The many religions that existed in India both before and after Buddhism taught personal disciple and liberation alone. Almost none of them gave thought to instructing others or society in general or to the creation of an ideal realm in the actual world. Initially, Shakyamuni left his father's home and undertook the life of religious discipline for the realization of his own personal ideal. But when he had developed a correct view of the world and of man through observations of the nature of human life and the universe, he saw that human beings do not live in isolation. The fate of each person, intimately connected with the flow from past to present and from present to future, is further intimately connected with the fates of the people around him, with society, and with the natural environment. For this reason, individual happiness cannot result from the improvement of the individual alone. Shakyamuni realized that, because of the Law of Causation, such happiness can only result from simultaneous improvement in society and the environment. From this standpoint, he naturally adopted the policy of saving and teaching others. This characteristic attitude sets Buddhism apart from other Indian religions and philosophies and explains its spread beyond India to the rest of the world.
Kogen Mizuno---
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