Philosophy 387
Buddhist Philosophy

The Life of the Buddha, Part I

Part I

The Names of the Buddha

Birth and Youth

The Maturity of the Prince

Part II
The Intellectual Milieu
The Six Teachers
The Wandering Ascetic

Part III
Attainment of Enlightenment
First Sermon

Part IV
The Buddhist Order
Return to Kapilavastu
Parinirvana of Lord Buddha

White Elephant in a Dream Touching Queen Maya at the Conception of the Buddha
Bharhut. Sunga Perion. Calcutta, Indian Museum

Birth of Lord Buddha from the Side of Queen Maya
Gandharan Style. Museum für Indische Kunst, Berlin.

The Buddha Teaching the Law.
From Dunhuang. British Museum, London.

The Names of the Buddha

Accounts of the life of the Buddha, meaning "the enlightened one," contain historical and legendary materials, which are difficult to distinguish clearly. He was named at birth Siddhartha, meaning "he who will succeed," belonged to the Gautama clan, and was called Shakyamuni, "sage of the Shakya people."

Birth and Youth of the Siddhartha (563-547)

According to traditional accounts, Siddhartha was born in 563BC. His father was Shuddhodana, a leader of the Shakya peoples, who ruled from Kapilavastu, near the border between India and Nepal. At his conception, his mother, Maya, dreamt that a great white king elephant touched her with a lotus blossom. As the time of his birth neared, she set out for her native village of Devadaha, but when she reached a grove at Lumbini, she gave birth, Siddhartha appearing from her side. She died only seven days after his birth. The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (r. 273-36] erected a pillar to mark the place, which was rediscovered in 1898. The circumstances of his conception and manner of his birth made it evident that he was no ordinary child. This was confirmed when a sage named Asita came down from the Himalayas to see the child, and, after inspecting his features, declared that he would either be a world conqueror or become the enlightened one (Buddha).

To those who are lost in the desert tracks of Samsara, he shall proclaim a way which shall lead to liberations;…creatures scorched by the fire go greed fueled by sense objects, he will refresh with the rain of the Law (dharma).

Lamenting that he would not live to hear his teachings, he directed his disciple Nalaka to follow the new teacher.

The King, naturally pleased that his son might become a world-conqueror and equally alarmed at the prospect he might become a religious teacher, resolved that his son would know only the pleasures of the princely life and never encounter anything which might tempt him toward religion. Prince Siddhartha accordingly grew up amid the luxury and pleasures of the palace, became adept at archery, and excelled in other princely accomplishments. A princely education included the Vedas, together with phonetics, ritual, grammar, etymology, metrics, and astronomy, which made it possible to better understand their meaning. Yet even though kept away from the sorrows of the world, the boy evinced an unusual sensitivity that presaged his future. Once when his father was performing a ritual plowing ceremony, the boy, effortlessly and without any training, became absorbed in a deep meditative concentration, which would later be called the First Meditation (dhyana). On another occasion, he observed birds pulling worms from the earth, and reflected on how every living thing harms other things as a consequence merely of living.

Marriage, Awakening, and the Great Renunciation (547-533)

Despite these awakenings of his meditative nature, at 16 he married Yasodhara and continues to live a life of ease and luxury, having three palaces—one for the hot season, one for the cold, and one for the rainy season. Later he is said to have recalled:

I was delicate, excessively delicate. In my father's house were three lotus ponds made expressly for me, one with blue lotuses, one with red and another with white. I used no sandalwood except that of Kashi and my turban, tunic, dress, and cloak were all from Kashi. A white umbrella was held over me night and day so that I would be untouched by heat or cold, dust, leaves or dew.

But when he ventured out of the palace, he encountered human misery. Four episodes are counted as his awakening. When he saw an old man, Prince Siddhartha reflected that though old age is unwelcomed it is inevitable. Later he saw a cripple and reflected that though people try to avoid contact with sick people, illness is unavoidable. And when he saw a corpse, he realized that though people hate death it is the inevitable end of all.

Finally when he saw an ascetic, he reflected that it was possible to renounce worldly things and be free of the entanglements of things and he came to realize that the pleasures of the palace were a hindrance to his development.

A life in a household is cramped and confined, a den of dust, but the life of the homeless wanderer is as the open air of heaven!

Some with their bodies wet with trickling phlegm and spittle; some grinding their teeth, and muttering and talking in their sleep; some with their mouth agape; some with their clothing dishelved displaying their nakedness.

Gandharan Style. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.