ENLIGHTENMENT-BUDDHAHOOD - The life of the Buddha

ENLIGHTENMENT-BUDDHAHOOD 

In the evening after Sujata's lovely meal he went to Gaya and looked for a suitable place to sit down and meditate. He sat under a tree called the Bodhi tree with his face to the East and made an earnest wish with very strong determination that "Though my skin my nerves and my bones, shall waste away and my life blood dry I will not leave this seat until I have attained the highest wisdom called supreme Enlightenment that leads to Everlasting Happiness"

      So he practised the concentration (deep thinking) of breathing in and breathing out on this Wesak Full Moon eve. During this period of concentration on the breathing in and breathing out many evil thoughts began to come to his mind - desire for worldly things. dislike for a holy pure and good life, hunger and thirst, feeling of great thirst and hunger; craving- the intense desire or liking, longing for all things, laziness and idleness; fear of things like devils, evil spirits, doubt, stupidity, stubbornness, wish to have everything for oneself; wish to be praised and honoured and to do things for fame; thinking very highly about oneself and looking down upon others. These thoughts began to disturb his concentration; but he was more firm than ever. He became more calm and brave and continued his concentration. At last he destroyed all these thoughts during the earlier part of the night and got the power of seeing his own past lives. 

 

 In the second part of the night he got the power of seeing the death of living beings and their rebirth and in the third part of the night-in the following morning-he got the power of understanding the cause of all evil and how to get rid of them. Thus he became the wisest person in the world who could answer all the questions that everybody put to him. All the answers to the questions lodged in his mind for so many years were then found. He knew how to end sorrow, unhappiness, suffering, old age and death. He also found out the real peace. Happiness and freedom. He knew everything more than man could ever know and he became perfect. 

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TORTURING THE BODY / The life of the Buddha tutorial 5

Torturing the Body

After leaving Uddaka, Ascetic Gotama and his five friends wandered from place to place as before. He practised fasting which was thought to be one of the best ways to acquire wisdom. He, too, at the beginning took little food. Later on he only ate one meal a day for months. Then he took food once in two or three days. He was eating roots of plants, leaves and juice of various leaves and fruits. Because of the lack of proper food his body became so thin that his legs became like bamboo sticks, his backbone was like a rope, his rib-bones in the chest were like an uncompleted roof of a house, his eyes sank right inside, like a stone in a deep well. His skin was so dry and wrinkled that hairs were missing. In fact he looked like a living skeleton - all bones without any flesh! He suf- fered terrible pain and hunger and he thought that the only way to happiness was to be most unhappy now. He continued to meditate but still he did not know anything new. 

Another way of torturing his body and mind was holding his breath for a long time until he felt terrible pains in the ears, head and the whole body. Then he began to be alone or practised lone- liness. During the Full Moon and New Moon nights he went out to the forests, cemetery and other lonely places to meditate. He became frightened at first in these places, He stayed behind bravely in these dreadful places meditating all the time. 

He used to wear rags or torn dirty clothes from grave-yards and rubbish heaps during this period. In the hot summer he stayed Indoors at night and in the burning sun in the day time. In the cold winter at midnight he used to dip himself in the icy cold water and Stay for a long time. This was to torture his body and mind even more and suffer even more than ever. 

For six long years he did all these practices and in spite of e great pain and suffering he did not find out anything. He finally thought that this was not the way to find out wisdom. One day he fainted in a place called Uruvela. Then a goat boy came and gave him some milk and that made him better. Soon he began to take more milk and food and built up his body. When the five friends saw that he was not fasting anymore, they felt disapointed and left him alone.

SUJATA, GAVE HIM MILK-RICE 

In a village called Senani there lived a young, very beautiful and rich girl who wanted to marry and have a son. She waited for many years and she was not successful. The people told her that she must go to a Banyan tree near Neranjana river and ask the tree-god to give her a husband and a lovely son. People at that time believed and prayed to trees and images for help. She did as told by the people. Later on she got married to a young man and they had a lovely son. She was extremely happy and decided to fulfil her vow to that tree-god for giving her all that she had asked for. So on the day she wanted to fulfil the vow she sent her servant to the tree to clean the foot of the Banyan tree. 

This young and beautiful lady's name was Sujata. She had a thousand cows and she fed them with sweet creepers called Valmee so that the cow's milk was sweet. Then she milked the thousand cows and fed that-milk to five hundred cows and their milk to two hundred and fifty cows and so on until she fed only eight cows. She did this to get the sweetest and most nourishing milk to make the delicious milk-rice for the tree-god. She then cooked the rice in this milk. Suddenly she was surprised to see her servant running and coming to her very happy and excited and said:

 "O! my lady Sujata, the Banyan tree-god himself has come down from the tree for your food. He is seated under the tree medi- tating. How lucky you must be to have the god in person to accept your food."

Sujata too was very happy and excited. She danced with joy with the servant. They then took even more pains to prepare the milk-rice. 

Taking with them the delicious milk-rice both of them went towards the Banyan tree. Sujata was so surprised and excited to See her tree-god himself- who was so handsome-looking so se- sitting and meditating. She did not know that he was in fact Ascetic Gotama. While she was putting the delicious milk-rice in Is bowl she said. "May you be successful in obtaining your wishes I have been."

Ascetic Gotama ate the food and then with the empty bowl in his hand, crossed the river Neranjana on the way to Gaya.

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AN OlD BEGGAR / The life of the Buddha/ Tutorial 4

AN OLD BEGGAR

After what he had done for the Prince the King was satisfied that his son would follow his footsteps and become a king later. He ordered a high wall to be built round the Palace including the park But the Prince was not happy in this palace living like a prisoner. One day he told his father. "Father I must go out of the palace gate and see how other people live."

"Very well, my son." said the king, "you shall go outside the palace wall to see how people live in my city. But first I must prepare things, so that all would be good and proper for my noble son's visit."

When the people had decorated the city the king said "Now you can go, my dear son, and see the city as you please."

As the young Prince was going through the streets, all of a sudden, froma small old hut beside the road, out came an old man with long silver grey hair, wearing very old torn, dirty rags. The skin of his face was all dried up and wrinkled. His sunken eyes were dim and he was almost blind. There was no teeth in his mouth, He stood up trembling all over almost bent double holding a stick, and he did this with two skinny hands to save himself from falling. The old beggar dragged himself along the street paying no attention to all the gay people around him. He waS speaking very feebly, begging people around him to give him food as he would die the very day if he had nothing to eat. The Prince saw the old man. He did not know what he was looking at as that was the first time in his life that he saw an old man of this type.

"What is that, Channa?" he asked his driver. "That really cannot be a man! Why is he all bent? What is he trembling for ? Why is his hair silver grey, not black like mine ? What is wrong with his eyes ? Where are his teeth ? Is this how some men are born? Tell me, O, good Channa, what does this mean?"

Channa told the Prince, that it was an oid man but he was not born like that, "When young he was like us and now due to his old age he has become like this." He told the Prince to forget this man. But the prince was not satisfied.

"Everyone in the world, if he lives long enough becomes like this man. It cannot be stopped." said Channa.

The Prince ordered him to drive back home at once as was very sad, and wanted to think carefully about that terible thing called old age; as, a prince and others must one day grow old. weak and sad and none could stop old age. Although one is rich, great and powerful.

That night there was a grand Royal treat for the prince He was not interested or happy at all during the dinner and dance. He was thinking all the time. "Some day you will all grow old, everyone of you, even the prettiest."

He could not sleep when the time came. He was in bed thinking that one day, everyone would grow old, grey, wrinkled, toothless and ugly like that old beggar. He wanted to know if anyone had found a way to stop this horrible thing - old age.

The king, when he heard this story, was very sad and worried and was thinking whether this would make his son leave the palace. So he told his attendants to put on more dances and dinners. But the prince begged his father to allow him to see Kapilavatthu on an ordinary day without the people being told of his visit.

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The life of the Buddha / Tutorial 3

PRINCE SIDDHARTHA'S KINDNESS

Prince Soddhartha was very kind to people, animals and other living things. As a very brave horseman he won many prizes in the country. Although he did not have to suffer any hardships and difficulties as he had everything, he always thought of the poor He felt sorry for them and wanted to make them happy too, as be always was. people and living things who were working hard to make him happy.
       

          One day he was walking in the woods with his cousin Devadatta who had his bow and arrows with him. 

Suddenly Devadatta saw a swan flying and shot at it. His arrow brought the swan down. Both the boys ran to get the swan. As Siddhartha could run faster than Devadatta, he reached the bird first and found, to his surprise, that the swan was still alive. So he gently pulled out the arrow from the wing. He then got a little juice from cool leaves, put it on the wound of the bird to stop the bleeding and with his soft hand, stroked the swan which was very frightened. When Devadatta came to claim the swan, naturally Prince Siddhartha refused to give it to him. Devadatta was very angry to see is cousin keeping the swan away from him. "Give me my bird, I shot it down," said Devadatta. 

"No. I am not going to give it to you. If you had killed Il, would have been yours. But now since it is only wounded and alive it belongs to me because I saved its life," said Siddhartha. 
Devadatta still did not agree, Then Siddhartha suggested, "Let us go to the court of wisemen and ask them who really owns the swan." 
Devadatta agreed and then both of them went to the court of wisemen to tell them about their quarrel. The wisemen said, "A life certainly must belong to him who tries to save it, a life cannot belong to one who is only trying to destroy it. The wounded swan by right belongs to Siddhartha."

PRINCE SIDDHARTHA’S WEDDING 

Prince Siddhartha finished his studies very soon. He bad the best teachers to learn from; the best friends to play with; the best house to live in; the best clothes to wear and the best food eat His father had built him three palaces one for each season. one for winter, one for summer and one for the rainy season. He had also built for him extensive parks and hunting grounds with ponds with water-lilies, swans and beautiful fish in them.

         Asita and Kondanna who came to the palace had warned the king. "when your son sees a sick man, an old man, a dead body or a monk he will want to leave your palace and become a monk himself. 

The king was worried that his son would see them and leave the palace. Therefore he gave him many young servants and did not allow any sick man or old man to go into the palace. The king did not even let anybody talk about sickness, old age, death and monks. But Prince Siddhartha was very thoughtful and was asking people many questions. He really wanted to know the meaning of life.
       One day the king asked some wise people, "What shall I do to make my son happy ? He seems to be thinking always." They said: "Now your son is sixteen years old. Shall we get a beautiful girl for him to marry ?"

        The King agreed and sent for all the beautiful girls in the country to come to the palace. When all of them came the King asked the prince to choose one to be his wife.

        Among them there was a most charming and kind girl by the name of Yasodhara. When Prince Siddhartha gave her a present more valuable than what he had given to the other maidens, the King saw that the Prince had chosen his love. The King happily accepted Yasodhara and allowed his son to marry her. 

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The life of the Buddha / Tutorial 2

THE NAMING CEREMONY

The King Suddhodana had an old teacher. As the teacher Who  was very wise, he was known as a Sage. His real name was Kala Devala but people usually call him Asita the Sage. Asita lived in the jungle. He had heard that the King then had a son; he was very happy because this was the first time a child was born to the King. 

          The next day, he went to see the King's son. The King was very happy to see his wise old teacher again. In the palace, ate the Sage was seated, the King brought the Prince before the Sr and said "Teacher, my son was born only yesterday. Here he i Please see if his future will be good."

      As the King said this, he lowered the infant Prince before the Sage so that he might examine him properly. However, the baby turned his feet on to the Sage's head. Thus surprised, Asita took hold of the baby's feet and examined them very carefully. He saw some marks on the Prince's feet. Then he got up and said, "This Prince will become a very great Teacher in this world." The Sage was very pleased and putting his palms together, paid due respect to the baby Prince. The King seeing this, also did the same. This was the first salutation of the King.

 Everyone was happy and pleased to know of the Sage's pre- diction.  

      On the fifth day, the King invited five wise men to witness the Naming Ceremony and to suggest a good name for the Prince. The wise men examined the birth marks of the Prince and concluded that "The Prince will be a King of kings if he wants to rule. It he chooses a religious life then he will become the Wisest - the Buddha." 

The youngest of the five wise men called Kondanna said "This Prince will be the Buddha and nothing else." Then the wise men gave him the name SIDDHARTHA mean ing "wish-fulfilled"

His education

On the seventh day, Prince Siddhartha's mother died. The king had another queen called Prajapati Gotami. She was the younger sister of Queen Maha Maya. She had given birth to a s on the same day that Queen Maha Maya died. Then Prajapa Gotami gave her own son to a nurse and brought up Prince Siddharta as her own son. She loved him very much. Prince Siddhartha could not remember his own mother. 

    When Prince Siddhartha was only a few years old King Suddhodana sent him to school. There were many children in his class. All of them were from noble families. His teacher was called Sarva Mitra. He learnt languages. reading, writing, mathematics, history  geography, science and many games like boxing, archery, wrestling and many others. 

He learnt all these subjects faster than any other pupil in his class. He was the cleverest in the class, the best in games and the best in everything. He gained distinction in every subject and became cleverer than his teachers. He was the wisest and the only one who asked many questions from his teachers and elders. He was the strongest, the tallest and the most handsome boy in the class. He was never lazy, never misbehaved and never disobedient to the teachers. He loved everybody and everybody loved him. He was a friend of all: kind even to animals and never harmed them.

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The life of the Buddha 1

KING SUDDHODANA AND QUEEN MAHA MAYA

Long ago, there was a king called Suddhodana. He married a beautiful Koliyan princess named Maha Maya. The coupte ruled over the Sakyas, a warrior tribe living next to the Koliya tribe, in the th of India. The capital of the Sakya country was Kapilavatthu. Since King Suddhodana was a very good king and Queen Maha Maya was equally good, everyone in the kingdom loved them. But they did not have children and they were longing for a son for a long time. One full moon night, in the palace, the Queen had a dream. She felt herself being carried away by four DEVAS (angels) to Lake Anotatta in the Himalayas. After bathing her in the Lake. The DEVAS clothed her in Heavenly clothes. Soon after a white elephant, hold- ing a white lotus flower in its trunk, appeared and went round her three times. Finally the elephant disappeared. She woke up. She found it was all a dream. The next day, early in the morning, the Queen told the King about the dream. The King was puzzled and so he sent for some wise men and asked them the meaning of the dream. The wise men said "Your Majesty, you are very lucky, the DEVAS have chosen our Queen as the mother of the Purest-One and the child will become a very great being." The King and Queen were very happy when they heard this. tywere so pleased that they invited many of the noble- men in the country to the palace to a feast and to tell them the good news. Even the needy were not forgotten. Food and clothes were given to the poor people

THE BIRTH IN LUMBINI PARK 

About ten months after the dream, the Queen was expecting koc child and so she went to the King and said "My dear, I have to go back to my parents. My baby is about due now." Since it was Custom in India, for a wife to have her baby in her father's house, the King agreed, saying "Very well, I will make the necessary ar- rangements for you to go." The King then sent soldiers ahead to clear the road and some were retained to guard the Queen as she was carried in a deco- rated palanquin. The Queen left Kapilavatthu in a long procession of soldiers and retainers, for the capital of her father's kingdom. way to the Koliya country, they passed a garden On called Lumbini Park. This garden was near the kingdom called Nepal, at the foot of the Himalayan mountains. At that time, the park was full of sweet scented flowers growing on the Sala trees and thousands of birds, bees and other insects had flocked to the trees. The beautiful park with its trees and scented flowers and busy birds and bees attracted the Queen. Since the park was a good resting place, the Queen ordered the bearers to stop there for a while. However, as she rested underneath one of the Sala trees, her baby boy was born. It was an auspicious day. The birth took pleace on a VESAK full moon day, in the year 623 B.C. According to the legends about this Birth, the baby began to walk seven steps forward and at each step, a lotus flower appeared on the ground where his foot should have been. Another legend tells us that the baby said: 

"I am the chief in the world, There is no equal to me I am supreme This is my last birth No Rebirth for me." 

Aggo Hamsmi Lokassa 

Jettho Hamasmi Lokassa 
Settho Hamasmi Lokassa
Aya mantima jati Natthi dani punabhavo

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Pray For Australia, Raging Bushfires In Australia Are Now Making Hillside

Huge wildfire in Australia  has resulted  in deaths  of more than  480 milion animals.Hundred of rare koalas are also reported dead among them .

End of era😔

One after another.✋

Lets pray for Australia 🙏

Source:University of  sydney report

I've been so engulfed in my work and personal projects the last few weeks, not watching television or even listening to the radio to be updated on the n,ews of what has been happening around Australia. 

Today I discovered the full devastating impact and the extreme scale of our Australian bush fires. I feel so sad for all the people affected and for all the animals involved. I could not believe the headline of this news I discovered this morning...HALF A BILLION ANIMALS PERISH IN BUSH FIRES...😢 

1. The NSW Liberal government's transport minister has this morning said that bushfire victims, "gave (the PM) the welcome that he probably deserved" when he was heckled and abused by angry residents in Cobargo.
2. As a mass scale of evacuation takes place across the south-east coast of Australia today – among the largest ever emergency movements of people in Australia – Scott Morrison being told to "piss off", "you're not welcome here" is leading news bulletins around the world.

Really sorry for the loss of those innocence animals life,it should have been in the human place.then various new inventions,technology would have come front from the world but it's a case of an animals.

Don't judge me wrong,it's 21st century where creating a single pressed destructive nuclear weapons and ammunitions are  much more necessary and focused than the ongoing global warming and the pollution,

What if a elite nation brings a technology that can challenge to stop the destruction of mother nature that can happen in future. But no it's not. 

All they got is,it's mother nature,we can't control over it. 

And most importantly, the humanity,there's little bit of it left and it's also about to end. 

And the end of humans,it's too. 

I may look biased or whatever,it's the truth.humans invented but the fact is we humans,we're the destroyer

Let's hope this ends soon.

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