Tolstoy View of Buddhism

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TOLSTOY S VIEWS ON U HISM

Dragan M i l iv o j ev i c U n i v er si ty o f Oklahoma

The aim o f

t h i s

a r t i c l e

i s to

p r e s e n t

some

o f

eh e mose

s i g n i f i c a n t To ls toyan op in i on s

and b e l i e f s on Buddhism,

to account

fo r the

sources

o f t h e s e

b e l i e f s

and

to make a c r i t i q u e

o f

t h e i r adequacy

i n l i g h t

o f a f u l l

knowledge

o f Buddhist teaching.

Any a t t e m p t a t summary o r

s y st em a t iz a ti o n o f T o l s t o y s views

on

Buddhism should d e f i n e

more narrowly

t h e i r n a t u r e . T o l s t o y s

views

and

opinions

on

th e B ud dhist

r e l i g i o n a r e

not

s c h o l a r l y pronouncements

based

on

long years

o f p ai ns ta ki ng and

minute

r e s e a r c h on

which e l a b o r a t e

p o i n t s

of

r e l i g i o u s d o c t r i n e

a r e e i t h e r accepted

o r

r e f u t e d . His

i n i e i a l impetus

to read

and

s tudy Buddhism as

w e l l as

o t h e r

r e l i g i o n s was born out o f an

e x i s t e n t i a l q u e s t which o f t e n

turned

i n t o polemics when

c e r t a i n

a s p e c t s

o f

r e l i g i o u s t e a ch in g d id

not

conform

to

what

r e l i g i o n i n T o l s t o y s

op i n i o n should t e a c h . Tols toy had h i s own views on re

l i g i o n and

h is

views

and

opinions on Buddhism

and o t h e r

r e l i g i o n s a re i n f l u en c ed by

whether

Buddhist t e a c h i n g s and

d o c tr in e s c o rr o b or a te

h i s views. This

does

not mean

t h a t

Tols toy

d i d n o t l e a r n

anything

from

BUddhism

and t h a t

he d id

not

i n c l u d e

any

Buddhist

b e l i e f s

i n t o

the

core

o f

h i s

c r e e d . T o l s t o y

adopted th e B uddhis t co nc ep t

o f

Karma

i n

i t s

t o t a l i t y . There

i s

a c u r i o u s

d i a l e c t i c

in

T o l s t o y s

approach

to Buddhism whereby T o l s t o y s own ideas

a r e somewhat t ransformed and

the product

o f

t h i s

c on fr on ta tio n is

a

new

s y n t h e s i s o f T ols to ya n

and Buddhis t

b e l i e f s . This

d i a l e c c i c o f

Tols toy

v s .

BUddhism

was n o t

s t a t i c s i n c e

T o l s t o y s views on r e l i g i o n i n g e n e r a l

and .Buddhism in

p a r t i c u l a r

changed

throughout

h i s

l i f e . The

doubting

T o l s t o y in Confession

o f

1879

i s

d i f f e r e n t from

Tols toy

i n What i s

Rel igion

i n 1902. \ Because

o f

the n a t u r e of

Tolscoy

s d i a l e c t i c a l

t .hinking

on r e l i g i o n and i t s

e v o l u t i o n

no i n t e r n a l

c on sis te nc y o f

h i s

views

on

Buddhism could be

found.

On

d i f f e r e n t

occas ions he both

e x c o l l e d

and c r i t i c i z e d

d i f f e r e n t

a s p e c t s o f

Buddhism.

T o l s t o y s

views

on

BUddhism

a l s o

depended

on

the

n a t u r e

of

Buddhist sources

a v a i l a b l e

co him

as

w e l l

as on the

commentaries

o f

t . N T o l s t o y

Polnoe

s o b r a n i e

s o c h i n e n i j

The Anniversary E d i t i o n T 39.

pp. 3

26.

62



Buddh is t 1 9t h

century

scholars

whom he read

and

who inf luenced

him. The

19th

century was a

p erio d o f

d isc ov ery o f the o r i en t a l r e l ig ious

her i t age .

The most prominent

19th

century Buddhis t

schola rs

J among

them

Eugene

Burnouf, Carl Koppen,

Fr iedr ich Max

Muller , Hermann Oldenburg, an d Rhys

David, t r ans la t ed Buddhis t

manuscr ipts from

Sanskr i t and

P al i o ri gi na ls .

Tols toy read t h e i r books in E ng lish,

French

and

German

and

commented on

them

in

h is

correspondence. He

was

also

aware

of

Schopenhauer

and

h is

i n t e r e s t in Buddhism through h is close f r iend Afana si j A f ana si ev ich

Fet ,

who

was

the

Russian t r ans la to r

of

Schopenhauer s The World as W ill

an d

Idea

(Die Welt

as W ille

und Vorste l lung) which

appeared

in the 1870 ' s .

Schopenhauer and a l l these scholars

with

th e e xc ep tio n of Oldenburg and

Rhys David

cons idered

Buddhism

to be a

pess imis t i c ,

l i f e -deny ing r e l ig ion

and th i s i s the view to which Tols toy a ls o s ub sc ri be s.

To ls toy ' s Four

Fold Cri te r ia as Applied

to

Buddhism

Tols toy ' s

r e l ig ious

quest

centered on

the

r e l ig ious

un iver sa l s ,

t ha t i s

the common

e th i c a l and

moral

core

in

a l l

r e l ig ions . Huxley

r e f e r s

to a

s imi la r

concept w ith

h is

term

perennial

phi losophy,

which he

descr ibes as primari1y concerned with

th e

one,

divine

r ea l i t y

subs tan t ia l to

the

manifold world of th ings

and

l i ves and

mind. 2

Huxley s

def in i t ion o f p ere nn ia l philosophy is

s imi la r ' to

Tols toy ' s

s ta tement

on

t rue

r e l ig ion a cc or di ng t o

conv ic t ion

there i s only one t rue r e l ig ion .

This

t rue

re l ig ion

of

mankind has

not

ye t been

revealed

completely,

but

t

appears

in

f ragmentary

fashion

in a l l needs.

,, 3 Tols toy ' s

pos i t ive

assessment of

Buddhism

an d o ther r e l ig ions depends on the ex ten t to which

they emphasize

the perennia l

phi losophy and h is nega t ive assessment on

r e l ig ions

and the

s tages

in

t h e i r development depends on

the ex ten t

to

which these r e l ig ions s t r ayed

from

the common ground

of perenn ia l

phi losophy in to id iosyncras ies o f r i t u a l , miracle and

dogma. The

un iver sa l i ty

of

common r e l ig ious

e th ics i s

Tols toy ' s

f i r s t

r equ ir ement f or

an

idea l

r e l ig ion .

Tols toy ' s

second

requirement

f inds

the

r i t u a l i s t i c ,

dogmatic and superna tu ra l

cont ra ry

to reason and

he i n s i s t s

th at r el ig io n

be in f u l l

accord with the

d ic ta t es o f reason .

The

th i rd Tolstoyan

requirement fo r

an i d ea l

re l ig ion

in

addit i .on to i t s

un iver sa l i ty

and

conformity to reason is i t s

l i f e - a f f i rming and

p rac t i c a l aspec t .

The

four th requirement i s t h a t the in div id ua l is re sp o ns ib le f or

h is ac ts , the

law of cause and e f f e c t , the karmic law

which

Tols to y a cc ep te d

from

Buddhism. These four

major

requirements

play

an impor tant ro le

in

Tols toy ' s

views

on

Buddhism.

Comments and Discussion

of Buddhism

in T ols to y's U ri t in g

2Aldous Huxley, The

Perennia l

Philosophy

New

York and London: Harper

and

Brothers ,

1945) ,

p. 8.

3Paul B irj uk of f, T ols to

und

der

Orient

(Zurich und Leipzig: Rotapfe l

V erlag , 1 92 5), p. 118.

63



Tols toy a l ready knew the s tory

o f

Buddha s

l i f e as

i s

demonstrated

in

h is Confess ion (1879) where he invokes four sages-

Socra tes ,

Solomon, Schopenhauer

and

S a k y a ~ u n i a s h is

sp i r i t ua l mentors

whom

he

asks

fo r

help in

resolving

h is

sp i r i t ua l c r i s i s .

Tols toy r e l a t es

the

s to ry of Buddha s l i f e ,

h is encounte rs with

an

old

man,

a

s ick

man

an d

a dead man

and

he sums up Buddha s t each ing in

the fo l lowing

way: To

l i ve

with the

consc iousness of the i n ev i t ab i l i t y of su f fe r ing , weakening,

old

age

and

dea th

i s

imposs ib le - -one

should

f ree onese l f

from

l i f e ,

from

an y pos s ib i l i t y

of l i f e ~

l i f e

i s r ea l ly so hopeless . then

the only

l i b e r a t i on , according to Tolstoy,

i s

su ic ide . To l i ve l i f e

without

th inking

about the

future and

i t s accompanying pains

i s

impossible for

Tols toy . Before cont inuing with h is l i f e

he ins i s t s

on knowing the

purpose and meani ng o f

h is

ex i s t ence .

I . j u s t l ike Sakya-Muni, could not

go

on a hunt , when I knew

tha t

there was

an

old age,

su f fe r ing

and dea th .

My

imagina t ion was too v iv id . ,, 5 Tols toy withdrew from

Buddhism

before t h i s

r e l ig ion had

any impact on him.

Tols toy ,

ove rawed by

th e

enormity o f

i t s

consequences , stopped a t

the

f i r s t noble t r u th

o f

Buddhism

in which

su f fe r ing , old

age and dea th were proclaimed to permeate l i f e . The f i r s t

noble t r u th taken

in

i so la t ion

from the r e s t

o f

Buddhis t teaching

is

indeed n ot comforting although t i s a

s ta tement o f

f ac t . Taken

in

i so la t ion

t

does

no t

ind ica te

a

way

out of

the

human

condi t ion

and

t h i s

i s

how Tols toy

unders tands

t

He

conceives t as a pess imis t i c

and

l i f e

denying t each ing which he cannot accep t unless he i s ready to deprive

himse l f

o f

l i f e .

For

Tols toy the

Chr is t i an

message i s the only l i f e

af f i rming message.

To

follow

a l l

other

phi losophers , eas t and

west.,

i s

to end up

w ith the same

depress ing

conc lus ion .

In add i t ion to

Confession,

sources

fo r

To l s toy s

assessment

of

Buddhism

can also be found in s ca tte re d and b r i e f s ta tements he made in

h is

d ia r ie s ,

essays and correspondence on the sub jec t , in h is t r e a t i s e

Re l ig ion

and Moral i ty , wr i t t en

in

1893,8

as w ell

as

in the

l i f e o f Buddha

prepared

by

h is

co l labora to r Bulzanzhe and ed i ted

by himse l f .7 h is

t r ans la t ion of Carus s to ry Karma,S h is adapta t ion of Eto Ty ( This is

Thyself, , )9

from an

anonymous

German

author

and

in

h is

a da pta tio n o f

the

B ~ l d d h i s t legend Kuna la s Eyes. o There

a re , in

add ic ion , s ta tements

· L.

t: . Tols toy ,

Polnoe sobranie soch inen i j , T.

23

p

26

St.

N Tols toy,

Polnoe

sobran ie sochineni j ,

T.

23 p.

20.

L

N

Tols toy ,

Re l ig i j a

i

nravs tvennos t ,

Polnoe

sobran te

soch inen i j , T.

39 p.

8

7p

D

Bulanzhe,

Zhizn

i Uchenie Siddar ty

Gotamy,

Prozvannogo Buddo i.

t

e .

Soversheneishim, Zhizn Dtia vsekh, no . 4 Apr i l

1910, pp.

75-84.

SL

N

Tols toy.

Polnoe sobranie sochineni 1 .

T.

31, pp.

47-56.

9L.

N Tols toy , Polnoe sobnmie sochineni j ,

T.

34,

pp.

138-140.

oL.

N

Tols toy , Glaza

Kunaly.

Krug

Chteniya,

No.

6,

1912, pp.

125-127.

64



about

Buddhism made by c ha ra ct er s in h is

novels

and a Buddhist view o f

the

world appears

in

h is l a t e r

work,

par t icu la r ly M aster and Man

and

The

Death of Ivan I I i c h .

Tols toy s

l i f e of the Buddha The Life and Teach i.ng of Siddar tha

Gautama

ca l led the

Buddha,

the Most Perfect One 11

which he

edi ted for

Bulanzhe

exempl i f ies

the

l i f e

and

the

ac t i v i t y

of

a

r e l ig ious

founder

in

the

con tex t

o f Tolscoyan

ideal

r e l ig ion . Siddartha , in th is s to ry ,

brought

up as a fol lower of Hinduism,

turns

away

from

th i s

r e l ig ion

because

of

i t s meaningless . sac r i f i c i a l r i t u a l . He

re be ls a ga in st

the

narrow conf ines

of the Hindu dogma and wants to es tab l i sh a

r a t iona l

re l ig ion which con fo rms

to

common sense and reason. T olstoy

descr ibes

the

t rue l i f e to

which

the Buddha

aimed

as

razumnaia ( reasonable )

and quotes

the

Buddha s

words

to

h is d is cip le s

Your

reason

and

the

t ru th

which I

have taught

you

wi l l be your

t eachers

a f t e r I depar t . ,, 2

There

are

no

supernatural

agents

or events , no

miracles ,

in

th i s

version of the

Buddha s l i f e .

The Buddha i s a human being a lbe i t an

enl ightened human be ing, who us ing h is reason and h is prac t ica l

ins t ruc t iona l

s k i l l

points

oue

the path

fo r o ther

human

beings

to tread .

All the requirements

o f

an ideal Tols toyan re l ig ion

a re p re se nt

here , the

un ive rsa l i ty ,

the

appeal

to reason

as

a f i n a l a rb i t e r o f re l ig iou s

d isc r imina t ion , and

the

l i f e aff i rming and ac t ive pur su i t of

s e l f -

perfect ion

on

the par t of the Buddha and h is

fo l lowers .

Uhi le conforming

to

Tolstoyan requirements fo r

an idea l

re l ig ion th is is

an

essen t ia l ly

t rue

descr ip t ion

of

the

Buddha

a cc or di ng to the

canons of

ear ly Buddhism.

J

Contrary to h is evaluat ion o f Buddhism as posl. tl .ve, l i f e -

aff i rming

re l ig ion

in

the s tory of the

Buddha s l i f e

in

Rel igion and

Moral i ty (1893)

Buddhism is regarded

as the re l ig ion

of extreme

renunciat ion

not only

of a l l

goods

o f l i f e

but

of l i f e

i t s e l f .

As Tols toy

puts i t , Buddhism

cons iders

t ha t

the

world

should

disappear

as

t

causes

persona l

suf fer ing . I .

In

h is pess imis t i c

a pp ra is al o f

Buddhism,

Tolstoy

follows Schopenhauer who

def ined

Nirvana as a den ia l to l ive and

\ ho

c la im ed , b ased

on

h is

understanding of ea r ly Buddhism,

t ha t

suicide

was

t p D. Bulanzhe,

Zhizn

Uchenie Siddar ty Gotamy. Prozvannogo

Buddoi,

t: .

e . Sove rs hene is him ,

Zhi.y

DUa vsekh, no. 4, Apri l

1910.

12p.

Bulanzhe

Zhizn

Uchenie

Siddarty

Gotamy,

Prozvannogo

Buddoi, t .

e.

Sovershenneishim Zhizn Dlia vsekh 3-v (1910). p. 81.

~ h e r v d

Doctr ine o f

the

Elders i s a name of

the

o ldes t form o f

Buddhist

t eachings handed

to

us

in the

Pal i

language.

Theravada

i s the only

one

of

the

o ld

schools

of

Buddhism

t ha t

has

survived

among

those

which

i s

cal led

Hinayana. t i s

sometimes

ca l l ed

Southern

Buddhism or Pal i Buddhism.

This

form

of Buddhism was the

f i r s t

on e to be discovered by Western

or ien ta l i s t s . The

Theravadins

claimed th at th ei r s was

the

authent ic and or ig ina l form o f Buddha s

t eachings .

\4L. N. Tols toy, Re l ig i j a

nravs tvennos t , Polnoe sobranie , T. 39,

p. 8.

65



far from being

the

denia l of

the wi l l

and

represented

i t s strong

a f f i

rmation.

Tols toy s awareness and ear ly enthus

iasm

for Schopenhaue s

phi losophy predates Tols toy s in te res t

1n

Buddhism and t i s possible tha t

Tols toy s account of Buddhism

as

pess imis t ic i s

inf luenced

and re inforced

by h is reading of Schopenhauer.

Tols toy s

assessment of

Buddhi

sm as a

pess imis t ic ,

l i fe -denying r e l ig ion

i s also

r e f lec ted in the

comments made

by p ro tag on is ts in

h is f i c t iona l works.

In

The

Kreutzer Sonata

Pozdnyshev

ta lks

about

the

fu t i l i t y

of

l i f e ,

But

why

l ive?

I f l i f e

has

no

aim,

i f l i f e i s

given

us fo r l i f e s

sake, there

i s no

reason

for

l i v ing . And

i f t

i s so,

then the

Schopenhauers,

the

Har tmanns , a nd

a l l

the Buddhists as we 11, are qui te

r igh t .

18

Anna

Karenina

s

f ina l

re f l ec t ion b efo re h er su ic ide are in the same sp i r i t al though

she

does

not

mention

Schopenhauer or

Buddhism:

Where did I leave off? On

the thought

tha t

couldn t

conceive a posi t ion in which l i f e

would not

be

misery,

tha t we are a l l crea ted

to

be

miserable, and

t ha t

we a l l know i t , an d a l l

invent

means of deceiving each

other ,

and when one sees the t ru th , what

is

one

to

do?,, 7

A lady s i t t ing in the same t ra in compartment

addressed

her companion,

T h a t s what

reason

i s

given man for , to escape from what

worries

him

The

words seemed

an

answer

to

Anna I s thoughts. \6

The

view

tha t

Buddhism

i s

not only

a

pess imis t ic

r e l ig ion

and

philosophy but tha t t represents a complete annihi la t ion

of l i f e

is also

p re sen t in T ols to y s assessment of Buddhism.

1

read

Buddhist

teaching.

I t i s

marvel lous

but

t

is only a

teaching.

The mistake i s only

to

save

one from

l i fe

completely.

Buddha i s

n ot sa vin g himsel f

but

he

i s saving

people. He forgot tha t

i f

there were nobody to save, there would

not

be

any l i f e . ,,19 Tols toy may have

been

led

to

the annih i l i s t i c view of

Buddhism

because of the

popular be l i e f

among the

19th-century

Buddhologists

and Schopenhaue r

tha t the word Nirvana means blowing out

l i f e . The metaphor of

blowing

out l i f e

as

a Buddhist

symbol

fo r Nirvana,

i s present

in

Anna Kare nin a i n the scene

before

her su ic ide when the l i gh t

in her candles t ick blows out as well as in a

s imilar blowing

out of

l ighc

before

old

P ri nc e Bolk on sk y s d ea th in

and

e a c e ~

,5

Art

hur

Schopenhauer, The World as Wi 11 and

Representat ion,

t s .

by

E F

J . Payne

from

the German Die Welt

a ls

Wille und Vorstel1ung (Indian Hil l s ,

CA:

fnlcon

Wing Press . 1958 ,1 , p. 398. The i n t e re s t in Buddhism . . . was awakened

in

him

(Tols

toy,

D. M. not

without

Schopenhauer

s

inf luence, H

S

Levi tski j ,

Tols toy

i Shopengauer, Novy) Zhurnal, Kn. 59, 1960, p. 210.

OL.

N. Tolstoy. Polnoe sobranie

sochineni j ,

T.

27,

p.

29.

17L.

N.

Tolstoy, Anna

Karenina (New

York;

The

Modern Library, 1965),

p.

796.

16L.

N.

Tolstoy,

Anna

Karenina, p.

796.

\gL.

N.

Tolstoy,

Polnoe

sob rani e so ch in eni i

. T.

49,

p. 121.

ee Harry Hi11 Walsh,

A

Buddhis

t ic

Lei tmo ti f i n Anna

Karenina,

Canadian

American S la vic S tu di es . 11 , No.4 (W in te r, 1 977), pp. 561·567.

66



The

Perennia l

Philosophy in Buddhism

For Tols toy ea r ly

Buddhism

and e a rl y Ch r is ti an i ty

are

s t r i k ing ly

s imi l a r . When a sk ed a bo ut the essent ia l

d i f f e rence

between ear ly Buddhism

and ea r ly Chr i s t i an i ty ,

he

says There i s none,

in

both

the re

i s a gospel

of

the

God of

love

and

a

den ia l o f

a

persona l

god. ?1

Late r .

Mahayana

u d d h i s m ~ in con t ra s t to ea r ly

Buddhism,

developed e labora te devot iona l

prac t i ces , in which the Buddha

was given a div ine s t a t u s .

For

Tols toy

th is t ra n si t io n from

a

re l i g ion of

the mind

to

a

re l i g ion o f the hea r t

an d

t he ima gi na tio n i s tantamount

to

pervers ion

and degenera t ion ,

a descent

in to the

miraculous

and

t he ce remon ial and away from

the

conformity to

reason . He remarks to h is s ec re ta ry ,

in

1908. 1 read

everyth ing

abou t

Buddhism,

what

a

s t range

teaching

And how was perver ted

Such

an

abs t rac t

t eaching and

suddenly

there a pp ea re d th e

same crea t ion

of gods,

the ido l worship , the paradise and the he l l . . . . Quite

the

same

supe rs t i t ions as

in Chr i s t i an i

ty . ,,23

The

Unity

of L ife

Buddhist

r e l ig ion provides many examples i l l u s t r a t i ng the un i ty

o f l i f e

Ja takas

s t o r i e s

of th e p rev io us i nc ar na ti on s o f the Buddha from

an

animal

to

a

human

be ing

and

f ina l ly to

an enl ightened human

be ing show

the

con t inu i ty and the un i ty o f l i f e in i t s

d i f f e r en t

forms. In

on e

of

these

s t o r i e s

t he Buddh a- to -b e

i s

a snake caught

and

to r tured

by

v i l l a ge

boys. The moral of the s to ry

i s

the reverence and r espec t

fo r

l i f e . even

the

lowly

animal forms of

l i f e have the po t en t i a l

for se l f - r ea l i za t i on

and

enl ightenment .

To ls to y s s to ry Eto (You

are

th is , th a t a r t thou or This i s

t hyse l f ) i s a

good

example o f

both

Tols toy s concept of

the

un i ty of l i f e

an d

i t s

r ea l i za t ion

in the

Buddhis t

s t o ry t e l l i ng t r ad i t i on . The

Sanskr i t

Tat

tvam

as i ,

You are t h i s , This

i s

t hyse l f or That a r t

thou

i s

a

well

known express ion in Hindu

philosophy

ind ica t ing the re l a t i onsh ip between

the

ind iv idual

an d the absolu te ; the Atman or immanent

e t e rn a l Self ,

i s

one with

Brahman,

the Absolute pr inc ip l e of a l l exis tence .

The

express ion

? V

Bulgakov Knigi

ob l nd i i v b ib l io t eke L N Tolstogo Kratkie

soobshcheni ia

In s t i t u t a

Vostokovedenia, V 31 ,

1959, p. 46.

nHahayana. One of main

t r a d i t i ons or schoo ls o f Buddhism;

gre a t

(maha).

'means of

s a lva t i on

(yana) . Late Buddhism in con t ra s t i s Hinayana (ear ly

Buddhism).

23N. N Gusev,

Dva

Goda s

Tolstym

(Moskva, 1912), p. 130.

4L N

Tol s toy .

Po1noe

sobr an ie soch ineni 1. T. 34, pp. 138·140. Tols toy

t rans

la ted th i s s

to ry

from

the

German

theosophica l

ourna 1 Theosoph i scher

Wegweiser 1903

No .5 ,

pp. 163-166)

wri t t en by an

anonymous

author

under the

t i t l e Da s

b i s t

du.

67



is frequently repeated in the s ix th chapter

of

the Chandogya

Upanishad

(1600

B.C.) as

the

teacher

Uddalaka

ins t ruc t s h is

son in

the

nature o f

the

supreme.

The

unity

of

l i f e

is also the cardina l princip le of

perennia l

philosophy. The e th ica l

aspect of Tat

tvam as i

inspired

Tolsto y s sh ort

story

Asarhadon, King

of Assyria 1 9 0 3 . ~ In this story

the

two warring

kings

Asarhadon

and Lai l ie , one defeated and the other one vic tor ious ,

exchange

the i r personal i t i es .

Asarhadon

is put in

th e p la ce o f L ail ie who

is

about to

be

executed.

The

resu l t

of

the

exchange

is

Asarhadon

5

sp ir i tua l conversion; he real izes tha t l i f e is one in

a l l and

shows

in

himself or

herse l f

only

a

par t of this

al l -pervas ive

l if e, ,26 and

. . . you

can only improve l i f e in

yourse lf

by

destroying

the

b arr ie rs th at divide

your

l i f e from

others and by thinking

of

others

as yourse lf and

by

loving

them.

The

of on eself.

rea l iza t ion

ac t iv i ty of

Tat tvam as i princ iple which

is

the so urc e of

Asarhadon,

is

According

to

Tolsto y th e c ulm ina tion

of

the

Tat

tv

am as i

is love which he formulates as . . . the only

reasonable

man.

28

The same idea of the

uni

ty

of l i f e

is

expressed

in T01s toy s

s tory

What Men

Live

By. The

moral

of

the

s tory is tha t

man

should n ot

l ive by the s e l f ~ e n t e r e concern

and care

for

himself ,

but by h is love

for

others . The authentic

l i f e

i s manifested in our c onc ern

and

love

for

others .

In Tols to y s sto ry Master

and Man Brekhunov,

a sel f -centered,

prof i t -or i en ted merchant real izes

Tat

tvam as i when he is los t in a

bl izzard with h is servant . e

real izes

that

he

and h is servant are one

as he t r ies

to

revive h is f re ez in g s er vant

with th e warmth

of

this

own

body.

The

Karma

Concept

and the

Individual

Responsibi l i ty

Paul

Carus

story K a r m a ~

made a

big impression on Tolstoy. who

25L .

N

Tolstoy,

Ass i r ij sk i j

Tsar

Asar-hadon,

Polooe sob ran te sochineni

T. pp . 126-30.

26Ibid., p 129.

2 Ibid.

2aL. N Tolstoy,

Polnoe

sobrante sochineni j , p.

9

~ P a u l

Carus,

Karma. a

Story

of

Buddhist ,Eth ics

(La

Sal le .

I l l ino i s :

The

Open

Court Publishing

Company

1901).

In this

preface to the

t rans lat ion of this

book

Tolstoy

gives

h is

def ini t ion of the Buddhist

cerm karma Karma

is a Buddhist

be l i e f tha t

not only

the

character mold of each

person but

also a l l h is

fate

in

ch i s

l i f e i s

a

consequence

of his

or

her

ac.tions

in a

previous

fe , L.

N

Tolstoy.

Polooe

sob ran ie soch inen i1 , T. 31. p.

47.

68



t r ans la t ed

in to

Russian.

The

scory s t a t e s

two propos i t i ons :

the

not ion o f

ind iv idua l

moral accoun tab i l i ty fo r ac t s a nd d ee ds c omm itte d and

the not ion t h a t there i s no happiness fo r an i nd iv idua l human being unless

i s

a pa r t

o f

un iver sa l

human

happiness . something

which r epr e sen t s

ano ther var i a t ion

on

~ h e Tat tvam a s i

theme.

Karma

i s the

law o f

cause

and e f f e c t in

Buddhism.

Good deeds

br ing

about

good r e su l t s and

they

in f luence our f a te in the coming l i f e

and converse ly ev i l , immoral

ac t ions

are fol lowed

by

bad consequences

in

the nex t l i f e .

This

i s how Tol sto y u nd ers ta nd s t h i s concep t

in

h is

p re fa ce to Carus s t o ry

The t r u th , much

s lu r red in these days , t h a t ev i l

can

be

avoided and good

ach ieved

by

personal

e f f o r t only an d t h a t there

ex i s t s no o the r means o f a tt ai ni ng t his end 1130 Karma

in

Sansk r i

t

means

ac t ion

and

in

Buddhist

i n t e r p r e t a t i on

denotes

the

wholesome

and

unwholesome vo l i t i on s and t h e i r

concomi tan t

mental

f a c to r s , caus ing

r eb i r t h and sh ap in g th e d es tin y o f

beings . 31 The Buddhist

i n t e r p r e t a t i on

a l so inc ludes mental f ac to r s such

as

wholesome o r unwholesome thoughts .

Consequent ly .

a cc ord in g t o

the

i ne luc t ab le

Karmic law ev i l

doers

in t h i s

s t o ry

per i sh ,

whi le

the

i nd iv idua l s

who

persorm

good

deeds f ind

peace

and

happiness . The

f a c t o f each person in

t h i s

s to ry i s de te rmined

by h is ac t ions and deeds .

The

i nd iv idua l s

in th e

s to ry

~ h o

do

not r ea l i ze the un ity o f

l i f e

and who do no t themselves

in

o the r

ind iv idua l s

commit karmic ev i l in

se t t i ng up t h e i r ego and - ics i n t e r e s t s

above

th e wel fare o f o ther human

beings . Only

those i nd iv idua l s

who are

ab le to

s e t

as ide

t h e i r s e l f i sh ,

egocen t r i c impulses

a re

ab le to f ind the t r u t h . This is

the

moral o f

Karma.

To l s toy s

Sources

of

Buddhism

The preva i l ing opin ion o f European Buddhis t scho la r s in the 19th

cen tury

i s t h a t

Buddhism

i s

a

l i f e -deny ing , n ih i l i s t i c r e l i g ion . The i r

books, which

T ols to y re ad ,

exe r t ed

a

s t rong

in f luence

on

him

as

on

h is

views,

which

p ar al le l th ei r s . Schopenhauer l i ke Tols toy) read

che i r

books and came to

the

same

conclusion about the

n ih i l i s t i c nature o f

chat

r e l i g ion . The

f i r s t

noble t r u th in Buddhism

s t a t e s chat

l i f e i s su f fe r ing

because en t a i l s s ic kn es s. o ld age and death . This s t a t emen t alone can

be i n t e rp re t ed as a depress ing

and

a

l i f e - nega t i ng

assessment

o f

l i f e .

Nirvana ,

a

bas i c

concep t 1n

BUddhism,

a

goal o f

Buddhis t asp i r a t ion

and

s t r i v i ng was unders tood to be

an

ex t inc t ion of l i f e by Schopenhauer and

othe r Buddholog is t s . An

unders tanding

o f

l i f e as

something imbued with

~ u l Carus ,

Karma, p.

4.

A

. I .

Shifrnan,

in h is book Lev

Tols toy;

Vostok

Moskva:

Nauka, 1971),

c i t e s th e reasons fo r To l s toy s a t t r a c t i on to Buddhism: 1 the

teach ing

of

equa l i t y .

2 ) the

den ia l o f

a personal

god, 3 )

Buddhis t e t h i c s .

69



s u f f e r i n g

was

c o n s i d e r e d in

t h e i r

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n

to

be e v i l . R e f e r r i n g

to a person who d en ie s th e w i l l - t o - l i v e , Schopenhauer

w r i t e s

He w i l l i n g l y

g i v e s up

the

e x i s t e n c e

t h a t we know; what comes to

him

i n s t e a d

o f

t i s

i n our eyes n o t h i n g , be cause our e x i s t e n c e i n r e f e r e n c e

t o

t h a t one i s

nothing . The Buddhis t f a i t h c a l l s

t h a t e x i s t e n c e

Nirvana, t h a t i s to say,

e x t i n c t i o n .

,,32 Schopenhauer

and

T o l s s t o y accepted ehe etymology of

N i r v a n a

sugges ted

by Colebrook

as

s i g n i f y i n g

e x t i n c

t ,

as

a

f i r e

which has gone o u t ; s e t , as a lwninary which has gone do\oTO

Max

Muller ,

a prominent 19th c e n t u r y

o r i e n t a l i s t

and

on e

o f the

c h i e f

sources o f T o l s t o y s knowledge on Buddhism,

was m y s t i f i e d

by Nirvana

a l though

he

accepted

Buddhis t e t h i c s . For

him as

f o r h i s

p r e d e c e s s o r

Buddhis t s c h o l a r Burnouf

an d

S t . H i l a i r e ,

Nirvana

meant

a n n i h i l a t i o n .

Muller ,

r e l y i n g on the same etymology

o f

Nirvana accepted by Colebrook

w r i t e s : Every S a n s k r i t

s c h o l a r

knows

t h a t Nirvana

means o r i g i n a l l y t h e

blowing o u t , t h e e x t i n c t i o n

o f l ig h e , and n o t a b so rp ti on . The

human

s o u l ,

when t a r r i v e s a t i t s

p e r f e c t i o n ,

i s blown

o u t

,,:14 and

True

wisdom

c o n s i s t s

i n

p e r c e i v i n g

the

noth ingness

o f

a l l

t h i n g s ,

an d i n a d e s i r e

t o

become n o t h i n g , Co

be

blown

o u t , t o

e n te r i n t o the s t a t e of Nirvana .. . 35

Muller could

conceive

t h a t a l l

e f f o r t s

a t s e l f - p e r f e c t i o n which

Buddhism

preaches would r e s u l t in

ro •••

t r a p

b r i d g e h u r l i n g man i n t o

abyss,

a t

the

very moment when

he

though

he had a

r r

i

ved

a t ehe s trongho l d 0

the

Eeerna l .

J B

Thus to

Max Muller the

very i.dea

o f n i h i l i s m

appears

as an

i m p o s s i b i l i t y .

The charge

o f

Buddhism as being a

n i h i l i s t i c d o c t r i n e

i s

a l s o

l e v i e d by Barthelemy S a i n e - H i l a i r e . He

argues

t h a t

even

i f Nirvana

were

to

be an a b so rp ti o n i n God. t

would

st ll be an

annihila t1 .on: I

c o n f e s s , moreover, t h a t even i n t h is m i t i g a t e d

form

(as a b s o r p t i o n ) , which

t does

not have,

Nirvana

would seem to be so

c l o s e

to nothingness ehat

I should e a s i l y confuse the

one

with the

o t h e r .

Absorption i n God -

e s p e c i a l l y

the

God o f

Brahamanism i s che a n n i h i l a t i o n of

the

p er s o na l i t y , t h at i s

to say, t r u e no thingness for the ind iV idual

32Richard F. Gustafson i n Leo Tol st oy R es id en t an d

S tr an ge r P ri nc eto n:

P r i n c e t o n U n iv e rs it y P re ss , 1986) does no t t r e a t T o l s t o y s views on O r i e n t a l

r e l i g i o n s .

Gustafson

o f f e r s a d e t a i l e d and i n s i g h t f u l

a n a l y s i s

of T o l s t o y ideas

on

r e l i g i o n i n g en er a l.

33Nyanatiloka

Bhlkshu,

Buddhis t

D i c t i o n a r y .

Manual

o f

Buddhis t T r a n s a c t i o n s

o f

the

Royal A s i a t i c S o c i e t y of Great B r i t a i n and

I r e l a n d

(1807) , 566.

~ r i e d r i h

Max Mulle r , S e l e c t e d Essays o n L an gu ag e. Myth olo gy , and

Rel ig ion

(London: Longman s, Green

and

Co.,

1861), Vol. 2,

p.

283

~ r t e d r i h Max Muller ,

S e l e c t e d

Essays ,

Vol. 2,

p. 219.

~ r i e d e r i h Max Muller ,

S e l e c t e d

Essays, Vol. 2,

pp.

301-2.

70



soul

. . . . . .

The concept of Nirvana conce ived as ann ih i l a t ion , death, and the

renunciat ion

of

l i f e , i s presented

in Tols toy s f i c t i on .

Tolstoy

descr ibes death

in h is

f ic t ion (examples inc lude the death of Prince

Andrei

in

War

and

Peace,

o f

Brekhunov

in

Master

and

Man

and

of

Ivan

I l i c h

in

The

Death of Ivan I l i c h ) as the loss o f

consciousness

of

s e l f

as an

ent i ty

and as an immersion

in some new

mode of

ex is tence . The

To ls toyan concep t o f death

re semb le s t he

Nirvana s ta te of t r anqu i l i ty and

pur i ty . Tolstoy uses

the

word w k e n i n g ~ to descr ibe the passage from

l i f e

to death,

the

same term which is used in Buddhism to indicate the

passage from

' s amsara '

( the

everyday

world of f rus t ra t ion

and

suf fer ing)

to

ni rvana .

No t a l l

19th

century or i en t a l i s t s bel ieved as

Tolstoy

did

in

the

ann ih i1 i s t ic charac te r of nirvana and

in

the pess imis t i c

nature

of

Buddhism.

Oldenburg

and

Rhys David,

the or i en t a l i s t s

whom

Tols to y re ad ,

and

who did

not inf luence h is

assessment

of Buddhism, d i f f e r ed from

the

preva i l ing

19th century

view

on

the

subject .

They

in s i s ted

on

the

worldl iness

o f

nirvana.

38

Nirvana, in t h e i r opinion, i s a

s t a t e

of

s in lessness

and painlessness r ea l i zed

in th i s

l i f e .

As more Buddhis

manuscripts became ava i l ab le and knowledge o f Buddhism

in

i t s en t i re ty

became

be t t e r

known,

the

views of

Tolstoy

and the

19th century

or i en t a l i s t s on the

n ih i l i s t i c unders tanding of

nirvana

and the

pess imis t i c

charac te r of

Buddhism as a

whole, tu rn ed o ut

to

be

one

s ided.

The etymology of

the

key Buddhist

term

nirvana as

put for th by

Colebrook

and accepted by

Schopenhauer and

Tolstoy

as

an e xt in ct io n o f the

wi l l

to

l ive was

superseded by

a d i f fe ren t and

more appropr ia te

and credible

etymology

1n which nirvana in S an sk rit or

nibbana

in Pa l i

i s connected

with the n ibba t i to cool

by

blowing . '

The

cool ing

does

not re fe r to

coo ling or f reezing

to

death

but

. . . to

a

s ta te of greed, ha t red and

delus ion,

the

three

pr inc ip le

forms

of

ev i l

in

Buddhist

thought..

, ,40

A

person thus cooled i s

h e a l t hy

and

has a t t a ined

sa lva t ion .

Pessimism as the ph il o soph ica l doc t ri n e

a ss er ts t ha t

the universe

37Barthelemy Sain t -Hi l a i r e , Le

Bouddha

e t sa re l ig ion , 3rd ed . , 1866, pp.

5 6

3SnYes, tha t was

death .

I

died .

I awoke. Yes,

death

i s

awakening

Aylmer

Maude, The Shor t Work of Tolstoy

(New

York, 1956), p.

577

~ n l k Muller and

Burnouf,

Oldenberg does

not

be l ieve

in

the

ann ih i l i s t i c

charac te r o f

Buddhism. I f anyone

descr ibes

Buddhism

as

a

re l ig ion

of

ann ih i l a t ion and seeks to

develop

therefrom

as

from

i t s spec i f ic

germ, he has,

in

fac t , succeeded

in

wholly

m issing th e main d r i f t of

Buddha

and the ancient

order of h is d i sc i pl e s. Hermann Oldenburg, The Buddha, His Life , His Doctrine,

His

Order . t r ans . by

William

Holy (London:

William

and

Norgate ,

1882) ,

p.

260.

400yrevor

Ling,

A Dictionary o f Buddhism. Indian an d South-East

Asian

(Calcut ta :

K. A.

Bagchi ,

1981) , p.

150.



i s

f u n d a m e n t a l l y ev i l and

m a l e v o l e n t .

Buddhism

i s

n o t phi losophical ly

pess imis t i c in t ha t

s e n s e b e c a u s e

t

t e a c h e s

tha t s orrow o r ev i l

i s due

t o i g n o r a n c e

o f t h e

t rue

n ature o f r ea l i ty and

a

f a l s e

c o n c e p t i o n

o f s e l f .

To ls to y con si de r ed nihi l ism

an d

p ess im ism a s nega t ive qua l i t i e s

an d he m i s t a k e n l y a t t r i bu t ed them t o Buddhism l i ke S c hope nha ue r

an d

o ~ r

19th

century

Eu r o p ean

or i en t a l i s t s

who d i d

no t

h av e

f u l l

a c c e s s

to a l l

B u d d h i s t s c h o o l s

an d wh o

b a s e d t h e i r o p i n i o n s on a m is un de rs ta nd in g o f th e

n otio n o f n irv an a.

He

a l so

contras ted

in

some

of

h is

s ta tements an d in

h is f ic t ion

t h e

pos i t ive l i f e - a f f i rming

message

o f C h ri st ia n it y to th e

negat ive l i f e -deny ing message o f Buddhism.

Rat iona l i ty and Buddhism in T ols to v s In te rp re ta t ion

F o r T o l s t o y r e l ig ion i s th e a w a re ne s s o f th o s e t ru ths

w h l c h

are

common

and

c o m p r e h e n s i b l e t o a l l p e o p l e

in

a l l

s i t u a t i on s a t a l l t i m e s ,

and are a s i nd i spu tab le

a s

2x2-4

. . .

Rel ig ion

i s l ike ge ome t ry.

MOl

Awareness of th e

unive r sa l

t ru ths fo r

T o l s t o y i s

g r o u n d ed

n o t

in b l ind

fa i th

b u t

in

fa i th

c o u p l e d

w i t h r e a s o n

an d

w i t h

r e a s o n

a s

a

f ina l

a rb i t e r .

As

Tols toy S

b i o g r a p h y

o f

th e Buddha

sugges ts ,

ear ly Buddhism i s a

r e l ig ion

where

B u d d h i s t t ru ths

a re

exper i en t i a l ly

va l ida ted and th e

Buddha s d iv in i ty

i s

d e n i e d .

P a ul C ar u s in Th e G os pe l of Buddha,

o ne

o f

To ls to y s f av o ri te

man u als o f

Buddhism

and one h e

r e a d

in tens ive ly t conta ins many m a r g i n a l

n o t e s by

T o l s t o y )

wri tes : Now Buddhism

i s

a r e l ig ion w h ich knows o f no

supe rna tu r a l

r eve la t ion and

p r o c l a i m s

doct r ines

t h a t

requi re

no o ther

ar g u men t t h a n come an d s e e .

4.2

Th e

f i r s t n o b l e t ru th o f Buddhism t h a t l i f e i n v o l v e s

su f fe r ing

is c o n f i r m e d by th e p r e s e n c e

o f

old a g e , s ickness an d d isease . Th e

B u d d h a s

au thor i ty

in

t h e

ear ly

B u d d h i s t

sc r ip tu res

i s

n o t

b a s e d

on

h is

di

v in i

ty

but on

h is i n s

igh t w h ich c a n be alw ay s r e a l

i z e d

in

human

~ x p e r i e n e E a r l y Buddhism does n ot c on ta in

mirac les ,

hardly

an y r i t u a l

an d

a

minimum of

dogma,

and

a s s uc h

co n f o r ms

to

T ols to y S id ea l c o n c e p t

o f

r e l ig ion .

Later

Buddhism, in w h ich t h e Buddha

s d iv in i ty

wa s

p r o c l a i m e d an d in

which

mirac les , r i t u a l

an d

dogma abound, wa s c o n s i d e r e d

by T ols t o y t o

be

a

d eb as emen t

o f

t h e

or ig ina l doc t r ine .

T h i s

t e n d e n c y to m y t h o l o g i z e an d

m y s t i f y

Buddhism can be o b s e r v e d

d i rec t ly

in t h e i n t e rp re t a t ion o f th e l i f e

o f

th e Buddha

f o u n d in La l i t a

Vis ta ra ; e a c h new e dit io n o f th is book is more

complex

and m i r a c u l o u s ,

an d

B u d d h i s t

dogma

b ec om es m ore

e labora te and

concre te thr ough add i t ions

an d

c omme nt a ri e s

which move away

from

th e

s i m p l e

or ig ina l

abs t r ac t ions .

T h i s

d i f f e r en t i a t i on b et we en a n

ea r l i e r

pur e

form of Buddhism

and

4\L.

N. Tols toy , P ol noe sobrante soch inen i i , T.

6 3, p . 3 39 .

4.2paul C a r u s , Th e

G o s o el o f

Buddha Chi c a go: The Open C o u r t , 19023 p . 9.

72



a

l a t e r debased

form,

often

expressed

in

terms of a dichotomy between

what

the Buddha

taught and

the

commentaries

on his

t ea ch in g o r between Buddhism

and

the

personal

teaching of Buddha, exis t s in

the

writings of Burnouf,

Saint

Hilai re and Max Muller.

Tols toy s

idea of freeing orig1nal early

Buddhism from l a t e r perversions and misinterpretat ions

is ref lected

in

Max

Muller s statement in

a l e t t e r

o f Ju ly 26,

1895, to a Mr Dharmapala:

You

should

endeavor

to

do

for

Buddhism

what

the more

en ligh tened s tuden ts

of

Chris t iani ty

have

long been

doing in the di f fe ren t countries of Europe:

You

should free

your

r e l ig ion

from

i t s

l a t t e r excrescences,

and

bring i t

back

to

i t s ea r l i e s t , s implest and pures t form as taught by

Buddha

and his

immediate

disciples .

I f

tha t is

done,

you wil l

be

surpr ised

to

see

how

l i t t le

dif fe rence there is

in essentials

between the great religions of

the

world.,,43 Muller s formulation is bas ical ly in agreement with

Tols toy s ident i f icat ion

of a

primi

t ive

Chris t iani ty and

a

primit ive

Buddhism,

s t r ipped

of the alleged i r r a t iona l i ty of r i tua l s , miracles and

dogma Muller s

and

Tols toy s high regard

for

ear ly pure Buddhism and i t s

wisdom and

the i r

disregard for l a t e r schools of Buddhism

as

being an

adul terat ion of an ea r l i e r

teaching

is not

jus t i f ied within the

his tor ica l

framework of Buddhism. The contrast between the alleged

ra t iona l i ty

of

ea r l i e r Buddhism

and the

alleged i r ra t iona l i ty of

l a t e r

developments

misses

the

poin t .

The Buddhist t rad i t ion has always advocated a divers i ty

of approaches to the Godhead

depending

on t he p sycho log ica l makeup of the

bel iever . There was a way of knowledge and

a

~ of

devotion sui table to

in te l lec tua l and

emotional i nd ividua ls r espec ti vely . Tol stoy obv ious ly

favors

th e

former

but

this

preference

is due

to

h is

sober .

ra t iona l is t ic

outlook

and not to imperfections. e th ica l or

phi losophica l .

of la te r

Buddhism

where

devotional

and mystical e lemen ts p redominate. Tolstoy

c ri ti ci se d l at er

schools of Buddhism

as C

exalted

Buddhism,

which, with

i t s

monasteries and

representations

of

Buddha, and i t s

solemn r i t e s ,

has

changed into mystical Lamaism . . . and of Taoism . . .

with

i t s sorcery and

inctl.nttl.tions.,,44 I t

should be

noted

here that

the

term

mystical had for

Tolstoy

negative

connotations as could be seen from the

subt i t le

of The

Kingdom of God

Within

You: C hris t ianity

not

as a mystical

doctr ine ,

but

as

a new unde rs tand ing o f l i f e . Tolstoy S

concept

of r a t iona l

Buddhism

has much in common with O ld enbu rg s who was ci ted in the

bibliography of

To

Is

toy S biography of the Buddha. Oldenburg s in terpre t a t

ion

of Buddhism

was ra t iona l is t ic ;

mysticism

was foreign to

him and he

was cr i t ic ized

in

his own time

for

his

r a t iona l i s t i c presenta t ion

of

Buddhism. This

coincidence of

views between

Muller and

Tolstoy

on th e d eg en era ti ve

development

in

Buddhism and Oldenburg and Tolstoy on che

prac t i se

and

r a t ional

character of early Buddhism

does not imply the

in flu en ce o f th e

former on the l a t t e r since Tolstoy h eld simi lar views bet fore reading

these

authors.

Tols toy s

views

were confirmed

and

reinforced th ro ugh the

reading of

these

wri ters .

~ r i e d e r i h Max Muller,

Selected

Essays, Vol, 2, p.

350-51.

o 4L

N

Tolstoy,

ItChto takoe

re l ig i ja

i v chom

sushchesevo

je jo .

Polnoe

sobrante sochineni j ,

T.

35, p. 166.

73



Buddhism as a Pos i t ive Rel ig ion

In sp i t e

o f Tols toy s

d is ag reeme nt w it h th e

a ll eg e d n i h il ism

and

pessimism o f

Buddhis t r e l ig ion an d with the myst ica l charac te r of l a t e r

schools

o f

Buddhism,

he found

Buddhis t e th ics

conforming to

the

pe renn ia l

phi losophy.

These

pr inc ip les

are condemnation of v iolence and war.

Tols toy

bel ieved t h a t

non-vio lence

was prac t iced in

Buddhis t

coun t r i e s in

con t r as t to Ch r is ti an c o un tr ie s which i n f l i c t ed violence

on

an

Asian

popula t ion

and

oppressed them. The

h is to ry o f

Buddhis t r e l ig ion

i t s e l f .

on e

y

add,

shows

more

to le rance

for

divergent

views an d

no

ou t r igh t

persecut ion compared to

the

h i s to ry o f Chr i s t i an i ty .

In Kuna la s Eyes. an adapted Buddhist: legend,

Kunala, an

emperor s son,

i s bl inded .

Deprived

of

h is eyes Kunala acqu i red

a

per f ec t , pure e y e

of

t ru th

and

higher r e a l i t y . The abandonment

o f

an

ego-cen tered

exis tence as a prerequ is i t e fo r true

happiness , occurs

as a

theme

both

in pe renn ia l philosophy and in Tols toy s

f ic t ion (The

Death o f

Ivan I l i c h

and

Master

and Man). Tols toy f inds in Buddha s

teaching the

same

e th i c a l tenets he, himse l f , proclaimed in h is essay On Li

fe .

Buddha says t ha t happiness cons i s t s in

doing

as

much

good to

others as

poss ib le .

Regardless

o f how s t range

th i s appears

On supe r f i c i a l

observa t ion

i s

undoubtedly so;

happiness i s only

poss ible

by

renouncing

the

asp i r a t ion toward

persona l ,

ego i s t i c h a p p i n e s s ~

In summarizing

Tols toy s views on Buddh ism

severa l

f ac to r s

should

be

kept

in mind. To ls to y s e ar ly C h ri sti an upbr inging and condi t ioning.

h is r el at iv e ly l at e exposure to se lec t ive Buddhis t wri t ings , t he p ol em ic al

charac te r

o f

h is s ta tements on r e l ig ions

in genera l

an d

Buddhism in

par t icu la r

as well as h is

own

views on the

essence

of the idea l r e l ig ion .

Orthodox Chr i s t i an i ty

was pa r t o f To ls to y s h eri ta ge

and h is

world

view. He thought t h a t

was

supe r io r

to

othe r

world

r e l ig ions

in

i t s formulat ion and prac t i ce

o f

e te rna l an d

unive r sa l

e th i c a l t r u ths . In

comparison

with

Buddhism

with Chr i s t i an i ty , he

considered

the l a t t e r to

be

more

or ien ted towards preaching

the

pos s ib i l i t y and necess i ty of

founding the Kingdom o f

od

on

ear th . 48

In

the

l a t e r

per iod

o f

h is l i f e

in

the lac.e e igh t i es an d

n ine t i e s as

he

evolved

a

concept

o f

Chr i s t i an i ty without

supe rna tu r a l

elements

he

became more

even-handed in

comparing the

m erits o f

Buddhism

with

those o f

Chr i s t i an i ty .

He

emphasized

more

the

e t h i c a l

p r inc ip les

o f

Buddhism

and disregarded what

he

thought were

the

negat ive aspec ts

o f

ni rvana . On

the

metaphysical s ide , Tols toy v ~

reconc i led

the

con t rad ic t ion

between the

Chr is t i an

concept o f

od

an d the s e l f

regulac ing Karmic

mechanism

in

Buddhism,

prefe r r ing

to ignore

metaphysics in

favor

o f common e t h i c a l

grounds.

F. C h ris t ia n, T ols to y s L ette rs

New

York:

Charles

Sc r ibne r s Sons,

1978), Vol. 2, p. 635.

48A

I . Shifman, Lev Tols toy i

Vostok

(Moskva:

1971),

p.

115.

74



Tols toy s

f i r s t

persona l con tac t with

Buddhism

was l esson in

non- res i s tance to ev i l

by a

Buddhis t lama

who

was

h is

neighbor in the

Kazan

hosp i t a l .

e t o ld

Tolstoy

the s to ry of h is l i f e .

During

a

s l e igh

r ide in S ibe r ia

he was at tacked

by band i t s . When

asked by

Tolstoy what he did

then

he

answered,

I crossed

my

arms on my ches t and

I

prayed

to

Buddha

to forgive the l awbreakers . The evidence of

Tols

toy s spec ia l i n t e r e s t

in

Buddhism

came much l a t e r

a f t e r h is

s p ir itu a l c r is is and

h is def in i te breakup with

the Orthodox

church

in

1879. In 1886

Strahkov

wrote

to

him

about

Burnouf s book Le Lotus

de

1a bonne fol . Severa l weeks

l a t e r

Strahkov

re fe r s to Koppen s Die

Religion des Buddha,

Barth s

Les

religions

de I lnde, Bergoine s Vedes

and Muller

IS

Sacred Books

of

the Eas

t .

Valuable as

these books may

have been as

the sources fo r

the

study o f

Buddhism

a t t h a t t ime they

su f fe red from ce r ta in shortcomings. They

of ten descr ibed

Buddhism

within the

Chr i s t i an

framework

of

re fe rence and

they

mis in te rp re ted

some

key

Buddhist

terms such as ni rvana . Thei r pred i l ec t ions and pre jud ices

were re f lec ted in

To l s t oy s views

on the sub jec t , pa r t i cu l a r ly on

h is

unders tanding

of

ni rvana and the r amif ica t ions

of

t ha t

concept on

h is

eva lua t ion

of Buddhism in general .

To l s t oy s in tense

involvement with

Buddhism

came a t

a

s tage of h is

l i f e

when h is views

on

r e l ig ion were

a l ready

formed. Buddhism was

fo r

him

a sounding

board

when h is

ideas

and

opinions

could

be

confirmed

and

re inforced.

This d i a l ec t i ca l in te rp lay between h is own ideas and

those

held

and expounded by o t he r ph il os oph ie s, re l ig ions an d

people was

polemica l

and the

con tex t of these polemics var ied . This

may expla in d i f fe rences

and cont radi . c t ions in

h is

s ta tements and

assessment of Buddhism

a t

d i f f e r en t po in ts in

t ime.

In

Confession,

Buddha

i s

in t roduced as Sakia

Muni as

a

four th S i n a dd itio n to Solomon, Socrates and

Schopenhauer.

as a foi l

to his

idea

of salvation through

Christ ianity.

In his

essay

Re l ig ion

and

Moral i ty

To l s toy s

polemics is d ir ec te d a g ai ns t

Buddhism

and

o ther r e l ig ions

within

the

context

of h is

be l i e f in

the·

primacy

o f

Ch r i s t i an i t y . A

correct ive to

t h i s view came l a t e r when

Buddhism

and

Chr i s t i an i ty were both

iden t i f ied

as a

gospel

of the

God

of love. His

views, then , evolved

in

the d i r ec t ion of ident i fy ing an e s sen t i a l

e th ic a l i de n ti ty shared

by

both r e l ig ions .

47Carl

Koppen,

n ie

Rel igion

des

Buddha

(Ber l in ;

Schneider, 1957-59) ,

Vol.

1;

Auguste

Barth, Les

r e l ig ions de l Inde

(Par is : Sandoz e t Fischbacher ,

1879);

Abel Bergoigne, e r e l ig ions

vedique

(Par is : E. Boui l lon ,

189S); Eugene

Burnouf,

Le

Lotus

de- l a Bonne

Fot

(Par i s :

1850);

Fr ie r i ch Max Mulle r , The

Sacred

Books

of the East,

continued series

starting

with 1875, The Rel ig ions o f China, 1)

Confucianism, (2)

Taoism,

3

Buddhism

and

Chr is t ian i ty .

in Nineteenth Century ,

Vol.

48 (1900).

75

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Tolstoy View of Buddhism

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