Gautama Buddha: Essay, Articles, Quotes, Past Life, Biography
Presentation of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha was one of the world’s greatest spiritual masters. He emphasized reality, serenity, compassion, and honesty. His wisdom and sayings formed the basis of Buddhism, one of the major world religions followed in countries such as Japan, China, and Burma.
The beginning of Gautama Buddha’s life
He is said to have originated in the 6th century BCE in the Lumbini forest of the Nepalese Terai. Before he became the Buddha (the Enlightened One), he was known as Siddharth. His father’s name was Suddhodana; he was a Kapilvastu chief. His mother’s name was Maya Devi, who died as soon as she gave birth to Siddharth.
Siddharth was a thoughtful child. He was inclined toward contemplation and spiritual pursuits, against his father’s wishes. His father feared that Siddharth would leave home, so he always tried to protect him from the cruel reality of the outside world by keeping him in the fortress.
He even married the beautiful princess Yashodhara when he was only eighteen. They had a boy whom they named Rahul. But none of this could change young Siddharth’s mind.
The Suffering of Gautama Buddha
According to Buddhist custom, when Siddharth meets a pale old man and an inanimate body, he realizes how short life is for the passions and pleasures of the world. Soon after, he leaves his family and his empire and heads into the jungle in search of peace and reality. He wandered from place to place trying to regain consciousness. He met many intellectuals and saints but was not satisfied.
Gautama Buddha’s Awakening
Finally, he passed into an indestructible meditation, enduring immense physical pain and suffering. After many years of travel and contemplation, Siddharth received enlightenment while sitting in thought under a tree in the city of Ganges (Bihar).
Siddharth transformed into a Buddha or Enlightened Buddha at that time, when he was thirty-five years old. The tree under which he received enlightenment was recognized as Bodhi Vriksha.
The Buddha realized what he was looking for. He gave his first lecture in Sarnath, near Varanasi. He taught that the world is full of sorrows and that people persist because of their desires. Therefore, desires must be controlled by the following eightfold path. Of these eight paths, the first three bring physical strength, the next two psychological mastery, and the last two logical expansion.
Gautam Buddha’s Nirvana
The Buddha taught that the ultimate goal of every Buddhist is the realization of “Nirvana”. ‘Nirvana’ cannot be attained through prayer or devotion. It can be attained by a true way of life and thought. The Buddha did not invoke God, and his teachings consist of a view and a belief system rather than a religion. Buddhism affirms the regulation of karma, whereby a person’s actions in life determine his or her position in future incarnations.
Buddhism is recognized as an ideology of nonviolence. The Tripitaka is a compilation of Buddha’s knowledge, existence, and theoretical reflections on the teachings and commentaries. The Buddha attained Nirvana at Kushinagar (U.P.) in 483 BCE.
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