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The
Sakya Prince
The Full Moon Day in the
month of May or the
Buddha Jayanti,
commemorated the three
key events of the life
of the Buddha, namely,
the Birth in
approximately 623 BC,
the Enlightenment in 588
BC and the Passing Away
into Nibbana in 543 BC,
thus making it the
paramount day of the
year to Buddhists
throughout the world.
Approximately 623 years
before Christ, a Prince
was born to the king of
the Sakyas in the
Lumbini Park in
Kapilavatthu, India - in
present day Nepal. The
Prince, the only son of
King Suddodhana and
Queen Mahamaya was
destined to be one of
the greatest religious
teachers of the world,
the Supremely
Enlightened One –
Sakyamuni the Gautama
Buddha. Siddhartha was
an energetic young
Prince who was raised in
opulence and luxurious
environment. Amidst all
these, he witnessed the
people’s sorrow, pain,
suffering and death and
yearned to discover the
eternal truth that will
cease the endless cycle
of birth and re-birth.
Moved by the endless
sufferings of the world,
he renounced his worldly
and princely lifestyle
and left his family and
the palace in search of
the ultimate Truth, the
Unsurpassed Peace.
A Penniless Wanderer
Once a powerful Prince,
he thus became a
penniless wanderer, who
lived on alms of the
charitable-minded.
Instead of the grand
palace, a tree or a
crude cave extended him
shelter. Without proper
shoes, the jeweled crown
or the princely
garments, he traversed
bear-footed and
bear-headed in the
scorching sun and the
piercing cold with only
a robe, just enough to
cover his body. His
quest for the Truth, and
an end to the continuous
sufferings of the world
made Prince Siddhartha,
choose the life of a
homeless wanderer over
that of a heir to an
Empire. Passing through
many teachers,
Siddhartha gained
complete mastery of
their teachings but the
traditional teachings of
salvation, emancipation
and spiritual power
failed to gain him the
freedom from all
suffering, thus making
him realize that ‘refuge’
can only be found within
one’s own self and
mind.
Attaining Enlightenment
The ascetic Siddhartha
arriving at the market
town of Senani at
Uruwela in present day
Bihar, settled with firm
determination and
persistence, under a
Bodhi tree and strived
to develop and advance
his mind in deep
meditation. At the dawn
of the full moon day in
the month of May,
sitting in meditation,
he saw the veil of doubt
and mystery disappear.
His soul was filled by a
radiance of realization.
By realizing the Truth,
He became the Supremely
Enlightened One in the
world – Sakyamuni, the
Gautama Buddha.
Immediately after
attaining the
Buddha-hood, Buddha
uttered; "Through
many a birth in samsara
have I wondered in vain,
seeking the builder of
this house (of life).
Repeated birth is indeed
suffering! O
house-builder you are
seen! You will not build
this house again. For
your rafters are broken
and your ridge pole
shattered. My mind has
reached the
unconditioned; I have
attained the destruction
of craving." (Dhammapada,
153-154)
The Four Noble Truths
and the Eightfold Path
The first sermon of the
Buddha expounding the
Noble Eightfold Path was
delivered in the hamlet
of Sarnath, and
thereafter gradually his
beneficent and
successful ministry
which lasted for
forty-five years was
established. Extended to
mankind as a whole, with
no thoughts of chosen or
selected people, it
proclaimed a salvation,
which each man could
gain for himself, by
himself, during this
life without any outside
assistance. There was no
distinction of caste in
the Order of monks the
Buddha established.
"As the great
streams, O disciples,
however many they may be
the Ganga, Yamuna,
Asiravati, Sarabhu, and
Mahi - when they reach
the great ocean lose
their old name and their
old descent, and bear
only one name – the
great ocean – so also
do Brahmans, Kshatriyas,
Vaisyas and Sudras lose
their distinctions when
they join the
Order."
The Dhamma the Buddha
preached was more than
mere good news to the
poor and the oppressed.
Within a very short
period of time, it
spread overriding
barriers of ethnicity
and physical terrain.
Reaching as far as the
Caspian Sea, over today’s
Middle Eastern regions
of Afghanistan, Iran
etc. In the North, it
spread over deserts
along oases of the
ancient Silk Route.
China, Korea and Japan
which came under its
benign influence to date
testify the cultural
enrichment inspired by
Buddhism.
The essence of Buddhism
is contained in the four
Noble Truths and the
Eightfold Path:
-
The noble truth that
life involves
suffering.
-
The noble truth that
suffering arises from
craving.
-
The noble truth that
suffering ceases with
the elimination of
craving.
-
The noble truth of the
path to cease
suffering.
The
Holy Eightfold Path, viz,
Right
Belief, Right
Aspiration, Right
Speech, Right Action,
Right Livelihood, Right
Effort, Right
Mindfulness, and Right
Concentration
respectively.
The
Panchaseela
Though
delivered to the world
more than two and a half
millennia ago, in the
message of Buddhism, the
world could find
comfort, refuge and
solace in the face of
today’s threats of
violence, conflicts,
suffering and the dismal
devastation of mankind.
The Buddha clearly
articulated that the
world could be free of
such hatred, animosity
and destruction through
an understanding of and
living up to the ideals
of the Dhamma. Thus all
Buddhist activities
begin with the voluntary
acceptance and the
pledge to keep and
fulfill the basic code
of panchaseela or
the five precepts. This
is because Buddhism
primarily concerns with
the regulation and the
revitalization of the
interpersonal
relationships within the
human community. They
embody some of the
fundamental human rights
which include the
respect for life and the
respect for property
among others.
The
five precepts which all
Buddhists should
observe;
-
Abstinence from
killing any living
being.
-
Abstinence from
stealing.
-
Abstinence from sexual
misconduct.
-
Abstinence from false
speech.
-
Abstinence from
consuming intoxicant
substances.
The
verses of the Dhammapada
also portray the
dynamism of the Buddhist
approach to social
problems, where answers
lie not in prayer and
supplication to forces
outside man but in the
total correction of
human attitudes and
approaches.
The
Supreme Homage to the
Buddha
Before
passing away into the
state of permanent bliss
at the age of 80, the
Buddha addressing Ven.
Ananda said, "Ananda,
whatever monk, nun, male
or female lay-follower,
dwells practicing the
Dhamma properly, and
perfectly fulfills the
Dhamma-way, he or she
honors the Thathagata,
reveres and esteems high
and pays him the supreme
homage."
(As
was stated on the 2547th
BUDDHA JAYANTI back in
May) On
this sacred and
significant day of the
Buddha Jayanti, let us
strive to pursue and
practice the Dhamma, -
declared as the dhamma
of all times and spread
love and compassion not
only to one another but
to the community as a
whole that includes all
living beings, the bird,
the beast and the entire
milieu.
May
all beings be well,
happy and peaceful.
The
Author is the wife of a
Sri Lankan Diplomat in
New Delhi
| Editors
Note:
This article was
sent to us back
in May, to
commemorate the
2547th BUDDHA
JAYANTI. Unfortunately,
our May edition
was totally
dedicated to
AFRICA. We
decided to carry
it in this
edition, albeit a little late.
We welcome
editorial
contributions
from the
Diplomatic
Community |
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