Buddha's Life
Based on Wikipedia
Gautama Buddha (approximately 563 BC - 483 BC) (1) was born
Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit form, or Siddhatta Gotama, Prakrit form);
the title Buddha (enlightened one) was later bestowed upon him by his
followers. He is also commonly known as Shakyamuni (or Sakyamuni), "The
sage of the Shakya/Sakya clan", and as the Tathagata (untranslatable:
roughly, "The thus-come one" or "The thus-gone one", emphasizing the
nature of a
Buddha to go about in the world without adding or subtracting anything
from
his experience.)
The Buddha is a key figure in
the religion of Buddhism.
Biographical sketch
Accounts of his life were passed down by oral tradition and
first
written a few hundred years after his death. The Buddhist scriptures do
contain
accounts of metaphysics and magic in the Buddha's life. Some, such as
calming
an angry elephant his enemies had released to kill him, may be
acceptable
to materialist readers. [some of these tales are on this website,
follow the links in this article] Others, such as his conversations
with gods or instantaneous teleportation to Sri Lanka, may not.
Stripped of these metaphysical or
magical aspects, a sketch of his life runs thusly:
Prince Siddharta was born in Lumbini
(in modern day Nepal), to the kshatriya caste
of warrior-aristocrats. (The Indian caste system was also probably
somewhat more informal at this time than it later became). He was the
heir to the position
of "prince" ("village chieftain" may be more accurate) of the Shakya
clan's
village of Kapilavatthu or Kapilvastu in the foothills of the Himalayas
in
what is now Nepal.
Siddharta married and had a son: Rahula, but at age 29, around 534 BC, having become increasingly dissatisfied with the contrast between a life of aristocratic luxury and the suffering he observed endemic in all people, Siddharta abandoned his inheritance and palace and began living an ascetic life, training with ascetic philosophers, and practicing austere meditative practices.
After six
years, around 528 BC,
he found that the severe practices did not lead to greater
understanding,
abandoned them and concentrated on meditation and the "middle way" (a
practise
of non-extremism), and soon afterwards claimed he had realized complete
awakening
or enlightenment into the nature and cause of human suffering and the
steps
necessary to eliminate it. This enlightenment is called a state of
"Bodhi,"
and hence the name "Buddha," or "enlightened one." [More on
Buddha's path to enlightenment and his
meditation teachers]
The Buddha emphasized that he was not a god nor the messenger of a god
and that Enlightenment was not the result of a supernatural process or
agency, but rather the result of a close attention to the nature of the
human mind which could be rediscovered by anyone for themselves.
For the remaining 45 years of his life, he traveled the
Gangetic Plain of central India (region of the Ganges/Ganga river and
its tributaries), teaching his meditation practice to an extremely
diverse range of people, from nobles to street sweepers, and including
many adherents of rival philosophies and religions. He founded the
community of Buddhist monks and nuns (the
Sangha) to continue the teachings after his death (considered to be the
paranirvana or complete ending of the Buddha).
After intermittent illness, the Buddha died at Kusinara (now Kusinagar,
India) at the age of 80. His last meal was sukara-maddava which he had
received as an offering from a smith. The correct translation of this
term is unknown; sukara means "pig", maddava apparently means something
like "delicacy".
Sukara-maddava may mean "tender pork" or "mushrooms or tubers enjoyed
by
pigs". Vegetarianism is for Buddhists an ideal rather than a mandate,
and
monks and nuns in particular are enjoined to accept all offerings of
food
made to them (unless they know an animal has been killed especially to
feed
them). One account gives the Buddha's last words as: "All things which
are
made of parts eventually come apart. Be mindful, and achieve
Enlightenment!",
while another gives, "Subject to change are all things. Strive on with
diligence."
Personality and character
The Buddha as presented in the Buddhist scriptures is notable
for such characteristics as:
- Both a comprehensive education and training in those fields appropriate to a warrior aristocrat, such as martial arts, agricultural management, and literature, and also a deep understanding of the religious and philosophical ideas of his culture.
- Gautama Siddharta was reported to have been athletic and fit throughout his life, competent in martial arts such as chariot combat, wrestling, and archery, and later easily hiking miles each day and camping in the wilderness. Images of a fat "Jolly Buddha" or Laughing Buddha are actually depictions of the future Buddha, currently Bodhisattva Maitreya.
- A superb teacher, with a fine grasp of the appropriate metaphor, and tailoring his teachings to the audience at hand.
- Fearless and unworried at all times, whether dealing with religious debate, a patricidal prince, or a murderous outlaw. He was not, however, past exasperation when monks of his order misrepresented his teachings.
- Completely temperate in all bodily appetites. Lived a completely celibate life from age 29 until his death. Indifferent to hunger and environmental conditions.
Footnote
1) The picture of Buddha as given above is from Digibeeld an online database maintained by Kern Institute, University Leiden, The Netherlands. Shahr-i-Bahlol is an archaeological site in Gandhara (Northern Pakistan). Ellen Raven (teacher of Buddhist art at Leiden University) estimates that it dates from the third century A.D.
DigiBeeld nr. 14842; This picture was made in 1906 of 1907. Buddha from Shahr-i-Bahlol.; Celloidin paper, toned (DCZ); Kern Institute, Leiden University. Free of rights.
The date for the Buddha's birth is contested. Classic sources still put it at around 563 B.C. but many maintain his life should be placed in the fourth century B.C.
