Day 27: The Difference Between Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and the Buddha Dharma
Two Paths, One Destination
Over the past several years, I’ve immersed myself in the study of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. This ancient text has served as a guidebook for my life, offering practical tools for mental discipline, spiritual growth, and liberation. My journey with the Sutras began in 2010 during a 30-day yoga challenge, and over time, they have become a cornerstone of my practice and teaching.
More recently, I’ve started exploring the Buddha Dharma through meditation at the Bali Meditation Center. Though I am less experienced with Buddhism, I’ve noticed how these two profound traditions—Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the teachings of the Buddha—have similarities and differences. This curiosity has shaped my approach to teaching and even led me to reflect on whether my Substack, The Daily Dharma, is appropriately named, given the differing meanings of the word “Dharma” in each tradition.
The Historical Context
The Buddha Dharma was written before Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. It appeared in India around the 5th–4th century BCE. Buddhism’s teachings on meditation, suffering, and liberation influenced many Indian philosophical systems, including Patanjali’s work, authored between the 2nd–4th century BCE. While both share similarities, they differ in their goals and approaches to liberation.
The Core Teachings
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
The Yoga Sutras is a four-chapter text that outlines a structured path to self-realization and liberation (kaivalya). Central themes include mastering the mind, detachment, and surrender. I teach these themes in depth in my online Yoga Sutra Study Course (The next offering starts in March 2025, and you can check out the info here.) Key teachings include:
The Eight Limbs of Yoga (Ashtanga Yoga): A practical roadmap encompassing ethical guidelines (yamas, niyamas), physical postures (asana), breath control (pranayama), sensory withdrawal (pratyahara), and deep meditative states (dhyana, samadhi).
The Kleshas and Karma: Understanding the causes of suffering (ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear) and how actions create mental impressions that bind us.
Liberation (Kaivalya): Freedom from the cycles of birth, death, and suffering through recognizing the distinction between pure consciousness (purusha) and matter (prakriti).
The Buddha Dharma
The Buddha Dharma, rooted in the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, offers a practical framework for overcoming suffering (dukkha) and achieving liberation (nirvana):
The Four Noble Truths:
Life is marked by suffering.
Craving and attachment cause suffering.
Suffering can end through detachment.
The Eightfold Path leads to liberation.
The Eightfold Path: A guide divided into wisdom (right view, right intention), ethical conduct (right speech, action, livelihood), and mental discipline (right effort, mindfulness, concentration).
Core Concepts: Impermanence (anicca), non-self (anatta), and mindfulness as tools to cultivate compassion and wisdom.
Similarities Between the Traditions
Both traditions aim to transcend suffering through disciplined practice and self-awareness. Key similarities are:
Liberation as the Goal: Both seek freedom—nirvana in Buddhism and kaivalya in the Yoga Sutras.
Understanding Suffering: Both identify attachment, ignorance, and mental disturbances as root causes of suffering.
Meditation and Mental Discipline: Meditation plays a central role in both systems, whether through mindfulness (Buddha Dharma) or the meditative stages outlined by Patanjali.
Ethical Foundations: The Yoga Sutras emphasize the yamas and niyamas, while the Buddha Dharma prioritizes ethical living through the Eightfold Path.
Non-Attachment: Both stress the importance of letting go of desires to achieve liberation.
Impermanence: Each tradition highlights the material world as a source of suffering.
Key Differences
The Self:
Buddhism teaches anatta (non-self), asserting there is no permanent, independent self.
Patanjali’s system is dualistic, emphasizing the separation of the eternal self (purusha) from matter (prakriti).
The Nature of Liberation:
In Buddhism, liberation (nirvana) ends the cycle of samsara (birth, death, rebirth).
In the Yoga Sutras, liberation (kaivalya) is the realization of one’s true nature and freedom from mental fluctuations.
Philosophical Approach:
Buddhism focuses on the cessation of suffering through ethical living, mindfulness, and insight.
The Yoga Sutras offer a structured, step-by-step framework emphasizing self-discipline, detachment, and union with the true self.
View of Powers (Siddhis):
Patanjali describes extraordinary powers as a byproduct of practice but warns against attachment to them.
The Buddha Dharma does not emphasize or encourage supernatural abilities, focusing instead on wisdom and compassion.
Two Paths, One Purpose
While the Buddha Dharma and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras offer two different paths to liberation, they share many themes: ethical conduct, meditation, and overcoming suffering. This explains why they’re so interconnected. Each tradition provides profound tools for self-realization, inviting practitioners to explore which approach resonates most deeply with their journey.
The Daily Dharma
As I continue to reflect on the name of my Substack, I start to wonder if the name is appropriate after all. While I’m not necessarily delivering daily teachings on the Buddha Dharma, Dharma means performing your duty and living your purpose in Patanjali’s sutras. And so if it’s my purpose to share these teachings from ancient wisdom traditions, then I would say this Substack is a Daily Dharma!
Thanks for being here. Suksma and Terimah Kasih (Thank you in Balinese and Thank You in Bahasa!)
Alexandra
Join the Next Yoga Sutra Study Online
My next online yoga sutra study will be starting the week of March 23rd. In this year long course, we study Patanjali’s Sutras in depth. There are ten spots available. If you want to join the course, save your spot here.
Other Ways to Support My Work:
Buy my book on Amazon (Sober Yoga Girl)
Buy merchandise from my shop
Sign up for upcoming retreats and trainings
Upcoming Online Programs:
Online 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training 2025
Upcoming International Retreats:
United Arab Emirates: February 18 - 23 or 21 - 23, 2025 Letting Go Retreat
India: March 9 - 19, 2025 (one room left!) This is a Sober Women’s Adventure around India.
Arizona: May 16 - 18, 2025 Sober in The City Event
Bali: May 25 - 31, 2025. A vedic meditation & yoga retreat coled by my friend Rory Kinsella and I.
Bali 200-Hour Teacher Training: July 7 - 27, 2025
Bali 300-Hour Advanced Teacher Training: September 1 - 18, 2025
Bahasa Indonesian Word of the Day
Kesadaran
It means "awareness" or "consciousness" in Bahasa Indonesian. This word connects to the Buddha Dharma and the Yoga Sutras. Both texts are about awareness - in the Buddha Dharma, this is referred to as sati, and it’s about being present and aware of the impermanent nature of reality. In Patanjali’s Sutras, awareness is cultivate through practices like dhyana (meditation) and viveka khyati (discriminative awareness).