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the 2500 years ago, there lived a Kshantriya
King named Suddhodana who ruled over the little
Kingdom of Kapilavastu on the India-Nepal
border. He had a son named Siddharth who later
came to be known as the Buddha and is regarded
as one of the greatest luminaries of the world.
The child, Guatama, was very sweet and charming
as well as extremely intelligent. He lived
in a big palace in the midst of beautiful
gardens. There was nothing he wished that
he did not get. As he grew up, he was taught
reading, writing, music, riding, swimming
& hunting. He knew well how to use the
sword and pull the bow. He trained himself
in everything a prince ought to know.
Deep inside his heart, however, Gautama longed
for solitude. He was a dreamer by temperament.
Often he left his associates in the midst
of sport and wandered away to seclusion, absorbed
in deep thought.
At midnight, when everyone in the palace was
in deep slumber, he rose from his couch and
called his charioteer to fit out his favorite
horse, Kanthaka. He had a last, lingering
glimpse of his beloved wife, Princess Yashodhara,
who was fast asleep, with baby Rahul next
to her. He softly walked out, mounted his
horse and rode away. This was the Great Renunciation.
He rode towards a forest all night long and
the next morning he reached a place far, far
away from his father's Kingdom. He dismounted
from his horse, cast off his princely attire,
cut off his hair, wore a yellow robe and marched
alone in search of the secret of happiness.
He began the life of a wandering ascetic.
He met some of the most famous religious teachers
of the time and learned something from them,
but he was still not satisfied. He walked
on and on and reached the forest of Uruvela
near Gaya in Bihar. Here, he practiced rigorous
penance for six long years. He observed severe
fasts and inflicted severe pain on his body.
In the process, he was reduced to a skeleton.
He, however, did not gain the Truth he was
seeking. He found that self-torture was not
the right way. He took food again. He now
began to meditate deeply under a Banyan Tree
near Gaya. At last one day he suddenly attained
surpreme knowledge. thereafter, he came to
be known as the Buddha or the Enlightened
One. |
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