Many schools of thought arose at this time in response to this need. Although the Buddha's solution to the problem was unique, most religious seekers at this time were engaged in the search for a way to obtain freedom from suffering and repeated death.

Fear of death was an especially acute problem, because death was seen as an unending series of deaths and rebirths. The main concern dominating religious thought and practice at the time of the Buddha was the problem of suffering and death. Koller comments:įrom a religious perspective, new ways of faith and practice challenged the established Vedic religion. The Hindu priests of the time defended the faith, which included the caste system, as part of the divine order but, as new ideas began to circulate, more people questioned whether that order was divine at all when all it seemed to offer was endless rounds of suffering. It was also understood that the soul would be incarnated in physical bodies multiple times, over and over, until one finally attained this liberation. It was understood that the human soul was immortal and that the goal of life was to perform one's karma (action) in accordance with one's dharma (duty) in order to break free from the cycle of rebirth and death ( samsara) and attain union with the oversoul ( atman). Brahman had established the divine order, maintained this order, and had delivered the Vedas to enable human beings to participate in this order with understanding and clarity. Hinduism taught that there was a supreme being, Brahman, who had not only created the universe but was the universe itself. On a theological level, people began to question the entire construct of Hinduism. The Vedas were said to have been received directly from the universe and could not be questioned, but these scriptures were all in Sanskrit, a language the people could not understand, and were interpreted by the priests to encourage acceptance of one's place in life – no matter how difficult or impoverished – while they themselves continued to live well from temple donations. On a practical level, critics of orthodox Hinduism claimed that the religion was not meeting the needs of the people.

Siddhartha translation