Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato
Samma-Sambuddhassa
On the fullmoon day of May, in the year
623 B.C., there was born in the district of Nepal an Indian Sakya Prince
named Siddhattha Gotama, who was destined to be the greatest religious
teacher in the world. Brought up in the lap of luxury, receiving an education
befitting a prince, he married and had a son.
His contemplative nature and boundless
compassion did not permit him to enjoy the fleeting material pleasures
of a Royal household. He knew no woe, but he felt a deep pity for sorrowing
humanity. Amidst comfort and prosperity, he realized the universality of
sorrow. The palace, with all its worldly amusements, was no longer a congenial
place for the compassionate prince. The time was ripe for him to depart.
Realizing the vanity of sensual enjoyments, in his twenty-ninth year, he
renounced all worldly pleasures and donning the simple yellow garb of an
ascetic, alone, penniless, wandered forth in search of Truth and Peace.
It was an unprecedented historic renunciation;
for he renounced not in his old age but in the prime of manhood, not in
poverty but in plenty. As it was the belief in the ancient days that no
deliverance could be gained unless one leads a life of strict asceticism,
he strenuously practiced all forms of severe austerities. "Adding vigil
after vigil, and penance after penance," he made a superhuman effort for
six long years.
His body was reduced to almost a skeleton.
The more he tormented his body, the farther his goal receded from him.
The painful, unsuccessful austerities which he strenuously practiced proved
absolutely futile. He was now fully convinced, through personal experience,
of the utter futility of self-mortification which weakened his body and
resulted in lassitude of spirit.
Benefiting by this invaluable experience
of his, he finally decided to follow an independent course, avoiding the
two extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. The former retards
one's spiritual progress, and the latter weakens one's intellect. The new
way which he himself discovered was the Middle Path, Majjhima Patipada,
which subsequently became one of the salient characteristics of his teaching.
One happy morning, while He was deeply
absorbed in meditation, unaided and unguided by any supernatural power
and solely relying on His efforts and wisdom, He eradicated all defilements,
purified Himself, and, realizing things as they truly are, attained Enlightenment
(Buddhahood) at the age of 35. He was not born a Buddha, [*] but He became
a Buddha by His own striving. As the perfect embodiment of all the virtues
He preached, endowed with deep wisdom commensurate with His boundless compassion.
He devoted the remainder of His precious life to serve humanity both by
example and precept, dominated by no personal motive whatever.
* [An Awakened or Enlightened One.]
After a very successful ministry of 45
long years the Buddha, as every other human being, succumbed to the inexorable
law of change, and finally passed away in His 80th year, exhorting His
disciples to regard His doctrine as their teacher.
The Buddha was a human being. As a man
He was born, as a man He lived, and as a man His life came to an end. Though
a human being, He became an extraordinary man (Acchariya Manussa),
but He never arrogated to Himself divinity. The Buddha laid stress on this
important point and left no room whatever for anyone to fall into the error
of thinking that He was an immortal divine being. Fortunately there is
no deification in the case of the Buddha. It should, however, be remarked
that there was no Teacher, "ever so godless as the Buddha, yet none so
god-like."
The Buddha is neither an incarnation of
the Hindu God Vishnu, as is believed by some, nor is He a savior who freely
saves others by His personal salvation. The Buddha exhorts His disciples
to depend on themselves for their deliverance, for both purity and defilement
depend on oneself. Clarifying His relationship with His followers and emphasizing
the importance of self-reliance and individual striving, the Buddha plainly
states: "You should exert yourselves, the Tathagatas [*] are only teachers."
* [Lit., Thus who hath come.]
The Buddhas point out the path, and it
is left for us to follow that path to obtain our purification.
"To depend on others for salvation is negative,
but to depend on oneself is positive." Dependence on others means a surrender
of one's effort.
In exhorting His disciples to be self-dependent
the Buddha says in the Parinibbana Sutta: "Be ye islands
unto yourselves, be ye a refuge unto yourselves, seek not for refuge in
others." These significant words are self-elevating. They reveal how vital
is self-exertion to accomplish one's object and, how superficial and futile
it is to seek redemption through benignant saviors and to crave for illusory
happiness in an after life through the propitiation of imaginary Gods or
by irresponsive prayers and meaningless sacrifices.
Furthermore, the Buddha does not claim
the monopoly of Buddhahood which, as a matter of fact, is not the prerogative
of any specially graced person. He reached the highest possible state of
perfection any person could aspire to, and without the close-fist of a
teacher he revealed the only straight path that leads thereto. According
to the Teaching of the Buddha anybody may aspire to that supreme state
of perfection if he makes the necessary exertion. The Buddha does not condemn
men by calling they wretched sinners, but, on the contrary, He gladdens
them by saying that they are pure in heart at conception. In His opinion
the world is not wicked but is deluded by ignorance. Instead of disheartening
His followers and reserving that exalted state only to Himself, He encourages
and induces them to emulate Him, for Buddhahood is latent in all. In one
sense all are potential Buddhas.
One who aspires to become a Buddha is called
a Bodhisatta, which, literally, means a wisdom-being. This Bodhisatta ideal
is the most beautiful and the most refined course of life that has ever
been presented to this ego-centric world, for what is nobler than a life
of service and purity?
As a Man He attained Buddhahood and proclaimed
to the world the latent inconceivable possibilities and the creative power
of man. Instead of placing an unseen Almighty God over man who arbitrarily
controls the destinies of mankind, and making him subservient to a supreme
power, He raised the worth of mankind. It was He who taught that man can
gain his deliverance and purification by his own exertion without depending
on an external God or mediating priests. It was he who taught the ego-centric
world the noble ideal of selfless service. It was He who revolted against
the degrading caste system and taught equality of mankind and gave equal
opportunities for all to distinguish themselves in every walk of life.
He declared that the gates of success and
prosperity were open to all in every condition of life, high or low, saint
or criminal, who would care to turn a new leaf and aspire to perfection.
Irrespective of caste, color or rank He
established for both deserving men and women a democratically constituted
celibate Order. He did not force His followers to be slaves either to His
Teachings or to Himself but granted complete freedom of thought.
He comforted the bereaved by His consoling
words. He ministered to the sick that were deserted. He helped the poor
that were neglected. He ennobled the lives of the deluded, purified the
corrupted lives of criminals. He encouraged the feeble, united the divided,
enlightened the ignorant, clarified the mystic, guided the benighted, elevated
the base, dignified the noble. Both rich and poor, saints and criminals
loved Him alike. Despotic and righteous kings, famous and obscure princes
and nobles, generous and stingy millionaires, haughty and humble scholars,
destitute paupers, down-trodden scavengers, wicked murderers, despised
courtesans -- all benefited by His words of wisdom and compassion.
His noble example was a source of inspiration
to all. His serene and peaceful countenance was a soothing sight to the
pious eyes. His message of Peace and Tolerance was welcomed by all with
indescribable joy and was of eternal benefit to every one who had the fortune
to hear and practice it.
Wherever His teachings penetrated it left
an indelible impression upon the character of the respective peoples. The
cultural advancement of all the Buddhist nations was mainly due to His
sublime Teachings. In fact all Buddhist countries like Ceylon, Burma, Thailand,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Nepal, Tibet, China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, etc.,
grew up in the cradle of Buddhism. Though more than 2500 years have elapsed
since the passing away of this greatest Teacher, yet his unique personality
exerts a great influence on all who come to know Him.
His iron will, profound wisdom, universal
love, boundless compassion, selfless service, historic renunciation, perfect
purity, magnetic personality, exemplary methods employed to propagate the
Teachings, and his final success -- all these factors have compelled about
one-fifth of the population of the world today to hail the Buddha as their
supreme Teacher.
Paying a glowing tribute to the Buddha
Sri Radhakrishnan states: "In Gautama the Buddha we have a master-mind
from the East second to none so far as the influence on the thought and
life of the human race is concerned, and, sacred to all as the founder
of a religious tradition whose hold is hardly less wide and deep than any
other. He belongs to the history of the world's thought, to the general
inheritance of all cultivated men, for, judged by intellectual integrity,
moral earnestness, and spiritual insight, He is undoubtedly one of the
greatest figures in history.
In The Three Greatest Men in History,
H.G. Wells writes: "In the Buddha you see clearly a man, simple, devout,
lonely, battling for light -- a vivid human personality, not a myth. He
too gave a message to mankind universal in character. Many of our best
modern ideas are in closest harmony with it. All the miseries and discontents
are due, he taught, to selfishness. Before a man can become serene he must
cease to live for his senses or himself. Then he merges into a great being.
Buddha in different language called men to self-forgetfulness 500 years
before Christ. In some ways he is nearer to us and our needs. He was more
lucid upon our individual importance and service than Christ and less ambiguous
upon the question of personal immortality."
St. Hilaire remarks "The perfect model
of all the virtues He preaches. His life has not a stain upon it."
Fausboll says -- "The more I know of Him,
the more I love Him."
A humble follower of his would say -- "The
more I know Him, the more I love Him; the more I love Him, the more I know
Him." .
..
The
Buddha I I The Dhamma: Is it a Philosophy?I
I Is it a Religion? I I
Is Buddhism an Ethical System? I I Some
Salient Features of Buddhism I I Kamma or the
Law of Moral Causation I I Re-Birth I I
Paticca
Samuppada (Dependent Origination) I I Anatta
or Soul-lessness I I Nibanna I I The
Path to Nibbana