Life of Buddha
Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama in 564 BCE. His father was the leader and Siddhartha Gautama was supposed to be the king after his father. A prophecy was told at his birth. It was said that if he stayed home, he would become a great king but if he left home, he would be a savior of mankind. When Siddhartha was a baby, a scholar noticed 32 signs of him being the Enlightened One. The 32 signs of the Enlightened One are:
- level sole of his feet
- wheel marks on the soles of his feet
- projecting heals
- long fingers and toes
- soft skin on his hands and feet
- netlike lines on his palms and soles
- raised ankles
- tightly drawn calves
- able to touch his knees without bending
- bright skin the color of gold
- fine skin
- one hair in each pore in his skin
- hair that has a bluish color and hair curves clockwise
- a strong upright stance
- outward curving skin on his hands feet shoulders and trunk
- a strong chest
- a strong jaw
- no space between his shoulders
- the distance from hand-to-hand and head-to-toe is equal
- a neck that is round and smooth
- sensitive taste-buds
- 40 teeth
- evenly spaced teeth
- no gaps between teeth
- crystal-like canine teeth
- long and large tongue
- male organs concealed in a sheath
- a voice like a Brahman’s
- blue eyes that are like sapphires
- large eyes with long eyelashes
- white hair in the middle of his eyebrow
- a head like a royal turban
His father feared that he would become a Buddha rather than the king so he kept him in his land and protected him from seeing suffering. Siddhartha asked his father if he could see the outside world. His father hid all signs of suffering and made it that he only saw healthy, young people. But some people didn’t listen and stayed out on the streets. He saw an old man, a sick woman, and a corpse being burned at a funeral. The forth sight he saw was a monk which he used as a model of how he would live his life later on. He decided to leave his family to find enlightenment. He studied over many teachers, but never found the answers to the questions he was asking. He tried fasting, hardship, and meditation but none worked and saw that it would soon end his life. Legends say that a musician helped him find the Middle Way. The musician told him if the strings are too tight, it will break but it the strings are too loose, it won’t make a sound. From this idea he learned that he shouldn’t deny every physical need but not surrender to all bodily pleasures. He found the Middle Way which led him to perfect enlightenment.
When he was 35 he became the Enlightened One or Buddha because he found the truth of suffering and ignorance. He created the Four Noble Truths to remove ignorance which would mean no suffering. The Four Noble Truths tells how to remove suffering by removing attachment to things and with self- improvement. Nirvana, which means freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas, can lead to reaching Enlightenment and self- improvement. He traveled through India and taught people about his teachings of the Four Noble Truths, Nirvana, and the Eightfold Path. Shortly before his death, Siddhartha sat beneath the Bodhi tree either meditating or teaching to his followers without food or water. This was to be his last attempt. He would not move from this tree until he achieved awakening or else simply died. He looked deeply into himself and saw his desires and ignorance. He went deeper into meditation. Finally, his desires and suffering vanished along with the illusion of himself. He was enlightened, awakened. Siddhartha had become the Buddha. Up to his awakening, we were able to see into Siddhartha’s life struggles as it mirrored our own lives. Once he became the Buddha, the Blessed One, we no longer saw into his life. The Buddha is so exalted, so unfailingly superior to any inconsistency, there isn’t much story to tell. He taught until the moment of his death because he was doing what he was meant to do. The teaching of Buddhism began to spread.
Buddhism Today
Buddhism has gone a long way from the start of Buddhism. It has grown in members and now has a total of about 300 million followers. Even though Buddhism has been around for hundreds of years, it hasn’t changed much. The morals, customs, practices, and other parts of Buddhism still remain but it has spread and has branched out into many types. The two main types of Buddhism are Theravada and Mahayana. In Japan there are many different types of Buddhism. Buddhism has also spread to many more countries. It started in India and has eventually spread to other counties. Buddhism spread to USA and Europe in the 20th century. The three main countries that practice Theravada Buddhism are Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia. The countries that practice Mahayana Buddhism are China, Tibet, and Mongolia.