Curious "The" Buddha Facts

[Ether]

Go ahead.

[Ether]

Or stories, or whathever

[Ether]

14 hours ago, Ether said:

Or stories, or whathever

Buddha’s early life

Greco-buddhist representation of Buddha Shakyamuni from the ancient region of Gandhara, eastern Afghanistan. Greek artists were most probably the authors of these early representations of the Buddha.

India at the time of the Buddha was very spiritually open. Every major philosophical view was present in society, and people expected spirituality to influence their daily lives in positive ways.

At this time of great potential, Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha, was born into a royal family in what is now Nepal, close to the border with India. Growing up, the Buddha was exceptionally intelligent and compassionate. Tall, strong, and handsome, the Buddha belonged to the Warrior caste. It was predicted that he would become either a great king or spiritual leader. Since his parents wanted a powerful ruler for their kingdom, they tried to prevent Siddharta from seeing the unsatisfactory nature of the world. They surrounded him with every kind of pleasure. He was given five hundred attractive ladies and every opportunity for sports and excitement. He completely mastered the important combat training, even winning his wife, Yasodhara, in an archery contest.

Suddenly, at age 29, he was confronted with impermanence and suffering. On a rare outing from his luxurious palace, he saw someone desperately sick. The next day, he saw a decrepit old man, and finally a dead person. He was very upset to realize that old age, sickness and death would come to everyone he loved. Siddharta had no refuge to offer them.

The next morning the prince walked past a meditator who sat in deep absorption. When their eyes met and their minds linked, Siddhartha stopped, mesmerized. In a flash, he realized that the perfection he had been seeking outside must be within mind itself. Meeting that man gave the future Buddha a first and enticing taste of mind, a true and lasting refuge, which he knew he had to experience himself for the good of all.

Buddha’s enlightenment

 

The Buddha decided he had to leave his royal responsibilities and his family in order to realize full enlightenment. He left the palace secretly, and set off alone into the forest. Over the next six years, he met many talented meditation teachers and mastered their techniques. Always he found that they showed him mind’s potential but not mind itself. Finally, at a place called Bodhgaya, the future Buddha decided to remain in meditation until he knew mind’s true nature and could benefit all beings. After spending six days and nights cutting through mind’s most subtle obstacles, he reached enlightenment on the full moon morning of May, a week before he turned thirty-five.

At the moment of full realization, all veils of mixed feelings and stiff ideas dissolved and Buddha experienced the all-encompassing here and now. All separation in time and space disappeared. Past, present, and future, near and far, melted into one radiant state of intuitive bliss. He became timeless, all-pervading awareness. Through every cell in his body he knew and was everything. He became Buddha, the Awakened One.

After his enlightenment, Buddha traveled on foot throughout northern India. He taught constantly for forty-five years. People of all castes and professions, from kings to courtesans, were drawn to him. He answered their questions, always pointing towards that which is ultimately real.

Throughout his life, Buddha encouraged his students to question his teachings and confirm them through their own experience. This non-dogmatic attitude still characterizes Buddhism today.

 

“I can die happily. I have not kept a single teaching hidden in a closed hand. Everything that is useful for you, I have already given. Be your own guiding light.”
– The Buddha, while leaving his body at the age of eighty

[Prabhaker]

Mahakashyap came to Buddha, and Buddha just touched his head with his hand, and the thing happened. And Mahakashyap began to dance. So Ananda asked Buddha, "What has happened to him? And I have been for forty years with you! Is he mad? Or is he just fooling others? What has happened to him? And I have touched your feet thousands and thousands of times." Of course, to Ananda, this Mahakashyap will either look like he is mad or as if he is just deceiving.

He was with Buddha for forty years, but there was a problem. He was his elder brother, Buddha’s elder brother; that was the problem.

When Ananda came to Buddha forty years before, the first thing he said to Buddha was this: "I am your elder brother, and when you will initiate me, I will become your disciple. So allow me three things before I become your disciple, because then I cannot demand. One, I will always be with you. Give me this promise, that you will not say to me, 'Go somewhere else.’ I will follow you. "Secondly, I will sleep in the same room where you sleep. You cannot say to me, 'Go out.’ I will be with you like your shadow. And thirdly, if I bring anyone at any time, even at midnight, you will have to answer him. You cannot say, 'This is not the time.’ And give me these three promises while I am still your elder brother, because once I become your disciple I will have to follow you. You are still younger than me, so give me these promises." So Buddha promised, and this became the problem.

For forty years Ananda was with Buddha, but he could never surrender, because this is not the spirit of surrender. Ananda asked many, many times, "When am I going to attain?" Buddha said, "Unless I die, you will not attain." And Ananda could attain only when Buddha died.

[Ether]

@Prabhaker Funny, I heard this story today morning.

Did Ananda attain liberation?

[Prabhaker]

20 minutes ago, Ether said:

Did Ananda attain liberation?

After the Buddha's final Nirvana five hundred enlightened monks convened a Council at Rajagaha for the purpose of collecting all the Buddha's teachings and committing them to memory so they could be handed down to future generations. Because he knew so much Dharma it was essential that Ananda be present, but he was not yet enlightened. Now that he no longer had to look after the Buddha's needs, he had more time to meditate and so he began to practise with exceptional diligence, hoping that he could attain enlightenment before the Council started. As the time for the Council's commencement got closer, he practised harder and harder. During the evening before the Council he sat meditating, convinced that he would not be able to attain enlightenment by the next morning. So he gave up and decided to lie down and sleep. As his head touched the pillow he became enlightened.

[Ether]

4 minutes ago, Prabhaker said:

As his head touched the pillow he became enlightened.

Life works in funny ways, doesnt it?

How old was he?

[Prabhaker]

6 minutes ago, Ether said:

How old was he?

Ananda became enlightened when he was 82 years old, he was two years older than Buddha.

[Ether]

@Prabhaker I thought Buddha died at 85?

Well, at least he got it! I read some say Ananda lived till his 100's. Hey, 20 years of pure freedom, Id love that shit.

But, well, Im still pretty young.

[Ether]

@Prabhaker Do you have more stories?

[Prabhaker]

4 minutes ago, Ether said:

Prabhaker Do you have more stories?

Yes, as many as you want !

[Prabhaker]

When Buddha became enlightened, the first thing he said to his disciples was, ‘I would like to go to Yashodhara and talk to her.’ His wife….

Ananda was very much disturbed. He said, ‘What is the point of your going back to the palace and talking to your wife? You have left her. Twelve years have passed.’

And Ananda was a little bit disturbed also, because how can a Buddha think about his wife? Buddhas are not expected to think that way.

When the others had left, Ananda said to Buddha, ‘This is not good. What will people think?’

Buddha said ‘What will people think? I have to express my gratitude to her, and I have to thank her for all the help she gave me. And I have to give something of that which has happened to me – I owe that much to her. I will have to go.’

He came back. He went to the palace. He saw his wife. Certainly Yashodhara was mad! This man escaped one night without even saying anything to her.

She said to Buddha, ‘Couldn’t you have trusted me? You could have said that you wanted to go, and I would have been the last woman in the world to prevent you. Couldn’t you have trusted me even that much?’ And she was crying. Twelve years of anger! And this man had escaped like a thief in the middle of the night – suddenly, without giving a single hint to her.

Buddha apologized and he said, ‘It was out of non-understanding. I was ignorant, I was not aware. But now I am aware and I know – that’s why I have come back. You have helped me tremendously. Forget those old things, now there is no point in thinking about ‘spilt milk’. Look at me! Something great has happened. I have come home. And I felt my first duty was towards you: to come, and to convey, and to share my experience with you.’

The anger gone, the rage subsided, Yashodhara looked out through her tears. ‘Yes, this man has changed tremendously.’ This was not the same man she used to know. This was not the same man, not at all; this looked like a great luminosity… She could almost see the aura, a light around him. And he was so peaceful and so silent; he had almost disappeared. His presence was almost absence. And then, in spite of herself, she forgot what she was doing – she fell at his feet and she asked to be initiated.

Rabindranath Tagore has written a poem about this incident when Buddha comes.

Yashodhara asked him one thing. ‘Just tell me one thing,’ she said. ‘Whatever you have attained… I can see you have attained, whatsoever it is. I don’t know what it is – just tell me one thing: was it not possible to attain it here in this house?’ And Buddha could not say no. It was possible to attain it here in this house. Now he knew. Because it has nothing to do with forest or with town, with family or with ashram – it has nothing to do with any place; it has something to do with your innermost core. It is available everywhere.

[Ether]

@Prabhaker Wonderful. Keep em coming  

[Prabhaker]

 Angulimal means a man who wears a garland of human fingers.

 Angulimal had taken a vow that he would kill one thousand people; from each single person he would take one finger so that he could remember how many he had killed and he will make a garland of all those fingers. In his garland of fingers he had nine hundred and ninety-nine fingers -- only one was missing. And that one was missing because his road was closed; nobody was coming that way. But Gautam Buddha entered that closed road. The king had put guards on the road to prevent people, particularly strangers who didn't know that a dangerous man lived behind the hills. The guards told Gautam Buddha, "That is not the road to be used. You will have to take a little longer route, but it is better to go a little longer than to go into the mouth of death itself. This is the place where Angulimal lives. Even the king has not the guts to go on this road. That man is simply mad.

"His mother used to go to him. She was the only person who used to go, once in a while, to see him, but even she stopped. The last time she went there he told her, `Now only one finger is missing, and just because you happen to be my mother... I want to warn you that if you come another time you will not go back. I need one finger desperately. Up to now I have not killed you because other people were available, but now nobody passes on this road except you. So I want to make you aware that next time if you come it will be your responsibility, not mine.' Since that time his mother has not come."

The guards said to Buddha, "Don't unnecessarily take the risk." And do you know what Buddha said to them? Buddha said, "If I don't go then who will go? Only two things are possible: either I will change him, and I cannot miss this challenge; or I will provide him with one finger so that his desire is fulfilled. Anyway I am going to die one day. Giving my head to Angulimal will be at least of some use; otherwise one day I will die and you will put me on the funeral pyre. I think that it is better to fulfill somebody's desire and give him peace of mind. Either he will kill me or I will kill him, but this encounter is going to happen; you just lead the way."

The people who used to follow Gautam Buddha, his close companions who were always in competition to be closer to him, started slowing down. Soon there were miles between Gautam Buddha and his disciples. They all wanted to see what happened, but they didn't want to be too close.

Angulimal was sitting on his rock watching. He could not believe his eyes. A very beautiful man of such immense charisma was coming towards him. Who could this man be? He had never heard of Gautam Buddha, but even this hard heart of Angulimal started feeling a certain softness towards the man. He was looking so beautiful, coming towards him. It was early morning... a cool breeze, and the sun was rising... and the birds were singing and the flowers had opened; and Buddha was coming closer and closer.

Finally Angulimal, with his naked sword in his hand, shouted, "Stop!" Gautam Buddha was just a few feet away, and Angulimal said, "Don't take another step because then the responsibility will not be mine. Perhaps you don't know who I am!"

Buddha said, "Do you know who you are?"

Angulimal said, "This is not the point. Neither is it the place nor the time to discuss such things. Your life is in danger!"

Buddha said, "I think otherwise -- your life is in danger."

That man said, "I used to think I was mad -- you are simply mad. And you go on moving closer. Then don't say that I killed an innocent man. You look so innocent and so beautiful that I want you to go back. I will find somebody else. I can wait; there is no hurry. If I can manage nine hundred and ninety-nine... it is only a question of one more, but don't force me to kill YOU."

Buddha said, "You are absolutely blind. You can't see a simple thing: I am not moving towards you, you are moving towards me."

Angulimal said, "This is sheer craziness! Anybody can see that you are moving and I am standing on my rock. I have not moved a single inch."

Buddha said, "Nonsense! The truth is, since the day I became enlightened I have not moved a single inch. I am centered, utterly centered, no movement. And your mind is continuously moving round and round in circles... and you have the guts to tell to me to stop. You stop! I have stopped long ago."

Angulimal said, "It seems you are impossible, you are incurable. You are bound to be killed. I will feel sorry, but what can I do? I have never seen such a mad man."

Buddha came very close, and Angulimal's hands were trembling. The man was so beautiful, so innocent, so childlike. He had already fallen in love. He had killed so many people... He had never felt this weakness; he had never known what love is. For the first time he was full of love. So there was a contradiction: the hand was holding the sword to kill the person, and his heart was saying, "Put the sword back in the sheath."

Buddha said, "I am ready, but why is your hand shaking? -- you are such a great warrior, even kings are afraid of you, and I am just a poor beggar. Except the begging bowl, I don't have anything. You can kill me, and I will feel immensely satisfied that at least my death fulfills somebody's desire; my life has been useful, my death has also been useful. But before you cut my head I have a small desire, and Ithink you will grant me a small desire before killing me."

Before death even the hardest enemy is willing to fulfill any desire.

Angulimal said, "What do you want?"

Buddha said, "I want you just to cut from the tree a branch which is full of flowers. I will never see these flowers again; I want to see those flowers closely, feel their fragrance and their beauty in this morning sun, their glory."

So Angulimal cut with his sword a whole branch full of flowers. And before he could give it to Buddha, Buddha said, "This was only half the desire; the other half is, please put the branch back on the tree."

Angulimal said, "I was thinking from the very beginning that you are crazy. Now this is the craziest desire. How can I put this branch back?"

Buddha said, "If you cannot create, you have no right to destroy. If you cannot give life, you don't have the right to give death to any living thing."

A moment of silence and a moment of transformation... the sword fell down from his hands. Angulimal fell down at the feet of Gautam Buddha, and he said, "I don't know who you are, but whoever you are, take me to the same space in which you are; initiate me."

By that time the followers of Gautam Buddha had come closer and closer. Seeing that now Gautam Buddha was standing in front of Angulimal, there was no problem, no fear, although he needed only one finger. They were all around and when he fell at Buddha's feet they immediately came close. Somebody raised the question, "Don't initiate this man, he is a murderer. And he is not an ordinary murderer; he has murdered nine hundred and ninety-nine people, all innocent, all strangers. They have not done any wrong to him. He had not even seen them before!"

Buddha said again, "If I don't initiate him, who will initiate him? And I love the man, I love his courage. And I can see tremendous possibility in him: a single man fighting against the whole world. I want this kind of people, who can stand against the whole world. Up to now he was standing against the world with a sword; now he will stand against the world with a consciousness which is far sharper than any sword. I told you that murder was going to happen, but it was not certain who was going to be murdered -- either I was going to be murdered, or Angulimal. Now you can see Angulimal is murdered. And who I am to judge?"

He initiated Angulimal.

The question is not whether anybody is worthy or not. The question is whether you have the consciousness, the abundance of love -- then forgiveness will come out of it spontaneously.

[Prabhaker]

One great king, Prasenjita, contemporary to Gautam Buddha, had come to see Gautam Buddha for the first time. His wife had been a lay-disciple of Gautam Buddha for a long time before she was married to Prasenjita. She was a daughter of a greater king.

So when Gautam Buddha came to Prasenjita's capital, the wife said to the husband, "It does not look right that when a man like Gautam Buddha comes to your capital, you don't go to welcome him. I am going. He is sure to ask about you. What am I to say?"

The husband thought for a moment, and he said, "Okay, I am coming also. But because I am coming for the first time, I would like to give him some present. I have one very great diamond; even emperors are jealous because of that diamond. Buddha must appreciate it, so I will take the diamond."

The wife started laughing. She said, "Rather than the diamond, it will be better if you take a lotus flower from our big pond. To the Buddha the lotus flower is more beautiful. What will he do with the diamond? It will be an unnecessary burden."
He said, "I will take both and let us see who wins."

So he came on his golden chariot to the commune of Buddha, where ten thousand monks were sitting around him. Just before he was going to start his morning talk, the golden chariot of the king stopped, so he waited for the king to come in.

The king came in front of him, and first he offered Buddha the diamond. Buddha said, "Drop it!" It was very difficult for Prasenjita to drop his diamond -- that was his very life! -- but not to drop it also was difficult. Before ten thousand people Buddha had said it -- "and you have offered the diamond so it no longer belongs to you."

He hesitated. Buddha said, "Drop it!" So he dropped the diamond, reluctantly, and offered the lotus flower with the other hand.
Buddha said, "Drop it!" Prasenjita thought, "Is this man crazy?" He dropped the lotus flower, and Buddha said, "Don't you listen? Drop it!"
He said, "Both my hands are empty. Now what do you want me to drop?" At that moment, one of the oldest disciples of Buddha, Sariputra, said, "You don't understand. Buddha is not saying to drop the diamond, or to drop the flower. He is saying, `Drop your personality. Drop that you are a king. Drop this mask, be just human, because through the mask it is impossible for me to approach you.'"

He had never thought about it. But a great silence, and ten thousand people... and he fell spontaneously at the feet of Buddha.
Buddha said, "That's what I have been telling you: drop it. Now sit down. Be just human.Here nobody is an emperor and nobody is a beggar. Here everybody is himself. Just be yourself. This being an emperor can be taken away from you.

[Ether]

@Prabhaker I almost cried with Angulimal one hha

[Prabhaker]

Devadatta, one of the disciples of Lord Buddha, is also the greatest enemy of Buddha. He made many attempts to kill Gautama Buddha. One of the attempt to kill Buddha was by sending an elephant which was drugged. But the elephant keep calm when Lord Buddha

Devadatta was a Buddhist monk and was a cousin as well as brother-in-law of Gautama Buddha and was the brother of Ananda , one of the close disciples of Buddha . According to Pali Tipitaka , Devadatta was the greatest enemy of Lord Buddha and was believed to split the Sangha by persuading about 500 Buddhist monks who admired and followed him.

Devadatta was the son of Shakya King Suppabuddha and Queen Pamita and brother of Yasodhara(wife of Buddha ). He entered the order of Sangha at the same time as Ananda and other Shakya princes. Devadatta was quite jealous of Gautama Buddha.

In early days, when Devadatta entered the order, he was a good monk and was known for his elegance and his psychic power. But he became quite arrogance and desire worldly fame. And when he became unable to attain arhat , his anger and jealousy grew even more and began thinking that he should be the leader of the Order of monks . One day he asked Lord Buddha to retire from the order and to make him the leader and take over the running of Sangha . But Lord Buddha declined immediately and said that he was not worthy of letting him take over the Order . And that was the main reason that triggered the anger, ill-will and jealousy of Devadatta towards Lord Buddha and became Buddha’s enemy.

Prince Ajatasattu , son of King Bimbisara , was greatly impressed by the psychic power of Devadatta and became the disciple of Devadatta . And when Buddha turned down his proposal, Devadatta was full of anger and wanted to take revenge on Lord Buddha . Then he encouraged Prince Ajatasattu and made an evil plan to take revenge on Lord Buddha and Prince would assume his position as the king of Magadha by killing king Bimbisara . But being the devout of Buddha , he gave over the throne to the prince. After the prince became the king, he provided Devadatta with mercenaries and ordered them to kill Lord Buddha and Devadatta would take over the Sangha .

The plan was to send two mercenaries to kill Lord Buddha , and those two will be killed by other four hired mercenaries and hire even more to kill the four mercenaries so that he could cover his tracks on the plan. But this plan failed since the hired mercenaries could do anything in front of Lord Buddha and were converted to Buddhist instead. The angered Devadatta then decided to kill Buddha by himself. His first attempt to kill Lord Buddha was to throw a rock from high while Lord Buddha was walking on the mountain. But the rock broke into the pieces. His next attempt was letting an intoxicated elephant “ Nalagiri ” to kill Lord Buddha . But the elephant became calm when it appeared in front of Buddha .

Since the two attempts to kill Lord Buddha failed massively, he tried another deceitful plan by turning 500 misled monks so that he could split the Sangha Community. He proposed a list of few extra rules that must be made compulsory for all monks. They were:

• All monks must live in the forest

• All monks must live on alms obtained from begging

• All monks must wear robes made of discarded rags and accept no robes from laity

• All monks must live at the foot of trees

• All monks must not eat fish or meat

And Buddha responded by saying those who wants to follow the first four rules could follow them and didn’t approve to make the rules mandatory. And Devadatta used this chance to mislead the 500 monks and became the leader. Later Sariputra and Moggallana on the order of Buddha went to Devadatta and taught the misled monks about the true meaning of Dharma and became successful. And 500 monks returned to Lord Buddha upon hearing the true meaning of Dharma from the chief disciples of Lord Buddha.

After failing in every attempt to take revenge on Buddha , he fell ill due to his evil karma . At near death, he regretted his evil actions and seeks to see Lord Buddha before he died. But he died before he could see Lord Buddha.

[Ether]

@Prabhaker How was Buddha's day to day life?

[Prabhaker]

25 minutes ago, Ether said:

How was Buddha's day to day life?

Up to his twenty-ninth year, Gautam Buddha had lived in tremendous luxury, surrounded by beautiful girls, beautiful palaces. The whole night was a celebration; the day was for rest, the night for dances. He had seen all that was possible in those days for a man of power and riches to see. 

His father, in trying to charm him into the material life, gave him all pleasures one could ask for, palaces for each season, the best of food and luxury, beautiful girls chosen from across the kingdom, all sick and old people banished from his sight etc.

[Ether]

@Prabhaker Yeah, thanks

 

But what about after he had awakened?