Abstract

It is argued that early Buddhism to a very considerable extent can and should be seen as reformed Brahmanism. Speculations about cosmogony in Buddhist s tras can be traced back to Vedic sources, above all R gveda 10.129 & 10.90—two hymns that play a similar fundamental role in the early Upanisads. Like the immortal and unmanifest Brahman and the mortal and manifest Brahm, the Buddha, as a mythological Bhagavat, also had two forms. In his highest form he is “the profound” beyond being and non-being, like Brahman. As a teacher, he is like Brahm. By suppressing mind and by getting rid of desire a Buddhist should “swim” back to the profound beyond the duality of life and death, which is also suffering. One becomes real and true by seeing the causal identity of tat and tvam, i.e. of macrocosm and microcosm. The spiritual ideals of early Buddhism are thus founded on natural philosophy