Gautama the Buddha , also known as Sakyamuni or Tathagata ,
was born in 563 B.C. on the Vaisakha Purnima (Full moon) day in the royal grove
at Lumbini near Kapilvastu, capital of the Sakyan republic, where his father
Suddhodhana was at the time ruling. His mother died seven days after his birth.
So the child was brought up by his stepmother Gautami. Gautama as a child led a
sheltered life and was given every kind of luxury. He was married at the age of
16 to Yashodhara, the beautiful daughter of a neighbouring chieftain and
enjoyed family life for thirteen years and had a son Rahula.
He was virtually a prisoner in the palace and got out by stealth. The things he saw outside made a deep impression on him. He is said to have seen an old man, completely decrepit and ugly and then a sick man who was diseased and sufferings. Thirdly he saw a corpse; all of which deeply depressed him because they showed that there is nothing but sorrow and sufferings in the world and death comes to all of us. Finally, he saw a religious beggar, an ascetic who devoted himself to religion. This man looked to be quite composed and serene. This sort of life appealed to him and therefore, he left his palace at night at the age of 29, to seek mental peace in the homeless life of an ascetic. For full six years Gautama sought the solution to the world’s ills. During this period, he searched, scrutinised and and examined in detail the prevalent schools of thought. Ultimately, one fine morning of Vaishakha Purnima (Full moon) at the age of 35, he attained, Enlightenment, at Bodh Gaya in Bihar. The Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath (Isipatana) before the five ascetics who had been earlier his colleagues. Thereafter, for forty-five years, the Buddha went about the country, from town to town, from village to village, disseminating spiritual illumination for the benefit of suffering humanity. He attained mahaparinirvana (Leave his life) at Kushinara (now Kasia in Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh) in 483 B.C. at the age of 80 on Purnima (Full moon).
He was virtually a prisoner in the palace and got out by stealth. The things he saw outside made a deep impression on him. He is said to have seen an old man, completely decrepit and ugly and then a sick man who was diseased and sufferings. Thirdly he saw a corpse; all of which deeply depressed him because they showed that there is nothing but sorrow and sufferings in the world and death comes to all of us. Finally, he saw a religious beggar, an ascetic who devoted himself to religion. This man looked to be quite composed and serene. This sort of life appealed to him and therefore, he left his palace at night at the age of 29, to seek mental peace in the homeless life of an ascetic. For full six years Gautama sought the solution to the world’s ills. During this period, he searched, scrutinised and and examined in detail the prevalent schools of thought. Ultimately, one fine morning of Vaishakha Purnima (Full moon) at the age of 35, he attained, Enlightenment, at Bodh Gaya in Bihar. The Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath (Isipatana) before the five ascetics who had been earlier his colleagues. Thereafter, for forty-five years, the Buddha went about the country, from town to town, from village to village, disseminating spiritual illumination for the benefit of suffering humanity. He attained mahaparinirvana (Leave his life) at Kushinara (now Kasia in Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh) in 483 B.C. at the age of 80 on Purnima (Full moon).
No comments:
Post a Comment