. 佛陀 释迦牟尼 Buddha
A descendant of the warrior caste Sakhya, Siddhartha was the son of the monarch of the kingdom of Kapilavastu (in present Nepal), King Suddhodana and Queen Mahamaya, daughter of the king of the neighboring kingdom of Devadaha Koliya.
His mother, before conceiving, had a dream where she saw him descend from the sky and into his lap in the form of a white elephant. Following the custom of the time, the queen went to the birth, the family home in Ramagama, capital of Koliya. During the journey the Queen, accompanied by her sister Prajapati Gautami, he stopped to rest in the beautiful park of Candles, and resting on the branch of a sal tree, gave birth to Little Buddha. The child had a complexion the color of gold melted and immediately after his birth he walked erect.
Looking in all directions made seven steps northward, and where his foot touched the ground grew lotus flowers. After giving birth the mother died, and Guatami took care of the child, his father called Siddhartha, "he who carries out its objectives."
The child was brought in great pomp and more secure, as far as possible from the world's problems. Siddhartha, however, soon showed a tendency contemplative, that the father was not pleased, wishing the son to become a warrior and a ruler. Then arranged your marriage with a princess charitable mood, Yasodara , the daughter of the king of Dandapani Koliya. From her Siddhartha had a son, Rahula, and to meet the father attended for a while 'time for court life.
Tradition says that Siddhartha has begun the search for enlightenment in 29 years when, encountering for the first time an elderly, ill, and a funeral, he realized that all mankind is in the throes of suffering. Then, noting the serenity of a monaco, he decided to renounce the ephemeral material life, to seek the path of liberation from suffering, for the benefit of all humanity.
One night, accompanied by his charioteer Channa, he came to the borders of the kingdom, he shaved his hair with his sword and sent it back the driver. Siddhartha lived in the forest for several years, where he studied at the Masters and Uddaka Ramaputta Alara-Salama, surpassing in a short time their wisdom. Then he settled near present-Gaya (Bihar) with five hermits, Kondañña, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Assaji and Mahanama, spending almost six years beyond the most severe asceticism, almost until his death.
One day, near the village of Uruvela, the small Sujata Siddhartha found unconscious on the street because of the hardships and saved him by giving him to drink a bowl of milk. Siddhartha deduced that the extreme mortification did not lead to the perfection he sought. He then returned to a normal diet, losing the sympathy of his five companions. Since then followed the path of mental awareness, and taught the village children.
According to Buddhist tradition, one evening (probably around 531 BC), at the age of 35 years, sat under a sacred fig tree (pippala) at Bodhi-Gaya, Siddhartha meditated all night to reach enlightenment. Since then the Uruvela the children called him the Buddha, "the Enlightened One."
Buddha decided to share his creation with five companions, so they reached the Deer Park at Benares (now Varanasi), where he exhibited for the first time the fundamental doctrines of the Buddhist dharma:
- the "Four Noble Truths" ,
- l ' "Eightfold Path" ,
- the principle of "Middle Way" , monastic discipline that balances the extremes of over-attachment and renunciation of the world too.
The philosophy of the Buddha sought the extinction of suffering of all living beings.
in un monastero donatogli dal principe Jeta . Listening to him, his friends reached the state of Arhat, and joined him, calling this small community Sangha. Accompanied by a growing band of disciples, the Buddha walked the valley of the Ganges, spreading his doctrine and founded monastic communities for everyone, regardless of social status. He then settled at Savatthi, in a monastery donated by Prince Jeta.
After a life dedicated to preaching, the Buddha predicted his death to his disciples, and without giving specific details of the future organization of the Sangha or the spread of His doctrine, left Vesali headed north, and went into the forest of pari-nirvana 'sal trees in Kusinagara, Nepal, at the age of eighty.
The venerable Mahakasyapa, his successor, was informed of the imminent death of the Maestro, as he was spreading the Dharma to Campa. The dignitaries of the place, after seven days of tribute, brought the body of the Buddha at the temple of Makuta-Bandana, in the city, where he was wrapped in many layers of cloth, placed in two coffins of iron and placed on the funeral pyre. When Mahakasyapa arrived, prostrated himself before the Master's body and the pyre was lit. The relics of the Buddha's body was then placed in a golden urn and kept on the altar of the temple.
A month later, the venerable Mahakasyapa met in Rajagaha the assembly of the bhikkhu (monks), to collect all the sutras and precepts set out by the Buddha. The job lasted six months and after the dissolution of the assembly, all returned to their monasteries .
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