Background of Gautama and Buddhism

8/14/2019 Background of Gautama and Buddhism

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BackgroundofGautamaand Buddhism

Buddhism began as a reformation movement within Hinduism. Its founder wasSiddhartha Gautama, who was born about 563 B.C. in the ruler warrior caste of

Hinduism. (Died in 483.) His father, Suddhodana, was a Raja a chieftain of the Sakya

clan, a family of the Kshatriya (warrior-nobility) caste of ancient Bharata. His fatherreigned over (Kapilavastu), a small district on the slope of the Himalayas on the Indianthat borders between India and Nepal. His mother's name was Maya. When Gautama was

16 or 19, he married the princess Yasodharma and later had a son named Rahula.Gautama grew up surrounded by a life of luxury, but he grew dissatisfied in his 20s.

It is not easy to give an accurate historical account of the life of Gautama, since nobiography was recorded until hundreds of years after his death. Today, much of his life

story is clouded in myths and legends which arose after his death. The best historians ofour day have several different and even contradictory accounts of Gautama's life. The

biography of Siddhartha Gautama was not recorded during his lifetime. These teachings

were orally passed down to future generations of Buddhist monks within variousBuddhist communities in India. The earliest available accounts of his life were collectedsome three hundred years or more after his death. four centuries later, in about 80 B.C.,

Buddhist scribes finally compiled the teachings of the Buddha on paper, which becamethe Pali Canon. Both the historical and legendary descriptions of his life have been

included in the Pali Canon and Sanskrit accounts. It has become indistinguishable toknow where to draw the line between history and legend. Whether the stories about

Siddhartha Gautama are true or myth, his life has been and still is an inspiration andmodel for all Buddhists. Buddhist scriptures and sayings attributed to Gautama written

about four centuries after Buddha's death. There is no way to be sure these are reallyGautama's words. By the time they were written Buddhism was split into opposing sects.

The question of authority is an important issue that needs answering in the Buddhistsystem.

At birth Gautama (his family name) received the name of Siddhartha, meaning "he who

has accomplished his objectives." Later in life he became known as the Buddha ("theEnlightened One" or 'awakened one").


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During Siddhartha's infancy, the sage Asita visited King Suddhodana's court and hadprophesied that Siddhartha would become either a great ruler like his father if he

remained within his father's palace or a Buddha if he went out into the world. His fatherKing Suddhodana believed that if his son observed human misery in the world,

Siddhartha would leave his home of luxury to seek for truth. The king naturally wanted

his son to inherit his throne and kingdom after his death. So he issued strict orders to hissubjects that the young prince was to be kept from seeing any form of evil or suffering.Gautamas Father sheltered his son from the outside world confining him to the palace. so

he lived his life surrounded with pleasures and wealth. Despite his father's efforts,Gautama one day finally saw the darker side of life by taking a trip outside the palace

walls.

The legend of the Four Passing Sights tells how he became aware of the world's sufferingin spite of his parents' efforts to keep him away from seeing the world of evil and

suffering. Siddhartha decided to elude the royal attendants and was able to leave hisfather's palace where he rode his chariot four times through the city. During his journey

He saw an old man, a person suffering from a disease(a leper), a dead man, and a beggar(an ascetic) shaven monk ( Other accounts say he merely envisioned these four states of

humanity.) Going outside he saw for the first time that great suffering exists with thepeople. He realized from his observations that life was full of sorrows and that happiness

was an illusion. It was from these sights of suffering he became Deeply distressed. Hedecided to leave the luxury of palace life and begin a quest to find the answer to the

problem of pain and human suffering. and chose a path of renunciation.

It is said on the same night in which Yashodara gave birth to their son Rahula, Siddharthawho was 29 at the time abandoned his family and kingdom compelled to seek the truth

that was hidden from him all his life. This was of course not such an easy decision and hecertainly anguished over his decision to leave everything he loved, but now that his son,

whose name means "hindrance," was born and could continue the royal line. He was freeto begin his spiritual quest that was burning inside himself. He took his faithful servant

Channa and his devoted horse Kanthaka to the forest, where he shaved off his hair andchanged his robes in search of wisdom and enlightenment.

His journey began by seeking communion with the supreme cosmic spirit, He firstsubjected himself to Hindu masters and began a pilgrimage of inquiry and asceticism as a

poor beggar monk. For six or seven years He studied the Hindu scriptures under Brahminhermit priests, and then in the company of five monks. but became disillusioned with the

teachings of Hinduism. He then devoted himself to a life of extreme asceticism in thejungle such as fasting. . Other physical austerities included sleeping on brambles to

mortify the desires of his body and abstaining from sitting by crouching on his heels todevelop his concentration. Legend has it that he eventually learned to exist on one grain

of rice a day which ended up reducing his body to a skeleton. His practice of self-mortification had brought him closer to the point of death instead of enlightenment. One

day while swimming he almost drowned being so weak. He soon concluded, however,that asceticism did not lead to peace and self realization but merely weakened the mind

and body.


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Despite all these efforts, Siddhartha did not succeed in attaining truth. Finally, in amoment of profound insight he realized that his life as an ascetic was of no greater value

than his previous life as a prince living in luxury. Self-torture was vain and fruitlessdepriving oneself was no better than pleasure. He understood then the importance of what

he called the Middle Way. Abandoning a life of extreme austerities, Siddhartha began to

eat solid food. This act angered his fellow monks, who felt Siddhartha had weakened andsuccumbed to his physical needs. They promptly deserted him, thoroughly disgusted withhis seeming worldliness.

Gautama eventually turned to a life of meditation. On the wide bank at a major city in

northeast India, While deep in meditation under a fig tree known as the Bohdi tree(meaning, "tree of wisdom"), Gautama experienced the highest degree of God-

consciousness called Nirvana. There Mara, the evil one, tried to thwart Siddhartha frombecoming the Buddha, luring him with worldly temptations during his meditations.

Siddhartha withstood all the challenges presented and experienced the revelation ofliberating awareness. The way that provides escape from the cruel causality of samsara

(the cycle of rebirths). He discovered the Four Noble Truths, which became known as thewisdom of Realization. Gautama then became known as Buddha, the "enlightened one."

He believed he had found the answers to lifes most puzzling questions the answer of whythere is pain and suffering.

Gautama's approach to religion was quite different from the Hinduism out of which he

had come from. Hinduism had degenerated to empty philosophical speculations anddisputes, to polytheism, rituals, magic, and superstition. Authority for truth was the

exclusive ownership of the highest caste. Gautama attacked the caste system and rejectedtheir forms of speculation, ritual, and occultism. Interesting that Tibetan Buddhism has

become much of what Gautama rejected. Some compare Buddhas break to MartinLuthers reformation in Christianity. He believed everyone was equally capable of the

highest spiritual development.

The Buddha was 80 when Cunda the blacksmith served him pig's flesh or some claim

mushrooms. He became extremely ill and died. Before he passed away, he sent a messageto Cunda saying that he should not feel guilty for being the cause of his death, for it was

destined to be. Just before his death, he exhorted his disciples not to grieve. His lastrecorded words were: "Decay is inherent in all omponent things! Work out your own

salvation with diligence." (Christmas Humphreys, Buddhism, p.41.)

By the time of his death at age 80, Buddhism had become a major force in India. Threecenturies later it had spread to all of Asia. Buddha never claimed to be deity but rather

that he was an enlightened human being, a "way- shower." Strangely enough sevenhundred years later, some of the followers of Buddha began to worship him as deity

despite his not teaching this.

Since Gautama's death, many sects have developed within Buddhism. These sects can

sometimes be like comparing two different religions. Many have developed their ownunique concept of God. Some are pantheistic in their view of God, others are atheistic.


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Still others have developed a polytheistic system of gods (like its originator Hinduism).Some have combined pantheism and polytheism. Several sects have elevated Gautama

(or Buddha) to the level of a savior or divine being although it is clear he never claimedto be a deity. Other sects have tried to synchronize together some of the doctrines of God

from other religions with Buddhism . As there are some Churches that adopt some

Buddhist teachings into Christianity. While there are general similarites in some ethicsand moral teachings Buddhism is not condusive to Christianity. The two are mutuallyexclusive, they both can't be right at the same time, nor can the two be blended together

The two differ in there concept of God. For Buddhists in general, their is no Absolute

which has a purpose in our daily living. Gautama said little about any concept of God.Buddha was monistic in his view of the Absolute as an impersonal force made up of all

living things but denied the existence of a personal God. The Bible teaches of a God whorules the universe, is personal and sovereign and wants to have communion with man.

Therein lies a vast difference in these religions teachings.

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Background of Gautama and Buddhism