About parents

A long time ago, the man who was to become the Buddha was born into a royal family belonged to Sakya tribe, in the region of the river Ganges, Northern India. His father was a King called Suddhodana and the mother was a princes from Koliyan tribe called Maha Maya. They were expecting for a son for a long time.

     
The dream came through!

One full moon night, in the palace, the Queen had a dream. She felt herself being carried away by four angels to a lake called Anotatta in the Himalayas. After bathing her in the lake, the angels clothed her in heavenly clothes. Soon after a white elephant holding a white lotus flower in its trunk, appeared and went round her three times and finally disappeared. On the following day she realized that it was a dream and told the King about that. The King was puzzled and so he asked some wise men the meaning of the dream. The wise men said that the Queen will become a mother of a great son.
About ten months after the dream, the Queen and her bearers were on the way to Queens parents home. They were passing a garden called Lumbini Park and it was near the kingdom called Napal, at the foot of the Himalayan mountains. The park was full of sweet scented flowers growing on the Sala trees and thousands of birds, bees and other insects had flocked to the trees and they attracted the Queen. So that she ordered the bearers to stop there for a while. As she rested underneath one of the Sala trees, her baby boy was born. It was a auspicious time on a Vesak full moon day in the year 623 BC.

According to the legends about this birth, the baby began to walk seven steps forward and at each step, a lotus flower appeared on the ground where his foot should have been. He said

Aggohamsmi Lokassa
Jettho Hamasmi Lokassa
Settho Hamasmi Lokassa
Ayamanthima Jati
Natthi dani Punnabhavo

"I am the chief in the world,
There is no equal to me
I am supreme
This is my last birth
No Rebirth for me"

  
     

The Prince's Name

The King invited his old teacher called Asitha or Kaladevala to examine his son's future. He examined the son and saw some marks on the prince's feet. He said " This prince will become a very great teacher in the world.

King invited five wise men to suggest a good name for the prince. They examined the birth marks of the prince and concluded that "The prince will be a King of kings if he wants to rule and If he chooses a religious life then he will become the Lord Buddha".

However, the youngest of the five men called Kondanna said "This prince will be the Lord Buddha and nothing else". Then all wise men gave him the name "SIDDHARTHA" meaning 'wish fulfilled".

     
Education

On the seventh day, prince Sidhartha's mother died. Then the Prajapati Gothami became his step mother. She was the younger sister of Queen Maha Maya. When prince Sidhartha was only a few years old, King Suddhodana sent him to school. There were many children in the class and his teacher was called Sarva Mitra. The prince learnt and very clever in different languages and subjects such as mathematics, science history, geography, reading, writing, and many games like boxing, wrestling, and many others. He was able to learn all these subjects very quickly and faster that any other student in his class. So that he was the most intelligent, cleverest, and strongest in the class. Later he became cleverer than his teacher and also he was a most courageous, well-disciplined, honest, and obedient student in the class. He loved everything of the natural environment which include flora and fauna and other physical and natural objects.
     

His Kindness

One day he was walking in the woods with his cousin called Devadatta who had his bow and arrows with him. Suddenly Devadatta saw a swan and shot at it. His arrow brought the swan down. Both the boys ran to get the swan. As Siddhartha could run faster than Devadatta, he reached the bird first and found, to his surprise that the swan was still alive. So he gently pulled out the arrow from the wing. He then got a little juice from some leaves, put it on the wound of the bird to stop the bleeding and with his soft hand, stroked the swan which was very frightened. When Devadatta came to claim the swan, prince Siddhartha refused to give it to him. Devadatta was very angry to see his cousin keeping the swan way from him. He said "Give me my bird, I shot it down". The prince refused to do so and said "no I am not going to give it to you, if you had killed it, it would have been yours. But now since it is only wounded and alive, it belongs to me because I saved it's life".

Devadatta still did not agree and however both of them agreed to go to the court of wise men to tell them about the quarrel. The wise men said "a life certainly must belong to him who tries to save it, a life cannot belong to one who is only trying to destroy it. Therefore, the wounded swan by right belongs to Siddhartha."

     
His way of life

King Suddhodana built three palaces called Ramya, Suramya, and Subha, for the prince for his stay in winter , summer, and rainy seasons. He also built for him extensive parks and hunting grounds with ponds with water-lilies, swans and beautiful fish in them. However, the wise men called Asitha and Kondanna warned the King that if his son sees a sick person, an old person a dead body or a monk, he will want to leave the palace and become a monk himself.

The King was worrying that his son would see them and leave the palace. Therefore, he gave him many young servants and did not allow any sick or old person to go into the palace. The King did not even let anybody talk about sickness, old age, death and monks. But prince Siddhartha wanted to find answers for many questions to know the meaning of life.

The King was worrying about prince Siddhartha's way of thinking and asked some wise men to suggest something to make his son happy. They suggested that finding a suitable princes for his marriage would be the solution. The king agreed and asked for all the beautiful girls in the country to come to the palace. Among the princes there was a most charming and kind girl called Ysodhara and the prince accepted her to be his wife.

     

Old and sick persons, a dead body and a monk

In order to prevent the prince from thinking of leaving the palace, King Suddhodana ordered that no one should ever mention in front of the prince anything regarding old age, sickness, death, etc. The attendants of the prince were ordered to constantly provide songs, dances, and music to make the prince happy. The gates of the garden were closely guarded to prevent the prince from going outside for any reason, except with the King's permission.


However, the prince eagerly desired to see other joyful things of the world, things that were beyond the palace walls. So that the prince pleaded with his father, informing him that he would never be happy unless he could see the outside world. The King finally agreed with the prince and ordered that, on the day of the prince's outing, every house must be cleaned, painted and decorated with flags and flowers. Along the way no one was allowed to be seen sick and old persons or dead bodies or monks. However, while the prince was traveling outside, a white -haired old man, came out of his house and reached the road before anyone could stop him. His skin was dried up and wrinkled and his eyes were dim and sunken. He could not able to stand up without support of a stick.

The prince was quite surprised at the sight of the old man. So he questioned his driver Channa "are some people born this way?" Channa explained "when one has lived a long time , he will be like this and it cannot be avoided". Soon the prince became aware that although he was the prince, the successor to the throne, he lose everything some day in the future. All his joys and pleasures would turn into nothing, for there would be no way to avoid getting old, and in this matter, no one is an exception, whatever his condition-rich, poor, powerful, or mean.
 

On another day, while the prince was walking along, he suddenly heard a man on the road side, which sounded as if someone was calling for help. The prince was found a sick man lying on the earth and he struggled to rise, but felt heavily to the ground again. The prince questioned Channa about that and understood that no one knows on what day he will fall sick, for one can fall sick anytime and anywhere.

Again, the prince saw a group of people marching along lamenting and carrying a stiff, immobile person on a board. Channa explained the prince that it was a dead body and anybody who is alive will someday die. There is no way to avoid it, no one can live forever, and cannot stop the coming of death.

Finally, while the prince was riding in the garden, he saw a monk in a yellow robe. The prince watched the monk attentively, perceiving that his mind was full of peace and happiness. He understood that the monk had left his family and given up his desire in order to seek the way of deliverance from worldly suffering. The prince thought " I must become like that".
     

 

Birth of Rahula

Sometime later, someone told the prince that his wife had given birth to a lovely boy. As soon as he heard the news he said " Rahulo Jatho, Bandhanan Jatho - Rahula has been born to me, an obstacle has been born to me". Accordingly his son's name became Rahula.

     
Leaving home

The King arranged a grand dinner and dance for the prince to celebrate the birth of his grandson. He invited the best dancers and singers in the country for that. He did this to make the prince happy because he noticed that the prince was unhappy although he just had a son. The king knew that the prince was going to leave the palace for good.

However, the prince was not happy and continuously thought of how he could stop old age, sickness, and death. He was so tired and fell asleep. The dancers and singers too stopped and fell asleep. Some time later that night the prince got up and was so shocked and unhappy to see those people. All the prettiest, most charming dancing girls and singers who few time ago were trying to make the prince so happy, were now all over the floor. Some were on most ugly and shameful positions. Some were snoring likes pigs, with their mouths wide open and some were grinding teeth. That sight made the prince even more disgusted and very unhappy.

 

The prince got up quietly from the room and called his faithful servant Channa to saddle his favorite white horse, Kanthaka to go out on a long journey. Meanwhile, prince also went quietly to see his son for the first time in his life. Princess Yasodara was holding the baby in her arms, sound sleep. The prince decided not to disturb the princess because she will stop his leaving. Finally he left the palace with Kanthaka and Channa. After a long journey they arrived at the bank of Anoma River by dawn. The prince removed his precious dress and jewellery and handed them to Channa asking him to go back. Although Channa wanted to follow the prince, he refused it and asked him to go back and tell his relatives not to worry because he was going away to find out a way to conquer all the pain and suffering of mankind. Then he took his sword and cut his hair and put on orange colored clothes, took a begging bowl. He was 29 years old at that time.


Some times later prince Siddhartha arrived in Rajagaha city, where King Bimbisara ruled. The prince walked round the streets of the city with his begging bowl and people offered food for him. King Bimbisara was a friend of King Sudhodana and he recognized the prince Siddhartha quickly. Although he offered a half of his kingdom, the prince Siddhartha refused it because his goal was only to find out a way to stop old age, sickness, worries and death. So that he left Rajagaha, heading toward Pandawa hill. Then King Bimbisara invited prince to come first to see him when his aspiration of perfect enlightenment was realized.
     

 

Five friends

After knowing that prince Siddhartha had left the palace, his five friends also left their homes to become monks. They were called Kondanna, Wappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama, and Assaji. Prince Siddhartha and his five friends met Alara Kalama, who was a famous teacher at that time. However, the prince could not learn the way to stop old age, sickness, and death from him. Then he left his five friends and met another famous teacher called Uddaka. The prince Siddhartha learnt for him sometimes but not satisfied, because Uddaka too could not teach him to know the way of stopping suffering old age, sickness, and death.
     

 

Fasting and meditation

After leaving Uddka, the prince Siddhartha practiced fasting which was thought to be one of the best ways to acquire wisdom. He started to meditate and to reduce taking food gradually. Later on, he only ate one meal a day for months. Then he took food once in two or three days. As a result, his body became so thin and it looked like a living skeleton. However, he continued his meditation for a period of six years, but still he did not know anything new. Finally, he realized that it was not the way to find out wisdom. Physically he was very weak and sometimes fainted. Fortunately, he received some goat milk from a goat boy and it helped him to restore the physical stamina. The prince sat down under a Banyan tree near Neranjana river and continued meditation. He also understood that all the hardships he had gone through would be meaningless.

 
     
Sujatha's Milk Rice Offer

Sujatha was a beautiful girl who lived in the village called Senani. She wanted to marry and have a son. People at that time believed that tree-gods are very powerful and they were able to fulfill people's aspirations. Accordingly, Sujatha went to a Banyan tree near Neranjana river and asked the god to give her a husband and a son. Her wish fulfilled shortly and she was very happy and wanted to offer milk rise to the god. Sujatha was so surprised and exited to see the tree-god who was sitting under the tree. She offered the milk rice to the god (prince Siddhartha) and said "May you be successful in obtaining your wishes as I have been".
     


Enlightenment

After having Sujatha's meal, the prince Sidhartha went to Gaya Village and sat down under a large Bodhi tree facing to the East. He determined "though my blood dries up and my muscles shrink leaving skin and bones only, I will not leave this seat until I finally achieved my goal -Enligtenmen". Again, that day was a Vesak full moon day and the prince Sidhartha was 35 years old. In the evening, he started to meditate by practicing the concentration of breathing in and breathing out. While he was meditating, many disturbances occurred against his concentration.


Secondly, he also acquired the power to see all things and to know the future rebirths of all beings as consequences of their thoughts and actions (karma). This meant that some people could be born to a better life than they currently enjoyed by doing good things. On the other hand, some could be born to a condition worse than their current ones and suffer very much because they had done bad things. Finally, he observed that ignorance and attachment to illusory pleasures are the ultimate causes of the turning round of birth and death. Because he had discovered the cause of and the method of elimination of all suffering, he had attained supreme enlightenment and it called "BUDDHAHOOD".
     


Maha Parinibbana (The Death)

After becoming to the Buddhahood, the Lord Buddha spent 45 years of time by delivering Dhamma for the well being of the humankind. He passed away in Kusinara city under a Sala tree on the Vesak full moon day in 543 BC at the age of 80.

 
 
Three special events

He was born under a tree, on a Vesak full moon day,
He became enlightenment under a tree, on a Vesak full moon day,
He passed away under a tree, on a Vesak full moon day, because,
he loved natural environment!

     

Noble Eight-fold Path

Right Understanding to know and understand the Four Noble Truths - Sorrow, it's cause, it's end, and the way to the end of sorrow
Right Thoughts thought of renunciation, thought of goodwill to others, and thought of harmlessness
Right Speech refraining from telling lies, bad about others, harsh words, and gossiping
Right Action refraining from killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct.
Right Livelihood refraining from trading arms, living beings, flesh, intoxicating drinks, and poison
Right Effort to try to stop evil thoughts and that have arisen, to prevent evil thought from arising, to try to develop un-risen good thoughts, and to continue good thoughts that have arisen.
Right Mindfulness Mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of sensations, mindfulness of thoughts passing through the mind and mindfulness of Dhamma.
Right Concentration one-pointedness of mind.
     

 

The Noble Threefold Actions which lead to Nirwana

Seela (morality) includes Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood
Samadhi (concentration) includes Right Efforts, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration
Panna (wisdom) includes Right understanding, and Right Thoughts
     

Pancha Sila

Panati-pata veramani sikkha padam samadiyami I take the precept to abstain from destroying living beings
Adinna-dana veramani sikkha padam samadhiyami I take the precept to abstain from taking things not given
Kamesu-michcha-cara veramani sikkha padam samadhiyami I take the precept to abstain from sexual misconduct
Musavada veramani sikkha padam samadhiyami I take the precept to abstain from false speech
Sura meraya-majja-pama-datthana veramani sikkha padam samadhiyami I take the precept to abstain from taking anything that causes intoxication or heedlessness
     

 

© Jayatilleke Wannige - Last Modified: July 19, 2009