 Birth
and Early Life
1 Background
The Buddha (meaning 'enlightened one' or 'awakened one')
was born in Lumbini in northern India in about the sixth
century BCE - the exact date is uncertain. His historical
name was Siddhattha Gotama (Pali) - Siddhartha Gautama
(in Sanskrit) - his personal name being Siddhattha and
his clan name Gotama. His father, Suddhodhana, was a wealthy
and prominent figure of the Sakyas, a noble and prestigious
tribe. Siddhattha's mother, Mahamaya, died a week after
giving birth to her son and so the boy was brought up
by his mother's sister, Mahapajapati.
2
Seven Steps that Changed the World
Different stories surround the conception and actual birth
of the Buddha. One has it that around the time of the
Buddha's conception, Mahamaya had a dream in which she
saw a large white elephant enter her side. This was interpreted
by the Brahmins, or priests of the day, that the child
would grow up to be a great emperor or a great holy man,
the elephant being an auspicious symbol of sovereignty.
Another tells how Mahamaya, on her way to visiting her
relatives, gave birth to the Buddha standing up and holding
on to a tree, which is why the Buddha seems to have been
born at Lumbini rather than his father's town of Kapilavatthu.
According to legend, as soon as he was born, the Buddha
walked seven steps and announced: 'I am the highest in
the world; I am the best in the world; I am the foremost
in the world. This is my last birth; now there is no renewal
of being for me'.
3 A
Life of Pleasure
There seems no doubt that the Buddha was born into a wealthy
and privileged family and that materially he wanted for
nothing. In the Magandiya Sutra the Buddha describes his
home life: 'I enjoyed myself...I had three palaces, one
for the rainy season, one for the winter, and one for
the summer. I lived in the rains' palace for the four
months of the rainy season, enjoying myself with musicians
who were all female'. At sixteen, Gotama married a local
princess, Yasodhara who gave birth to a son, Rahula, thirteen
years later. Shortly after this, however - at the age
of twenty-nine - Siddhattha's life took a radical change
in direction... The
Four Sights
1 The Struggle Within
At what point the Buddha's disaffection for his life
of luxury began to manifest itself is hard to determine.
It is likely that it was something that he struggled
with for a long time before, at the age of twenty-nine,
he decided to leave the palace, his life of pleasure
and comfort, and even his wife, Yasodhara, and child,
Rahula. The factors that must have led up this emphatic
and irrevocable decision have been crystallized in the
traditional account.
2 Outside the Palace
Because of the prophecies that attended Siddhattha's birth
- that he would either become a world ruler or a great
holy man - his father, Suddhodhana tried to shield his
son from the more distressing features of the world. Consequently,
Siddhattha spent his life with the confines of the palace
and its grounds, absorbed in pleasure.
But dissatisfaction grew to the extent that one day Siddhattha
asked his charioteer to take him on an excursion outside
of the place. On the first visit he encountered an old
man. On the next excursion he encountered a sick man.
On his third excursion, he encountered a corpse being
carried to cremation. Such sights brought home to him
the prevalence of suffering in the world and that he too
was subject to old age, sickness and death - that no-one,
not even a king's son, could escape these three. What
hope was there, what point in living, if this was the
destiny of all? On his fourth excursion, however, he encountered
a holy man or sadhu, apparently content and at peace with
the world. Perhaps, there was a way out of what seemed
like the inevitability of suffering after all! (In Buddhism
these are referred to as 'the four sights' or 'four signs'.)
The Leaving
It was not easy for Siddhattha to leave his home and family.
As his wife and child lay sleeping, he said his goodbyes,
fearing that if his wife should wake he wouldn't be able
to leave. And then he was gone, to begin life as a wandering
holy man in search of the ultimate...
The
Search
1 The Quest Begins
After leaving his father's palace and his family, Siddhattha
embarked upon the life of a wanderer, sleeping in forests
and living off the food given to him by those he came
into contact with. At first he sought out those who
might teach him how to progress further along his spiritual
path, teachers such as Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta.
Through the meditation techniques taught by them, he
was able to reach higher states of knowledge, but fell
short of complete enlightenment. Though he became a
teacher under Ramaputta, he came to realize that what
he had learnt so far did not 'lead to disenchantment,
to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to enlightenment,
to Nibbana'.
2 Self-Mortification
Like many other seekers of his kind, Siddhattha decided
that perhaps enlightenment could be won by pushing the
body to extremes. Sometimes this took the form of eating
only certain kinds of food; at other times, it took
the form of rigorous fasting. Thus he became extremely
emaciated: 'Because of eating so little my belly skin
adhered to my backbone; thus if I touched my belly skin
I encountered my backbone; and if I touched my backbone
I encountered my belly skin'. He would go naked, sleep
in cemeteries, allow himself to be tormented by young
cowherds but all this did not lead to the ultimate knowledge
he sought.
3 The Rose-Apple Tree
Consequently, he began eating again, much to the disgust
of other ascetics who thought that he had become weak
and given up his quest. At this point Siddhattha recalled
a time in the past when he had sat under a rose-apple
tree and contemplated the nature of the world. His heart
filled with compassion, he had pondered on the suffering
of others and the transience of life. As he sat, his
mind became serene and he entered what later he would
describe as jhana, a joyous state brought on by deep
meditation. Perhaps this was the way to enlightenment,
avoiding the extremes of sensuous enjoyment and self-mortification.
And so, six years on from when he left his sleeping
wife and child, the Buddha came to a place called Bodh
Gaya, in the modern Indian state of Bihar. He sat himself
under a Bodhi tree (a species of ficus religiosa) determined
not to rise until he had achieved enlightenment...
The
Enlightenment
1 Under the Bodhi-Tree
Six years had passed. Siddhattha had left his home and
family, put himself through the most rigorous kinds
of self-mortification and, having abandoned the latter,
found himself under a Bodhi-tree at Bodh Gaya. He sat
there resolute, determined to win though to enlightenment
once and for all. First he entered into a series of
trance-like states known as jhanas. And then, going
beyond these, he gained insight into the true nature
of reality.
2 True Knowledge
During his enlightenment experience, Siddhattha attained
three types of knowledge. First he saw that he had died
and been reborn many times: 'I recollected my manifold
past lives, that is, one birth, two births, three births...a
hundred thousand births.' Each birth was seen in some
detail: 'There I was so named, of such a clan, with
such an appearance...and passing away from there, I
reappeared here'.
Then, having acquired the 'divine eye', he saw that
all beings are reborn according to their deeds, the
law of kamma (karma): 'I saw beings passing away and
reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate
and unfortunate....according to their actions'. He saw
that good action led to happy states; bad actions to
miserable ones.
Lastly, he saw the nature of suffering, the origin of
suffering, the cessation of suffering and the way leading
to the cessation of suffering - in short, the Four Noble
Truths. With this realization came liberation on a experiential
rather than solely intellectual level: 'I directly knew:
"Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived,
what had to be done has been done, there is no coming
to any state of being"'.
3 What Next?
Siddhattha, at the age of thirty-five, had reached enlightenment
and was now worthy of being called a Buddha, which means
'enlightened one' or 'awakened one'. But what next?
Should he simply just keep his newfound knowledge to
himself or should he share it with humanity? At first
he thought that perhaps his knowledge was too subtle,
too profound for anyone to understand. But then, he
considered, there might be some who have only 'a little
dust' in there eyes who would benefit from what he had
to teach. One account describes how the compassionate
god Brahma Sahampati appeared and persuaded him to share
his teachings for the benefit of others. And so, after
spending three or four weeks in Bodh Gaya, the Buddha
left to meet the world with his newfound knowledge...
The
First Teaching
1 Five Companions
Having decided that he would share his knowledge, the
Buddha sought out five of the ascetics he had formerly
associated with. Seeing him approach, they thought to
snub him, still believing that he had abandoned the
quest because he no longer performed the severe austerities
that they believed led to enlightenment. As he got nearer,
however, they could see that a great change had taken
place in him. He assured them that he had indeed reached
the final state, that he was fully enlightened and that
he would teach them.
2 The Deer Park, Benares
It was to these five in the Deer Park in Benares that
the Buddha gave his first teaching, referred to as 'Setting
into Motion the Wheel of Dhamma'. In his first sermon,
the Buddha advises against the two extremes of luxury
and self-mortification and offers a 'Middle Way'. This
Middle Way is to be understood in the context of the
Four Noble Truths, the distillation of the Buddha's
message. These are 'the noble truth of suffering...the
noble truth of the origin of suffering...the noble truth
of the cessation of suffering...the noble truth leading
the way to the cessation of suffering'. The last of
these, the Eightfold Path is the Buddha's teaching on
what must be done to achieve enlightenment. It consists
of eight factors that incorporate wisdom, morality and
concentration. The eight factors are: Right Understanding,
Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood,
Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
3 Kondanna
One of the ascetics, Kondanna, came to understand the
Buddha's teaching very quickly, the latter exclaiming:
'Kondanna knows!', followed soon after by the other
four ascetics. And so the Buddha's long teaching career
- which was to span forty-five years - began...
The
Dissemination
1 A Simple Message
The Buddha spent the rest of his life as a homeless,
itinerant teacher. His life and needs were simple. For
nine months of the year he traveled on foot, offering
his teachings to any that were interested. He went from
village to village, and from town to town, using his
begging bowl as a means of obtaining sustenance. In
this way he came into contact with all levels of society,
relating the same message to all those he encountered:
life is suffering, craving is the cause of this suffering,
there is an end to suffering, and there is a means to
bring this suffering to an end.
2 The Sangha
As he traveled, he gathered a following of those who
wanted to take up the same life of simplicity in the
hope of gaining enlightenment. Such followers came from
all strata of society, rich and poor. The only requirement
was a sincere desire to follow the Buddha's teaching.
The commitment had to be total. It meant leaving one's
family - just as the Buddha himself had done - and leading
a life of celibacy and strict morality. It also meant
having few possessions and maintaining a simple lifestyle.
Gradually, the number of followers increased and eventually
a definite community of monks, and later nuns, was formed
known as the Sangha.
3 Devadatta
There seems little doubt that within a short space of
time the Buddha won the respect and confidence of many
people. He was willing to engage in reasoned argument
and debate, winning over those who opposed his views
with the clarity and conviction of one who was truly
engaged with the Truth. The scriptures reveal a man
who never demanded blind faith but asked each individual
to investigate the nature of self and the nature of
the world and to draw his own conclusions in the light
of the Buddha's teachings. Unfortunately, the Buddha
did not always win over the people that opposed him.
One notable opponent was Devadatta, his cousin, who
wanted the ageing Buddha to leave the leadership of
the Sangha to him. When the Buddha refused, Devadatta
plotted against his life (unsuccessfully).
For forty-five years, the Buddha continued to spread
his teachings, urging his monks to 'Go forth...for the
benefit of many, for the happiness of many, out of compassion
for the world. Preach to them the Dhamma, which is beautiful
in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, and beautiful
at the end...'
The
Parinibbana
1 Kusinara
The Buddha's teaching spanned forty-five years and,
at the age of eighty, his unique journey came to an
end. The actual cause of death was said to be food-poisoning
but three months before his passing away, the Buddha
had indicated that he would soon die. Despite being
unwell in the months leading up to his death, the Buddha
continued to travel and teach, finally coming to a small
village called Kusinara.
2 Final Words
As monks and lay people gathered round, Ananda, the
Buddha's long time and most devoted attendant broke
down in tears as he realized that his Lord was about
to die. But the Buddha told him not to weep and wail,
saying, 'Have I not already told you that all things
that are pleasurable and delightful are changeable,
subject to separation...?...Ananda, make the effort,
and in a short time you will be free of the corruptions'.
He too, the Buddha, was subject to impermanence, just
like anything else in samsara.
One of the concerns of his followers was what would
become of the Sangha after he died. Who would lead them?
The Buddha said: '"Ananda, it may be that you will
think: 'The Teacher's instruction has ceased, now we
have no teacher!' It should not be seen like this, Ananda,
for what I have taught and explained to you as Dhamma
and discipline will, at my passing, be your teacher."'
The Buddha's final words were, as ever, pragmatic and
encouraging: 'All things are impermanent - strive on
with diligence!'
As he lay dying, the Buddha entered into each of the
meditative states known as jhanas, before passing away
into nibbana completely. This is referred to as the
Buddha's parinibbana. No longer would he be reborn,
he had entered the deathless state never to return.
3 Relics
After had died many of the monks fell into great lamentation,
only to be reprimanded by one of their seniors, the
Venerable Anuruddha: 'Friends, enough of your weeping
and wailing! Has not the Lord already told you that
all things that are pleasant and delightful are changeable...?
So why all this, friend? Whatever is born, become, compounded
is subject to decay'. The body of the Buddha was kept
for seven days so that his followers could pay their
last respects and then he was cremated as was the custom.
His relics were shared out amongst his followed and
enshrined in stupas.
The importance of the Buddha lies in the fact that
he was unique human being who, through his own efforts,
discovered a means of ending he cycle of suffering inherent
in samsara. More importantly, he was willing to share
what he had discovered with the world at large. His
legacy is his teachings which have as profound a significance
now as they did over 2500 years ago. |
