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| Home » Other Hindu Gods and Goddesses » Buddha |
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Buddha |
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Buddha known as Gautama Buddha was the founder of the religion Buddhism. He taught the paths of peace and enlightenment to his followers. Gautama Buddha gained the enlightenment after he sat on meditation. The daily occurrences that happened around him made him think about the miseries that was suffered by mankind. He wanted to know the reasons for the misery suffered by mankind and for this reason he left behind his comfortable abode, wife and child.
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He traveled for many days and then finally settled under a banyan tree and meditated till he got enlightenment. It was prophesied when Buddha was born that he would become Buddha. Before becoming Buddha or attaining enlightenment, he was known as Siddhartha that means one who can achieve his aim. Siddhartha was born to King Suddhodana and Oueen Maha Maya. He led a life of extreme comfort as the prince of the kingdom Kapilavastu.
During his naming ceremony, it was prophesied by the sages about his becoming Buddha. Siddhartha was brought up by his aunt as his mother died after giving birth. The king kept Siddhartha away from all the miseries by banishing all poor, sick and other miseries from the kingdom. However that did not stop him from having a look at those sights. The sight of an ailing, poor and dead persons were merely chance viewings that made Siddhartha think in the terms of finding the reason for them. In order to stop him from becoming Buddha, the king had him married early to a princess and they had a child too. He was married off as King Suddhodana thought that with a family to call his own, he would not abandon them and become a hermit. He believed that Siddhartha would become a king and rule the kingdom and become a great king.
Siddhartha attained enlightenment or became Buddha after great penance. In the beginning he went through extreme measures like going without food for many days that led to starvation. But he realized the correct way to meditate and then started meditating till he got the answers to all his queries. Initially he trained under two great hermits but later realized that they were not able to show him the correct path. This path according to the believers of Buddhism is known as the Middle Path or the Middle Way. Siddhartha became Buddha sitting under a banyan tree in Bodh Gaya. The tree is known as the Bodhi Tree. After finding answers to all his queries, he came to be known as Buddha which means “Awakened One”. The first disciples of Buddha were two merchants who it is said to have been blessed with the hair of Buddha that is still enshrined.
Buddha taught his disciples like the Noble Truths that are about the sufferings faced by the common people. The other teachings of Buddha are Eightfold Path which shows the way life should be lived. Following these paths according to the teachings will enable you to lead a very peaceful life as it teaches you to fight through all the miseries and difficulties of life. |
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