Buddha (563?-483?bc), Indian philosopher and the founder
of Buddhism, born in Lumbinī, Nepal. He was the son of the head of the Sakya
warrior caste, with the private name of Siddhartha; in later life he was known
also as Sakyamuni (Sage of the Sakyas). The name Gautama Buddha is a combination
of the family name Gautama and the appellation Buddha, meaning “Enlightened
One.”
All the surviving accounts of Buddha's life were written
many years after his death by idealizing followers rather than by objective
historians. Consequently, it is difficult to separate facts from the great mass
of myth and legend in which they are embedded. From the available evidence,
Buddha apparently showed an early inclination to meditation and reflection,
displeasing his father, who wanted him to be a warrior and ruler rather than a
religious philosopher. Yielding to his father's wishes, he married at an early
age and participated in the worldly life of the court. Buddha found his
carefree, self-indulgent existence dull, and after a while he left home and
began wandering in search of enlightenment. One day in 533, according to
tradition, he encountered an aged man, a sick man, and a corpse, and he suddenly
and deeply realized that suffering is the common lot of humankind. He then came
upon a mendicant monk, calm and serene, whereupon he determined to adopt his way
of life and forsake family, wealth, and power in the quest for truth. This
decision, known in Buddhism as the Great Renunciation, is celebrated by
Buddhists as a turning point in history. Gautama was then 29 years old,
according to tradition.
Wandering as a mendicant over northern India, Buddha first
investigated Hinduism. He took instruction from some famous Brahman teachers,
but he found the Hindu caste system repellent and Hindu asceticism futile. He
continued his search, attracting but later losing five followers. About 528,
while sitting under a bo tree near Gaya, in what is now Buddh Gaya in the state
of Bihār, he experienced the Great Enlightenment, which revealed the way of
salvation from suffering. Shortly afterward he preached his first sermon in the
Deer Park near Benares (now Vārānasi). This sermon, the text of which is
preserved, contains the gist of Buddhism. Many scholars regard it as comparable,
in its tone of moral elevation and historical importance, to Jesus Christ's
Sermon on the Mount.
The five disciples rejoined Buddha at Benares. Accompanied
by them, he traveled through the valley of the Ganges River, teaching his
doctrines, gathering followers, and establishing monastic communities that
admitted anyone regardless of caste. He returned briefly to his native town and
converted his father, his wife, and other members of his family to his beliefs.
After 45 years of missionary activity Buddha died in Kusinagara, Nepal, as a
result of eating contaminated food. He was about 80 years old.
Buddha was one of the greatest human beings, a man of
noble character, penetrating vision, warm compassion, and profound thought. Not
only did he establish a great new religion, but his revolt against Hindu
hedonism, asceticism, extreme spiritualism, and the caste system deeply
influenced Hinduism itself. His rejection of metaphysical speculation and his
logical thinking introduced an important scientific strain heretofore lacking in
Oriental thought. Buddha's teachings have influenced the lives of millions of
people for nearly 2500 years.
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