Buddha's life
from a Prince to a wandering mendicant
Gautama Buddha:
Budhha’s pre monastic name was Prince Siddhartha.
Siddhartha was Born 563 BCE in Lumbini (current day Nepal)
His father was a regional Sakya king by the name Sudhodhan;
His mother was Mahamaya Devi who sees a dream that a 6 tusk elephant will be born in human form to her as her son. This son is later to be known as Gautam Buddha.
When Buddha was born, a sage by the name Asit muni predicted the child will be a great sage but sadly that he himself (Asit muni) will not be alive to see that great sage in person.
Another brahmin sage Condinya foretells he will be a great sage.
Alarmed to hear this, and to dissuade Buddha from becoming a sage and renouncing the world as a mendicant, his father decides to isolate him from pain and suffering of all material kind so that even the idea of renouncing the world doesnt occur to him..he makes 3 palaces for each seasons, full of all material pleasures, food, drinks and maids for Sidhdharth. This goes on for years.
At age 16 Siddhartha is married to princess Yasodhara.
A few years later they have a son - Prince Rahul.
One day Siddhartha asks his charioteer Chandak (also knowns as Channa) to take him around the city for a ride.
On this ride, for the first time in life Siddhartha sees an old suffering man. He asks Channa if everyone becomes like that one day?
Channa affirms - anyone who is born, grows old and dies.
Then he sees a Sannyasi (monk) who is clad in simple clothes and with no possessions but has a blissful smile and an aura about himself
Siddhartha is amazed and lost ‘how can someone who has nothing be so blissful, yet someone who has everything like a prince be full of doubts and lacking peace?’
He struggles with this for days and then he decides he will find peace like that wandering monk by renouncing the world.
At this time Sidhdharth is 29.
One night when all are sleeping, he asks Chandak to go get favorite horse Kanthak.
For the one last time, to see his son Rahul, Siddharth goes to bedroom, Rahul his son and wife Yasodhara are asleep, Rahul’s view is hidden by Yasodhara’s body
Siddhartha is standing by the bed wondering if he should move her to see Rahul one last time before he leaves but fearing that doing so will wake them up he stops..This is a life changing moment for him.
Finally, he leaves the palace with Channa and his horse Kanthak & reaches river Anuma.
This is where he asks Chandak to return back who is distraught and broken at the realization of Siddhartha becoming a monk never to return back again.
Siddhartha studies under a few Gurus initially like Guru Alar kalam, and Guru Putrak Ramputra but he cant find answers to his questions.
So he decides he will go all alone.
For the next 6 years he pursues severe austerities and penances (Tapasya)
He had 5 disciples by now
Due to austerities Siddhartha is almost dead of starvation
His life is saved by a young maiden called Sujata who gives him some rice pudding to eat
Seeing this his disciples leave and accuse him of corruption because he accepted food when he should be performing self abnegation.
Siddhartha sits down under a Peepal tree in a place called Bodhgaya in current day Bihar with the firm resolve that
‘I won’t get up until find the Truth Self, Life, God’
Gradually he does reach the state of enlightenment under that tree that
"...just as a musical instrument like Veena doesnt produce melody when the string is too tight or loose, similarly God realization is neither to be found in too much indulgence nor too much austerities..."
This he calls as the principle of Middle path or moderation.
He codifies this as the 8 fold system of middle path - right attitude, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right concentration, right mindfulness and that Practicing this 8 fold system of middle path sincerely one can eventually reach liberation or 'nirvana'
He realizes that nirvana is when one’s self is one with everything..ones 'chetana' (Sanskrit for consciousness) becomes united with everything else in the Universe.
And thus free from the cycle of birth and death.
Thus Siddhartha becomes Buddha - the enlightened one.
By now he was 35.
Buddha goes to the place called Rishipatan Mrgdao which is called Sarnath near today’s Varanasi in India and under a Peepal tree
He delivers his first sermon.
The same 5 disciples who deserted him earlier return back.
So do many others and thus the order of monks and nuns called Sangha is formed.
1st woman nun in sangha - buddhas caretaker/nanny when he was a child - Prajapati gautami
Buddha preaches for 44 years like this, walking from one place to another, preaching and growing the sangha system
Sangha is a gathering of his disciples who have taken the vows of renunciation and poverty.
Buddha preaches that caste is by karma, not by birth, so sangha is open for all castes, creeds, even women.
Buddha teaches:
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Everyone must find their own path
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That there is no need for God, no Guru, no Buddha, no religiosity or rituals or castes..all one and same
At age 80 Buddha walks from Vaishali to Kushinagar
He begs his alms from goldsmith named Chundh
The food he ate there caused him to be ill.
But to prevent people from accusing Chundh for causing his illness, he lays down and gives his last sermon to his disciple and friend Ananda and announces his departure from the material world by saying
“use my knowledge only as much as needed and go on yourself”
आत्मद्विपो भव
‘Atmadvipo Bhava’
(be your own light)
(essay compiled Dec 2018)
