Birth of a Buddha: A Buddhist Legend

Before the Buddha was born, his mother, Maya, dreamed a white elephant, thought to foretell
her child’s future greatness, descended from heaven and entered her womb. When the time
came, she journeyed homeward for the birth. Along the way she came to a beautiful grove of
trees and decided to rest. There in the garden, assisted by Hindu gods, her child was born
from her side. Seven days later Maya died. She had given birth to a Buddha and could serve
no further purpose on earth.

The child was Siddhartha Gautama. His father, Suddhodana, was a wealthy ruler from the
prestigious Sakya clan of northern India. Their royal home was in Kapilavastu, a city nestled
near the foothills of the Himalayas in present-day Nepal. When Siddhartha was five days old,
his father invited one hundred Brahmins—nobles from the highest Hindu caste—to his palace
to foretell the future of his baby son.

Seven of the men prophesied Siddhartha would become either a powerful ruler of the world
or a wandering holy man who would found a great religion. But an eighth man named
Kodanna was certain Siddhartha was destined for the latter. He prophesied the boy would
become a Buddha who would achieve full enlightenment. Kodanna also foretold Siddhartha’s
renunciation of the world upon his sight of four things—an old man, a sick man, a dead man,
and a monk.

Siddhartha’s father hoped his son would become a great king, so he vigilantly sought to
prevent his son from fulfilling Kodanna’s prophecy. He worked tirelessly to shelter
Siddhartha from the knowledge of human suffering and made sure he was surrounded with
every comfort and luxury within the palace walls.

Going Forth: The Four Sights

On a chariot ride through the park one afternoon, Siddhartha passed by an old man. Shocked
by the man’s withered appearance, Siddhartha asked the driver of his chariot what was wrong
with him. The driver explained there was nothing wrong, and that the man was only old.
Siddhartha returned to the palace agitated and disturbed. On two subsequent drives,
Siddhartha encountered a sick man and a corpse. Last of all, he saw a religious man dressed
in yellow robes, deep in meditation. Siddhartha was stunned by the pain and suffering he
suddenly realized awaited all humanity—even a prince like himself.

Later that evening, Siddhartha was entertained by beautiful women before he fell asleep.
When he awoke sometime in the night, he was repulsed by the chaos and discomposure of the
women who had fallen asleep around him. His impressions of the world had undergone a
dramatic change, and he decided to leave the palace that very night. Before he left, he stole
one last glimpse of his sleeping wife and infant son but did not say goodbye. Once he fled,
the twenty-nine-year-old Siddhartha shaved his head and dressed in the robes of a monk. He
would spend the next six years seeking the answer to human suffering.

Enlightenment: The Cessation of All Things

In northern India during Siddhartha’s time, many people felt enslaved to a painful existence
of suffering. Wandering Hindu holy men renounced family and a normal life to seek
universal truth. They hoped to attain nirvana—that transcendent state beyond self, suffering,
and desire that leads to complete peace and happiness. Many believed reaching
enlightenment—a perfect state of wisdom and knowledge—would provide insight into the
true nature of reality and thus release them from the endless cycle of death and rebirth and
into nirvana.

At first, Siddhartha studied Hindu scriptures and practiced meditation and yoga under the
guidance of several Brahmin priests. When he mastered their techniques but remained
unchanged, he lost his enthusiasm for the teachings and left. However, when Siddhartha later
reached enlightenment and began to formulate his own teachings, he retained some elements
of Hinduism.

“They hoped that punishing their bodies would lead to the ultimate liberation from worldly
desires that cause human suffering, thus escaping the cycle of rebirth.”

Next, Siddhartha turned to asceticism. He joined a group of five monks, and together they
lived in the jungle and devoted themselves to extreme practices of self-mortification and
meditation. They slept outside and survived on little to no food in hopes that punishing their
bodies would lead to the ultimate liberation from worldly desires that cause human suffering,
thus escaping the cycle of rebirth.

Eventually, Siddhartha became so weak he fainted while bathing and reached the conclusion
that asceticism was not the path to enlightenment either. His five friends soon abandoned him
when they discovered him eating a bowl of food.

Left alone, Siddhartha sat down under a bodhi tree and resolved he would not get up until he
became enlightened. For the next few weeks, Siddhartha progressed through several stages of
consciousness until he reached the state beyond suffering.

In his first stage of meditation, Siddhartha saw all his past lives and cycles of death and
rebirth, called samsara. In the second stage, he discovered the law (called dharma) that guides
this endless cycle, and the consequence of good and bad deeds (karma) that affect rebirth.
Finally, he attained his goal in the third stage of meditation. He reached nirvana, the cessation
of all things, and became the Buddha. He was thirty-five years old.

Buddha’s Teachings: A Crash Course

The Buddha did not believe in the existence of a supreme being or the souls of men, and he
never claimed to be divine. He insisted his teachings were based solely on his own
experiences, and though he could point the way, it was up to each follower to find his or her
own path to nirvana.

After he became enlightened, the Buddha’s first students were the five monks who
abandoned him after they saw him eating. He intuitively made his way to the deer park in
Benares (now Varanasi) where his friends resided. When they saw him, they knew
immediately he was transformed and listened to his first sermon.

“Buddha taught that suffering exists, suffering is caused by our desires and cravings, we
don’t have to suffer, and there is a path to end suffering.”

Now known as The Four Noble Truths, the Buddha’s teachings state that suffering exists,
suffering is caused by our desires and cravings, we don’t have to suffer, and there is a path to
end suffering. He called the path to end suffering The Eightfold Path. His five friends
eventually became the first community of Buddhist monks, called a sangha.

Buddha’s Death and the Spread of Buddhism

The Buddha spent forty-five years traveling across the Ganges Plains in northern India,
spreading his teachings to whoever would listen. When he was eighty years old, the Buddha
accepted a meal from a blacksmith, got food poisoning, and died. His body was cremated,
and the ashes and charred bones were distributed to his followers as relics. These relics were
sacred objects that had the power to heal and bless and were enshrined in monuments and
temples around the region.

Buddhism remained confined to northern India for two hundred years but later began to
spread under King Asoka’s power (274–232 BC). After the king waged a bloody war with
devastating losses to expand his kingdom, he felt deeply remorseful and converted to the
peaceful and tolerant teachings of Buddhism. He used the Buddha’s dharma to reform his
government and sent Buddhist missionaries throughout India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia,
China, and North Africa. Buddhism became a powerful cultural influence in Asia and has
remained the majority religion for thousands of years.

Over time, Buddhism developed into several distinct branches. Theravada Buddhism, the
most conservative school, is prominent in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Sri
Lanka, and Myanmar. Mahayana Buddhism, the more liberal, is practiced in East Asian and
South Asian countries such as China and India. Vajrayana Buddhism is most prevalent in
Tibet and other Himalayan countries.

Life introduction of Lord Gautam Buddha:

Gautama Buddha was born in Lumbini Nepal near Kapilavastu around 563 BC. Mahalaya
Devi, the queen of Kapilvastu, suffered a childbirth on her way to her goddaughter, in which
a child was born. Due to his birth in Gautam Gautra, he was called Gautama Buddha. His
father Shudodhan was a king, his mother Maya Devi was a woman of Koli dynasty but Maya
Devi died within 7 days after giving birth to a child.

After which he was brought up by his aunt and queen Gautami, the king’s second wife, and
this child was named Siddhartha. This name means one who was born to attain Siddhi but he
was later attained Siddhi. Siddhartha was a very kind and compassionate person since
childhood.

Siddhartha used to lose himself when he used to play sports in childhood as he did not want
to give grief to others. Siddharth also has a cousin named Devadatta. Once Devdutt had fired
an arrow with his bow, which injured a bird goose and later Siddhartha protected the injured
goose.

Lord Gautama Buddha's teaching, marriage & penance

Siddhartha completed his education with Guru Vishwamitra. Along with the Vedas and
Upanishads, he also received education in warfare. Since childhood, no other person could
compete in a charioteer riding horse, bow and arrow and chariot.

Siddharth was married to Princess Yashodhara at the age of just 16 and from this marriage a
child was born, named Rahul, but he did not feel like home and fascination in the world of
Maya and he left the family Went into the forest.

Father and King Shuddhodana had also made a lot of pleasures for Siddharth. The father had
also built 3 palaces for his son according to the season of 3, in which all the arrangements of
dancing, singing and such rest were available, but these things could not pull Siddhartha
towards himself. Siddharth decided to leave his beautiful wife and beautiful child and go
towards the forest.

Siddharth went to the forest and started doing austerities even harder. At first Siddharth
started austerities by eating sesame rice, but later he started doing austerities without food
and drink. Due to harsh heating, his body was dry and it had been 6 years while he was doing
penance.

One day Siddhartha was doing penance in the forest, suddenly some women were returning
from a city, on the same path Siddhartha was doing penance.

One of the songs that the women were singing was a song in Siddharth’s ears, “Don’t leave
the strings of Veena loose” Don’t leave the strings so long that it breaks Siddharth’s ears and
he realizes that the routine Yoga is proved by dieting, but nothing is good. For any
attainment, the medium is the right path, for this hard penance has to be done.

Lord Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment:

On the day of Vaishakhi Purnima, Siddharth sat in his meditation carefully under the tree
tree. A woman from the village named Sujatha had a son, that woman had asked for a vow
for her son from the vatavriksha which he had asked for and he had got a gold plate to fulfill
this happiness. I filled the pudding of cow’s milk and reached that vatavriksha.

The woman very comfortably presented Kheer to Siddharth and said that my wish was
fulfilled as well as yours. Siddhartha’s meditation was successful on meditating that same
night, he realized the truth since then Siddhartha was called Buddha. The tree which
Siddhartha had realized under the Peepal tree was called Bodhivriksha and Bodh Gaya was
called the border place of Gaya.

Dharma Chakra and Transformation of Lord Gautama Buddha:

For the 80 years, instead of Sanskrit, keep preaching your religion in the simple language of
the time, and the popularity of religion started increasing rapidly. After remaining under the
Bodhi tree for 4 weeks and contemplating the nature of the religion, Buddha went out to
teach religion. First he made 5 friends his followers and then sent them to preach religion.

According to the formula of Pali Siddhant, Buddha announced this at the age of 80. Gautama
Buddha received his last meal which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named
Kunda, due to which he fell seriously ill. Gautama Buddha gave a specific instruction to his
disciple Anand to explain to Kunda that he did not make any mistake, he said that these meals
are great and incomparable.

Gautama Buddha's teachings:

Lord Buddha exhorted people to take the path of the medium. He laid great emphasis on non-
violence for its cause and for its unhappiness. Have mercy on the creatures Gautam Buddha
has strongly condemned the havan and the animal sacrifice. The essence of some Buddha’s
teachings are as follows:

⇒ Mahatma Buddha propagated and propagated some resolutions of Sanatan Dharma such as
– Agnihotra and Gayatri Mantra

⇒ Meditation and insight

⇒ Follow the Middle Way

⇒ Four Arya Truths

⇒ Ashtanga paths

Major works and Buddhism:

Gautam Buddha is a special person in Buddhism. The religion of Buddhism keeps its
foundation in its teachings. 8-fold path of Buddhism is proposed. One of the great religions of
the world, Mahatma Gautam Buddha, the originator of Buddhism, has left an indelible
influence not only in the country but also abroad.

Injuries will be painful and there are pain options.

Always remember to make a mistake on the mind, it is like a heavy burden.
You cannot walk on the path till you make your own way.

Successful Mantras of Gautama Buddha's life:

→ Anger is a harmful weapon – Anger kills your enemies as well as you, when you are very
angry, your words only deceive you.
→ You are never punished for your anger, rather you are punished only by your anger.

→ We are increased by our thoughts. We become what we think when your mind is clear.
Then Khushiya will always be with you as your shadow.

→ When you like a flower, you break it, but when you love a flower, you give it water every
day.

→ Fills a pot of water from drop to drop.

→ The beginning of a small work is the beginning of the end of a big work. It does not matter
whether you start from small or from big if you take that beginning to the end, then one day
you will be able to achieve everything that you want.

→ Life is a long journey and you are like a traveler, so it would be better for us to live and
travel well and not to be happy about the future is the real enjoyment of life. We should be
happy by staying in the present instead of worrying about the past and the future.

→ Even if you are surrounded by filth, but you have a store of power to resist evil.