Editing The Buddha (section)

====Shramanas====
The Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of influential [[śramaṇa]] schools of thought like [[Ājīvika]], [[Charvaka|Cārvāka]], [[Jainism]], and [[Ajñana]].{{sfnp|Jayatilleke|1963|loc=chpt. 1–3}} The ''[[Brahmajala Sutta]]'' records sixty-two such schools of thought. In this context, a śramaṇa refers to one who labours, toils or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious purpose). It was also the age of influential thinkers like [[Mahavira]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Clasquin-Johnson|first=Michel|title=Will the real Nigantha Nātaputta please stand up? Reflections on the Buddha and his contemporaries|url=http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1011-76012015000100006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en|journal=Journal for the Study of Religion|volume=28|issue=1|pages=100–114|issn=1011-7601|access-date=4 July 2016|archive-date=25 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825200441/http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1011-76012015000100006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Purana Kassapa|Pūraṇa Kassapa]], [[Makkhali Gosala|Makkhali Gosāla]], [[Ajita Kesakambali|Ajita Kesakambalī]], [[Pakudha Kaccayana|Pakudha Kaccāyana]], and [[Sanjaya Belatthaputta|Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta]], as recorded in [[Samaññaphala Sutta]], with whose viewpoints the Buddha must have been acquainted.{{sfnp|Walshe|1995|p=268}}{{sfnp|Collins|2009|pp=199–200}}{{efn|According to Alexander Berzin, "Buddhism developed as a shramana school that accepted rebirth under the force of karma, while rejecting the existence of the type of soul that other schools asserted. In addition, the Buddha accepted as parts of the path to liberation the use of logic and reasoning, as well as ethical behaviour, but not to the degree of Jain asceticism. In this way, Buddhism avoided the extremes of the previous four shramana schools."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/history-culture/buddhism-in-india/indian-society-and-thought-at-the-time-of-buddha |title = Indian Society and Thought before and at the Time of Buddha |first = Alexander |last = Berzin |publisher = Study Buddhism |date = April 2007 |access-date = 20 June 2016 |archive-date = 28 June 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160628154103/http://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/history-culture/buddhism-in-india/indian-society-and-thought-at-the-time-of-buddha |url-status = live }}</ref>}}

[[Śāriputra]] and [[Maudgalyayana|Moggallāna]], two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, the sceptic.{{sfnp|Nakamura|1980|p=20}} The Pāli canon frequently depicts Buddha engaging in debate with the adherents of rival schools of thought. There is philological evidence to suggest that the two masters, [[Alara Kalama]] and [[Uddaka Rāmaputta]], were historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques.{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|pp=8–23|loc=ch. 2}} Thus, Buddha was just one of the many śramaṇa philosophers of that time.{{sfnp|Warder|1998|p=45}} In an era where holiness of person was judged by their level of asceticism,{{sfnp|Roy|1984|p=1}} Buddha was a reformist within the śramaṇa movement, rather than a reactionary against Vedic Brahminism.{{sfnp|Roy|1984|p=7}}

Coningham and Young note that both Jains and Buddhists used stupas, while tree shrines can be found in both Buddhism and Hinduism.{{sfn|Coningham|Young|2015|p=65}}