Method of Eightfold Path in Yoga Philosophy and TheravĀda Buddhism

There are many misconceptions and misinformation about

yoga and early Buddhism floating around. Many people mistakenly

think for example that yoga is all about the body, while Buddhist

meditation is all about the mind. Forgetting the common Indic roots of

both traditions, people easily associate Yoga with India but when they

think of Buddhism, they tend to think of it as an East Asian tradition.

Even though the Buddha pre-dated Patañjali by some 500 years or more,

yoga teachers tend to attribute a greater antiquity to Patañjali's Yoga

Sūtras than is warranted, while ignoring the important historical

influence of Buddhism upon Indian philosophy and soteriology.

If we really want to accurately understand what yogic and

Buddhist practices are about then it is important that we do away with

these and other misconnections to look anew at how Yoga and

Buddhism might be related historically and practically. It must be

remembered that both Yoga and Buddhism changed and evolved over

time including - directly or indirectly - in interaction with each other. If

we want to compare these systems, we have to first of all start at the

beginning, i.e. we have to start with the comparison of early Yoga with

early Buddhism. In this thesis, we will analyze the similarities and

differences between Patañjali's Aṣṭāṅga (Eight-Limb) Yoga and the

Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. We would ask: Did these paths emerge

independently or did one influence the other? What are the similarities

and differences in the practices and goals of early Buddhism and

Aṣṭāṅga Yoga? Can one help to illuminate the other?