Birth History Of Siddharth Gautam
- Most scholars regard Kapilavastu (present-day Nepal) to be the birthplace of the Buddha.
According
to the most traditional biography, Buddha was born in a royal family to
King Shuddhodana, the leader of Shakya clan in Nepal whose capital was
Kepilvastu. - One night, the queen of this kingdom, Maha Maya, wife of King Sudodhana, had a dream.
- She dreamt that a white light shining down to her from the sky, and in the rays of the light there was a white elephant having six tusks entered her right side.
Child Hood and marriage of Siddharth Gautam
Child Hood Of Siddharth Gautam : - Siddhartha was born in a royal family. He was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati due to early death of his mother Queen Maha Maya in seven days after his birth.
- By tradition, he is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) built for him.
- According to custom, he married at the age of sixteen to Yasodhara also named Bhaddakachchana, Subhadraka, Gopa or Bimba, daughter of Sakyan, Suppabudhha.
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Reason to become Buddha
Inspite of all his wealth and prosperity he was not internally happy
man. The idea of forgoing came to his mind observing mainly four
different stages of life when he ventured out beyond the palace walls
and was quickly confronted with the realities of human frailty :- Siddhartha was touched by the sights,the misery of the mundane world weighed on his reflective mind and at the age 29 ,on a Baishakha Purnima night, he left his kingdom, wife and son with his charioteer Channa on his favourite horse Kanthaka up to the end of the city, where he cast off his princely clothes, renounced everything and steped to lead an ascetic life, and determine a way to relieve the universal suffering.
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Reason to leave Home : from Buddha and his Dhamma
Invitiation into the Sakya Sangh
- The Sakyas had their Sangh. Every Sakya youth above twenty had to be initiated into the Sangh and be a member of the Sangh.
- Siddharth Gautama had reached the age of twenty. It was time for him to be initiated into the Sangh and become a member thereof.
- The Sakyas had a meeting-house which they called Sansthagar. It was situated in Kapilavatsu. The session of the Sangh was also held in the Sansthagar.
- It was the rule of procedure among the Sakyas that there could be no debate without a motion and no motion could be declared carried unless it was passed three times.
Journey of Siddharth Guatama becoming Buddha
From Kapilavatsu to Rajagraha.
- Leaving Kapilavatsu, Siddharth Gautama thought of going to Rajagraha, the capital of the kingdom of
Magadha.
Image showing remains of Kapilvastu - The reigning king was Bimbisara. It was a place which great philosophers and leaders of thought had made their headquarters.
- With this thought in mind he crossed the Ganges, fearing not her rapid flow.
- After a long and arduous journey Gautama reached Rajagraha surrounded by five hills, well guarded and adorned with mountains, and supported and hallowed by auspicious and sacred places.
- On reaching Rajagraha he selected a spot at the foot of the Pandava hill and put up a
Image showing the Shanti Stupa at Rajagraha - small hut made of the leaves of trees for his sojourn.
- Kapilavatsu by foot is nearly 400 miles distant from Rajagraha.
- This long journey Siddharth Gautama did all on foot.
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News of Peace
- While Gautama was staying in Rajagraha there came five other
Parivrajakas who also put up a hut bythe side of the hut which Gautama had erected for himself.
- These five Parivrajakas were Kaundinya, Ashvajit, Kasyapa, Mahanam and Bhaduka.
- They too were struck by Gautama's appearance and wondered what could have led him to take Parivraja.
- They questioned him over the issue in the same way as did King Bimbisara.
- When he explained to them the circumstances which led him to take Parivraja, they said, " We have heard of it. But do you know what has happened since you left ? " they asked.
- Siddharth said, " No. " Then they told him that after he left Kapilavatsu there was a great agitation among the Sakyas against going to war with the Koliyas.
In Search Of New Light
Chapter I : Halt at Brighu's Ashram
- With the desire to pursue other ways, Gautama left Rajagraha to meet Arada Kalam.
- On his way he beheld the hermitage of Brighu and entered it out of curiosity.
- "I wish to go to Muni Arada Kalam who is known to be the master of the subject."
- Seeing his resolve Brighu, the chief of the hermitage, said : " Prince, brave indeed is thy purpose, who, young as thou art, having pondered thoroughly between heaven and liberation have made up your mind for liberation, ye are indeed brave!
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Chapter II: Training in Samadhi Marg.
- At the time when Gautama was examining the various ways of finding a solution to his problem he thought of getting himself acquainted with the Dhyana Marga (Concentration of the Mind).
- There were three schools of the Dhyana Marga.
- All of them had one thing in common, namely, that control of breathing was the means of achieving Dhyana.
- One school followed a way of controlling breathing which is called Anapanasati.
- Another school followed the way of control of breathing known as Pranayama.
- It divided the breathing process into three parts :
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Chapter III: Training of Asceticism.
- Gautama had given a trial to the Sankhya and Samadhi Marga. But he had left the Ashram of the Brighus without giving a trial to Asceticism.
- He felt he should give it a trial and gain experience for himself so that he could speak authoritatively about it.
- Accordingly Gautama went to the town of Gaya.
- From there he reconnoitred the surrounding country and fixed his habitation at Uruvela in the hermitage of Negari, the Royal Seer of Gaya, for practising asceticism.
- He lived on wild roots and fruit, or on windfalls only.
- When he was living on a single fruit a day, his body grew emaciated in the extreme.
- If he sought to feel his belly, it was his backbone which he found in his grasp ; if he sought to feel his backbone he found himself grasping his belly, so closely did his belly cleave to his backbone and all because he ate so little.
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Enlightenment and the Vision of the New Way :
Chapter I : Meditation for New Light
- Having refreshed himself with food Gautama sat thinking over his past experiences. He realised that all paths had failed.
- The failure was so complete that it could have led anyone into a
state of frustration. He was, of course, sorry. But frustration as such did not touch him.
- He was always hopeful of finding a way. So much so that on the night of the day on which he partook of the food sent by Sujata, Gautama had five dreams and when he awoke he interpreted his dreams to mean that he was sure to attain enlightenment.
- As he sat down for meditation a crowd of evil thoughts and evil passions—mythologically called the children of Mara (Kama), which is another name for evil passions, entered his mind.
- Gautama was greatly frightened lest they should overpower him and defeat his purpose.
- He knew that in this battle with evil passions many Rishis and Brahmins had succumbed.
- So he summoned all the courage he had and said to Mara, " Faith is found in me, and heroism and wisdom. How can ye evil passions defeat me ? "The streams even of rivers may this wind dry up. Ye would be unable to dry up my resolutions, when I am so intent." Better to me is death in battle than that I should be defeated in life.
- The evil passions entered the mind of Gautama as a crow goes after astone that looks like a hump of fat, thinking surely, " here I shall find a tender morsel, here perchance is something sweet."
- And finding no sweetness there, the crow departs thence. So like a crow attacking a rock, the evil passions left Gautama in disgust.
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Chapter II : Enlightenment
- To feed himself during the period of meditation Gautama had collected enough food to last him for forty days.
- Having routed the evil thoughts that disturbed his mind Gautama refreshed himself with food and gained strength. He thus prepared himself for meditation with the aim of obtaining enlightenment.
- It took Gautama four weeks of meditation to obtain enlightenment. He reached final enlightenment in four stages.
- In the first stage he called forth reason and investigation. His seclusion helped him to attain it easily.
- In the second stage he added concentration.
Chapter III : The discovery of New Dhamma
- Gautama when he sat in meditation for getting new light was greatly in the grip of the Sankhya Philosophy.
- That suffering and unhappiness in the world he thought was an incontrovertible fact.
- Gautama was, however, interested in knowing how to do away with suffering. This problem the Sankhya Philosophy did not deal with.
- It is, therefore, on this problem how to remove suffering and unhappiness that he concentrated his mind.
- Naturally, the first question he asked himself was
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Chapter IV : Gautama : from Bodhisattva to Buddha
- Before enlightenment Gautama was only a Bodhisatta. It is after reaching enlightenment that hebecame a Buddha.
- Who and what is a Bodhisatta?
- A Bodhisatta is a person who is seeking to be a Buddha.
- How does a Bodhisatta become a Buddha ?
- A Bodhisatta must be a Bodhisatta for ten lives in succession.
- What must a Bodhisatta do in order to qualify himself to become a Buddha ?
- In his first life he acquires Mudita (joy). The Bodhisatta having blown off his impurities, as the smith blows the dross from silver, reflects that man who has been reckless and becomes sober brightens up the world like the moon freed from clouds. Joy springs up in him realising this, and he is fervent in his desire to benefit all beings.
Part V — The Buddha and His Predecessors
Chapter I - The Buddha and the Vedic Rishis
- The Vedas are a collection of Mantras, i.e., hymns or chants. The reciters of these hymns are called Rishis.
- The Mantras are mere invocations to deities such as Indra, Varuna, Agni, Soma, Isana, Prajapati, Bramba, Mahiddhi, Yama and others.
- The invocations are mere prayers for help against enemies, for gift of wealth, for accepting the offerings of food, flesh and wine from the devotee.
- There is not much philosophy in the Vedas. But there were some Vedic sages who had entered into speculations of a philosophical nature.
- The Buddha, discarded the Mantras as a source from which to learn or to borrow.
- Similarly, the Buddha did not find anything in the philosophy of the Vedic Rishis. They were groping to reach the truth. But they had not reached it.
- Their theories were mere speculations not based on logic nor on facts. Their contributions to philosophy created no social values.
- He therefore rejected the philosophy of the Vedic Rishis as useless.
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Chapter II - Kapila : The Philosopher
- Among the ancient philosophers of India the most pre-eminent was Kapila.
- His philosophical approach was unique, and as philosopher he stood in a class by himself. His philosophy was known as the Sankhya Philo-sophy.
- The tenets of his philosophy were of a startling nature.
- Truth must be supported by proof. This is the first tenet of the Sankhya system. There is no truth without proof.
- For purposes of proving the truth Kapila allowed only two means of proof—
- perception and,
- inference.
- By perception is meant mental apprehension of a present object.
- Inference is threefold:
- from cause to effect, as from the presence of clouds to rain ;
- from effect to cause, as from the swelling of the streams in the valleys to rain in the hills, and
- by analogy, as when we infer from the fact that a man alters his place when he moves that the stars must also move, since they appear in different places.
- He was the only philosopher whose teachings appeared to the Buddha to be based on logic and facts.
- But he did not accept everything which Kapila taught. Only three things did the Buddha accept from Kapila.
- He accepted that reality must rest on proof. Thinking must be based on rationalism.
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