Buddhism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The man’s name was Siddharta Gautama. Tradition has it that he was born c. 566 B.C., but recent research suggests that it was maybe around 490 B.C. He was born into a noble family, as his father was a Raja (prince) of the Sakya clan, ruling near the modern town of Lumbini, southern Nepal.

Legend has it that on the night of his conception, Siddharta’s mother, Queen Maya, dreamed that an elephant had placed a lotus flower in her womb.

 

 

 

 

 

His observations made him speculate upon the reasons for human suffering. He felt that his life as a rich man’s son was without substance, and he left the palace to seek out Brahmins and wise men, who had spent a long time in meditation. However, none of them could give him a satisfactory answer. He therefore decided to leave his family to live an ascetic life and try to find an answer to his question through meditation. For five years, he walked from one village to the next, but his search did not help him to get an answer.

Outside Gaya, Siddharta sat down in the shade of a large pipal tree, determined not to move before he had found a satisfactory answer to his quest. For 49 days, he was seated beneath the tree, in deep meditation. Then he arose, convinced that he had found the answer, and that he was able to recognize the coherence of life.

 

 

 

 

 

Human life is unhappy, because it has numerous sufferings. These sufferings emerge because of needs, wishes, and desires, and the attraction of material things is nothing but an illusion of the senses. Unhappiness, ultimately, is caused by egoism, which can be avoided by following these five rules of conduct: not to kill, not to act immorally, not to lie, not to steal, and not to take drugs.

From this day, Siddharta walked about, giving lectures to people about his new philosophy. In the course of time, he was followed by a growing crowd of people, who were fascinated by these new thoughts. These followers called him The Buddha (‘The Enlightened One’).

The Buddha emphasized that he did not get his thoughts from any god, but that he was an ordinary man who had been able to develop a method to avoid suffering. He only passed on his thoughts verbally, and he would adjust his teachings according to his audience. He did not try to persuade people to abandon Hinduism, and he didn’t deny the existence of gods. He merely explained that the final goal in Buddhism is to recognize that the ego is an illusion, and to realize that it is the cause of all suffering.

If you attain this knowledge, you have broken the endless cycle of rebirths. This complete enlightenment is called nirvana (best translated as ’absence of desire’) – a condition of perfect harmony, in which the ego has been eliminated, causing all desire to have ceased and thus no longer being able to disturb this knowledge. These are the basics of Buddhist dharma (teachings).

 

 

 

 

 

Over time, the Bodhi tree became a pilgrimage site for devout Buddhists, and a town named Bodhgaya arose, housing numerous temples.

The lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is a plant that often grows in murky water, but produces a wonderful flower, fresh and clean, above the water. The Buddha is often likened to a lotus flower, indicating his purity in a polluted human world. As the waterlily (Nymphaea) grows in similar places and produces flowers, which superficially resemble lotus flowers, this plant is also sacred to Buddhists. Botanically, however, the two plants are not closely related.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During his reign, Gandhara art and architecture blossomed, including pillared temples. Maurya’s successors conquered nearby principalities, and the dynasty reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Ashoka (272-238 B.C.), comprising the Indus and Ganges Valleys, and parts of central India.

Ashoka fought aggressive wars to expand his empire. In 263 B.C., he won a battle against a local Kalinga king, near the town of Bhubaneswar, in what is today the state of Odisha (Orissa). It is said that the water in the Daya River turned red from the blood of fallen soldiers. According to legend, Ashoka was so chocked by this bloodbath that he stopped all further expansion campaigns.

He now converted to the non-violent Buddhism, which was made state religion in his empire. Numerous Buddha statues and stupas were constructed. Originally, stupas were tombs for rulers, heroes, or holy men. According to legend, The Buddha wished that his ashes be placed inside a stupa.

Ashoka also ordered quotes from The Buddha´s teachings to be carved into rocks, so that wayfarers could learn from them. Missionaries were sent to the neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka, Tibet, China, and Myanmar.

As a commemoration of Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism, the Japanese, constructed a Peace Pagoda, the Shanti Stupa, in 1969-72, on a hilltop near the Daya River, where the emperor’s last battle took place.

Buddhism was the dominant religion in India until about 800 A.D., when Hinduism regained its former influence through aggressive missionary work, implemented by the Brahmins, who probably felt that their power was crumbling.

Today, Buddhism is of minor importance in India, but it is still the dominant religion in Sri Lanka, Indochina, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Taiwan, and Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to legend, these Dhyani buddhas arose from the brilliant light, emitted by a thousand-leaved lotus flower in the Kathmandu Valley. This light contained five differently coloured rays, one for each of the five Dhyani buddhas.

Four of these meditating buddhas are often depicted as a sculpture, a so-called chaitya, in which they are seated back to back, their faces turned towards the four cardinal directions – always the same for each of the four buddhas. They may also be identified by colour, tool, female aspect, or position of their hands.

Akshobhya is facing east, pointing palm and thumb of his right hand inwards. He is touching the earth, to make it a witness of his ability to resist the temptations, which the evil goddess Mara is imposing on him to disturb his meditation. He is a symbol of the highest truth.

Ratnasambhava, facing south, holds the palm of his right hand forward – a symbol that all knowledge is equal.

Facing west is Amitabha, with his hands folded in his lap, palms facing up. He symbolizes the ability to distinguish knowledge.

Amoghasiddhi, facing north, stretches the fingers of his right hand out, as a blessing. He is the symbol of perfect wisdom.

The fifth Dhyani buddha, Vairocana, is rarely seen on chaityas, as he is the central figure, thus not having a specific cardinal direction. On pictures, he is depicted above the others. He is teaching, seated with his hands folded across his chest – a symbol of absolute knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ultimate goal is nirvana, but only the selected few are able to reach this goal. Most people must be reborn again and again, and in which shape, this is going to take place, depends on the number of good or bad deeds you have done in your lifetime. You can easily be reborn as an animal, so it is quite natural that to Buddhists, killing is a great sin.

In the course of time, various schools of Buddhism have evolved, interpreting The Buddha’s teachings in different ways. The Theravada Buddhism is the Old School, which teaches followers to meditate individually, hereby seeking the path toward nirvana. This school is predominant in Sri Lanka and Indochina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inevitably, the new religion, called Mahayana Buddhism or Lamaism, contained many elements from Bon. Today, this religion dominates in Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal, Ladakh, Sikkim, and Bhutan

Mahayana emphasizes the concept of Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva is a Buddhist who is on the threshold of nirvana, but instead of entering this ultimate state, he chooses to use his knowledge to help other persons towards the same goal. Thus, Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes solidarity and collectivism, in which you help others instead of helping only yourself.

The highest monks, called lamas, spend most of their time helping other persons to practice a more efficient form of meditation. This takes place in monasteries, and over the years, thousands of these monasteries were constructed throughout Tibet and Mongolia. Most families would send one or two sons to a monastery to be enrolled as a monk, but this act was by no means compulsory. Anytime, a monk could choose to leave the monastery to return to his former life as a nomad or a peasant.

In the course of time, various branches of Lamaism evolved, often with rather subtle differences. The most well-known of these is Gelug-pa (‘Yellow Hats’), named after their yellow headgear. Their highest lama is the Dalai Lama (‘Ocean of Wisdom’ in Mongolian), who is a re-incarnation of the eleven-headed Chenresig (‘Buddha of Compassion’) – one of The Buddha’s incarnations. The Dalai Lama is also the secular leader of Tibetans.

The present 14th Dalai Lama was born in Kham, eastern Tibet, in 1935. His name as a lay person was Lhamo Döndrup. In 1939, he was brought to the capital, Lhasa, where he was to reside in the Potala Palace (‘The Palace of a Thousand Rooms’). From that day, he was called Tenzing Gyatso, gyatso being the Tibetan word for the Dalai Lama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A pilgrim route, several kilometres long, the so-called kora, has been established around the gompa, and before entering the monastery, pilgrims walk along this route. Some pilgrims prostrate all the way around the kora, lying down and stretching their arms in front of them, as far as they can reach. On this spot, they place their rosary, after which they get up, walk the few steps to the rosary, and prostrate again – repeating this procedure countless times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buddhist pilgrims believe that by distributing coins among the poor during their pilgrimage, they will improve their karma (the sum of their good and bad deeds), and thus have a better chance of reaching a higher position in their next life. Naturally, this has been noticed by beggars, mainly from India, who migrate in large numbers to Buddhist temples during festivals.