According to which tradition, “Be lamps unto yourselves as all of you must work out your own liberation”?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Buddhist
According to Buddhist tradition, these were the last words of the Buddha to his followers. The Buddha stressed individual effort and righteous action as the way to escape the cycle of rebirth and reach nibbana, the extinguishing of the ego and desire. So he told his followers not to depend on anyone else: each of them had to work out his or her own liberation.
NCERT (2025-26): “5. The Teachings of the Buddha … The Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin. Therefore, he advised kings and gahapatis (see also Chapter 2) to be humane and ethical. Individual effort was expected to transform social relations. The Buddha emphasised individual agency and righteous action as the means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation and nibbana, literally the extinguishing of the ego and desire – and thus end the cycle of suffering for those who renounced the world. According to Buddhist tradition, his last words to his followers were: ‘Be lamps unto yourselves as all of you must work out your own liberation.…” |