The Life of Buddha Shakyamuni.

Introduction

According to the dating tradition, Buddha Shakyamuni ( Shakya thub-pa ), also known as Buddha Gotama ( Gau-ta-ma ), living in the period from the year 566 to 485 BC Originally in North Central India. The sources on Buddhism have many different accounts of His life, over time, more and more details appear. Since the earliest Buddhist literary materials were written only three centuries after the Buddha's passing away, it is difficult to ascertain the accuracy of the details found in these accounts. Also, just because some details in text form appear later than other details, there is not enough reason to disregard their value. Many details may have been given orally after other details were written.

Moreover, the traditional biographies of great Buddhist masters, including the Buddha himself, are often compiled for the purpose of teaching, not for archival material. More specifically, the biographies of great masters have been written in a way that teaches and inspires Buddhists who are pursuing spiritual paths to enlightenment and liberation. So, in order to benefit from the story of the Buddha's life, we need to understand the story in this context and analyze the lessons that one can learn from it.

Origin of the material

The earliest sources on the life of the Buddha include, within the Theravada Buddhist scriptures, a few texts from the Pali  Majjhima Nikaya  ( The Collection of Middle -Length Discourses , Pali:  Majjhima Nikaya and from the various Hinayana schools, some of the Vinaya, concerning the monastic rules of conduct. However, each of these sutras points to only a small fragment of the life of the Buddha.

The first expanded narrative appeared in a Buddhist poem by the end of the second century BC, such as  the Mahasanghika school of Great Matters  ( Sanskrit:  Mahavastu ) Hinayana. Although not of the  Tripitaka  ( sDe-snod gsum , Sanskrit:  Tripitaka ,  Three Baskets ), this text has additional details, apart  Tripitaka  ( sDe-snod gsum , Sanskrit:  Tripitaka ,  Three Baskets ), such as the Buddha was born Prince in a royal family. A contest that appeared in the texts of Sarvastivada schools, belong to Theravada are: Universal Dieu Kinh  ( The Extensive Play Sutra , Sanskrit: Lalitavistara Sutra ). The later Mahayana texts of this work ( rGya-cher rol-pa'i mdo ) have borrowed and refined the details based on the previous version, for example by explaining that Shakyamuni was enlightened. So long ago, and the incarnation of Siddhartha Siddhartha was only meant to prove the path to enlightenment, to guide sentient beings.

Finally, some of these biographies are included in the  Tipitaka . The most famous is the  legend of the Buddha  ( Deeds of the Buddha ,  Sangs-rgyas-kyi spyod-pa zhes-bya-ba'i snyan-ngag chen-po , Sanskrit:  Buddhacarita ) by the poet Ashvaghosha ( RTa-dbyangs ) written in the first century AD. Other texts appear later in Tantras, as in Chakrasamvara ('  Khor-lo bde-mchog' ). Here, we find the narrative that while Germany appears as Shakyamuni, preached  Beijing Prajnaparamita  ( Sutras on Far-Reaching Discriminating Awareness, Sher-phyin MDO , 

From each narrative, we can learn something and get inspiration. However, primarily let's look at the texts depicting the historical Buddha.

Birth, Inner Life, and Temperance

According to the earliest accounts, Shakya thub-pa was born into a warrior family, a wealthy nobleman in Shakya, whose capital was Kapilavastu ( Kapilavastu ,  Ser-skya'i gnas ), located on the border between India and Nepal today. There is no mention of His birth as Prince in a royal family. Only in the later narrative comes to his new born a prince and named Siddhartha ( Siddhartha , Don-grub ). His father is Sanskrit (Shuddhodana,  Zas gtsang-ma ). In his later writings, Maya-devi,  Lha-mo sGyu- 'phrul-ma, also appears, As well as the narrative of the Buddha's miraculous conception of the dream, Ma Gia saw the six-white elephant walking to her side and the prophecy of Asita, He will become a great king, or a noble sage. Later, there is also a description of the Buddha's pure birth from the side of his mother in a place not far from Kapilavastu, in Lumbini Grove, Lumbi-na'i tshal . He walked seven steps at birth and said, "I have arrived," with the death of his mother after he was born.

In his youth, the Buddha lived a happy life. He married and had a son, Rahula (  sGra-gcan 'dzin ). In later writings his wife, Yashodhara, Grags' dzin-ma , was  listed . However, at the age of twenty-nine, the Buddha renounced his family life and his royal heritage, becoming a beggar ( dge-sbyong , Sanskrit  shamans ).

It is important to look at the Buddha's dissolving mind in the social context and at that time. When he became a wandering beggar, the Buddha did not abandon his wife and children, so that they lived alone in poverty. Certainly they were taken care of by his wealthy family. Moreover, the fact that the Buddha belonged to a warrior level meant that he would have to leave his family someday. The family of a warrior must accept this, as this is the duty of the man. The warriors of ancient India did not bring their families to the barracks.

Although the battle may have been against external enemies, the real battle is against the enemies within us, and this is the battle that the Buddha has left to fight. The Buddha left his family for this purpose, showing that it was the duty of a man to dedicate his whole life to pursuing a purpose. However, in our modern world, if we leave our family to become monastics and launch this inner battle, we need to make sure our family members are well cared for. This means not only worrying about the needs of your spouse and children, but also for our aging parents. However, whether one leaves home or not, the duty of a Buddhist to follow the spiritual path is to alleviate suffering, bypassing the passion for pleasures,

To overcome suffering, the Buddha wanted to understand the nature of birth, aging, illness, death, rebirth, sadness and ignorance. Some time later, a more extensive text of this appeared, through the story of Sanna, the charioteer, who took the Buddha on a journey through the city. When he saw the sick, the old, the dead, and the ascetic, Sanna explained to him these people. Thus, the Buddha made clear the true suffering that all people must experience and the possible way out of suffering.

The plot involving the help of the charioteer on the spiritual path correlates with the story of Arjuna in his Bhagavad Gita  ( Srid-sgrub ), hearing his charioteer Krishna (  Dom- Pa nag-po ) talks about the urgency of pursuing a warrior's duty like him, and fighting in a battle against his relatives. In both cases of Buddhists and followers of Hinduism, we can all see a deeper meaning of going beyond the walls of our comfortable lives, with familiar and Never give up the duty to find the truth. In each case, perhaps the chariot representing the chariot of consciousness leads to liberation,

Study and Enlightenment

As a celibate celestial being , the Buddha studied with two masters of methods to attain different levels of concentration ( bsam-gtan , Sanskrit:  dhyana ) and formlessness. Although he was able to attain profound states of perfect concentration, no longer experienced the vulgar suffering, or even the ordinary happiness of the world, he was not satisfied. These higher states of mind are only temporary, not the permanent deliverance of impure feelings, and certainly not the more profound, profound suffering that He Have tried to overcome. Later, he practiced extremely strict austerities with five fellow practitioners, but this practice did not eliminate the deeper issues, Involved in samsara ( khor-ba , Sanskrit:  samsara ). The Buddha's termination of fasting after six years of ascetic practice on the banks of the Nairanjana River, Chu-bo Nai-ranyja-na , along with the Sujata,  Legs-par skyes -m ) give him a bowl of milk rice, only appear in later reports.

For us, the example of the Buddha shows that we should not be satisfied with complete retreat, or the feeling of "sublimation" through meditation, regardless of artificial means such as drugs. . Going into a deep coma, or torturing yourself or punishing yourself is not the solution. We must walk the path to liberation and enlightenment, not to be satisfied with spiritual means that can not lead us to these goals.

After leaving the ascetic practice, the Buddha meditated alone in the jungle to overcome fear. Inside the fear is the love and the attachment to the "me" can not exist, they are even stronger than the urge to seek the inner pleasure and entertainment. So in the works  Falun of sharp weapon  ( blo-sbyong mtshon-cha'i 'khor-lo ) in the 10th century BC, an Indian guru Dharmarakshita ( Dharma-rakshi-ta ) Used the image of the peacocks wandering in the jungle to represent the bodhisattvas using and transforming the harmful emotions of greed, to help them break free from attachment and grasping. Get a "me" can not.

After meditating on meditation, the Buddha was completely enlightened when he was thirty-five years old. Later reports also provided details of his enlightenment under a bodhi tree (byang-chub-kyi shing) in today's Bodh Gaya (rDo-rje gdan), after Successfully blocked the attack of Marauders (bDud). This jealous enmity attempted to prevent the Buddha from enlightening by displaying scary or tempting images, in order to disturb the Buddha's meditation under the Bodhi Tree.

According to the first reports, the Buddha was fully enlightened by achieving three types of knowledge: complete knowledge of all his past lives, karma and rebirth of all sentient beings, And the Four Noble Truths. Later accounts also explained that with enlightenment, the Buddha achieved omniscience.

Teaching and Forming the Sangha

After achieving liberation and enlightenment, the Buddha was reluctant to teach others how to achieve such accomplishments. He felt that no one would understand this. However, the Brahma,  Tshang-pa and Indra ( dBang-po ) begged Him to teach. According to the teachings of Brahman which later developed into Hinduism, Brahma was the god who created the universe and the Noble Truth was the King of the gods. In his intercession, Brahma told the Buddha that this world would suffer a lot of suffering if the Buddha did not teach, and at least some people would understand His words.

This detail can be a satirical element that shows the triumph of the Buddha's teachings, surpassing the traditional Indian spiritual methods of his day. After all, if even the greatest gods recognize that the world needs the teachings of the Buddha, because they themselves lack the means to help beings permanently end suffering; Then we are ordinary disciples, and we need more of these teachings. Furthermore, in the image of Buddhism, Brahman represents arrogance. The false belief of this heaven that he is an omnipotent creator symbolizes the pattern of false belief in self. It exists as an impossible "me" - namely an "I" that can control everything in life. Such false beliefs will surely bring disappointment and suffering.

Accepting the request of Brahma and Sakka, the Buddha arrived in Sarnath and in the Deer Park,  Ri-dags-kyi gnas , Sanskrit:  Mrgadava , he taught the Four Noble Truths to Five of his former colleagues before. In the image of Buddhism, deer represents harmony, so the Buddha taught a means of peace, avoiding the extremes of hedonism and asceticism.

Soon, some youths in Benares (Varanasi,  Va-ra-na-si ) joined Nearby follow Buddha as wandering mendicant, keeping strict celibate lifestyle. These parents became disciples at home and began practicing for the mendicant group. When one of the sangha was fully trained and qualified, the Buddha sent him out to teach others. In this way, the group of followers of the Buddha quickly developed and soon they settled and formed separate communities of "clergy" in many places.

The Buddha organized these clergy communities according to practical principles. Monks, if we can use this term from the beginning, can accept candidates who join the community, but they must follow certain limits to avoid clashes with secular authorities. So the Buddha did not allow criminals, royal servants such as the military, slaves who had not been freed, and infectious people like lepers to join the community. The clergy. Moreover, those under twenty years old are not accepted. The Buddha wants to avoid any trouble and ensure the people's respect for the clergy and the Buddhist community. This shows us that, as disciples of the Buddha, we need to respect the local customs and act with respect,

Soon after, the Buddha returned to Magadha,  Yul ma-ga-dha , where Bodh Gaya was located. He was King Bimbisara (Bimbisara,  gZugs-can snying-po )  ,  who became a benefactor and a disciple of the Buddha, invited to the capital, Rajgir (Rajagrha,  rGyal-po'i khab ) - Today is Rajgir. There, the friends of Shariputra,  Sha-ri'i bu and Maudgalyayana,  Mo'u dgal-gyi bu, also joined in the growing sangha of the Buddha and became Some of his closest disciples.

Within a year of enlightenment, the Buddha returned to his hometown of Kapilavastu, where his son Rahula joined the sangha. Before that, the other brother of the Buddha was A Nan ( danda ,  dGa'-bo ), also left the family and joined the sangha. The father of the Buddha, Shuddhodana, was saddened by the lack of anyone to follow the lineage, so the king asked the Buddha that in the future, a son in the family must have the consent of the Buddha. New parents are joining the sangha. The Buddha totally agreed. This narrative points out that the Buddha was not cruel to his father, but showed the importance of avoiding aversion to Buddhism, especially in our own families.

There is a later incarnation of the Buddha's encounter with his family when he uses his magical powers to go to the Three Senses Realms, or according to some documents, the Tushita,  dGa ' -ldan ) to teach his mother, who was reborn in this realm. This shows the importance of gratitude and pay for mother.

Development of the Sangha

The early Buddhist communities of the Buddha were small, no more than twenty. Each self-governing community and boundaries are set for the monks' begging. The actions and decisions of each community are made by unanimous vote in the group to avoid discord. No one is allowed to be the sole authority. Instead, the Buddha instructed them to see the dharma itself as power. Even the law of sangha can be changed, if necessary, but any change must be based on the consent of the whole community.

King Bimbisara suggested Buddha accepted custom of the group mendicant, such as Jainism (Jains,  gCer-bu-pa )  ,  held a ceremony to reveal Penance four States each month  ( Gso-sbyong, skt. Uposhadha).  According to this custom, members of the clergy community will gather at the beginning of each quarter in each lunar month to discuss the teachings. The Buddha agreed, showing that he was open with customary suggestions from time to time. Actually, the Buddha modeled many aspects of the spiritual and structural community of Jainical sermons. Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, lived before the Buddha for about half a century.

Shortly thereafter, Shariputra asked the Buddha to establish the rules of sangha precepts. However, the Buddha decided to wait until the specific issues that had arisen before making a vow to avoid the recurrence of a similar case. The Buddha used this approach for both types of behavior, natural destructive behaviors, harm to the offender, and neutrality of neutrality prohibited for some persons in one Case number, for some reason. Therefore, these precepts ( 'dul-ba, Sanskrit:  vinaya ) are very pragmatic and specially formed, with the Buddha's main concern being to avoid problems and not create transgressive acts. .

Based on these precepts, the Buddha instituted the chanting of the four conferences each month, with the monks openly admitting any transgressions. Expulsion from the Sangha will occur for the most serious offenses, and the offender will only have to go through challenging times. At a later time, such meetings are held twice a month.

The next rule the Buddha suggested was that retreats during the three rainy months ( darsar-gnas,  Sanskrit:  varshaka ), during which time the monks should stay in one place, avoid traveling. The purpose is to prevent damage to the crops when the monks have to cross the fields, when the roads are flooded. Maintaining a seclusion lock during the rainy season led to the establishment of fixed monasteries. Again, this development happens to avoid any harm to the lay community and to gain their respect. The construction of fixed monasteries was also approved because that was the real thing.

Starting the second rainy season retreat, the Buddha spent twenty-five summer retreats in the jungle of Jetavana ( rugal-rgyal-byed-kyi tshal ) outside Xa Ve (Shravasti,  gNyan-yod )  ,  the capital of the kingdom of Kashgar (Koshala,  Ko-sa-la ). Here, traders Anathapindika (Anathapindada,  mGon-med Zas-sbyin ) built a monastery for Buddha and the Sangha of him, and King Prasenajit (Prasenajit,  rGyal Singapore GSA-rgyal ) also told Additional support for the sangha. The monastery at Jetavana is where many great events took place in the Buddha's life. The most famous of these events was his defeat of the chiefs of the six major pagan schools of his day,

Today, none of us can perform miracles. However, the Buddha's use of supernatural powers instead of using the argument to defeat his opponents shows that when the mind of others is not open to reason, the best way to convince them of value Of their own understanding is to prove to them the level of positivism by their actions and behaviors. There is an adage in English: "Action has a greater echo than words."

Foundation of the Union

In the later propagation of the Buddha, he established a community of nuns in Vaishali (  Yangsala ), at the request of his aunt Ma Ba Ba Ba Ba The theme (Mahaprajapati,  sKye-dgu'i bdag-mo chen-mo )  .  At first he was reluctant to initiate such a nun, but then he decided that it would be possible also if he made more vows for nuns than monks. In doing so, the Buddha did not mean that women were less disciplined than men and needed to be more attentive by holding more gender. Rather, he feared that the establishment of a nunnery would bring about scandal and that his teaching would soon end. On top of that, the Buddha wants to avoid public disrespect everywhere,

In general, however, the Buddha was reluctant to formulate precepts and was willing to remove some of the smaller rules if they were considered unnecessary. His policy shows the dynamics of the two truths - the deepest of truth and respect for conventional truths in accordance with local custom. Although in the deepest truth, there is no problem with the formation of the nuns; However, to prevent civilians from underestimating Buddhism, there is a need for more precepts for nuns. According to the deepest truth, no matter what society says, it does not matter; However, according to conventional wisdom, it is important for the Buddhist community to be respected and respected by the public. So in modern times and societies,

Finally, tolerance and compassion are the key principles in the teaching of the Buddha. For example, he encouraged new Buddhists who had previously supported other religious communities to continue the support. In the Sangha too, he also told the members to look after one another. For example, if a monk is sick, the other monks must take care of that person, because they are all members of the Buddhist family. This is also an important precept to all lay Buddhists.

The Teaching Method of the Buddha

The Buddha taught everyone by his living example, as well as by his instructions. On the instructions, he applied two methods, depending on whether he was lecturing to a group or an individual. In front of the audiophile groups, the Buddha would preach in the form of sermon, often repeating the point with different words, so that the audience could remember more closely. However, when counseling for individuals, usually after the meal, when a family invites Him and increases Himself, the Buddha uses a different approach. He never objected or challenged the viewer's point of view, would accept their position and raised questions to help the listener clarify their thoughts. In this way, the Buddha leads the listener to improve their position and gradually gain a deeper understanding of reality.

Another example is the Buddha's guidance to a desperate mother who brought her child's corpse to the Buddha and begged him to help the baby to live again. The Buddha told her mother to bring him a mustard seed from a house where death had never occurred, and he would see what could be done to help her son. That woman went from house to house, but every family was dead. Gradually, she realized that everyone had to die and so she was able to calmly bring her child to cremation.

The method of teaching of the Blessed One shows us that when we help others deal with personal problems, it is best not to confront them. The most effective way is to help them think for themselves. However, for groups of people who want to learn the teachings, we need to be clear and clear.

The plot against the Buddha and Glasses

Seven years before the Buddha entered his nirvana, his jealous cousin Devadatta  Lhas-byin conspired to steer his congregation. Similarly, Ajatashatru,  Ma-skyes dgra, also plans to take over his father, King Bimbisara, the ruler of Magadha. So the two of them together planning tricks. Prince Siddhartha tried to murder King Bimbisara, and the king finally gave up his throne and gave the throne to his son. Devadatta has asked the Prince to assassinate the Buddha, but all the machinations that killed him failed.

Devadatta then attempted to drag them away from the Buddha by claiming that he was "more holy" than his cousin, and therefore proposed a strict rule of law. than. According to the book The Path of Purification by Buddhaghosa, a Theravada Buddhist teacher in the fourth century BCE, Siddhartha offered to the monks include:

• Wear patches from torn cloth,
• Just wearing three robes only,
• Go begging and never accept the invitation to marry,
• Do not miss any home when begging,
• Spend a good amount of food in the bowl
• Just eat from your bowl
• Refuse all other food,
• Only live in the forest,
• Living under the tree,
• Live outdoors, not indoors,
• Mostly live in the tombs,
• Satisfied with the shelter I found while traveling from one place to another,
• Sleeping, never sleeping

The Buddha said that if one were to increase them, one would have to apply them, but he did not force anyone to do so. However, some of his monks have chosen to follow Devadatta, leave the sangha of the Buddha and set up their own sangha.

According to Theravada Buddhism, then the precepts extra Devadatta by pose called momentum thirteen virtues ( Pali: dhutanga )  . Traditionally monks living in the jungle are still found, for example in today's Thailand, which seems to derive from this practice. Mahakashyapa, '  Od-bsrung chen-po ,' the disciple of the Buddha, is the most famous practitioner of obeying this strict discipline. Many forms of precepts are also followed by followers (Sanskrit: Sadhu ), in the Hindu tradition. Their practice seems to be the traditional continuation of the wandering monks during the Buddha's time.

Mahāyāna has a similar catalog of twelve specific virtues ( sbyangs-pa'ispaceyon-tan, Sanskrit: dhutaguna )  .  This list removes the "do not miss a home while begging," adding "what was thrown out of the trash", gathering two points of "begging" and "eating only from the bowl of" I "into one. The tantric masters ( grub-thob chen-po, Sanskrit: mahasiddha ) of Indian tradition later followed most of these precepts. They are present in both religion, Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism.

Breaking away from the Buddhist tradition has been strengthened, and then another sangha - for example, in the modern era, the establishment of a separate Buddhist center - is not a problem. This action, in itself, does not create a "separation within the monastic community," one of the five opposing  states (mtshams-med lnga) . However, Devadatta created the separation and committed such a sin, because the group of monks detachment and followers brought a great deal of illusion towards the clergy community of the Buddha and Criticize them vehemently. According to some accounts, this wicked agenda has been going on for several centuries.

The narrative of this separation reveals that the Buddha is extremely tolerant and not a fundamentalist. If his disciples wanted to apply more severe discipline than he had set for them, that would be fine; And if they do not want to do so. No one is obliged to practice what the Buddha taught. Even if a monk or monk wants to leave the congregation is also. What is extremely negative, however, is the division of the Buddhist community, especially the separation of monks and nuns into two or more groups in which one or both groups are malicious together. Discredit or ruin one another. Even participating in one of these conflicts later and participating in hatred for the other side is extremely harmful. However, If one of these groups is involved in destructive or destructive actions, or the application of harmful laws, your compassion will call on everyone to be wary of the danger of joining them. However, your motivation for doing this must never be mixed with your heart, your hatred, or your desire for revenge.

Buddha of Destruction

Although when it was achieved, the Buddha passed the ordinary death without control; However, at the age of eighty-one, the Buddha decided that teaching his disciples understanding of impermanence would be beneficial, and that he had left his body. Before doing this, He gave His attendant Ananda,  Kun-dga'-bo an opportunity to ask Him to live and teach longer, but Ananda did not understand the suggestion. Mind of the Buddha. This shows that a Buddha teaches only when there is a request, and if no one asks or cares anymore, he will go elsewhere, where he can create more benefits. The presence and teachings of a teacher depend on the disciple.

Then at Kushinagara (  Ku-sha'i grong-khyer, gNas rtsva-mchog )  ,  at Chunda's house, the Buddha was seriously ill after eating the meal he had been eating. He and his monk group. In the last hour, the Buddha told the monks that if they had any doubts, or had questions that did not answer, they should rely on His teachings and the principles of their precepts. . Those things will now be their teacher. Therefore, the Buddha pointed out that each person must answer his questions from those teachings. No one has absolute authority to give an answer. Then the Blessed One passed away.

Chun Da was totally distraught when he thought he poisoned the Buddha. But Ananda has consoled the householder, saying that he had actually created a great karmic force, or "great merit", when he offered the last meal to the Buddha before he died.

The cremation ceremony was performed for the Buddha, and his relics were resting in the stupas - the relics containing the relics - especially in places where four pilgrimages were celebrated for Buddhists:

• Lumbini, where the Buddha was born,
• Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment,
• Sa-no, where he first gave Dhamma,
• The Testament, where he passed away.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMOUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT.VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.2/7/2017.