Talk:Buddha

By Swami Harshananda

Buddha

Buddha literally means:

• ‘The Enlightened One’
• 'It is also the name of Gautama Buddha and Sākya Muni

Gautama Buddha is one of the very few religious leaders of the world who have revolutionized the life of a very large mass of people for generations, influencing their religion, philosophy and culture including many aspects of arts and sciences.

Gautam Buddha was born on a Vaiśākha purṇimā day as the only son of Suddhodana (the king of Kapilavāstu) and Māyādevī (at Lumbiṇī, now in Nepal). He was named Siddhārtha. He lived an easy and protected life as the beloved prince and heir to the throne up to the age of 29 years. He was married to the princess Yaśodharā and had a son Rāhula by her.

Once for the first time in life he went out to see the city. The sight of an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a monk made a deep impression on his mind. He then realized that life was full of suffering and decided to become a monk to discover the path to blessedness which is totally free of all the sufferings. He renounced the world on a Vaiśākha purṇimā day retired to a forest and practiced very severe austerities but to no avail. He then sat under a tree on the bank of the river Nairāñjanā in Gayā vowing that he would not get up from his seat until he realized the truth.

Soon he was enlightened again on a Vaiśākha purṇimā day. The tree came to be known as ‘Bodhivṛkṣa’ and he became the Buddha, the enlightened one. He then went to Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) and gave his first sermon there. This sermon came to be known as dharmacakrapravartana or the discourse of setting in motion the wheel of dharma. He was 35 at that time. He lived up to 80.

For a long period of 45 years he roamed about the country teaching his doctrines of spiritual wisdom to everyone. He established a Saṅgha or a religious order of his monastic disciples to propagate his teachings. He passed away again on a Vaiśākha purṇimā day. Hence this day is called the thrice-blessed day.

As regards to the period of Buddha’s life the dates vary from 624 B.C.-544 B.C. up to 557 B.C.-477 B.C. It may be safely assumed that he lived during the sixth century B.C. Buddha’s teachings may be summarized as follows:

• Buddha teaches ‘catvāri āryasatyāni,’ the four noble truths. They are:

1. Duhkha or the existence of suffering in this world
2. Duhkha- samudāya or that there is a cause for this suffering
3. Duhkha-nirodha or that it is possible to stop this suffering
4. Duhkha- nirodhamārga or that there is a way out of this suffering.

• He calls the last as the ārya-aṣṭāṅgika-mārga, or the eight-fold noble path. These eight steps are:

1. Samyag-dṛṣṭi - Right views
2. Samyak-saṅkalpa - Right resolve
3. Samyag-vāk - Right speech
4. Samyak-karmānta - Right conduct
5. Samyag-ājīva - Right livelihood
6. Samyag-vyāyāma - Right effort
7. Samyak-smṛti - Right mindfulness
8. Samyak-samādhi - Right concentration

• Buddha calls the state of enlightenment as nirvāṇa which, literally, means extinction of all the sorrows and sufferings.

Compilation, preservation and elaboration of Buddha’s teachings lead to several schools of Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy. This took place over centuries through several Buddhist Councils. The Vinaya Pitaka and the Sutta Pitaka containing the rules for guiding the monks and the direct teachings of Buddha were compiled during the first Buddhist Council held immediately after Buddha’s demise. The Abhidhamma Pitaka was compiled during the third Council conducted by the emperor Aśoka (3rd century B.C.). The work is abstruse and philosophical and contains the teachings of Buddha’s disciples and scholars of the tradition. The three works together are known as the Tripztaha or the Ti-pitako and are the canonical works of Buddhism.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore