The details of the Buddha's life
are unknown for certain, but many scholars are in agreement that he was an
actual historical personality who lived in northern part of India around the
5th century BCE. The Buddha's life events are recorded in Buddhist tradition.
In this blog, we look at a unknown facts about Buddha that will blow your mind
…
Before Buddha was born an astrologer forecast
that Suddhodhana’s son will either be a great king or he will become a known
holy man. His father wanted him to stay away from the sorrows & miseries.
Even did not allow him have the religious teachings in fear of him becoming a
holy man. His father even built 3 palaces for him with all the amenities of
life so that he doesn’t have any wish to see the outside world.
·
Although Gautama Buddha is known to live a very
simple and modest life many folks don’t know that he was born as a prince of
the Shakya Clan in Nepal. His mother Maha Maya was known to be the princess of
Koli while his father, Suddhodhana was the chief of the Shakya Clan in India.
He was born in Lubini in a garden under a Sal tree. He later married to
Yasodhara and even had a son named Rahula.
· Destined to be a great holy man, Buddha soon
became tired of his materialistic life and desired to leave the palace and his
luxurious life to see the outside world. At the age of 29, while on his ride to
see the countryside, he saw four distinct things during his four trips of his
life outside the palace which he wasn’t aware about. These four things changed
Siddhartha’s life totally.
· In his four trips outside the palace, he saw a
corpse, an old man, a sick man and at last he saw a wandering ascetic. He was very
disturbed while sighted these sites. He wondered how he can take pleasure of his
life so much when there is so much suffering in the world. Gautama finally
realized that the reality is not what he has seen in his past life, but the
reality is what he was seeing present in the life.
· After leaving the palace it was hard for
Gautama- the king’s son to find a teacher for himself who could teach him about
the truth and fact of the world and about distinct religions. To learn about
the grief he used to wander in robes and tried to learn from the wisest
teachers. However, none of the teachers could express him how to end the pains
and so finally he decided to personally search the answer all by himself.
·
For around 6 yrs. he led a life of
self-discipline and asceticism by surviving on fruits, mere roots, and raw
food. During this stage, he also learned yoga & meditation practices. In a
very short period of time Gautama mastered the art of Yogic meditation, but
nothing satisfied him. Later he realized that neither the modest life in forest
nor wealthy life in the palace is an answer to what he was looking for.
· Buddha is depicted as a chubby - he was mainly
portrayed this way because it was symbolic of happiness in the east. He fasted
regularly, practiced moderation in all things and spent most of his time
walking 100 of miles spreading the philosophy of enlightenment.
· At the time of Buddha’s search for
enlightenment, there were several religious practices that called for either
strong overindulgence in the senses, or strict deprivation such as weeks of
fasting. Recognizing that neither was truly useful, he devised what would later
be called as “The Middle Way” to enlightenment…a balanced approach that
highlighted inward rather than outward renunciation.
· He considered that the thing he learn and knows
is very difficult not only for the people to understand but it is also challenging
for him to express what he knows into words. But later his compassion and
kindness swayed over him and he finally decided to teach the societies about
the doctrines of enlightenment.
·
Unlike many religions or spiritual beliefs,
Buddha’s teachings were spread by non-violent approaches such as word of mouth
or carvings on prominent stone buildings. Practicing Buddhists view Buddha as a
teacher and not an avatar or god. Gautama Buddha’s spot of enlightenment beneath
the bodhi tree is still conserved to this day.
· Gautama died in Kushinagar and in relation to
the sources it is said that he died in the 483 BCE. He encouraged his followers
to work for their liberation and he told them that happiness is in learning
that nothing in the world is eternal. Even after so many years of his death,
his words of kindness and compassion are still followed by folks in different
parts of the Globe.
·
Buddha taught and traveled his entire life until
the age of 80 when he passed away. His final request of his followers was this:
“All component things in the world are changeable. They are not lasting. Work
hard to gain your own salvation.”
· Buddha during his journey throughout the world spread
their teachings, visited his father, son, his devoted wife and his foster
mother. In due course his family joined the Sangha, which is the Buddhist
monastic community. Gautama’s cousin Ananda also became his disciple and joined
the community & became a monk. His son, Rahula was called as the youngest
monk in the community and he became monk when he was just 7 years old.
· After achieving the enlightenment Buddha started
sharing his knowledge and his teachings. Buddha and his disciples for the next 45
years went to varied places in the globe to spread their words and teachings.
Buddha taught people that to become the enlightened one, a person should never
be angry, ignorant and hate people. It wasn’t hard for Buddha to win hearts of
people wherever he went as he knew the exact feelings of persons and knew how
to deal with them.
· There are 2 distinct types of Buddhism, there is
Theravada and Mahayana. Mahayana Buddhists live in Korea, Japan, Tibet and
China, they don’t follow the original teachings, they believe that the Gautama
went to outer space and spoke to angels named Devas, Buddha taught them a
secret teaching. Then the Devas told monks this secret teaching, and then the
monks wrote it down. Mahayana Buddhism mostly believes that everyone alive
holds the ability to get enlightenment at any time. Theravada is the original
teachings of the original Lord Buddha. Buddha gave lengthy speeches to a group
of people called the Arhats. The Arhats are the original disciples of Gautam Buddha;
they had all reached enlightenment and were mostly perfect beings. Theravada
Buddhists commonly live in Cambodia, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Laos, etc. Theravada
Buddhists believe that people reach enlightenment over many lifetimes, and it
takes years to reach Nirvana.
·
What is Zen? Zen is a limb of Mahayana Buddhism;
Zen is a mixture of Taoism and Buddhism that developed in eastern part of
China. Zen according to the Christianity would be snake handlers. It is miles
away from the original message of the Gautama Buddha.
· Amitabha Buddhism is the faith that there was
once a Buddha named Amitabha, no one knows if this Buddha lived in a parallel
universe or on earth. But if you pray to Amitabha Buddha and repeat the name of
Amitabha, you can go to a place named the Pure Land, which is a parallel
universe where you can practice Buddhism in harmony learning from ancient
Buddhist masters.
· The Jataka tales are a voluminous body of
literature native to India regarding the previous births of Buddha in both
human as well as animal form. There is a large amount of literature on the
original Buddha’s past lives. In the books he appears as a monkey, elephant, deer
and monkey. Supposedly the Buddha told his disciples about his past lives, and
they wrote them down. They resemble cute little folktales with talking animals
and mythical feats, super fun to read.
The top fact about Buddhism is that it is the fourth
largest religion. Today there are over 360 million followers of Buddhism globally,
after Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. The countries with the largest Buddhist
populations are Thailand, China, Myanmar and Vietnam. One of the top facts
about Buddhism is the reality that nothing is permanent. Even though
demographic tables lump all followers of the Buddha’s teachings into one
heading, the reality is that there is no “official” version of Buddhism. It is more than fairly minor variations in
practice.
Some Buddhist practices pray deities. Some
emphasize monastic life, while some eschew the whole concept of deities. Few of them see Buddhism as a practice for an
engaged life. One of the foundational elements of Buddhism is known as the 5
Precepts. Just like the Judeo/Christian 10 Commandments, these simplest rules
form the core of ethical and acceptable behavior. The 5 Precepts are: Do not
steal. Do not kill. Do not lie. Do not use intoxicants. Do not engage in sexual
misconduct.
The original language of Buddhism was Pali. But currently,
even esoteric Buddhist teachings & writings are obtainable in diversified
languages worldwide. Dharma talks (lessons) are given in regional & local
languages in Buddhist centers. Chanting may be done in different languages,
depending on the choices of the community. Some go for ancient tongues, whilst
others prefer contemporary language.
· What the Buddha distinguished in his moment of
enlightment is summarized within the 4 Noble Truths - Suffering exists;
Suffering rises from attachment to desires; Suffering ceases when attachment to
desire stops; Freedom from suffering & sorrows is possible by practicing
the Eightfold Path. If suffering is to be reduced, a path is required. In
Buddhism, that path is The Noble Eightfold Path, which encompasses of: Right
Speech – Clear, truthful, sympathetic; Right Conduct – Not exploiting one’s
self or others; Right View – Seeing the world & life as it is; Right
Thought – Similar to emotional intelligence; Right Livelihood – Ethical
occupation that doesn’t hurt others;
Right Effort – Guiding one’s energies towards good paths; Right Mindfulness –
To be in the current moment and Right Meditational Attainment –Unity of action &
intention.
· To become a monk you must not have any of these illnesses:
boils, scabs, itch, leprosy, goitre, psoriasis (which excludes you from
reaching enlightenment) epilepsy, pulmonary consumption, jaundice, spasmodic
cholera, asthma, bloody abscess, elephantiasis, scrotal hernia, blood disease,
liver disease, rheumatism, bone disease, swelling of the glands, hemorrhoids, etc.
· Generally, in Buddhism it is better to be born a
man; they believe it is at ease to reach enlightenment via being male. A woman
can reach enlightenment however there can never be a female Buddha. There has
never been a female Dalai Lama, and in the Jatakas Buddha was rarely ever a
female, even when he was an animal, he was a male.
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