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?
