The historical biography of Siddharta Gautama is mired with legend and religious influence. Who is Siddharta Gautama? Siddharta Gautama is Buddha. And that is the primary problem; most believe that Buddha is a person, when in fact it is a personal state of religious enlightenment. I hope to correct this major misconception for the reader, with a more accurate account of the life of Siddharta Gautama and in the process explain why the transformation from a normal man in turn became a God. Reliable factual data on the life of Siddhartha Gautama is very scarce. As is common with the founder of a religion, all sorts of legends have grown up around the Siddhartha Gautama’s birth and life story. The true accounts were merged with legendary …show more content…
The possible dates of birth range from 624 to 490 BCE. To narrow or avoid conntinue confusion over Buddha, I will refer to his real name, Siddhartha Gautama, and not his title. Buddhist uses the term Bodhisattva (someone who is on the way to obtaining enlightenment) to refer to Siddhartha before he attained enlightenment, and the word Buddha is used to refer to Siddhartha from the time of his enlightenment. However, according to Buddhist belief anyone can obtain enlightenment and therefore become Buddha. Siddartha Gautama was born in a village called Lumbini, near the modern border between India and Nepal. His father was named Shuddhodana and his mother, Maya. Despite the fact that Suddhodana Gautama is often described as a king (Rajah), it is believed that his status was actually that of a regional leader, similar to a tribe’s chief. The term Rajah has multiple meanings from King to Prince; Chief and dignitary which can cause confusion to westerns on this particular title. The Gautama family did lead a privilege life style regardless of the father’s role; this is agreed by both researchers and followers of Buddha faith. I mention this to demonstrate the constant drifting from fact on Suddartha Gautama. And yet it does have a bases in fact. Siddhartha’s life can be divided into two different stages: the time before his enlightenment and the time after that moment. He married at an early age of
Siddhartha was raised in a life of luxury being raised as a prince since birth, he was one of the few people of his time who were able to receive an education consisting of the sciences, mathematics, art, and eventually at the behest of his father sports and archery. It has been written by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso in Introduction to Buddhism that “He mastered all the traditional arts and sciences without needing any instruction. He knew sixty-four different languages, each with their own alphabet…” (Gyatso 4) he was seen as a genius and wise beyond his years once telling his father that he could “…count all the atoms in the world in the time it takes to draw a single breath.” (Gyatso 5) Siddhartha’s father, Śuddhodana, took great effort in blocking religion from Siddhartha
Buddha was born around 563 B.C. in what is now Nepal. His full name was Siddhartha Gautama of the Sakyas. He was the son of a king, and married a princess of a neighboring kingdom. Together they had a son named Rahula. Even with all these luxuries, around the age of twenty Buddha found discontentment in his life. Siddhartha was protected from all realities of life, such as poverty, disease, and old age. Around age twenty-nine he left the palace in the middle of the night, leaving all his jewels and luxuries behind. For about six years he spent time with ascetics attempting to find purpose in mastering the yogas. At a place known as Bodh Gaya,
We don’t know details about the life of Siddhartha “Buddha” as nothing was written down by him or his disciples until hundreds of years after his death. However, the legends that were passed down paint a very humble and intriguing picture of the man known as Buddha. The story states that Buddha was born into a very lavish lifestyle; he was given anything and everything he could ever want and kept very sheltered in order to protect him from the realities of the world around him. Eventually becoming curious of the surrounding world he escaped the royal walls and seen what the world
According to ancient tales the Siddhartha Gautama also known as the Buddha, was born in southern Nepal one of the world’s holiest places (Gene). The Buddha, born son of the warrior caste parents was predicted by wise men that “the child would be a successful as either a universal monarch or a great ascetic” (RoAT 172). As son of wealthy parents he was not aware about the world around him, he spent most of his life inside the palace walls. He was married at sixteen, to Yosodhara, she conceived a child named Rahula (Prebish 52). Siddhartha’s mother died when he was an infant and his father pleased him with royal pleasures. Including royalties such as power to rule, and arrange marriage. One day Siddhartha traveled outside his palace with his chariot driver. He saw a different perspective of life, after witnessing a sick man and old man, a dead man, and a shramana. Legends account that within days left the palace, leaving his wife and new
It is thought by many that the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was born having this title and did not have to endure any hardships throughout his life. Despite these thoughts, Siddhartha Gautama was not born the Buddha, but had to find his own way to achieve enlightenment and become the Buddha. Before and after Siddhartha's birth, Siddhartha's mother and father knew that their son was special and had two paths in life that could lead Siddhartha into being a great king or a Buddha, a remover in the world of the veil of ignorance. In an attempt to steer Siddhartha's life to the path of the great king, his father, King Suddhodana Gautama, used health and beauty
Siddhartha Gautama was a prince from a small Indian state who was born into riches and security but switched his ways of life upon encountering sickness and death. After leaving his family behind, he realized the meaning of life and began his quest of reaching enlightenment.
Siddhartha was a Brahmin’s son, of the upper class in India. He is loved throughout his community. He is revered by all that knows him. He spends his day in meditation and thought.
Gautama is the founder of the religion Buddhism that originated in India. A Buddhist, follower of Buddhism, spends their whole life trying to escape samsara and reach nirvana. The journey to nirvana for a Buddhist can only be achieved by them self. The book Siddhartha is about a boy that goes on a journey to become enlightened. The boy, Siddhartha, has to overcome a lot before he settles back at the river he once crossed and finds nirvana.
Siddharta Gautama was twenty-nine years old when he abandoned his family to search for a means to bring to an end his and other’s suffering after studying meditation for many years. At age thirty-five, Siddharta Gautama sat down under the shade of a fig tree to meditate and he determined to meditate until he reached enlightenment. After seven weeks he received the Great Enlightenment which he referred to as the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path. Henceforth he became known as the Buddha.
Siddhartha Gautama was born as the royal prince at Lumini (a place in Nepal now) in 6th century B.C.E. His father was the king of a clan named Shakyas named Shuddhodana Gautama, and his mother was queen Mayadevi ("The Birth of Buddha - Kadampa Buddhism."). One day, Queen Mayadevi went out to share food and clothes for the poverty people. After returning to the palace, the Queen had the dream that the white elephant descended from heaven and entered into her womb. After that, the Queen got pregnant. When she was giving birth of the child, she did not experience the pain. It was a miracle birth. The Hindu gods and godless came and blessed the child, and they took him from the side of the queen (“About Buddha.”). The baby stood up right after the delivery and he walked seven steps into four directions. He had the birthmark of a wheel or chakra at the bottom of his feet. Queen May died seven days after of Siddhartha’ birth. After that, Siddhartha was taken care by his mother’s sister. As the practice of all near East civilization, the king invited the fortuneteller- Brahmin to the palace to predict the future of the
When young Siddhartha was a couple of days old, a sacred man forecasted the Prince would be either a military hero or an extraordinary otherworldly educator. Chief Shuddhodana favored the first result and began training his son accordingly. While Buddha was raised in extravagance, Chief sheltered him from learning religion or seeing human suffering. Young Buddha grew up carrying on with the extreme existence of a youthful sovereign. As indicated by custom, he wedded at the youthful age of sixteen to a young lady named Yasodhara. His father had requested that he carry on with an existence of aggregate segregation, however one day Siddhartha wandered out into the world and was gone up against with the truth of the unavoidable enduring of life. The following day, at the age of 29, he exited his kingdom and
Siddhartha Gautama was born between 563 and 480 BCE as the prince of Lumbini (in what is now Nepal). His mother died in either in childbirth or shortly thereafter and and his father was left to raise him. During his birth celebrations, it was predicted that Siddhartha would either become a great king or a great spiritual leader. His father wanted him to take over the throne, so he avoided religious teachings and sheltered him from suffering. Siddhartha, unsatisfied with with the life he was leading and yearning to learn about the world, he left his home at twenty-nine to seek the true meaning of life. On his travels he saw an old man, a diseased man,
Buddhism’s founder was a man named Siddhartha Gautama, meaning “one who realized his goal.” Buddhists believe that when Siddhartha’s mother, Maha, was conceived she had a dream involving a white elephant carrying a lotus flower. She interpreted the dream to mean that her son would grow up to become a great spiritual leader. Just a week after Siddhartha was born, his mother died. Upon her death, he lived with his wealthy aunt and his father on a large estate. As Siddhartha grew up, his father kept him away from all suffering and anguish of the world. Unlike many of his peers, he was well educated and free from the world’s sorrows.
Legend says the Buddha was originally born Siddhartha Gautama and his father was a prince of the Shakya tribe. The legend is that he was conceived after his mother’s “miraculous” encounter with a white elephant and his mother passed on a week after his birth. His father took great measures to prepare Siddhartha to succeed him. Raised in a life of luxury and affluence, things changed when he visited a nearby town and saw suffering first hand. According to the legend, Siddhartha at the age of 29 after a moment of realization decided to leave home (The Great Going Forth). He left the luxury of home taking nothing with him and set forth into the world to seek
Siddhartha Gautama also known as Buddha (Enlightened One) was born in Nepal in the 6th century B.C. Buddha father was the king who ruled a tribe that was known to be economically poor. Buddha’s mother had died a shortly after giving birth to him, which caused his father to be very protective over him. Buddha father wanted to protect his son from misery and pain of the world, so he was raised in palace built just for him. Buddha was in his late 20s when he first experienced the world outside the palace. In which, caused him to realize that there is a lot of pain and suffering in humanity. Buddha came to this realization that suffering lays at the end of all existence, this occurred when he encountered an old man, an ill man, a corpse and an ascetic. Shortly after Buddha renounced his princely