.
In this context, we cannot help but admit that there is no expression that better conveys the absence of self than the one that has always been used in English-speaking countries: 'no soul.'
Page 133

According to the copies, there were frequent instances where the Buddha gave specific sermons in multiple places.
I had to compare another copy to quickly interpret the difference.
What was surprising was that when a certain expression seemed ambiguous, the Korean translation tended to omit it.
Page 199

To summarize the discussion so far, in the Vedic tradition, consciousness and its object were thought of in terms of fire.
The Buddha uses the same reasoning in the Sutta on the Cessation of Craving, but in a more analytical way.
The Buddha sees consciousness as similar to fire in that it is a 'desirous' activity that cannot exist without something to fuel it.
Page 242

It should also be remembered that several of the Buddha's major disciples were of Brahmin origin.
Yet, the actual practices of Brahmanism are harshly criticized.
In some texts, this criticism is direct, criticizing primarily the same points that Jainism criticized.
Page 349

Brahma, the supreme creator god of Brahmanism, is surprised to read the mind of Buddha.
Brahma appears before the Buddha, kneels down, and repeats his request three times to preach the Dharma, saying that there will be those who understand.
Only after obtaining Buddha's consent does Brahma return to his heaven.
…the superiority of Buddhism could not be asserted more blatantly.
Page 353

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