Siddhartha Gautama, in the world of all people, is called Gautam Buddha. He traveled on a remarkable journey that prompted him to change his life and change human history. He was born in the lap of Royal Affluence Life in Lumbini, Nepal, around 563 BCE. His life was one of luxury and pleasure. However, the palace walls were a golden prison.
QUICK FACTS
- Born: Lumbini, Nepal, around 563 BCE
- Grown in royalty, comfort, and luxury
- Married Princess Yasodhara on 16
- Made a life-changing decision at 29, giving up his royal status.
- 6 years of continuous suffering
- Set off for Bodh Gaya, India
- After 49 days of meditation, he gained enlightenment.
- The head is covered with a tight crown of 108 snails.
- Son Rahul became a monk at a very young age
- Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path are major teachings
- Established Buddhism
- Died at the age of 80 in Kushinagar, India
Gautam Buddha’s Early Life
Siddhartha’s parents kept him away from the harsh realities of the world in his early years. It was a tapestry made of comfort and luxury. Siddhartha’s father was King Suddhodana. He created a life to protect his son from pain and anguish. However, fate had different intentions. Siddhartha discovered truths about old age, illness, and death, which he found on one of his rare trips outside the palace. These incidents belied his notion of a safe world and called forth the discontent in him. The universality, its cause, and the way to relieve the suffering became the all-absorbing topic to learn.
The Great Renunciation
At 29, Siddhartha made a critical decision. In the dead of night, he renounced his status. He left his wife Yasodhara, their newborn son Rahul, and the luxurious palace. It is called the Great Renunciation. It is his great longing to know suffering. He, too, wanted a way out.
Siddhartha’s great unsatiated hunger is driven by knowledge. He started on his great spiritual journey. Gautam Buddha took advice from leading masters and then tried various types of ascetic practices. Buddha was starving for days together. He exerted his liberated body to the maximum. He thought that without suffering through self-mortification, one cannot get enlightenment. But after six long years of continuous suffering, he came to realize that very great pain is not the way to freedom. Siddhartha was disillusioned but not defeated. He renounced these things. He sought the golden meaning between pleasure and self-abasement.
The Bodhi Tree: A Seat of Awakening
Bodh Gaya, India—he set out, firm in purpose. He would not give up until enlightenment came to him beneath the shade of the gigantic Bodhi tree. Days changed into nights, approaching. A flood of temptations came to him, but Siddhartha remained strong; his fortitude was adamant.
Forty-nine days of deep meditation passed, and at last, enlightenment came to one who had seen through his ignorance. He was henceforth known as the Buddha, or “the awakened one.” He had an understanding of the nature of suffering unequally. We notice a key distinguishing feature of the Buddha when we see sculptures and other art: the head of Buddha has short, tight curls. The key is that these curls were not merely cosmetic. On a hot day, a meek snail approached his bald head to save him from the sun’s heat. Other snails followed, constructing a tight crown of 108 conical shells. Their unselfish suffering embodies compassion, central to the teachings of Buddha. Although a charming story, it has no foundation in actual Buddhist thought.
Gautam Buddha’s Personal and marital life
Though Siddhartha left behind his material life, his journey was not without love and bond. His wife, Yashodhara, was a great support in his journey toward spirituality. She always hoped he would return. When the Gautam Buddha turned into an enlightened one, he visited his family. He came as a preacher of dharma, not as a prince depicting the old life. Yashodhara did not renounce the world as her husband did to seek enlightenment. Rather, she accepted the teachings of her husband and got enlightened later.
The relationship of Gautama Buddha with his son, Rahula, after enlightenment, not surprisingly, underwent a complete metamorphosis. The son turned into a monk as a young boy and throughout his life as a monk received counseling as well as kindness from Buddha.
Gautam Buddha’s Death and Legacy
The Buddha traveled throughout the Indian subcontinent for the remaining 45 years of his life. Unfazed, he spread his message. He established a community of followers. They accepted his teachings and aspired to become awakened. Therefore they are called the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. These are practical ways of attaining a life without suffering, an abode of peace.
Gautam Buddha breathed his last at the age of 80 in Kushinagar, India. But his teachings are not bound by time and space. In various corners of Asia, his group Buddhism flourished and traveled outside to more distant areas of the world as well. Monasteries, stupas, and many more art attest to this. They give proof of his immortal legacy. Today, millions derive peace and confidence in his sayings. It’s all about compassion, realization, and seeking truth.
Gautam Buddha showed the extent to which humanity can transform. He rose from a sheltered prince to an awakened teacher. It is a ray of hope. It instills in us to look at suffering with wisdom and march through the wilderness of life with calmness and compassion.
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