Buddha

The legend of Buddha is told to Thai children from the time they are young. Pictures of it line walls of their schools.

This is our version of the story written for you...

Over 2500 years ago in a place just south of the great icy mountains called the Himalayas and just north of the broad land of India, in a place that is now Nepal, there lived a small Aryan clan. Their ruler was named Suddhodana and the ruler’s beautiful and steadfast wife was Maha Maya. One day this ruler and his wife were to have a child.



	The Birth

As time came for her to give birth, Maha Maya wanted to return to the home of her childhood, to a village not far away, for this was the custom in those times. On the way to her parent’s home, she suddenly went into labor and a son was born. According to the story, the child was born able to walk and talk.

Maha Maya was not to see her child grow up. Seven days later, she died. In grief her younger sister, Prajapati, carried the little one back to the palace and began caring for him.

Before the baby was too old, a wise man and prophet named Asita came to visit the ruler. He asked to see the boy. It was then that he prophesized that this child was

destined to become either a great hero and king or a great spiritual leader, depending on how he lived his life. Hearing this, the father decided he wanted his son to become a king and so named him Siddhartha which means “one who has achieved all his goals.” The father also resolved that the child would grow up like a king, with all the worldly comforts he wanted within the protective walls of the palace grounds. So Siddhartha Gautama grew up surrounded by pleasure.

By the age of sixteen, Siddhartha had gained knowledge and skill. He mastered the martial arts, and married the lovely Yasodhara. With her by his side and with their child, servants provided music, sumptious food, every delight he could ever want. His life of pleasure within the palace continued this way for many years.

A curious young man, Siddhartha once rode off the palace grounds. He did this against the will of his father, for his father still wanted to protect him. There, in a world unknown to him, for the first time in his life, Siddhartha saw great suffering. He saw a trembling old man hunched over with a cane,



		Siddhartha learns about suffering

broken teeth and gray hair. Then he saw the pain of a man with a diseased, infected body. After that he saw the corpse of a dead man. Finally, Siddartha saw a monk who had left behind all that he owned in order to seek wisdom. Asking about these troubling sights, Siddartha first learned the meaning of old age, sickness, death and suffering..

Seeing such human suffering brought compassion to Siddhartha’s heart. He resolved that he must somehow seek out the cause and cure of suffering. So at 29, Prince Siddartha Gautama gave up his inheritance. He gave up all hope to follow his father as ruler. He left his beautiful wife and child and went out into the world seeking knowledge and truth and a way to end suffering .




	Siddhartha’s search

On the night of his departure, Siddhartha went to his wife’s chamber where she lay sleeping beside their son Rahula. In a tender moment and not wanting to be urged to stay, he chose not to wake them but to leave them to the peacefulness of their rest.

Calling for his horse, Siddhartha left the palace behind. Reaching the shore of the river Anoma, he dismounted and traded his princely clothes and ornaments for the rags of a man passing by. He then sent his servant back to the palace to inform his father and his wife that he had gone forth to lead a life of homelessness so he might discover the cause of suffering and a way to end it.

Once his servant had gone, Siddhathara cut off his hair and walked alone into the forest.

There he sought out teachers who might help him in his search for truth and knowledge.

His first teacher was Alara Kalama and his second teacher was Udraka Ramaputra. With both, Siddhartha learned much about Brahmin-Hindu beliefs. Still, he had many questions yet unanswered - especially his questions about suffering, how it came about and how it could be stopped. So he left those teachers and continued his search elsewhere.

In the jungles of Uruvela, he came across five men who were seeking wisdom by ignoring the needs and the wants of their bodies. For six years, in the company of these five, Siddartha tried to seek wisdom in this way. He ate so little that his body wasted away. When he put his hand on his belly, he could feel his spine.

One day, after bathing in the river, Siddhartha was so weak from lack of food and from self-denial, that he could barely rise from the water. It was then that he realized: a life of pleasure had not lead him to the truth and neither had a life of severe self-denial, for it brought him only confusion and near death. Perhaps a middle path between pleasure-seeking and total self-denial was the way to find a cure from suffering.

A local girl named Sujata saw the starved Siddartha and felt compassion for him. In a golden bowl, she prepared a meal of milk and rice. Nourished by the food, he recalled how, as a child, he would sit and meditate.. Remembering this, Siddartha decided to again try to sit and meditate. In this way, he would follow his own middle path.

So, he walked to the nearby town of Bodhgaya. There, not far from the river, he sat down in the shade of a Bodhi tree and began his meditation. The story of how long he sat there is not clear. Some say it lasted for seven days. Others say it was fourty-nine days.


There are many stories about what happened as Siddartha sat under that Bodhi tree. In one story, the Evil One called up all his forces to attack Siddartha with mud and sand, hot rocks and coals, and storms, but nothing stopped Siddartha from his quiet meditation.


	In another story, the Evil One called up his daughters, Desire, Discontent and Passion. But none of these beautiful daughters could pull Siddhartha away from his primary purpose.

		Yet in another story Siddartha touched the ground and asked the very earth he was

			Touching the earth


		sitting on to be a witness to his struggle seeking the truth of enlightment. At that moment, the Earth responded with a terrible roar. It created a great flood to drown the demons of the Evil One. The story goes on to say that, as the darkness of night passed and as the morning light dawned on the day of the full moon, Siddartha achieved enlightment.

His ignorance was gone. His understanding of the nature of life and death, of suffering and overcoming suffering was complete. It was at that point Siddhartha became forever Lord Buddha.

After Siddartha became the Buddha... he spent many years of his life traveling across northern India, teaching his message to those who would listen and performing miracles. He returned to spend time with his father, wife and child. He continued to travel and to teach people, both rich and poor. He encouraged each person to practice his or her own path toward enlightenment. As part of this, he also encouraged respect toward all religions.

The five companions who had once turned away from him returned. They became the first Sangha or order of monks. The lessons he taught were later written down and are called the Dharma.

He often used the model of a wheel to help explain his teachings. The first place he taught was at Deer Park in India, so

Buddha teaching

many symbols of Buddhism include a Wheel of Life along with a statue of a deer.

Wheel of Life

Buddha was eighty years old when he became seriously ill. He knew he would soon be gone. Much distressed, one follower asked how he and the other monks would continue to learn once Buddha was gone.

Buddha’s death

To this the Buddha answered that each had already learned all that Buddha could teach them. The rest of their lessons would come from within themselves.

The last day of his life, Buddha was in a mango grove. It was there, with his followers, that he left the world for the last time and entered eternal bliss called Nirvana.




			Nirvana

Buddha’s teachings have spread throughout the world. His followers believe that the teachings can help them find relief from suffering and ways to show more care and compassion to living creatures.

THE END

Our version of the story is not exact. We probably left out many parts that Thai people think are very important. There are still many things about it we do not know or understand. What we do understand better is how Thai culture, its religion, and the daily rituals and life-styles of its people are so closely intertwined.

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