1 / 11

THE BUDDHA

THE BUDDHA. THE LONG SEARCH. For years Siddhartha wandered with his beggar`s bowl , seeking one master or guru after another . Even though many of them were wise and deeply interested in helping Siddhartha, he did not find his answer .

kiet
Download Presentation

THE BUDDHA

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. THE BUDDHA THE LONG SEARCH

  2. Foryears Siddhartha wanderedwithhisbeggar`sbowl, seekingone master orguruafteranother. Eventhoughmany of themwerewise and deeplyinterested in helping Siddhartha, he didnotfindhisanswer. He found more teachers and learnedaboutphilosophicalnotions, as well as techniquesformeditating and controllingthebody, but he found no answertohisbasic, timelessquestions. Finallytiring of gurus and ordinarysages, he settled in a grove of treesontheoutskirts of thevillage of Uruvela, India. There he formed a communitywithotherseekers, he meditatedforsixyears, duringthis time, he conqueredmostphysicalappetites, and weaknessess and learnedhowto control themadmonkey of themind. But he found no answers.

  3. In hiseffortstosubduehisbody, he nearlydestroyedit, when he touchedhisstomach, he felthisbackbone. Afterthis, Siddhartha realizedthathisbodywasanimportantinstrument in hissearch, and he realizedthat he must honor thespiritbyhonoringthebodythathousesit. Siddhartha`sfellowmonksweredisgustedwhen he begantotakepropernourishment, theyhadbeenimpressedbyhisasceticways as signs of strength and willpower. Fromthis Siddhartha learnedanotherlesson: Wemust stop worryingaboutwhatothersthink of us and quittryingtoimpresspeopleifwe are evertofindwisdom. He realizedthatasceticself-denialcan be of value as a temporarycorrectiveforindulgencesor as a momentarycleansing, butisnotanadecuateway of life.

  4. So Siddhartha returnedtohislonelywandering, onedaywhen he wasthirty, he sat in meditationunder a tree, he wasgiven a specialbowl of rice milkby a youngwoman, because he remindedher of a figure shehadseen in a visión. In her visión, shehadpresented rice milk in a Golden bowlto a single figure seatedunder a tree. Shetookthis figure to be a god, because of a specialglowshesawaroundhim. He was of course, theBuddha.

  5. Siddhartha acceptedthe rice milk and, accordingtothelegend, didnoteatagainforforty-ninedays. Anotherlegendsaysthat he dividedthemilkintonumerousportions, and thissustainedhimduringhisdeepmeditation. After he hadfinishedthe rice milk, he threwthe Golden bowlinto a nearbyriver, whereitfloatedupstream. ThissimbolizesthefactthattheBuddha`steachingsgoagainstthecurrent of ourordinarythinking. Siddhartha thenceremoniouslybathed in theriver and takingthelotus position, once more satunderthefigtree and said“Here I shallremainuntil I am answeredordead”. ThetreeunderwhichtheBuddhasatbecameknown as theBodhiTree-TheTree of Wisdom.

  6. TheBodhisattva AccordingtoBuddhistteachingsitis imposible toexplain “theawakening”. Nonethelesswe can getan idea of whattheBuddha “saw”. Siddhartha sawhimself and alllife as a process of change, a greatchain of beingthroughwhichthings come into and leaveoneform of existenceforanother. Everythingisone. Theuniverseis a system of interconnected, inseparable parts, rich and complex, composed of allvarieties of lifeforevermovingfromoneformtoanother. TheBuddhasawitall at once, in a mysticalvision. He hadreached a state of bliss and utterdetachmentcalled “nirvana”. Nirvana istheannihilation of the ego, a state of emptinessor “no-thing-ness”. Itisdescribed as a state of blissbecausethereisonlypureconsciousness.

  7. Nirvana isreleasefromsufferingwhileconscious, nirvana must be experienced, it can not be describedorunderstood. Siddhartha hadnowtomakeanotherimportantchoice, he couldstay in nirvana, meditating and remaininguninvolvedwiththeconmotion and suffering of life. Or he should share hisvision. Legendsaysthat “theveryearthtrembled” whilewaitingforhisdecision. At lastthe “Great BuddhaHeart of InfiniteCompassionprevailed”. Siddhartha refusedultimaterelease and, because he chosetostay and helpothers, becametheBuddha , “He WhoAwoke”, or “He WhoBacameAware”. Thispart of himissometimesreffered as “TheWalkingBuddha”, themanwhowandered once more, onlynow as a teacherratherthan as seeker.

More Related