THE STORY OF THE BUDDHA Siddhartha Gautama was born of a queen named Mahamaya and a king named Suddhodana who lived in the city of Kapilavastu (India) in the sixth century B.C. By all accounts, the young Siddhartha was brilliant and perceptive. He excelled in his studies, and was a fine athlete. His father made sure Siddhartha lived a sheltered and comfortable life in the hideaway courtyards of the Royal palace where he would want for nothing and experience no suffering. He was given very little responsibility and was kept from knowing the existence of suffering, sickness, and even death (so the story goes :) ). Siddhartha was married to his cousin Yashodhara at age 16. It was an arranged marriage and was said to be a happy one. He spent most of his twenties in the confines of the palace walls, not even venturing into the city (Kapilavastu) where their palace resided (mainly by his fathers efforts). Although his life in the palace tended to his every basic need, Siddhartha felt that he was missing something. He knew little of the outside world, let alone the city from which his family ruled. He loved his wife and family dearly but felt discontent; that his life was passing before him, and nothing was being gained. One day he persuaded his father to let him go to the city outside of the palace walls. With his trusted servant Channa he set out with an entourage of chariots to see what their city was like. Unbeknownst to Siddhartha his father had arranged that only the most healthy and youthful citizens were there to cheer him, and that no sickly or elderly were to be seen lest Siddhartha percieve and experience suffering. As fortune would have it for Siddhartha a few elderly were visible and he went to them and asked Channa to explain their conditon. As Channa explained, one question led to another, and Siddhartha subsequently asked Channa to show him Sickness, and death. After being shown a man in great suffering from the black plague of the groin, and the funeral cremation ceremonies by a nearby river, Siddhartha's fortunate lesson had turned to tears of grief. He was overcome with sadness as he had never known suffering before. He vowed he would find the cause and solution to suffering, and that would be his task in life. After watching over his sleeping wife and son for some time, he secretly left his fathers court. At the edge of the city he cut his long black hair, and exchanged clothes with a beggar. Siddhartha was 29. He set out to find a teacher and settled to learn from a Brahmin ascetic named Uddaka. After learning how to meditate correctly by watching ones breath and mind, and practicing denial of food (fasting) and going without, he moved on to another guru (Alara), but he generally found that Brahmanical ways were not for him - that he must find his own path. He practiced with five ascetics who pursued awareness by exercising extreme fasting and self denial to enhance control of the senses and become aware of the true spiritual nature of being in human form. Living outdoors for 6 years on very sparse amounts of food (seeds and herbs), and meditating for long sittings Siddartha had almost completely physically withered away. One day a young girl had found him unconscious near a tree, and gave him some proper food and water. He ate, and with his returning strength came greater clarity of mind. He had realized that the secret of enlightenment lie in the middle way - the line between all opposite extremes. He went southward and near Gaya he found a tree (now called the Bodhi Tree) and sat beneath it and vowed 'Were my skin to dry up, my hands to wither, and my bones to dissolve, until I have attained to supreme and absolute knowledge I shall not stir from this seat.'. According to Buddhist tradition on a full-moon day in the year 525 b.c., Siddhartha reached enlightenment (Bodhi) and became The Buddha saying to his ego 'Architect, you will not rebuild your house here, you are but pure illusion. You do not exist. The Earth is my witness'. Comments Welcome :)