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Born in Kapilavastu,
India, now present-day Nepal, Buddha was the son of the head of
the Sakya warrior caste, with the private name of Siddhartha.
In later life he was known also as Sakyamuni (Sage of the Sakyas).
The name Gautama Buddha is a combination of the family name Gautama
and the appellation Buddha, meaning “Enlightened One.”
Surviving accounts
of Buddha's life were written many years after his death by idealizing
followers rather than by objective historians. Consequently, it
is difficult to separate facts from the great mass of myth and
legend in which they are embedded.
Buddha apparently showed
an early inclination to meditation and reflection, displeasing
his father, who wanted him to be a warrior and ruler rather than
a religious philosopher. Yielding to his father's wishes, he married
at an early age and participated in the worldly life of the court.
Buddha found his carefree, self-indulgent existence dull, and
after a while he left home and began wandering in search of enlightenment.
One day in 533, according
to tradition, he encountered an aged man, a sick man, and a corpse,
and he suddenly and deeply realized that suffering is the common
lot of humankind. He then came upon a mendicant monk, calm and
serene, whereupon he determined to adopt his way of life and forsake
family, wealth, and power in the quest for truth. This decision,
known in Buddhism as the Great Renunciation, is celebrated by
Buddhists as a turning point in history. Gautama was then 29 years
old.
Wandering as a mendicant
over northern India, Buddha first investigated Hinduism. He took
instruction from some famous Brahman teachers, but he found the
Hindu caste system repellent and Hindu asceticism futile. He continued
his search, attracting but later losing five followers. About
528, while sitting under a bo tree in Buddh Gaya, in what is now
the state of Bihar, he experienced the Great Enlightenment, which
revealed the way of salvation from suffering. Shortly afterward
he preached his first sermon in the Deer Park near Benares (Varanasi).
This sermon, the text of which is preserved, contains the gist
of Buddhism. Many scholars regard it as comparable, in its tone
of moral elevation and historical importance, to Jesus Christ's
Sermon on the Mount.
The five disciples
rejoined Buddha at Benares. Accompanied by them, he traveled through
the valley of the Ganges River, teaching his doctrines, gathering
followers, and establishing monastic communities that admitted
anyone regardless of caste. He returned briefly to his native
town and converted his father, his wife, and other members of
his family to his beliefs. After 45 years of missionary activity
Buddha died in Kusinagara, Nepal, as a result of eating contaminated
pork. He was about 80 years old.
Buddha was one of the
greatest human beings, a man of noble character, penetrating vision,
warm compassion, and profound thought. Not only did he establish
a great new religion, but his revolt against Hindu hedonism, asceticism,
extreme spiritualism, and the caste system deeply influenced Hinduism
itself. His rejection of metaphysical speculation and his logical
thinking introduced an important scientific strain heretofore
lacking in Oriental thought. Buddha's teachings have influenced
the lives of millions of people for nearly 2500 years. By following
these teachings countless people have experienced a richness and
peace of mind and true inner happiness knowledge in ‘the
way of Buddha’ can bring.
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