Buddhist Mystic Poetry Greatly Influenced Islamic Sufi Poetry
By S.
Arshad, New Age Islam
29 June
2022
Persian
and Urdu Poetry Have Borrowed Style and Diction from Buddhist Mystic Songs
Main
Points:
1. Charyapada
and Doha are the oldest poetic genres developed by Buddhist mysticism.
2. Many
Buddhist Siddhacharyas were mystic poets.
3. Buddhist
mystic songs are the oldest specimens of poetry in India.
4. Persian and
Urdu Sufi poets of Iran, Afghanistan and India emulated Buddhist mystic poets.
------
It is an
established fact that Islamic Sufism has derived its features, ideas and
philosophy from spiritual philosophy of different religions and spiritual
groups. It has borrowed ideas and practices from Upanishads and Buddhist and
Christian mysticism. The great Arab Sufi poet Ibn Arabi wrote his Sufi treatise
Fusus al Hikam after getting inspiration from a Sanskrit book on Hindu
mysticism or Advaitavad and after that the Philosophy of Monism (Wahdat ul
Wujud) became very popular among the Muslim Sufis of India and Persia. The
tradition of monasteries in Islamic Sufism is the result of Christian
monasticism and Buddhist Viharas. The philosophy of merging or dissolution of
self into the Supreme self our Spirit called Fana to attain Baqa
(eternal bliss) in Islamic self is also due to the influence of Upanishadic and
Buddhist philosophy.
Apart from
the philosophical and ideological influence, the Islamic Sufism was also
greatly influenced by the Buddhist mystic poetry. It is widely known that Sufis
used poetry as a means to attain spiritual ecstasy (Wajd or Haal)
and to express their complex and deep spiritual experiences and philosophical
ideas not meant for laymen. Therefore, they started composing poetry on the
lines of Buddhist poetry. Many Buddhist poets composed poetry in ancient poetic
genres called Charyapada and Doha. These poems have a distinct style, and
peculiar metaphors, similes symbols and allegories are used in these poems to
convey mystic ideas and experiences in suggestive language.
Since
Buddhism is divided into more than 18 sects and sub-sects, they have different
beliefs and practices and every sect believes that their way only leads to the
Supreme Truth. Mahayana and Hinayana or Theravada are two major sects but
Mahayana branched into more sub-sects like Vajrayana and Mantrayana. In
Vajrayana or Mantrayana, Mantra, Tantra or the meditation on deities are
prescribed. Vajrayana believes in Vamachara (belief in the effectiveness of the
use of sexual union, consumption of wine or meat and other intoxicants) in the
attainment of spiritual bliss called Mahasukh or Nirvan. Therefore, in Buddhist
poetry, wine or sexual union, ecstasy, lover, the beloved etc all get a
spiritual meaning. All these poetic tools are used in Buddhist songs to express
spiritual ideas and experiences. For example, two translations of Buddhist
Charya Padas are reproduced below:
(1)
Kulish and
Karuna are united
The army is
in deep sleep
The senses
are won over
Great Bliss
becomes king of the Void
The shell
played the 'anahata sound'
The magic
tree and the worldly powers fled away
Kukkripa
raised his finger aloft and said:
In the city
of Bliss all has been won over
The three worlds
became filled with Great Bliss
So says
Kukkripa in Great Bliss
(Poet
Kukkuri Pad)
------
(2)
The wine
maker woman entered the two rooms
She
prepared wine from fine bark
Hold me
still and prepare wine
So that
your shoulders remain stout
When signs
appear on the tenth door
The
customer flows in spontaneously
The wine
was filled to the brim in 64 pitchers
When the
customer comes in does not go out
A pitcher
with narrow neck
Birua says,
hold on still and pour it cautiously
(Poet Birua
Pad)
---
In the first
Charyapada, Kulish and Karuna represent the soul of the devotee and the Supreme
Soul and their union is being described. The army is the army of sensual abd
material desires which have gone to sleep as a result of the devotee's union
with the Supreme Self. The shell is the metaphor of the heart (the heart
resembles a shell) and it plays 'anahata sound'. In Sufi terminology, 'anahata
sound' is called Latifa (very subtle sound emanating from the heart). These
sounds are of six kinds and so they are called Lataif-e-Sitta.
In the
second Charyapada, the use of similar metaphors, that of wine (Sharab or May
wine maker or Saqi, the customer (rind or Badakash), two rooms (Maikhana)
were later used in Persian and Urdu poetry. Other similes and metaphors like
garden, deer, hunter, net, forest etc found similar metaphors in Dasht, Ghazali
or doe eyed damsel, gulshan, saiyad, jaal etc in Urdu and Persian sufi poetry
particularly ghazal.
To
establish that Urdu and Persian poetry or Islamic Sufi poetry was influenced by
the Buddhist poetry, we need to establish that Buddhist mystic poetry preceded
Islamic Sufi poetry. And there are enough evidences to prove that.
In 1906,
the eminent Bengali linguist and researcher of Bengal Pandit Harprasad Shastri
discovered four a palm leaf manuscripts of Buddhist songs called Charyapada and
Dohas from Nepal Royal library. The manuscripts were prepared in the 14th
century and the songs contained in them were composed between the 8th century
and 12th century. The songs and Dohas were composed by Siddhas of Buddhism and
Nath Panth (an offshoot of Tantric Buddhism). In Tibetan language, a similar
manuscript of hundred Charyapadas called Charyagitikosh existed. It is evident
that Buddhist mystic sings or Doha were in vogue and popular even before the
8th century AD and the Buddhist Siddhacharyas compiled the best Charya Padas
available in the 14th century.
Now let's
find out how old is Islamic Sufi poetry in Persian and Urdu and its relation
with Buddhist mystic songs.
Although
the tradition of Islamic Sufism can be traced back to the second or third
century Hijri, Islamic Sufism attained a distinct ideological and philosophical
identity around the 5th century. The first prominent Sufi who also composed
couplets in Arabic was Hadhrat Rabia Basri who belonged to the 8th century. Her
couplets were simple expressions of love of God and devotion. The first Sufi
who expressed Sufi ideas in Arabic poetry is Yahya Ma'az Razi. He belonged to
the 9th century. Another famous Persian Sufi poet was Shaikh Ibrahim Khwas who
belonged to the 9th century. Sufi poet Shaikh Mahmood Shabistary belonged to
the 14th century. The famous Persian Sufi poet Maghribi belonged to the 14th
century.Shaikh Abu Sayeed al Khair belonged to the 11rh century AD. Persian
Sufi poet Shaikh Ibrahim Iraqi was born in Hamdan, travelled to Multan in India
then went to Egypt and finally settled in Syria where he died. Sufis would
travel to distant countries and through them ideas and philosophies would
spread to fa off continents. Sufi poet Hussain bin Mansur Hallaj travelled to
India and was influenced by Buddhist and Upanishadic philosophy of Fana. There
are other Persian Sufis like Rumi and Attar who accepted Buddhist and
Upanishadic influences on their poetry.
Since
consumption of wine, and illicit union between a man and a woman is a taboo in
Islam, the use of wine or of sexual union between a man and his consort in
Islamic sufi poetry is only under the influence of the Buddhist mystic
songs.Since Islamic sufis borrowed mystic poetry from Buddhism they also
borrowed poetic tools of Buddhist mystic poetry to express their spiritual
thoughts and experiences. One important metaphor in Buddhist mystic poetry is
that of deer. In India deer are found in abundance in jungles and Gautam Buddha
gave his first sermon in a deer forest in Sarnath. But the use of deer or deer
forest in the Sufi poetry of an Arab Sufi poet Ibn Arabi is surprising. This
only hints at the influence Muslim Sufis of Arab and Ajam accepted from Buddhist
mystic songs. The camel, not a deer is a natural metaphor in Arabic poetry.
Another
distinct feature of Buddhist songs is the use of Takhallus (nom de plume) in
the last couplet of the songs. Every song has the pen name of the poet in the
last couplet though in some songs, the pen name is also used in the beginning
or in the middle.
In Arabic Ghazal
the tradition of using pen name or Takhallus did not exist. The Takhallus
in Persian Ghazals was first used in the 12th century and became an essential
feature of Ghazals in the 13th century. Later, in Bhakti poetry of Indian poets
like Kabir, Lalan Fakir, and Sufi poetry of Baba Farid, Ameer Khusrau etc. Takhallus
became an essential part of songs, dohas and Ghazals. But fundamentally, the
use of t Takhallus or bhanita has been borrowed from Buddhist poetry.
It is
evident from the discussion carried above that Buddhism not only influenced
Islamic Sufism but also Buddhist poetry contributed a lot to the style and
diction of Islamic sufi poetry and the popular Persian and Urdu poetic genre
Ghazal.
-----
S.
Arshad is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/buddhist-mystic-poetry-islamic-sufi/d/127352
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