Friday, 03/28/2025
Brief History of the Buddha
Summary History of Sakyamuni Buddha
Update: 05/05/2007
I. SOME JUDGEMENT WHEN STUDYING BUDDHA’S HISTORY
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1. He is a great Bodhisattva who was born to rescue all\r\nbeings and help others liberate their mind. Therefore, His history has\r\ntranscendent characteristics than normal human.
\r\n\r\n2. Because of His compassion, self-confidence in life, every\r\nactivity in his life always directs toward education to be released.
\r\n\r\n3. The meaning of history should be realized than many\r\nsmall details.
\r\n\r\n II.HIS LIFE
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Sakya Buddha has original name as Siddhartha. His last name\r\nis Sakya, a branch of a family Kosala, and is an aristocracy. His full name is\r\nKosala akya Siddhratha.And Mahamuni is clean virtue, quiet of him, just a good\r\ncommend.
\r\n\r\nHe is the son of king Suddhodana in Kapilavastu, and his\r\nmother is queen Maya. Kapilavastu is Pipaova land in northern Benares rampart.\r\nnowadays.
\r\n\r\nIII. HIS BIRTH DAY AND BIRTH PLACE
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The prince was born in the rising sun, also was the\r\nfull-moon day in February of India, April-8 of China’s calendar. He was born in\r\n563 years ago BC. According to India’s custom, married women when being in\r\npregnant, they have to go their parents’ house to give birth. Queen Maya came\r\nto her native home and went across Lumbini garden of king Suprabuddha; she gave\r\nbirth of him under asoka tree. When he just was born, he stood on lotuses with\r\none hand pointing at the sky and in land by the other and he said: “Up and down\r\nin the sky, only I’m the oneâ€: (only I was worth to be respectful by goodness\r\nand human)
\r\n\r\nIV. OUTWARD LOOKING AND TALENT OF THE PRINCE.
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The prince was born and had many strange omens: the earth\r\nquivered and he walked seven steps, ect. Everyone felt happy and welcomed\r\nthe appearance of super savior. The prince born had predicted good\r\nfeatures. He was an outstanding person and became the Buddha to guide everything.\r\nHe had been born for 7 years when her mother passed away. His aunt was Ms. Maha\r\nPajapati, who brought up and care for him. He was very intelligent, Many famous\r\nprofessors teaching him had to admire.
\r\n\r\n V. THE PRINCE’S LIFE
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The prince lives in extremely comfortable life and is\r\noutstandingly indulged by his father. Around him there were always dancers and\r\nsingers who played music and sang all day to make him satisfied. However, he is\r\nstill lost in meditation. His face always expressed secretive sadness and,\r\nsometimes he said to his father he would rather leave home to find the ways to\r\nhelp himself, help others. Guessing his thought, king Suddhodana felt worried\r\nand found many ways to increase his pleasure, hoping that he will give up his\r\npravraj’s desire.
\r\n\r\n VI. THE PRINCE’S HOME-LEAVING DESIRE
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After many witnesses by the grief of old age, disease,\r\nsickness, death and being such unjustice as strength over weakness, wiseness\r\nupon stupidity during the tripout of the rampart through four gates, Prince Siddhartha\r\nperceived many agonies of human. His love to human rose, he felt so sad. By the\r\nwill firmly finding the truth, after the big party at night, he rode a horse,\r\nKanthaka to escape out of the rampart with a loyal servant – Chandaka when\r\npeople slept soundly and dreamed unconciously at night. He left the family at\r\n19 years old, 8th Lunar February at midnight.
\r\n\r\nVII. FINDING TRUTH AND THE WAY OF PRACTICE.
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Going deep in the forest by tha bank of the Anoma river, he\r\ncut his hair and changed clothes. Then, he asked gave Chandaka to return to his\r\nfather and told him this story. From now, the prince became a hermit and\r\nplunged headlong to look for the right way. He went to Rajagaha — Capital of\r\nancient kingdom of Magadha, and found many hermits of Brahmin in order to\r\nconsult the methods of practice.After practicing for a long time, he didn’t\r\nsatisfy because he hadn’t achieved it yet. He immediately went to the Uruvilva\r\nforest from Bouddhagaya land to practice austerity, eating a piece of\r\nsesame with rice a day and thinking for 6 years, but this attained no result.\r\nHe realized that practiced austere asceticism of Bouddhagaya, which\r\ncouldn’t release.
\r\n\r\nAfter receiving a cup of milk from Jati who gave alms, after\r\nhaving recovered his body health and fresh soul, he came to the Bodhi\r\ntree to sit on the grass carpet and said: “If I don’t find the truth, I vowed\r\nnot to leave this seat untin I have diedâ€. Having passed the time of\r\nmeditation, he won all bad habits of body and soul. He had escaped the riot of\r\nthe devil king from outside.
\r\n\r\nAt early night, he achieved Purvanivasanusmrti – seeing\r\nprevious lives, clearly past, present, and future; at midnight, he attained\r\nDiviyacaksu - seeing clear vision of the endless universal; at late evening,\r\nwhen morning star grew, he succeded in Asravaksaya – seeing the source of the\r\norigin of birth and death, samsara, which was called ignorance, then He\r\ncompletely enlightened.
\r\n\r\nHe became enlightened right at the rise of morning star, on\r\nLunar December 8th. After attaining tha Way, he lamented “Alas! People also\r\nhave stored vitue and wisdom like as Tathagata, but ignorance covered, which is\r\nthe reason they fell in metempsychosis (the rounds of rebirth)!â€\r\n
\r\n\r\nVIII. PREACHING for SALVATION.
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Afterward, he immediately went to Sarnath garden and\r\npreached The Four Noble Truths to five Bhiksus (Kaundinya, Avivartin, Kasyapa,\r\nMahanama and Bhadrika). From then, His dharma teachings propagated everywhere\r\nin the Middle India and all over the world.
\r\n\r\nIX. DEATH
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After 49 years on the walk of preaching, he had to paddle\r\nthe Golden Light of the Dharma and spread that around here and there,\r\ninstructed and guided people. Countless numbers people had been indebted to His\r\ndharma advice which nourishes the spiritual nature as his return to the right\r\npath. After causal connections had finished and, people should have transferred\r\nwith dharma, He entered nirvana between two Sal tree forest, left in love\r\nand regretfulness from all. He entered into nirvana at the age of 81 at\r\nmidnight in full moon Lunar February.
\r\n\r\nX. SOME MEANINGS NEEDED TO CONSIDER ABOUT THE BUDDHA’S\r\nHISTORY
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1. Because of compassion, he was born in order to find out\r\nto people a more noble way, compared with the current fragile existence.
\r\n\r\n2. Despite comfort and fame, he still felt that all\r\nmaterials were nothing. He said: "Happiness is not found in physical\r\npleasures."
\r\n\r\n3. Many trips and many witnesses of tragedy on human\r\nmade Him show us that: "Life is full of suffering of injustice, and crime\r\nif we sustain the situation of bullying of the weak and the power, the wisdom’s\r\nattack the fool, and lack of an honest compassion".
\r\n\r\n4. Light could come back to souls of tolerance and\r\nsacrifaction of personal desires. Only the truth he had found, after the\r\nchallenge of fighting with devils, was the method of the suffering optimism.
\r\n\r\n5. Sacrifices in His countless lives made him become a\r\nBuddha full of merit and wisdom. In order to be in sympathy and strength from\r\nHim, we had often thought of his name and followed his teachings.
\r\n\r\nTranslated into English by Nguyen Ngo Xuan\r\nPhuong
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