Gautam Buddha
|
 |
Gautam
Buddha was one of the greatest religious teachers that the world has
seen. He is the founder of Buddhism, a religion that is popular in
Burma, China, Japan, Thailand and other South Eastern Countries.
The Buddha was born in 563 B.C. as Siddhartha, the prince of
Kapilavastu(In Nepal). Gautam Buddha's mother died at childbirth and
he was brought up by his mother's sister Prajapati Gotami.
It was predicted that Siddhartha would give up worldly pleasures and
follow a simple life. Siddhartha's father the King wanted to avoid
this at all costs and did not let him out of the palace. He hoped
that Siddhartha would one day become king. |
|
| |
|
Did you
know |
| The name
Siddhartha means "wish-fulfilled" or "one who has accomplished his
goal". |
| |
| When
Siddhartha became a young man he ventured out of the Palace and saw
suffering, pain and death for the first time. This experience changed
his life. Though Siddhartha was married to a beautiful princess called
Yashodhara and had a son Rahul, at the age of about 30 years Siddhartha
left the palace in search of the truth about life. |
| He spent
many years in the company of saints and finally one day when he was
sitting under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya (Bihar, India) he was blessed
with the divine light. This was the turning point, as he realized the
truth is within every human being. The search outside was pointless.
After this he was known as ' Buddha' or the enlightened one.
|
| |
|
For 45
years, Buddha spread his message of a spiritual life with 8 - fold path
towards salvation - |
- Right
speech
- Right
Understanding
- Right
Determination
- Right
deeds
- Right
efforts
- Right
awareness
- Right
thinking and
- Right
living.
|
According to Buddhism, by following this path one could overcome
desires, which are the root cause of grief and misery.
Buddha died in 483 BC at the age of 80 years. |
