Siddhartha%20Gautama%20(The%20

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Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha)(c. 563 BCE-
483 BCE)
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The Buddhas World
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Lumbini Garden
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At Lumbini

• Siddharthas mother was named Mahamaya. A
  woman of great virtue, her love extended to all
  beingspeople, animals, and plants. It was the
  custom in those days for a woman to return to her
  parents home to give birth there. Mahamaya was
  from the country of Koliya, so she set out for
  Ramagama, the capital of Koliya. Along the way,
  she stopped to rest in the garden of Lumbini.

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Mahamaya grabbed the Ashok Tree
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Ashok Tree

• The forest there (at Lumbini) was filled with
  flowers and singing birds. Peacocks fanned their
  splendid tails in the morning light. Admiring an
  ashok tree in full bloom, the queen walked
  towards it, when suddenly, feeling unsteady, she
  grabbed a branch of the ashok tree to support
  her. Just a moment later, still holding the
  branch, Queen Mahamaya gave birth to a radiant
  son.

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Archaeological Dig
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Mahamaya died

• After having attained sublime joy giving
  birth to Siddhartha, Queen Mahamaya died eight
  days later, and all the kingdom mourned her.
  King Suddhodana summoned her sister Mahapajapati
  and asked her to become the new queen.
  Mahapajapati, also known as Gotami, agreed, and
  she cared for Siddhartha as if he were her own
  son. As the boy grew older and asked about his
  real mother, he understood how much Gotami had
  loved her sister and how she more than anyone
  else in the world could love him as much as his
  own mother. Under Gotamis care, Siddhartha grew
  strong and healthy.

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Son of King Suddhodana
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Carriage Ride at 29 Years of Age
Old Person
Sick Person
Yogi
Dead Person
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The Gate of Renunciation
Good bye to Kapilavatthu Yasodhara, Rahula
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If I do not find the Way, I will not return to
Kapilavatthu.

• When twenty nine years old He Siddhartha
  mounted Kanthaka, and Channa Siddharthas long
  time friend and assistant mounted his horse.
  They walked them to avoid making any loud noise.
  The guards were fast asleep, and they passed
  through the city gates easily. Once well beyond
  the city gates, Siddhartha turned for a last look
  at the capital Kapilavatthu, now lying quietly
  beneath the moonlight. It was there that
  Siddhartha had been born and raised, the city
  where he had experienced so many joys and
  sorrows, so many anxieties and aspirations. In
  the same city now slept everyone close to himhis
  father, Gotami, Yasodhara his wife, Rahula his
  son, and all the others. He whispered to
  himself, If I do not find the Way, I will not
  return to Kapilavatthu. He turned his horse
  toward the south and Kanathaka broke into a full
  gallop.

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Mindfulness

• Through mindfulness, Siddharthas mind,
  body, and breath were perfectly one. His
  practice of mindfulness had enabled him to build
  great powers of concentration which he could now
  use to shine awareness on his mind and body.
  After deeply entering meditation, he began to
  discern the presence of countless other beings in
  his own body right in the present moment.
  Organic and inorganic beings, minerals, mosses
  and grasses, insects, animals, and people were
  all within him. He saw that other beings were
  himself right in the present moment. He saw his
  own past lives, all his births and deaths. He
  saw the creation and destruction of thousands of
  worlds and thousands of stars. He felt all the
  joys and sorrows of every living beingthose born
  of mothers, those born of eggs, and those born of
  fission, who divided themselves into new
  creatures. He saw every cell in his body
  contained all of Heaven and Earth, and spanned
  the three timespast, present, and future

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Anicca

• everything that exists
• is in relation to everything else
• and is constantly in process of change

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Suffering

• He saw that living beings suffer because they
  do not understand that they share one common
  ground with all beings. Ignorance gives rise to
  a multitude of sorrows, confusions, and troubles.
  Greed, anger, arrogance, doubt, jealousy, and
  fear all have their roots in ignorance. When we
  learn to calm our minds in order to look deeply
  at the true nature of things, we can arrive at
  full understanding which dissolves every sorrow
  and anxiety and gives rise to acceptance and
  love.

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Anatta

• humans are noselves,
• nonindividuals
• we can only understand ourselves
• in
  relationship

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Love and Understanding

• Gautama now saw that understanding and love
  are one. Without understanding there can be no
  love. . . . Understanding gives rise to
  compassion and love, which in turn give rise to
  correct action. In order to love, it is first
  necessary to understand, so understanding is the
  key to liberation. In order to attain clear
  understanding, it is necessary to live mindfully,
  making direct contact with life in the present
  moment, truly seeing what is taking place within
  and outside of oneself. Practicing mindfulness
  strengthens the ability to look deeply, and when
  we look deeply into the heart of anything, it
  will reveal itself. This is the secret treasure
  of mindfulnessit leads to the realization of
  liberation and enlightenment.

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Beneath the Pippala (Bodhi) Tree
Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, India
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Enlightenment

• Looking up, Siddhartha saw the morning star
  appear on the horizon, twinkling like a huge
  diamond. He had seen this star so many times
  before while sitting beneath the pippala tree,
  but this morning it was like seeing it for the
  first time. It was as dazzling as the jubilant
  smile of Enlightenment. Siddhartha gazed at the
  star and exclaimed out of deep compassion, All
  being contain within themselves the seeds of
  Enlightenment, and yet we drown in the ocean of
  birth and death for so many thousands of
  lifetimes! Siddhartha knew he had found the
  Great Way. . . . Just then, the young buffalo
  boy Svasti appeared. . . Teacher, you look so
  different today.

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Sermon of Benares

• Preached
• Four Noble Truths
• Existence is unhappiness
• Unhappiness is caused by selfish craving
• Selfish craving can be destroyed...

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4. Following Aryamarga Eight-fold Noble Path

• Life is illuminated by
• right understanding,
• right thought,
• right speech,
• right action,
• right livelihood,
• right effort,
• right mindfulness, and
• right concentration.

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Monastery of Followers

• After Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha,
  attained Enlightenment, he returned to the city
  of his youth, Kapilavatthu, with a grand
  homecoming. At the site where he met his Father
  (the King), his Father erected a monastery for
  Siddhartha and for his many followers, or monks.
  His Mother gave him a new robe to wear. And his
  son, Rahula, joined the monks.

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Visited by King Pasenadi

• King Pasenadi of Kosala came all alone
  to visit the Buddha, unaccompanied by even a
  guard. He left his carriage and driver at the
  monastery gate. He was greeted by the Buddha in
  front of the Buddhas thatched hut. . . . The
  Buddha looked at the king. The prosperity and
  security of one nation should not depend on the
  poverty and insecurity of other nations.
  Majesty, lasting peace and prosperity are only
  possible when nations join together in a common
  commitment to seek the welfare of all. If you
  truly want Kosala to enjoy peace and to prevent
  the young men of your kingdom from losing their
  lives on the battlefield, you must help other
  kingdoms find peace. Foreign and economic
  policies must follow the way of compassion for
  true peace to be possible. At the same time as
  you love and care for your own kingdom, you can
  love and care for other kingdoms such as Magadha,
  Kasi, Videha, Sakya, and Koliya. Majesty, last
  year I visited my family in the kingdom of Sakya.
  I rested several days in Arannakutila at the
  foot of the Himalayas. There I spent much time
  reflecting on a politics based on nonviolence. I
  saw that nations can indeed enjoy peace and
  security without having to resort to violent
  measures such as imprisonment and execution. I
  spoke of these things with my father, King
  Suddhodana. Now I take this opportunity to share
  these same ideas with you. A ruler who nourishes
  his compassion does not need to depend on violent
  means. . . . We need to look at the nature of our
  love. Our love should bring peace and happiness
  to the ones we love. If our love is based on a
  selfish desire to posses others, we will not be
  able to bring them peace and happiness. On the
  contrary, our love will make them feel trapped. .
  . . According to the Way of Enlightenment, love
  cannot exist without understanding. Love is
  Understanding. If you cannot understand, you
  cannot love. Husbands and wives who do not
  understand each other cannot love each other.
  Brothers and sisters who do not understand each
  other cannot love each other. Parents and
  children who do not understand each other cannot
  love each other. If you want your loved ones to
  be happy, you must learn to understand their
  sufferings and their aspirations. That is true
  love.

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Love and Understand Yourself

• From the time of his Enlightenment, which
  occurred when he was 36, to the time of his death
  at 80, the Buddha continuously preached that
  external peace must begin with internal peace.
  In other words, we must come to love those
  closest to ourselves, including our very own
  self, before we can begin to hope to love others
  and thus spread peace. And this love and peace
  is rooted in understanding.

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Death of His Father

• One morning in the early autumn just after
  the retreat came to a close, the Buddha received
  news that King Suddhodana was on his deathbed in
  Kapilavatthu. The king had sent Prince Mahanama,
  his nephew, as a messenger to summon the Buddha
  in hopes of seeing his son one last time. At
  Mahanamas special request, the Buddha agreed to
  travel in the carriage in order to save time.
  Annuruddha, Nanda, Ananda, and Rahula accompanied
  him. . . . The royal family met the Buddha at the
  palace gates. Mahapajapati led him at once into
  the kings chambers. The kings face, pale and
  wan, brightened when he saw the Buddha. The
  Buddha sat down by the bed and took the kings
  hand in his own. The king, now eighty-two years
  old, was thin and frail. The Buddha said,
  Father, please breathe gently and slowly.
  Smile. Nothing is more important than your
  breath at this moment. Nanda, Ananda, Rahula,
  Anuruddha, and I will breathe together with you.
  The king looked at each one of them. He smiled
  and began to follow his breath. No one dared
  cry. After a moment, the king looked at the
  Buddha and said, I have seen clearly the
  impermanence of life and how if a person wants
  happiness he should not lose himself in a life of
  desires. Happiness is obtained by living a life
  of simplicity and freedom. Queen Gotami told
  the Buddha, These past months, the king had
  lived very simply. He has truly followed your
  teaching. Your teaching has transformed the
  lives of every one of us here. Still holding
  the kings hand, the Buddha said, Father, take a
  deep look at me, at Nanda and Rahula. Look at
  the green leaves on the branches outside your
  window. Life continues. As life continues, so
  do you. You will continue to live in me and in
  Nanda and Rahula, and in other beings. The
  temporal body arises from the four elements which
  dissolve only to endlessly recombine again.
  Father, dont think that because the body passes
  away, life and death can bind us. Rahulas body
  is also your body. The Buddha motioned to
  Rahula to come and hold the kings other hand. A
  lovely smile arose on the face of the dying king.
  He understood the Buddhas words and he no
  longer feared death.

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King Ashoka (d. 236 BCE) converted to Buddhism
and spread Dharma
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Lumbini Monasteries
Theravada and Mahayana (c. 0CE) including
Vajrayana (8th c.) Buddhism
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Major Forms of Buddhism today

• Theravada (monastic) thriving in Sri Lanka and
  Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam)
• Mahayana (reform movement) China and Japan and in
  US, Zen
• Vajrayana (type of Mahayana) in Tibet, Nepal
  (Dali Lama)

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Sources

• Thich Nhat Hanh, Old Path White CloudsWalking in
  the Footsteps of the Buddha (NewDelhi,1991).