in the north of ancient India where Nepal is today a figure emerged more than 2,500 years ago one who would defy conventional understanding of wealth power and happiness his name was sidarth aama but he became known throughout the world by the name of Buddha his tale starts when the noblemen sudana King of the shakya clan and his wife were attempting to have a male heir to succeed him but were encountering obstacles in a Dream Queen Maya was visited by a large white elephant with six ivories the Kingdom's priests indicated that this was a very hopeful
sign that The Sovereign was finally pregnant and that her son was destined to be a powerful leader the queen gave birth to her son during a journey to the beautiful lumini garden where she held on to the branches of a beautiful tree and brought her son into the world the infant was extremely beautiful beautiful and a glowing Aura seemed to surround him proving that he was certainly a special child a wise Sage known as aitt was summoned to meet the baby and he burst into tears when he saw the child when he was asked to
explain why he was weeping he said that it was because the prince was meant to attain the true Liberation that the sage had been seeking all his life however the guru would be dead by the time sidartha reached his Destiny and so he would not have the opportunity to find the answers he had been looking for a also explained to the king that the child would not be the heir he so desired to take his place on the throne when his time came he would leave the palace in search of the truth the small Prince
sartha gatama was raised entirely away from the outside world as his father feared that the call of Destiny would take his son away from his kingdom when sedara gatama came of age he was offered several young princesses to choose as his wife he decided on yasodara who was known for her beauty and virtue the king gifted the couple three magnificent palaces one perfect for the summer another ready for the Rainy monsoon season and a Winter Palace they were known as the Palaces of the three Pleasures where the couple had all the material Goods they needed
for a joyful life the couple were blessed with the birth of a healthy child named rahula and the King was overjoyed as his succession seemed assured the king finally allowed his son to step outside the walls of his Palace to see the kingdom that he would rule in the future but the prince's route was carefully selected so that he would not encounter the world's misery however although he was in touch with the beauties of the world sidara came across as a man who was suffering from a serious illness which he had never seen before it
pained him to think that people dear to him could also be subject to such ailments he had never come across old people either so elderly that almost all of their strength had deserted them he began to reflect on the finitude of life and the inevitability of death sidartha gutama was anguished as he could not understand how people could cope with the possibility of death which was always lurking around the corner then he met a homeless man who looked poor but had an unshakable Spirit brimming with confidence and peace the prince went to the AIC man
and was told that he had renounced his life of comfort to free his Spirit from the suffering of the world Upon returning to the Palace Prince sartha kept thinking about the aic's words and suddenly his Destiny was revealed to him he had to give up all that life of luxury and pleasure and embark on a spiritual quest in the Silence of the night s artha gatama hiding from his father fled to start his mission of self- [Music] knowledge Prince sartha gatama had abandoned his luxurious way of life and started his journey of [Music] [Music] traded
in his silk robes for simple garments just like those of the people who lived in the forest he was now alone away from all the agulation of his wealthy Court sidartha gatama had relinquished everything that bound him to his old way of life and set out across the world looking for those who could help him achieve his goal sidartha gatama learned the art of meditation from the master Alara Kama and perfected the technique of the realm of nothingness where the Buddha's mind could detach itself from Material awareness and perceive only the infinite however even though
he considered this lesson valuable sidartha still thought it was not the answer he was looking for to find Enlightenment he then began to meditate with the master udaka raputa who taught him new meditation techniques that improved his self-reflection the young gatama appreciated the lessons but noted that whilst useful they were not enough sidartha Quatama then set off for the king of magada where aics gathered to practice together like sidhartha they had renounced the Comforts of life and lived simply when they observed the Newcomer's commitment and the way he gave himself to his daily practices the
atics were certain that sartha gatama was the one to find Enlightenment along with the atics sidhartha learned to transcend the suffering that his body felt due to pain and hunger he came to fully Master his body and senses and nothing could disturb him he hardly ate anything anymore and so he became thinner and weaker this period of Buddha's life became known as the six-year fast but sidhartha noticed that his weakness was doing him more harm than good it was keeping him from the path of wholeness as even his reasoning was hampered he would put an
end to his fast by accepting an offering from from a peasant Woman as a result he was despised by the aics who thought he had given up on following the path they deemed righteous following the great fast satara gatama pondered and realized that all kinds of extremes are not beneficial and that he should choose the middle path avoiding both Indulgence and utter austerity sartha went on to believe that it was important to find balance both in spiritual practice and in life in general after years of wandering and learning sidartha stumbled across a beautiful fig tree
it became known as The Bod tree and sidartha gatama said that he would sit under its shade and would only stand up once he had found Enlightenment he made a cushion out of grass and foliage then sat down with his face turned to the east he took up his meditation and the spirits of the world rejoiced but the demons would not permit that ordinary mortal to break the chains that bound him to the material world Mara the demon of desire and deceit emerged to divert sartha from his goal he tried to tempt sidartha in every
way Mara brought forth visions of beautiful women and attempted to distract sartha with violent scenes but neither the fear nor the desire elicited by Mara could distract sidartha guatam then Mara dared sartha to find someone who could bear witness in his favor attesting to his right to Enlightenment that was when sidartha touched the ground with his hand signaling that the Earth itself was his witness then on a full moon night sidartha gatama overcame ignorance and suffering after recalling his past lives understanding the cycle of birth and death that happens according to Karma and ultimately grasping
the four noble truths which are the path to ending suffering at sunrise sidarthur Guama at last attained Enlightenment becoming Buddha the enlightened one he would arise from his meditation fully awake Buddha had fully understood the nature of reality the root cause of suffering and the path to Liberation he remained under the tree for another 7 weeks absorbing and contemplating the profundity of his experience after attaining Nirvana Buddha chose to share his knowledge with the world and began to wander around spreading his [Music] teachings after sartha gatama had reached Enlightenment now as Buddha he established the
goal of helping others through his teachings so that they could find their way out of suffering Buddha knew that most people were not prepared to receive such knowledge and pass it on he looked for those who were better suited to accept his teachings and then recalled his fellow aics they initially met him with suspicion believing that he had given up his mission when he stopped fasting however they soon realized that the man standing in front of them was no longer the same he exuded a peaceful energy filled with love and compassion the main subject of
Buddhist teachings was the four Great truths which have become one of the key themes in the practice of Buddhism the first is Dua the truth of suffering it asserts that life is inherently dissatisfying and painful this does not mean that life is only suffering but rather that all conditional aspects of existence have an unsatisfactory nature this encompasses The Suffering From Pain sickness and death but also refers to the more subtle suffering of impermanence and the inherent unfulfillment of existence the second truth is the samudaya the origin of suffering this identifies the cause of suffering as
desire or attachment the Buddha taught that suffering comes from our unquenchable craving for pleasure existence and non-existence this yearning is rooted in ignorance it is when there is a misunderstanding or ignorance about the true nature of reality especially its impermanent nature the third truth is neroda the cessation of suffering it declares that suffering can be stopped that is achieved through Nirvana which is a state of ultimate and complete Liberation from suffering Nirvana is not a place but rather a state of being or accomplishment that is beyond the constraints of conditioned existence it represents the end
of attachment hatred and ignorance the fourth and final truth is Maga the way to the cessation of suffering it presents the means for ending suffering this method is the Noble eight-fold Path which consists of Right View right resolve right speech right conduct right livelihood right effort right mindfulness and right samade these truths became core foundations in Buddhist Doctrine helped by his disciples Buddhist teachings were followed by more and more people after many Journeys Buddha eventually returned to his homeland and was reunited with his old father and his son rahula who became a Buddhist monk after
reaching the age of 80 Buddha declared that it was time to prepare to leave this world and reach final Nirvana he lay down between two flowering trees gave his last instructions and began a deep meditation entering Nirvana for the last time Buddha's body was cremated and his relics dispersed and placed in sacred monuments which became a place of veneration Buddhism spread throughout the world especially in China Japan and Korea several Buddhist schools and traditions have practice sprang up but all of them followed the foundations and lessons taught by Buddha who revealed to the world the
path for those seeking [Music] enlightenment
