Title Image: http://blog.sivanaspirit.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Untitled11.jpg
Image 1 (conception of Siddhartha): https://worldofbuddhism.wordpress.com/ Image 2 (Four Passing Sights): http://www.brelief.org/reports/82/12-kush-bur-pai.html Image 3 (Siddhartha): https://ashwath0608.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/the-origin-of-buddhism/ |
Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha, is believed to be the founder of Buddhism. He was born during a time of religious enthusiasm. Siddhartha was born a wealthy prince in what is known as present-day Nepal. (He was born into the religion of Hinduism, therefore Buddhism is a religion that has borrowed ideas and beliefs from the Hindu religion.) His mother, Maya, had a dream that a white elephant entered her side and this was the moment of Siddhartha’s conception. His mother died a week after giving birth to him and he was raised by an aunt and his father. When he was born, a sage inspected him and foretold of his future. The sage foretold that his life could go either of two ways: he would grow to be a great king like his father or he would become a great spiritual leader. His father wanted him to succeed and sheltered him from all the sufferings from the real world, to prevent him from becoming a holy man.
When Siddhartha grew up, he disobeyed his father and left the comfort of his palace to explore what was outside of the palace walls. Outside of the palace he witnessed four impacting scenes, later called the Four Passing Sights by his followers. The four sights were: an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering holy man. Witnessing the despair in the world, he renounced to his comforting life as a prince and went into a life of aestheticism. He practiced severe austerity, but this was not the way. He later found a middle way and he was able to reach enlightenment underneath a Bodhi tree. At the age of 80, Siddhartha ate spoiled food and died. But before his passing he left his followers with these wise words, “You must be your own lamps, be yourselves. Hold firm to the truth as a lamp and refuge and do not look for refuge to anything besides yourself”. After giving his last sermon, Siddhartha rolled over on his side and passed away. |