LORD BUDDHA.
|
|
Siddhartha, who later became known as the
Buddha – or The Enlightened One – was a prince who forsook the comforts of a
palace to seek enlightenment. He realised the essential unreality of the world
and experienced the bliss of Nirvana. After his enlightenment, he spent the
remainder of his life teaching others how to escape the endless cycle of birth
and death.
Buddha was
born approximately 400 BCE in the area now known as Nepal. He was brought up in
a palace with all the comforts and luxuries possible. Growing up a young noble
prince, it is said his father sought to shield the young prince Siddhartha from
the pain and suffering of the world. It is said his father had a premonition
that Siddhartha would one day renounce the world.
However,
at one point in his early adult life, Siddhartha sought to find a greater
meaning to life. In disguise, he left the palace and wandered around the
kingdom. Here, Siddhartha came across different people suffering from old age
and illness and witnessed death. This showed him the transitory nature of life,
which had a great impact on him. As a consequence, Siddhartha resolved to seek
a deeper meaning of life.
Secretly,
Siddhartha left the palace – leaving behind his wife, son and all the worldly
comforts that he had enjoyed. He devoted himself to meditation, seeking
enlightenment amongst the ascetics of the forest.
In his
intense quest for enlightenment, Siddhartha fasted excessively so his body
wasted away; however, despite his great efforts enlightenment still remained a
far cry. At one point, a passing woman gave him some food to eat and Siddhartha
realised it was a mistake to seek enlightenment by torturing the body. He
regained his strength and resolved to follow a ‘middle path’, avoiding excesses
of both fasting and feasting.
On one
day, Siddhartha resolved to sit under a Bodhi tree until he attained
enlightenment. For several days, he sat in meditation seeking Nirvana. He was
tested by various forces which tried to prevent him realising the goal.
However,
Siddhartha was successful and entered into the blissful consciousness of
Nirvana for several days. On returning to normal consciousness, Siddhartha the
Buddha (Buddha means ‘enlightened one’) made the decision to spend the
remainder of his life teaching others how to escape the inherent suffering of
life.
For many
years, Buddha travelled around India, especially around the Ganges plain and in
Nepal, teaching his philosophy of liberation. His teachings were transmitted
orally and not written down until many years after his death.
Many
stories relate to the life of the Buddha in this teaching phase. His essential
teachings were of love, compassion and tolerance. The Buddha taught that a
seeker must have compassion for all living beings and this was the most
important teaching. Although the Buddha disliked formal rules, a monastic
following sprung up for those interested in following his path. He advocated
strict celibacy for those wishing to follow his monastic path.
The Buddha
would often give talks on enlightenment, but on one occasion, he simply held up
a flower and maintained silence. Many left not understanding the point, but
when later questioned, the Buddha replied that his real teaching could only be
understood in silence. Talks could only give limited intellectual information
which was not real enlightenment.
The Buddha
sought to avoid deep philosophy, he avoided using the term God, preferring to
talk about the practical way that a person may escape the cycle of birth and
rebirth and attain enlightenment. Like many spiritual teachers, he often taught
in parables to keep his teachings simple and practical.
The Buddha passed away after many years of
teaching and travelling throughout India. On his deathbed, he told Ananda (his
dearest disciple) that he should now rely on his teachings and own ethical
conduct to be the guide of his life.
Buddhism is
a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely
based on original teachings attributed
to the Buddha and resulting interpreted philosophies.
Buddhism originated in Ancient
India sometime between the 6th and 4th
centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, whereafter it declined in India during the Middle Ages. Two major extant
branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravada (Pali:
"The School of the Elders") and Mahayana (Sanskrit:
"The Great Vehicle").
The Four Truths express the basic orientation
of Buddhism: we crave and
cling to impermanent states and things, which
is dukkha, "incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught
in saṃsāra, the
endless cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha and dying again. But there is a
way to liberation from this endless cycle to the state
of nirvana, namely following the Noble Eightfold Path.
In Buddhism, Karma (from Sanskrit:
"action, work") drives saṃsāra –
the endless cycle of suffering and rebirth for each being. Good, skilful deeds produce "seeds" in the unconscious
receptacle that mature later either in this life or in a subsequent rebirth The existence of Karma is a core belief in
Buddhism, as with all major Indian religions, it implies neither fatalism nor
that everything that happens to a person is caused by Karma.
Nirvana literally means "blowing out,
quenching, becoming extinguished". In early Buddhist texts, it is the
state of restraint and self-control that leads to the "blowing out"
and the ending of the cycles of sufferings associated with rebirths and
redeaths.
No comments:
Post a Comment